The benefit of blogging my progress with the Geetar has already borne fruit. After last month's dismal effort I have at least managed a weekly twanging session. That's not to say I've made any huge strides but I have played Guitar at least 3 times more than I did in the whole of last year.
To keep in step with the rest of the blog here's a list of five things I have discovered so far.
1. It remains as hard as I remembered to achieve anything sounding even remotely like a tune.
2. I am gradually getting to grips with "Bad Moon Rising" and reckon this could be my breakthrough song. My first attempts had me feeling comfortable with the D and A chord but struggling to find the G. I found a video that helped me get my head around the strumming pattern and, whilst thinks have only moved from "incredibly awkward" to "really very clunky", I feel I am getting somewhere.
3. "Folsom Prison Blues" may be a bit more of a challenge. Ostensibly this is a three chord song too (E,A7,B7) but I've not got my head around combining them yet. My confidence was knocked further by a video tutorial that explained how to do the twiddly intro. The chap on the video made it sound fairly simple but this failed to transfer to my fingers. On a positive note an hour failing miserably to play this was rewarded by ten minutes in which I almost nailed the first couple of lines of "Bad Moon Rising". Almost.
4. Ukulele's might only have four strings but, it turns out, that doesn't make them any easier to play. By which I mean that I couldn't pick it up and get a tune out of it within an hour. I thought I'd have a go playing "Bad Moon Rising" on my eldest's Uke. The chords use different finger placements and I found them harder to form then on Guitar, let alone attempt to change from one to another. Think I'll stick with the six string for the time being.
5. I need to practice, practice, practice. I can probably make some progress with a weekly strum but a mate who can play guitar suggested than 10 minutes a day would be better than 2 hours a week. I suspect he's right too. Right now my fingers are weak and useless, I need to toughen them up and the only way to do this, and get those chord shapes into my head, is to keep on playing.
Report Card: C+
To keep in step with the rest of the blog here's a list of five things I have discovered so far.
1. It remains as hard as I remembered to achieve anything sounding even remotely like a tune.
2. I am gradually getting to grips with "Bad Moon Rising" and reckon this could be my breakthrough song. My first attempts had me feeling comfortable with the D and A chord but struggling to find the G. I found a video that helped me get my head around the strumming pattern and, whilst thinks have only moved from "incredibly awkward" to "really very clunky", I feel I am getting somewhere.
3. "Folsom Prison Blues" may be a bit more of a challenge. Ostensibly this is a three chord song too (E,A7,B7) but I've not got my head around combining them yet. My confidence was knocked further by a video tutorial that explained how to do the twiddly intro. The chap on the video made it sound fairly simple but this failed to transfer to my fingers. On a positive note an hour failing miserably to play this was rewarded by ten minutes in which I almost nailed the first couple of lines of "Bad Moon Rising". Almost.
4. Ukulele's might only have four strings but, it turns out, that doesn't make them any easier to play. By which I mean that I couldn't pick it up and get a tune out of it within an hour. I thought I'd have a go playing "Bad Moon Rising" on my eldest's Uke. The chords use different finger placements and I found them harder to form then on Guitar, let alone attempt to change from one to another. Think I'll stick with the six string for the time being.
5. I need to practice, practice, practice. I can probably make some progress with a weekly strum but a mate who can play guitar suggested than 10 minutes a day would be better than 2 hours a week. I suspect he's right too. Right now my fingers are weak and useless, I need to toughen them up and the only way to do this, and get those chord shapes into my head, is to keep on playing.
Report Card: C+
– The track that first turned me on to the multi-talented Ms Martin. She has a flute wrangling (© Marc Riley) style that is reminiscent of Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, but her tunes use loop techniques that allow her to layer many instruments and create a wonderfully enthralling sound. Her debut album, 
,was due out on 23rd Jan (I wrote this post a few weeks ago but will report back on it's undoubted brilliance later) and I’m really hoping to catch her live later in the year.
– It's not often you can boast that you got into a band thanks to a recommendation from snooker legend Steve Davis. Steve sat in for 
– I'm not sure how I've got so far into my annual round up without mentioning Metronomy already. Their album 
– I find it hard to describe Dutch Uncles without reverting to the phrase "quirky indie prog". Their sound is not the full on seventies progressive template but those bands are definitely an influence. They're another Marc Riley favourite and, like Metronomy, released 
– This is the title track to Sarabeth’s second LP, an album dealing with a period of her life when everything seemed to be going wrong and coming to terms with the death of her father when she was very young. She had been arrested for drunk driving and spent time in jail as a consequence. During a spell cleaning the highway in an orange jumpsuit she began to reflect on where she was going with her life. Once released, she moved to live with her Mother in New York and wrote the album as a way of dealing with her issues.
, but despite the intimate surroundings it was not the best gig I’ve seen BSP play. However, I love the Wedgewood Rooms, it’s a venue that seems to bring the best out of bands, so I felt a trip down the A3 was still worthwhile. The band did not disappoint and it turned out to be a brilliant night. Probably the best show I've seen from BSP. A lot of jumping up and down at the front, the band clearly enjoying themselves and a fantastic set list that didn't flag (other than for a few well needed pauses for breath). Best gig of the year in any other year.
had been a terrific return to form and I had long been intrigued to see if they could reproduce their chaotic blend of influences in a live environment. Looking for tickets to the Coronet show I discovered the gig had been cancelled and this multi-band bill lined up instead. This was a bonus as one of the bands, Dutch Uncles, were one of my new favourites thanks to constant plays by Marc Riley on his 6Music radio show. They were second band up and their quirky prog inspired pop didn't disappoint live.
and it’s a brilliant album.
