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The 40-Year-Old Music Virgin

Over the past 20 years, I've gathered enough knowledge to play a decent repertoire of famous songs on the guitar. But that's it. My musical "skill" is quite limited.

I equate myself to a cook who knows dozens of recipes, but only those recipes. I'd rather be a chef who can invent and improvise something that isn't already on the menu.

I want to play more than songs. I want to play music. I want to become a GUITAR CHEF. So... I'm re-programming myself and learning music theory from scratch.

This blog will document the highs and lows of my re-education process.

  1. Day 13: My first "real" challenge...

    Ties and dots.

    Ugh.

    Ties and dots.

    I get it. They're simple concepts, but this is the first music notation that made me roll my eyes and want to go to bed early.

    I've had minimal difficulty with whole, half, quarter and eighth notes writhing up, down and across the staff. It's cool. It's an alphabet. There's a natural flow and familiarity. These are notes/letters forming riff/words... but now I have to deal with these accents--these ties ...
    Categories
    Music
  2. Day 6: Insidious rationalization...

    I wanted to play the guitar tonight. So I did, but I didn't.

    I wanted to play the guitar tonight, but I didn't want to practice fretboard fundamentals or learn foundational music theory. I told myself to play the guitar because practice is just practice and it's not really playing. I convinced myself to play/not play.

    This is perhaps the most insidious trap in adult learning: rationalizing procrastination. In effect, I played myself.

    All I've ever wanted to ...
    Categories
    Music
  3. Day 4: Thumbs up for thumbs down...

    Previously, I expressed concern over the inconsistency of thumb placement by my fret hand. Eerily, my pre-recorded guitar teacher addressed the issue tonight.

    What's scarier is his advice made instant sense and had an immediate impact (paraphrasing): don't worry about your thumb, worry about your wrist--keep your wrist down and your thumb will fall into place.

    The prescribed wrist-down technique has also improved my fingertip angles. As well, it helps keep my fret ...
  4. Day 1 - Taking inventory...

    Acoustic guitar? Check!
    Chromatic tuner? Check!
    Picks of various shapes and sizes? Check!
    DVD-based guitar learning program? Check!

    Some backstory: last year I received Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar as a gift. It's a high-end product in this saturated market and emphasizes music theory as much as technique. Plus, L&MG was already an established thing before Gibson funded some reshoots and attached their brand to it. Vote of confidence, right?
    ...