Witkatz' learning log

Community Hub Learning Logs
1

25.10.2025
I have decided to start a learning log, which may help me on my way to achieving the goals I have set myself.
I’m an engineer in my mid-50s. I have been strumming around for myself on a cheap Keiper acoustic guitar for more than 30 years now. A year ago, I tried to improve my skills with Simply Guitar app. I haven’t learned much, but it has sparked my passion. Since the beginning of 2025, I’m on track with Justin’s courses. In a few years, I would like to have acquired enough technique and confidence to be able to entertain an audience of friends and family with my music - at the latest When I’m Sixty Four :slight_smile:

Gear
I recently replaced my Keiper with a much better sounding Takamine GN51CE, and playing is now even more enjoyable.

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I will try to document my journey through song recordings. There are many additional challenges for me to overcome, such as singing, singing in English – a foreign language for me – and recording and publishing. Hopefully, this will give me enough self-confidence, and I am grateful for any honest feedback. I have a list of campfire songs, I can play and sing from memory most of them, and some of them I work on to develop.

Songlist
Bad Moon Rising
Baker Street
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Hallelujah
Happy Birthday fingerstyle
Heart of Gold
I Walk The Line
Wish You Were Here
Kiedy Byłem Małym Chłopcem
Sailing
Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
Walk Of Life
Wenn ein Mensch Lebt

There are of course plenty of songs more that I love and want to learn to play some day. Many of them I find in Justins Lessons and Songbooks

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Module 12
26.10.2025
I started Module 12 six weeks ago and am now almost finished. Now, a week or two of consolidation and simply playing songs with what I’ve learned.

And this is my practice schedule and timer.

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28.10.2025

Module 12 is now complete for me, with moderate success, and I’m giving myself another week or two to consolidate what I’ve learnt. I now know what power chords are, had fun with them on the acoustic guitar, and may be able to use a power chord in a blues song now and then. However, I don’t plan to play a power chord rock song at the moment. Once I’ve bought an ES-335 or a Pacifica in a few years, I will definitely repeat all the modules, especially Module 12.

04.11.2025
Module 12 onsolidation is progressing well, power chords are gradually improving, but it will be a long time before they really flow smoothly. Muting the chords is fun and opens up new possibilities, e.g., adding dynamics between verses and choruses. I tried this in Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

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25.10.2025
Song Work: Bad Moon Rising
I love songs by CCR and inspired by @LunaRocket’s great solo performance I added Bad Moon Rising to my songlist, thanks Rebecca :slight_smile:
This is my first AVOYP of a whole song I publish. I’m actually working on the song. I’m currently on module 12 and practising palm muting I need for the intro. That’s why the version with the intro is still a developer. A version with a solo is a dreamer :slight_smile:
Bad Mood Rising 20251025

01.11.2025
worked a little on the muted chords in the intro, a 1% improvement done
Bad Moon Rising 20251101

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That was great. Lovely guitar. I’ve been looking at a similar Takamine model. I’d be interested to hear how you find it. It certainly sounded good.

I think your singing in English is fine. I’m a native English speaker but I’ve tried a couple of songs in Spanish and it was ok. Easier than I expected doing it in another language.

I saw that one on your list is in Polish. Are you going to sing in Polish?

Keep up the log!

Ian

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Would you like to give your Telecaster an acoustic companion? :slight_smile: very good idea! Takamine is a good brand and the guitar has a beautiful sound, very balanced, making it easy to sing along to. With D’Addario Phosphor Bronze strings, it sounds great for blues. I didn’t have to do any setup, Takamine came well adjusted from the shop. What I also liked was the pickup with the built-in preamplifier. I have an old amplifier and the guitar sounds wonderful with an amp.

This is my plan. German and Polish are my two native languages, and I will have some german and polish songs in my song list. Kiedy Byłem Małym Chłopcem is a very well known polish campfire-blues-song, I’ll record it when I go on with Module 13 dealing with blues.

Thank you for your encouraging words. It’s good to know that I don’t have to hide my singing. That gives me some confidence, and things can only get better.

Cheers Withold

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Hi Withold…starting a LL is a great idea, I’m a big fan of LLs, I’m sure it’ll be much beneficial for your guitar journey! Let me say that your new guitar is a real beauty :heart_eyes: (…well, as if you didn’t know already :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:)

The recording sounds really good! I remember Rebecca @LunaRocket rendition too!

I do the same, using both my LL and the AVOYP section. I find it useful to watch and listen back and be self-critical or pat my shoulders by myself :laughing:

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Thanks Silvia

I know, I was falling in love with your fingerpicking :smiley:
Cheers Withold

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That’s very kind of you Withold…thank you! :blush:
I need to learn to rename a link, the way you did here, I will try…if I don’t understand how to do it I might ask you for some help!

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29.10.2025
Song Work: Wenn ein Mensch lebt
A reflective song by the East German band Puhdys from 1973, which I always enjoy playing in autumn, especially around All Saints’ Day. For a long time, I played the song very simply. I also practised using the F chord well with this song.
Wenn Ein Mensch Lebt 20251026

Recently, reworked it a bit to give the rather monotonous song a little more dynamics.
Wenn Ein Mensch Lebt 20251029

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Hi Withold,
Nice :grinning_face_with_big_eyes:
That’s a happy tune for me and a nice song to start the day with :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:… in my opinion this is one that you should keep close with you for a long time and slowly "perfecting " and making it yours :grinning_face_with_big_eyes:

Greetings

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Hi Rogier, thanks for your kind words. Actually, this is a song that is close to my heart, and like my other campfire songs, I know it from memory so I can sing it wherever I am - in the car, in the bathroom, or on my bike on the way to work. You don’t often see cyclists singing loudly in the Netherlands, do you? You’d have to come to the Lower Rhine region in Germany for that :smiley:
Cheers

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Lovely; really enjoyed the dynamics you bring to the song. Thanks for introducing me to it; it’s great to have something from another language/culture/time that I’m unlikely to have found on my own!

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Here’s another time, culture and language :slight_smile: a song that’s almost as old as I am.
Kiedy Byłem Małym Chłopcem
A simplified version of a Polish blues classic by the group Breakout from 1971, which I would like to use for learning blues in Module 13.

1 Like