Understanding Guitar

One Beginners’ Efforts

So I’ve always liked the Jaws theme… I’m pretty sure that most people (over 18) are familiar with this little tune.  Now, when I say tune I’m talking specificity about the trademark lead introduction piece; not the entire thing… I’m not even sure that there is an entire thing… Besides the point right now…

Anyway, I put together some music tabs for the song / introduction - this was done quickly and may not be perfect, but my wife said it sounded right…  So enjoy!

• Jaws Theme as TuxGuitar File
• Jaws Theme as PDF File

If you set up your TuxGuitar properly (you need a soundbank installed in to Java) you can have TuxGuitar play it for you — and you can practice with TuxGuitar.

Here is a YouTube video that I found with the theme in case you want to hear the ‘Real’ version or if you have no clue as to what I’m talking about:

Note To Self: Learn how to utilize the “guitar playalongs” on IG Blog…

Yesterday, I was practicing playing guitar… and I don’t know why but for some reason I had the most fun practicing in a long time.

Don’t get me wrong, I do — most of the time — enjoy practicing guitar. That is the point after all… To relax!

However, lately practicing hasn’t been as fun as it use to be.  It is possible that I’m not focusing and moving myself forward enough. One must keep moving forward or (1) you will not learn anything new and (2) you bore yourself.

I’m at the boring-myself stage… Though there is probably a lot more I could have learned had I pushed a little harder.

I need to sit down and establish a practice routine for each day that I practice. I think Joe from “From The Woodshed” has done things similar to that… Though, he dedicates a lot more time for his practice…

What was I doing yesterday to have so much fun? Well, I started working through a book I bought called: 10 Minute Guitar Workout by David Mead. 

The book presents a technique for practicing where you practice certain things (chord changes, scales, etc) for 2 minutes each. There a total of 5 exercises for each day.  The goal is to complete x amount of sets within the two minutes. After so many days, you proceed to the next “sets” goal until eventually you proceed to the next set of exercises.

Now I just started with the book, so I can not say whether it is working or not. I can tell you that the tasks are a bit different from what I have been doing and it is (most importantly) a little more focused than what I’ve been doing… Which is why I think it was a bit more fun.

Additionally, the book came with a CD which I was playing with. I used the BestPractice software to slow the tracks down. This allowed me to play the exercises at different tempos with the CD, which allowed me to mix things up a bit.

I wanted to wish all my readers a very Happy Earth day. I hope everyone ran or bicycled to work today…

I didn’t… But I also drive a hybrid or motorcycle everyday, which means I feel that I’m doing my part.

I also want to mention that I greatly respect what Laguna is doing… They are planting a tree for every guitar they make. That is pretty amazing. You can find more information at: http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2008/Laguna-Guitars-Launches-One-Guitar-One-Tree-Reforestation-Initiative-.html or http://www.playlaguna.com/conservation/index.cfm

I’ve been considering signing up for a course with “MusicianUniversity.com” for the past few days. However, I’m kind of on the fence and would like some feedback from the public…

Has anyone taken a course with Musician University? If so, I’m looking to learn about your experience and your thoughts on the course you took.

I’m specifically interested in taking the course called: “Guitar Songwriting: writing Songs, Riffs and Chord Progressions”

I’ve been working on the song for my wife (as it is known) and I have come to a road block with the progression / song… I’m not sure where to take it or what to do next. I’ve come up with a few things, but ultimately I simply don’t yet know enough to write a song — at least a song worth keeping. :-)  Anyway, this is why I’m interested in taking the course…

Pretty much any feedback or thoughts would help. Thank you in advance!

Quick follow up update:  tsubibo found this link: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080415072326AADYEe

The post is asking about a Better Business Bureau for the Netherlands, which is where MusicianUniversity.com is based out of. According to the post, the user has been trying to get a refund, presubmably because they didn’t feel that the services were to par.

If someone can counter this, I invite you to leave a comment at the bottom.

I am going to try to check out a local community college for what I’m looking for… I’d rather play it safe then waste valuable time and money…

On the radio this morning, Q101 mentioned that tomorrow (April 19th) is record store day.

I found this interesting… First, I  didn’t know that there was such a thing. I looked it up on the internet and sure enough, it exists.

http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home  [Note: The site sometimes has trouble loading]

Stop by your local record store and pick up something in support!  Record stores are still alive and well! (According to an interview with a Local Chicago record store manager, they do pretty well even in a world where CD and MP3s dominate — mostly because of DJs.)

Play this for two minutes (not 99 as the music says), it will exercise your fretting hand and your picking hand much. (Click Image for a larger Rendering).

After you try this, please post a comment on what you think. Was it hard? Was it easy? Does your hand hurt too much to leave a comment?

For more information Check Out: http://igblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/free-elixir-electric-guitar-strings/

Update: You can find information here, also: http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2008/Elixir-Strings-Electric-String-Trial-Promotion.html

There is so much that I want to post and want to do but I can never find the time… Time just keeps slipping away and time keeps going, never stopping.

At some point, I will get in to the rhythm and will consistently post what I want to post to this site. Until then, I’m sorry…  I’m sorry to you but I’m also sorry to myself…

There’s been so much content I’ve wanted to post and so much that I never got around to that I eventually forgot about…

Shoot…

IG of IG Blog was kind enough to pass the award of E for Excellent to UnderstandingGuitar.org.  The award works like this (from what I understand, I’ll appreciate any corrections).

A blogger receives the award from another blogger (who has received the award already).The receiving blogger is then to pass the award to ten other bloggers. Pretty simple right?

Problem: At this time I only routinely follow six blogs… They are on the far right under Other Blogs… No matter your skill level, I encourage you to check them out. They are all chock-full of information. If you know of another blog that you read and respect — particularly in the “Beginning Guitar” genre, please share!

In keeping with the spirit of the award, I will list the sites following this along with my thoughts on the site. (No particular order) Unfortunately though, at this time I can only list six…

• IG Blog: IG Blog (who gave this award to me, Thank You!) is full of information. IG posted a good article on the CAGED system, which I’m currently working though. Aside from that, IG post all sorts of information and provides all sorts of links.
• From The Woodshed: I litteraly just found this site today… I’m really sorryI had never stopped by it before… Aside from the interesting read of Joe’s daily progress and notes, Joe post tips and trick on learning guitar. If you don’t know, Joe is studying guitar full time (No job right now) and is trying to go pro. I wish him the best of luck!
• Electric Guitar Review: Cary provides a lot of good information and reviews on gear and such. I don’t comment on his site much, but I do enjoy reading about the latest gear.
• The Fillmore Five Project: Kenski, similar to Joe of the Woodshed, is working on becoming a professional guitar player. Kenski posts information relevant to beginner players. He has also posted extremely helpful comments within the pages of my blog. I wish Kenski the best of luck, also!
• Heartwood Guitar: Though Rob hasn’t posted anything as of late, his blog is chop-full of information for anyone learning guitar at any level. He has a huge list of songs written out for private study. Take a look, you may find something you’ve been wanting to learn.
• Pickstroke: Pickstroke has a whole bunch of good information for guitar players of every level. Including songs and other good resources. Pickstroke is also the original source for my post about slowing down music. Such a great tool, I’m glad they posted about it or I’d have never found it.

I know a lot of these sites have already won this award… But if I didn’t pass it back, I’d have no one to give it to!

If I find more sites to give this award to, I will update this posting.