The point I’m making with Sylvia is that by tapping on the table you are essentially only doing downstrokes. Playing 16 note pattern in guitar with only downstrokes would be very fast!
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Hello Silvia!
Good work with the rhythm exercises. It’s a good idea to tap out the rhythms as well as practicing them on guitar. They can be tapped just as fast, maybe even faster, as strumming or picking.
I know you’ve struggled with foot tapping in the past but it looks quite natural now. Spot on! And a cool hand on the hip pose too. 
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Great update, Silvia!
Interesting to see how you are working on rhythm aspects. Wow!
I’m already curious, which are the two Celentano songs! 
As always, reading your log was a treat and a great motivator 
!
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Silva @Silvia80
As others have said the Rhythm training looks interesting, something to think about in the future.
Michael
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Hi Gordon, I tap on the table because it’s easier for me at this point, but I’ ll restart from chapter 1 of the book and re-do all on guitar muting the strings next month…that’s the plan.
well thanks for the suggestion but I like to do the old-fashioned way 
Hi David 
@BurnsRhythm …thank you for your positive comment, this kind of practice is actually quite demanding to me, but by going slow and giving it the time it requires I’m much improving and make my foot tapping feel and look almost natural 
Michael, I much need it! The best thing is that once a skill like Rhythm is established and consolidated anything else comes easier…it’s well worth invested time!
Hi Andrea @Helen0609
I’ve seen you updated your Log as well and I’ll find some relaxed time tomorrow with a fresher head to check it Thank you…you are one of my motivators too, with always a good and kind word 
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Hi Silvia, I’m already looking forward to those .
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A new Challenge
I started learning this new piece last week…it’s beyond my brain memorising capabilities I think, because while it’s not much long there are not sections which are repeated exactly the same like in my Carulli or Carcassi beginner stuff.
I’m going to try nevertheless and see if I can put at work some problem-solving strategy 
Second thing after learning the first few bars and realising it would be hard to memorise, I worked further on the transcription of the chords I had already started a while ago: it’s been an intense 1 hour of (very Practical!) Music Theory around the key of D today. Having the name of the chord helps me really to istantly remember which notes I have to pick!
Also the sheetmusic is full of ties and stuff which makes the reading and practicing quite challenging…so I’m rewriting the most difficult bars in a simpler way (even if not 100% correct)…I won’t need the reading soon.
It’s gonna take ages 
…I’m self-taught after all…BUT… it’s one of those pieces with which the compulsive listening easily takes over…I need to learn it! 
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Wha a cue drawing and poem. Don’ worry abou he missing ‘ ‘ Sylvia.
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Funny ,Even when I knew there was a T missimg I had read 4 times befor I found where …
even the
I didn’t notice it, only after Gordon had typed and i did I read it all again i saw this…
Very nice, cheerful drawing 
…a bit my level (seriously 
)
Greetings and have a fantasic weekend all 
Thank you Gordon! But I have it on the computer and can fix it for next year
And you too dear Rogier! 
I knew you guys would appreciate some pure form of art
And guess what?! This morning I worked out the chords to play it on the uke (it’s a song from YouTube) : C G G7 and also F… just stick to the queen rule
IF IT SOUNDS GOOD THAN IT’S GOOD
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MARCH UPDATE
Classical Guitar
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16 Bars out of 44 are well memorised and internalised too - still a lot of work needs to be done on the motor skills, but I’m improving to keep the fingers better alligned I think - the only indicator I have is that I can reach my notes more easily (not smoothly as I would like though).
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I can well distinguish where my melody is and give it a bit more of volume in the picking.
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A special Practice Session that is worth recording - I went down to town one day, I had a school meeting at 5pm and my
needed to be at the mechanic at 3.30pm…Espresso at the usual bar in the corner and straight to the beach with my
Canzone d’amore musicsheet, headphones and stuff…75% of speed on one of the pros 'recording on YouTube, yellow highlighter for the melody notes and pencil for chords 'analysing…now you know how I could memorise it so easily And since there was plenty of time I also walked just enjoying the Music after having studied it! I just loved it 
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Oh… I’m loving this piece!
Fingers Strumming
I’m putting in a lot of work with the metronome, both for the pattern in the video and especially for the Muted Hit; what happened is that with speed my hit on 2 and 4 started sounding terribile and that was because I wasn’t angling the wrist enough…so by increasing the bpm gradually and giving this aspect the attention required it is now falling into place again…but really a lot of physical practice is needed to consolidate the skill and feel confident
The pattern in the video: thumb on the bass strings on 1 introduce your ear with the round and full sound of the bass into the chord - right after it 2 takes a run up with fleshy index before hitting down strong and clear - 3 stays silent because of the wisdom of the Old Guy - and right after, 4 takes a run up with fleshy index before hitting down strong and clear and fleshy up again … …well it’s what I’m aiming to
And I worked out the intro of the song by ear…got a 80% of it right Very luckily there’s a good tutorial because the tasty bass riffs are out of my ear’ s reach!
