tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7745872742446642982024-02-20T05:22:23.695-08:00Haize's Guitar Newbie BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09910645983696535654noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-91452501669159834302010-03-03T12:55:00.001-08:002010-03-03T13:00:09.333-08:00New practiseI played a couple of times in the past week, but did not have so much time to write about it unfortunately. Here is a short re-cap of my experiences:<br /><br />I picked up playing the Bar Chords. Actually it goes better each time; slowly, but surely. At first I found it nearly impossible to spread my fingers sufficiently to get a proper and good enough sound. As Master Ben advised, I should master this first before moving on to the next topics. But now surely it goes already better than at first. It gets more fun, as the sound is getting better and better all the time. Then, also I get a better feeling for how the sound behaves, when playing different chords and strings. <br /><br />Typically, this Bar Chord part is really the hardest for me so far, but it seems to realy increase my understanding how to play. Instead of just repeating what Master Ben plays, sometimes I can try to make somthing myself, or trying to play some of the songs that I noted down earlier!<br /><br />But when I feel really desperate about these Bar CHords, I turn again to the online video's, to check it is really do-able and after some painful time, it should go better and faster!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-8120438843644668082010-02-10T12:29:00.000-08:002010-02-10T12:38:56.738-08:00Short practiseI just had my next short practise, as I am a bit short on time lately. However, I really want to keep my discipline in playing and learning to master the guitar!!<br /><br />I continued with warming up a bit, repeating the song I learned and then some of the chords I played at the start of the classes. I still remember pretty much of this and am glad to have written down everything, so I can look it up at all times.<br /><br />I was at a great concert last Friday (Qua Paso was the name of the band) and there were two guys playing really great guitar. We had seats at the front of the stage, so I really took my chance there studying how they played. What I noticed mostly, is that they used a lot of: BAR CHORDS!!<br /><br />Just what I have been studying lately and so far definitely the hardest part. For the simple fact that fingers need to be spread wide while maintaining pressure on the strings...so this hurts a bit and I need to think all the time how to move my fingers along the strings for the next bar chords. Really great to see this band playing and to get the inspiration for this dificult topic.<br /><br />And of course, there is always <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">the video </a>available, where Master Ben explains how to play these bar chords in a simple and effective way. What helps also is that the sound of bar chords is really nice. The normal (open) chords do not sound so great on my guitar (BC Rich, basic model), but the bar chords have a realy nice sound. Up for the next practise!!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-1279884547673136312010-02-01T05:11:00.000-08:002010-02-01T05:19:55.860-08:00Interesting class..Back again, as I didn't have much time to play recently unfortunately. It looks like now I will have some more time, so I really want to get <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">some more practise again this week.</span></span><br /><br />I started today with the class on Bar Chords, as I did not want to go back classes that I covered already before. This specific part is for me a bit more complicated to grasp. That is why it is so useful to have the video's at hand all the time, because Master Ben really demonstrates everything that could possibly cause confusion. <br /><br />For example, how to position your hand on the neck of the guitar, how to bend your wrist, how to spread your fingers, how far your wrist should go and how to hook in the guitar to your upper body basically. Really useful, next to the <span style="font-weight:bold;">obvious and clear explanations</span>. I watched the <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">6th video </a>, which is longer as mentioned in my previous blog. It will take me some time to master this technique, as I find it hard to AND use my first finger to cover some fret which is more than 1 fret away from my 3/4th fingers. <span style="font-style:italic;">Needs some time...</span><br /><br />Especially in the beginning of the neck, where the frets are wide apart, this is <span style="font-style:italic;">not so easy</span>. The last part of the neck is really OK, though. I need to practise my hand position, and this is again where it comes in to be <span style="font-weight:bold;">very useful </span>to have Master Ben's video at hand. With this tool you can really see how an experienced guitarist handles this and sets himself up!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-51478265671825511362010-01-16T10:55:00.000-08:002010-01-16T11:08:32.178-08:00Back to PlayingHi all,<br /><br />I just had my next <span style="font-style:italic;">practise</span>; after I had not been playing during some days, due to illness and catching up a lot of work. Now I had a chance to grab my guitar and give it a go.