Nose To The Grind – 20mins A Day
Lab Work – Grinding Out Practice Time, Self-Improvement
Today, I added strumming the guitar ‘guitar grind’ back in the mix. Grind you say? Yes, the grind. I’ve never been musically inclined, nor formally taught, trained or had a significant amount of time to dedicate to the craft. So, in order to chip away at this theory of the ‘grind’… today, I’ve found 20/30 mins (per day) to pick up the guitar and learn something; anything – lessons, chord progression, song practice, music theory, finger position, scales, strumming and more. Like I said, just trying to chip away at the rust, if there was rust built up over the years.
Check out my recent post on the D’Addario medium celluloid picks, I’ve found them to be useful when dealing with finger slippage, sweat mostly. While also adding Vincent’s post on 50+ Easy Guitar Songs for Every Beginner… a beginner, novice I am. Not horrible might be away to describe the journey.
The lessons and songs plays nicely in the sandbox, guitar in hand, song, 20 – 30 mins… covering “I Wanna Be There” – Blessed Union Of Souls, “Three Little Birds – Bob Marley, “3am” – Matchbox 20, “Learning To Fly” – Tom Petty and “Comfortably Numb” – Pink Floyd… By no means would I say this was easy for me, as a struggling novice. Furthermore, Vincent’s collection adds other online talent with distinction – a quick search, and you too can play along – @Guitar Zoom – Chord Work via Steve Stine, @Marty Music – 3am lesson via Marty Swartz, @Learning To Fly via Lauren Bateman…
So, what am I getting at here? What’s the catch? I’ll leave you with this: Whether it’s learning the guitar outright, formal music lessons, finger position etc. from a music perspective, or general reading, Toastmasters (speech improvement), welding, community stewardship etc… whatever it may be, try it for 20/30 mins a day. Dedicate the time to developing this habit, a new habit. Good habits are hard to find, and the value in what we are targeting here in this post. Yes, this post being specific to guitar, and may be more about ‘writing’ for me as well but deep down writing might be it’s own blocker, fatigue mostly. I’m a firm believer in finding new skills, making new connections and pushing myself further than the day prior. Also, and final note, I’ve had access to a guitar sometime in my life since college, 20+ years, time to pick it up, tune it, and start learning today.
Good luck with your own activity to start today, grind away
Scales
Scales, Guitar Mechanics, & Tabs
All joking aside, the guitar has been a bear for me… 12 notes, sharps/flats, whatever that means. I’ve spent some 17 years trying to learn. Unfortunately, a majority of those years were spent sans guitar. I will admit, as tough is that is, it might have been a good idea to invest in a music teacher. But, since guitar ownership was never in the cards… Since then, guitar in hand… I’ve been using @GuitarZoom – @SteveStine and @JustinGuitar. Interested? If so, here is a look at one of my favorites for fretboard work.
As usual leave a comment below, let us know what you’re thinking?