The Tale Of Bootstrap

New Stuff

2011-02-27T23:40:00.002+11:00

Well I started my new community college classes and I've learned some new stuff (only managed 2 of 3 classes though due to work commitments) - been working at alternate picking some arpeggios which took a little work, but I have seemed to pick that up fairly quickly.

Class work has involved the intro to Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd and now The Wind Cries Mary which I'm finding a bit trickier.

I've also dug out the metronome for scales - most posies i can do eighth notes now @132 bpm getting up to 160bpm on position 1.

Also using the metronome for strumming and whilst I could never really get 16th note strumming I am starting to get the hang of 1e&a - which is very pleasing.

Sadly my health hasn't been too flash lately and my right index finger is one of the casualties - not hindering me too much though.

Teacher comes at the theory aspects a little differently than I'm used to but it is good because it is making me think. I've also never really been into tabs but this course is forcing that, so another new thing but again - no biggie, pretty easy really.

Oh well happy to be progressing and it is also good to play with some other guys.

All good :)

Time To Grow

2011-01-29T23:10:00.002+11:00

2010 was a year of consolidation as I had a lot of other stuff happening in my life and apart from theory I really didn't learn much new.

Despite that, I played at least a few times each week and often more and I am more confident in my playing than ever before. One area that has really come on is my ear and the ability to recognize different intervals. This has been partly through some structured aural training but also my fingers now just seem to know where to go to find that next note and I am finding it extremely satisfying.

The thing I let slide most last year was my electric guitar playing but I'm now making up for lost time :) I've revisited the 10 licks from Justins Blues Lead Guitar DVD and I've also recently picked up the 3rd position of the Minor Pentatonic. I was a bit disappointed at how much I'd lost in soloing skill so plenty to do there!

I've also been dabbling in jazz chords and have learned the basic grips for Dominant 7th, Major 7th, Minor 7th, Minor 7th b5, and Minor 7th bb5 - the last 2 being half diminished and full diminished respectively.

The big news is I've enrolled in an 8 week Community College course for Intermediate/Advanced players so finally breaking out of the bedroom - can't wait!

All good :)

Update

2010-02-26T09:08:00.003+11:00

Still practicing and playing - I've missed 2 days since my last post - one through travel and one through being sick.

Averaging about an hour a day and mostly what I've cut is soloing over backing tracks.... not sure why, I think I'm just in a bit of a rut.

Still stuck on 1/8 notes @ 132bpm on the major scale - I just can't seem to get it clean enough to give me confidence to move on.

On the upside my fingerstyle work on Steady Thumb Blues has shown notable improvement but I'm still struggling with the barre'd bit - another couple of weeks and I think I'll be ready to move onto the next one on the Justinguitar Solo Blues DVD - I probably should move along on the Blues Lead DVD too.

I have been playing a lot of my old electric guitar songs and riffs as well now that the 2 new girls are in - Sally Strat and Tina Tele are just gorgeous. Sally is currently in getting a string upgrade (.010's - 0.046's), the bridge locked down (not a fan of tremolo) and a professional set-up.

At first I was a bit grumpy because they delivered a Rosewood fretboard on the Strat (I ordered Maple) but on reflection I'm now really glad I got the Rosewood - so all is well that ends well.

The Strat is just sensational to play - the ergonomics of the body and the C shape neck are a delight - the sound coming out of the bridge pickup is suitably crunchy and despite the Rosewood fretboard the American Strat pickups deliver a very bright and pleasing sound - can't wait to try it with .010's on.

The Tele is all grunt - the Vintage Hot Rod '52 is a point and shoot weapon - no subtlty here. The Custom Vintage Tele pickup on the bridge sounds a bit tinnie to my ear (maybe I just need to tinker with the amp settings a bit more) and the Seymour Duncan Mini Humbucker on the neck is a little noisey on its own - but where this guitar comes into its own is when you select the middle position and combine the two pickups - it is hard to describe the sound - it is fat and crunchy but kind of rounded and mellow at the same time - Blues licks and soloing using the minor pentatonic with it sounds just awesome.

As they are so different I can't really say I favour one over the other. I'll play the Tele and think it is the best guitar I've ever played, then I'll play the Strat and think it is the best guitar I've ever played - then I'll play the Tele again.....

If I had to pick on anything it would be the U neck vs the C neck - for me, I definitely find the C neck on the Strat a little more playable in my hands.

All good :)

Still Practicing

2010-02-15T10:14:00.002+11:00

But not as much - averaging about 1 hour per day.

Got my major scale up to 132bpm and keeping on keeping on with my fingerstyle stuff and songs etc. What has suffered is my soloing over backing tracks - I just haven't had as much time lately to practice. Hopefully I can rectify that soon.

Looking very much forward to my two new Fenders arriving :)

Strat Or Tele?

2010-02-08T23:21:00.002+11:00

BOTH!!! :)

Ordered two new guitars today: a Fender American Standard Stratocaster in Olympic White and a Fender '52 Vintage Hot Rod Telecaster in Butterscotch Blonde (the one with the mini Humbucker on the neck) - wooooohooooooo - hope to get them by the end of Feb.

In anticipation of the 2 new guitars I retired Nezzie up to the lake house - it seems right that she should be back with Abs - they belong together.

I have been practicing and playing everyday since my last blog - just not blogging it. Made some great leaps forward in theory too.

The major scale 1/8 notes @120bpm is not quite there yet so will stick at that speed at least for a couple of days.

My fingerstyle pieces are all improving all the time and soon I will be ready to learn something new. My lead guitar is going ok too but in truth I haven't been practicing it as much. Will move onto the intro & outro lessons on the Justin Guitar Blues Lead Guitar DVD soon and the 3rd position of the minor pentatonic.

I've also started to do a bit of practice on percussive fingerstyle technique but I'm struggling a bit. Lots of experimentation to do.

All good :)

Different Day

2010-01-31T23:17:00.003+11:00

Did some conventional stuff - took the Major Scale up to 1/8th notes at 120 bpm.

Dood an hour or so of transcribing (kind of) using the JUSTIN method - got up to the middle of stage 6 before I was over it for the day.

Re-strung Em and played some fingerstyle stuff on her and also learned the opening riff to Layla.

Just basically goosed around - my fingers are sore so I must have done enough :)

Circa 10 mins on Fretpro

All good :)

Big Day & New Strings For Missy

2010-01-30T23:24:00.002+11:00

Finally got new strings on Missy - geez - I didn't realise just how much I love playing her.

In other news....

Scales: G Major 5 positions - 1/8th notes tonight @ 100bpm (200bpm) - hardly any mistakes so even took it up to 1/8th notes @ 120bpm in postion 1 to see what that felt like - felt ok but made my hand sore.

Songs: Killing Me Softly, Good Riddance, Fool Fool Fool

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Stairway, Yesterday, Easy Wlaking Blues and Down & Out - several times through each

A Minor Pentatonic in first 2 positions plus blue notes

Solo'd using the major scale over backing tacks in G, A, D, E & F - still not as proficient as I am with th emonor pentatonic but some progress noted.

