4/17 blog post

Over the weekend I did fieldwork for my project by replacing the floorboards. To do that I took out the seats removed the plastic seals, took out part of the dashboard and the center console. After that I had to take out the carpet in order to actually reach the metal of the floorboards, or what was left of it. We welded in new ones we got off a car that a guy was parting out ( he didn’t want the car but couldn’t sell it or wouldn’t have got what he wanted for it, so he sold all the good parts on it then hauls the rest to a junkyard). We were also going to clean the carpet but after we found it the entire thing was locked in fairly tight to the car we decided against it or else we would have to cut the entire thing out to clean it. We also replaced the piece of plastic that holds in the radio because the last one didn’t fit right, so the radio wasn’t really latched in and would fall out if it wasn’t pushed way up into the dashboard. All in all it was about 9 hours of work to replace the floorboards and the radio mount, with most of it being from the floorboards. The picture shows where the seat in the back would be, that hole is all from rust and is why we needed to replace the floorboards, it rusted to the point that my Dad didn’t want anybody in the back seat for fear of the floor collapsing. It was the same on the other side. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the aftermath with the new ones in because I was changing the rails for the seats so they would hook in right.

week 3 2/23

So far I have tested out the guitar and made sure everything still works. The amp that connects to it works and all the strings are tuned and ready to be played. I’m not missing any wires and they all work without any problems or loose connections. I checked the guitars size and it’s not too small or big and it’s not an uncomfortable design to me. Last I knew we had some picks around the house that I can use and if those were lost I can run up to guitar center and get a pack for pretty cheap. I found some songs that I enjoy and are easy to learn or at least easier. Speech just finished for me so I have more free time after school and don’t have to try and find a way to squeeze in practice between that and work so I can get practicing. I have a space all cleared out for me to practice at so I don’t have to worry about bugging my family members, or having them bug me. I’m going to begin practicing after school today and plan on practicing for a dedicated hour each day.

Checking in

Trystyn:

I'm glad you are going with something you have "always wanted to do", in a way, that is exactly what this should be about. You may also want to include best practices for learning guitar in your research. Remember, a resources doesn't have to be a print article, it can be an online tutorial too.

week 2 2/10

1. where did the guitar originate from?
2. when did the guitar first grow popular in American music?
3. what style of music first used the guitar?
4. what was the guitars impact on American culture?

week 1 2/2

The idea to learn to play the guitar has always been on my mind. My dad learned to play when he was younger and my brother tried but never stuck with it. I was thinking of giving it another go on learning to play after speech season a few weeks. So when I heard we were going to be doing a project where we got to do something we wanted I thought perfect timing. I’m going to try to learn a simpler song and based on how long that takes me ill choose one I like and play it for the class at the end of the year. I already looked up some tips for people starting and I have the free time to do it. The only thing that I have to do now is get an actual guitar to play. Everywhere I looked said starting on acoustics is much better for you and makes it easier. I already have the equipment for tuning it and the money to actually purchase the guitar. I still need to find a guitar that I like but that won’t take long I’m not picky.