I just got a flu shot, so cross your fingers that I'll actually be able to heft a guitar tomorrow and over the weekend! Hope you're all having a good week. Here's the rundown:
Guitar 4Ever ran through the Aimee Mann tune to keep it fresh. We also put all the pieces of Pretty in Pink together and I thought it sounded great! If you haven't worked on the riff parts yet, I humbly suggest you give them a try (and vice versa if you're eschewing the chords). See if you can do the opposite of what you did last week when we play together tomorrow.
We also got started on the Big Star tune. One of my all-time favorites. The strumming is a fun, loosey-goosey mess. Don't overthink it! It's just eighth notes for goodness sake. One-and-two-and-three-and-four-and. Pluck the bass note on the one and the three, then let yourself be free. Try the "inside/outside" technique. Just grab any old strings on the low end on the and of 1 (and the and of three); then grab something on the inside treble on 2 & 4 (think, like, 5th & 4th strings). Finally, play something on the inside bass for the last and on 2&4 (like the 2nd/3rd/4th strings). Do not be afraid to be sloppy. This is the whole point. Have a listen: http://youtu.be/pte3Jg-2Ax4 It's two guitars...or more. You're emulating a sound you can't possibly recreate alone, so relax. It's not about precision. More on this in class.
In Guitar 1, we locked in the A and E chords, and added quite a few new ones to the rotation. First up was E minor, which--like all minor chords--has a mournful sound. You make that one by starting from a regular E shape and simply lifting up your index finger. E7 is just as simple--you lift up your ring finger instead of your index finger. E-asy peasy (see what I did there?). Practice your E to E minor and your E to E7! Those exercises will get your fingers in shape.
We also talked some more about eighth note strumming (down-up down-up down-up; also known as one-and two-and three-and four-and), and also the combo strum of two quarters and four eights which goes One, Two, Three and, Four and, or down down down-up down-up); and we worked our way through Another Saturday Night and Leaving on a Jet Plane. The former tune introduced the concept of "split measures," which means that you play more than one chord in a single span of 4 counts, two beat for each chord listed.
If that wasn't enough new stuff to worry about, we also plunged into the G chord. Play it with your 1, 2, and 3 fingers, OR with your 2, 3, and 4 fingers. It's good to learn it both ways because they'll be times that call upon you to do it differently. The 2,3,4 version is the one you'll probably come to rely upon though, so have a talking-to with that pinky and start breaking it in.
And in Guitar 3rep, we finished up Ziggy bits with the Big G and Cadd9 chords (and all the theory behind them). The second measure of the intro was the last bit to hammer out. It's a C chord that you arpeggiate and modify. Say it with me now: "trip-el-let" There's a one-two-three, one-two-three feel to the first two groupings. Modify the bass note of the second one (your finger will be on the 5th string, 2nd fret to produce a B note), and then take your fingers away completely for the last pair of eighth notes (four and).
We also got into Green Day to learn our way around the Big G and the Cadd9 in a more thorough way. http://youtu.be/CnQ8N1KacJc Remember, I give you permission to keep your pinky and ring fingers down for the WHOLE song. It's a little different than what Billie Joe does, but who cares?! We do what we want. (and I think it sounds cooler with that high drone) The strumming pattern is just a sloppy Golden Strum, with some assemblage of the low strings ringing on the downstrums, and assorted high strings on the upstrums. Don't over think it. You know Green Day doesn't!
Keep on strumming, my friends! See you soon.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Session 5, Week 2 Recap -- ALL CLASSES
Well, I'm even later than usual. The day job really gets in the way of me doing the work I WANT to do, which is blogging and playing music with you guys. (anyone want to fund an assistant for me at the Museum?)
And I was soooo sick last week that I honestly don't remember most of what happened in my classes. Maybe you all can help me fill in the blanks?
Here goes nothing--better late than never. Thanks for your patience.
Guitar 4ever -- Seriously...what did we work on? I was soooo full of cold medicine. I remember we did some of the rhythm nitty gritty with Pretty in Pink, which we'll finish putting together tonight. Lots of saying "and and and" to yourself, because we change chords in odd places where there would normally be an up-strum. The main emphasis is on 1, the and of 2, and 4. That's a little weird, but if you listen to the song and play from the gut rather than the brain, I think it'll come naturally.
