Apr 8: Cacophony
I was on hold for work while I practised my guitar today.
So that was… Grating.
I played mountain king first. I got gold stars on the first part (again, but I haven’t been able to in a while). I also did better on the second two parts than I have in the past little while, so I feel very accomplished.
I tried the new chords on Get to Know You. I’m unsure about them still, partially because of the hold music. So I’ll try again tomorrow.
Then I played the wedding song. I definitely hold my shoulder stiffer on this song (not even mentioning the ballad) and I need to be more careful with that.
When I stopped playing, my shoulder hurt a lot, but it’s been almost two hours since then and it’s back to its low level of pain.
Apr 9: Feel the burn
I was perhaps a little ambitious.
I played sugar plum fairy and mountain king from the app. No high scores, but I’m very happy with how well I did.
I played Get to Know You a bunch of times, fiddling with the chords on the verse. I think I’m happy with what I’ve got. I’ll know better tomorrow.
I then tried to play the wedding song with a more relaxed arm. I mostly succeeded… It translated into playing it a little slower than I should’ve, so that’s frustrating.
And I played the ballad for the first time in a week or so. I did not succeed in keeping my arm relaxed. My muscles ache now. Hopefully it’ll feel better soon.
Apr 10: Accompaniment
I had enthusiastic accompaniment for my practising today.
Pegasus pulled out the xylophone and then Dragon requested permission to play the soprano ukulele. Both of them were very quiet while I tuned and did the app song challenge, which is better than I had expected while they had instruments in front of them.
Then they played and sang enthusiastically along with me throughout both Get to Know You and the wedding song.
I’m so glad they have a love of music.
I look forward to them being able to read it.
Apr 11: Ten minutes
I had a very short practice session today because we had a meeting with our publisher for Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers.
So I didn’t play from my app. I didn’t set up my music stand.
I played Get to Know You from memory, including the chord additions.
It sounds pretty good, if I do say so myself.
Apr 12: Satisfied
I played for about half an hour today. My shoulder doesn’t hurt worse than before I started, so I’m taking that as a win…
I played mountain king. Not very well, though. Lots of mistakes.
I tried playing standing up for my first song.
Let me preface by saying that I’m falling apart; my back hurt more and my shoulder also hurt. Sooooo I’m not going to do that again for a while.
I replayed Get to Know You while sitting down. It worked much better! I even worked out the bonus chords. I think there’s two versions of this song, tbh. The one that Tommy plays initially, when he’s had no time to go over the chords and figure them out, and the one that he embellishes on when he’s older. Beginner and intermediate. I’ll make both.
I also played the wedding song and the ballad. They both went well. I’m really happy with how they sound.
Apr 13: New music
I played a little more than I should have today.
I started off with mountain king. That was frustrating.
Then I played Get to Know You. I’m not happy with one of the chords. I’m not sure how to fix it right now. Hopefully something will occur to me tomorrow.
We ordered new music books the other day and they came in last night.
I’m not sure what they mean by “really easy” because there are numerous songs in this book that I cannot even hope to play. The chord choices suck in some cases. And it’s practically impossible to read.
I don’t recommend.
That being said, there were some songs that were super enjoyable to play. I especially liked “Can’t Stop This Feeling.”