Let's Play Some Guitar.

Today, I spent a while exploring youtube looking for different videos that teach you how to play a song. Of course, I don’t currently have the skill to learn these songs, BUT it was interesting to hear the lingo and the way that the people in the videos try to teach the viewers how to play. It would take a while for someone to learn a whole song, depending on skill level. I would like to learn a part to one song soon, just a simple part. 

After I searched through music I practiced a few of the chords that I have been learning.

Interview

I interviewed my friend Ben who goes to the University of Iowa.

When did you start to learn to play guitar?

- I started playin like 11 years ago.


For what reason did you have interest in learning to play the guitar?

- Pretty much everyone in my family played an instrument, so I asked for a guitar for Christmas and started taking classes after that.

How did you go about learning? (Lessons, online, taught yourself?)

- I took lessons for a year, and then started learning on my own after that. (You really only need about 6-8 months of lessons to get started)


Would you say that it came naturally or that you struggled a bit?

- I sucked really bad at first, but I really wanted to learn so I stuck with it and I got much better as time went on.


How long did it take you to learn until you felt that you got the hang of it?

- It took me about a month to feel comfortable playing something in front of people, and probably 6 months before I actually thought of myself as being pretty good.


Did you ever feel that you wanted to give up because it was too hard?

- Yeah. I thought I would instantly be good at it once I started, but once I realized how hard it is, that set me back a little.


When did you get your first guitar?

- I got my first guitar Christmas of ‘01

What kind of guitar do you have?

- My first guitar was an Archer electric guitar, then I bought a Epiphone Les Paul electric, and then an Ibanez bass guitar, then an Alvarez acoustic, and then a Fender 12 string guitar. 


What was the first song/part to a song that you learned to play?

- Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Down on the Corner - CCR
- Time of my life - Green Day

How often do you play?

- Probably about 2-3 hours a week. I wish it was more.

What advice would you give to an aspiring guitar player?

- Stick with it and you’ll learn. It’s hard at first, but if you can make it through the first month, then you’ll get it. 

Playin’ a few chords

Today I broke out the guitar once again and decided to attempt to learn a few other major chords and practice other ones that I’ve learned.

I don’t feel that I have picked up the guitar playing skill yet, even though its been a few weeks now. It takes time! It’s a very tough skill to acquire -  especially when teaching yourself. If I were doing this outside of school, maybe in the summer, I would have signed up for personal lessons. I know that you can teach yourself the basics on the internet because I know of more than a few people who have done it. But I think I need some extra help.

Never the less, I learned to play the A Major chord. This is a very tough chord to play because you have squeeze your 2nd 3rd and 4th fingers all into the 2nd fret on the D, G, and B strings. I have a tough time with finger and hand placement so this one was pretty hard for me. But, I think with practice, I could possibly get this one down.

Artifact Post 2

The second artifact that I feel goes with my community is the radio. I will be using this artifact for my writing in class.

The simple radio (also including mp3/ipod connection and a cd player) is a device networks music enthusiasts and musicians. It also allows them to connect. Think about it, musicians aspire to be heard or played through the radio, and music lovers turn to the radio to hear their favorite songs or discover new music.

The connection between musicians and their listeners is created through emotion and feeling that comes through listening to music. Memories are reflected through the emotions that can be felt.

Another idea that connects to my community more is that when one decides to try to play the guitar, they are inspired by the musicians they love and hear through the music that they listen to. 

Artifact Post 1

One artifact that I chose to symbolize my topic is a guitar pick. The guitar pick is used in variation by different types of guitarists. It is a small instument used to pluck or strum guitars. I feel that this symbolizes my topic pretty well because of the fact that so many guitarists use it, and when one pictures a guitar it is very common to associate a pick with it.

The pick comes in a few different variations. It can be hard, - meaning stronger and thicker, soft - meaning weaker and less thick, and a few other strengths in between. It comes in different materials as well, for example plastic, felt, rubber, nylon, tortoise shell, wood, metal, and stone. There are also different shapes. 

The pick is important to my community because it can symbolize how a person plays the guitar. Even if a person does not use a pick, they would know that the pick is important to playing the guitar. It is one symbol that can represent the larger community of guitar players.

Controversy

As I read through this weeks required or special blog posts and saw that I would have to find a controversy dealing with my topic, it hit me that this may be a hard task. I searched the internet and other places to find something, anything that might go with a controversy dealing with learning to play the guitar or the guitar in general. I was not wrong when I guessed that it would be hard to find.

