Yes, I love that we can do that 
Thanks for the kind words, I’ll take them to heart and try not being so impatient with myself 
8. Juli 2024
Still not much time for learning, but I worked on 16 note strumming for ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and ‘Anyone for you’. It went well-ish; I recorded myself to find out if I keep my strumming hand moving troughout, and yes, I do. I still need to do it slower, which I really don’t want to do. Also, I do something weird with the pick. You can hear it clicking on the corpus of the guitar, and I don’t think it’s supposed to do that.
Picking has not changed that much, but I tried picking with the western guitar, which has a smaller neck, and I think it went better with the stretching out of my thumb? idk.
I did another session today, and weirdly, I got both F and B barre chords to ring out right multiple times, which is a huge win. I haven’t practiced them in a while, and it’s very weird that it worked today. It hurt after a few attempts, so I stopped, but it’s so weird.
That’s good Sevi, I’m also fighting with new chords (Dm, G atm) and it’s pretty hard, buzzing and weird noises are back too. That’s the way to learn, Rince and repeat.
We’ll make it, I’m sure!
@Gyall We will persevere, like so many before us, and we will enjoy the ride. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? And music, of course 
Dm is a nice chord, I like it. Dunno why, but I do. I recently saw Justin playing it with fourth finger instead of third, and I went ‘Yeah, that’s probably lots easier’, but learning it with the first three fingers helped me with stretching my fingers, so I’ll just leave it as is, I think.
10. Juli 2024
I realised something today: scale practice is ideal for the boring parts of the online course I’m taking atm. Because my hands are busy, I can still follow the discussion without falling asleep, which helps my brain distill the useful parts from hours of drivel. It’s a little bit like magic math, where
1 boring thing (scale practice) + 1 other boring thing (endless discussions) = 1 quite satisfying practice/learning session
I got the E minor pentatonic scale down this way, and I started on C major as well. Yay for boring online trainings, I guess? 
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12. Juli 2024
I think I overdid it today. I played my scales while doing the online course, then tried some new scale shapes after that (need more stretching before I can do it though), practiced some strumming, then sang a few songs and practiced my 16th note strumming some more. I don’t know how long I played exactly, but my fretting hand is a bit sore. I try taking it easy the next few days.
I also had an exam on Thursday, and I found playing songs an excellent relief for exam stress. I love music 
14. Juli 2024
I tried some tentative improvisation on the C major scale today, just on my own, no backing track no nothing. It was fun.
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24. Juli 2024
I did not have much time to practice these last few weeks, and not much motivation as well. I am not frustrated with it in any way, other things were just more important. I have played for bits and snippets here and there, mostly when listening to my instructor in the online course I’m taking. I am good with the E minor pentatonic and with the c major scale, though I haven’t forced it with a metronome yet. Gonna learn another scale tomorrow, I think.
Improvisation here and there, but still by myself with no backing track. Hope to talk a friend into a jam session soon.
Experiments with posture were successful with the help of some of y’all; I think I found one that feels much better and makes things easier.
Not much progress with picking style. It feels tedious atm to try and change what is still working well.
What I have been working on in the last month
E minor pentatonic scale
memorised, pretty consistent, pretty fast
–>metronome
C major scale
memorised, pretty consistent, OK speed
–>metronome
barre chords
F and B are ringing out nicely in perfect chord practice, but way too slow for songs
–>practice changes
pose and strumming
found a position that works better, no more touching the body with the pick, no more wrist turning necessary, strumming sounds cleaner, 16th note strumming at 80bpm with foot tapping and w/out pattern
–>get strap, get smaller guitar, continue watch wrist movement, continue with metronome
picking
experimented with stretching out thumb more, no conclusion yet
–>continue experiments
Radioactive
rhytm and chords: figured out and memorised, no problems
singing: half of the words memorised, know where words are going
–>memorise words, play and sing it through completely, put into songbook
I’m a Believer
intro: memorised, still wonky going from one part to the next, second part still difficult with the spreading of the fingers
rhythm: still not clear in the one part, strumming pattern consistent now
chords: OK most of the time, try with stuck 3/4 maybe?
–>intro on its own, watch video to get rhythm, put in songbook, finger stretch exercises
Yellow Submarine
words memorised, singing, chords, rhythm no problem, put into songbook
–>figure out overall structure, metronome
Über den Wolken
picking: faster, nearly there
singing: figured out what words go where, loose melody a lot but not rhythm
words: figured out nearly all of the words to mum’s version
–>finish words for mum’s version, faster picking, metronome, (hammer-on’s)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
strumming: original 16th note strumming pattern mostly OK but still wonky with chord change inside the pattern, got faster
singing: no singing yet, too weird with the fast strumming
chords: change inside pattern not fast enough (G to A and vice versa)
–>get faster, metronome, figure out singing, fast perfect changes G to A
Scarborough Fair
overall structure figured out, put into songbook, main pattern memorised, first part memorised, everything played at least once
–>practice patterns, figure out singing
The Letter
intro: played a few times, not memorised yet
chords: figured out except for outro, not memorised yet
rhythm and singing: not yet figured out
–>memorise intro, memorise chords, figure out rhythm, figure out singing, figure out outro, put into songbook
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Excellent update, Eva, all sounds good.
Thanks, David.
