Simon (the bass one)’s learning log

Community Hub Learning Logs
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I’m on holiday with no guitar, no bass and in so far as I can see, no piano in the hotel. The need to do something musical is present (I can’t just sit by the pool and read a book - really I can’t) and there’s only so much theory I can digest. So time for a learning log.

“What’s going in it?“, I imagine a packed Wembley Stadium chanting.

“Wembley………I’m so glad you asked?” I roar back into the mic.

  • A bit of my musical history - aka “how I got here”.
  • AVOYP
  • Originals maybe (when I get round to recording them)
  • An occasional band video (it has to be occasional as it is unlikely to happen often on guitar)
  • Maybe a bit of useful theory as I find it, and some I already know from piano and bass that translates well to guitar
  • My plan for the consolidation periods……and presumably what I actually do in those periods.
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That’s great Simon. Look forward to reading your log. Remember some down time during holidays can be good for you too!

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That sounds very interesting, can’t wait for your next post!

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This is an overview of the “my musical history / how did I get here?” bit. I’ll pick out some highlights, low lights and other stuff in later posts.

Piano lessons (I didn’t connect with the instrument) and guitar lessons (teacher gave up). Aged 6-12 I guess

Learned chords and melody on an organ. I connected with the instrument. Aged 15 - 30.

Played keys in a band. Mid 30s

Played keys at church with an occasional gig. Mid 30s to present.

Bought an electro acoustic guitar, learned a few chords and picked up some bad strumming habits. Mid 30s.

Picked up a bass (and some bad habits) because we only had one bass player at church. Mid 40s

Piano lessons again. Early - mid 50s / covid times.

Bass lessons - my 1st experience of short video, curated teaching. Mid 50s / covid times.

Found a local jam / open mic night and talked a few people into playing with me (I play bass). Mid 50s / just after covid.

Bought an electric guitar. Found Justin Guitar. A year or so ago, aged 56.

I’m here (age 57😀).

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It’s about time I posted some playing. This is a link to my first AVOYP. The main learning feedback was along the lines of - your strumming is a bit jerky (I agreed). I think it had improved by the 1st Justin Guitar open mic I played (in February as i recall).

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Up to my mid 30s

My parents bought a piano when I was about 6. It was a tall one in ebony (I’m not sure if it was ebony, or just black) with, (I think), real ivory keys. Unfortunately I just didn’t connect with the instrument. I suspect it was a combination of largely uninspiring teachers (or at least ones that didn’t inspire me) and me being far more interested in playing various ball games. I stopped having piano lessons when I was about 12.

I also had my 1st false start with with guitar at about the same time. One of the school’s classroom teachers offered to teach a group of kids. Myself and my sister were 2 of the students. Unfortunately all the others gave up. The teacher, quite reasonably I think, decided to stop the lessons - free lessons for me and my sister probably wasn’t the best use of his time.

When I was about 15 my dad and sister bought an organ. They hardly ever touched the instrument. I taught myself chords in the left hand and read (mainly) single line melody lines so that I could play stuff I wanted to. This was the 1st time I connected with an instrument.

When my wife and I bought a house, we had a list of things to buy - beds, sofa, TV, oven and similar non essential stuff😀. “Organ” was about number 256 on the list. I saw one advertised in the local paper, and it became our 3rd purchase. My wife still likes to tell the story😜.

I carried on playing the organ into my 30s. In my early 30s I jammed (on keys) with some work colleagues. The chord knowledge I built on the organ, was a big plus for this. We formed a band and gigged several times a year for several years.

Back to guitar in the next installment….

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So back to guitar.

I bought an electro acoustic guitar in the early noughties. I bought a tuition book and learned a most of the open chords plus the barred E shape.

I never really connected with the instrument. I learned a few songs and pretty much played those for the next 20+ years.

I picked up some bad strumming habits. My chord fretting was ok though. So when I came to Justin’s lessons I think it has helped that I’ve been able to do the fretting hand stuff relatively easily. So, whilst getting rid of an engrained bad habit (strumming in my case) is never easy, I have been able to focus on it without having to worry too much about fretting.

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And a bit more playing, with the electro acoustic mentioned in the one above.

