On the 24th of February, I bought M.P. Echo, my guitar. It's an FG700s. Get it? FG? FGGJP? I'm so great, I amaze myself. See the Guitar Update #1 for other "valuable" guitar related materials. By the way, welcome the "Guitar" tag, for all things guitar and partially applying to musical performances! [tag not necessary for in the fgggp version.]
So now that it's the 26th of March, I have no option of returning it. Therefore, I'm keeping it. I like the guitar. I need to learn some more songs for it, that's for sure.
You'll note that I bought the guitar on February 24th, and my first recorded performance was March 24th, 30 days later! Yes, on Monday, I sang at a wedding, and I also played my guitar. I'll post about the wedding soon. But for now, listen to my performance, below! I didn't include the video. The file is 2 MB in size, according to Blogger.
...yeah!
It was quite a day. If you can believe it, I randomly got a guitar lesson the day before in church which gave me a little bit of inspiration. The teacher was none other than Dave Spider, who has a "variety show" which he performs. Apparently, he's a real jokepot. All I know is that he's a patient guy. I learned so much, I can't believe it. It was like his knowledge was crushed walnuts, and I was an apple coated in caramel, and I was rolled around in his knowledge.
David dataDyne is also learning to play the guitar, and even though he's ages ahead of me, he was also absorbing. Dave (Dave Spider; they're both named David) conned him into becoming my teacher, so now I'll be learning how to play the guitar from David dataDyne. It'll mostly consist of me and him getting together once a month and him telling me I do everything wrong.
Then, it will advance into once-a-week, two-hour-long meetings where we practice the hymns for that week. We're going to become the players for the church...Mr. Bruckner will still sing, but we'll play. He may start performing before I do, but I'm sure I'll be able to grasp some basic songs within a few months. I want to learn the one song he played. Maybe he has TAB (guitar musical language) for it.
As of (around) March 15th, my fingers no longer feel like they've been cut, burned, and crushed simultaneously, but they do get pretty sore and tender after I've been playing a long time. When you play for even one person, though, you don't feel it. I was nervous. Also, my strumming hand doesn't lose its coordination nearly as quickly. I can now play for about half an hour, whereas before I could only play for about 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes.
I'm developing the calluses at a good rate, too. Time to end this post, though. I still only know the chords Dmajor, and Amajor, and Gmajor. I remember them quickly and easily by Delactation, Antigalactic, and Galactometer...D, A, G. What?...don't give me that "You've made yourself look like a freak" look again. Do YOU know of an easier way to remember the chords?!
I'll make another update some other time. For now, it's time to do laundry. Off I go.
Originally posted on my main blog, Winter Ends Too Soon, March 26th, 2008.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Guitar Update #1: Naming, and Guitar Pain
Howdy, folks. Welcome to "Guitar update #1." I won't discuss much about playing yet, because I don't know anything. Except that...
Somehow, my fingers simultaneously feel as if they've been cut, burned, and poked against a hard surface repeatedly (the first 1/4" of tissue feels numb and sore- how they can feel numb and sore at the same time, I may never know). So just imagine having the tips of your fingers slammed in a door, burned, and cut, and that's more or less what it's like to play the guitar before you develop the calluses.
You eventually develop sufficient calluses, and after that, you don't have to deal with the potentially horrific, confusing pain. Kile II mentioned it tonight. "Oh yeah, you'll wish you were dead before you perfect the F Minus doublechord." I think he was just talking big, but I don't care if he was just talking big, an F Minus doublechord sounds scary, real or not.
So far, I've learned to tune it with the electric tuner. That's big stuff for me. That electric tuner is intimidating. I've learned that...a lot of things about guitars are intimidating.
Don Feldick mentioned today that I need to get a pick up or up pick, which amplifies the sound. That might be interesting...maybe I can turn an acoustic guitar into an electric guitar! I'd be known as "The First Fool to kill himself plugging in his Acoustic Guitar...Note To All: THE CORD GOES INTO A SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED PICK UP OR UP PICK, NOT TWISTED ONTO THE STRINGS."
I'm pondering what to name it. Here are my top names (no order):
HAL (Super Smash Bros. fame)
Charlotte (Charlotte's Web fame)
Samus (Metroid fame)
Retro (Retro Studios of Metroid fame)
FLUDD (Super Mario Sunshine fame)
Echo (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes name)
First, I thought of Charlotte. It is a "sand burst" design, and it looks "rustic." For some reason, Charlotte's Web makes me think of "rustic."
