March 2025 3-Minute Challenge - Week #1 Posts

[BBQDad]

Username:BBQDad
Week Ending: Friday March 7

Saturday March 1: 5 min
Sunday March 2: 60 min
Monday March 3: 65 min
Tuesday March 4: 270 min
Wednesday March 5: 65 min
Thursday March 6: 20 min
Friday March 7: 195

Total Days: 7
Total Minutes: 680


In 1972, Neil Young released his Harvest album His songs Heart of Gold and Old Man caught my ear in High School. Shortly after listening to it almost a 100 times, I took money saved by working at Arby’s and bought my first guitar.

The sales person convinced me it was going to take 6 months + to develope callouses with a steel string guitar. So I ended up with a nylon string “classical” guitar. I soon found yes it was easier to fret the strings, but the negative he didn’t mentioned was the much wider neck made stretching my smaller hands to play certain chords-in particular bar chords much more difficult.

So a year or so later, I bought an Ovation Balladeer model and played it for 6-7 years, before buying my first of many Martin guitars.

Now more than 50 years later, I’m not a beginner, but I am also not anywhere near being even an intermediate player.
The thousand and thousands of dollars I have spent on buying books, lessons, guitar gadgets have contributed to very small gains through the years.

Here’s an example:

I’ve have had a Silver membership for about a year now. Bought a Neil Young package prior to being a member. This week I finally reopened the package -but to date no songs learned.

So this 3 Minute challenge week got me back to playing my guitar everyday. A few days I spent hours at various times during those days, playing songs/progressions I have come up with and am recording on my equipment I have gathered through the years.

A lightbulb went off. I am no longer able to sing due to a voice box issue that won’t go away. I was reviewing a package ( that now I can’t find!) playing Chord Melody songs.

My one concern is how long it might take me to learn a song. It takes me forever to learn and play a cover song. Have only learned less than 10 all these years and even those I not get through all of the way and playing cleanly.

About to start my 7th Decade around the Sun. Somewhere on my guitar path I missed an important turn that has me on a mediocrity road for so many years.

Yet music is an important part of my life. Open to any suggestions on getting on a path that might move me closer to improving my skills.

[ncrump93]

Username: Neil Crump (ncrump93)
Week Ending: March 7

Saturday: 4
Sunday: 5
Monday: 8
Tuesday: 20
Wednesday: 8
Thursday: 7
Friday: 15

Total Days: 7
Total Minutes: 67

[Randy McCracken]

Username: Randy McCracken
Week Ending: Friday March 7

Saturday March 1: 50 minutes)
Practice: And So It Goes; House At Pooh Corner, If You Could Read My Mind
Play through: Lewis & Clark; It’s Never Too Late; Windy & Warm; Machine Gun Kelly; You’ve Got a Friend
Sunday March 2: (1 hour 10 minutes)
Practice: And So It Goes, House at Pooh Corner, The Lee Shore
Play through: Something in the Way She Moves, Soldiers, Blossom, Sad Lisa, Instrumental II, Lewis & Clark, Here Comes the Sun, Doctor My Eyes, Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
Monday March 3: (1 hour)
Practice: And So It Goes, House at Pooh Corner, If You Could Read My Mind
Play through: Mexico, Lo and Behold, Steamroller, You Can Close Your Eyes, Oh Susannah, That’s Why I’m here, Anji, Doc’s Guitar, The Boxer
Tuesday March 4: (1 hour 35 minutes)
Practice: Flat pick exercises, Lewis & Clark at various speeds, And So It Goes, The Lee Shore, Come and Let Me Look in Your Eyes
Play through: Hazy Shade of Winter, Run or the Mill, Here Comes the Sun, Scarborough Fair, Sad Lisa, Moon Shadow, The Wind, It’s Never Too Late
Wednesday March 5: (35 minutes)
Practice: House At Pooh Corner, Come and Let Me Look in Your Eyes
Play through: Song for You Far Away, Windy & Warm, Sweet Baby James, A Long Time Ago, Give Us Clean Hands, Dreamin’ Again, These Dreams
Thursday March 6: (1 Hour 50 minutes)
Practice: House at Pooh Corner, Up on the Roof, True Colors, Stones, Come and Let Me Look in Your Eyes, And So It Goes
Play through: If You Could Read My Mind, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, April Come She Will, Old Friends/Bookends, Punky’s Dilemma, 59th Street Bridge Song, Mud Slide Slim, Lewis & Clark
Friday March 7: (2 hours)
Learn: Kyrie Eleison
Practice: Blessed Assurance, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, Yes I Will, The Goodness of God, Your Name

