Matthew Denner

I'm 5 hours into my learn the guitar challenge and, whilst it can be really frustrating, I'm really enjoying it: cat & girlfriend not so much. I'm using Rocksmith 2014 to learn and it's proving to be really good: on initial load you pick what you want to learn (lead, rhythm, bass), calibrate your guitar (so that it's not too loud for the game), and then tune it.

I'm only a few lessons in and I've learned to pick strings, walk the frets (100%), sustain notes (100%) slide up-and-down the frets (79%, struggling a bit with going from slide to another note cleanly), and play several chords (E, Em, Em7, C5, F5, A5, Eb5). The lessons have video tutorials, interspersed with practice points where you try out the technique until you get it to an acceptable level, and usually end with a practice track that starts simple and then gets a little harder each time you play it. I know that this is probably what I'd get from lessons with a teacher but I don't feel pressure to "get my money's worth" so-to-speak: I know that I can walk away from the game at the end of each hour and I don't have to progress through the skills.

There are games, like old arcade games, in Rocksmith that are really fun: you learn to make noise & mute strings by keeping a man in the air; learn to jump between strings by shooting cowboys entering a bar; move around the frets by shooting frogs that are trying to escape (really really tough!); and more. It's a really great way to take a break from the lessons, or the song you're learning, and just practice fundamental skills without feeling like you're really doing that! I've noticed my improvement in the games in just the short space of time I've been practicing.

I've been doing a little bit of practice outside of the hour I dedicate every day, mainly around taking what I've been working on in the lessons and moving it across the strings: the lessons, at the moment, concentrate on the E and A strings. I also use this time to try to look away from the guitar, to try to learn the spatial aspects of moving around it.

My only complaint at this point is that I was directed straight into learning a tune at the very start of the process, which might have just been me not being observant, which was great except that it quickly got beyond my (lack of) skill. It wasn't until the second hour where I realised there were actual lessons! So, beware: make sure you find the lessons first as these teach you about setting up the guitar, holding the plectrum, and then into actually playing notes properly!

And, I'll be honest, I looked up 12 bar blues on the really really good website justinguitar.com. It was at that point that my girlfriend stuck her audio cable into her cochlear implant (which cancels out all of the external noise so she can listen to audio books for practice) and the sick cat got up off the couch and walked out of the room.