Incidentally, I need to put this somewhere, so I don’t forget (it’s a part of the new lyrics for my mum that just came to me)
Doch Kinder wachsen schnell heran / Und Geld ist knapp, Hobbies sind teuer / Du machst 'nen Job im Cafe Sand / Und bei Camello für die Steuer.
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28. Juli 2024
I tried out Free Fallin’ today, to practice my stuck 3/4 chords, and it was love at first play. The rhythm is so nice, and the chords just fall into it so smoothly, and even with only the basics, it sounds so lovely! I tried the strumming pattern after a while, but it was too difficult, so I started strumming every note, counting out loud, and figuring out where the chord changes were in that, and after a while, I tried the pattern again, and it was a lot easier because it oriented around those changes nicely. I won’t be singing to it for a while, but honestly? It’s so lovely that just playing it is enough for now.
I also started on the ‘Enter Sandman’ lesson of grade two, and man, it’s really fun to try out the sliding around, even on my old nylon acoustic. I have no real problem with spreading my fingers and keeping them there; the one benefit of wide palms, I guess And apparently, having had piano lessons for a few years as a kid did not hurt either, for spreading out the fingers, for strength, and also for flexibility. Very glad those lessons come in handy now. I only tried the first riff part, and the first slide, but I can already tell I might really like an electric guitar if I continue with it. Ah well, someday, when pastures are greener, and the monetary gods are more inclined to listen!
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15. August 2024
It’s been a minute since I updated my LL, and that’s mostly because I wasn’t really in the mood for guitar in the last few weeks. My online course got intense, with exams and practical work, and there was some D&D drama as well, and somehow, my playing got lost in the shuffle a little bit.
But yesterday, my strap arrived, and after I figured out how to attach it to my acoustic, and how everything works with boobs and belly and the guitar moving with every strum, I am now able to move while playing. And let me tell you, it feels amazing! I feel like suddenly, I’m a real musican or something, not just someone who plays songs
This is what I’m working on:
Über den Wolken - clean + consistent picking
Breakfast at Tiffany’s - clean strumming + changes
The Letter - find strumming pattern, learn chords + intro
I’m a Believer - intro
Free Fallin - strumming + changes
Enter Sandman - riff
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26.8.2024
Still not much playing, but more than before. The strap is great, even while sitting. I need to finish the words for Ma’s shindig, but can’t seem to find the motivation.
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Motivation is a fickle beast! I know that well. There can be things that I either want to do or even need to do and yet somehow I’ll conspire to do something else. Today it was delaying my weekly long run by well over an hour for no reason (knowing the later I left it all the paths would be busier). Sometimes I think we just have to recognise we’re stalling and just get started. Maybe it involves putting a time in a diary and sticking to it
Glad you’re getting on with the new strap
Thanks, @mattswain I have a long and colourful history with my motivation, as I think probably everyone above a certain age probably has. I find that tricking myself into doing things works best, since trying to keep to a schedule or things like that have rather the opposite effect.
For the guitar, that means I need to remind myself that playing helps with stress relief and emotional regulation, and is a lot of fun while doing it, too. And use it when I am despairing about my online course, I forgot I had that option as well.
And it is rather gratifying to feel like I’m getting the hang of it, too. A few days back I had the astonishing realisation that I can actually play guitar. I know it’s stupid, since that’s what I’ve been learning for months now, but it was just me playing and feeling my fretting hand change nimbly between chords, and reflecting on how it was in the beginning, and it just suddenly clicked into place that no matter what happens, I can now play guitar, I have that skill now. Weird, but good^^
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I completely get this. I’m working through some sessions with my yoga teacher who is also a life coach and all of my procrastination is coming out in those sessions. I don’t know if there’s an answer but I guess speaking it aloud to another person must have some effect.
We definitely need to work out what works for each of us. I’m sure I work better from a list of things that I need/want to do for a given day so I can tick things off and feel like I’m accomplishing something (although the list shouldn’t be so big that’s overwhelming). Certainly I get that you don’t want to make something that’s supposed to be a hobby and is fun / relaxing into something that feels like a job.
Well done on your progress. I do know what you mean… it’s definitely a landmark when you realise you can play guitar, when those chord changing exercises have actually turned into something!
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13. Sptember 2024
We had our annual family meeting last weekend, and it’s amazing how non-invasive and relaxing just noodling around very softly can be when you sit around a table into the night. And I played and sung Über den Wolken (original version), and my mum and my sister were very happy. I will also have to change some of the words to the version for my mum’s retirement (again), since we got her talking about that time a little bit, and I got my facts wrong before. No matter, it will be done.
Otherwise, nothing new on the horizon, just playing my songs whenever I feel like it.
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Hello Eva, this is good to read, that’s something very special in sharing some music with the people we love❣
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6. Oktober 2024
I’m not dead yet, and neither is my guitar, though the crack in the side is getting wider, and has started to snare at me sometimes. I’m still playing more or less regularly, although not very ambitiously, just doing songs when I feel like it.
There was a very cool moment though, when someone recommended a song I had never heard before for a specific character in the larp I was in last week, and I loved it (In the Aeroplane over the sea by Neutral Milk Hotel). Sang it around the house for a few days, until I thought “Wonder what the chords are…” and I looked it up, and it’s only G, Em, C, and D, and the strumming is, while gorgeous, really easy, too. So I just picked it up, played it through once to get a feel, and started singing along, and it worked. That was such a cool moment^^
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