Session 3, Week 5 Recap -- ALL CLASSES

Why yes that IS Diane Keaton in the original Broadway cast of Hair!

Friends -
The Early Registration pressure is ON! Save $15 on your next class--with me or with another fine teacher!--if you use the code PLAYSUMMER14 when you sign up...but you have to hurry. The discount is only good through this Friday the 6th. Here's a link to my faculty page (now with dramatic B&W photo!): https://www.oldtownschool.org/teachers/Jane-Hanna/

I've also got a few of gigs I want to put on your radar.
- On 6/21, my Glam Rock Ensemble will perform at Independence Tap, along with the Women's Rock Ensemble and the CBGBs Ensemble. Loud, silly, electrified fun for all (and a chance to check out what ensembles are all about if you've never signed up for one before!). Music starts at 8pm, no cover.
- On 6/28, my David Bowie cover band Heroes will perform its finally-final (for real this time) show EVER at Parlour on Clark. It's the eve of the Pride Parade and we're on a bill with a disco band so there will be sweat and glitter and inappropriate behavior for all. Music starts at 9pm...not yet sure about the cover, if there is one.
- On 7/14, I'm performing a set at the Acoustic Explosion open mic series at Silvie's Lounge. These shows sometimes have themes and that one will be--wait for it--MUSICAL THEATER. Come sing along as I giggle my way through some selections from Hair, the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (the show in which I made my stage debut at age 14--it was a super-edited Reader's Digest version performed at teen theater camp). Show starts at 8pm, I play 9:10ish, and there's no cover.

So down to business.

Guitar 4 continues to valiantly forge ahead through some heavy scale work in Man Who Sold The World. I'm not going to do a lot of 'splaining here because it's all tabbed out for you on the goodies sheet. But I do have some bits of advice. Bit #1: Look for patterns. Your fingers make certain shapes multiple times when you play scales. Look for those and learn to love them. Repetitive motions make life a lot simpler and there are really only like 3 maneuvers you have to make in that tune. Once you've isolated those motions, you repeat them on different string combos, and there you have it. Bit #2: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. The only way to take this from confounding to competency is to do it. A lot. Muscle memory is a real thing and your fingers will start to act on their own in the correct way but you've got to train them first and that takes time and repetition. You can't play it once, skip the next 3 days, and expect it to have gotten better. Be consistent and watch yourself improve like magic!

Guitar 3 Rep did a little riffage based around the C chord in The Association's Never My Love. If you remind yourself that the C-shape is home base, and you simply make minor modifications inside that shape, you should be good to go. Also remember that the riff starts on beat 3, so you've got to count in "1 and 2 and" BEFORE you start. Inside the song, you'll be strumming either a C chord or an Am for those two lead-in beats, but in both cases, your fingers are already where they need to be to play the riff (because the C and Am chords are so closely related!) so you don't have to change anything to step right into the riff. We threw in one little walk, just to keep things spicy, and we're using the Golden Strum. It's a lot of work but the song is too pretty not to put in the effort! Take a look at the song of the session--Water is Wide--because we'll do some fingerpicking with that one next week.

And Guitar 2 Rep continues to gobble up material faster than I can bring it in! We fingerpicked our way through We're Going To Be Friends, using a "thumb-one-thumb-two" pattern with the picking hand. Remember that your thumb moves around to find the bass notes, but the one and two picking fingers occupy only two different zones in the song. Zone (or type) 1 is the 3rd and 2nd strings, and Zone 2 is the 2nd and 1st strings. It's a small shift between the two, so don't over think it. You're in Zone 1 for the G, C, and A chords, and in Zone 2 for the D and C chords (when the C chords follow the D chords). Mess around with fingerpicking on the song of the session--Water is Wide--and anything else in the book that strikes your fancy, and the muscles will get more nimble with that pickin' bizniz.

Good work, all of yous! Keep it up!