The most important thing is that I now start liking the sound of strings when I strum
Rhythm Book
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Hi Silvia,
Super fun those monthly video updates…
and congratulations on this…
I have already achieved this with my fingers, but with a pick it is far from pleasant, usually in my ears, the only big advantage is when I strum with a pick and after a while I play the same song with a finger strum, it sounds as smooth as a baby’s skin.
Unfortunately, some songs have to be played with a pick because I still lack some experience and I don’t yet have the skills of Mark Knopfler at the last check. 
Greetings and now Suddenly I feel like drinking a cup of coffee at a small bar 
( witch I don`t have here 
)
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Good morning Rogier!
What do you mean…the pajama, my husband’s telly in the background or my early monday morning face? 
But…a short clip can tell more than hundreds of words and actually tells objectivity of things
The pick is super useful for Rhythm and making it smooth, I agree…but I lost mine 
here’s a cup of Espresso for you…have a good day! 
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What ??? only one pick …no no 
didn’t notice at all… Oh thanks for the coffee (normally tea but I like to make exceptions for good coffee ) for the Italian in the village I have to bump and shake for ten minutes, but the biggest problem is that it only opens at 12 o’clock .
now back to having tea and going outside to the back of the garden where the sun has just started shining and has warmed everything up…
Have a good day too
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APRIL UPDATE
April is the first of my 3 unstructured months in the year and…I skipped all the routines, scales, exercises, fingergym 
I just focused on my CGpiece and songs on my steel-strings 
Well…to tell the truth I also put a few hours on the PMT Course on the Supercalifragilistichespiralidoso stuff - sorry in english it’s even more atrocious in order to be able to understand something from the Live Class…and I did understand a lot I think, only it will take a lot of time to put things into practice.
- Classical Guitar
Canzone d’Amore (row of hearts of any kind)…wow…I’m so happy! First of all
I WAS SO SO WRONG!!! Memorising has been the easiest part and there is a whole section of 15 bars out of 44 which repeats itself…only it wasn’t notated on the musicsheet and it’s not a well defined section… by listening I could only say the same chords would be arpeggiated similarly!
After memorising it, each phrase at a time and being able to play it very slowly, I started noticing how my fretting hand looked very different and clumsy compared to those of the pros and a lot of practice went to improve it…I realised I couldn’t even curl my fingers decently on a regular D chord! This aspect required the most of my practice…still a lot of refinement will be needed but a lot of progress has been made too!
I was also doing a lot of mindful listening to the different renditions by different artists on YT and comparing them and wondered why the Zen Mode was the only one available for me until it clicked in my mind what I had to do in that respect (it’s all described in my BUILDING SPEED THROUGH VISUALISATION topic on the Just Chatting section). I had to push on myself, but gradually, a little bit at a time…and now I’m very happy how I can make a bit more lively phrasing and add some dynamics!
The piece requires hammer-ons (?) and I’m not doing them very well if you listen carefully…and vibrato would be required too but I haven’t learnt it yet and I didn’t even try to apply it…Better Technique will come!
What else?..sure I’m forgetting something…
- Acoustic Guitar
That special time of the year is coming again and tomorrow I’ll go to work with my Jude on my shoulders
I had to put all my effort this month to prepare the musicsheets of the songs we’ll sing at our school-party which will be on June, 3rd. I could make some of my practice with the children playing old Elise, especially with the older ones, because I wanted to see if my ideas for the English Medley I arranged would work with them. Then there’s a simple 4chords tune they love because the can get up choose a friend a make a little butterflies dance together and so I played it a lot and refined the fingers strumming pattern. And for the one longest and more difficult song I also worked on the chuncks with the children, starting from the Lyrics…this one requires more work and effort from them and I noticed sometimes they would get bored so I thought it better to have shorter learning sessions focused on only one verse of the song.
May will be rehearsals with my colleague and them all together and put all these things together.
The following are the musicsheets I prepared; I’m lucky, when I needed some help for the arrangements my colleague was happy to give it! I’m quite confident with the playing and ready for the rehearsals.
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I think it’s fantastic that you’ve learned/are learning to play guitar and at the same time are able to use your new skills to teach the children songs and music.
Well done Sylvia. 
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… but don’t make it as crazy as in my previous work, although I did find my wife there for almost 28 years now … here is a work structure card ala Ruggero 
Great up-date ,Greetings
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Now I’d like to know more about it Rogier! Me and husband it’s 20 years today from the first date! You know Julia Roberts with the Escargot at the restaurant in Pretty Woman? I did the same with a prawn …
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Slippery little suckers.
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