Hey gang!
Sorry for the late update. I took a whole week off at the day job (MUCH needed), and I planned to stay away from technology so I didn't bring my laptop home, but that almost meant missing out on a blog update. I'm borrowing one from a house guest now (a perfect excuse to take a break from the pre-turkey cleaning I've spent all day doing!).
I hope you all have a very happy holiday and get to play some music for and with the ones you love. Or alternately, I hope music is a way to escape from and drown out all the holiday nonsense if it's not your cup of tea! I'm truly thankful for each and every one of you. Getting to play music with you every week is a real privilege.
I think the early registration discount code is getting sent out on Monday. CYBER MONDAY! Don't miss it in the midst of the inbox onslaught.
On Thursday night in Guitar 4ever, we kept up with Don't Think Twice It's Alright, adding in the Am/G walk down (just grab the note on the 6th string, 3rd fret by extending your middle finger across), and the G6 to G7 move. G6 is just a finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string, and G7 is a finger on the 4th fret of the 5th string. Don't worry about freting anything on strings 4-1 because your picking fingers are only playing open strings anyway! And remember to correct the misprint in that section. The split measure is actually from G to G6, and the full measure is of G7. So it should read: | G G6 | G7
We also got started on Time Won't Let Me by the Outsiders. It's a song that's very close to my heart because it's the tune the go go gals danced to the first night I ever came to their class--and boy was I hooked! Apologies again for the brief brain fart about reading my own tableture (that was a major catalyst for me taking this whole week off at the Museum! OOOF.) Your patience and good nature about your absent-minded professor is always gratefully appreciated. The good news is that the tab is correct! Yay! I can't explain the sets or props in this clip, but it's great. http://youtu.be/Qv8vBwt8zw8
On Saturday in Guitar 1 Rep, we discovered that Sloop John B in the songbook is a perfect Thanksgiving song. And also a great platform for practicing the golden strum! And speaking of strumming, we got our reggae on (sorta) by playing ONLY the upstrums on Three Little Birds. It feels like the hiccups--which makes it great practice for learning to count on the off beats. You can add a downstrum on the ones if you want/ need to to help keep things grounded. But remember to lean back, relax, and sink into the vibe! We also tackled Evangeline. It's in 3/4 time, which is a waltz. You're subdividing the measure into thirds instead of quarters, and giving the first beat a little more emphasis. ONE two three. You'll wanna use all downstrums or you'll get tangled up. For added fun and complexity to the sound, pick the root note all by itself on the first beat. The root note is (usually) the lowest note in the chord, so just figure out which string your pick comes into contact with first when strumming the chord. For E, it's the open E string. For A, it's the open A string, and for D it's--well YOU figure it out. :) Here's beautiful Emmilou and The Band. And some unfortunate fog machine: http://youtu.be/hqDqzGG8ba0
And on Sunday in Guitar 4, we finished the walking mania of the Radiohead tune (see last week's update for more). We also started on Alison. Don't worry about the timing of the intro. That's for our next meeting. The main thing you have to worry about are the unconventional split measures. Follow the exclamation points. Sometimes the first chord gets 2 beats, and the second chord only gets one, followed by a third chord that gets one. In the chorus, you have that one crazy measure where you change chords on every beat! But at least 3 out of 4 of them use the same barre position: F#m, F#7, and Bm. Throw in that little stop chord when the lyric says "stop!" for added showmanship!
Keep fresh on Man Who Sold the World so that you'll be ready to revisit it this weekend.
http://youtu.be/C9GlC9GyF4Y
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