Day 17

Let's get back in the swing of things.


For you guys playing chords, let's do this:

Earlier you learned the G Major chord. I don't think I said the name, because this isn't a music theory blog, but there you go.

|-3--
|-0--
|-0--
|-0--
|-2--
|-3--

|-2--
|-3--
|-2--
|-0--

Barritone ukulele players, play the ukulele fingering. Because your instrument is tuned differently, you'll be playing a D Major chord.
The chord doesn't matter. This isn't about chords. This is about making your fingers do things.

Even if you've played this chord a million times, and you know how you always play it, just humor me here.

Take the pad of your thumb, and put it in the middle of the neck, at about the same level as the fret.
In other words, if you're playing ukulele, if you could drill a small hole in the 2nd fret in between the C and E strings, and go straight through your neck, you would hit your thumb.

Don't wrap your thumb around the neck. Don't lie it flat. Just get used to playing that chord with your thumb right there. This isn't the most natural place, and it's probably not going to be your usual place to put your thumb when you're playing G.

But if you're learning new chords, or ever having trouble switching from one chord to another, try playing with your thumb right there.

When we play, sometimes we all have a tendency to want to anchor our thumbs somewhere and not move it. This is a normal tendency that everyone has.

If you anchor your thumb in an imaginary plumbline down the widthwise center of the neck, you can reach more strings and more frets than you can with any other thumb position.

Other thumb positions are not necessarily wrong. When you are doing something that makes it impossible to put your fingers where you want to put your fingers when you want your fingers, then you're doing something wrong. Other than that, go to town. Do you.

So, you've got your G major chord, your finger's in the middle of your neck, and you're happily strumming a D DU UDU or something. In fact, do that. Get your beat going. Now slow it down. Keep your beat, keep those gaps where there should be gaps.

Now, in between that last U and that first D of your new repeat, change chords.
We're switching to Em
|-0--
|-0--
|-0--
|-2--
|-2--
|-0--

|-2--
|-3--
|-4--
|-0--

As far as  cowboy chord changes go, this isn't the easiest. It's going to involve picking up a lot of fingers and putting them down. Go as slow as you need to.


Honesty hour: I'm crap at this, That specific strum pattern, and big chord changes, I never do it right. I cheat, and do this trick where I lift my fingers on the last up strum, muting the fretted ones and letting the open strings ring. It's not a good habit to get into. This is an exercize that's really hard for me, honestly. Switchign between two basic chords while keeping a simple strum repeat seems really easy. It's a lot of the basics of playing guitar/uke is all about, and it's really easy to do well enough to play.

But if you're on a quest for improvement, half of it is trying new things, and playing the new things until you go from being not good to being not as bad, to being better. And the other half is looking at the things you do, and asking how you can do them better. 

And a really important thing is to remember that when you feel like giving up, is to say, okay, today I'll fake it. Tomorrow I'll quit. And to keep finding the strength to fake it one more day at a time, until you end up with the motivation to do a day where you aren't faking it.

Bassists, stick around for tomorrow, because I'll have something. Something.

dAY 16

Tomorrow's another day and I dont' want to give up on this project.

I guess that's sort a metaphor for how learning an instrument is. You do things, even when you don't feel like it.

You've got to play even when you don't want to

Even when you ahve other things to be doing.

Even when it's boring.

You're spending time with your lute-family instrument of choice, and you're learning about it.

So tonight's not the normal kind of lesson we've been doing.

Your homeowrk tonight is to listen to music. Pick a song you sort of like. Not you favorite song, but that song you hear on the radio a lot that you don't hate.

Now listen to it. Count it out. Break it apart. Listen to the bass. Listen to the guitar. Listen to anything that's not what you normally listen to.

Then go back through the lessons, find something you remember not coming to you really easily, and play it slowly, Play it over and over, for ten minutes or more. Focus on getting it right, not getting it fast.

Learning is about repeating.

Tomorrow won't be a repeat of today.

Day 15

What goes down, must come up.

If you remember, our annotation for strumming is currently
D D D D |D D D D |

And if there's no beat on a sttrum, your arm moves anyway.

Well, sometimes you play on the up strums too.

Keep doing your down strum steady beat from the other day.

When you strum down, your hand has to come up. If you strummed up on each of those strums, it comes out to

DUDUDUDU|DUDUDUDU

(Which, when read aloud, sort fo sounds like the inside of my brain right now)

The key to strum patterns is just to move just enough of those around so that you can keep the beat, but whoever's listening doesn't get bored,.