Then, I thought of HAL. I always liked the dog mascot of HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Then I thought of Samus, but I think I want to wait to name my first $5,000 guitar Samus. Damn, that's a good name.
Then I thought of Retro, after Retro Studios, which developed the Metroid Prime trilogy.
Then I thought of FLUDD, from Super Mario Sunshine. (Ctrl+F and find for "FLUDD" if you're looking at the link.)
Then I thought of Echo, after Metroid Prime: Echoes, my favorite Metroid game, and easily in my top 5 nostalgic games. (May I never lose interest in it.) Nice, short name. Has some basis in reality- you know, sound wave type stuff. While it is tempting to name the guitar Samus- the more I think about it, the better that name is for a guitar- I'm going to wait until I can play well, then purchase a good guitar and name it Samus.
Plus, Echo is not a very personable name, so hopefully I won't get too attached. I don't know how I'll get rid of this guitar when the time comes to upgrade in a few years...but I think I may burn it. Six final broken strings later...it will be gone.
So, M.P. Echo it is. My dad tried to play an A Major chord today; his fingers are way too big. I wonder if people have finger reduction surgery to be able to play the guitar. I bet they do.
Originally posted on my main blog, Winter Ends Too Soon, on February 27th, 2008.
Somehow, my fingers simultaneously feel as if they've been cut, burned, and poked against a hard surface repeatedly (the first 1/4" of tissue feels numb and sore- how they can feel numb and sore at the same time, I may never know). So just imagine having the tips of your fingers slammed in a door, burned, and cut, and that's more or less what it's like to play the guitar before you develop the calluses.
You eventually develop sufficient calluses, and after that, you don't have to deal with the potentially horrific, confusing pain. Kile II mentioned it tonight. "Oh yeah, you'll wish you were dead before you perfect the F Minus doublechord." I think he was just talking big, but I don't care if he was just talking big, an F Minus doublechord sounds scary, real or not.
So far, I've learned to tune it with the electric tuner. That's big stuff for me. That electric tuner is intimidating. I've learned that...a lot of things about guitars are intimidating.
Don Feldick mentioned today that I need to get a pick up or up pick, which amplifies the sound. That might be interesting...maybe I can turn an acoustic guitar into an electric guitar! I'd be known as "The First Fool to kill himself plugging in his Acoustic Guitar...Note To All: THE CORD GOES INTO A SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED PICK UP OR UP PICK, NOT TWISTED ONTO THE STRINGS."
I'm pondering what to name it. Here are my top names (no order):
HAL (Super Smash Bros. fame)
Charlotte (Charlotte's Web fame)
Samus (Metroid fame)
Retro (Retro Studios of Metroid fame)
FLUDD (Super Mario Sunshine fame)
Echo (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes name)
First, I thought of Charlotte. It is a "sand burst" design, and it looks "rustic." For some reason, Charlotte's Web makes me think of "rustic."
Then, I thought of HAL. I always liked the dog mascot of HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Then I thought of Samus, but I think I want to wait to name my first $5,000 guitar Samus. Damn, that's a good name.
Then I thought of Retro, after Retro Studios, which developed the Metroid Prime trilogy.
Then I thought of FLUDD, from Super Mario Sunshine. (Ctrl+F and find for "FLUDD" if you're looking at the link.)
Then I thought of Echo, after Metroid Prime: Echoes, my favorite Metroid game, and easily in my top 5 nostalgic games. (May I never lose interest in it.) Nice, short name. Has some basis in reality- you know, sound wave type stuff. While it is tempting to name the guitar Samus- the more I think about it, the better that name is for a guitar- I'm going to wait until I can play well, then purchase a good guitar and name it Samus.
Plus, Echo is not a very personable name, so hopefully I won't get too attached. I don't know how I'll get rid of this guitar when the time comes to upgrade in a few years...but I think I may burn it. Six final broken strings later...it will be gone.
So, M.P. Echo it is. My dad tried to play an A Major chord today; his fingers are way too big. I wonder if people have finger reduction surgery to be able to play the guitar. I bet they do.
Originally posted on my main blog, Winter Ends Too Soon, on February 27th, 2008.
Post #1: Guitar-related Drama at its Finest.
Yeah, so I'm like, the best guitarist that ever was. And that still is. I can listen to a song just once and then play it back note for note or even backwards. I have the ability to hold twelve guitars (but I can only manage 5 of them being 12 strings) and not only play the guitar sections, but also emulate the drums, fiddles, trumpets, etc.
