Colin+12

My name is Colin and I am in grade 9. My general interest in music is pop/dance and some dubstep, the occasional rock/alternative song. I have never done any guitar work outside of the school program. I hope leave this course with the ability to play some good songs. I don't expect to end up as a rock star, but I do want to get somewhere.

February 13: I believe that I have learned to play "Spanish Fandango" and "Something in the air" to a significant level. The transition between D and Em is pretty easy now. Finger picking is also pretty natural to me as of recent. I think that I will be ready for tomorrow's test. I can't wait to work on the next song!

February 20: I think that I did pretty well on the tests for both the "Spanish Fandango" and "Something in the Air." Maybe something that I could practice next time would be my transitions between chords, and the rhythm of the strumming. I found the current song, Brown Eyed Girl, too difficult of a song, so I will try Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People.

[|Pumped Up Kicks for Guitar]

February 27: I think that I did really well on Pumped Up Kicks. I can easily transition from Em to G, G to D, D to A, and then A to Em again. This week, the rest of the class will be doing Pumped Up Kicks, so I will have to find another song to do. Maybe Lonely Boy by the Black Keys or Don't Stop by Foster the People.

[|Lonely Boy]

[|Don't Stop]

March 26: Well, after a teacher strike and a 2-week spring break, I'm back. I performed Lonely Boy, and I believe that I did pretty well on it - for a beginner level. I look forwards to improving myself even more. Here is a tutorial on the introduction to "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, the song that we will be doing next week.

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April 2: I'm Yours went pretty well, I think, and I'm ready for another challenge. I learned the C chord well for the amount of time that I was given for it, and I transitioned to and from it nimbly. This time, I might try either Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi or The Pretender by the Foo Fighters. Both songs contain the F bar chord, so it should be a nice trial for me.

April 16: I performed The Pretender by The Foo Fighters last week,after 2 weeks of work. After a couple of days of working on the song, I woke up one day and was able to play the song in guitar class well. It's like it happened overnight. I think that I did well on the song, transitioning quickly between Am, C, D and F, two of which are new chords (Am and F). Over the next 2-week song period, I have to perform two new songs: One with bar chords and chords, and the other one has to be a finger picking song. Maybe I could try Hey Soul Sister as my regular song and House of the Rising Sun as my fingerpicking song.

April 23: After a couple of days of uncertainty last week, I have decided that Hey Soul Sister //will// be my regular song, and House of the Rising Sun will be my fingerpicking song. I haven't had a chance to really develop my ability to play House of the Rising Sun, but hopefully, later this week, I will be good enough at Hey Soul Sister to start practicing and do well on House of the Rising Sun. Hey Soul Sister is a challenge due to the speed of the transitions. Additionally, the chords (C, G bar, Am, F bar) are very different from each other, so a lot of wrist and finger movement is necessary. For House of the Rising Sun, Am, C, D and F, then Am, C, E7 pattern seems difficult, but it is, after all, only the second or third time that I've played the song.

April 30: I believe that I took too long to pick out my songs. At the Friday performance, I don't think that I transitioned or played very well for House of the Rising Sun. For Hey Soul Sister, it was weird that only a couple of minutes prior, I was able to play the song well, but when I got in front of the class, I didn't do well. For the coming weeks, I will try to pick out my songs more quickly, in order to prevent the train wreck that occured last week. For this week, we were given 'Father and Son" by Cat Stevens. We will also be given two weeks (this and next) to write our own songs, so I should start brainstorming my topic, lyrics, rhythm, and chords.

May 7: I have made great progress on Father and Son, even adding my own rythym and beat to it, but still keeping the original chords and lyrics. I will definitely be able to perform the song on Friday.

My song, however, is a different story. I'll perform the song on Friday, but the song has to be finished, chords and all, by Wednesday, which gives me two days for editing and producing a nice-sounding finished product. I have my general chord scheme down, but I might have to adjust the pitch. The lyrics seem good so far; I have a chorus and 1 verse. Today, I hope to accomplish a quick run-through or two of Father and Son, and then develop my song further.

May 14: Father and Son has been moved to this Thursday. We also have a choice of one other song to perform by the end of the week.

My song was performed on Friday. Knowing that it was going to be recorded, and I feared a surprise appearance of my song on the Internet, I decided that I would not sing, and simply play the chords. I probably would have gotten more marks for singing, except that would have made the song worse, since I can't sing. My self-confidence and lack of embarrassment was, in this case, more important than marks. I still handed in the lyrics and worksheets, however, so that I will receive marks for them. Even though I didn't sing, I got marks for writing the lyrics.

May 22: Instead of performing both songs last week, I suggested to Mr. Mancell that we would do one of the songs last week, and one of the songs this week. I did Father and Son last week, to an ability level that I am satisfied with. This week I will be performing either Upside Down by jack Johnson or another song of my choosing that has at least 4 bar chords.

May 28: I wasted too much class time on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday trying to pick another song, just to end up picking Upside Down in the end. On Thursday I practiced the song a lot, and thought that it was ready for Friday. It turns out that it sounded better when I was practicing on my own, rather than when I was performing in front of the class. This week we have to choose our own song in a group of four. The good news is that this week, the song doesn't have to have any bar chords. I have two suggestions for a group song: either "Dirty Little Secret" or "Move Along," both by the All-American Rejects. I hope that this turns out well.

June 6: Last week we performed as a group, playing "Move Along" by the All-American Rejects. But, we ended up just using the chords and making our own song - kinda. We thought that we were prepared, but I guess that the stage fright must have gotten to us, because we played better in the practice than in the actual performance. This week, Brandon and I will be finger picking Stand By Me in the "G" tune. I hope that it will go well.

June 11: Last week, I got together with a group. On Thursday, the day before performance day, we found out that we had to have another group member. He was unable to perform on Friday, so Brandon and I went up. I am still awaiting the results of the performance. This week, we can go alone or in a group. I would prefer to work in a group, due to the motivation of receiving 10 bonus marks as a result. We will be performing on Thursday because, as said by Mr. Mancell, "Friday is a write-off."

June 16: Year-End Reflection: Overall, I would like to say thank you to Mr. Mancell who I believe has introduced me to a great thing that I hope will become a hobby of mine. I think that I learned a LOT this semester, and I am blown away with my own progress. One more thing that I would like to add: PLEASE do NOT let the recordings of my performances get on the internet!