ralper

Thank you Patty, it makes great sense.

If you think you'd like to try the drums, you should. Take a few lessons, you might really like it.

ralper

Lesson #6 Chords.

Tonight was lesson #6. We started to learn about chords. Right now they seem impossible, but I'm sure with a little (a lot) bit of practice we should be able to play chords.

The class, which started with 11 people, is now down to 7. The instructor predicted that by the 8th or 9th week we'd be down to 3 or 4 people. I think he's wrong. Every one here seems like they really want to learn to play the guitar. And the fact that everyone (except of Andrew and one young woman) is at least middle aged makes me think that those remaining will stay. Nobody is ashamed to ask questions or admit that they're having a hard time with something.

Anyway, we go a few new sheets of music to practice, all with chords. After tonight there are 4 more lessons. It doesn't seem like I'll be ready for a record contract in 4 weeks.

valentine

Sounds as if you're enjoying your lessons. I'm happy for you.

JWN6264

You will pick up chords quickly. Your fingers will develop muscle memory and you will be able to grab a chord without thinking about it. One great exercise is to practice chord progressions. As you learn a new chord, you can strum a progression from previous chords you learned.

Let's say you learned a G and D chord. You can work up a little strumming exercise transitioning between those two chords. You can also practice different strumming patterns at the same time! I'm guessing your instructor is starting with open chords and then will move into barre chords and the variations in those.

I love that playing the guitar exercises my mind differently than my work everyday. I find that it relaxes me and allows me to think clearer. I'll even pick up my guitar and play while working on a particularly difficult problem - it seems to open my mind to possible solutions.

Keep having fun with it!

Legal Bill

That's just about packaging and clothing Rob. You need to make up a great t-shirt and band name and you'll be signed by Friday.

boltonblue

I went to a technical institute for college. We had to do what was called a sufficiency to graduate.
Basically it was like a minor in humanities.
I love music so I decided I would start out with the lowest level music class, learn to play something and my sufficiency could be a performance. ( beats writing papers)
First class rolls around and the prof goes to the chalk board and puts three sets of bars up there and starts talking some foriegn language about dichromatic progressions from minor to major keys or some similar gobblegook.
Two minutes into the class and Dorothy and Toto quickly came to mind since it was obvious I was no longer in Kansas anymore...
within 5 minutes, I was standing in line changing my classes around.

AZS2KDancer

What a great thread. I played trumpet and piano in my youth, dropping the piano, regrettably now, but stayed with the trumpet for 10 years. I enjoyed elementary school band, Jr. High band, including jazz band, and high school marching and concert bands, I even picked up the French Horn for the high school production of The Sound of Music, and had a great little solo. The high school band and the youth band I joined after high school both toured the USA in marching band competitions for two memorable summers. What a fantastic opportunity it all was.

30 years later, I bought myself a very good trumpet and started lessons again. When I was out of work and had time during the day, I found a local band of new and come-again players through the New Horizons organization. What fun it was to play in a band again! Regrettably, I had to get a real job once again, and couldn't make the Tuesday 10:00 a.m. rehearsals.

Daily practice is key to anything you want to learn, be it a sport, a language or a musical instrument. Keep up the good work, and you'll be very happy with your progress in a short time. I'm very pleased to hear of adults finally learning to play an instrument. You are never too old to learn.

Suzuka_Joe

i've played guitar for 20 years since I was 7. I've got a 79 gibson les paul custom, a gibson les paul standard and a gibson slash les paul standard, 3 custom shop charvels, a gibson flying v, ibanez rg570, peavey wolfgang deluxe, fender tele, and a couple cheap guitars. I had a few more high end guitars earlier this year but ended up selling most of them to get out of debt.. my PRS Custom 22 (for some reason i miss it a lot), 3 gibson explorers, a custom charvel, 2 music man petrucci's, my axe fx ii, my marshall dsl head and cab... I've owned over 100 guitars and i'm sure i'll get more some day

boltonblue

I'm surprised CHazmo hasn't piped in.
If I recall correctly he plays french horn in one of the local symphony groups and has quite the guitar collection.

valentine

^^ Would love it if he did. Miss his posts.