Fighting The Fretboard 1.0 - A Journal

I have decided to learn guitar and not just to play it but play exceptionally well because of the various reasons and the factors which influenced me to do so. I did my research and finally made my way into the Guitar Center on University Ave and there I met an elderly guy named Dan, who was a super cool salesman. He sat with me patiently while I was playing crap on various guitars displayed at the store and also encouraged me to play more guitars before i can pick one for myself. I have to mention that he was impressed with the knowledge I have on guitars but it didn’t reflect anything in my playability.

Before i actually stepped into the store I had Epiphone Les Paul guitar in my mind, but unfortunately they didn’t carry it in the store and it had to be ordered online which takes at least a week (the day i went into the guitar center was Feb 15th, Saturday). I was so much into learning guitar that I didn't want to wait and let the energy drain out, so I had to choose one and also buy it on the same day at any cost. So I kept looking and trying.

Once the low end lingering Les Paul i.e. Epiphone Les Paul was out of option, I knew my alternative would be either Fender Telecaster or the Fender Squire Strat (Stratocaster). But at that moment for no apparent reason I totally forgot about the Telecaster. I knew I had to get an electric guitar because I did my research and one particular point I came across on some website/blog was that it is advisable for a beginner to get electric guitar if he has this common tendency (which I know that I have) of giving up things way to early and never touch it again. So I considered the worst possible scenario which is, me giving up learning guitar way too early due to low confidence which again because I had this feeling that it is extremely difficult to learn guitar and the question was still there in my mind that 'will i ever be able to play the guitar at least in a decent fashion'?. In order to make it possible I had choose an electric, though I am not into heavy metal nor I like highly distorted music.

Dan at the guitar center was not into pushing me to buy some xyz guitar from his store. The best part was when he suggested me which ones I shouldn't be buying which I think is what a customer really wants to know. So we did go through some acoustic guitars which made me change my mind for a brief moment of time but again since I didn’t want to leave the process of learning guitar mid-way, I had make a final call. The final call was to get a Squire Stratocaster which is a low end Strat from Fender, a well-known brand among the Guitarist’s community. I knew this out of my research again.

Dan helped me tune the guitar and also seriously suggested me to get a tuner instead of a bag or a case. I finally purchased it and what now? I went home with it and browsed the internet to find a random website and immediately started learning. I followed the instructions in the beginner’s guide which was really helpful.

Not to exaggerate but I have to mention that on the first day I got my guitar I was on fire. I was on it for at least 10 Hours. Ten Hours is not a joke. Not a joke for me because I never usually have all my senses focused on one particular thing for more than an hour. I completely accept that I have focus problems.

I started following the steps and procedures listed out and slowly but gradually was able to finish exercises one by one which boosted my confidence and I started spending more and more time on my first guitar.

So here I am on my 6^th Day (5^th day to be precise) learning a Guitar. I wanted to list this out just to keep it documented and also to come back later in point of time and look at how I actually started.

Holding a Guitar:

I have to confess it took me a while like at least couple of days for me to adjust my posture.

Strumming:

Well there are many methods out there but to be specific, I can strum in two patterns mentioned in my learning exercise.

Scales:

The first scale I was able to strum was a Chromatic scale then few others. Here is the list as of today:

1.      The Chromatic Scale

2.      The E-phyrigian Scale

3.      The A Blues Scale

Chords:

Well I am not that familiar with chords yet, but I can not only strum the chords which I mentioned below but also can switch them swiftly.

·         G Major

·         C Major

·         D Major

·         A Minor

·         E Minor

·         D Minor

Practice Schedule:

I can’t believe myself that I am actually investing at least 4 hours on a working day and 8 hours on a weekend day to practice Guitar. I have to admit it is a painful process but I am trying to identify the pain and making myself realize that nothing comes without pain. You will never Know.