Friday, March 28, 2014

Starting out

So since this is my very first blog for 20 time, I should explain what I'm doing. I want to learn how to play the guitar. I'm not exactly sure how much I will be able to play by the end of this project, but I guess my goal is to be able to play a wide variety of chords so that I can just look up song chords and be able to play them. This is what my brother and my uncle can do (they both play). This is why I've chosen Sawyer (my brother) as my mentor. It is sort of a challenge because he is only 14, but he knows how to play a lot better than I do. He's been taking lessons for a couple of years now, and I think he could be a good teacher.

I've sort of messed around with his guitar for a while, never really learning anything. I figured out what each string was on my own, so I guess I have a tiny head start. I've also been playing music for over 10 years, so learning a new instrument isn't completely foreign to me. Since we were assigned 20 time, I have asked him to show me how to play a few chords to get me started, and I think I have them down. I know how to play  A, A minor, C, G, and D chords. Just with this information, I think I can easily learn to play songs, as several popular songs only use three to four chords. I looked up how to play Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash on Google, and this website popped up that showed the chords. The whole song consists of just G, C, and D, so I am able to play it. Of course, I'm playing it very slowly, and it's just the bare chords without anything else, but I'm excited that I got it to sound like Ring of Fire. I can go back and forth pretty easily from G to C, but I'm having trouble with the D chord.
That's me taking a picture of what a D chord looks like. I don't know why, but it's just confusing. I'm sure that with more practice, it will become easier.

I'm thinking of buying my own guitar. I could just use Sawyer's, but I feel like if I had my own I could get a lot more done. Beginner guitars go for like $30 or so on eBay , so it's not that expensive. I'm not certain that I want to do this just yet. It's just a thought.