Week 2 Recap -- ALL CLASSES

Hello friends!
I hope you had a nice holiday weekend. There are a lot of important songs that pay tribute to our veterans. What are some of your favorites?
I took a brief--and ultra-rare--hiatus from the internet this past weekend, so this update is late for some of you but better late than never!

Last Thursday, Guitar 2 Rep took on moveable shapes, starting with Fleetwood Mac's Dreams. If you know the Fmaj7 chord, you can play the whole song! Just start with that, then slide it up--same shape, same fingers--two frets so your index finger is at the 3rd fret. You have yourself a G6 chord! Switch back and forth between those two chords for a measure a piece, and you have yourself a Stevie Nicks fantasy. Just be sure to keep your crystal visions to yourself.
We took some more time with Psycho Killer after that, which also has room for a moveable shape in the chorus. Slide your F-shape up two frets to make the G! It'll make the leap to that Bminor on the bridge a little easier to pull off.
Finally, spend a little time wrapping your fingers around the Dsus4 and Dsus2 chords shown on the sheet for Satellite of Love, as we'll work on that a bit this week and it'll be helpful if you can make those moves with some speed.

In Guitar 2 last Saturday, we took a bold step forward into guitar playing by tackling the effing F chord! Lay the outside of your index finger across both the 1st and 2nd strings at the first fret, then add your other fingers underneath as per the chord chart. It feels weird, and it cuts into a fleshy bit of your finger that doesn't have a callus yet--but it will soon! If you're having a lot of trouble, check your body position. If your arm is glued to your side or it's resting on your knee, that's your problem. It need to be free to move! Also check that your wrist is dropped, and your thumb is on the back of the neck offering support for your pinching power. Keep at it. It'll take some time to build the muscle tone you need, but it'll come. Practice the Sam Cooke tune, and also our Song of the Session in the book (Dink's Song).
We also talked a bit about musical notation, which you don't have to know how to read to play guitar, but it makes following tunes in the songbook a bit easier. Here's a handy chart of notes and rests that I did not make!

Finally, Guitar 1 is in full musician status now, with enough chords to play songs in the key of A! (A, D, and E--which really ADEs in your coolness! Anyone? Anyone? No?) That A chord probably feels kinda icky, since you have to cram three fingers onto three strings right in a row. It's a good chance to check and make sure you've got good curvature in your fingers so you're playing the strings with the tips. When you get frustrated, play some E chords! I find it just so terribly satisfying to strum all 6 strings and let 'em ring. That's your rock and roll reward for practicing hard. TWANG!
Take flight with John Denver this week, and next week we'll tackle our first minor chord and our first 7 chord. What does all that mean? Come to class and find out!