Back 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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 there!

New practise

I 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.

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.

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!

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 this!