New Ibanez AEL50SERLV Guitar with Vine

It's been awhile since I've updated but a lot has changed since then. I sold my Michael Kelly electric guitar to my sister (who ended up trading it in to help pay for the new Ibanez Montage she really wanted).  She sounds thrilled with the Montage so that's great.  You have to like what you play in my amateur opinion.

I bought the Takamine G Series EG440C NEX Acoustic-Electric Guitar in a very nice translucent red in October.  I posted about this one before.  It is so nice to play.  I love this guitar!  It plays very easily and being a beginner, that's important.
 

Yesterday, I came home with my second and last guitar.  I have always loved the look of the vines on a guitar so when we came across the Ibanez AEL50SERLV, we put it in layaway for me.  My musician husband loves the way it plays.  He said the neck plays like an electric guitar.  He asked me after we got it home which one of my guitars I like best.  I told him I need time to bond with my new guitar but I know I'll love it as much as I love my Takamine.  Isn't it a beauty?

I do not like the regular flat picks.  I use the thumbpicks, but we came across the Herco Flat Thumbpicks that feel really good and are easy to use.  My new favorite!

So, I'm good in the musical instrument department.  I have two really nice guitars and my acoustic amp to use with either guitar when I want.  Now I have to improve my actual playing (kinda important right?).  Won't do much good if all my guitars do is look good if I don't play them well.  Right now, I am trying to build the muscle memory for Am and E chords so it feels natural to play them without having to think about it and hunt for the strings.

My Playing Update - This Old Broad is Doing Good!

I've been playing the chords for Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton) and Hootie and the Blowfish song! I am actually playing!! I'm excited.

I really like both songs. The Hootie song was a favorite of a close friend of mine that passed away a few years ago so it has special meaning to me.

I've had a little pain in my left hand and sometimes my hand "locks" up when I need to play the G chord. I'm not sure if it's the neck on my guitar (perhaps I need a thinner neck) or if it will just take time for my hand muscles to get used to it. My husband is going to lower the action on my guitar for me and see if that helps. I hope so because I LOVE my guitar and don't want to have to get a different one.

Playing Eric Clapton Already!

My second lesson with my husband went well. We started working on a song "Bye Bye Love" with C, G, and D chords. Then I came down with the flu so didn't get any practice in that week of my second lesson.

This past weekend, I took out my guitar and started practicing again. We worked on "Bye Bye Love" and "Wonderful Tonight" (Eric Clapton). I enjoy playing Eric Clapton's song quite a bit and Bye Bye Love not so much yet. It's a lot faster and my fingers don't quite want to switch between chords that fast yet. I'll get there though!!

First Lesson with Hubby

My husband gave me my first lesson yesterday (I'd previously wrote about not taking lessons from an outside teacher last time). He showed me two new chords (C, big G...as opposed to baby G that was really easy) to learn along with D that I already know. These three chords are in several songs in my new guitar book, Easy Pop Rhythms Book.

While at Staples, he also came across a computer CD called Learn to Play Guitar Essentials that we picked up for $10. We figured we'd see what it was, if there was anything helpful on it. We thought it was a good price. Amazon has it for a lot less! Oy.

Another lesson, another pattern

I have another pattern to learn from Thursday's lesson (to sing with Amazing Grace) but he only wrote the pattern for one chord down, expecting me to remember the same pattern but applying them to different chords. That was fine for A, but for baby G, it's not working out so well. So, I practiced the different patterns to the extent that I could, and then worked on the blues chords he gave me to learn the lesson before and E minor that he added at this last lesson. My husband gave me the E major chord and taught me how to strum the start of a song.

I am going to ask him to please write it all down in the book for me. My thyroid disease makes my memory fuzzy so what I remember at the lesson doesn't all stick with me a few hours later.

What is probably going to happy is I'll take lessons from this man at the music store for another month and then have my husband teach me himself. He's capable of it. I just wasn't sure if he'd be able to teach me patiently and I'd be able to listen to him patiently. You know, the whole "obey" thing is a foreign concept to me.

My next lesson is tomorrow though so I have some more practice to do.

New Pattern & New Song to Learn

I had another guitar lesson this morning. I have a new pattern to learn (strum, pick, strum, pick, pick...something like that). He gave me the chords to a new song. I was getting tired of You Are My Sunshine so a new one is just fine with me. Now I have Amazing Grace.

The music store owner is going to get me a price on a Luna Muse nylon electric acoustic guitar too. There are three guitars that they have that I am interested in. I showed you the Fauna Eclipse in a previous post (so pretty!). This is the second one I am interested. I'll get a picture of the third and post it too.

My husband is trying to steer me away from the Luna Guitars. He's not been happy with the reviews he's read. Definitely going to have to try them out in person to see what they're like. No online buying for these until we see what they're like in person.

Learning New Patterns

I signed up for guitar lessons for all of October.

The music teacher has taught me two different patterns for strumming (picking, plucking...what do you call it?). I can now play You Are My Sunshine three different ways. Boy, I never thought that would be a song I'd be learning from at my age.

I'm working on the third strum and picking pattern (kind of jazzes up You Are My Sunshine). I'm not sure what the proper word for it is but you strum the alternate string and then pick three others and then go to the bass string to play and then pick three others. He also threw in, at the last minute, three new guitar chords for a bluesy sound. He said I'm doing really good and he might be pushing me but he wanted to throw these in.

I've been practicing the new strum pattern but haven't started the new three chords yet. The kids have kept me really busy and with work...you know how it goes. I'll get my book out and work on those later before my next lesson on Thursday.

My First Lesson

I had my first guitar lesson today. The music teacher wants to teach me three guitar chords: D, G (baby G), and A. It feels a little foreign, but I'm excited. With those three chords, I can strum "You Are My Sunshine" - my first song!

I know I mentioned in my last post that my husband played since he was a kid so you might be wondering why HE isn't teaching me. Well, I'd be too self-conscious at this point. He's REALLY good and I don't want to clumsily struggle along in front of him just yet. Besides, I didn't put "obey" in my wedding vows and I'm not sure how well we'd do in a teacher/student role.

My First Guitar

Michael Kelly Hex

I am in the later half of my 30's with four children and two stepchildren, married to man who taught himself to play guitar as a child and is very talented. I've never played guitar before. I mentioned once after seeing my husband playing his guitar with one of my daughter's friends that I'd like to learn - to be able to strum along with the rest of the family (all of our children have musical talent - from their dad).

He went out right away and surprised me with the guitar above.

I'm not totally inept in music. I played third year piano as a child and was in band (clarinet) for a couple of years in middle school. Guitar always seemed really difficult to me.

So, here's my guitar. Now I have to learn to play it. I will be 38 in October and I am just starting to learn to play guitar. Is it true what they say about you can't teach an old dog new tricks? We shall see.