NLP #2 - My Guitar Progress

"My NLP Progress - Acoustic Guitar" by Kyra DeLoach is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

If I could go back in time to April 27th, 2023 when I picked my topic for my Networked Learning Project (NLP) I would have so much to say to myself when it comes to learning how to play acoustic guitar. In the beginning of my journey, I thought I needed to learn every single aspect of guitar: every chord, every detail, every trick. I realized after watching Guitar Lesson 1 - Absolute Beginner? Start Here! and Guitar Lesson 2 - EASY 2 CHORD SONG & LEAD GUITAR by Andy Guitar on Youtube that it would be easier and faster to pick the song I wanted and learn those specific chords. In chapter two of How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, it states "Experts do not have to search through everything they know in order to find what is relevant." (pp. 43). This further reminds me that I am a novice, as I have had to figure out what is relevant through all the information. A pro of watching all these videos was I learned a lot of base knowledge like what the parts of the guitar are called and how to read the diagrams for playing chords.

Born in The USA Chord Chart by Munson Music I started learning this song from Andy Guitar on Youtube. You will see the chords B and E are played over and over for the chorus. It was difficult to switch these chords when I started.

The Only Exception Chord Chart by Kali Gleacher In this chord chart you will see there are four different chords for the intro and chorus that I have been able to switch between much faster than the two in Born in The USA as I have progressed.

In the past weeks, I have been really focusing on switching chords, which is difficult without knowing the chords in the first place. I have been progressing from switching between two chords to four chords, pictured in Figure 1. I landed on learning The Only Exception by Paramore as it only has a few chords and is an acoustic song. A helpful video has been The Only Exception Guitar Tutorial - Paramore Guitar Lesson as it is clear and specific. I have been recording my process each time and you can see my progress in this short video here or at the top of this page. Follow my journey from the beginning by checking out NLP #1 and see my end of project by checking out My Final NLP Blog. References: Andy Guitar. (2016, September 2). Guitar Lesson 1 - Absolute Beginner? Start Here! [Free 10 Day Starter Course] [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBz-Jyr23M4 Andy Guitar. (2016, September 3). Guitar Lesson 2 - EASY 2 CHORD SONG & LEAD GUITAR [10 Day Guitar Starter Course] [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jxz9F3CYuo Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368. GuitarZero2Hero. (2016, October 13). The Only Exception Guitar Tutorial - Paramore Guitar Lesson |Tabs + Chords + Guitar Cover| [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgLMkZL33HU Paramore. (2010, February 17). Paramore: The Only Exception [OFFICIAL VIDEO]. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7J_IWUhls

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