<br /><br />Picking up where I left off was OK; I practised the songs a few times and it went not so bad. Good that having a few days break does not completely throw me back to level 0!<br /><br />I decided to pick up my <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">classes </a>with Master Ben again, and not mix it too much with the other instructors. So far I am happy about my result with him; I enjoyed looking at the video's from the different pro's and learned a bit from that, but I concluded that Master Ben is the best teacher of the bunch on this website. His explanations are very clear, his tempo quite high and he aims really at Rock. This suits me best; I like this style. Other people maybe have different preferences and ideas, but for me this works best so far.<br /><br />Hence, I repeated a bit the 5 lesson, which I still pretty well remembered. From here on, I decided to step it up and go to <span style="font-weight:bold;">lesson 6: Bar Chords</span>. These, as Master Ben already commented, are a bit harder to play. They are not really complicated, but my fingers need to be really spread all the time, so it takes some <span style="font-style:italic;">time and concentration </span>to practise this. The lesson is quite a bit longer than usual (almost 15 minutes!) and Ben explains quite a bit about the Bar Chords: why are they important, how to play them, which technique, what to mind (and what not to mind!), and so on.<br /><br />Luckily the video is splitted into 2 parts; I watched the first and stopped when Ben commented to learn these Bar Chords first. That is what I practised for some 15 minutes more, after I managed to jot down the exact string/fret/finger combinations.<br /><br />It was <span style="font-weight:bold;">really fun</span>, but I need to practise some more. It is satisfying, though, to hear more and more that my efforts produce a sound slightly comparable to music - <span style="font-weight:bold;">very motivating!</span> Now I will get some rest (mind you: it is 8PM on Saturday evening here, and now already tired-unbelievable!), as I still feel a bit weak after my illness and busy period, and hopefully will have some time again for playing tomorrow!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-32464155288832137452010-01-06T05:15:00.000-08:002010-01-06T05:21:43.493-08:00First Practice in the New Year!Just had a chance to grab my guitar and log into the <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">website </a>for the very first time this Year for practising. I did not really plan to take so long before the first class in 2010, but somehow I got busier than expected and it was not until now that I could go ahead.<br /><br />I went straight on to class number 5, where the major chords E-major and A-major is explained. This is a short video of around 4 minutes, but it holds some key information. As Master Ben explained, this is the last lesson about the basic chords and next we will move on the the bar chords. Not really sure what these are, but I am bound to find out soon.<br /><br />This 5th class I saw before and I jotted down, as I usually do, the strings and frets, but somehow I made a mistake and could not get the second chord right. So, the help of having the video at hand at all times is really great; I could just start up the video and correct my mistake. <br /><br />It was good to get some practise again and I will try to do some more tonight, after I come home from work.Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-57040165860818642702009-12-31T03:57:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:13:54.533-08:00Back to Electric!I yesterday had finally a chance again to grab my own guitar and see how my progress was there. I logged into the website again, grabbing my guitar with a good mug of hot tea, as the winter has attacked in full fury here with snow showers and give it a go.<br /><br />Playing the electric guitar is a bit easier, I quickly found, as the neck is much less broad, which is why I have a more stable grib and better and wider reach then on the semi-acoustic guitar I practised with in the past days. However, on the semi-acoustic guitar, the chords sounds somehow more natural? Let It Be actually sounds like the original there, while on the electric, thru the overdrive, it sounds much different. Maybe I need to save for a semi-acoustic model as well?<br /><br />I guess it is more critical on the electric then to play it really correctly and in the right pace to make it sound like the original. Anyway, I moved on with the Internet Course, checking already again Class 5 of Master Ben...L took off where I left it the last time (around half-way), after the major scales. However, the video stopped at 8.42 three times in a row, so I missed the last 3.5 minutes and a new chord (D-major), I think, as he refers to this in the next class (number 6), which I also checked. This class number 6 works fine again, so it is not really a problem for me anyway.<br /><br />He keeps the pace quite high, which works really good for me, when explaining the next 2 chords. E-major and A-major that are, truly rock-chords, with a great, gutty sounds when played on the electric guitar. Learning the chords goes easier now, even though I prefer to learn them as part of a song.