This is the twelfth and final week of the project! I started out with such high expectations and hopes for myself. Although I has not able to completely meet my end goal. I am glad Abby and i chose to do this project because it opened my eyes to something new. Now I know I can not play instruments nor can I follow sheet music. To attempt something and fail miserably is better than not trying at all. This was a challenging project and I am proud of Abby and I's hard work. This wee we began to discuss our final product and began to compose a prezi for our presentation.
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So last week I said I was going to go back and just learn the cords that I will strum and post a video. I am currently sick and haven't been a school for a few days so the video looks a little rough and I am coughing like crazy in it. When I started to relearn the chords I realized I was doing it upside down so I had to change the strings I was strumming. It has been hard to practice this week because I have had a fever every day and just sleep most of the time but I was able to take a video however I got logged out of my You Tube account and it won't let me post the video.
After many weeks of struggling and completely forgetting the cords. I noticed that my strumming is just fine but my left hand picking is what is holding me back. I think that if I just stick to only strumming I could understand it better. I am going to go back to the beginning and learn only the strumming cords. I was focusing mainly on the left hand fretting before. Next week I will take a video of my just strumming a few cords without left hand fretting and I will try to post it.
I had no idea we only had three weeks left... I am considering ditching the acoustic guitar and switching to an air guitar. Even if I did that I would probably still mess up! I would have to get really into it if I did the air guitar or else it would not look good. We had no time to practice this week, once again! We are thinking about bringing in our instruments and practicing at school on Wednesday. However, Gary may be using the banjo so it might not be possible to practice at school. I keep forgetting the notes and my fingers still get caught in the strings every time. But no worries because in the end I can always say I tried my best... just not musically inclined!!
These past 8 weeks have gone by so fast! We only have four weeks left of this project, which makes me nervous. I am still struggling to follow along with the song. This week I had three lacrosse games and Abby had another track meet. So we have yet to have another lesson with Gary due to our lack of free time. Also these you tube videos that I have been watching are no help. I can not keep up with them and I still do not understand all of the guitar terms that they reference. I am nervous about how well I will be at the guitar when this project is over but luckily Abby is right there with me so I will not be alone. Next week Abby and I will try our hardest to get an actual lesson but I have three games next week so will can only hope!
Since I was out of town over spring break I did not pick up my guitar at all. I forgot all of the chords and it really showed this week when I was practicing on my own. Abby and I have both been struggling to find time to get a guitar lesson by Gary. Abby has track and I have lacrosse practice everyday after school. We also had no idea this would be so time consuming. We are both regretting choosing the guitar as our genius project... I was actually contemplating picking up yodeling. I could probably get Mason Ramsey to come and teach me the proper techniques of yodeling. I am just joking haha. I have still been watching you tube videos occasionally and trying to play along with them. I can not keep up with the chords and I keep strumming the wrong ones. I wish I had longer fingers, that would make it much easier. This upcoming week I am going to try my hardest to practice more, but I have three lacrosse games and Abby has a track meet so whether or not we will be able to get a lesson is still undecided.
Today Mr. Barker asked my how my project was going and what I thought about the guitar. I showed him the video that I uploaded last week and told him how i was struggling to understand what he was saying in the video. I also realized that I have no idea how to rad sheet music. So of course Mr. Barker knew how! Within about two minutes Mr. Barker explained the main things that I need to know about sheet music to play the guitar. First off, I learned that sheet music is essentially written upside down. So the bottom line is technically the top string on the guitar. The numbers written over the lines (strings) tell you which fret to play. For example the 0 stands for "open fret" which means do not press down on any fret. The 4 means to play the fourth fret while strumming that specific chord. Also at the bottom of the sheet music it tells you that it is played in an eight note. This helped me so much because I was so lost last week! I watched the video again and was able to follow along a lot better this week.
If I had to describe learning how to play the guitar in one word, that word would be impossible. I'm joking, sort of. Before I started this project I had this image of myself being really good and just instantly being an amazing guitarist. Which was probably my first mistake because I definitely set the bar way to high for myself. But like everything else learning the skill takes time. So this week when I was beginning to start playing the guitar I realized how hard and painful it actually is. My fingers were sore from playing the strings but I'm sure I will get used to it over time. This week I watched a video lesson by a guy named Ryan Kimm and tried to follow along with him. Given that my guitar vocabulary is limited I was very confused throughout the whole video but was able to hit a few notes right. Below is the link to his video. Next week I am going to be watch a few other videos from You Tube of different people teaching Turkey In The Straw also. I am finding out that as each week progresses the guitar lessons get harder and it is also harder to find enough time to practice each week. I am still struggling with being able to not brush the other strings when I am fretting and strumming the guitar. This week we reviewed everything we have learned and listened to the song we will be learning. I video taped Gary playing the song that we will be learning. The song is called Turkey in the Straw. To be honest I am kind of nervous about learning it because it looks very complicated! Below is a YouTube video of Gary playing part of the song. Next week we will begin learning the song. Continuing into this week, I practiced tuning by myself without the help of Gary. It took a lot of patience and tries to finally get the tune right. I am also struggling with pressing the strings down with my finger tips and not the fingerprint area. Although I do not practice as often as I thought I would, my left hand is making progress. What I learned last week was that your left hand was solely for playing the chords. Your right hand is for strumming only.
Right Hand Strumming Right hand strumming is generally done with a pick, but it is recommended to be able to play without one also. There are thin and thick picks. The thin pick is commonly used among beginners for more control. A thick pick is generally used with electric guitar. My right hand is very inconsistent when I strum. Sometimes it is too soft then other times it is too powerful. A key thing that Gary told me was to strum softly and not put too much power into even if I am trying to play loud. I just need to strum on time and follow the rhythm. |
About the author
Hey y'all! My name is Jessica Crosby. I am a sophomore at Davie High School and this is my blog for my Genius Hour Project. I am learning how to play the acoustic guitar.
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