Wherein She Joins Chords and Rhythm

If you've read the previous post, you have an idea of the state I was in last night when I picked up my guitar. I wasn't expecting much, frankly. Usually when I'm frustrated I find it hard to concentrate on playing. But I was, it turns out, pleasantly surprised.

I started by working on my fingerpicking. I'm trying to get my right-hand fingers more dexterous, more able to respond individually. It's hard. You don't realize how infrequently your ring and middle fingers move without the other fingers. I think the only time I really move my middle and ring fingers independently of the others is when I type. The fact that I can type with some amount of speed and accuracy gives me hope that one day I'll be able to fingerpick like a champ. But for now, I simply practice picking one string at a time--thumb, pointer, middle, ring. Thumb, pointer, middle ring....

Then I decided to practice my strumming patterns. I only know two, really. But somehow, without really intending to, I managed to put one of them together with the song Where Will I Be by Emmylou. Suddenly the song actually sounded like a song, with rhythm and timing and everything. It was a very organic process, totally unexpected, and it gave me a real shot of hope that someday my guitar playing will stop sounding like chopped hamburger--that someday, it will actually sound like music!