<br /><br />I also had a chance to look at some of the other teachers on the website; I noticed quite some different approaches. There is Master Gene, who teachers hammer-on technique. I had the idea that this is more for advanced guitarist and I need some more practise before I will jump to his classes.<br /><br />Paul Alves also has his classes there and his are very good also. He explains very clear, is obviously an experienced teacher, and he knows how he should convey information in a clear-cut way, starting with the basics of basics, which is just what I need as a new guitarist. I will surely look more into his classes!<br /><br />Then there is Master Dave, who teaches fabulous blues chords. I watched him explaining and demonstrating the 12-chords Blues rhythm and he sure knows how to explain it and motivate students. Also here I will look more often, as this blues does not seem too hard to learn, while giving really a wonderful, deep and inspiring sound.<br /><br />The other two teachers (Chris-classical and Lorenzo-Bass guitar) I did not look at yet. They teach disciplines which are not my primary interest, but maybe I will check it out in the future. Surely I can pick a useful thing or two up <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">there</a>!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-79896458198490015132009-12-29T12:32:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:21:24.202-08:00X-mas Guitar PlayingAs promised, so more input on my playing and practising during the past X-mas. I managed to grab the guitar there for at least 30 minutes a day. This was really good, I had a good chance to further improve on the song (Let It Be), which already goes pretty smooth by now. Also, I developed some thicker skin on my left hand fingers, which is very useful!<br /><br />On the first day, I managed to go on the Internet and write down the chords of some 4 popular songs that I like (the 2 Johnny Cash songs from my previous post and Lady jane from the Rolling Stones). I picked those because I like them and would love to learn how to play the and they seemed not too complicated. I ended up playing mostly the <br /><br />The scales I did not practise so much actually, as I focused on learning the new songs. It was a really good practise and for sure next time I have a chance (later this week) I will grab my own guitar to see how I will be faring then. Obviously, I feel confident now that I can move on to the next class. I will still need to improve the scales, but I am getting different chords and songs into my head much quicker now.<br /><br />Also, changing between the different chords goes faster and faster now, but I still want to improve on this. I will need to for sure, will I want to play better and make the songs sound more real!<br /><br />Anyway, I realise now that the <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">Internet courses</a> have helped me so much, because they have explained me very quickly and efficiently exactly what is important when learning to play the guitar and also realistically what I should expect. So far, all this came true and I hope I can keep up this pace of learning in the coming days!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-28941007555967584122009-12-29T03:33:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:15:49.085-08:00New updatesI have been able to play a bit every day eround the X-mas period, using the semi-acoustic guitar I wrote about before. I needed to get used to this different instrument at first, but quickly started to like it. It has a warm deep sound and is easy to play.<br /><br />I decided to start playing some different chords from new songs, as I do not have constant Internet-assess here. So bascially I did not have a chance to log into the <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">guitar online course</a>, but I practised Let It be, which goes pretty smooth now. Also, I learned Ring of Fire and Hurt (both by Johnny Cash), both simple songs to play.<br /><br />I will post more about my progress later today, as we are packing now and will be heading home!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-16589715459092289132009-12-22T14:13:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:22:19.326-08:00Tired practise today.I felt a bit tired today, after a short night of sleep. However, I wanted to keep up my rhythm of regular practise, so I started practising tonight again. This time, I did not even use the video help - in the last video's, I got enough material to practise. This is one of the advantages of this video course: getting a lot of useful information in a efficient way. Every time around, I can just pick up my guitar, switch on the amplifier and give it a go. If I need to get back to the basic explanation, or some example, the <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">video's</a> are there all the time to help me out, should I need them.<br /><br />I started with the song (Let It Be), which goes better and better now. I found out that actually only for the 2nd chord, I need to look what my right hand is doing, as the other 3 chords uses all the strings. The 2nd chord typically only the first 4 strings are used. This makes it a bit quicker. Also, I practise now at improving not looking at my right hand, but rather trying to "feel" which string I am at with this hand, so that I can focus on my left hand. This way, I can play quicker.