I found a controversy dealing with the Gibson Guitar Cooperation - and I’m sure it has also occurred to other giant manufacturers of different types of guitars. Gibson Guitars actually began in Kalamazoo, MI in 1894, but moved to Nashville, TN. They make many different types of guitars, from electric to acoustic and bass.

Gibson has had a few different controversies when they sued two different companies for selling unauthorized copies of their guitars. The two companies were manufacturing different guitars that embodied a very very similar style to that of a gibson guitar. Gibson sought legal action against the two companies on the grounds of that the companies made guitars too similar to their own.

Gibson was also under investigation in 2007 and 2011 for having guitar material deemed endangered and illegal and violating materials made illegal by the “Lacey Act” which contains regulations about illegal wildlife that is transported or sold. 

The two examples here show a guitar company which had a situation where they had to take legal action and one where they had legal action taken against them, and is associated with my community in a certain way - though I don’t believe that it has affected a great number of the guitar playing or music communities.

This post is on the special blog post idea about reading a memoir or an account of someone with a literacy related to my topic (http://www.helium.com/items/615636-testimonies-learning-to-play-the-guitar?page=2). This man had previously learned to play the guitar. He offered tips for beginners and a lot of insight on good techniques and such to help someone who is trying to learn to play guitar. I enjoyed the parts where he had steps to go through. The steps offered both mental ideas and physical things to do when first learning. The way he wrote was pretty informal, which offered an easy read as well as a good connection to what he was saying. It seemed conversational. The article/memoir offered a lot of good information.

Today, I practiced for a while. I learned a few new chords and also revisited ones that I learned earlier. It really is not coming so easy to me. Still, my hand positioning is affecting how the guitar sounds when I strum sometimes, so I still need to work on that a bit. I am making improvements in remembering the chords that I am learning. It would be so cool to be a pro guitarist and be really good. It’s a great skill to have because I would like to be able to play for pleasure when I am bored or for my friends and family on different occasions. I am going to continue to progress, and we will see how far I get within the 30 days which I will have spent learning. Have a fun weekend!

I decided to look into things that one should know when first learning to play the guitar. I gained a lot of insight on ideas and practices that are usually best when first learning to play the guitar.

It is known that the acoustic guitar is the best starting guitar to learn - preferably one with nylon strings because the metal strings are said to injure fingers of beginners. I have a metal one, and it’s not too bad, though it does hurt.

Knowing parts of the guitar is important, as well as knowing how to take care of ones guitar.

Another very important key is knowing how to hold and control your guitar. I need some work on that because I don’t have the best posture and guitar holding skills that are needed when I play. Here is what this website says is the correct positioning for holding an acoustic:

“The classical posture where the left leg is raised by setting it on an object while seated is the most suggested position for beginners. The bigger curve of the body of the guitar is secured in your inner thighs. For right-handed players, the left hand will operate the fingerboard while the right hand strums or plucks the strings.”

Lastly, it is important to learn chords and to be able to read tabs. Tabs are finger positioning on the fingerboard (As I said in a prior post, the open chords are E, A, D, G, B, E).

History of the Acoustic Guitar

I made the decision to look into the history of the acoustic guitar today. I was not aware that the Acoustic guitar has been around for more than 5,000 years! Thats a very long time! The acoustic guitar has been forever evolving and changing since it was first invented. 

During the medieval times, an acoustic guitar model would be smaller versions of what we know today, having anywhere between 3 and 5 strings. The main parts of the guitars were separated into two different groups: Guitarra Latina and the Guitarra Morisca.

In the Middle Ages, the guitar was not very popular as it was overshadowed by other instruments that better fit the musical interest of the time. Nonetheless, in the Renaissance period the guitar developed more prominent and popular instrument. The first six string guitar was created in 1779 in Italy by Geatano Vinaccia. 

Antonio de Torres Jurado fathered what is known today as the classical guitar by making key changes as well as changes to the body that changed the pitches and flow of the sounds. 

It is a common misconception that the Classical Guitar and Acoustic Guitar are on in the same. They, in fact, are not. I was not aware of this until reading today. There are many differences. The fact that the acoustic guitar uses steel strings and the classical guitar uses nylon strings is one of the biggest. The acoustic is louder and the two create different ranges of sound.

The next and last big development in the history of the acoustic guitar is the creation of the electric acoustic, which can be plugged into an amplifier for more volume.