Day 3: Vacation

A good guitar day during vacation. Practiced a bit and internalizing the accidentals in the chord groups.

Day 2. Vacation at Virginia Beach

Did some memorization of the characteristics of some chord forms and played some forms on the guitar. 

Picture of your's truely

Taken and edited by daughter #2 during the journey to Virginia Beach

Day 1. Vacation at Virginia Beach

Tried to do some studying of the forms on the ride up. Practiced a tiny bit on a cheap guitar. 

C....F....G7....

Trying today to really get the forms ingrained for the C, F, G7 chords. C has 17, F has 19, and G7 has 21. 

Happy 16th Birthday!

Happy 16th Birthday to the best son ever! Just can't believe it was 16 years ago today....

Coincidentally, I am on page 16 of the Assembly Line book. Determined to get what I need from this great book.

Forging Ahead

Still feeling under the weather, but managed to squeeze in a bit of practice time tonight; reviewed the note forms for the C, F, G7, Dmin7 chords, and finished learning the Am7 note forms. Getting prepared to face the fact that my son will turn 16 years old tomorrow. Unreal.

Under the Weather

Feeling ill today but managed to practice a bit of the Am7 chord melody notes.

Rolling Stones / Assembly Line

Is there a better rock and roll band than the Rolling Stones? I think not. Gimme Shelter, Sympathy For the Devil, Honky Tonk Woman.....the whole Exile on Main Street album is what rock and roll is all about. The grooves of Slave, Hot Stuff, Fingerprint File.... I differentiate rock music (Led Zeppelin / The Who) from rock and roll (the Stones, Chuck Berry), and no other band rock and rolls like the Stones. Jagger's voice is the voice of rock and roll, and his lyrics are the best r&r lyrics. Richards is the king of the rock and roll riff. Great stuff!

Had an opportunity to rejoin a rock and roll band that I left awhile ago, and though it was tempting, I'm more interested in chord melody guitar stuff. The Stones rocking in their 70's is a lot cooler than me rocking in my 50's! 

On page 14 of the Assembly Line book.

Assembly Line

Just started relearning the Dmin7 chords. Just had a little practice time today, but something is better than nothing. 

On the Assembly Line

Working the C, F, G7 forms. 

Back to the Start

Working through the Assembly Line book from the start, but this time going somewhat slower trying to understand it better. Interesting (I flew by this before) how in the F series the C series repeats again after some F notes. 

My Epiphone Casino is back for sale.

Lost 18.5 pounds....

Here's a picture of the sunrise today taken as I was on my morning walk...

Slow Down, you move to fast!

Had some time today to translate what I know so far from the Assembly Line book into songs. Tried it with "Over the Rainbow" and "Tenderly." A couple of observations as to what I learned:

1) THIS WILL TAKE WORK! It was difficult trying to translate the forms I knew into chords that were more unfamiliar. 

2) I am not done the book, and I think to facilitate my learning, I need to SLOW DOWN and learn the stuff good. Go through the book and THEN go to the songs. 

3) SLOW DOWN and internalize the material in the book better. Maybe do not be an Expert in the book, but at least learn the material satisfactorily.

Lost 17.5 pounds since June 14.

Add the Dm

So with the little practice I did today, I reviewed the Dm notes...and the C,F,G7 ones.

Lost 16.5 pounds 

Just a Bit

Fit just a little bit of practice in today of the C, F, and G7 note forms. Thinking soon may learn a song.

Lost about 16 pounds.

Getting There

Looks like although I won't be able to find them quickly, and it may not be perfect, I feel fairly confident that I can find find most chord shapes for just about any relevant note associated with any Major, Dominant, and Diminished Chord. 

Lost about 15 pounds in a about a month; exercising (walking and lifting hand weights), and trying to eat better.

Improvisers!

Great picture of Stéphane Grappelli playing guitar while Django Reinhardt holds his ears!

More Assembly Line

Working on engraining those C, F, and some G7 forms. Sitting in my chair working on it. 

Walking an hour daily and still eating better.