<br /><br />After playing the song for some time, I needed some variation and started practising the scales (Master Ben gave 2 in his video, which are pretty similar). After the chords, the scales seem pretty easy, because it is mostly one finger at the time. Unlike the chords, where 3 left hand fingers need to be in the right position simultaneously. I master both of them, playing them up and later also down, in around 15-20 minutes. Then went back to practising the song, and later once more the scales.<br /><br />Had quite some fun with this; after some hard times in the beginning, when playing the chords together don't really give the effect of a real song, now it gets more and more gratifying to get some 'real' sounds from my guitar. Also, it gets a bit easier to understand now. I think regular practise is really key here.<br /><br />The coming days I think I will not have so much chance to play guitar, unfortunately, as I am going away for X-mas. But maybe I will get a chance to grab my girlfriends younger brother acoustic guitar when visiting them and see how the chords sound on that!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-80250380825586535692009-12-19T05:46:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:17:15.782-08:00New practiseI just had my next practise. I started off with practising "Let It Be", which, supported the energy provided by a cup of good hot chocolate and lemoncake, went gradually better again than last time. That means, I can play it quicker, do not need to think for seconds on end which finger to move exactly where, but I actually slowly reach the stage it is becoming more automatic.<br /><br />It even starts to sound a bit like the real song at times, which gives a really good feeling. Now, I was curious about the next video, and after practising for some more minutes, I started to watch it. This one (the 3th) is a bit longer (around 12 minutes) and is about the scales, as well as about different way of playing ("stachato" or the "hammering"-technique). I decided to split the practise for this in 2 parts: firstly I will practise the scale in G, after that I will continue with the techniques, also because these techniques are a bit more advanced and will need some more attention. <br /><br />Master Ben provides 2 scales in G, he explains what are the differences and why they are important. Also good is that he tells how he uses them, eg. when he warms up in the morning, this is a very good excercise. Good to know that it serves a clear goal, that is what I like. Apart from that, the video is again clear, fast explanation - this time I had to pause it a few times to jot down the finger/string/fret combinations. So the tempo is really energizing and the example that Ben provides are really helpful and useful: I know what it has to sound like, so this is my goal, and I can compare it at all times. Just have to go back to the right point in the video and play it!<br /><br />Now I feel like I can already move on to this level confidently, it is very good to have the feeling to understand a bit more about the different names and what they are basically for. Let alone understanding how to use them, so very useful and instructive video, I can recommend <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">this</a>!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-36221398754546435262009-12-17T08:12:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:22:39.870-08:00New steps on the way to Guitar Mastery!I took my next guitar class on Tuesday and really had a blast. I started trying not using the video's too much and practising "Let it Be" by myself, improving my pace. I practised like this for some 15 minutes, which was really fun. After this, I stopped for a few minutes, since my fingers started to hurt a bit more. <br /><br />Really need to have a firm claw grip with my left hand and press the strings down strongly, so this needs to get some serious training to develop the thicker skin on my finger tops.<br /><br />After taking a cup of refreshing tea, while watching the video, I came back to the practise and after some 20-30 minutes it even started to sound like the real song. Even though I am not really close yet to Master Ben's version, because I need too much time still thinking were to put my fingers for the next move/chord. But slowly this is improving and the good thing about this <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">course </a>is that I can pick it up or stop at any time it suits me.<br /><br />No need to pack my guitar stuff, go anywhere (in particular now, winter has started finally off here with some serious snow), setting up appointments or depending on other people's schedules, which really helps. Especially since I am quite busy during the day (work, sports) and mostly have time to practise only late in the evening, around 10PM. The downside, honestly speaking, is that I do not get to know new people in my area that could give advise on guitar-related things, like which shop is good for strings, supplies and so on. So I guess I just need to find this out in other ways then, which is also fine!