https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3 Made with ♥ en-us 2017-04-03 12:47:34 UTC 2026-03-16 01:38:55 UTC hello@padlet.com meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/165267047 So, in English we are doing a project called Genius hour where we use our imagination to invent a product, or to fulfill a passion of ours. My Genius Hour project is seeing if I can learn and master Bon Jovi's "This Ain't a Love Song" on the guitar, including the solo, and sing along with it in the two months that my teacher has given us to complete this project.
 So today I haven't gotten the chance to work on the song and probably will not be able to until tomorrow, but I have already started working on the it  and have been learning new chords in the process, such as the B major chord, and C#minor chord. 
This song is pretty difficult, so I have a couple of questions regarding the rhythm, strumming pattern and where to come in with the chords. The song has a bit of a wacky rhythm, so I wonder how I am going to figure it out? Should I maybe put my own twist to the song and create my own rhythm, or should I spend the majority of my practicing looking up the rhythm of the song? I am far from done with it, so right now as I sing the song, I am just playing the chords and letting them ring until I get to the next one. Should I maybe continue that, or should I slowly develop a more complicated strumming pattern to make the song interesting?
One thing that I feel like I can do pretty well on is the opening , and the singing part... all except for in the chorus, when Jon Bongiovi sings "Yeah I'm wrong! This Ain't a love song...", The 'yeah' in that line is very hard to reach in my chest voice. I could do it in my head voice, but it most likely wouldn't go well with the rest of the line.
To learn the chords for this song I used www.Ultimateguitar.com, which is a very good website to use for this kind of thing, and I am going to use YouTube to help me learn the solo. My father, who is an extraordinary guitarist, can also help me get the rhythm down, as well as my brother. I will also use the guitar books that I own for ideas on new things that I can try when playing. ]]> 2017-04-06 21:04:47 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/165267047 meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/165650950 So yesterday after I finished the rest of my homework  my father sat down with me to work on 'This Ain't a Love Song' and we worked on the rhythm of the song. When I play the chords in the opening, I have a solid, balanced rhythm.  But as soon as I start singing,  I can't seem to keep that rhythm. It is very irritating, but I shouldn't let it stop me. 
On Monday, I looked up the guitar tab that I had been using, and saw that the creator of the tab had a chord that is not in the musical alphabet (which is A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A). I am convinced that he meant to put B minor, and not H minor... but I have stopped using that tab because of additional mistakes in it. 
Soon I am going to start learning the solo, and I have a couple of questions regarding that. I wonder if when I try to look up the solo on YouTube if an actual full lesson will show up or if it will mostly have individuals performing covers of the solo. I would be able to use a regular cover to learn it, but it would be much easier to have someone guide me through it! 
One thing that I have been doing well on is the second "yeah I'm wrong! This ain't a love song!" in the chorus. The 'yeah' is high, and so if I try to hit it head on in my chest voice, it won't work out because otherwise I would be straining, which would ruin my voice. But I've figured out that if I hit the note almost as if I'm talking, it would sound more musical, and not as much like I am pushing my vocals. 
So mainly my practicing between now and my next blog post is going to be the solo, and using YouTube to aid me in my learning. I will most likely consult my dad on this as well, so that he can help me put some last minute touches on it. As I have said before I will use my guitar books for reference as to what are the best strumming techniques to use, and how to do them.]]> 2017-04-10 12:35:27 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/165650950 meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/167532595 So I have finally learned the chords to the solo, and it sounds awesome! It begins with a D chord, then goes to an A major chord, then a B minor, then G, then back to D and A. But, due to homework, and additional projects in my English class, I have not had the time to really crack down on it, so that is really getting on my nerves. 
I have almost gotten the whole song down, I just need to finish mastering the solo, and touch it up, that is if I can find the time to do it. I wonder if maybe I should keep the strumming pattern that I already have down, or if I should try new ones that my guitar books suggest? They,the guitar books, of course, are a more reliable source, but I do believe that the strumming pattern that I have created fits well with the song. I tried looking up a lesson on YouTube, but despite how plentiful YouTube can be, I did not find any videos that contained an easy way to learn it. So for that part, until I find one, I am probably going to have to listen to the song over and over again until I finally get it, which would take a little while longer than learning from a lesson would take.
Things that I believe I do well with is the chords in the solo,  I think I learned them pretty fast, and the original strumming that guitarist Richie Sambora does in it. Things I don't believe I do well is once again, despite me already establishing a rhythm, is staying with it throughout the whole piece. I'm still just getting used to it, and sometimes when I get really in to the song, I forget my rhythm and my "performance" takes it's downfall. So I am mainly going to focus on the solo, and the rhythm of the song this week for my practicing.