Remember to hear the beat in your head. Remember to keep the down strum on the beat.

Here's a couple to dip around with:

D DU UDU|D DU UDU
This one's my personal crutch for 4/4 time. The part where you skip playing the third downstroke makes it sound all cool and interesting, but it's easy to play and works for a lot of songs.

D DUDU|D DUDU
This one's for 3/4 time (I'll explain time signatures later because they're important but I really just want to go to sleep. The cheat version is to take the number of D strokes in a repeat and it's probably that number over 4)

D DUD DU|D DUD D
Here's another easy one for 4/4 time

DU UDU U|DU UDU U
This one's funky seeming until you play it, but it's bright and funky and Easy
And 4/4

Practice all of these (and then check some more out if you want). One of the secrets to not sounding boring when you strum is to master the thing where you don't always play the down stroke.

I'm so tired. Real post tomorrow about stuff and things.
Good night, and trust me, you're better than you think you are.

Day 14

We're almost halfway to thirty.

Post about strumming up's coming tomorroe. Tonight's is a thing that's going to stretch your fingers like nuts.

It's the same for all the instruments.

|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|-12-14-16-14-12-14-16-17-16-14-12-14-16-14-12-|

Repeat on each string. Move down a fret. Repeat. 

Index finger on 12
Middle finger on 14
Ring finger on 16
Pinky on 17

When you do this, focus on keeping your thumb in the middle of your neck. You may need to stretch quite a bit to get this on the lower frets, and having your thumb there will naturally allow you to pivot and make that stretch better. 

In fact, get into the habit of paying attention to what your thumb's doing at all times. In general, the closer to the middle of the neck, the better. 

Middle widthwise, not lengthwise. Your thumb should move up and down the neck. Just try to keep it centered for scales like this. 

Guitarists especially, you're going to get used to moving that thumb everywhere. I don't know if thumb-muting like I do is normal, but it's definitely effective. 

I'm going to shut up and let  you play.  

Day 13

Guitar and Uke: Strumming Down (Bassists: skip ahead)

Make this Chord:
|-3---
|-0---
|-0---
|-0---
|-2---
|-3---

|-2---
|-3---
|-2---
|-0---

(Barritone: Use the uke chords. I know your tuning's different. It doesn't matter.)

Imagine a beat.
Hear it in your head, play it on a metronome, whatever, just get the counting going somehow. Snap it out, tap it on your guitar, tap your foot, whatever.
Count to four.

Then do it again.

Then do it again.

Now, on each of those beats, strum all of your strings. Down strum for each beat.

I'm going to notate that as

D D D D | D D D D |
D means down.

Practice that. One down strum on each beat.

Now shake it up. Strum

D D _ D | D D _ D |
Strum down on beat 1
Strum down on beat 2
Move your hand down like you're strumming on beat 3, but don't touch the strings.
Strum down on beat 4

The basics of guitar strumming is that your hand goes down on the beat and up on the off-beat (eigth note). The thing that no one makes super clear is that your hand goes down on the down beat, even if you don't play on that beat.

Practice that. Go faster. Make up your own patterns of down and off. Play as fast as you can while still keeping the beat.
Tomorrow we'll go up, too.

**Bassists: **
|------------------
|--------5---------
|---2--5---5--2----
|-3-------------3--
Play this a couple times. Play as slowly as you need to to make it perfect. Then increase your speed until you can no longer be perfect.

Remember the shape that these notes make on the fretboard. It'll probably be relevant later sometime in your musical life.

Day 12

If I've learned one thing from Nanowrimo,  it's that things tend to start losing speed in about the second week.

For example, now.

This is an exercize you need to go as slowly as you need to to get a good sound. Once you've played it once, do it again, focusing on good sound, and even tempo. Then worry about speed.

Guitar
|---------------------2h4-|
|-----------------2h4-----|
|-------------1h3---------|
|---------1h3-------------|
|-----1h3-----------------|
|-1h3---------------------|

Uke
|-------------2h4-------------3h5-|
|---------2h4-------------3h5-----|
|-----1h3-------------2h4---------|
|-1h3-------------2h4-------------|

Bass
|-------------1h3-------------2h4-|
|---------1h3-------------2h4-----|
|-----1h3-------------2h4---------|
|-1h3-------------2h4-------------|

Now, if you're saying you didn't sign on for there to be random letters in your tab, don't panic. 

