Session 3, Week 4 Recap -- ALL CLASSES (better late than never!)

Hi gang! I'm still excavating myself from a massive backlog at the day job. Trips and holiday weekends are suppose to be fun, but for me they just create WORK! A thousand pardons for updating so late this week, and I'm afraid this post will be extremely brief--but I'll see you all soon.

Guitar 4 last week continued to contemplate the meaning of the word "intermediate," after a somewhat grueling lesson on scales. Remember, WWHWWWH or the weird phone number 221-2221 in order to memorize the intervals that make up a major scale. 1 fret = H, so 2 frets = W. You can play up a single string, or break across strings to stay in one position using either an open or closed scale form. Open scale forms utilize the open strings--hence the name! But they can ONLY be played in one place because open strings are a fixed note/ position. Closed scales on the other hand, are modular and moveable. So long as you know where your root note is, you can use the same finger sequence to from any starting position. Don't forget that the second diagram--the one for CLOSED scales--shows you finger numbers, NOT fret numbers. Very important! We'll put it into further practice tonight with Man Who Sold the World, so hopefully you practiced up on the hammer-ons and chord progression we started with last week.

Saturday's Guitar 3 Rep had some fun with Tom Jones. Here's the video I promised: http://youtu.be/1UxU8s7Au0A The man BRINGS it, you have to give him that. The bridge of that song is an exercise in strength building--which is why you should play it as much as possible! Ziggy's sounding really good now that we have all the fiddly bits added in, so keep that one polished too because we'll definitely hit that this week.

And Sunday's Guitar 2 Rep stood by its man with great aplomb. Her face! I can't even...http://youtu.be/DwBirf4BWew
That alternate bass strumming is brainy work, I know. Add in the little walks connecting sections and you're really in fancy territory, but it sounds SO good. Always consult the worksheets in the front of the packet if you need help.

I'm looking forward to making some great music with you all this week! I hope you know how much I enjoy our classes together. Singing and playing with you is what soothes me and keeps me sane (arguable, I know) after a long week at the day job. Thanks for that!