Guitar Day

Practiced throughout the day really really getting those forms in my hands in all keys, mostly for the C chords, but started on the F chords. A good work day with the guitar.

Not Giving Up!

Working out of Conti's Assembly Line material, I am realizing that in order to facilitate the transfer of the various chord groups to other chords, I need to go back to the beginning of the book and Really Internalize the material previously gone through.  Working on doing that. Not giving up; it would be silly to give up at this point; this stuff seems very doable but not without some effort.

Love is Blue

Love is Blue.....what a beautiful song. Will always remind me of my mom....

Working on the meat of Conti's Assembly Line book...adapting forms to different chords. Still not even sure of the chords I learned before! 

Tired

Didn't get too much accomplished today. Learned some more about diminished chords, but my diminished energy got in the way today! I have a feeling that I'm at the point in the Conti book where things may get frustrating and/or interesting!

Robert Conti's "Assembly Line" Material

Really enjoying the Assembly Line material by Conti. What a leap forward for my guitar playing. On the DVD and book I'm almost done with the diminished chord stuff though I have to revisit that E7 stuff covered in a previous exercise. Great how he minimizes theory and emphasizes the importance of playing the guitar. He should have met David Sudnow.

I still continue to walk an hour a day (even if in broken intervals of short periods of time), and I still continue to try (although not 100% successful :) ) to eat better.

Early Morning Walk

Soup Kitchen

Me and the family did some volunteering at a soup kitchen today....interesting....

Started watching the Conti DVD today...

July 6, 2013

Went to visit dad today with my wife and kids; also met my brother and my mom's sister there. A really nice family day culminating in a Mass for mom. Was nostalgic and sad being in my hometown Church with so many memories there. 

I have been communicating with fellow Robert Conti learners about my use of the Assembly Line book. Apparently I'm to focus less on rote memorization of melody note / chord combinations and focus more on playing them in songs. So much like the Sudnow piano learning philosophy. Learn by doing on the instrument rather than learning by memorization.

 Oh yea, another thing that I've neglected doing in utilizing the Assembly Line book: WATCHING IT'S ACCOMPANYING FOUR HOUR DVD ! ! ! ! You would think that I would have assumed that it might be imortant!

Started learning the diminished forms today.

July 5, 2013

A rugged day of practicing. Trying to get those melody notes internalized but I'm used to playing them in order of each chord rather than the way they appear in songs (all jumbled up). Emphasized practicing them in the exercises provided today. Still learning them in order of each chord; however, more will probably be gained by learning them in songs.

E7

Trying to get the melody notes in my head for the C, F, G7, Am7, Dm7, and now the E7 chords. Learning to use the previously learned stuff to incorporate the E7 notes is getting difficult. Also, although learning the hand configurations which correspond each note is ok, what will take some getting used to is learning how to jump back and forth between notes and chords while playing songs. Hanging in there ok.

Walked an hour today and although I ate mostly good during the day, I had a cheeseburger tonight.

July 2, 2013

Struggled with the Conti chord melody stuff today. Must remember that it is ok to not learn everything quickly. Made the mistake of reading ahead and perhaps thinking that the material will get to rough. Just need to remember its ok to take it slow and not expect to learn everything so quickly. It'll take work, and it will probably help to remind myself that:

1) The system isn't THAT simple that it can be learned quickly

2) Learning things slowly at my pace is OK.

3) Keep my eyes on the goal to help with motivation

4) Things that are initially difficult can indeed still be learned and internalized in time

Deer !

Look really close at this picture. I was able to take this picture of a deer this morning during a walk.

Chord Melody and Maybe a Trade

Ok, so it looks like I'm getting to know pretty well the melody notes associated with the C, F, G7, Dm7, and now the Am7 chords. Applying them quickly, within the context of an actual song, though, is difficult. I'll get there. Looking to maybe trade my Casino for something similar with humbucking pickups.

Walked an hour today, and eating well.

Talked to the guy today with whom a Gypsy Jazz gig might be forthcoming. Decided I'll focus on my continued chord melody learning and will add learning Gypsy Jazz leads/improvisation.