Now that there are more daylight hours, my energy and mood has noticeably improved. I keep forgetting how much the seasons affect me! I’m taking advantage of this energy boost by getting back into regular exercise (a habit I’ve fallen off of) and spending more time outside, or at least out of my home.
I spent the last two Saturday mornings checking out a local classical jam group, and so far I find it’s a better fit than the School of Rock. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first because “classical music” and “jamming” aren’t normally associated with each other. The way it works: the instructor has songbooks with the melody printed on one page and chords printed on the facing page. Beginners can choose to play, say, the bottom note of the chord while more experienced people can play two or more notes or even arpeggiate the chord. They can also choose to play the melody as written or improvise on it — the instructor likes to have different people trade off on the melody line and even had me take some turns (eep!). As a result, people at different skill levels can play from the same songbook and it’ll all fit.
My sight-reading practice gets a major workout here. Also, since I’m still a beginner guitarist, there are many opportunities for me to grow. I don’t know my chord inversions and am not comfortable with scales yet, so those are two areas I can hit hard in future practice sessions so I can play around more at the classical jam. Learning more music theory will help too, and now that I see the practical applications for it, I actually have a reason to study it.
I’m thrilled I found another way to play with other people outside the School of Rock. Bonus: I don’t need to wear hearing protection!
Grace Wen 