And played lots of old bibs and bobs on Missy.

Spent about 10 mins on Fretpro

All good :)

Modes

2010-01-29T23:17:00.002+11:00

A good "aha" moment today when I worked out how to use modes - like wow - there is nothing tough to this - it is just about moving the tonal centre of the scale so you can reconcile the major key you are playing in with a particular chord of that key - no biggie but for some reaosn noone seems to be able to explain it easily.

Anyhoo onto my session:

Scales: G Major 5 positions - 1/8th notes tonight @ 100bpm (200bpm) - hardly any mistakes

Songs: Little Help From My Friends, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, Click Go The Shears

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each

A Minor Pentatonic in first 2 positions plus blue notes

All 10 licks in the first 2 minor pentatonic positions.

Solo'd over blues backing tracks in A - sounding darn hot :)

Spent about 10 mins on Fretpro

All Good :)

Catch Up

2010-01-28T23:12:00.002+11:00

Had another day off work with crook back today - but it was better so I could play - yay!

Managed to catch up on most of the stuff I missed yesterday.

Scales: G Major 5 positions - 1/8th notes tonight @ 100bpm (200bpm) - barely making any mistakes now

Songs: Hallelujah, Dock of the Bay, Duncan, Knocking on Heavens Door, Peggy Sue

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each

A Minor Pentatonic in first 2 positions plus blue notes

All 10 licks in the first 2 minor pentatonic positions.

Solo'd over major scale backing tracks in G, D, E, A & F - some success, some pretty ordinary.....

Played electric rhythm riffs and a whole bunch of old stuff I know from way back

Spent about 10 mins on Fretpro

Spent some time studying the mathematics of the Diatonic Scale - good old Pythagoras whoda thunk he would come in useful? I eat this stuff up - I now really get why the perfect fifth and the perfect octave are what they are - whilst I get the perfect fourth, Im kind of struggling on what it is good for....

All good :)

More Crook Back

2010-01-27T22:03:00.003+11:00

My back is really giving me some gyp, so I didnt play much today.

Just my Major Scale workout in G x 5 positions 1/8 notes @ 100bpm (i.e. 200bpm) and some Minor Pentatonic work in A over first 2 posies + blue notes.

Did some theory swatting up on Modes and I know all the names now - just need to practice applying them practically.

Fretpro for 10 mins.

More Time

2010-01-26T21:58:00.002+11:00

Had more time for playing today and got in a good couple of hours.

Scales: G Major 5 positions - 1/8th notes@ 100bpm (200bpm).

Songs: House of the Rising Sun, Feeling Groovey

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each

A Minor Pentatonic in first 2 positions plus blue notes

All 10 licks in the first 2 minor pentatonic positions.

40 mins of soloing over blues baking tracks using minor pentatonic and licks in the keys of A, E, G & D

Spent on notes on the fretboard actually using the guitar as well as Fretpro.

Spent a few minutes just cutting loose on Speedy - After the Rain, Anarchy, Wild Thing - good fun.

All Good :)

Flat Stick

2010-01-25T23:16:00.002+11:00

Another flat stick day today but still managed a solid hour of practice (I prefer 2).

Scales: G Major 5 positions - moved up to 1/8th notes tonight @ 100bpm (200bpm) - not as difficult as I thought it might be.

Songs: I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, I Was Only Nineteen

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each

A Minor Pentatonic in first 2 positions plus blue notes

All 10 licks in the first 2 minor pentatonic positions.

Spent about 10 mins on notes on the fretboard actually using the guitar tonight!

Went through all my scale and chord theory in my head whilst I was mowing the lawns too.

All good :)

Bit Of A Rest Day

2010-01-25T00:05:00.001+11:00

Didn't play a lot today and just did some fun stuff - sight read some music from the Big Aussie Song Book, played all my fingerstyle tunes and did my Major Scales without a metronome.

I'm happy with it.

All good :)

Missed Bits

2010-01-23T23:14:00.002+11:00

Missed bits from my schedule today - but with painting my step-daughters apartment (with 3 other people), visiting Mum in hospital and having dinner with step daugher and son in law - there wasn't much time for playing.

I did however get in:

Scales: G Major in 5 positions @ 160bpm

Songs: Killing Me Softly, Good Riddance, Fool Fool Fool

Fingerstyle: Down & Out, Easy Walking Blues, Steady Thumb Blues - several times each

Minor Pentatatonic: in A first 2 positions

Fretpro: 10 minutes

All Good :)

Short Night

2010-01-22T22:27:00.003+11:00

Spent all day with Mum today at the hospital - she has had a mild stroke. Simply put I felt pretty knackered tonight so didn't play much at all>

Scales: G Major 5 positions 160bpm

Songs: Have You Ever Seen The Rain, With A Little Help, Click Go The Shears

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each

Fretpro: 10 mins

Edit: Couldn't sleep so I dug out Speedy.....

A Minor Pentatonic in first 2 positions plus blue notes.

All 10 licks then about 40 minutes of jamming over blues tracks in A, D, G & E - sweet :)

Better Late Than Never

2010-01-21T23:39:00.002+11:00

Got caught up at the salt mine tonight and also needed to drop in on Mum so it was pretty late when I started my session.

As per usual lately - I started out on Billie (really must put new strings on all the other girls soon)

Scales: G Major 5 positions 160bpm - good - got through the first 2 positions completely error free

Songs: Hallelujah, Dock of the Bay, Duncan

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each.

Switched to Nezzie (who accidently got dropped this morning and gained 2 new scratches)

Scales: Minor Pentatonic in A 2 positions + Blue notes

Songs/Riffs: Wipeout, Hall of the Mountain King, After the Rain, Ghost Riders - all rhythm riffs

10 mins of Fretpro

Solid

2010-01-20T23:28:00.003+11:00

Another solid session - not as god as yesterday but solid nonetheless.

Started out on Billie

Scales: G Major 5 positions 160bpm - good

Songs: I Was Only Nineteen, Knocking On Heavens Door, Peggy Sue

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each.

Then switched to Nezzie

Scales: Minor Pentatonic in A 2 positions + Blue notes

Licks: All 10 Licks - minimum 4 x each

Solo practice using the major scale over backing tracks - only spent about 20 minutes on this tonight and I'm nowhere near as good as with the Minor Pentatonic. Practiced in the keys of G, D & A.

Fretpro: For about 10 mins

All good :)

Much Better

2010-01-19T23:42:00.004+11:00

I felt really flat when I got home from work today but tonight was just one of those nights where it all worked - I could really notice the improvement in my playing and I am starting to gain confidence that I could play in front of an audience.

Started out on Billie

Scales: G Major 5 positions 160bpm - very few mistakes

Songs: House Of The rising Sun, Feelin Groovy, I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Down And Out, Stairway, Yesterday - several times through each - even played the back half of Stairway which I rarely do these days.

