In the news

Apparently I'm not the only one sick of Aerosmith. I can't seem to get away from those headlines. I love Aerosmith as much as the next '80s child, but does anyone really think it's a huge tragedy if they don't perform together anymore?

Also in the news is Taylor Swift. I watched her SNL monologue and mostly thought to myself damn, the girl has long fingers. She can wrap right around for the thumb on the E string. Forget getting any tips from watching her... I'll have to do some youtubing.

Movin' on up

The strumming is improving, the fingering is improving... and I'm sick of playing Aerosmith. It's fine to warm up with, but I'm trying to play some fast-paced songs now, and ones with difficult chord combos. "Hammer to Fall" is a good fast one. All A, D, and E, but the constant A/D/A/D ad infinitum is excellent practice for me. I still don't hit the D chord all at once -- I lay down my fingers on the B and G strings, then stick the middle finger down on the e string.

Others in frequent rotation now are "Hallelujah," "Desperado," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." I also went back to "No One But You," which is much harder now that I'm playing every chord instead of only the ones I know. Funny how that works.

Indecision

I can't decide how I feel about the Silversun Pickups. I mean, I generally like that kind of sound, and they have a female bassist, which is just awesome. On the other hand, I just watched the video for Substitution.

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Kind of odd how Nikki is dressed and even her closeups are cut into the video as if she is one of these high school mean girls. And that's another thing -- what an oddly teenybopper and not quite sufficiently satirical video. It's like Taylor Swift with too little commentary injected.

Maybe I'm just feeling cranky and old. I also just listened to some Zee Avi. Teen folk rock. Nice sound, good voice, some really bad lyrics mixed in with decent ones.

The flesh is weak

Calluses are back, but finger strength and dexterity are not. Not that I was exactly tearing up the neck before, but I could play for quite a long time before my fingers got tired. Gamely going through my song list, practicing and hoping to build up enough muscle that I'll feel like it's worthwhile to sign up for some lessons.

Picking up where I left off

Today, G7 and an alternative G chording. I tried to learn Cmin, which I could use for a couple of the songs I play most often, and realized that I need to develop my picking more as well. Picking only the four middle strings is not easy.

Gone but not forgotten

Sold off my first guitar, the 3/4-size Yamaha. It's kind of a relief; my living room was starting to look slightly ridiculous with two guitars and a mandolin lying about. Better to focus on the playing than the gear... or the interior decoration.

I need to exercise

Once I get the calluses back up and running, it's time to practice seriously. Maybe some scales, chord series, things like that to get the dexterity up a little more. My friends gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card, which I spent part of on a chord book, Guitar Chord Guru by Karl Aranjo. It looked pretty solid and no-frills, aimed right about at my theory level. I didn't need a book that spent a lot of time explaining to me what a sharp and a flat were, nor did I want a lot of lecturing on the Hypomixolydian. I'll let you know how it goes.