Recording my Progress

I thought it was about time that I recorded my progress to get an idea if I have progressed. The great thing about recording is it will show to me exactly what is happening rather than my feelings of how the practice is going.

So I decided to use my iPhone to record my progress and then record each week at the same time to see if there has been any improvement. Being a poor PC owner I need to use some software to edit the MOV file that the iPhone would record in. I used “Wondershare Video Editor” to do this job. The software works very well and enabled me to upload this to You Tube.

For my first recording I tried to keep it to some sort of structure, so I started off with the cord of E minor. I then try to do the cord of A. This then goes into the first exercise I was set of going from E minor to A and I think you will agree I don’t do it very well at all. I then go onto the cord of G with varied degrees of success. This is followed by the cord of D with I do have trouble with. I then put this all together going from E to G to D to A in the exercise that’s suppose to sound like the Green Day song. I then attempt a C cord followed by the near on impossible F major 7. I then attempt what I have been shown of “Half the World Away” which needs loads of practice still. I finally finish with two riffs that I have been shown which are Creams “Sunshine of your love” and “The Simpsons” tune.

I am hoping that with more practice these videos will get much better and maybe then I will show my face. At the moment it would just be me grimacing with the pain I am putting my poor guitar through.

Lesson Five 5th February 2013

I had been practicing my cords and other tasks a bit. Now I don’t think I have cracked it yet but there seems to be less howls from the local dogs down my street.

The lesson started with cords I think they are sounding better but I still need to have a few goes to get something that sounds like it is the cord. There is some improvement though and it would appear that the G cord from this time last week was just a fluke.

The rhythm exercise I have improved on but there is still a pause every now and again which I need to sort out.

The exercise of changing from one cord to the next while in a rhythm still sounds bad and even though I tried my best it don’t sound anything like a tune.

I then got another new exercise to try. Going on the same as the last change cord in rhythm task. I have to play the cord A with two down strokes, then slide my third finger down a fret and do a up stroke , then D cord with two down strokes then all fingers off and up stroke, then the A cord again. I was all over the place with this and can see it will take me a long while to get this right.

I finished my lesson off going through the TAB exercise. I could get the right notes but it was not in time at all and needed to be much more crisper. More embarrassing is the fact that my nine year old son can play it better on his ukulele and he has only worked out how to do it from watching me.

Lesson Four Tuesday 29th January 2013

My fourth lesson and I was feeling more comfortable with the lessons, I was actually looking forward to it. I know the sounds I will make will sound like some cartoon robot breaking down but that’s fine as I know I just need to practice more and it will come.

I start going through the cords that I have been practicing. The E cord does not sound too bad and A is nearly there, though I am having real problems with F major 7 which I could not get any of the strings to sound clear. I was surprised though when I managed to get G crisp first time. I always thought my first crisp note would be an easy one like E, The G cord with all the fingers being used and stretched I am surprised to get this right first time. It was probably pure luck.

I then went through the rhythm exercises I had got. I had been practicing these a bit so I was please with my progress. I got another rhythm exercise to try. This one went down, down, up, up, down, up then repeat that pattern. Sounds easy. I could not get it at all I was all over the place. This was going to take some practicing.

As that went so well I was given an even more challenging exercise. I was to play The E cord with two down strokes then one up stroke with no fingers on strings then two down strokes in A cord, then one up stroke with no strings and again two down strokes in E. This was to be done to the rhythm of Michal Jackson’s earth song which is quiet a slow rhythm. After having a few attempts I can see this will take a lot of practice. The rhythm is wrong as I am sure earth song does not have a pause that seems to go on forever between each change of key, and I could not get my fingers in the right place in any time at all. I felt like I got my fingers tied up in the strings whenever I changed from one cord to the next.

The last part of my lesson I was introduced to TAB. This is used mainly to show what strings to play and what fret to use. The tune I was going to attempt was the most remembered part of “Sunshine of your love” by Cream which is the part at the start.

This was fun I am sure if you filmed my attempt and speeded it up and edited out the pauses it would have sounded just like it.

A great lesson with plenty now to practice.