Since the reincarnation of my blog this year, I haven't quite decided what I want it to be. When I first started this blog a few years ago, it was going to be a journal of my passage from software engineering manager back to software engineer. That path lasted 4 months before I decided I'm a better manager and hired some of my old software engineers.
So, what then? I know from a click bait point of view, my blog should focus on one topic. And Lord knows, if I find a topic that I can concentrate on, I may start a sibling blog, but that's not the point.
Since my list of hobbies have expanded, so have the topics I'm likely to write about. I've considered writing my own management manual to counter the condescending "people as resources" horseshit that's been present since time immemorial. I want to write about my new musical rediscovery, my love of languages - even though I'm not fluent at all, my desire to still be a software engineer, my desire to draw again after 25 years. I want to thumb my nose at everyone I've ever met who said "you get more conservative as you get older," as though being conservative is the more intelligent choice instead of simply the safer one. I want to scoff at everyone who champions supply side economics and claims that "a liberal is just a conservative who hasn't been mugged yet" and attributes that quote to Winston Churchill (funny - between Churchill, Twain, and Wilde, there are apparently no quotes left).
I want to write short stories and serial fiction and essays. I want to publish recipes that I've made and have people respond that I didn't do a good job in imparting the instructions, so I have I chance to make amends and take revenge on every shitty recipe I ever followed in the past thinking I'd done something wrong.
Most of all, I want to write. I remember a commercial a few years ago featuring a girl who stuttered, but wrote on screen that she was at home with the written word. I connected with that commercial, even though it was probably trying to sell me some sort of purchased happiness in the form of gay missiles for confused Nazis, but the message stuck. I've always felt more comfortable writing than speaking. The words flow easier. I don't have to deal with some intellectual wit trying to one up me in a battle of extemporaneous speech. I can simply collect my thoughts.
So, again, what then? Well, I'm just going to write. Sometimes it will be the 1000th post on what I'm going to write, sometimes it will be unabashedly technical, sometimes it will rant against the conventional wisdom society offers me that I'm coming to loathe, and, sometimes, it will be a guitar lesson even though I don't have the experience to give a guitar lesson.
If you're lucky, you may even get post of mine that I've bothered to edit after writing, but don't count on it.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Drawn Together
After years of not indulging any of my creative arts drives, I decided to pick up drawing again. I think like most children, I did a fair amount of doodling. Most of my drawings as a child centered around either ninjas or soldiers. I continued doodling on notebooks through high school, mostly when I was bored in class, but my I recall my folders being covered in some sort of artwork. Then, when I moved on to college, I abruptly stopped. It wasn't a conscious decision, and college lectures certainly weren't more compelling than high school ones, but I simply stopped.
Fast forward to late 2017. I'm not sure why I decided to pick up drawing again - maybe it's because I was delving into guitar with some earnestness, or maybe some other compelling internal drive, but I decided to pick up some utensils and instruction materials.
At first, my expectation was to train myself to draw in realistic style - portraits, landscapes, animals, and the like. However, after picking up a few starter books, I realized (at least for now) that I'm happy drawing simple representations and moving into the cartoon genre. Even though the style lacks the realism that people generally associate with an expert artist, it can still convey a strong message. As I improve, I don't know if I'll move to more realistic formats (I doubt it - in general, I favor the practical with some aesthetic value over beauty for beauty's sake), but I'm happy to have re-acquired enough basic skill in the past few months to draw some simple representations of people, animals, vehicles, and landmarks. I'll know I've crossed an important threshold when I'm able to compose entire scenes and draw representations of existing people - either those in my life or celebrities that are recognizable, even if I don't fill in all of the shading details or include every wrinkle.
As a final note, I do plan on sharing some of my drawings here, but still haven't quite pulled together the nerve to advertise my new skill on such highly trafficked blog with such opinionated readers.
Fast forward to late 2017. I'm not sure why I decided to pick up drawing again - maybe it's because I was delving into guitar with some earnestness, or maybe some other compelling internal drive, but I decided to pick up some utensils and instruction materials.
