myspace
music page:www.myspace.com/gracekoh. i'm very slowly getting things started. very primitively.
at the end of january 2009,
i was determined to teach myself how to play the guitar. i bought a $30 made-in-china piece on ebay...then scoured the internet
on what to do with it. i've since updgraded to a real guitar. i make these rudimentary, uncoordinated videos to document my
progress in snippets (so i can view the ridiculous clumsiness diminish). still
very amateur, but coming along. not bad for small hands, a few jam sessions with kind friends, and only mindless hours on
the internet of trying to put it all together.
good
god. i owe jason mraz a major apology for this video. i SWEAR it sounds pretty damn great when i sing along to it on pandora.
not so much on the clumsy guitar + solo route. oopsies. perhaps i should try karaoke instead?
yikes. evidenced by the poor timing and notes out of tune...this song needed
more practice. 8 years of zero vocal exercises = me desperately grasping for notes *eep*
9.5.09 - 'hey jude' - do you really need to ask who?
cory...welcome back to the states. i think you're in iowa right now...which means you're either 1) ecstatic
to not be surrounded by a bunch of chongers who no speak engrish, or 2) so bored out of your gourd...that you want to blow
your f*ing brains out. regardless, it's good to have you back in america.
it appears i've returned to the routine of clumsily teaching myself a new song in 5 minutes or less...than playing
it before i know how to play it. awesome.
it's like watching a crippled bird re-learn how to walk...after kathy
bates sledgehammered its legs.
i'm trying to rebuild those calluses and get back into teaching myself guitar. (...and,
let's be honest. i simply love fucking around with my new iMac.)
fuckin' A right! i'm just testing out the quality of the webcam built into this
used iMac that my friend sold me for super cheap. (i love you tricia!) is it sad that i get more excited in the pants over
techie shit than anything else? whatever. it's cool.
alright. the guitar is going to be stored
at the back of the closet for awhile. writing & comedy are surging to the forefront of my ventures...and i'm finally (attempting)
unpacking the remaining boxes in my studio to get settled in.
also trying to work odd jobs to make ends meet,
so not much time left for music these days :(
i think i'm going to nix this "getting-good-at-guitar"
venture. i should put the musician aspiration on hold, wait 'til i'm rich & famous, and just pay good musicians to let
me sing with them from time to time.
in terms of open mic, i'd actually be ridiculously more comfortable (and much
better at) performing my shamelessly x-rated stand-up comedy routine than trying out my most well-perfected cover song.
(you might need to turn up the volume? i had to play quietly since it was 6-something
in the a.m.). i woke up this morning to ray lamontagne singing in my ear. it's been
a bit since i've taught myself a new song, so i thought i'd give it a whirl.
i'm about 27 minutes into a food induced coma, so i don't have much to write about this one.
but i did notice that the audio/video timing is somehow terribly off. however, i'm too tired to figure it out...much
less record this song again. deal with it.
p.s. how many times can i say the word "awesome" while describing
this weekend's show? apparently 3 million. whatever. i'm tired. leave me alone.
so if you're expecting music,
don't watch this. this one is just of me being stupidly excited about my major breakthrough in overcoming my fear of picking
strings (thanks to my oh so wonderful guitar instructor). doron...i can't say it enough. you fucking rock.
i mainly
wanted to take a quick snapshot of progress one day into my newfound obsession. my fingers are torn to hell and may start
bleeding soon. but i can only get better from here. and that is exciting.
next up. those damn barred chords. stupid
sausage fingers.
procrastination is wonderful and wretched in the same stroke. still not unpacking...i quickly
became annoyed + aggrieved about the poor choice in my last post (for compatibility and preparedness...yes, even for me).
this post is a cold/blind run of a lovely song...but much better fitting for my range. and super duper easy chords.
i ♥ iron & wine.
holy
yikes! both my guitar and vocal skills are violently regressing. i suppose that’s what i get when the cumulative total
that i’ve had my hands on a guitar (or sang) in the past 2 weeks equals less than 20 minutes. this is probably one of
the worst ones i’ve posted…for real this time.
so apparently when i sing songs that are out of my
range…and i desperately grasp for notes that are too high for my voice…and i attempt selections of which i don’t
even know the tune or tempo…my brows furrow, rendering my forehead to look weird. how unflattering.
