Research 3-23

There are three main parts to a guitar; the head, neck, and body.

On the neck there are silver lines called frets. Depending on what fret you play the chords on depends on the pitch. They are in the musical family called "chordophones". It is thought that every society in history had a form of the guitar.

The first modern guitar was made in the 1800's. the first strings were made of animal intestines but now that are made of a nylon like material. Before they didn’t have music for the guitar since it hadn't been around long so they would use other instruments music.

Below are some different guitars that show the progression of guitar through history and their similarities and differences.

The Lute was popular in England, France, and Germany. Lute players didn’t read music but they made their own mutations. 

The Italian Renaissance Guitar was more similar in shape to modern guitars (unlike the Lute) but are all in the same "Family Tree". They sometime had fancy decorations but only on some special ones that were saved throughout history.

The Early Spanish Guitar was similar to the Renaissance one (in shape but more like the modern one). It is smaller in size than the modern guitar but the strings are similar material.

Then the Modern Classical Guitar was created that has six individual strings and a symmetrical design. It also has many more frets than the generation above. The final design for it was finalized in 1830.

~Stay Tuned~

References:

https://gluckprogram.ucr.edu/gluck_resources/public_domain_teaching_resources/cord_pdfs/music_cord/M5_Classical-Guitar.pdf

http://www.guitarhistoryfacts.com/

Vlog 3-18

The video below is my vlog. In it you will see a few clips of me playing guitar at different points. In the beginning I hadn't played much yet and in the end is after a lot more practice. The two different clips show how much difference a strum pattern can make while playing a song. The strum pattern can add so much interest to a song. Hope you enjoy!

Interview with an Expert (Blog 4)

This is my interview with Jeff Lohan. He is a close friend of my family. My parents have known him for a long time and always go to see him play at his gigs. He has even played at some of our parties. He has published an album (my dad happened to take the picture for the cover) that I have started listening to it. I actually really like it and I am really inspired by how good he is and how he puts his life story into his music. 

^His Cover

Anyway here is the interview. Hope you enjoy!

What is the process you took?

Lucky for me my parents recognized that I was interested in the guitar. I started playing when I was 9 years old. My parents also got me involved in our church folk group. This turned into playing with middle school and high school rock bands with friends that played for schools dances and CYO dances, then after a 5 year hiatus, I started to really follow my own path and have been lucky to have had people that have wanted to listen and play with me over the years.  I was never afraid of standing on my own, or running without the crowd.I really never looked at playing as a competition, I only ever competed with myself. 

What interests you musically?

Mostly rhythm guitar.  Recently my vocal control.  Writing and recording is now a growing interest.

Rock, folk, country, music with a good message or a feeling I can relate to and want to share.

What made/inspired/motivated you to play guitar? 

I think a big part of my original inspiration was a cousin of my mom's that would play her guitar at family vacations and holidays.  I've been lucky to have had a close experience with the guitar starting just after I was born.

Mary Ursula has given me that same guitar.  She bought it the year I was born. 1961

The way my youngest daughter writes has also been a huge inspiration for me to write.

What made you want to play professionally?

My parents were always supportive.

Friends have push me along from very early on. It seems a lot of people saw something in me that I had a hard time seeing.  And it's very validating to get paid for something you love to do so much.  At this point in time I don't see me ever stopping.

Was there a guitarist you looked up to? Why?

Carlos Santana - I always felt like he was talking through his guitar.

The Eagles - good feeling music with no particular leader of the band. they have always felt like they were just 5 guys just helping each other out.

James Taylor - his ability to connect with an audience with just him and the guitar.

What were some of the challenges you went through to get where you are?

Realizing that I was not as good as I thought I was at times, and also being better than I thought I was at times.  Learning that my perception of my playing is different than the people in the audience. It is easy to be hyper critical of my performances, but I have to understand that the listener is listening to my playing of a song and having their own experience from their prospective, not mine.

What held you back the most? 

Myself.  I justify it in many real and not so real ways.

I am very happy with where I am at this point in time as a performer and as an artist.  My journey has helped make me who I am today.  I feel I'm ready for whatever is next, and hope that I recognize it when and if something happens.

What is the best thing about playing guitar?

It is a great escape.  Even when I'm playing to a crowd, I am really only playing for myself, I am in my own world.  

it can take you places you never thought you could go.  