We also started talking about 12-bar blues patterns. It's so common, it has its own Wikipedia page! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-bar_blues The one we did is the "shuffle" variation in that article. Practice that in A with that boogie woogie shuffle rhythm we talked about, then branch out into other keys to work on your finger stretching. Bonus homework: can you find any songs in the songbook that utilize that pattern?
Guitar 1 -- Tuning! Tune early, tune often. I handed out some resources for relative tuning, and you'll find some additional ones in the back pages of the song book. This is the blog I mentioned last week that explains things too: http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/ermahgerd-tuning.html Do yourself a favor and pick up a cheapo electronic tuner if you haven't already. It makes things much simpler, but it's still important to start training your ears to hear those intervals and match-up tones.
We added eighth notes to our strumming repertoire as well. Those are simply a subdivision of the quarter notes we've come to love, so there are twice as many of them in a single measure. We strum them with a gentle down-up motion, which I will write out with arrows as: V ^
A full measure would look like: V ^ V ^ V ^ V ^
You can play the new song, Sons and Daughters, with eighth note strums, and your new friend the A chord. It's just like A7, except with some meat in the sandwich. You'll have to cram three fingers close together, but the sound is worth the initial discomfort! We also briefly looked at E, E7, and Em, and talked about the differences between major (happy!) and minor (sad!), and a little bit of chord theory. If that stuff didn't make sense, don't despair. It will or it won't--we'll talk about it more so you'll get lots of chances--but you don't actually have to understand it to make music!
Guitar 3rep -- We started with some fingerstyle playing on our song of the session, Roll Me On The Water from the songbook. We were using a T-2-1-3 finger pattern, but you could also go T-1-T-1 if that's simpler. Your thumb is a busy guy, finding all different bass notes throughout. The rest of your fingers are either in zone 1 (strings 432) or zone 2 (strings 321) depending on the where the root note is. The bonus homework was to see if you could figure out how to add some bass walks between chords. Tough stuff, but pretty sounding!
We also got into more of the nitty-gritty of Ziggy.Check out the third line of "goodies" on the Ziggy handout. That'll give you the rhythm of the strums on the barred Am, G, and F--but remember we only strum the F chord once, and then we pluck the bass note, alternating the first fret and open string as shown on that sheet. Snag the G once on your way back up to the Am when you loop the pattern.
The third time through, you do not snag the G. Instead, you either play the open E string one more time before heading for a D chord, or else you just leave that space sonically empty and use the time to concentrate on transitioning into the next shape smoothly.
We also learned the extensive strumming rhythm that'll see us through the bulk of Ziggy Stardust. You have to subdivide the measure into 16th notes and pay attention to emphasis (on the 1, 2, and 4).
You can break it down like this:
V V^ V V^ V^V^ V V^ (one and a two and a three e and a four and a)
(If you're feeling fancy, take a look at the Mick Ronson brilliance of the optional verse riff!)
Kudos to you for sticking with it and hammering out the first part of that intro. It starts with one big strum on a G. K-R-A-N-G! Let it ring for a full beat. Rest on beat two, or mark time with a mute. On beat three, you have to subdivide into sixteenth notes, so say to yourself "three E and Uh four and" while you strum a D chord (on two), and then add and take away your pinky at the 3rd fret to play that suss chord on the "E and Uh" bit. That's the first measure! We'll finish it up on Sunday.
And I was soooo sick last week that I honestly don't remember most of what happened in my classes. Maybe you all can help me fill in the blanks?
Here goes nothing--better late than never. Thanks for your patience.
Guitar 4ever -- Seriously...what did we work on? I was soooo full of cold medicine. I remember we did some of the rhythm nitty gritty with Pretty in Pink, which we'll finish putting together tonight. Lots of saying "and and and" to yourself, because we change chords in odd places where there would normally be an up-strum. The main emphasis is on 1, the and of 2, and 4. That's a little weird, but if you listen to the song and play from the gut rather than the brain, I think it'll come naturally.
