Jamorama Lesson 4

Jamorama Lesson 3

Some Great Advice

Something I started doing the very day I bought my guitar was to try to play it. Well, I suppose, anybody would do that, but I REALLY tried to play it. We're talking, find the song, look up the chords, sing along kinda playing.

And just as quickly, I figured out how very much I couldn't play.

But I kept trying. Looking up song after song after song. I'd hear something on the radio that I really liked and no matter what I was doing, I'd drop that and sit down at my computer to look up the chords for that particular song. Sometimes I hit the jackpot and the chord progressions would be simplistic, and sometimes it was completely useless.

There was one song that had like 30 different chords. THIRTY. Talk about not gonna happen.

But the cool thing about doing this was how rewarding it was. I don't know about you, but I don't just want to play so I can say I can play. Personally, I'm more interested in playing because there is music out there that I really like, and I have friends who I can jam with. For instance, our friends like to go camping, and there's just nothing like sitting around a late-night fire with a bunch of friends and playing stuff everyone can sing along to.

I mean, that's the kinda stuff memories are made of.

So like I was saying: playing something you know, something where you're familiar with the tune, is just so cool. It really makes you feel like you know what you're doing; like you're that much closer to being able to just pick up your instrument and do whatever you want with it. As of right now, I must have about 15-20 different songs that I've found the chords to that I cycle through. I just pick up and play and try to make each chord sound better than last time.

And sometimes, I just strum through each chord whether it sounds good or not. Simply because I like the song and wanna play.

That's what it's all about, right?

And funny thing is, is that the creator of the Jamorama program advises to do this very thing; saying how utterly useless it is to learn to play the guitar if you don't have a workable outlet for what you learn. He even suggests joining a band from the get-go. Well, I don't think I would do that anytime soon, but I can really see the value in it now. Maybe it's the same as learning a new language: if you live in a foreign country, you'll learn their language faster and be able to use it quicker. Perhaps if you're in a casual atmosphere to play, you'll learn just from doing it over and over and over. And you won't be weary of it, because it's all for fun.

So that's what I've been up to lately. Just playing some of my favorite songs and feeling pretty accomplished when it sounds right. Generally, you can find the chords or tabs for maybe EVERY song out there (including ones that were around before the internet was). One site I've come to like is E-Chords. They not only have the chords for a TON of songs, but they also designed the site to where you can mouse-over the chords you don't know and see how it's shaped. A lot of sites just have the chords, and if you don't know a particular one, then you may have to refer to another site just to figure it out. That's frustrating. But E-Chords and others like it show you each chord structure, and that's really helpful.

Anyhow. You can do what you want with your learning, but I just thought that this was some excellent advice. And quite frankly, it's been a whole lot more fun than only taking lessons. I can apply more of what I'm learning, and enjoy doing it.

And that comes from the lesson maker himself, so I guess it's probably worth the time!

Jamorama Lesson 2

Here's the example of tabulature (tabs) that I wanted to show you:

Not sure how well you can see this, but this is actually from the Jamorama program for Lesson 2. I also don't know if you'll normally find the name of the chord on top of the chart like they have here, but for beginner ease, they put it on there. And just like your guitar is set up, the strings go from high E on the top to low E on the bottom. Kinda like if you turn the neck of the guitar to look at the strings when your playing. And each number represents a fret: so the 2 in the chart means you put a finger on that string on the second fret, the three means a finger on that string on the third fret, and so on. The 0 represents no fretting, just playing the open string. An X means that string isn't sounded.

On this chart, each line of numbers is one beat in the rhythm of the song....4 beats per measure. So you play the A chord 4 times, then switch to the D for the next four counts....get it?

I've looked up some tabs online, and I found that many people use them for the lead guitar parts--to denote all the little intricacies of playing that way. I have yet to see tabs for the rhythm parts, because a lot of sites just use chord charts. But either way, it's VERY good to know how to read this stuff, because I have come across it many times, and will again, no doubt.

And hey....who's to say? Maybe I'll be tearing up an axe with the best of them someday....

(...ok, maybe not....I'm more of a Kum Ba Yah kinda gal)

I Didn't Know My Fingers Could Do That

Can you say P.A.I.N?

It's getting better, but it's taken a while for the callouses to build up and not hurt so bad. I started by practicing in the morning for a little while, and then again in the evening for a little while too. Well, the evening sessions always hurt the most, because my fingers were still on fire from the morning.

I read that if you soak your fingers in rubbing alcohol after you play, it helps build up the callouses. Well, I tried that and I don't know if it helps the callouses at all, but it soothes the burn for sure.

At least until you take your fingers out of the alcohol. Then they burn again. But hey....the fact that you don't feel pain for a while after playing....that's pretty nice.

And who knows? Maybe it helps build up the callouses so it won't burn forever? Let me know if you have any other suggestions that work. Pain and I don't get along too much.

Jamorama Lesson 1

Ok, so apparently, when I uploaded the video to Blogger, the bottom portion of the screen got cut off and you can't see my fingering. Arg. How irritating. More for you than for me, for sure.

However, the best solution to this problem would be to download Jamorama yourself! Then you can see EXACTLY what I was talking about :)

And Then There Was an "A"

Seeing as how I don't know NEAR as much about playing my new guitar as I would want, it was time to give up on being self-sufficient. I mean, I've heard that there is such a thing as a self-taught guitarist (kinda like those self-made millionaires....makes you wonder if it's a gimmick). And I can honestly say that there is a LOT online that you can pick and choose from to facilitate this endeavor.

HOWEVER, it appears to me that learning how to play the guitar WELL by finding random stuff online is a lot like trying to eat a gourmet meal from a dumpster.

Yup. Not likely.

Can it be done? I suppose. But why would you want to?

Sooooo. That being said, today, I downloaded a program---an entire guitar learning course---to help me learn the old fashioned way.

(Ok....old fashioned might be stretching it.)

But when you are a stay-at-home-mom to 6 kids, you can just forget seeing a teacher for guitar lessons. Even if I HAD the $15/week it would take to pay the instructor, I just don't think I could make it work at this stage of my life. See, we live in a rural area, and the closest town is 10-15 minutes away.

And we all know that you can't just find a great guitar teacher in a small town. You generally have to go to a big city for that.

And that, my dear friends, is almost a half hour away.

So:

Rural home+not a lot of money+a lot of kids to care for-TIME=

Jamorama!

ROCK ON!

(Ahem....)

So yeah, I hooked up with this sweet program today. You can buy the course as the books and DVDs, or as a downloadable course that you can access anytime on your computer. Which, in my case, is JUST what I needed.

And guess what??? I already looked over Lesson One (no, I didn't try it yet....stay tuned), and they teach you TWO whole chords in the first lesson (the D AND an A!)! And TABS! And, and, and....STRUMMING PATTERNS!

In the first lesson! Can you get over that?

I think my husband is going to miss me......