Learning a new musical instrument was something I always wanted to do so didnt really hesitate much when an email blast on guitar lessons arrived one random day. $130 for 10 lessons offered by our Staff Club which was a pretty good deal actually.

Instructor was from one of the music schools. Started by learning one chord during the first lesson. Learnt a second chord for the second lesson. Um. I think by the 5th lesson we are learning random songs already, using typical chord progressions.

Well to be fair I suppose 10 one-hour lessons isn't really sufficient to learn musical theory properly etc and I guess chords aren't really that hard to grasp - you just needed A LOT of practice. Train your fingers to be more flexible which I was quite irritated coz mine wasnt. Always can't stretch out to press the strings properly and always touch other strings so it never sounded right.

Bought a second hand guitar from a classmate and former colleague so that I can practise properly at home. Though that didnt quite work out coz I was always wondering if I am disturbing the landlady since whatever I am playing is definitely not pleasing to the ear hahaha.

Meanwhile interest in the class has been steadily dwindling. It started out as a class of 8 and I think the first class was the only time when all 8 are present. It hit an all time low of 3 people during the penultimate class. There are a couple of people who stopped coming after 5 classes, probably coz we weren't exactly learning new things by then. If you know chords, technically you can play songs. Everything else require practise - chord transitions, strumming, and a lot of things you need to listen and figure out on your own. And if you ask me...I am not exactly sure if the instructor himself had a proper plan.

I was kind of envisioning that everybody playing a song together during our last class, somewhat like an ensemble. Didn't exactly happen but oh well. So that concludes the classes - I guess at least I learnt the basics even though I don't think I can play properly yet so that means practice practice practice. Not sure if my interest can be sustained though. We shall see.

Labels: guitar, music