H stands for hammer-on. First finger, third fret. Pluck your string. While that string's still sounding, and without moving your first finger, put your third finger on the third fret. The note should still be sounding, but the pitch changed. You might have to fiddle with it to get it right. Try it ill it sounds right. 

Day 11

Today we're going to do the same exercise that we did on day 1:

|-----------------------------------------1-2-3-4-|
|---------------------------------1-2-3-4---------|
|-------------------------1-2-3-4-----------------|
|-----------------1-2-3-4-------------------------|
|---------1-2-3-4---------------------------------|
|-1-2-3-4-----------------------------------------|

|-5-4-3-2-----------------------------------------|
|---------5-4-3-2---------------------------------|
|-----------------5-4-3-2-------------------------|
|-------------------------5-4-3-2-----------------|
|---------------------------------5-4-3-2---------|
|-----------------------------------------5-4-3-2-|


Difference is, this time you're going to do it standing up.

Simple reason why.
Playing standing up is different from playing sitting down. And someday, you're going to want to stand up and play. Maybe in front of people. Maybe not. But at some point, you're going to want to.

There's little subtle changes in standing vs sitting. And now you're going to learn them.
Now's the time to mess with your strap length and all that.

And standing's good for you. Give it a try.

Day 10

Guitar
|-----------------|-----------------------------|
|-----------------|---2---4---6---8---10----12--|
|-----------------|-1---3---5---7---9----11-----|
|---3---5---7---9-|-----------------------------|
|-1---3---5---7---|-----------------------------|
|-----------------|-----------------------------|

Ukulele
|-----------------------------|---3---5---7---9---|
|---2---4---6---8---10----12--|-1---3---5---7---9-|
|-1---3---5---7---9----11-----|-------------------|
|-----------------------------|-------------------|

Bass
|-----------------|---3---5---7---9-|
|---3---5---7---9-|-1---3---5---7---|
|-1---3---5---7---|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|

Like everything, play it as slow as you need to be able to play it with an even tempo/speed, and with good sound coming out of each note.
Play this up to the 12th fret.
However getting used to playing beyond the 12th fret is a good idea.
.

Thanks to Brandon and Laurel for these pictures.

These open bits on the guitar's left side are called cutaways. They're there to make it easier to reach high frets. If you've got a cutaway, taking advantage of it by working with your high frets is a good idea.

Even if you don't have a cutaway, practicing drills to go as high on the fretboard as you possibly can is a good idea. 

One of our goals is to build a relationship with our instrument, and find the quirks that only your instruments have. 

As for the drill today, music theory-wise it's up a fifth, down a fifth from that note, up a fifth from that note, and so on. For bassists (which I am), knowing how to find your fifths without looking is an extremely important skill. You can fake a baseline to almost any song with the root, fifth, and octave of the chord being played. For everyone, learning to tune your ear to hear fifths will help you so much in your music life.  

If you're really interested in learning to hear fifths up and fifths down, do it doubled.

|---------|---------|----------|------------|

|---------|---------|----------|------------|

|---3---3-|-3---3---|----5---5-|-5---5------|

|-1---1---|--3---3--|-3---3----|---5---5----|

Guitar and ukulele, this is to help you remember the bastard string*, as well as interval training and finger training. 

If you're not interested in music theory, not interested in music theory today, too tired to think about music theory, that's okay. Just play the tabs. Keep up the relationship with your instrument. Give your hands a chance to stretch themselves over the frets. 

What you're playing, and why you're playing it, is much less important than the fact that you're playing, when you otherwise wouldn't be.

__

*There's a very good reason for that bastard string. It makes chords easier, for one thing. Basses don't play chords that much, so the regular intervals make playing easier. 

(Sorry to all you mandolin and banjo players out there. If you're dying to have mandolin/banjo/dulcimer/whatever tabs up there for you, leave a comment, and I'll try my best.)