Sources I will mainly use this week are my guitar books, my general knowledge of music and probably my dad; he could help me get the rhythm solid. This song is extraordinary and extremely fun to sing, and play, and I am looking forward to performing it on the day of the deadline for the project.]]> 2017-04-21 16:24:05 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/167532595 meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/168162117 So!! Guess what? I'm changing the song that I'm learning for the Genius Hour Project! I had been doing This Ain't a Love Song, but now I'm changing it to White Dove by German Rock band, Scorpions. This song is not very popular,  but in my mind it is one of the most influential songs I have heard. It is simple, but its meaning is very deep. It is about how insane the world is, and asks the question, "why can't we pay attention to those in need? Why do we just show only one sign of help, and then completely ignore them?" 
In the chorus, they are telling a white dove to take hope under its wing and fly to where there are people in need. That is what I love about this band. While their songs may not be the most musically complex, they always have a very deep meaning, like Wind of Change, from the album Crazy World. Wind of Change is about the destruction of the Berlin Wall, bringing together all of Germany. Or like the song , "Under the Same Sun" written in 1993. 
The song starts out with a C major chord, then goes to G major, then D minor, and A minor. This chord progression repeats until near the end, when it s about to break into the solo. I have not learned the chords for that part yet, but right after it just goes right back to C,G,Dm,Am. 
There are two rhythm/ lead guitarists, Rudolf Schenker, and Matthias Jabs,  which means that there are two guitar parts. I might record myself playing the rhythm part, and maybe add some backing vocals in there too.
I believe that this song is going to be very interesting to learn more about, and I am excited to perform it! It is one of the most beautiful Rock and Roll songs I have ever heard, and I love singing it.]]> 2017-04-25 16:31:43 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/168162117 meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/170158229 So just now I was listening to White Dove, and I read the comments and everyone was saying that it was a cover of another song by another Hungarian band called Omega. So technically I'm learning White Dove by Omega, but just doing Scorpions' version of it. The two versions are quite different,  Scorpions' version is played in the key of C (I believe) and Omega's version is played a whole step down. Also Scorpions' version is played on the guitar, the other version is played on the keyboard. 
So this week I have been working on the intro to the song (which there'll be an attachment video at the end of this blog post featuring me doing it on my beautiful Les Paul), using a French speaking YouTuber named Bartocz. No, I did not understand any of his French; I didn't need to. All I needed to do was look at his fingerings on the video,  and watch his strumming technique. 
After getting the intro down (sort of), I started looking at his strumming techniques during the verses, and did the same ones on my guitar. It is very, very frustrating  , trying to pick single strings while singing. I'm sitting there trying to focus on my singing, and what my hands are playing all at the same time and it seems impossible! But if professional music artists can do it, then surely I can.]]> 2017-05-05 12:29:59 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/170158229 meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/171723104 Making a whole lot of progress my friends! I am making sso much progress on the intro, and the timing (rhythm), the solo, and I've even added my own twist to the ending!!
There is something that I have changed (this was actually in the original song, but I, when I would practice, would not do this) however. I have added arpeggios in there, in the verses that is. I feel like it slows me down a whole lot, and keeps me from rushing. It is very very very hard to do these arpeggios while singing... I'll bet no matter how long or hard I practice i'll end up messing it up while I'm performing it for the class on May 22. But, even so, I will practice!  It is much much much prettier with arpeggios than without, and I'd like to make it as pleasant as I am able for my audience.
I also found out that Omega's version is called a completely different thing; "The Girl with Pearl's Hair.". The only evidence that these two songs are related at all is the melody, although Scorpions' version is I believe a whole step higher.
May 22 is next monday (AHHHHHH!!!!!) and so on that day I will be bringing my Fender Superchamp amp to school (somehow, cause it is quite heavy), and my exquisite Epiphone Les Paul, of which I enjoy playing very much! My teavher had suggested that I just record a video of me singing and playing, but my mmom agrees with me that I should go ahead and do it live, for the sake of leaving that awesome feeling that you just saw a concert on the audience! anyways! Byee!!!!!!]]> 2017-05-15 01:04:15 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/171723104 meredith_mullenax2 https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/173038216 So this is my last blog... I really won't miss doing them! I have been spending this whole week doing some adjustments here and there, and finally at the end of the week I recorded my backup recording of the song. It took me SO LONG to get the perfect video, I must have taken at least thirty. But I eventually got it down, and saved it onto a thumbdrive. 
since it is probably going to be raining tomorrow, I am just going to bring in the thumb drive to my teacher and turn that in as my final product. I would not want to get my guitar wet, nor my amp. Oh no not my amp. my amp could short out if it was exposed to water, and possibly cause a fire, which the absolute last thing that I want. 
This project has been so fun for me, and the reason for that is because I was able to use my LORD God-given talent in an academic thing, which almost never happens. I am so excited to have the feedabck from my class and teacher tomorrow!]]> 2017-05-22 02:11:05 UTC https://padlet.com/meredith_mullenax2/9e6kfa7cepr3/wish/173038216