Guitar Lesson - 17/10/2016
In the guitar lesson today we covered warm ups, maintenance and scales. I found the warm ups helpful as previously I've never really warmed up to play. We did three warm ups - diminished chords, hammer ons and pull offs and a mechanical one. The hammer on one was the simplest, it involved holding your first finger down on the high E string and hammering on then pulling off with each finger in turn. Then we moved on to the second finger and repeated the process, then a final time starting on the third finger. Our teacher suggested we could carry on this exercise on each string as well. I liked the diminished chord exercise because I learned two new chord shapes. You can also play these chords higher up the fretboard which could be useful in the future. The hardest warm up was the mechanical one because it involved the most movement. We used a finger per fret starting on the D string and then went diagonally up the strings. Then you change to going diagonally down the strings with your pinky finger leading on the D string instead of your first. It was fiddly and quite difficult to change between the shapes but I think it will be a useful exercise for me. My pinky finger is the weakest so all these exercises will help me strengthen it up.
After warming up, we talked about guitar maintenance and safety when playing. I suggested that it is important to maintain the neck and action of your guitar because if it warps then it will be difficult to play. You also need to change your strings every few months and clean your fretboard to keep it feeling nice to play and sounding good. Safety points we picked up on were not tripping on wires, bending strings correctly and making sure the electronics on your guitar will not electrocute you.
Next we practised scales. We each took turns improvising over Thinking Out Loud in D Major. It was a slow tempo so I found it easy but still helpful because it built on my confidence playing in front of the others. I think there is room for improvement with improvising because I don't know many scales and I could also be faster and include more licks and ornaments. One thing I do want to get out of these lessons is learning about theory, for example, learning about the circle fifths and all the notes on the fretboard so that I can improvise over any song as long as I know what key it is in.
For next lesson I am going to practise the warm ups and use them to help me when rehearsing on Wednesdays. I'm also going to research the circle of fifths a bit more and practise improvising in D. These are SMART targets because they are short exercises I can do at home so they won't take up much time. This also makes them attainable as they aren't tiresome activities. They are measurable because I can speed up the tempo I improvise at and once I find it easier to play faster I will know I am achieving my goal.
After warming up, we talked about guitar maintenance and safety when playing. I suggested that it is important to maintain the neck and action of your guitar because if it warps then it will be difficult to play. You also need to change your strings every few months and clean your fretboard to keep it feeling nice to play and sounding good. Safety points we picked up on were not tripping on wires, bending strings correctly and making sure the electronics on your guitar will not electrocute you.
Next we practised scales. We each took turns improvising over Thinking Out Loud in D Major. It was a slow tempo so I found it easy but still helpful because it built on my confidence playing in front of the others. I think there is room for improvement with improvising because I don't know many scales and I could also be faster and include more licks and ornaments. One thing I do want to get out of these lessons is learning about theory, for example, learning about the circle fifths and all the notes on the fretboard so that I can improvise over any song as long as I know what key it is in.
For next lesson I am going to practise the warm ups and use them to help me when rehearsing on Wednesdays. I'm also going to research the circle of fifths a bit more and practise improvising in D. These are SMART targets because they are short exercises I can do at home so they won't take up much time. This also makes them attainable as they aren't tiresome activities. They are measurable because I can speed up the tempo I improvise at and once I find it easier to play faster I will know I am achieving my goal.
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