Then switched to Nezzie

Scales: Minor Pentatonic in A 2 positions + Blue notes

Licks: All 10 Licks - minimum 4 x each

Solo practice using first 2 positions of the minor pentatonic (including licks) over blues backing tracks - spent about 45 minutes on this tonight and on some tracks I reckon I sounded pretty wicked - I need to record myself and see if it sounds good played back with from a more objective viewpoint. practiced in the keys of A, D, G & E.

Felt so good from soloing I had a bit of a rock out on Nezzie - played After The Rain, Anarchy, Wild Thing just for a bit of fun :)

Fretpro: New record 1min 57secs for 30 notes (using touch pad not a mouse).

All very good :)

Better Back

2010-01-18T23:15:00.002+11:00

G Major Scale in 5 positions @ 160bpm - fewer mistakes again - definite improvement.

Songs: Fool, Fool, Fool; Good Riddance; Killing Me Softly

Fingerstyle: Down & Out; Easy Walking Blues; Steady Thumb Blues

Electric: 10 licks, A Minor Pentatonic in 2 Positions

Fretpro for about 15 minutes.

All good :)

Crook Back Syndrome

2010-01-17T22:43:00.002+11:00

Stuffed up my back and shoulder so no playing over the weekend - used the time to learn the notes on the fretboard. Today I downloaded Fretpro and spent ages working on it - great program!

Wrote up my new plan for next week which is essentially the same plan I had for this week.

All good :)

Scale Progress

2010-01-15T23:18:00.000+11:00

160bpm with very few errors in the major sale tonight - will have to up the ante soon.

Songs: Have You Ever Seen The Rain, With a Little Help From My Friends, Click Goes the Shears - all once each

Fingerstyle: Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues, Yesterday, Stairway to Heaven - several times each.

Switched to electric for minor pentatonic in first 2 posies plus blues notes.

10 licks a minimum of 4x each.

Solo'd over blues in A & 4 different backing tracks.

Practiced fretboard note recognition.

All good :)

Still On Schedule (ish)

2010-01-14T23:59:00.000+11:00

Major scale in G all 5 posies @ 160bpm - much easier tonight.

Songs: Hallelujah, Dock of the Bay, Duncan 1x ea

Fingerstyle: Down & Out, Steady Thumb Blues, Easy Walking Blues several x ea

Minor pentatonic and blues scales in first 2 posies.

Blasted Speedy with all my rock stuff and rhythm.

Practiced naming notes on fretboard.

Missed doing strumming techniques with a meteronome because Mrs Bootstrap had gone to bed.

All good :)

Workin' Out

2010-01-13T23:06:00.000+11:00

Very similar session to last night but: different songs, different focus on fingerstyle and soloing.

Scales went well and I made fewer errors tonight playing at 160bpm.

Played and sang I Was Only Nineteen, Peggy Sue and Knocking On Heavens Door.

In fingerstyle I focussed on Steady Thumb Blues, Stairway to Heaven & Yesterday.

Played all 10 licks from the first JG Blues Lead Guitar DVD till my hand was sore.

Solo'd using the major scale over backing tracks trying to use as many positions as possible in the key of G, A, D, E & F.

Worked on fretboard notes for a few minutes.

Noice!

All good

Huge Day/Night

2010-01-13T00:55:00.000+11:00

I had started to feel a bit stale and as a consequence my sessions started to get shorter.... So I gave myself 3 days off (though it possibly looks like 4 due to the lateness of the hour).

Since my practice was all over the place I've now developed a schedule - the idea is planning 1 week in advance and will change as I accomplish some things and learn new stuff.

Today I played the G Major Scale @ 160bpm using a metronome - the pace is actually fairly comfortable for me but I still made several errors - though I managed to pump out 4 consecutove error free reps in every position.

Played songs: House of the Rising Sun (flat pick), Feelin' Groovy, I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing

Mass pratice on fingerstyle: Nobody Loves You When You're Down & Out, Easy Walking Blues, Steady Thumb Blues.

Switching to electric I practiced the A minor penatatonic scale in the first 2 positions as well as the associated blues notes.

Practiced the first 10 licks on the Justinguitar Blues Lead Boxed Set and then jammed for ages over blues backing tracks in te keys of A, E, G, D, Am using the above licks and the first 2 positions of the minor pentatonic scale.

Finished up by spending 5 minutes identifying notes on the fretboard.

Pretty happy with that.

All good :)

Another Quiet One

2010-01-08T22:05:00.000+11:00

Just some scales - started out at 120bpm then jacked it up to 160bpm.

A little bit of work on all my fingerstyle stuff. That's all.

All good :)

Not Much

2010-01-07T22:40:00.000+11:00

Didn't play too much today - but did get a chance to consolidate and practice all 10 licks from the first DVD of Justinguitars Blues Lead Guitar series.

Also played G major scale in 5 positions to a metronome set at 120bpm - not too bad but a few errors - will try again tomorrow befor moving up to 130(ish).

Played Steady Thumb Blues to foot tapping by slowing it down - worked well and I should do this more often.

Spent some time identifying chord tones in the major scale too.

Finished the day playing through all my fingerstyle pieces.

All good :)

Licketty Split

2010-01-06T21:22:00.002+11:00

Learned the next 4 of 5 licks in the minor pentatonic position 2. My head was a bit fluffy today and had trouble getting them to stick but I managed to get 3 of 4 new ones down and practiced using them over backing tracks till the batteries on the Pocket Pod went dead - will have to revisit the last one tomorrow.

Played G major scale in all 5 positions with metronome set at 100bpm - what seemed so hard yesterday was a breeze today - will take it up to 120bpm tomorrow.

Bit of practice on Steady Thumb and Easy Walking Blues as well as Yesterday and Down & Out.

All good :)

Solid

2010-01-05T22:58:00.000+11:00

Good session tonight - started off with the G major scale along with a metronome set at 100bpm. This is a very comfortable pace for me however because I'm not used to the metronome I found this really hard - eventually managed to get out 4 reps in each of the 5 positions.

Moved onto Steady Thumb Blues which I can now play from memory - still a bit of work for me to do to get the bridge bar to flow with the rest of the riff but making good progress. Then played through Easy Walking Blues, Yesterday, Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out, and the first part of Stairway.

Practiced 6 licks individually then hooked up the iPod and solo'd over blues backing tracks in Ax4, Ex2, Dx2 & Gx2 - for the first time integrating the 2nd position of the minor pentatonic which worked really well. One short stint of using G major over a backing track but I was starting to get tired and quit there.

All good :)

Tick

2010-01-04T22:33:00.000+11:00

Played Steady Thumb Blues through tonight from memory for the first time - yay! Now to get it fluent.

Not a lot of time for playing today but I did get through some scales as well as Easy Walking Blues & Yesterday a couple of times each.

All good :)

Song Day

2010-01-03T19:02:00.000+11:00

I realised that with all the new stuff and jamming that I've been doing lately that I've been neglecting my acoustic songs - so I went through every song I know today.

Also pushed out some scales and a bit of work on Steady Thumb Blues.

Started the Justinguitar Chord Construction Guide today too.

