HadOne2Many's blog

I practiced chords all week, working on A, D & E right now. I already knew D from the eMedia software, but the other two came from Rocksmith. The chord arrangement for Eric Clapton's "Run Back To Your Side" is just these three chords and it's pretty slow paced. I'm almost able to play the entire song now without missing any of the chord changes (around 90% if I recall).

So I've been playing the guitar for just over two weeks now. I've added "Old McDonald" to the list of songs I can play. I also know the chords version of a few other simple folk songs. When I'm sitting around watching TV I'll pick up the guitar and practice the songs I know. I've played every day and I'm starting to get some calluses on my finger tips. It makes playing much easier, but typing at work feels weird. Luckily the years of Guitar Hero and Rockband seems to have limbered up my fingers and wrist enough to the point I can play for hours at a time with no cramps or muscle soreness.

Horsehit. I had a long ass post typed out and was adding an image to the end when an IE9 compatibilty issue popped up. Lost the whole fucking post. Fuck it, long story short I passed "In Bloom" last night. Now here's a picture of a very thoughful lady making some happy man a sandwich:

Last night I played for about two hours. I warmed up with Smoke on the Water (and I was doing halfway decent up until the solo), then I played a couple of the minigames.

The rest of the time I was playing In Bloom. I came within 5,000 point of the 34,000 goal to play the gig. I'm moving up and down the frets pretty easily now, and I'm hitting the double notes about 50% of the time.

Here's a video of someone who is pretty good playing the song on master level

Progress slowed a bit this week on my guitar learning.  When I first started last week I found it easier to strum with my fingers instead of a pick.  This was fine for the slow beginner songs, but when I was playing Rocksmith I quickly realized the benefit of learning to use a pick. 

It took me 3 solid days of playing the same crappy songs over and over before I was able to play them as well with the pick as I can with my fingers. 

So I've been playing the guitar for the last few days.  Nothing spectacular, so far I can play Frère Jacques, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday and the first half of  Bach's Minuet.  Not exactly my kind of music, but hey you gotta crawl before you can walk.

So a while back my wife and I decided we were going to force our kids to play one musical instrument and one sport when they get older (up to them to decide which).  The problem is while both of us played sports and are physically active, neither of us can play any instruments. 

It's no secret that I love playing Guitar Hero and Rockband, and both my sons like to watch me play.  Naturally this makes the guitar my choice of instrument for me to learn to play.  I went ahead and ordered a cheap Fender Starcaster starter pack.

It's awesome. 

On the racing rig front, I've made a few changes since the last post about it.  No pictures today to post, but I added one of the new CSR shifters to it.  The knob (lol) is made of metal on the new one, so it has a much better feel when I grip it (lol again).  The old shifter was made of plastic and always felt as if it were going to break off in my hand. 

The results of the Navy Reserves February advancement exam came out this morning...I made 2nd Class (E-5 for all you non-Navy folks around here)!

I've only been in for 2 and a half years and this will be my 3rd advancement, kind of makes me want to consider going for the full 20. I'll have to change my Avatar soon :)

The results of the Navy Reserves February advancement exam came out this morning...I made 2nd Class (E-5 for all you non-Navy folks around here)!

I've only been in for 2 and a half years and this will be my 3rd advancement, kind of makes me want to consider going for the full 20. I'll have to change my Avatar soon :)