Day 9

Guitar:
|-----------------------------------------0-1-2-3-|
|---------------------------------1-2-3-4---------|
|-------------------------1-2-3-4-----------------|
|-----------------2-3-4-5-------------------------|
|---------3-4-5-6---------------------------------|
|-4-5-6-7-----------------------------------------|

|-4-3-2-1-----------------------------------------|
|---------5-4-3-2---------------------------------|
|-----------------5-4-3-2-------------------------|
|-------------------------6-5-4-3-----------------|
|---------------------------------7-6-5-4---------|
|-----------------------------------------8-7-6-5-|

Ukulele:
|--------------------------1-2-3-4-|-5-4-3-2-------------------------|
|------------------2-3-4-5---------|---------6-5-4-3-----------------|
|----------2-3-4-5-----------------|-----------------6-5-4-3---------|
|--3-4-5-6-------------------------|-------------------------7-6-5-4-|

Bass:
|-------------------------0-1-2-3-|-4-3-2-1-------------------------|
|-----------------1-2-3-4---------|---------5-4-3-2-----------------|
|---------2-3-4-5-----------------|-----------------6-5-4-3---------|
|-3-4-5-6-------------------------|-------------------------7-6-5-4-|

Keep going up until your index finger hits the 12th fret. Then, go back down.

These are chromatic scales again, but this time without open strings. 

This is good for your hands, especially the stretches between the 1st fret and the 5th fret, going down.

For guitar and ukulele, this is good for reminding yourself where that bastard string is. 

If there's something you don't understand, feel free to leave a comment. I know sometimes I'm unclear.

Day 8

Here's today's tabs.

Guitar:
|------------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-|
|-------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4------------|
|----------------------------------0-1-2-3-----------------------|
|-----------------------0-1-2-3-4--------------------------------|
|------------0-1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------|
|-0-1-2-3-4------------------------------------------------------|

Ukulele:
|------------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-|
|-------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4------------|
|----------------------------------0-1-2-3-----------------------|
|-----------------------0-1-2-3-4--------------------------------|

Bass:
|----------------------------------0-1-2-3-----------------------|
|-----------------------0-1-2-3-4--------------------------------|
|------------0-1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------|

|-0-1-2-3-4------------------------------------------------------|

Play it forward. Play it in reverse. Strum it up, down, alternating. You know the drill by now.

Optional Music Theory Lesson:
Wondering why those bolded bits are different than their neighboring strings?.
Here's the thing: guitars are tuned weirdly.
That's not entirely true, but we're going to pretend it's a full answer.

(And I know I said no music theory, but here's a tiny bit. Notes have names. ABCDEFG. After G comes A again. That A is higher than the previous A, but it's still the same note. Play an open string, then play your 12th fret on that string, and you'll hear it. It's the same, except higher. Those notes are an octave apart. That's the word to remember. Octave: same note name, but higher or lower in pitch. Music lesson done.)

Guitars are tuned EADGBe*
If you've tuned your guitar or ukulele to itself, you know what I mean. Fret your low E string at the fifth fret, it plays an A. It plays the same A as your A string.
Fifth fret on A is D, same as your D string.
Fifth fret on D is the same as your G string
Fifth fret on G is C. Not the same as your B string. Fourth fret on your G is B.
Fifth fret on your B is e. We're back where we started.

Your ukulele, same thing. If you've got a concert or a soprano, it's going to be harder to hear because of the high G string, but
Ukulele's are tuned gCEA.
Fifth fret on the high g is an octave above your C string.
Fourth fret on your C string is E
Fifth fret on your E is A

Ukuleles can also be tuned GCEA if you're playing low G like on a tenor, and GDBE if you're playing baritone. The intervals between the strings are the same, so you can use the ukulele tabs when you're playing baritone.

And here's why I like bass best:
4-string bass is tuned EADG
Fifth fret on E is A
Fifth fret on A is D
Fifth fret on D is G
Nothing funky. Fifth fret. That's all.**

And that's why the guitar and ukulele tab have that funky bit in the middle, but the bass doesn't. If you played that string like you played the others, you'd have a note that repeats.

What you're playing is called a chromatic scale. It's a good ear exercise. It's also just a great finger exercise, and good for teaching you about that tricky B string.

___
* E means low E, e means high E. G is low G, g is high G
**If you're thinking boy howdy, I'd like to learn music theory on a stringed instrument, bass is the way to go. Intervals are obvious and consistent. Arpeggios and scales make patterns you can move to any point on the neck and still have it work. On the other hand, you're going to have to learn it on a different blog.

Day 7

Tonight we'll play around with open strings.

|-------------------------------|------------------------------
|-------------------------------|------------------------------
|-------------------------------|-0-0-3-0-0-0-3--0-0-3-0-0-0-3-
|--0-0-3-0-0-0-3--0-0-3-0-0-0-3-|------------------------------

|------------------------------|-0-0-3-0-0-0-3--0-0-3-0-0-0-3--|
|-0-0-3-0-0-0-3--0-0-3-0-0-0-3-|-------------------------------|
|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
|------------------------------|-------------------------------|

If you're doing this on guitar, there's two more strings but I trust you can figure it out. 

