Progress thus far

Okay so you may have read my earlier post on my Rocksmith progression but don't let that fool you into believing that this means i am anywhere near ready to call myself a guitarist because I am not. Learning guitar is possibly the most challenging thing I have ever tried to do. I am still struggling to make my fingers do what I want them to do. I still pluck the wrong string and find the wrong place on the fretboard far too often for comfort. I have most of the basic chords under my belt but switch between them is a slow and arduous process for my dumb fingers.

This is however a thousand times better than it was several months ago and I can honestly say I am happy with my progress, indeed my instructor has even commented that he can tell I am practising a lot at home and thinks that I am making good progress.

My practise time at home usually consist of practising the "A Minor" scale all the way up the fret board and the G Major Scale. This is then followed by trying to get my fingers to shift between various chords. More recently my tutor has asked me to begin learning the intro of ACDC's Highway to Hell this is now proving to be a lot easier than it did in last weeks lesson so I am hoping that by my next lesson I will have it nailed.


I am trying to be a lot stricter with my practise time at home as I have found over the last few weeks that it is easy to become distracted and play things I already know because I find it either easy or fun which in my opinion has not helped my progression. I need to focus to the areas I find more difficult and when I do play for fun find a way to put them into practice.

I want a new guitar!!!

Hi and welcome back to Riffs & Chords.
It has been about a week since my last entry and what a week I have had! I have fallen in love with my next guitar. My current guitar is possibly one of the cheapest money can buy and though during the first few weeks of using it I hadn't noticed any problems with it it is now beginning to show signs of very cheap build quality. Firstly let me say my guitar sounds and plays fine, I have nothing to compare it to and for learning with it is sufficient. However over the past couple of weeks parts of the guitar have worked loose that shouldn't have which in turn has vexed me enough to look at new guitars.

Firstly, about 2 weeks ago before I even started writing this blog I went to plug the jack into the guitar only to find that the nut that holds the socket in place had worked loose and fallen on my bedroom floor this resulted in the socket been pushed inside the guitar when I tried to plug the jack in. On top of this, in the space of just a week the screw that holds the top strap button in place came loose as did one of the screws that holds the humbucker closest to the bridge. Whilst these issues were relatively minor and easy to repair it was enough to make me look at better guitars.

I needed to find a store which stocked a good range of left handed guitars my local shops are pants when it come to us southpaws and after a little time on Google I found Andertons Music Co which when I have finished this post will be added to my list of guitar shops despite not being local.
They have the best range of left handed guitars I have ever seen.

The Schecter Omen Extreme 6 was the first guitar that caught my eye within a sensible price range. In my eyes it is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen and having read many online reviews of the guitar it was very hard to find any negative comments. However, having watched youtube videos of this beast being put through its paces it does seem like it is a little limited in its versatility, this was backed up by my guitar tutor. It is still very tempting but I want my next guitar to offer versatility as I have a very broad taste in music and want to be able to play as much as possible.

After further searches I came across the Chapman ML 1. It just Oozes everything I would want from a guitar. Sure it is not quiet as asphetically pleasing to the eye as the schecter but the range of sounds I have heard coming from this guitar on youtube is mouthwatering. Interestingly every feature on this guitar was voted upon during its design process. Having watched countless videos of this guitar being put through its paces I can safely say that this is going to be my next guitar. Below is a video of this guitar being tested by none other than Rob Chapman himself.

Rocksmith 2014

Along with using a professional guitar tutor I am also using Rocksmith 2014 on the PS3 to aid my learning of new songs. For those who don't know what Rocksmith is think of it as game that teaches you how to play guitar. It isn't without its flaws, after all it is only a game but what it does do is get somebody like me playing my guitar for hours on end learning new songs and practising techniques.

Guitar tutors are right to be sceptical as it certainly wont pick on on my bad habits such as not playing with finger tips or not muting strings correctly but it does keep you playing.

See below for a video of somebody playing Knights of Cydonia

My own progress is nowhere near as good as this but i know that with time there is no reason why I too wont be about to play the song to this standard.

Below are screen shots of my own progress of various song, apologies for not having a video of audio of myself, this is something I will remedy of future posts.

Introduction

I guess with this being my first post I should introduce myself and explain with I have chosen to learn guitar and maybe even have an obligatory whinge or two.
So, my name is Joey and I am 37 years old. I got my first guitar about 3 years ago, it was a cheap acoustic guitar and after learning "Come as you are" by Nirvana I put it away to collect dust. I suppose my excuse for putting it away is I kind of lost my way a little. I did not know what to learn or how to learn and though I had toyed with the idea of tuition it was not something that i had seriously considered.
A few months ago I picked the old, dusty and neglected guitar up again and went for my first lesson and after been advised to ditch the cheap acoustic I bought myself a cheap electric guitar and I now well and truly have the bug.
I really cannot understand why I have left it so long to learn guitar, I feel like I have missed out for so many years and can wholeheartedly say that if you are in two minds about learning guitar then seriously, just do it. Don't put it off. Find yourself a guitar tutor in your area and stick with it your wont be disappointed.

Musical Influences

I feel it is important at this point to mention the bands I love and that have contributed to me wanting to pick up a guitar in the first place.

Guns n Roses
I must have been about 11 years old when I first heard Appetite for Destruction and remained a big fan until the band split. I do not follow them now, it just isn't Guns n Roses without Slash and Duff.

Nirvana
I still listen to Nirvana on a regular basis, I never get sick of hearing Kurts voice.

Metallica
My god, what a band these were/are. When I want something a little on the heavier side you cant beat Metallica's earlier albums.

Other bands of note that I love include - The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Pantera, Rage against the Machine, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, AC/DC, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix, Kings of Leon, Marilyn Manson, Mumford and Sons, Oasis, The Offspring, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Tool Coal Chamber and Korn.

Time for a whine

I am left handed. Why is there such limited stock of left handed guitars. Yes I understand that us left handed folk are the minority but seriously I visited a local shop this Saturday recommended to me by my tutor and they did not have a single left handed guitar on display or in stock. The guy behind the counter could not even tell me what models he could get left handed.
It isn't just guitars though, I recently purchased an Ernie Ball book and i kid you not it was next to useless as it was written solely for right handed guitar players in mind only. Learning how to play guitar if difficult enough without having to interpret books that are supposedly written to make it easier.

Long term goals

Nothing too big, I suppose for now just to be able to play a song or two flawlessly would be pretty cool but in the long term many years from now it would be amazing to be on a stage playing guitar without getting heckled.