but
right now i have zero time for take two. i must unpack! and clean. and unpack. damn it! i totally forgot about catching up
on ‘30 rock’ and ‘the office’ online. mother f. maybe unpacking can wait. i know the cleaning can.
i need to clean.
and pack. instead i play. clumsily.
i've always wanted to try singing this song at karaoke. of course it would
sound much better than this mess of strumming. i'm so tired that i just decided to record this after tinkering around with
the tab for about 10 minutes. lazy.
i'm sooooo ready for the real lessons. after nearly 3 months of amateurishly
looking up online random tabs and where to put my fingers...and faking chords for these little hands to eke out...i'm dying
for the lessons. maybe after i get the 3rd job. blurg.
i know i don't hit all the chords, but at least i don't
have to look at my fingers every single second anymore. that's nice.
and....of course. leave it to me to make a 8.5 minute recording of a
song...with less than 2 minutes of music on it. damn. i love to prattle on and on. (and also fidget, i'm noticing).
whatever. i'm the master procrastinator. and if this is what keeps me from doing what i need to do...i can happily live
with that.
hey weird funk? how
does it feel to get kicked in the face?! good. 'cause i'm done with you.
so yeah. i snapped out of it. and have
lots o' energy + motivation again. i made this one late last night. i swear someone keeps slipping me little blue forget-me-nots
after i record. (that's 'roofie' to all of you weirdo non 'arrested development' fans).
so yeah. the usual. gk
playing clumsily. but no more apologies. because i rock again. suck it.
i instantaneously passed out last
night after recording this one. i debated on whether or not to post it at all (since it’s clumsier than usual). something
is still off these days. actually, many things. i need to snap out of it. soon.
but i suppose that’s what these miniature video documentaries are all about. to track progress
in myself. both forward and back. maybe this will bring a smile to my face when i do finally get going in the other direction
once again. and hopefully take a big leap in it. i can’t wait until i’m out of this weird little funk of mine.
i've been feeling a bit off
these days. i haven't practiced the guitar with consistency in awhile...or learned new songs in even longer. i can't quite
seem to get motivated to do much of anything creative lately. not really certain what this is, but feel as though i can't
shake it. lethargic. gross. lazy. i just got back from a (slow) run, but it did seem to help a little. i tried to play this
old song with the new guitar, but it fittingly seemed a bit off as well.
i'm beginning to become claustrophobic
in these tight walls. i think a lot of it has to do with mentally being done with vegas. being ready to move on. i know things
will start looking up when i land in l.a. in a few weeks.
i'm running on 3
hours of sleep after some bachelorette festivities with old, old friends. and while i should have been taking a nap today
to prepare for round 2 (only a few hours away)...instead i learned a new song. my fingers are blistering!
this
is a very, very cool song by wilco. i can't believe i had never heard it before. many thanks to my new pandora (and guitar
teacher) who has amazing taste in music...like me ;)
this is the quick and abridged version since the video kept
cutting off on me mid-shoot. i think my computer is running out of space. i wish i had more time to practice, since this song
is my new obsession...but i've got to get ready for another night out at the clubs. yikes. (i'm getting too old for this shit).
just got back from
l.a. today...and this was the song i learned at my first lesson. super excited about the lessons.
so i didn't get
a chance to do that open mic while i was there. but will reserve time after i make the big move next month. i'm still shocked
at how nervous i get (even in these videos). i was practicing for a few minutes before recording and played at least 3 times
better...and my voice didn't crack with my throat closing up on me like it does when i'm recording. oh well.
i'm rapidly becoming obsessed with various songs and bands i
hear on pandora. i have a tormentingly addictive personality when it comes to music and songs i like. i get stuck on one and
can't let it go. i'll look up lyrics and sing along for hours and hours on end.
so now i'm racking
up quite the little repertoire of songs i love which i can halfway play. most of my free time these days is spent looking
up various tabs to everything that comes to mind. i'm a beginner, so i sub in chords that i can play. it's a start.
i've like improvised harmonies that randomly form in my head. i often do this with third verses of songs
i play. i can't sing very high...and i despise my squeaky falsetto. because of this, i always sang second
alto in school. thus, i like singing harmonies. i sort of have a thing for harmony. always have.
i suppose this is where i'll start posting my sing-alongs or solo attempts at covering songs once i learn how to
play them. i wish i had more time with the guitar when my roommates aren't home. now that i've got my studio in l.a...i
dream about the hours upon end of practice that will start next month.