We also started talking about 12-bar blues patterns. It's so common, it has its own Wikipedia page! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-bar_blues The one we did is the "shuffle" variation in that article. Practice that in A with that boogie woogie shuffle rhythm we talked about, then branch out into other keys to work on your finger stretching. Bonus homework: can you find any songs in the songbook that utilize that pattern?
Guitar 1 -- Tuning! Tune early, tune often. I handed out some resources for relative tuning, and you'll find some additional ones in the back pages of the song book. This is the blog I mentioned last week that explains things too: http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/ermahgerd-tuning.html Do yourself a favor and pick up a cheapo electronic tuner if you haven't already. It makes things much simpler, but it's still important to start training your ears to hear those intervals and match-up tones.
We added eighth notes to our strumming repertoire as well. Those are simply a subdivision of the quarter notes we've come to love, so there are twice as many of them in a single measure. We strum them with a gentle down-up motion, which I will write out with arrows as: V ^
A full measure would look like: V ^ V ^ V ^ V ^
You can play the new song, Sons and Daughters, with eighth note strums, and your new friend the A chord. It's just like A7, except with some meat in the sandwich. You'll have to cram three fingers close together, but the sound is worth the initial discomfort! We also briefly looked at E, E7, and Em, and talked about the differences between major (happy!) and minor (sad!), and a little bit of chord theory. If that stuff didn't make sense, don't despair. It will or it won't--we'll talk about it more so you'll get lots of chances--but you don't actually have to understand it to make music!
Guitar 3rep -- We started with some fingerstyle playing on our song of the session, Roll Me On The Water from the songbook. We were using a T-2-1-3 finger pattern, but you could also go T-1-T-1 if that's simpler. Your thumb is a busy guy, finding all different bass notes throughout. The rest of your fingers are either in zone 1 (strings 432) or zone 2 (strings 321) depending on the where the root note is. The bonus homework was to see if you could figure out how to add some bass walks between chords. Tough stuff, but pretty sounding!
We also got into more of the nitty-gritty of Ziggy.Check out the third line of "goodies" on the Ziggy handout. That'll give you the rhythm of the strums on the barred Am, G, and F--but remember we only strum the F chord once, and then we pluck the bass note, alternating the first fret and open string as shown on that sheet. Snag the G once on your way back up to the Am when you loop the pattern.
The third time through, you do not snag the G. Instead, you either play the open E string one more time before heading for a D chord, or else you just leave that space sonically empty and use the time to concentrate on transitioning into the next shape smoothly.
We also learned the extensive strumming rhythm that'll see us through the bulk of Ziggy Stardust. You have to subdivide the measure into 16th notes and pay attention to emphasis (on the 1, 2, and 4).
You can break it down like this:
V V^ V V^ V^V^ V V^ (one and a two and a three e and a four and a)
(If you're feeling fancy, take a look at the Mick Ronson brilliance of the optional verse riff!)
Kudos to you for sticking with it and hammering out the first part of that intro. It starts with one big strum on a G. K-R-A-N-G! Let it ring for a full beat. Rest on beat two, or mark time with a mute. On beat three, you have to subdivide into sixteenth notes, so say to yourself "three E and Uh four and" while you strum a D chord (on two), and then add and take away your pinky at the 3rd fret to play that suss chord on the "E and Uh" bit. That's the first measure! We'll finish it up on Sunday.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Session 5, Week 1 Recap -- ALL CLASSES
Back to school time!
To those of you I met for the first time this week, welcome to my blog (and welcome BACK to the rest of you). My Core teaching schedule this session is:
Guitar 4Ever -- Thursday, 8:30pm
Guitar 1 -- Saturday, 11am
Guitar 3 Rep -- Sunday 12pm
I'll post class recaps here once per week (on Tuesday or Wednesday, usually) in a digest form. Read your own classes section, or snoop on them all!
