Aug 20: Too Much? Hope Not
I “passed” the lesson I was working on for the past two days. Tbh, I was tired of playing it and I think the only reason I wasn’t getting 3 stars was because my mic wasn’t picking up the chords properly. I passed it according to the app, so I moved on.
I learned A! I mean, I already knew that chord, but I got to learn it in the app. I got to complete another “play as many chords as you can in a set amount of time” game. I got 3 gold stars. It was super fun.
Then I passed the first song with an A chord. I feel good about today.
I played my song a few times. The chords are becoming easier to switch between.
Then I played a bunch of songs that I have chords for, including I want it that way, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Mamma Mia, Dust in the Wind, House of the Rising Sun, and a few Disney songs.
I played too long, I think. It’s just so exciting to recognize the music that I’m playing!!
I don’t think I aggravated my blister, but I think I’ll probably play the ukulele tomorrow.
Oh, and then at the end of my session, a friend of mine told me that she hasn’t been feeling well, so I recording my song and sent it to her. She loved it.
Listening to the recording, I realized that I’m not consistent with my speed in certain parts… Mostly the chorus. So I’ll have to work on that.
Aug 21: Ukulele Break
My finger wasn’t feeling great today, so instead of playing guitar, I picked up our soprano ukulele.
I’m not doing lessons with the ukulele, so I went straight into playing songs.
Peeps, you have no idea how awesome it is to pick out a song, go through the chords at the top of the app, and just play and have it sound like it’s supposed to!
I recognize that this is mostly due to my experience—slight though it is—on the guitar. The chords are different on the ukulele, but the concept of changing finger positions and strumming is very much the same.
I played for almost an hour and barely noticed the time fly by. So much fun!!
Oh, and after I’d played enough songs that I remembered what the chords we, I played my song! That was really fun.
Aug 22: Awesome Lesson
I had a great lesson today! I passed the lesson I was working on two days ago with no problems, and then passed the next two lessons on the first (and second) tries!
I played my song, paying attention to the timing of the chorus so I wasn’t speeding it up.
I really need to schedule a music mentor session.
I played a bunch of fun songs, including True Colours and When you Believe.
I still can’t get over how much fun I’m having with this.
Aug 23: Music Mentor
I didn’t do a lesson from my app today because I had a meeting with my music mentor!
He walked me through strumming to my song and we decided to keep it simple because adding a more complex rhythm kept messing up my melody.
But I do understand how strumming works a bit better now.
We also talked about the sight changes that I’d made to the chords in my song. He approved the E major, confirmed that the A major he had suggested a while ago did work for the song, and suggested Em instead of Dm at the end of the bridge.
He said I’m doing really well. It’s really great to hear that. 🙂
He also suggested a finger stretch. I’ll definitely work on that.
Aug 24: Audience
I had an audience today in the form of my daughter.
I completed the chords lesson and started the riffs lesson. It’s my first riffs lesson! I learned E5 and A5. I need to figure out how to play those.
I played my song, with a second voice singing along (heart melt!) and was very happy with how it sounded.
Then I played a bunch of Disney songs. That was fun. And an enthusiastic audience, too!
Aug 25: New Song Attempts
The riffs lessons are going decently. I feel awkward playing them. Hopefully they’ll get more natural as I continue.
I played my song a bunch of times. I’m really happy with it. I know I keep saying that, but I am. After I’ve played it a couple times, anyways. I always make mistakes the first few times.
Then I played some new (to me) songs. Ed Sheeran was fun. I played some more ABBA. And Disney, of course.