This week I was able to learn and practice more chords with Yousician. I am still frustrated with the limited time lesson on the app, but I was able to work around that this week. This week, I supplemented my Yousician lessons with YouTube videos. This video is the product of my work withMarty Schwart's Video Lesson:
Guess that Tom Petty song!
Clearly, this is still a work in progress, but I am pretty happy with how things turned out this week. I used a capo to play this song. Using a capo changes the chords and makes the stings easier to press (which is great news for my fingers!). The "Free Fallin'" chords without the capo are D, Dsus4 and A, all chords that I do not know! But by using the capo, the chords were E, G and Bsus4. E and G are easy to play and are chords that I have see in my Yousician lessons. That meant the only chord I needed to learn for this song was Bsus4! I was very grateful to have the capo and to find a video that utilized the capo.
βIn terms of my Yousician progress, I have now learned the chords E, Em, Am, C and have just started practicing G. I really enjoy the challenges Yousician provides to help me learn the chords and practice changing from chord to chord. Each level of my Yousician "mission" has different songs that require me to use the skills that I am learning, and I cannot move on until I master each song. For example, one level included a song that helped me change from an Am chord to a C chord. The first few times I played this song, I had a very difficult time changing chords, but by the time I mastered the song, I felt like an expert! The skills test from that level included all the chords that I have learned so far and challenged me to quickly move from chord to chord. I have done a little research this week into chord progressions to learn why Tom Petty might have chosen the chords he did for "Yer So Bad". I dug through some of my old piano theory books to remind myself what chord progressions I have learned in the past and what they sound like. I remember diminished, half-diminished, minor, major and augmented. But my online research has shown me many more! I found a cool site that used popular songs to explain different chord progressions. You can find that site on my Pintertest board, or by clicking here. Next week, I want to delve more into the chord progressions and figure out what chord progressions are used in "Yer So Bad". I also want to continue practicing the chords I know and polish up "Free Fallin'", as well as learn new chords with Yousician. I also want to learn more about strumming patterns. Right now, I only strum down, but I need to learn how to strum up in order to play "Yer So Bad". I'm looking forward to another great week of learning!
3 Comments
3/21/2016 11:54:56 am
Look at your rockstar hair Soph! You look like a total guitar playing badass :) Switching between chords is probably the hardest part of playing in my opinion. I think researching chord progressions is so interesting! I think there is such a strong emotional response with music so I wonder if chord progressions are part of this. Can't wait to find out!
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Caitlin Eichlin
3/22/2016 09:51:26 am
I totally agree with Sarah- you look like a TOTAL badass playing that guitar and I am a tiny bit jealous of how cool you look in your video. It sounds like you are making some great progress! Keep rocking! Cant wait to see where you go from here :)
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Sarah Hunter
4/27/2016 12:48:17 pm
Check you out, using a capo! You have definitely already reached rockstar status. You are so dedicated and doing a great job of finding resources to help your learning. Way to go!
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During my time at CSUSM, we participated in a 20% project. This blog chronicles my 20% journey!
Cover photo credits: http://bighassle.com/publicity/tom-petty-the-heartbreakers Archives
April 2016
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