At first, my expectation was to train myself to draw in realistic style - portraits, landscapes, animals, and the like. However, after picking up a few starter books, I realized (at least for now) that I'm happy drawing simple representations and moving into the cartoon genre. Even though the style lacks the realism that people generally associate with an expert artist, it can still convey a strong message. As I improve, I don't know if I'll move to more realistic formats (I doubt it - in general, I favor the practical with some aesthetic value over beauty for beauty's sake), but I'm happy to have re-acquired enough basic skill in the past few months to draw some simple representations of people, animals, vehicles, and landmarks. I'll know I've crossed an important threshold when I'm able to compose entire scenes and draw representations of existing people - either those in my life or celebrities that are recognizable, even if I don't fill in all of the shading details or include every wrinkle.
As a final note, I do plan on sharing some of my drawings here, but still haven't quite pulled together the nerve to advertise my new skill on such highly trafficked blog with such opinionated readers.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
On Perfectionism
My motivation for writing tonight isn't quite so hot, so you, faithful reader, may be facing a 15 minute stream of consciousness rant to help me accomplish my goal for the week (although I think I already wrote my requisite 2 posts for the week. Did I say I was only going to write 2 posts and not 3 so as not to overwhelm myself? If not, now I did).
My march toward my mini-goals or many-hobbies proceeded well this week. I missed a few nights of drawing, but still picked up a pencil for the majority of the week. I also started playing another jazz tune - Fly Me to the Moon - to give me something additional to chew on.
I'm staring at my sketch book in the background, and I'm happy with about half of what's on the page and a little unhappy with the rest. Some days when I see this, I'm surprised that the next day I usually feel better about my prior work than I did at the time of creation. Time was when I would grow so frustrated at my progress that I would either throw a tantrum or just quit for a few days (or years) in the belief that I just wouldn't be any good.
Who knows, maybe I won't be any good. But that's not the entire point. Even if I'm horrible at guitar, drawing, French, Chinese, Spanish, and blogging, I'm better than I would be if I didn't try. And, I suspect, that with practice, I'll be decent at all of these things. I certainly won't be as good as someone who practices consistently or has natural talent that I lack, but I can still derive joy (and probably even some creative value) from these ventures over time.
A long time ago, an aunt of mine described me as a perfectionist. I thought she was mistaken, because I didn't really think I was good at anything, and I always pictured a perfectionist as someone who continued to refine details past the point of necessity, but was talented at the task at hand regardless.
In retrospect, I was a perfectionist (and probably still am, but can manager it better). I would pick up hobbies and be so despondent or angry if I couldn't make the progress I desired in the appropriate time frame, which means I was subject to so many stops and starts instead of just enjoying the value of a thing. And this paralysis is specifically why I like my path for hobbies now. Everything's sectioned off in 5 - 15 minute increments, so I know I'll never have to devote time every day to become the professional I envision. I can enjoy the activity for the thing that it is, or in cases like today, I can simply sit down and bide my time, and then realize, with fascination, that the 15 minutes flew by, and I actually found my voice for the evening.
My march toward my mini-goals or many-hobbies proceeded well this week. I missed a few nights of drawing, but still picked up a pencil for the majority of the week. I also started playing another jazz tune - Fly Me to the Moon - to give me something additional to chew on.
I'm staring at my sketch book in the background, and I'm happy with about half of what's on the page and a little unhappy with the rest. Some days when I see this, I'm surprised that the next day I usually feel better about my prior work than I did at the time of creation. Time was when I would grow so frustrated at my progress that I would either throw a tantrum or just quit for a few days (or years) in the belief that I just wouldn't be any good.
Who knows, maybe I won't be any good. But that's not the entire point. Even if I'm horrible at guitar, drawing, French, Chinese, Spanish, and blogging, I'm better than I would be if I didn't try. And, I suspect, that with practice, I'll be decent at all of these things. I certainly won't be as good as someone who practices consistently or has natural talent that I lack, but I can still derive joy (and probably even some creative value) from these ventures over time.
A long time ago, an aunt of mine described me as a perfectionist. I thought she was mistaken, because I didn't really think I was good at anything, and I always pictured a perfectionist as someone who continued to refine details past the point of necessity, but was talented at the task at hand regardless.
In retrospect, I was a perfectionist (and probably still am, but can manager it better). I would pick up hobbies and be so despondent or angry if I couldn't make the progress I desired in the appropriate time frame, which means I was subject to so many stops and starts instead of just enjoying the value of a thing. And this paralysis is specifically why I like my path for hobbies now. Everything's sectioned off in 5 - 15 minute increments, so I know I'll never have to devote time every day to become the professional I envision. I can enjoy the activity for the thing that it is, or in cases like today, I can simply sit down and bide my time, and then realize, with fascination, that the 15 minutes flew by, and I actually found my voice for the evening.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Learning to Play the Guitar - The First Songs
So, after learning a few basic chords, as outlined in this post, it's time to select a few songs. With the Cowboy and power chords in your tool set, you'll likely be able to find a popular song you appreciate with relative ease.
Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding practice, especially when using songs from tab sites sourced from user contributions:
Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding practice, especially when using songs from tab sites sourced from user contributions:
- The songs as written are likely to have errors, including the wrong chords, or even the wrong key in some cases.
- If you're playing something that contradicts what's written or need to simplify it, and it still adheres to spirit of the song you're trying to capture, trust your ear. You'll never actually play the song as the original artists recorded it (they won't either, since they did so in a studio after multiple takes). So, take the song and make it your own, however minor the difference may be.
- Feel free to slow the song down to a ridiculously slow tempo until you feel have the rhythm worked out.
- If the song has a new chord or two, look up a fingering for the new chord that has a root note on both the 6th string and 5th string and add it to your repertoire. By finding 2 voicings of a chord, you're able to play it either low or high on the neck, which gives you a much wider range of expression later on.
- As you grow comfortable with a song, make sure to utilize a drum track to help your rhythm. Also, as you make mistakes, try not to pause or restart. Professional musicians make mistakes all the time, but find ways to gracefully recover.
- Pick 2 songs at a time, so practicing doesn't become tedious. When you begin to get bored, pick up another. This will give your brain some time to relax and refocus. Just make sure that you continue to practice the original songs as well. A little break will often give you new perspective on your routine.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Learning to Play Guitar - The First Days and Chords
At best, I'm probably an intermediate level guitarist, but after reading some advice from more seasoned guitarists on Quora and being scared away from guitar for years because I read that "if you can't practice an hour a day, you just shouldn't practice," I thought I'd weigh in on how I'd start guitar if I were starting from scratch. So, yeah, this isn't how I actually got here, but with some hindsight, this is what I'd do now. Who knows, as I gain more experience, I may change my tune from what I write here.
1st, it's probably best to determine what your goals are. If you want to be an expert guitarist or a pro in the shortest time possible, then yes, you should practice at least an hour a day, if not more. If you just want to be a casual player, possibly play at a few gigs in the not too distant future, or have no idea what you want to do yet, then relax. Realize that you picked up the guitar for fun, not for profit or fame, so you have some options as to how you can get better. As I mentioned in my previous post, put some time aside with some consistency. I don't have kids or other massive responsibilities, so dedicating 15 minutes a day is something I can do even on days when I have to groan through it (which are few).
As far as equipment goes, it's your choice. Electric guitars require more equipment, but the action (distance between the fret board and the strings) is lower, so it's less painful for your fingertips (though, you're going to have pain regardless. Calluses for me formed in earnest in about 2 weeks, and after a couple of months I don't think I felt any lingering pain.
In either case, I'd recommend some method of recording yourself (even if just for a few bars) and a drum machine of some sort. The effects pedal I have contains the ability to loop for 30 seconds and has several drum beats built in. This is more than sufficient. Having drums and way to play against a backing player will increase your ability to keep time much faster than using a metronome and is usually a lot more fun.
Now that you've got the equipment sorted out, you've got to figure out what to play. This tab site offers a lot of popular songs and doesn't require you to learn to read music first (which I'd recommend you do sooner rather than later - you don't need to be able to sight read in time, but it is good to be able to read both tab and music. Tab's great if you know the song, but it doesn't give you any idea of rhythm). You'll need some sort of method book if you're not taking lessons. One recommendation is the Hal Leonard Guitar Method. Don't feel like you have to go page by page through any book or that you can't try more advanced techniques if the mood strikes you. There's not a linear path, and sometimes by picking up more advanced techniques (say, scales if you haven't mastered basic chords) your brain bridges the gap faster. Just make sure you don't get overwhelmed.
So, what to start with? Before starting with songs (don't worry, you'll be able to get to songs in about a day or two - you just need to get comfortable with a few chord shapes before selecting songs that match those shapes), start with power chords. These are as basic as you're going to get, can move around the fret board easily, and are actually prevalent in a lot of rock, so you can play some popular songs.