All good :)

More Jammin'

2010-01-02T20:50:00.000+11:00

Spent a lot more time jamming over backing tracks again today - getting there but I still struggle with a lot of the pieces to find the "words" to play - yet with other pieces it seems much eaier.

Steady Thumb Blues is coming along and another few sessions should see me able to play it all.

All good :)

Keepin On

2010-01-01T23:54:00.000+11:00

Not quite as much volume of practice over the last 2 days due to other commitments but still plenty of good practice.

Ventured back to Sydney today so got to play Billie & Nezzie :)

Just about got Steady Thumb Blues sussed now and it is finally starting to stick.

Also yesterday I purchased a set of Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 iPod speakers - the perfect accompanyment for my Traveler & Pocket Pod - sounds great.

All good :)

Huge Day

2009-12-30T23:36:00.003+11:00

Massive jam time today - mostly blues in different keys and tempos using the minor pentatonic but also a bit of major scale work as well.

Dug the metronome out for a scales workout - hmmm doesn't that confuse you?!? Ended up playing G major scale in the first position using quarter notes relatively comfortably at 160bpm.

Tried the metronome with Steady Thumb Blues with limited success - this piece is easy and hard at the same time! Technically it is not that hard to play but I'm having real trouble remembering it. The timing is a little tricky too for the melody hence trying the metronome.

Also played Click Goes The Shears and Duncan just to keep the hand in and ran through the first part of Stairway and Yesterday. Spent a fair bit of time on Easy Walkin Blues too.

Finished all the exercises in the Practical Music Theory book (for the 2nd time) now so will move onto the Chord Construction Guide.

All good :)

Theory & New Stuff

2009-12-29T23:20:00.000+11:00

I've been going through the Practical Music Theory book from Justinguitar for the 2nd time (first did it ealrier int he year). The exercixes are much easier the 2nd time round :) And I've picked up lots that I missed first time - so all good.

Tonight I tarted to learn the Steady Thumb Blues which is the 2nd track on the Blues Solo Guitar series. It isn't that hard to play but it is a real bastard to remember - anyhoo - loving it!

All good :)

More Jam

2009-12-28T22:12:00.000+11:00

Another 2 days of jamming over backing tracks - the blues stuff using the minor pentatonic is really coming on - some of the major scale stuff is getting there but....

Some new stuff - I learned a lick from the minor pentatonic in the 2nd position today and also I've been reworking Justin's theory booklet so I take it right in before moving to the next book - amazing what you pick up 2nd time around :)

Also managed a fiddle with the new camera - so that is now seet.

Will have to get back to some serious acoustic work soonish though!

All good :)

Breakthrough

2009-12-26T19:57:00.000+11:00

I didn't gewt to play on Christmas Day - it was all too hectic but today was a different matter.

We headed up the lake for holidays. I packed Speedy and the Line 6 Pocket Pod - sadly no room for Billie or any of the other girls but Abs lives up there now so I will get to play her again.

I used the PP with my iPod and using the minor pentatonic in all sorts of keys managed to solo all over a whole bunch of blues backing tracks - all the work I've done on bends, curls & vibrato really paid off and fdor the first time a lot of what I played actually sounded good to my ear. Woooohooo I think I'm finally getting there!

I tried the major scale over some tracks and it is better but still not quite up to the same standard I'm achieving with the minor pentatonic - very satisfying to see real progress though.

I feel like I'm making music at last as opposed to just playing music.

All good :)

It Has Been A While

2009-12-24T09:19:00.001+11:00

But a lot has been going on!

I'm not sure why I stopped blogging but anyway - here we go again.

Since my last post:

I've been getting in a lot of solid practice and playing - I think I've only missed playing on one day because my left thumb became unbearably sore from practicing bends.

Speaking of bends - I purchased Really Useful Blues Solos (RUBS) from Justinguitar with a view to commence transposing. I met with mixed success - I found the first 2 rhythm tracks easy to transcribe (King & Clapton style respectively) but really struggled with the Albert King lead - the reason - I've never learned to do full tone bends!

So I've put RUBS on hold while I get my bends in order - hence the sore hand. I found full tone bends almost impossible at first (NB playing on Elixir .10's) but as a couple of weeks have gone by my technique is getting there and I hit them right more often than not now. I've learned the first 5 licks (4 of which contain full tone bends) from Justinguitars Blues Lead Guitar DVD - they are all based on A minor pentatonic in the 1st position.

I've also learned Easy Walkin Blues from Justinguitar's Blues Solo Guitar DVD - which sounds cool and is satisfying to play.

Having failed in my quest to find a local teacher I've now purchased most of the Justinguitar DVD's including Really Useful Strumming Techniques - I found this all well within my capability but realised I need to put a lot more time into my timing - I've never had much problem with strumming but I'm an intuitive strummer - what I play sounds good but if I'm ever going to play with others I think I need a bit more discipline - so will go through it all again soon and set myself a practice schedule on my counting.

The last new thing I've been doing is I have spent a bit more time attempting to solo over backing tracks - I've added Justinguitar's Major Jam tracks to the inventory - they are great as they go for about 5 mins each.

To help along with the solos - yesterday I purchased a Belkin extension cord that will allow me to plug my iPod into my Line 6 Pocket Pod - I gave it a quick go last night and it makes it sound great as both my playing and the backing track appear to come from the same source.

Put new Elixir's (.12 - .53) on Billie last night - they are the new Phosphur Bronze ones and they feel great under my fingers. I really need to replace the strings on all of my guitars - I've bought them - but the prospect of re-stringing 5 acoustic guitars and 2 electrics is a bit daunting - maybe I need a schedule where I do one per week.

I'm on leave now till the 18th of January so I'm hoping to get some good sessions in. I have a number of priority areas:

• Move onto the next 5 licks from Blues Lead Guitar - I think they are from the A minor pentatonic 2nd position.

• Learn Steady Thumb Blues from Justinguitar Blues Solo Guitar

• Resume my transcribing of the Albert King style lead from RUBS (and learn to play it)

• Find a new sing-a-long song to learn - watch this space.

• Re-read Really Useful Guitar Theory 1 and then make a start on 2.

• Jam blues licks, minor pentatonic and the major scale over backing tracks.

• Rediscover the metronome - it is an area I have tended to ignore.

• Review RUST again and develop a metronome based strumming/counting practice schedule

• If I get the chance watch another couple of online lessons from the Yale Listening to Music course - but likely I will be out of range for wireless internet for much of the time.

Wow lots to do!

All good :)

Long Time No Blog

2009-12-02T14:59:00.000+11:00

Well it has been a while since I last blogged.

Last week I was in New Zealand with no access to a guitar - got home Friday night but playing was out of the question, I did get a chance to play for a little while on Saturday night though.

On Sunday I was able to drop into my office and pick up my new Traveler Speedster and Line 6 Pocket Pod before jumpimg another plane for Canberra. No dramas at all with Speedy going through security and she fits easily into the overhead compartments - very happy :)

Played heaps and heaps in my hotel room Sunday, Monday & Tuesday nights and even got a few scales in this morning before I had to leave - I luuuurve the Traveler and the Pod - what a marvel technology is!

