First year of learning the guitar and my progress
March 31, 2019
Intro
I’ve decided this blog can be more than just software/tech related posts. It would be nice to incorporate other thoughts and experiences on here as well. I’m also just enjoying the process of writing and this blog is a good chance to share my thoughts & to me it is a better outlet than posting on regular social media.
About this time last year I was really interested in picking up the guitar. I’ve grown up playing a few instruments; primarily the piano and for some time the violin learning the Suzuki method as a child. I didn’t exactly stick with the violin but I do still love playing the piano and would say that I am a decent at it. I think it is important for kids to learn music and whichever instrument they choose it is something that can stick with them for life. Something about the guitar was very captivating to me and so at this time last year I started doing my research and ultimately went out and bought an acoustic. I’ll get into the details on the model of the guitar soon.
It has been just under a year of playing now and to be completely honest, I don’t know what I would do without her. I know that may sound a bit much but playing the guitar is incredibly relaxing to me and I honestly just feel better while playing. I’ve read about some of the benefits of playing the guitar and that heavy strumming/playing can reduce feelings of stress and alleviate anxiety. I have to agree 100%. Playing the guitar everyday even if only for 10-15 minutes I just feel a general sense of calm and well-being.
Model
After about a month of researching guitars and asking family/friends on their thoughts on which one to get, I opted to spend a bit more money by buying a quality guitar that I would continuously enjoy playing. I ended up going to a really cool guitar shop here in Miami and bought the Martin Road Series DRS2 Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Natural. I’m very happy with it and I think it was a good move to get a guitar that will last me a lifetime. The Martin really has a lot of character and I love the deep driving sound that Martin guitars are known for.
My Martin DRS2 Road Series Guitar
Progress
It was never really a concern whether or not I would keep up with it, I just was initially worried because I heard that there is a pretty big learning curve getting started and I am now in my mid 20s so it may take a long time progress. I didn’t let this get to me and kept at it while also documenting and filming my experience along the way.
I have videos of myself learning my first few chord shapes. Although they are funny how I couldn’t strum or play with atrocious ringing coming from the guitar, it’s incredible the amount of progress I have made in a year.
I am still learning some of the fundamental scales and sometimes my F barre chord I have issues getting it to sound right. But in a years time I have learned a ton and am proud of the progress that I have made. Definitely is a confidence boost when people tell me that I am getting better at it and makes playing a lot more fun too.
It’s never ending learning which I love challenging myself to play tougher songs and just having fun with it, which is really why I got into it in the first place. I print out all chord shapes that I am learning and scales that I continuously practice. I’ll make another post with maybe some videos to show my newfound skill. I recently picked up an Epiphone les paul traditional pro III for $100 at a local pawn shop and i’m also having a lot of fun learning on the electric. Both guitars are awesome to play and i’m loving learning on both of them.
Dreadnought guitars were first developed by C.F. Martin & Company.
Personal blog by Alex Virdee, 