After familiarizing yourself with power chords, pick up the open (or Cowboy) chords. These are the ones people learn when they're typically first taught guitar. They'll take more finger contortion than power chords, but are also a strong foundation for a lot of popular music.
Now that you've at least looked at a few chords (and hopefully tried to play through them), it's time for song selection and practicing with real music!
However, I've rambled on too long in this post, so that's up next.
1st, it's probably best to determine what your goals are. If you want to be an expert guitarist or a pro in the shortest time possible, then yes, you should practice at least an hour a day, if not more. If you just want to be a casual player, possibly play at a few gigs in the not too distant future, or have no idea what you want to do yet, then relax. Realize that you picked up the guitar for fun, not for profit or fame, so you have some options as to how you can get better. As I mentioned in my previous post, put some time aside with some consistency. I don't have kids or other massive responsibilities, so dedicating 15 minutes a day is something I can do even on days when I have to groan through it (which are few).
As far as equipment goes, it's your choice. Electric guitars require more equipment, but the action (distance between the fret board and the strings) is lower, so it's less painful for your fingertips (though, you're going to have pain regardless. Calluses for me formed in earnest in about 2 weeks, and after a couple of months I don't think I felt any lingering pain.
In either case, I'd recommend some method of recording yourself (even if just for a few bars) and a drum machine of some sort. The effects pedal I have contains the ability to loop for 30 seconds and has several drum beats built in. This is more than sufficient. Having drums and way to play against a backing player will increase your ability to keep time much faster than using a metronome and is usually a lot more fun.
Now that you've got the equipment sorted out, you've got to figure out what to play. This tab site offers a lot of popular songs and doesn't require you to learn to read music first (which I'd recommend you do sooner rather than later - you don't need to be able to sight read in time, but it is good to be able to read both tab and music. Tab's great if you know the song, but it doesn't give you any idea of rhythm). You'll need some sort of method book if you're not taking lessons. One recommendation is the Hal Leonard Guitar Method. Don't feel like you have to go page by page through any book or that you can't try more advanced techniques if the mood strikes you. There's not a linear path, and sometimes by picking up more advanced techniques (say, scales if you haven't mastered basic chords) your brain bridges the gap faster. Just make sure you don't get overwhelmed.
So, what to start with? Before starting with songs (don't worry, you'll be able to get to songs in about a day or two - you just need to get comfortable with a few chord shapes before selecting songs that match those shapes), start with power chords. These are as basic as you're going to get, can move around the fret board easily, and are actually prevalent in a lot of rock, so you can play some popular songs.
After familiarizing yourself with power chords, pick up the open (or Cowboy) chords. These are the ones people learn when they're typically first taught guitar. They'll take more finger contortion than power chords, but are also a strong foundation for a lot of popular music.
Now that you've at least looked at a few chords (and hopefully tried to play through them), it's time for song selection and practicing with real music!
However, I've rambled on too long in this post, so that's up next.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Learning to Play Guitar - Motivation
A little over a year ago, after taking a decade+ hiatus, I started playing guitar again. During my initial stint, which started in college, I was diligent about taking lessons and played for about 4 years before relegating my guitar to storage.
I often heard or read that I needed to practice 1 hour a day in order to come close to being an expert within any relatively short timeframe. As a result, I'd freak out that I either didn't have that kind of time or enough motivation to play that long and simply not practice. I started dreading something that should have provided me joy, simply because I bought into the conventional wisdom over what I should be doing when learning an instrument.
Fast forward to 2016 when I picked up a guitar in earnest again. This time, I told myself that I'd carve out 15 minutes a day to play. If I wanted to play longer, then fine, I could play longer, but I should feel like I accomplished my goal for the day if I hit that 15 minute mark. I should also state that I had no further expectations of becoming an expert guitarist or making my living in music. I simply wanted to play songs, improvise a little, and, eventually, write a little music.
As expected, by keeping the goal attainable, I've actually put in more time and effort than I require of myself - not because I feel it's mandatory, but because I usually get caught up in the moment or enjoy playing enough now to go back and practice more than just once a day.
On the occasions when I don't feel like practicing, it's easy enough to psych myself up enough to say - just run scales for 15 minutes or play through a few simple chord changes to hit the daily goal. I don't need to lie to myself and say, "tonight, I'm going to block off 60 minutes to put in good hard practice time." I only need to keep myself occupied for 15 minutes. Often, when I start with that attitude, I wind up playing longer than anticipated and finding some little musical puzzle to solve that will sustain me for a few days further. And then, truthfully, some days I look at the clock constantly waiting for the 15 minutes to be over, so I can check off my practice time for the day. But, even on those days, I still get my practice time in for the day and go just that much further in making myself a better guitarist.