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I like the sound of this guitar and look forward to more recent recordings to follow. Strummed cleanly and rhythmically, I’m too much a beginner to critisize something, just very nice to listen to. Congratulations on the launch of the Learning Log, a helpful step I think, I will follow it.
Cheers

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And this one brings us up to date on piano and bass.

I started piano lessons remotely during covid, then in person once we were allowed to meet. I didn’t like performing solo classical piano (due to nerves that were just the wrong side of “good to feel nervous). I did enjoy playing duets with a mate who’s an excellent pianist - he was patient with me and we were a pretty good team. Once my duet partner moved away (he assures me it wasn’t to stop playing with me😀), I found piano lessons were getting in the way of things I wanted to do (play bass better and keep up my rock / chord based piano skills).

I started online bass lessons as we were coming out of covid. I bought a “forever won’t need another bass” (my G&L L2000 fabulous instrument)…….then another one…….then another………and eventually my Rickenbacker 4003.

I started going to a jam night (as a bass player) and formed a band with the people I dragged along with me. We are still playing, mainly at the same Jam Night, but occasional gigs elsewhere.

I play bass, keys, and now guitar, in church.

I usually enter my bass group monthly “video yourself playing something” competitions. I occasionally post AVOYP on this site. I’ve written a few songs and am enjoying recording and producing those.

That’s it. We are up-to-date. We can get on with the progression side of the log now, rather than the “how did I get here” bit.

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So , I’m into the consolidation period for grade 2. It’s about time to write down what I intend doing.

Chords

Dominant 7th and Sus chords. I’ve been doing those, but mainly in songs. I wrote a blues in A (so A7, D7, E7). Summer of 69 is good for the A and D sus chords - I’ve been playing it.

Full barre F, I could play it before I started with Justin guitar and it’s in plenty of the songs I play, so it’s getting loads of consolidation :grinning_face:. I’m using the mini F/C in the intro to “Don’t look back in anger”.

Power chords - I’m having fun with them. I wrote a song to use them with and played a song in church last week where I used them.

Stuck chords. If I stick with them for too long, one of my fingers gives me grief. I find it easier and less painful to play open chords. I’ll probably give them a bit of time as I like “Free Fallin” by Tom Petty and it feels like a good open mic song.

“A” chord with a mini barre. I like this one. I use it loads. It’s really useful where the A chord follows a Bminor or C#minor. Other than the “get out of jail” aspect of power chords, I think it’s the most useful additional chord I’ve learned since joining Justin Guitar.

Weak finger G. I use it, but similar to F I had it in my locker before joining JG.

Slash chords (I will, but they should only be required when playing solo - it’s the bass players job, really it is :grinning_face:).

Scales

Yes, they need consolidating.

I’ve played the Am pentatonic a bit, and am using it for soloing. I made myself a loop of a 12bar blues in A using the dominant 7th chords and have been using the Am pentatonic over it - it’s cool and fun.

I’ll probably do something similar with the other taught scales:Open Eminor pentatonic (I need to revisit the lesson on that one) and Cmajor.

Strumming

Yes, I should work on that.

Technique

I’ll work on these, but suspect I won’t spend too long on finger style. “Everybody hurts” by R.E.M. is a good song though, so maybe I’ll learn it.

Songs I’ll use

Don’t look back in anger (I’ve played it for years on piano so a good one to have for repertoire, also one of the F cheat chords in the intro; it also serves as for distortion, which Justin covers in one of the lessons :grinning_face:).

Summer of ‘69 (sus chords, mini barre A, palm muting, power chords in the bridge - a load of the grade 2 techniques covered in one song)

Before you accuse me (dominant 7ths, blues shuffle and soloing)

One of my originals (ditto)

Don’t Stop (the Fleetwodmac one) - a shuffle feel and repertoire

Streets of London (slash chords)

Free Fallin’ (stuck chords)

Good Riddance (time of your life) - repertoire and maybe alternate picking

Teenager in love (repertoire, and the full barre F gets used a lot)

Wagon Wheel -repertoire (and a barred F#minor)

An SC og (power chords)

AN Other (Song 2, All The Small Things, Pretty Vacant - I need another power chord one).