Photo produced by the author. As you can read in my first NLP blog post and my second NLP blog post, I was assigned to learn something new for a graduate course I am taking. You will also find that I decided to learn how to play the guitar for personal and professional reasons. My learning process did not go as expected, but I am happy with what I accomplished! I have always wanted to play the guitar, and actually had a built-in teacher that I just never utilized: my Dad. He grew up playing music and I was always envious, but never seemed to find the time to start learning. I am happy the Networked Learning Project inspired me to begin. When I first began searching for resources to teach me how to play the guitar, I was a bit over zealous in what I believed I could start with. I found a video on YouTube that taught the viewer how to play an “easy” version of the song “Purple Rain” by Prince. Now, I am sure this video would have been easy for an expert, or even an intermediate player, but it was not for me. This is when I first made a connection back to a reading I was assigned by Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) that presented differences between novices and experts regarding how each of these people learn. As Bransford et al. (2000) states, “Experts’ knowledge cannot be reduced to sets of isolated facts or propositions but, instead, reflects contexts of applicability: that is, the knowledge is “conditionalized” on a set of circumstances” (p. 31). As I quickly learned, I could not begin by putting chords together and making music; I had to learn each chord individually and practice them. I had to isolate the chords so that I could hear how they sounded alone to make sure that I was playing them correctly. An expert at guitar does not need to think about isolating chords or deliberately placing their fingers when transitioning from chord to chord as I do. Further, they do not need to do this to know if the chord sounds right. However, even though I am a novice at playing guitar I did have one advantage that helped me throughout this process. The advantage was that I had grown up listening to and singing with my Dad while he was playing the guitar. As Bransford et al. (2000) states, “One of the earliest studies of expertise demonstrated that the same stimulus is perceived and understood differently, depending on the knowledge that a person brings to the situation” (p. 32). Since I was exposed to the art of guitar playing virtually my whole life, I had an “ear” for the chords before I began playing. I may not have been able to explain to someone why a chord sounded off or wrong, but I could usually hear it if it was. Not every novice guitar player would have this ability/advantage. I think this helped me significantly when learning to play, especially when it came to putting the chords together and strumming. As Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011) suggest, experimenting and trying different things is a very effective way to learn. I practiced and experimented with strumming until I found something that sounded like music, and it was also very enjoyable. Marty Schwartz also comments on strumming different ways to get comfortable with it in one of his acoustic lessons on YouTube that I referenced, and it was definitely a successful method of practice for me (Schwartz, 2016a). You can check his video out below! Throughout my learning process I found that it is important to remember that not all methods of learning work for everyone, and that you may not learn things as quickly as you anticipate. As long as you trust yourself throughout your learning process, you will accomplish more than you might expect! I plan to continue to use the YouTube videos to further my learning because they were the most helpful for me. I like how Marty Schwartz explains and reiterates in his videos, and it is also great because you can actually hear the notes being played. Also, I can watch the videos as many times as I need. Of course, I am very excited to show my Dad what I learned and I am definitely planning to continue to use him as a resource. Ultimately, I would love to be able to play together. Below you will find a short video I created detailing my learning process explained above, check it out! References (2018). IWTL how to play guitar. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/IWantToLearn/comments/822b64/iwtl_how_to_play_guitar/ Bransford, J., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/9853/chapter/1 Schwartz, M. (2016a). Marty Music: Beginner Acoustic Lesson 1: Your Very First Guitar Lesson. Eminor and Asus2. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNSaXAe8tyg Schwartz, M. (2016b). Marty Music: Beginner Acoustic Guitar Lesson 2: The A Major Chord. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ny8htqHHuM Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.
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AuthorMy name is Mallory Williams and I am just trying to better my teaching practice! Most of my posts will be about learning and understanding. Enjoy! Archives |