Instead of going up the fretboard like usual, play it four times, one with each finger. All first, all second, blah blah. If your hand's not hurting, do it again.

Still not in pain? You know the drill. You pick it down. You pick it up. You do it down and up. And then you go front&back*. 


Since we're at one whole week of this, tomorrow we'll do something more complicated! That takes into account that bass is tuned differently than guitar and ukulele! We'll learn so much! It'll be awesome!

I bet you can hardly wait.


_____
*

*

Day 6

As we're approaching a week of me talking to no one, here's a quick little change.
(Just checked my stats and roughly 15 people read this! Hi, y'all! Guess I'm not talking to myself after all!)

1) Try to do every exercise with an even page. Try to stop from stuttering. Go as slowly as you need to keep an even beat.
2) Practice everything with different strum/pick/whatever patterns. Become flexible at picking. Do tricky things until they start feeling right.

Or not. Just doing something is better than doing nothing. Never forget that.

So today's got a funky fucking finger crossover.

|---------------------|----------------------|
|---3---4---5---6---7-|----------------------|
|-5---5---5---5---5---|-5---5---5---5---5----|
|---------------------|---3---4---5---6---7--|

Do it down, do it up, do it alternating. Then do it doubling each note 

|-5-5-----5-5--
|-----3-3-----

And so on.

I'm not going to say what fingers to use. You're going to figure out what fingers work best. 

Day 5

Tabs for today are easy:

|--0---------0---------
|----0------0---0------
|------0---0------0----
|--------0----------0--

And so on*.

So here we get tricky.

If you're pick picking, do this all on down picks.
Then all on up picks.
Then alternating up and down.
Then alternating down and up.

If your'e fingerpicking bass, first do all index fingers
Then all middle fingers
Then index and middle, alternating
Then middle and index, alternating

If you're on ukulele or fingerpicking guitar, pick this with your thumb and index finger:
All thumb
All index finger
Thumb and index finger
Index finger and thumb
REPEAT but replace your index finger with your middle finger.
then REPEAT using your index and middle fingers.

Some of this will feel unnatural. That's okay. That means you're getting your fingers to do different things than they're used to, and giving you more flexibility as a player.If your hands have no idea where to go, now's a good time to find out. Just go slowly , until you've got it.

If you start getting frustrated, just strum. Down to quarter notes, up to quarter notes, down and up to quarter notes. Your gut might be telling you to do eighth notes, because that's what you're used to. Resist the temptation.

Keep playing.
__
*And if the series of z's will always stay close to z and never trend away, that point is in the Mandelbrot Set

Day 4

I don't feel like playing tonight, so tyhis one's going to be fast.


Pretend you taped your index finger to your palm. Or really tape your index finger to your palm.

|-12-14-16-----------------------------------------------
|----------12-14-16--------------------------------------
|-------------------12-14-16--------------------11-13-15-
|----------------------------12-14-16--11-13-15----------

|-----------11-13-15---
|--11-13-15------------
|----------------------
|----------------------

And so on. We're still working on those finger gaps. 

From this point on, work on playing these with as consistent of a time as possible. One note after the other. Go as slow as you need to keep your rhythm as smooth as possible.

Day 3

Who's up for a quickie without me ranbling on about the nature of music?

I'm going to just do it in tab today. My camera's not working. 

Bass and Uke

|-------------1-3--
|---------1-3------
|-----1-3----------
|-1-3--------------

(If you're new to tab, bottom line represents string 1, and the number is the fret you use)

Easy, right? 

Except you're doing the ones with your index/first finger, and the threes with your 2nd/middle finger. 


I am aware that bass and ukulele are tuned differently. However, right now we're playing frets, not notes. 

So you do that pattern all the way up to

|-------------------12-14--
|-------------12-14--------
|-------12-14--------------
|-12-14--------------------

And now the fun. Do it again, but use your ring and pinky fingers. If your hand still has feeling, go again with your middle and ring fingers. 


If you're playing bass and have small hands, and you find this exercise hard, go up your fretboard until the frets are close enough to do this. Drill this at least every other day, and try to work your way down. 
It's amazing what limitations you thought were caused by your hands, which turn out to be able to be compensated for with addition muscle. 

