Where'd you go, Keith?

     Hello! This week, I continued practicing "Sweet Home Alabama". Once you make it past the intro, the rest is pretty simple. On the DVDs I've been using, once Keith has explained the notes and basics of the song, the video goes to another musician, who actually plays the song with you. Not only does it help to see how the song is actually performed, it's also nice because these musicians probably are still starting their careers and this is a good opportunity for some more exposure and publicity for their music. However, when I first played along with someone else, I didn't see these positive aspects.

Thoughts I had when Keith practically abandoned me:

• Oh, okay we're going to play the song now. It's, like, two notes. This should be okay. I got this.
• Wait where did Keith go?
• Who is this guy? Who are you and what have you done with Keith???
• Doing the into now. C major, alright, first finger on first fret on string number, wait watcha doing Not Keith?
• Why is this so fast?
• The intro is already done. Seriously, how was that eight measures?
• Huh, you may not be Keith, but you're a pretty good singer.
• I'm not even sure where we are now...
• Can we just pick one note, maybe? Just one? I'm okay if I can just leave my fingers where they are on the strings.
• Then we switch back and forth and my fingers are just UGH, and they get super confused and trip over each other.
• Aw jeez, that was not the right note. 
• Alright Not Keith, you keep on playing, I'm going to observe. And practice more. Like, a lot more.

So, what I took away from seeing a song actually performed with normal speed was 1) PRACTICE because the time it took me to switch between chords was long and pathetic, and 2) the rhythm and tempo can completely change the song. When Keith went through the song earlier, I could hear it, but it doesn't really become the full on song until you add in the rhythm and changes in volume (which I think are called dynamics?). I'll be working on this, as well as transitioning between chords. 

Bye!

-Sarah