I often heard or read that I needed to practice 1 hour a day in order to come close to being an expert within any relatively short timeframe. As a result, I'd freak out that I either didn't have that kind of time or enough motivation to play that long and simply not practice. I started dreading something that should have provided me joy, simply because I bought into the conventional wisdom over what I should be doing when learning an instrument.
Fast forward to 2016 when I picked up a guitar in earnest again. This time, I told myself that I'd carve out 15 minutes a day to play. If I wanted to play longer, then fine, I could play longer, but I should feel like I accomplished my goal for the day if I hit that 15 minute mark. I should also state that I had no further expectations of becoming an expert guitarist or making my living in music. I simply wanted to play songs, improvise a little, and, eventually, write a little music.
As expected, by keeping the goal attainable, I've actually put in more time and effort than I require of myself - not because I feel it's mandatory, but because I usually get caught up in the moment or enjoy playing enough now to go back and practice more than just once a day.
On the occasions when I don't feel like practicing, it's easy enough to psych myself up enough to say - just run scales for 15 minutes or play through a few simple chord changes to hit the daily goal. I don't need to lie to myself and say, "tonight, I'm going to block off 60 minutes to put in good hard practice time." I only need to keep myself occupied for 15 minutes. Often, when I start with that attitude, I wind up playing longer than anticipated and finding some little musical puzzle to solve that will sustain me for a few days further. And then, truthfully, some days I look at the clock constantly waiting for the 15 minutes to be over, so I can check off my practice time for the day. But, even on those days, I still get my practice time in for the day and go just that much further in making myself a better guitarist.
Monday, January 1, 2018
Adding To My Repertoire
I suppose this is my New Year's Resolution - to start writing in some sort of long form again. Why not? I've been able to compile a pretty active schedule of hobbies, and this is just another logical extension, considering I already like to write.
So, where are we today? Well, here's my typical schedule:
The reason I'm concentrating on all of these things is simply because these are all things that I've wanted to accomplish. By freeing myself from the tyranny of needing to be an expert, I'm actually able to explore all of these hobbies without succumbing to the stress of needing to perfect any one of them. Paradoxically, because I don't set stringent expectations for myself, I tend to spend more time on at least one of these hobbies per day and gain more expertise than I would if I focused on one and then told myself that I need to do 'X' an hour a day or 3 days a week or whatever.
The nice thing too is that the 1st 3 items can be incorporated in to my daily commute, so I really only need 1 hour of free time per day to get through the latter 4 activities.
Given that I'm lucky that I have that kind of time, I can now add a new activity - blogging! I'll have it follow the same rules as the coding activity: write 3 times per week for 15 minutes. The additional stipulation is that I'm not going to require myself to edit my posts, so there may be typos, missed words, and stranded thoughts. But, I'm hoping the vast majority of by posts will be coherent.
So, where are we today? Well, here's my typical schedule:
- 15 minutes a day learning French, Spanish, and Chinese
- 15 minutes a day reading
- 15 minutes a day listening to an audio book
- 15 minutes a day playing guitar
- 5 minutes a day drawing
- 15 minutes a day for exercise
- 15 minutes to explore new software ideas or write new programs 3 times per week.
The reason I'm concentrating on all of these things is simply because these are all things that I've wanted to accomplish. By freeing myself from the tyranny of needing to be an expert, I'm actually able to explore all of these hobbies without succumbing to the stress of needing to perfect any one of them. Paradoxically, because I don't set stringent expectations for myself, I tend to spend more time on at least one of these hobbies per day and gain more expertise than I would if I focused on one and then told myself that I need to do 'X' an hour a day or 3 days a week or whatever.
The nice thing too is that the 1st 3 items can be incorporated in to my daily commute, so I really only need 1 hour of free time per day to get through the latter 4 activities.
Given that I'm lucky that I have that kind of time, I can now add a new activity - blogging! I'll have it follow the same rules as the coding activity: write 3 times per week for 15 minutes. The additional stipulation is that I'm not going to require myself to edit my posts, so there may be typos, missed words, and stranded thoughts. But, I'm hoping the vast majority of by posts will be coherent.
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