SUMMARY
Focus / Instrument: Guitar
Intention (SMART Goal)
My Smart Goal for April is to learn “Endless Road” by Tommy Emmanuel. I think going for the whole song is a bit bold (it’s very difficult, and basically three songs together), so my realistic smaller expectation is to learn the second block of this song as I’ve already learned the first. My goal will be measured by audio files and I’ll know I’ve met the goal in two ways: one, if I’ve learned the song (duh), and two, if I’ve made good progress on learning the song. I view both of these as wins.
I’m on the fence about whether I have the skills to learn this song. It is HARD, and uses a ton of quick changing, hard to finger barre chords and a plethora of picking styles. It will absolutely challenge me. However, I was under the impression that I couldn’t figure out the first verse/chorus, and I did… and I’ve made a lot of progress on parts I thought were completely unsolvable. I’m going to try and give myself a shot. I’d like to do this for a few reasons, but I think the biggest one is that I want to learn how to, and show myself that I can, commit to a big project and follow through. That’s important to me, and I think I have enough talent to do something with my musical skill and I’d like to see where that goes. I’d also just like to learn the song! I love his music, and I think this will help me explore new options in creating my own music!
I’m starting now because I realized that it’s my last year of high school and that I’m, like, an adult now. If I want to pursue music, or anything else for that matter, now is the time I need to turn my ideas into work and product. My deadline is by the end of April/Start of May. I don’t think this is SUPER realistic but I plan to create another SMART goal and follow through, so I’m at least hoping the second block of the song is done.
PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY
Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)
Tommy Emmanuel is an incredibly skilled acoustic musician known for his intricate playing style and vibrant stage personality. I like him because, while a lot of instrumental artists will push the complexity to the edge of not sounding good, he keeps much of his music level and applicable to a large audience, with defined verses and choruses and distinct melodies.
Training Source(s)
This is Tim Van Roy, one of my favorite acoustic musicians and teachers on the internet. He has a 6 part series on this song (’cause it’s hard!) and has published three on YouTube. This is the first one. As such, it would be pretty difficult to time-stamp everything. I’m currently halfway through part 3, after which I’ll be stuck using the tab also listed below:
https://tommyemmanuel.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/tommy-emmanuel-endless-road.pdf
It’s a good tab, though! All my notes are on my physical practice sheet and tab. I’ve been having a rough time especially with the barre chords, and the flat picking is very new to me. I’ve traditionally fingerpicked. I’ve also been filling in the gaps between the tab and tutorials by listening to both Tommy Emmanuel’s version(s) of the song and Tim Van Roy’s. I did this with a lot of success when I learned Tommy’s “Song For a Rainy Morning.”
SMART Goal Schedule
I have been practicing for a bare minimum of ten minutes each day. I let myself continue to practice, and consider it a best practice, if I continue to keep “good form.” If I start flubbing up, playing too fast, get frustrated, etc… I know it’s time to stop. So far I’ve been pretty darn good about this. Practice started on 3/13.
PRODUCTION
SMART Goal Starting Point Evidence
SMART Goal Ending Point Evidence
POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION
21st Century Skills
Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)
I had to be creative when I was exposed to a chord shape or a set of notes that I didn’t know the shape for, which was pretty common since at some parts I had to rely on the tab. I had to be innovative when I found parts in the tab or the tutorial that didn’t match up quite right to the original song, so I would add a few notes or rhythms to try and bridge those gaps. Without tackling the specific concepts anymore, I had to employ a lot of real life skills in order to get to where I’ve gotten. Persistence was definitely my friend, and just fiddling with different ways of doing things really helped me to get that “click.”
Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)
I didn’t collaborate or communicate a lot, but it certainly helped me to understand that all the tools I needed at my disposal would be offered if I just asked. Mr. LeDuc was open about giving me physical tabs, picks, etc.
Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)
I used both tabs and YouTube tutorials to learn this song, and also listened to the original recording. It was really nice to have these tools at my disposal, and I could fill in the gaps between one section by utilizing a separate tool.
Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)
This really helped me with learning how to motivate myself to do things that might not, at times, be enjoyable? Taking the time to, for just five minutes, play the guitar in a coordinated, tactful way was a task that initially seemed daunting to me, but now I’ve been able to not only continue learning Endless Road, but make more progress than I have in the past on completing my own songs.
Reactions to the Final Version
Tempo was slower than I expected. I was frustrated. I didn’t get to where I wanted to be, and a few weeks ago I had played the entire first section of the song perfectly at tempo. I was begrudgingly happy because I knew I couldn’t have gotten close to this a month ago, but the perfectionist in me was kind of nagging.
Self-Evaluation of Final Version
Slow, but sounds much more crisp. Some notes aren’t held down enough and don’t sound clear. A little buzzy. Definitely can feel the confidence in some parts, and the lack of it in others. Did not keep tempo.
What I Learned
I learned a lot about how to manage my time and how to use it well. There’s definitely such a thing as wasting time. I also learned that I need to be really conscious about my practice. It needs to hurt my brain. The reason I think the final product was worse than it was a week or two ago is because I got lazy and said “I got it.” Overall, I learned about using my time to the best of my ability, and how to learn consciously.