Tag: guitar lesson

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 minutes (per day) to pick up the guitar and learn something; anything. Whether it be 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 any 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, mostly due to sweat. I also added Vincent’s post on 50+ Easy Guitar Songs for Every Beginner. As a beginner, novice I am. Not horrible might be away to describe the journey.

Online Resources, Content Creators

The lessons and songs plays nicely in the sandbox, guitar in hand, for 20 – 30 minutes. They cover “I Wanna Be There” by Blessed Union Of Souls, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, “3am” by Matchbox 20, “Learning To Fly” by Tom Petty and “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd. I wouldn’t say this was easy for me as a struggling novice. Additionally, Vincent’s collection includes other online talent with distinction – a quick search, and you too can play along with @Guitar Zoom – for Chord Work via Steve Stine, @MartyMusic – for the “3am” lesson by Marty Swartz, and “The Secret to Strumming Learning To Fly” by Tom Petty, 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 positions etc. from a music perspective, or general reading, 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 that’s the value in what we’re targeting in this post. Yes, this post is specific to guitar learning, and may be more about ‘writing’ for me, writers block or fatigue. I’m a firm believer in finding new skills, making new connections and pushing myself further than the day prior. Final note, I’ve had access to a guitar since college, over 20 years ago. It’s time to pick it up, tune it, and start learning today.

Good luck with your own activity to start today, grind away