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12.02.04 Jimmy Learns Music Blog 10
Written by Jimmy
Hello. Month in to the 2012 Music Journey. So far sticking to this resolution. Assume all others long abandoned, although I’ve retained (nice one) my resolution to drink lots more water, which is really a weeing resolutin to wee lots more. So music and water (sounds like a ‘Singing Well’ – nice plug, go here). If you need to catch up on what this blog is about – go hear (nice one, very punny today). Briefly, it is a an excercise in weekly humiliation as I try to learn a wee bit about music from the comfort of my own home.
I’ve settled into a little routine and picked up another friend on the journey. Here’s the basic routine for each music day:
- Practice guitar chords by bouncing back and forth between the F and other open chords while doing a little picking. Chris has been helping with a little pick pattern each week. I do this to a click to keep somewhat in time but generally each move to F is an F’ing train wreak. Here I’ve taken a little pause from Next Level Guitar, which I explain and will give some advice to my friend David.
- Spend time going around my chord wheel, learning a new key for chords. Inevitably leads to a rush of books finding piano and guitar chords. The Chord Wheel remains a good friedn.
- Work on a chapter of Chord Progressions. Here’s where I met the latest friend. I then play around with a song using that progression but never quite finish anything.
Going from Open Chords to Bar Chords: I’m a big fan of Next Level Guitar and have used them for picking up guitar from scratch. I lost my way a bit with my friend David as we moved into bar chords, however. The great things about lessons 1-100 is if you just did each twice you learned enough to go to next with modest praciting in between. When we got to Bar chords, however, we went very fast to 5th string, 6th string bar chords up and down the next and going from one lesson to next was a month or two of practicing. So, I took a little break to really make sure I can do bar chords (still a work in progress). What I found very useful was to switch to learning picking patterns and simply learn them between F to C, F to G and then G down to D minor up to A minor. You pick every string but also you are practicing your switch to F to make sure every string rings true. Because you’re learning new picking a long the way, it is far more motivating then being stuck in bar chord hell. I’ll tell you when I emerge from my picking phase to get back to lesson 109 on Next Level Guitar. And if I emerge in tact I will suggest a slightly different lesson pattern for my friend David… I am way to far away to declare victory. And speaking of good picking:
The Chord Wheel is still my friend and I discovered something you all knew about all by myself: So I’m now at A, going around the chord wheel learning each key, gradually picking up all my black keys. So much fun. And I learned, all by self, that the sharps you add are simply the major chord of the vii. I didn’t know that but it just sort of happened. I imagine I’m in for real thrills when I zip around to the flats, but don’t spoil it for me. And speaking of songs about wheels (paddle wheels):
A new friend is Richard Scott and His Book on Chord Progressions: I wanted to learn chord progressions (you know, the basic stuff like I-V, or I-V-IV or 12 bar blues) and found a great book written by Richard Scott. He’s insanely into music and each chapter is a different progression which includes 100’s of songs that use that progression. He presumes a musical knowledge I don’t have and I do get lost when he goes too wonky on chord substitutions, but in general it is fascinating. Like when I wrote Foot Prints to learn every open chord I know, I’m on a knew song that simply uses ascending chord progressions from Chapter 1. I am sure it is very naff, but it’s helpful. Here’s his website, which frankly I haven’t explored, as I’m working on the book: click here.
That’s it.
Jimmy