As I mentioned in my second week’s reflection, it was a highly informative week not only for my classes but for this project as well. I did a lot of research and planning on what the next step is going to be. I am flying through Tony’s videos and am already starting to pinch and keep rhythm with my thumb and index finger. In case you are wondering, pinching is when you play two separate notes by plucking two separate strings at the same time. It is an instrumental technique for fingerpicking. I really struggle with shifting between keeping the beat and pinching without hitting the wrong strings though. Like anything, it requires lots of practice. I have attached the links to the lessons I am following.
Valerie shared something with me during my one on one that I would like to explore and that is an online community for beginner guitar players. Somewhere resources can be shared, a forum where people can ask questions, and so forth. I think I would really benefit from something like this. I have not found anything just yet, but I will do a little more research in the coming week. As for additional resources, I have found a book of scales in my bookshelf that I did not know I had, so I have also started practicing some basic scales using my fingers instead of a pick.
I have set my practicing goal low for the first week: only three hours. I am trying to separate them into half-hour to forty-five-minute increments. I do find it difficult to motivate myself sometimes, but I always manage to pick up the guitar once a day. I have not, however, implemented the practicing schedule Tony has provided. I have decided to create my own using Trello. I just figured I may as well use the resource as much as possible and hopefully adopt it for other projects in my life.
My goal this week is to learn Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotton. It is a relatively simple song and Tony has a free lesson. Below are the resources I focused on this week. 