Guitar 4Ever kicked things off with a bit of the boogie woogie. Check out this YouTube vid, which I think explains the technique pretty well. http://youtu.be/Z5-LDTb3w-I He goes a bit further and adds the "flatted 7th." If that makes sense to you and you wanna try it, go ahead, but it's a bit beyond the scope of what we worked on. I believe some of you referred to this as "finger contortionism." And it is. But sometimes you have to suffer for your art! Besides, it sounds so damn cool!!!
We started out the class packet with Aimee Mann's "Save Me." Other than the little variations on E chords (Em, Emaj7--which is and Em chord with the note on the 4th string moved down a half step to the 1st fret, and Em7--which is a one-finger chord with your index on the second fret of the 5th string), there's not a whole lot of fancy fretwork. Just one little old barre chord in the form of an F.
It's the strumming that makes this so satisfying (in my opinion). Bounce twice just on the bass note on beats 1 & 2, strum the chord on 3, and then snag a little upstrum on the and of 4 on your way to the next measure. It's a strumming pattern that combines the rhythms that the bass, guitar, and drums are all playing on the album version--remember, you're a one-man band in your living room so you have to get creative in the way you arrange songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c48vs4lwgc
You'll also--if you listen carefully--hear some logical opportunities to add in rakes (dramatic, slo-mo upstrums) in a couple of places. We didn't talk about those in class, but we'll add that detail when we get together Thursday. I know some of you love to sing this song, and I love that so I want to take advantage of it. Hear the background vocals? There are some wonderful "ahhhhs" and "do-do dooos" in there, not to mention harmonies. Grab any of those if you feel like it! We don't all have to sing the same part. Let's work on vocal arranging from time to time.
In Guitar 1, we learned the parts of the guitar, the names of the strings, how to read a chord diagram, a song sheet, the D chord, the A7 chord, basic quarternote strumming, and we played through Jambalya. PHEW! That's a heckuva lot of stuff for one day!
I have a few old posts on here that can help refresh your memory on those skills. Here's one about the names of the strings:
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/string-theory.html
And here are some with video links to excellent cover versions of the songs we did in class/ at Second Half:
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/son-of-gun.html
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/week-1-pay-me-or-go-to-jail.html
Besides Pay Me My Money Down, check out Good News, Buffalo Gals, and My Home's Across the Smoky Mountains in the songbook if you need a break from practicing Jambalaya. (5 songs ain't a bad portfolio for only having had one lesson!)
If you poke around in the earliest posts on this blog, you can also learn more about me, and how this page got its name.
We didn't talk about tuning yet, and your instrument may be sounding weird if it's gone out of tune. We'll spend a lot of time learning how to fix that this Saturday, but in the meantime here's a blog on the subject (and I'll have a handout in class):
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/ermahgerd-tuning.html
Practice hard to start building up those calluses, but don't push so hard that it stops being fun to strum. Remember, it's only rock and roll!
And in Guitar 3 Rep, we're old pros at barre chords now (conceptually, if not physically), so it was straight into the tuneage for us, starting with the psychedelic goodness of Itchycoo Park by The Small Face. You'll have two barre chords to tackle. F#m is an Em shape played with a barre at the second fret, and C#m is an Am shape played with a barre at the 4th fret.
We're strumming this one with a swingin' One Two Three-And Four rhythm the whole way through, but be sure to change VIBES if not rhythms when you get to the bridge. It should feel a bit softer and more reflective than the manic happiness of the choruses.
Also, in the verses, be sure to change chords in the split measures on the 4th beat, then switch to the D on the AND of 4 in the split measure. That G chord should feel like a pick-up note that leads into the measure of D. Next week we'll work on the fancy footwork from this vid. Be sure to wear your short-shorts like the drummer (which, I'm told, are called "stubbies" in New Zealand where this band hails from). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ViwvgtvbA
I know some of you are going to Riot Fest this weekend. Say hi to Patti Smith for me!
To those of you I met for the first time this week, welcome to my blog (and welcome BACK to the rest of you). My Core teaching schedule this session is:
Guitar 4Ever -- Thursday, 8:30pm
Guitar 1 -- Saturday, 11am
Guitar 3 Rep -- Sunday 12pm
I'll post class recaps here once per week (on Tuesday or Wednesday, usually) in a digest form. Read your own classes section, or snoop on them all!