The Pod is an amazing device but very light on for instructions - so lots of experimentation and button pushing but I wouldn't trade it for quids - I also took a pair of elcheapo iPod speakers but prefer the sound through the headphones.

As for the Traveler it has a very sweet feel on the neck and is a joy to play. Tuning is a bit painful, the armrest digs into your tummy a little, and anchoring your fingers below the strings takes a little getting used to but the dual rail humbucker pickup gives a satisfyingly fat sound.

All in all this combo is the perfect traveling companion.

All good :)

Last Hurrah

2009-11-22T23:43:00.000+11:00

Well for a while anyway as I'm off to the home of the Finn brothers for a week and sadly my Speedster didn't arrive in time to come too.

Played scales - G major, A minor pentatonic posies 1 & 2 plus blues.

Played some blues riff + blues in E.

Switched to Nezzie to paractice my 3 blues licks then rocked out a bit.

Too hot here for any real fun.

Back in a week.

All good :)

Song Night

2009-11-21T22:08:00.001+11:00

Played & sang all the songs I know on Billie tonight - also did the G major scale 4x in each of the 5 positions and gave the A minor pentatonic and blues scale a workout in positins 1 & 2.

Then hooked Nezzie up to the headphones and rocked out for a bit with "After the Rain", "Wild Thing" & "Anarchy" - finished the electric workout with the 3 of the 5 licks that Justin Sandercoe teaches for the A minor pentatonic 1st position. Full tone bends are getting better but not quite there yet.

Went to finish on fingerstyle stuff but my finger tips were gawn - that will teach me to play straight out of the shower :)

All good :)

Not A Lot But Good Practice

2009-11-21T00:03:00.003+11:00

I didn't play a lot tonight - but some good practice of 3 A minor pentatonic first position licks with full tone bends - starting to come together - did some work on the pentatonice 2nd position and also the mjor scale in G in all 5 positions.

Short and sweet.

All Good :)

Grad Rock

2009-11-20T00:14:00.004+11:00

Went to Bathurst for Becks Grad on Wednesday arvo - all went well - I even mangaged to get in a little session on Minnie playing some fingerstyle for Mum and Carol to wind down to after we got home.

Tonight was an uninspired session - I think I'm just really tired - practiced my 3 blues licks - the full tone bends are definitely improving and also practiced the monor pentatonic in the 2nd position. Ran through all my scales as always. Played "Duncan" and "Click Go The Shears". Rocked out a bit with "After The Rain", "Anarchy", "Wild Thing" and "Mongoloid". Threw in a little "Pipeline" for good measure.

In other news - I ordered a Line 6 Pocket Pod today so I can get amp effects through headphones for my new Traveler Speedster when it turns up. Just need a short guitar lead now.

All good :)

Again Again

2009-11-17T23:47:00.000+11:00

Another huge night (played everything) won't be able to play tomorrow night....

3 licks work and 2nd posi A minor pentatonic too.

In other news my Speedster is on its way "yay" :) And I'm now the proud owner of two new Hercules guitar stands!

All good :)

A Case Of The Bends

2009-11-16T23:11:00.004+11:00

After playing some scales and a couple of songs on Billie I decided that I have been neglecting my electric guitar skills too much so tonight I pulled our Nezzie and after rocking on for a while got out my Justinguitar Blues Lead DVD and started to learn his 5 basic licks.

I managed to get through 3 - all contain full tone bends and with 10's on Nezzie my fingers were really shredded by the time I finished - also learned the A minor pentatonic 2nd position so that's cool - something new.

When Speedy comes I'm going to leave her at work and practice my licks and blues lead playing at lunch time.

All good :)

Another Huge One

2009-11-15T22:47:00.000+11:00

I literally played everything I know today and then started on the Big Aussie Songbook and played a bundle out of that.

Practiced my C shape barres today and also got Carol to yell out a natural note and a position from 1 to 5 and I then played that scale in that position - good fun!

All played on Billie - mostly standing up - tired hands, arms and finger now.

All good :)

Fingers Crossed

2009-11-14T22:26:00.003+11:00

Well I've noticed I have a card authorisation on my credit card so here is hoping the transaction goes through and I end up with one of these....

A Traveler Speedster - just 28" long and 7.5" wide with the arm rest removed. It really pisses me off that Aussie retailers try to make so much money out of these - they are so greedy - fortunatley I found a retailer in the States prepared to sell me one for over $400 less than what I could by it here in Oz.

In playing/practicing news I did EVERYTHING today - a huge night of playing.

It is all good :)

Just Practice

2009-11-13T22:20:00.003+11:00

The usual scale routine + all my songs - short blog but big session.

More new stuff tomorrow....

Have I mentioned it is all good? :)

More Billie

2009-11-12T23:53:00.000+11:00

Big focus on scales tonight - having the cutaway sure helps getting all 5 positions in!

Played every scale for every whole note major key through at least 4x each in each of the 5 positions - that's 140 scales + numerous runs through the A minor pentatonic and the blues scale.

Played all 3 fingerstyle pieces - "Stairway", "Yesterday" & "Down & Out" and a few somes too - "House of the Rising Sun", "Halleluja", & "Click Go The Shears" & "Killing Me Softly".

Also ordered a Traveler Guitar today - be interested to see if the retailer will send it as they are not supposed to ship internationally - fingers crossed!

All good :)

Welcome Billie You Gorgeous Gal

2009-11-11T22:48:00.004+11:00

Wooooohoooooooo took delivery of my Maton W.A. May Custom Shop - Blackwood version today.

And what a gorgeous little Aussie beauty she is too - not only does she look good, but she feels and sounds simply divine. I love all my Maton guitars, but this baby is just a cut above - you can really tell the difference. Magnificent.

Anyhoo gave her really good workout - scales, riffs, all my songs, blues, fingerstyle, you name it I played it!

As for the name - well the Model is named after William (Bill) May the Maton founder - but as I couldn't really go with anything masculine after the caressing and ogling I have done - it just had to be Billie :)

All very, very good :)

Definitely Just One More Sleep

2009-11-10T23:08:00.002+11:00

My Custom Shop Maton was delivered to work at 6.38pm tonight so it will be there waiting for me in the morning.

Played the usual scale workout - then moved on to some riffs "Ghost Riders", "Hall of the Mountain King", "Pipeline" and a bunch of bluesy stuff. Played blues rhythm in E & G. Played "Click Go The Shears".

Then broke out the "Big Aussie Songbook" and played and sang a whole bunch of stuff really badly :) It was a lot of fun :) :)

All good!

Nice Variety

2009-11-09T22:05:00.002+11:00

Found out my Custom Shop wont get to me until Wednesday earliest - oh well.

Another good session tonight - the usual scales workout - A minor pentatonic, blues, G major in 5 posies and then did E major in 5 posies.

Practiced "Click Go The Shears" and learned a bit more of "The Entertainer" (which I'm finding a bit of a slog to learn). Played some blues rhythm in E. "Ghost Riders", some "Hall of the Mountain King", "Duelling Banjo's", "Peggy Sue", "Killing Me Softly" and my own composition "Money Wasted" a few times (as I've actually forgotten how to play it). As usual fingerstyle with "Stairway to Heaven", "Yesterday" & "Down & Out".

