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.
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