Total Days: 7
Total Minutes: 540

Thanks for the challenge Neil! Although I usually practice regularly, this challenge has kept me from skipping a day here and there.

[jenlambo]

Jenlambo

Saturday March 1 - 30 min
Sunday. March 2. - 60 min
Monday. March 3 - 30 min
Tuesday March 4 - 30 min
Wednesday. 5 - 30 min
Thursday. 6 - 0 min
Friday. 7 - 45 min.

6 days
225 minutes

[gbowman18]

username: gbowman18
Week ending March 7th
Saturday March 1 - 20min
Sunday March 2 - 60min
Monday March 3 - o min
Tuesday March 4 - 20min
Wednesday March 5 - 40min
Thursday March 6 - 30.min
Friday March 7 - 20min

6 days 190 min

[michaeljsmithjr]

Saturday March 1: performed Fearless, Pink Floyd 5 minutes
Sunday March 2: improving with Open G tuning and playing parts of Fearless (working on singing) 20 minutes
Monday March 3: 30 minutes playing Fearless, That’s the Way, Shape of a Heart and You Got to Hide your Love
Tuesday March 4: missed
Wednesday March 5: Shape of a Heart 20 minutes
Thursday March 6: 10 minutes
Friday March 7: Guitar lesson 30 minutes; practice 30 minutes

Total Days: 6
Total Minutes:140 minutes

[rftejerry]

Username: rftejerry
Week Ending: Friday March 7

Saturday March 1: 30 min
Sunday March 2: 60 min
Monday March 3: 30 min
Tuesday March 4: 15 min
Wednesday March 5: 25 min
Thursday March 6: 30 min
Friday March 7: 120min ( 60 min at band practice playing folk music and Iris tunes)

Total Days:7
Total Minutes:310 min

Working on melodies for Sounds of Silence, Here Comes the Sun and Brown Eyed Girl

[6Stringpicker]

Saturday March 1 60 minutes
Sunday. March 2 90 minutes
Monday ‘March 3. 35 minutes
Tuesday March 4. 45 minutes
Wednesday March 5 90 minutes
Thursday. March 6. 30 minutes
Friday March 7. 60 minutes

Total time turned out being 400 minutes, which I know is quite a bit more than my normal practice time. Motivation for this was definitely the challenge. I mostly worked on Rainbow Connection, I Can’t Find My Way Home, The Letter, and section 1 of Classical Gas. Playing times are already, and will continue to be less this week due to some daily long distance travel, but I will make up for it next week for sure. . Good luck all, and have a great playing week!

6Stringpicker

[samarks]

I am a little late here, but hopefully won't get kicked out of class.

Username: samarks
Week Ending: Friday March 7

Saturday March 1: 30
Sunday March 2: 45
Monday March 3: 30
Tuesday March 4: 20
Wednesday March 5: 20
Thursday March 6: 20
Friday March 7: 5

Total Days: 7
Total Minutes: 170

I have a good excuse - New Guitar Week! Got one of the new Martin 00-18s.

[TGNeil]

No reason to worry about being kicked out of class and keep up the good work!

We did draw a winner from last week's entries - it was WJKelleher. He chose audio downloads as presents and will be listening soon.

Neil