Finished by spending some time noodling over a couple of blues backing tracks using the A minor pentatonic scale.

All good :)

Another Big One

2009-11-08T22:14:00.000+11:00

Played lots tonight - mostly standing up with Em.

All my scales - A minor pentatonic, blues & G major 5 posies.

Worked on "Click Go The Shears" to just tidy up the A7 change (I've been using a barre grip that I'm not used to).

Virtually all my songs, some blues rhythm in E & G, some riffs and as always these day "Stairway"

Pretty happy with the way my palying is coming along.

All good :)

A Good Day

2009-11-07T22:23:00.002+11:00

Got a couple of good sessions in today.

Apart from the discipline of doing all my scales 4 x through - A minor pentatonic, blues, G Major - I also gave the D major scale a good workout in all 5 posies.

Spent some time soloing for the A minor pentatonic over a couple of backing tracks - note to self - must do more!

Played lots of riffs and songs (also sang through all the songs I know how to play while I mowed the lawn) :)

I also played the best rendition of "Stairway to Heaven" I think I've ever done - very chuffed!

Also played some blues rhythm in E, G & A.

All G O O D :)

Bugger - A No Show

2009-11-06T22:17:00.002+11:00

My much anticipated Maton Custom Shop didn't turn up today - no matter I have other Matons to play :)

But first it was into Nezzie with headphones on - I really rocked out for about 45 mins and the switched to acoustic.

I jacked up the guitar strap and wheeled Emma underneath - just played - no structure, no practice, no trying to get it right - just played songs 'n stuff for another hour or so.

All good :)

One More Sleep

2009-11-05T21:26:00.001+11:00

One more sleep till Maton Custom Shop :)

Solid night tonight - plenty of practice on the new song "Click Go The Shears" - just about got it down now - one more session should have it performance ready. Also practiced the intro to "The Entertainer" - not happening smoothly for me yet but that's ok.

Did the usual scales workout 4x through A minor pentatonic, blues and major scale in G (all positions) and then moved onto 4x through major scale in C in all position. Also played the minor pentatonic in D too.

Fingerstyle I ran through 'Stairway", "Yesterday", & "Down & Out".

Even time for a couple of songs - "Good Riddance" & "Fool, Fool, Fool".

All good :)

Labour Of Love

2009-11-04T23:05:00.003+11:00

To prepare for some singalongs in the silly season I started to learn "Click Go The Shears" tonight - musically fairly simple but lots of versus which are really quite obscure in todays world - good thing everyone knows the chorus! Also started to learn "The Entertainer" - this one is for me as I have always really loved the tune.

Spent some time on scales - as always 4x through both the A minor pentatonic and the blues scale followed by 4x in each position of the G major scale - also went 4 x through each position of the B major scale - I went through A the other night & plan to make my way through all the major keys over the coming nights (no sharp or flat keys yet though).

Gave "Stairway", "Yesterday" & "Down & Out" a crack as well as some 12 bar blues in E and G, finished up with a couple of blues riffs.

No luck finding a teacher so am going to just stick with it going alone using the resources of the www.

All good :)

Back To The Future

2009-11-03T23:54:00.002+11:00

I decided I hadn't done any sight reading for a long time so tonight I dug out my old Progressive Guitar Method Book 1 & Supplement and played through just about everything - I was amazed as I thought there might be some deterioration but I think my sight reading is actually much better than it used to be - I should do this once a month or so to keep my hand in.

Also played through the G major scale in 5 positions x4 as well as the minor pentatonic in A and Blues Scale in A - both 4x.

Finished with a run through of "Stairway", "Yesterday", and "Down & Out".

All good :)

New Record Keeping

2009-11-02T22:58:00.000+11:00

I realised my blogs had generally become just a record of when I played and some pretty sweeping generalisations about what I played and for how long. So I've decided to be more specific in an effort to bring a bit more scientific analysis to my sessions.

So before dinner I played the A minor pentatonic and the Blues scale through 4x each and then the G major scale 4x in each of the 5 positions. Also played some blues in the keys of E, A & G and some blues riffs too.

After dinner and some tele I repeated the above scale workout and also played the A major scale through just once in all 5 positions. Played the G major scale in thirds in position 1.

Some more blues in the key of A and all my fingertyle stuff - "Stairway" (all the way through), "Yesterday" twice & several run throughs of "Down & Out". Played the riffs to "Pipeline", "Ghostriders", "Wipeout" & "Hall of the Mountain King". Finished on playing & singing "Knocking on Heavens Door".

All played tonight on Missy.

All good :)

Catching Up

2009-11-01T19:49:00.000+11:00

Friday - got in half an hour of scales and some old stuff before heading out for dinner and another half hour of songs when I got home.

Saturday - travelled up to Bathurst to visit Bec for the weekend - played a bit but not heaps maybe an hour all up.

Sunday - decided to stay in Bathurst for another night as Bec needs some support - played heaps today and re-strung her guitar (Fender Squire Acoustic). As always I was surprised at what a big voice and just how bright this so called beginners guitar sounds - I love playing it for a change.

Anyhoo - all good :)

Lots Of Activity

2009-10-29T23:42:00.002+11:00

Actually paid for my new baby today and Peter from Hans Music Spot sent me some photos and she is beautiful - he really is a great guy to do business with and I highly recommend him.

I generally see guitars as girls - but I'm thinking I'm going to have to name this one Bill - maybe Billie - it being a W.A. May (named after William [Bill] May the founder of Maton) - I'll give it some more thought....

I also wrote an email to a prospective guitar teacher today - so far nothing heard back.

Played on Em for about an hour tonight standing up for a change - I really must do more of this - I'm so unused to it that it took a couple of goes to get tricky changes that I can normally do right. It also made my arms and shoulders sore - what a wimp!

All good :)

Another Big Day & A Purchase

2009-10-28T23:07:00.001+11:00

My finfers are sore and my wallet is lighter.

Lots of playing today on Abs and then I switched to Missy when I got back to Sydney. I really like the sound of Abs but gee she is hard on the chops! Great stuff but - I've really consolidated over the last little while.

I'd like to find a teacher to take me that next step but friend Google wasn't much help - I need to know someone who knows someone.....

The big news is I've ordered another Maton - yes I know I'm addicted but when I was enquiring about an Australian EA80C, Peter from Hans Music Spot made me an offer I couldn't refuse on the limited edition W.A. May Blackwood - AAA Spruce soundboard and AAA fiddleback Tasmanian Blackwood back and sides - all the other important bits are blackwood too making this in effect an Australian on steroids :) the W.A. May Custom job usually has a Silky Oak back and sides but they are making just 40 with the Blackwood so it will be a bit of a rarity - can't wait!

I should also record for posterity - this guitar is fully handmade by Matons head Luthier Andy Allen.