And for guitarists who like looking at 6 strings

|---------------------1-3--
|-----------------1-3------
|-------------1-3----------
|---------1-3--------------
|-----1-3------------------
|-1-3----------------------

When these things start getting into stuff where the notes count, I'll probably do guitar, uke, and bass separately. For now, just wing it. You're playing. You're playing! Good job!

Keep on playing. 

Day 2

Let's talk about gaps. Jumps. Whatever they are.

Let's talk about easy gaps.

You ever played Guitar Hero? You know the medium difficulty, where you only have four buttons, and you can just park a finger on each button. We're going to do that.

Chances are, when you play, you're not using all of your fingers. Chances are there's muscles you need to build in the pinky and ring sections of your hands.

We've got video this week, but it's the same for both instruments.

The shorthand. S means start, E means end.

The video: 

For Bass

For Ukulele
Please excuse the fact that I recorded these sitting on my unmade bed. It is an indication of slovenlyness, not harlotry

At the very end of the bass video, you can see me instinctively not use my pinky. I tend to not use my pinky as much as I should, which is what this is for. This whole project is just to get me to use my pinky. 

The longhand: First finger, first fret, first string. 

Third finger, third fret, first string. Repeat for the other strings, going up.

Then second finger, second fret, forth string. Fourth finger, fourth fret, fourth string. Repeat with the other strings, going down.

As with all these left hand exercises, do it once, go up a fret, and do it again. If you're feeling ambitious, go back down. If you start feeling it in the left side of your hand, you're doing it right. 

Day 1

Here's the philosophy behind this: Do things, and you get better at them. 

1. You don't need music training to get your hands on an instrument and make noise
2. When you get your hands on the instrument and make noise, you build muscle memory. You teach yourself where the frets are, where the strings are, how you like to play. Your instrument teaches you the things that only you and it can know.
3. Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers.
4. When you play, you build a relationship with your instrument. When you have built that relationship, should you ever decide to play more seriously, you will be miles ahead of the you in the other universe where you never started playing at all.

The ideal setup for this is to have your instrument tuned and turned on, sitting how you would like to play. Being tuned means your ear can start learning the relationship between the strings. If your instrument is electric, being plugged in and turns on lets you learn what it sounds like when it's on. Sometimes it matters. 

All you actually need is an instrument with frets and at least one string.

So let's jump right on to it. Tonight's lesson is fingered exactly the same, no matter the instrument. I'm going to be taking bass picturtes, becuase they're the clearest to see what I'm doing.

So let's get right into this. Playing takes all of your fingers, so let's use them. 

First finger=index finger, second finger=middle, et cetera.
When I say "lowest" and "highest," that's always a reference to pitch, not physical height. Lowest pitch/thickest string is also the first string.
The first fret is the one closest to the head/top of your instrument. 

So, here you go, first finger, first fret, lowest string. 

Today's has got a pattern that you'll pick up pretty fast.

Second finger, second fret, lowest string. 

Third finger, third fret, lowest string. 

Fourth finger, fourth fret, lowest string.

Well, now you're out of fingers, so

First finger, first fret, second string. 

And so on. Up frets, up strings.

When you're out of both strings and frets, Start back at the beginning, but go first finger, second fret, second finger, third fret, third finger, fourth fret, fourth finger, fifth fret. And so on. Keep going until your index finger hits the 12th fret. Go back down if you're feeling it. 

Even if you've been playing, we've got a tendency to not use our pinkies.

In the future, the shorthand for things like this is going to look like this: 

I'll probably still explain them. 
.
.
PS I fell asleep while editing this last night, so here it is today.

Day Zero

It's day one, but I wrote this last night on a sheet of paper, with a pen.

Day one will happen toinght when I'm off work.

1/14/2015
You know who you are. You have the guitar you bought, you inherited, your drunk friend left, you stole, whatever. And you never play it. You don't know how.

You don't need music to learn your instrument. You just need to play it. Dicking around's a step towards learning to play it well.

This project is just a list of ideas to get you started.

...

Project starts tomorrow. Tonight.

Today, get your instrument some love. Pick it up. Dust it off (even under the strings). Tune it up. Just touch it, because when was the last time you did?

Download a tuner app if you don't have a tuner. Find your sound cable, your amp's power cable, and wherever you left your picks.

Or don't, if that sounds like it'll stop you. It's koay if it's not perfect. Some it better than none.

You can get better at playing, even if all you've got is a fretboard and two strings.

Some is better than none.