I can also sing very well. One time, outside of a music shop, someone who worked there was being held captive at shotgun point. I approached through the police barricade and began singing one of my favorites, "Please, Let That Hostage Free." It's a little opera-ey, but it resolved the situation in a quick fashion. The guy came out crying like a baby and limply surrendered to the police. "I can't believe I shot that man!"
I am unsure if I should write with my southern, cowboy, real-man accent, or not. All good guitarists have to have southern, cowboy, real-man accents. So of course I have that sort of accent. Reckon ya'll? Ya'll reckon, ya'll cow says, "Ya'll moo!" That's right, even my herd of cattle (which I have) moo with an accent.
...OK...so, none of that's true. I am an 18-year-old male who doesn't have much of an interest in music. I have one other blog, Winter Ends Too Soon. That URL is fggjp, for Flying Goblins Got J00 Pwnt, and this one is fgggp, for Flying Goblins Got Guitars Pwnt. Get it? Good. That one is about just about everything, and it's really quite boring. Not like this one about...uh...guitars. And other music-related news and stuffs.
Anyways, like I said, I don't have much of an interest in music. I've never liked it, but a few years ago, I discovered Christian music, and that's more enjoyable for me. Still, I only listen on and off. Other than that, I can listen to Country music for about 10 minutes at a time. It makes me laugh. Regardless of my dislike of most music, I've always wanted to learn an instrument.
After attending a Bible conference in California in February of 2008 where a man with a guitar two-handedly played the music for all of the hymns, I decided that I needed to learn the guitar. On February 24th, less than a week later, I bought my first guitar- a Yamaha FG700S in Sunburst. I'll detail that later; I named it M.P. Echo, or just Echo. As of right now, I've been learning guitar for roughly a month and one week.
You see, as my church has no live players, the responsibility falls to me, and I had previously not known of the myriad ability of guitars. We actually have a few players, but they're shier than I am (I have little shame to be shy of), and once I begin playing, they'll begin playing with me. I'm a kingpin, and it's my unrelenting, relentless thirst for glory and honor that drives away every last ounce of shyness I have.
Er!-... I mean! Uhm...welcome to the blog!!!
I can also sing very well. One time, outside of a music shop, someone who worked there was being held captive at shotgun point. I approached through the police barricade and began singing one of my favorites, "Please, Let That Hostage Free." It's a little opera-ey, but it resolved the situation in a quick fashion. The guy came out crying like a baby and limply surrendered to the police. "I can't believe I shot that man!"
I am unsure if I should write with my southern, cowboy, real-man accent, or not. All good guitarists have to have southern, cowboy, real-man accents. So of course I have that sort of accent. Reckon ya'll? Ya'll reckon, ya'll cow says, "Ya'll moo!" That's right, even my herd of cattle (which I have) moo with an accent.
...OK...so, none of that's true. I am an 18-year-old male who doesn't have much of an interest in music. I have one other blog, Winter Ends Too Soon. That URL is fggjp, for Flying Goblins Got J00 Pwnt, and this one is fgggp, for Flying Goblins Got Guitars Pwnt. Get it? Good. That one is about just about everything, and it's really quite boring. Not like this one about...uh...guitars. And other music-related news and stuffs.
Anyways, like I said, I don't have much of an interest in music. I've never liked it, but a few years ago, I discovered Christian music, and that's more enjoyable for me. Still, I only listen on and off. Other than that, I can listen to Country music for about 10 minutes at a time. It makes me laugh. Regardless of my dislike of most music, I've always wanted to learn an instrument.
After attending a Bible conference in California in February of 2008 where a man with a guitar two-handedly played the music for all of the hymns, I decided that I needed to learn the guitar. On February 24th, less than a week later, I bought my first guitar- a Yamaha FG700S in Sunburst. I'll detail that later; I named it M.P. Echo, or just Echo. As of right now, I've been learning guitar for roughly a month and one week.
You see, as my church has no live players, the responsibility falls to me, and I had previously not known of the myriad ability of guitars. We actually have a few players, but they're shier than I am (I have little shame to be shy of), and once I begin playing, they'll begin playing with me. I'm a kingpin, and it's my unrelenting, relentless thirst for glory and honor that drives away every last ounce of shyness I have.
Er!-... I mean! Uhm...welcome to the blog!!!
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