All GOOD :)

Shed Loads

2009-10-27T22:12:00.000+11:00

Played shed loads on Abs today and tonight - she certainly is hard on the fingers compared to Missy, Em or Minnie but the sound is sweet.

Basically went through everything I know at some stage of the day.

All good :)

Old Friend

2009-10-26T21:00:00.000+11:00

No playing over the weekend as I doddled off to Adelaide on Friday to hook up with Carol who is on an extended work trip.

Headed up to the Lake when I got back and got to play Abs for a while. She sure aint no Maton but still makes a good noise even if she is a bit tough on the chops.

Scales, some fingerstyle and a few songs.

All good :)

A Little More

2009-10-23T00:17:00.002+11:00

Yep - played a little more again tonight and I also transcribed a little bit more of the piano solo in Pipeline - I'm just about there....

All good :)

Transcriber

2009-10-21T23:52:00.002+11:00

Downloaded the "Transcriber" software this morning and spet about 4 hours tonight trying to transcribe the piano part in Pipeline for guitar - managed to get through the first couple of bars but geez it is slow going for this little tone deaf duck!

Also spent a bit of time on scales and some fingerstyle stuff.

All good :)

Marathon Man

2009-10-20T22:46:00.000+11:00

LOL - that is what today/nights session felt like - I played everything - even broke Nezzie out for a blast on electric - woooohoooo!

Played along with my iPod which is something I must do more often - also tried to transcribe Money for Nothing but I suck! Am going to try and transcribe the bits I don't already know from Pipeline - see how I go!

It is all A1, all together, prime time, GOOD :)

Good One!

2009-10-13T23:24:00.000+11:00

Played for hours tonight - fingers shredded - I love it.

Won't be able to play now till Sunday as I'm away - but it will probably take that long for my fingers to heal :)

I love my Matons!

All good :)

Another 40

2009-10-12T23:58:00.000+11:00

Another late night 40 minute tight session tonight.

All good :)

Busy Weekend

2009-10-11T23:47:00.001+11:00

Sadly not busy with guitar - no time for anything on Saturday and just a tight 40 minute session tonight - still better than nothing.

All good :)

Late Night Jam

2009-10-10T01:00:00.000+11:00

Watched tele tonight but got in a good late night session - lots of practice.

All good :)

Shooting On Sight

2009-10-08T22:49:00.000+11:00

Played some melodies by sight reading tonight - haven't done that in ages - good to see that nothing has lapsed as it all came out great - must do more and try it in different spots down the neck too.

Also did some scale work and gave a few songs a workout - back to Missy tonight and my number one mistress didn't disappoint :)

All good!

Treading Water

2009-10-07T23:40:00.000+11:00

Played heaps last night on Em - a bit of everything really. Had today off work with man flu and wasn't much in the mood to play but I did get in about half an hour tonight on Minnie but my heart wasn't really in it.

I really need a gee up.

All good but :)

18 Candles

2009-10-05T21:40:00.000+11:00

Headed up to Bathurst on Thursday night for Beck's final assembly and then her 18th Birthday Party on Saturday night - big weekend and no time to play.

I did get in a reasonable session today though, including a set of nursery rhymes with Maddie & Lauren.

Also came up with what I think is a groovy little riff using G barre chord (E shape) with an alternating G & E base, a Bb & C barre (A shape) that I think I may be able to build a song around - I'll play with it a bit more and see if anything develops.

All good :)

What Rhythm?

2009-10-01T09:42:00.000+10:00

Played a couple of solid sessions last night, one when I first got home from work and another later on after the "Hey Hey" reunion.

Tried the rhythm of "Sultans of Swing" again too - I just can't get it yet and I'm not sure I like the song enough to persevere.... I know I should because I'd pick up a good skill but ho hum - maybe.

Anyhoo all good :)

Shed Loads

2009-09-29T00:22:00.000+10:00

That's how much I played tonight :)

Also played a bit on Blog TV - at one point I had 5 viewers woohoo :) but I couldn't record? Not sure what that's about???

Anyhoo - all good :)

On The Road With Em

2009-09-28T12:36:00.000+10:00

Got in a couple of good sessions over the weekend whilst in Bathurst - as is my want for Bathurst weekends Em came for the trip and as I've almost exclusively been playing Missy lately it was nice to get my hands on Em again - she's such a nice guitar to play.

Played loads of old stuff, worked my scales and riffs. And as has become standard, some fingerstyle stuff too - my throat is still too sore for much singing, so I didn't really play much of the new songs I've learned this year.

Still on the hunt for something new.....

All good :)

Keepin On Keeping On

2009-09-25T20:53:00.000+10:00

Had a few good sessions through the week but again nothing new.

Had a squiz at Sultans of Swing on Justinguitar.com - I can play the all the chords but the strumming pattern for rhythm is giving me a bit of gyp - it is very fast, involves palm muting and a lot of the quicker changes are on an up strum which is a bit tricky - I only really had a quick go so I'll give it a better shot next week and see how I go. The leads look a bit beyond me just yet.

I've been meaning to dig my electric guitar out for a while and get back into some Blues - I'm thinking that might freshen me up.

All good :-)

Backing Up

2009-09-18T19:53:00.000+10:00

Got in another good session tonight but my fingers and hand were a still a bit sore from last night so I only played for about an hour.

All good :)

Breaking The Drought

2009-09-17T21:04:00.000+10:00

Between work, personal commitments and most recently being sick, I haven't had either the chance or the inclination to play for a while.

Well and truly broke the drought tonight though - played bucketloads. Immediately noticed a big improvement in my fingerstyle playing which was great. Also played through all my songs - singing quietly due to crook throat.

Once my fingers got too sore for chords I practiced scales experimenting with different keys in all 5 positions - getting pretty handy at it now which is satisfying.

I need to discover something new to learn!

All good.

Bits & Bobs

2009-09-12T08:12:00.000+10:00

A number of night work commitments, the trip to Brisvegas last week, and the trip to Bathurst last weekend have meant I haven't had much chance to play lately.

I have been playing bits n bobs when I've had the chance but not heaps.

The trouble with learning new stuff over the net is actually finding stuff that appeals and is at the right level to challenge me - it isn't that there is not enough stuff on the net - quite the opposite - it is the searching through the plethora of good and hideous stuff that takes so much time.

Justin from justinguitar.com is finishing off making an album and so not much new has gone up there - whilst there are some snippets I've picked up from his beginners course it has been pretty slim pickins. Can't complain though because I'm looking forward to the release of the album.

All good :)

Good Practice

2009-09-03T23:58:00.000+10:00

But nuffin new - enjoyed playing Missy tonight but I need a new challenge...

Not Much Doin

2009-09-03T07:55:00.000+10:00

Had a business trip to Brisbane last week which meant restricted playing opportunity. The weekend was also pretty full of activity and I stuffed my back and it was too painful to play for a couple of days.

Managed an hour last night but I'm also in a bit of a motivation slup because I haven't found anything new to learn. Despite not much practice time I definitely noticed improvement in my fingerstyle pieces - funny how that happens.