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-36441337174861453942009-12-13T13:18:00.000-08:002009-12-13T13:19:44.921-08:003rd session today!<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHaize%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHaize%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHaize%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> 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margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">After a break of a few days, because I did not have time to practice, it was time celebrate the start of the winter-season here with my 3rd guitar lesson. I started with reviewing again and repeating the 3 chords that I had learned before. I did not remember them fully, and tried to play them on top of my head for starters, but as got 10-15 minutes practice, everything came back again. But then I found out, that I got one of the chords wrong, when I checked my notes, so I corrected this. Then I could continue on full speed and try to increase my pace of playing. Also, I had a look a few times at how the chords were played in the video to get some more <span style="font-weight: bold;">inspiration</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Once I was satisfied about this (it was not really fluent yet, but I felt ready for learning something new in the next lesson), I moved on to lesson nr. 3. In this lesson, the next 3 chords were explained, 3 minor chords in this case. There was a very short, to-the-point theoretical explanation about the difference in usage of open, regular and minor chords and then we were off to the next 3: E-minor, A-minor, D-minor. After learning the first 3 last week, these seem pretty <span style="font-weight: bold;">simple. </span>I think it is a matter to get a certain mindset, to recognize the structures how these chords are set up, because once I started practicing them, I mastered them pretty quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The 3<sup>rd</sup> video is again around 7 minutes, starting with a very short revision of what was in the previous class and also some indication of how my level of playing should be by now. This is good, because it can prevent frustration if I move on to the next level too quickly and find out I am not ready yet. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Then there is the short theoretical basis-part, followed by the chords with hints on the pitfalls .very nice: at the end of the video, Master Ben explains how to play the first song (“Let It Be”), which can be done by using 4 of the 6 chords that he explained so far. When he plays these chords, it sounds really <span style="font-weight: bold;">good and smooth </span>– the real song. When I try to do this, it is still too slow, I need to look and think all the time where to put my fingers and how to move them next. Need to <span style="font-weight: bold;">practise!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Another thing I liked, is his <span style="font-weight: bold;">straight and honest</span> way of teaching; he explains that there are many tricks to learn something quick on the guitar, but the best way is to learn through practicing the chords, then the songs. It comes down to just sitting down with the instrument and practicing, repeating, improving all the time. It is a real training, but very efficient, clean and fun also. A week ago, I could not have imagined that I would have these 6 chords already and that I am ready and practicing my first song. Especially if I consider that I really did not put in so much time as I was afraid I would need to achieve this level – up to now 3 hours, with today as the longest session (1 hour).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">So I will try to practice some more tonight – I think in general it will be better to train some shorter periods several times a week then 1 long session 1 or 2 times per week. Seeing these results, it is very motivating to make time free for this!<o:p></o:p></span></p>Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-82642316042579770822009-12-09T12:04:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:21:42.882-08:00Second SessionAfter a busy Monday, I finally had time yesterday to get my 2nd guitar session going. I was really curious to see how my progress would be. I realized that it would be impossible for me to move on to the next class, since Master Ben already explained that I FIRST need to master the 3 chords from the 2nd class: G-, D-, and C-chord, before taking it to the next level.<br /><br />Surprisingly, I still remembered the chords a bit. Not sure if it was the short but clear <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">explanation </a>or that it finally sunk in somehow. My idea was to first practise all the chords one by one, trying to remember them by head before moving on to the next one. I decided to write them down myself schematically; somehow writing helps me to remember things, in this case: which finger goes where and which strings I should use exactly when.<br /><br />At first, it was a bit hard, moving my fingers along the instrument in the right position without disturbing the other strings, and then it was very useful to have the video's available and to be able to play and repeat the parts where e.g. the chords are explained. The tempo in the video is quite high, as Master Ben is an experienced teacher, so for the harder parts it helps to be able to pause the video at these crucial points.