Tag: guitar

Seriously Picking Up Guitar

February 18th, 2024

I recently decided to start playing guitar. I had played at playing in the past and learning a few songs but never advanced significantly. This time will be different. I am studying the basics, theory, chords and getting in some type of practice on a daily basis.

Given the internet, google and the like, I started looking through articles. I find many articles and videos difficult to follow. There is little step by step and by the time you figure out the first comments, you are lost and have to go back and replay over and over. In some cases replay is not sufficient largely because the presentation is superficial.

Searching through results, I came across Breakthrough Guitar. I immediately liked the thorough step by step progress with each video leading to the next. Several days of mixed Breakthrough Guitar and other videos led to Breakthrough Guitar as a preference. There are multiple ways to subscribe: monthly, yearly and lifetime. The usual warnings of a fixed number of days to make a decision seem unnecessary and the bonus discounts seem always available. I tend to prefer one time purchases when they make sense so after about a week, I chose the lifetime one time fee. I found it interesting that even after purchasing this, I continued getting reminders I had ‘N’ days left to make the decision.

I learned a tremendous amount in the following week and continue practicing daily. The following items are some highlights: the term action with respect to string distance from keyboard and less trauma to the fingers, lighter weight strings for the same reasons, scale pattern 1, pentatonic scale, dexterity exercises and backing tracks. I have also learned how to play scale pattern 1 in various keys based on the first note if the sequence.

I am more than satisfied so far as many lessons remain and my subscription brings additional lessons as they are developed and added. I still try other You Tube videos but usually find those difficult to follow with the detail followed in Breakthrough Guitar. I’ll revisit these thoughts periodically to gauge progress as I continue to learn.

I am working my way through all the lessons. I will have a better overall impression once some time has passed.
A Little Diversification

February 10th, 2024

Initially, I mentioned retirement and this June 17th will be two years. I was very stubborn the first 1.5 years as I wanted to soak up the ability to do only what I wanted. My wife has pushed for diversification and finally, I am ready to listen, due to readiness as well as harmony.

I used to play guitar years ago, but eventually stopped playing. I have restarted making sure this time to go through study and research as well as daily practice. The chords are coming back and my fingers are slowly getting used to pressing the strings. I learned some new things, such as making sure the ‘action’ was not too high, major patterns, and pentatonic patterns so far. I was pointed to backing tracks so I can practice playing along. I combine this with fingering exercises, chords and dexterity drills.

I deleted Star Trek Fleet Command as it sucked up half my day and still progress was slow. I was also tempted now and then to quicken the pace by paying $20 for this or that ‘package’. The game is designed to suck you in and pepper you with seemingly good deals that manage to continually tempt purchases. Over and done.

I continue puzzling; my last two were 2000 piece followed by 1500 piece. I have chosen the next as a 2000 piece tall ships harbor view. I plan to Mod Podge the 1500 piece which is a picture highlighting the main tourist sites in London, I purchased a puzzle table whose regular base supports 1000 pieces but also purchased an add on tray that takes up to 2000 pieces.

I continue to work on AI. For a while, I was not able to progress past points as my MacBook Pro was Intel i9. Given AI really needs GPU, I upgraded to the newest MacBook Pro with the M3 chip, 12 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores. I have now restarted a book that recounts the step by step process to create a GPT like AI that handles text, conversation and shows usage of a publicly available LLM and then shows fine turning. This particular book focuses on person assistant and chatbot. My intention is to create a personal assistant that will additionally be tuned as a house AI.

My reading during retirement has vascillated from Western, Zane Grey or the like, historical fiction, e.g. James Clavell, historical fact, e.g. The Sack of Constantinople and the miracle at Midway. I have added a daily article or two from Philosophy Today and various articles on AI. I also have a life time Babbel subscription where I concentrate on Spanish and French, the French because I took years of study in secondary school.

I am adapting to this new diversified list of activities. So far, I am enjoying the expansion.

Tag: guitar

Seriously Picking Up Guitar

A Little Diversification