Guitar 4Ever kicked things off with a bit of the boogie woogie. Check out this YouTube vid, which I think explains the technique pretty well. http://youtu.be/Z5-LDTb3w-I He goes a bit further and adds the "flatted 7th." If that makes sense to you and you wanna try it, go ahead, but it's a bit beyond the scope of what we worked on. I believe some of you referred to this as "finger contortionism." And it is. But sometimes you have to suffer for your art! Besides, it sounds so damn cool!!!
We started out the class packet with Aimee Mann's "Save Me." Other than the little variations on E chords (Em, Emaj7--which is and Em chord with the note on the 4th string moved down a half step to the 1st fret, and Em7--which is a one-finger chord with your index on the second fret of the 5th string), there's not a whole lot of fancy fretwork. Just one little old barre chord in the form of an F.
It's the strumming that makes this so satisfying (in my opinion). Bounce twice just on the bass note on beats 1 & 2, strum the chord on 3, and then snag a little upstrum on the and of 4 on your way to the next measure. It's a strumming pattern that combines the rhythms that the bass, guitar, and drums are all playing on the album version--remember, you're a one-man band in your living room so you have to get creative in the way you arrange songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c48vs4lwgc
You'll also--if you listen carefully--hear some logical opportunities to add in rakes (dramatic, slo-mo upstrums) in a couple of places. We didn't talk about those in class, but we'll add that detail when we get together Thursday. I know some of you love to sing this song, and I love that so I want to take advantage of it. Hear the background vocals? There are some wonderful "ahhhhs" and "do-do dooos" in there, not to mention harmonies. Grab any of those if you feel like it! We don't all have to sing the same part. Let's work on vocal arranging from time to time.
In Guitar 1, we learned the parts of the guitar, the names of the strings, how to read a chord diagram, a song sheet, the D chord, the A7 chord, basic quarternote strumming, and we played through Jambalya. PHEW! That's a heckuva lot of stuff for one day!
I have a few old posts on here that can help refresh your memory on those skills. Here's one about the names of the strings:
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/string-theory.html
And here are some with video links to excellent cover versions of the songs we did in class/ at Second Half:
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/son-of-gun.html
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/week-1-pay-me-or-go-to-jail.html
Besides Pay Me My Money Down, check out Good News, Buffalo Gals, and My Home's Across the Smoky Mountains in the songbook if you need a break from practicing Jambalaya. (5 songs ain't a bad portfolio for only having had one lesson!)
If you poke around in the earliest posts on this blog, you can also learn more about me, and how this page got its name.
We didn't talk about tuning yet, and your instrument may be sounding weird if it's gone out of tune. We'll spend a lot of time learning how to fix that this Saturday, but in the meantime here's a blog on the subject (and I'll have a handout in class):
http://allsixornone.blogspot.com/2013/03/ermahgerd-tuning.html
Practice hard to start building up those calluses, but don't push so hard that it stops being fun to strum. Remember, it's only rock and roll!
And in Guitar 3 Rep, we're old pros at barre chords now (conceptually, if not physically), so it was straight into the tuneage for us, starting with the psychedelic goodness of Itchycoo Park by The Small Face. You'll have two barre chords to tackle. F#m is an Em shape played with a barre at the second fret, and C#m is an Am shape played with a barre at the 4th fret.
We're strumming this one with a swingin' One Two Three-And Four rhythm the whole way through, but be sure to change VIBES if not rhythms when you get to the bridge. It should feel a bit softer and more reflective than the manic happiness of the choruses.
Also, in the verses, be sure to change chords in the split measures on the 4th beat, then switch to the D on the AND of 4 in the split measure. That G chord should feel like a pick-up note that leads into the measure of D. Next week we'll work on the fancy footwork from this vid. Be sure to wear your short-shorts like the drummer (which, I'm told, are called "stubbies" in New Zealand where this band hails from). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ViwvgtvbA
I know some of you are going to Riot Fest this weekend. Say hi to Patti Smith for me!
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