<br /><br />After the first two chords, which took a bit longer to remember, the third one went surprisingly quick. I would say that after half an hour I remembered them all and could play them consecutively, WITHOUT using my notes! This is motivating, it gives me really the feeling that I learned something and I will not forget it quickly, so I felt quite happy to book this progress.<br /><br />I took a break after the first half hour, because I needed to pick up my girlfriend, and resumed practising after 1 hours or so when I go back for another 30 minutes. Now, it went even better: I could again play all 3 chords, and I really did not need my noted anymore. Instead, I focused on playing the chords "clean" and techincally correct, while trying to increase my speed bit by bit.<br /><br />I must admit that it is really fun learning to play the guitar like this: to book some quick progress, being able to practise whenever I want at the pace that I prefer and OK: I still will need to do the dirty hard work of memorizing the different combinations, struggling to get my fingers right, but so far it is going well and quicker than I hoped!<br /><br />My next goal is to increase the speed, making the chords something I can play automatic, without having to think too much when to do what and then of course move on to the 3rd lesson. Time to practise!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-35795556472040821142009-12-07T04:18:00.000-08:002010-01-01T06:21:07.115-08:00First class!Yesterday I took my first class in guitar playing via the dedicated website <a href="http://d381932bsc-14rvd827-vsan71.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=HAIZE">Guitar Super Stars</a>. I must admit that at first I was somehow a bit skeptical about the idea of learning to play the guitar online. I had the idea that I would prefer to have the classes face-to-face with a teacher, someone who can correct your mistakes at the spot.<br /><br />I was also excited and very curious what I would encounter on the website, the e-mail I received from Andy (the founder of the website) after registering surely looked promising and very professional.<br /><br />So, after logging in, I was brought to a webpage, which functions basically as a database: I have access to video classes of different professional guitar teachers. Each one of them teaches in a different way and aims for different styles and genres of playing (from rock and blues to classical). I chose to go for the first class with Ben Philips, since he is specialized in the styles I am mostly interested in learning: Rock and Blues. His profile page explains his discography, what his experience is in teaching, where he is from, and so on.<br /><br />The website works flawlessly, the video started and "Master Ben" explains in a 6-minute video in a very smooth and clear way the basics of the guitar: the names of the strings, the fingers and some useful tips for holding the instrument and what to focus on in the beginning. Very useful things for me; I have looked at guitar tabs before, but never could make much out of it and quickly gave up trying to understand. In 6 minutes, this experienced teacher explains very simply how things work in the wonderful world of guitar-playing...oh yes, don't forget that it will take you hours and hours to learn!<br /><br />Of course, after this, I could not wait to get to try playing, and moved on to his second class. Here her explains how to hold the strings down when practising 3 basic chords. This video once more is around 6-7 minutes and after playing each chord individually, Ben shows how to play the first melody, used in many rock songs (eg. Knockin' on Heaven's Door)...after some practise, this can be done just following his first 2 classes. I find his teaching style relaxed, and challenging, because he quickly moves through the chords, so I need to follow quite concentrated what he is saying. For me it worked best to write down the finger/strings combinations he recommends for playing the chords and then master them , before moving on to the next chord or attempting to play them in a row.<br /><br />Also, I am trying to find on the website if there is an archive of tabs or chords in written form, but I have been unable to locate this so far. I like to have a look now if, after Ben's explanation, tabs look a bit more logical and understandable to me!<br /><br />Concluding, it was an interesting experience for my first class, it worked better and more clear than I expected. Also because Ben in his video's already points out what the most frequently made mistakes are when playing (and yes, he was right, I made these mistakes also!) these excercises by beginners. Now, I want to move on to the next level, so I will practise again today!Haizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17261447374837247952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774587274244664298.post-32926062393558069612009-12-02T22:55:00.001-08:002009-12-06T23:23:40.340-08:00Haize van Kammen's Guitar Newbie BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09910645983696535654noreply@blogger.com2