I have a guitar hanging in my office (I work from home) and was thinking it would be easy to walk across the room to get it and practice something for a few minutes. It hasn’t worked out that way. What HAS worked out is that I purchased a guitar stand (link below), and at the beginning of the work day, I put my guitar in this stand near my desk where I can turn and grab it and do something. MUCH more achievable to get it for 1 minute or more, then put it back down, and pick it back up a few minutes later if I can. So now that I’ve done that, WHAT will I use this guitar for? I’m thinking that things that I need to mechanically do over and over will be it’s purpose for now. The FU barre chord (and changes) and the work in the Master Your Major Major Scales are what I’m using for now.
Wow, my thumb is smoked! I play acoustic only, and after putting in extra work with scales, barre chords, and just today, power chords, my thumb is done! I couldn’t even hitchhike if I needed to! I know getting this down on acoustic will only help when, this Christmas, Santa brings me an electric one!
Been working on things and then went for a week’s vacation in New Orleans. I almost bought one of those slim travel guitars, but I thought I’d give my wife all the attention I could and not worry about the guitar for a bit. Upon return, I picked back up where I left off working on some blues things, Perfect Chord changes all over but centered around the FU barre. I’ve also gotten tired of a few songs I was working on and picked up “Long Haired Country Boy” by CBD, which will make a fine porch song.
For the last month and a half, I diverted myself into the blues. I worked scales, riffs, backing tracks, etc. While it was nifty-neato for a while, as time went on I found myself avoiding picking up the guitar to practice and then play. Today I went to my practice room and did nothing but warm up and play along with 5 songs. Felt great! Learning to be a good rhythm player is why I picked the guitar back up a few months ago and I will be going back to that. However, I’m going to give 5 minutes to the scales and riffs that I learned so that work doesn’t go away.
If you enjoy playing songs, then you should definitely be spending at least half your time playing songs. If you are having fun you will play guitar more.
I do enjoy playing songs and have been doing that as well. Like others, I struggle with having fun playing them to my current level instead of some fantastic version, but I’m coming to terms with that. I have a handful of songs I play, and as time goes forward, I’ll add complexity.
Pattern 1 of Major Scale up to 160 bpm but I feel a bit rushed at times so I’ll stay there until I can do it at speed while watching a video or other distraction.
I have decided to seek out an online instructor who preferably knows JustinGuitar. While I am slowly improving, I don’t feel like there is a Captain steering my ship. Certainly, Justin’s courses are a great path, but I’m talking about myself as a ship. I’ve reached out to one of Justin’s approved instructors to see if they have an opening in which to speak.
I’m adding the opening sequence, the little riff at the end of each verse, and something for the solo area to “Hey Joe”, Jimi Hendrix’s version. I’ve taken most of it from Justin’s lesson on “Hey Joe” but added the opening from Ryan Lendt’s lesson. Other than the opening to “Wish You Were Here” this is the first time I’ve added individual notes to a song I’m strumming.
Today, I incorporated “The Spider” into my routine not only as a warmup but as a skill builder. Wow. “Wow,” as in a “Come help me untangle my fingers and my mind!” kind of “wow”. I’ve watched the video and followed the pdf a few times and I’m still not sure I’m doing it right! I don’t expect to be good at it, as that’s the point, but do I get an “F” for execution? I’m ok with all the above as it’s my first day with it, and I know I’ll get it figured out, but wowzers. This next Monday is my first day with my Justin Approved Instructor, so if I continue with this exercise I’ll cover it with them and they can make corrections as necessary.
Today, I had my first online lesson with my Justin-Approved instructor, and it went well. Given my vague and chaotic goals, he ran me through a few things to find out where I was at in my ability to strum patterns, change chords across patterns, say the pattern as I’m strumming, staying in time, and the notes on strings 5 and 6. Conversationally, he got a feel for a bit of music theory that I almost know and spoke about chords within keys a bit. Some of it I felt comfortable with, and some I fumbled through, but in the end, I got the sense he understood where I was at on things enough to give me some homework.
I have fought to progress as a player for so long that I hope to break through barriers with the help of my instructor. I know he is up for the task, and I will put in effort and time, so things should move forward.
Off I go!
One of my homework items was to “Learn and know the chord types in every major key.” I think I am going too far with this question, but here is how I have figured it out. Some of it looks off, but I think it is because I’m presenting the information in sharps and not flats. I don’t know what is generally accepted, but my instructor will give me feedback on that, or maybe one of you who is reading my posts may chime in. I’ll take all the input anyone cares to give. Even if I am off on what I’m doing, I THINK I’m going down a reasonable path. I may need some corrections, but I probably won’t hit the iceberg.
With my shaky music theory knowledge, I figured there were three steps needed to answer the question.
Step 1: Know the Chromatic scale
Step 2: Apply the Major scale formula to the Chromatic scale for each key
Step 3: Apply the Chords in a Major Key to the Major scale
Step 4: Ignore Minor Chords Until I Know This Is Right
Step 1: Chromatic scale
Step 2: Construct the Major scale from the Chromatic scale
Step 3: Apply Maj/Min/Dim to the Major scale to get the Major Chords in a Key
in your step 2, where you determine the major scales, you need to ensure that for each scale each letter of the alphabet is used exactly once. For example, your A# scale does not use B or E and uses D and A twice.
I think the A# scale should read:
A# B# C## D# E# F## G##
I have never done this sort of exercise myself, I’ve always just concentrated on the guitar-friendly keys of C, G, D, A and E. I suppose it’s good to know the theory, but working out the double sharps, etc, for a lot of never-used keys seems (too me) kinda pointless.
As @jjw has pointed out each note name needs to appear exactly and only once in the scale. I suggest making your first step just writing the names of the 7 notes in alphabetical order for the particular key, then work out where the sharps and flats fall according to the note circle, and then assigning major/minor/diminished. You’re mostly there though. Great effort!
@jjw and @ziggysden , thanks for the replies! I’ll look into each of your thoughts and suggestions, and I’m sure it will lead to something learned. I’m sure what each of you is saying is why it looked off to me versus what I was seeing out there in the internet land. @jjw as for why to do all of them, for me it’s just an exercise to make sure I understand. If I just do the easy ones where everything falls neatly into place, there may be something fundamental that I’m missing. Or, maybe not!
I’ve downloaded and will get working a software-based drum program to practice against when doing strum patterns and things like that. I’ll most likely use my standard metronome for scale work, but my instructor had me use a drum beat for one of the exercises. His input and now others indicate that it really helps. I am using BFD Player, as it’s free. If I like it I’ll get one of the expansion packs.
@jjw and @ziggysden , I did indeed go way past where my instructor intended for me to go, but he did tell me that if I wanted to continue, to just focus on A, C, D, E and G, like @jjw has done. I will, in time, go back and do them all, but for now, I’m walking instead of running into a forest full of sticks at eye level.
Strum Pattern
Play against the three drum beats provided, staying in time and saying the pattern out loud.
What songs are in this pattern?
The chords in the pattern given to me are G, Em, C and D, in that order.
This is in the key of G with the pattern of I, vi, IV, V I–V–vi–IV progression - Wikipedia
Supposedly started with Hoagy Carmichael - Heart and Soul
Some Songs:
Last Kiss - Pearl Jam ← This is what jumped in my head during my lesson
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Let It Be - The Beatles
