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| How about these hipster glasses? |
I played (and sang, much to the chagrin of both of us, probably) "Shanty" by Jonathon Edwards, that fun 70's-era song that's about . . . a-hem . . . well, we'll just leave it at the title and author for now. The point is, it's pretty easy, but it includes a couple of chords, one of which I just recently learned to do efficiently and the other I haven't. Plus it gave him some idea of my lack of rhythm.
He asked if I'd ever played what he called "partial chords." I had never heard of them. Then he said, "power chords" and I thought I knew what he was talking about. Turns out I didn't know that either. So he set me out on four or five of those that are giving the callous on my index, or number one finger, a run for its money. Good thing I had built it up somewhat beforehand.
He gave me "Wild Thing" to practice A, D and E in this partial form, which one would think would be easier because they don't involve all three fingers. But no-o-o-o. Hahaha!! I think his seven year old students have an easier time with this because they've never learned any other method. Okay, I'm an old fart. So sue me. I also got AC/DC's "TNT" to practice using those three chords plus G.
For rhythm practice he gave me Bob Dylan's "Wagon Wheel" most recently done by Old Crow Medicine Show. I looked it up on YouTube and thought, "Wow! That song has both kinds of music; country and western." As most of you know--not my thing. But, it will give me valuable practice with both my rhythm and something else he wants me to work on--my fingers placed on the strings correctly, all at once, instead of one at a time, regardless of how perfectly adequate I think it may be. Hahaha!! John said he'd found that to be pretty common in folks who were mostly "self taught." I definitely don't feel like the only one who's had to relearn "form."
What I found during practice yesterday evening was that placing those fingers on all three strings at once is not as easy as it sounds. Especially after thirty-five years (off and on) of finding the strings individually. I laughed and laughed when I realized my chord changes chomped down like an alligator in my attempts to do this correctly. I'm sure "you had to be there" but trust me--it was pretty hilarious.
I'm not giving up after one hour of practice. Even I know I can only go up from here. I may not have it down perfectly for a while, but I'll keep plugging away. And for those of you out there who play guitar--watch out! I plan to pick your brains whenever I see you. I need all the help I can get!
