Back at it

Back to practicing some guitar today. Tried a little of the blues scale, worked on improvising to a different jazz standard, and played a little to the guitar course’s jam along stuff. Reading a biography of Jimi Hendrix, and really liking it. 

So Cool

One gigantic eye opening musical learning experience for me was learning that major bar chord. I remember I was using a Bad Co. music book and played some bar chords to their song “Can’t Get Enough.”

Well here I am in 2024 and I had another experience like that. 

I

Learned

How

To 

Solo

So cool. 

Fabulous

Very very happy with my guitar playing these last few days. Soloing all over the place on “All of Me,” first just me playing to a canned background, and then this morning with band. Being able to solo like this is nothing short of

A

Dream

Fulfilled 

🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

“All Of Me”

Ok, so I made my first recording tonight of me using the Pentatonic Course stuff to solo. Not perfect, but ok for a first go through.

P e n t a t o n I c

Working it on a real chord progression today. Going to take work to get it to sound right. 

Two More

Had group meeting with others regarding the soloing course. Looks like we have two more group meetings to go. This course is good stuff.

Circa 2002

Dud Snowstorm

Was supposed to get some snow, but this morning it looked like we hardly did. Visited youngest daughter today for her 22nd birthday. 

Entered my guitar playing into the course’s site. Learned from it that I could do better knowing the pentatonic shapes.

Wife videotaped me for it. Here’s a still from it:

Guitar Fun

Today’s practice was interesting. Played some of this week’s course work, BUT… then it went somewhere cool. Was getting into playing other stuff, and it felt good to just Play Guitar. 

Morning Practice

Went over soloing over a progression consisting of A major and D major. Progressing in that I found a cool motif, and stretching out from just two patterns. 

Pentatonic Homework

Played a bit to a backing track that was this week’s assignment. Started slow, but then got into it. It’s using two pentatonic scales for their respective chords. Adding to the two scales, I stretched it sometime to other positions. Pleased that I found a cool little melody in there 👍 

It’s going to take some homework to make the scales sound melodic when I use them in a song. 

Ok

Ok day of guitar practice. Not a lot, though. 

Not a Great Guitar Day

Had tooth worked on this morning…

Tried playing pentatonic stuff to a song and was underwhelmed. 

Super Bowl Sunday

Chiefs vs 49ers

Good guitar day. Had our group meeting this morning that went well. It’s a good boost. Asked if teacher can show how to “tap.” For the first time, I actually tapped. Won’t make it a habit 😂 

Good practice today extending some patterns into the secondary ones.

Nice Saturday

Visited a good friend who lives about two hours away. We’ve been getting together with each other every month or two; we alternate whose place we visit. He has a cool “man cave.” He has a number of guitars - a Godin, Gibson Les Paul, Ibanez. Cool hearing him play jazz chords out of the Mickey Baker book. 

Came home and practiced my pentatonic stuff. Starting to try to use the scale over actual songs. Tomorrow will be meeting with the guitar course folks over Zoom. 

Recording this week’s assignment

Pentatonic

No real practice today, but I did record me playing over a jam track supplied in my pentatonic course. It was a challenge! This week, we were to play lead guitar over a two chord jam: G major and D major; the patterns assigned were very close to each other, and this made complicated things! Good workout. But I’m realizing that by focusing on what I’ve been emphasizing (memorizing roots), I leave out focusing on the other course material - 

Pentatonic Application

I think I’ve made significant progress in my endeavor to get some basics of the pentatonic scale into my brain. Today I did not practice a lot, but I tried to apply that scale to improvising on songs. Went ok, but needs work. 

Practice practice practice

Making progress, too.

More Pentatonic Familiarity

Trying (still) to internalize those pentatonic roots for major and minor chords. Getting there! It’s actually a fun challenge,

Chords & Roots

More practice today getting those six important scales down. I can get them, but it takes TIME for me to figure out how to put them on the correct frets.

In other news, looks like a dentist visit in inevitable.

Chords and Roots

As always, a good meeting with the Pentatonic People today. Heard the group leader talk about chord shapes and thought that there ARE chord shapes that can help me remember the scales. Took that idea and ran with it today in practice, and I’m finding it helpful! 

Recording the latest assignment in the course I’m taking:

Guitar & Church

Practicing the guitar big time; I see the potential of the Pentatonic Scale, so I keep working on it. Big Time. 

Played guitar in Catholic Mass tonight. Even received the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. 

Rest in Peace Carl Weathers

Pounding those shapes in my brain. Really think at this point it’s just a matter of time. These are just patterns, though, and the goal is to make music out of them. 

On a sad note… sad to hear of the passing of Carl Weathers (aka Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies). Most of the Rocky movies are special to me, especially the first one. So inspirational. 

Rest in Peace, Carl Weathers 

#BePeace

Learning

Ok so I was going to use my memorization of roots in order to remember the applicable pentatonic shape. (Let’s call that Plan A). But that wasn’t working. So I was then going to use the instructor’s method of remembering scales by their chord shapes. But that wasn’t working. I liked, though, how with his method, it greatly organizes things by simplifying choices. (Let’s call that Plan B). But what is working?

What is helpful is mixing the “best of” both plans. I’ll use the ‘finding root method’ instead of using chord shapes. BUT, I’ll use how Plan B organizes things. And it’s working! Plan C to the rescue!