All good :)

A Bit More

2009-08-25T23:14:00.000+10:00

Didn't get too much practice time in tonight but did manage about 45mins of scales, "Stairway", "Yesterday", & "Down & Out" - I'll take it.

All good :)

Update & A Revelation

2009-08-25T08:59:00.000+10:00

Played for a good few hours on Sunday night covering pretty much most of all the stuff I know.

I ventured into the D Major Scale where I made a remarkable discovery - up till now I had been trying to locate scale positions by finding the aligned chord shape under the CAGED system which I was struggling with. What I discovered was all you need to do is look for the corresponding root note e.g. positon 1 on G Major Scale is on the 3rd fret of the 6th string - so to find the position 1 root note for the A Major Scale you just need to locate A on the 6th string. Same goes position 2, for G it is the 5th fret 4th string, for A it is the 7th fret 4th string - voila!

Monday arvo I hooked up with a work colleague and was able to show her a couple of things and also be reminded how shy a guitar player I am - I really must play a bit more in front of people.

Anyhoo - all good :)

Noticable Improvement

2009-08-22T22:54:00.000+10:00

Not much practice time through the week due to work commitments but I got a bit of a session in late last night and a good solid hit tonight.

Mostly played "Stairway" with some "Yesterday" and "Down & Out" - some good improvement. Also played some G Major scale in all 5 positions and Minor Pentatonic in A

All good :)

Busy

2009-08-19T22:21:00.003+10:00

Bugger - Haven't got to play much since Sunday but I did get an hour in tonight but yowsa I'm tired!

Catch Up (Sunday)

2009-08-17T07:37:00.003+10:00

Got in a good couple of hours today - played everything I know.

I'm still making incremental improvements on "Yesterday" & "Stairway". "Down & Out" is proving a little trickier to get down smoothly than anticipated.

I need to find something new to learn so I think I'm going to doddle off into the D major scale as I've pretty much got all 5 positions on G going ok now. I also need to practice soloing over a backing track and it is high time I learned a new song too.

All good :)

Bathurst Blues

2009-08-15T21:26:00.000+10:00

Achoo!

Yep I've got a cold....

Anyhoo I got to play a fair bit today so all good :)

Achoo, yawn, achoo!

Lean Pickins

2009-08-14T22:48:00.000+10:00

A mixture of family and work social events have meant I've been unable to play since Monday.

Managed an hour or so tonight though. Ran through "Stairway", "Yesterday", "Down & Out" and some scales.

All good :)

A Few Good Bits

2009-08-11T00:16:00.000+10:00

In fact more than a few :)

Played lots tonight as it is unlikely I will play for the next 2 nights.

Consolidated the G Major Scale in the 5th position - played heaps of old stuff and new stuff - "Stairway", "Yesterday" & "Down & Out" all featured.

Played Missy tonight and am loving her BIG sound!

Apart from position 5 I also hammered the other 4 posi's of the G Scale and gave the A Minor Pentatonic and Blues Scale a real workout. Also went through a few riffs so a pretty comprehensive workout - not just my fingertips but my whole hand is sore.

As the Yanks might say - good jawb!

All good :)

G Major Scale 5th Position

2009-08-09T22:19:00.002+10:00

I didn't play too much tonight - really weary and a bit sore from a day of unaccustomed manual labour - yawn!

Ran over "Stairway", "Yesterday", and "Down & Out" but the music wasn't really happening tonight.

Went over my scales and decided to revisit the 5th position as I'd forgotten it as in G Major Scale it starts on the 15th fret which is a bit tricky on a non-cutaway accoustic. Then started to nut out the D Major Scale positions - not too hard.

All good :)

Play Day

2009-08-08T21:11:00.000+10:00

Only managed about 30 minutes last night but played heaps and heaps today.

Starting to get a handle on "Down & Out" and I also started putting the words into "Stairway" - interesting.

Also tooled around improvising in A Minor Pentatonic and the G Major Scale - nothing brilliant emerged but I was hitting the right notes and made some good use of vibrato - again interesting.

Played a bunch of old stuff too - noice

My left shoulder and my right arm pulled up a bit sore along with my fingers which aren't quite as shredded as they're entitled to be.

All good :)

Music Soothes

2009-08-07T00:47:00.000+10:00

Bugger of a night - but feel much calmer after some tunes :)

A few reps of "Stairway", some "Yesterday"n and a bit of "Down & Out" as well as some scales, riffs, and songs.

All good :)

Back In The Groove

2009-08-06T00:07:00.001+10:00

Much better tonight :)

Worked "Stairway", "Yesterday" and started to ramp up work on "Down & Out" - noice!

I think I played all the songs I know except "I Was Only Nineteen" and got some scales and riffs in too - fingers are moderately abused but happy :)

Oh yeah - I've decided to have a crack at growing my nails again - so it was out with the Diamond strength Nail Hardner again tonight - hopefully this time I'll be more successful

All good :)

A Bit Crook

2009-08-04T21:59:00.000+10:00

As mentioned on Sunday - bleh spent all Monday and most of Tuesday in bed - played a bit tonight but my heart wasn't really in it.

Having said that - there is definite improvement in "Stairway" and "Yesterday" - I'll have to try and get back to "Down And Out" soonish.

All good :)

So So

2009-08-02T22:37:00.000+10:00

I was too knackered to play Friday night and no time on a very busy Saturday and unfortunately I was a bit crook today - but as the day drew on I found a bit of the music in me :)

Gave "Stairway" and "Yesterday" a fair workout - tried "Down & Out" but it aint happenin just yet....

Played a few songs too but let's face it I've had better sessions - oh well at least I'm still tryin.

All good :)

Nobody Loves You

2009-07-31T00:00:00.000+10:00

Lots of "Stairway" and "Yesterday" again - then I went on to learn Eric Clapton's "Nobody Loves You When Your Down And Out".

It isn't too hard and I think I will pick it up fairly quickly.

All good :)

He Played Knick Knack

2009-07-29T22:46:00.000+10:00

Spent yonks on "Stairway" tonight with some "Yesterday" thrown in for good measure.

Then spent some time on a whole bunch of childrens songs - they're all dead easy but fun to play and sing - now all I have to do is lock the grand kids in so they have to sit and listen - don't know why I didn't do this ages ago.

Going to do some Clapton tomorrow night.

All good :)

Quickie

2009-07-28T19:17:00.000+10:00

I had to come back up to Bathurst tonight to help Bec with an assignment but I managed to get in a quickie before I left for work this morning.

Just ran through "Stairway" a few times and then played through some childrens songs that I came across recently - you know - Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, Mary Had A Little Lamb etc. The plan is to amuse the grand kids :)

All good.

Dog With A Bone

2009-07-27T22:55:00.000+10:00

I was pretty knackered last night so didn't play at all (though I did get in a tiny bit of playing earlier in the day).

Tonight I spent virtually all my time on "Stairway" and "Yesterday" and I can see incremental progress. I'm nearly ther with Yesterday and I'm getting there with Stairway - very chuffed with it all.

Also spent a bit of time on scales and riffs.

All good :)