When someone you don't know tells you how your music makes them feel, it is a great experience.  When someone asks who wrote the song you just played, and you get to say that you wrote it.  I think the best highlight having my 16-year-old daughter play some of my gigs with me.  That is cool!!

What are some important things you had to do to get where you are?

Listen, work outside of my comfort zone, fail, get up and try again, succeed, fail, be willing to not accept average, to work at trying to be the best I can at that moment, and be willing to stand alone when necessary, how to share and supportive with others.  Learning to recognize what needs to be worked on and also hold on to and recognize the beautiful moments that happen. 

Because of my guitar, I meet your parents, and you.  That would have never happened if I hadn't been following my very mysterious path.  And your dad wasn't following his.

What are some tips/what can help me?

Follow your heart, you want to learn from everyone you can, and then use that information in your own individual way. Everyone started out copying someone else.  No one becomes known for coping, the trick is learning how to be yourself.

This interview was really interesting for me to read. I learned a lot about him that I never knew. When I read how happy it made it when his daughter played with him I realized why my dad wants me to play. I was really shocked when I saw that he meet my parents when playing the guitar. It made me realize, even more than I already have, how much music bring people together. I love that music can create friendships and connections with people you never would have meet before. I also love how a song can become associated with a memory or time in your life and when you hear it you have a flashback to that memory. Music is just so amazing and I don't know why I ever stopped playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPqM_LZEibk&list=PLAspbdqrnkvGthDtqUgDZN_AaZN0K_H88&index=1

^ Link to Jeff's songs

~Stay Tuned~

Frustration 3-9

Today I was trying to play Patience. I have been trying to improve my skills and make the song more interesting rather than just playing the chords and waiting for the next. In the chorus I now have a strum pattern that I have improved greatly on and almost have down. Despite that I still get so mad when I mess it up. It's hard for me to focus completely on the exact pattern when trying to play the chords as well. Then in the verse I wanted to add something to it but when i try to add a strum pattern it is too fast and doesn't sound right with the slow pace of it. I also tried to do this interesting pick thing when you pick the top string in the chord then a pattern of the string below. My dad had showed me it and it was so good and sounded pretty cool. I tried and it and of course it didn't sound right. I worked on it for a couple of nights but it just didn't sound right. I was getting so mad tonight that nothing was working and the song wasn't sounding the way I wanted. My dad kept telling me I was trying to do too much and that I was just staring the guitar and I wasn't going to be playing a the level of Slash or anything like that. I knew this was true but I wanted it to seem like I was able to play the song and have interesting things going on it. Even though this is true I'm still annoyed that I can't do much more in the verse.

Blog 3 3-5

So for a few days I didn't play my guitar for a good amount because I had so many things on my plate and was so stressed. I had forgotten the one day to even touch my guitar and the other day I kept getting interrupted (very annoying). Then I finally got around to playing for 45 minutes the other night and it was great to be able to just relax for that long. In a way if felt weird to finally sit down for so long to play. I was able to play Sweet Child O' Mine along with the music and I was really happy. I was able to keep up and didn't need to consistently look at the music (but I do not have it completely memorized). I am also able to play most of my chords without having to look down. I'm hoping to improve this more so by the end of this project I can play all of my chords without needed to look. The only thing i have been struggling with is the chord Cadd9.

Above is a video of what Cadd9 and what it should sound like and then me playing. In this I was able to play it fine but when having to go to it in the middle of a song the fingering is pretty hard (especially the bottom two fingers)

I continued to look for more Guns N' Roses songs, hoping to find more, and found a few more (Patience, Don't Cry, and Knocking on Heavens Door). I decided I was going to play Patience. I really like this song and it was faster with more chords than Sweet Child O' mine. I thought it would be good to play a song that was a harder so that I could improve and challenge myself. I started to play it and it was harder but it wasn't too bad that I couldn’t handle. I know that if I continue to practice it I will be able to play it as well as Sweet Child O' Mine.

I'm also planning on my next post to be my interview with my expert. I have already got in contact with him and is willing to do it in person or over email which is great! I'm really excited to see what he has to say because I think it will benefit me a lot.

(Jeff Lohan, interviewee)


~Stay Tuned~