Hi gang!
I'm sorry to say that I think I need to suspend this blog for a little while. I just haven't been able to get to it in a timely enough fashion this session, and I don't want to keep disappointing you each week. The schedule at my new job--and the lack of opportunity to do side work at the office!--has made it really impossible to update this page the way I used to be able to. I sincerely apologize.
If anyone is particularly crushed or horrified by this news, or feel that they won't be able to practice adequately between classes without it, I genuinely want to know that so please post a comment or drop me an email. (Email is doable via my phone when I'm on the go, so it's easier than blogging)
I will continue to look for ways to manage my time that allow for blogging, so don't give up on this page forever. Just give me a few more weeks to try and get organized.
Best,
J
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Session 1, Week 1 Recap -- ALL CLASSES
Hey gang!
Welcome to the brand new session in the brand new year. (Keyword here is: new!)
I have a lot of "new" in my life too, what with the husband and the fresh day job. I'm still getting my rhythms down in those contexts, so it may be that I bounce a little between updating this page on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Either way, you get a mid-week bump! I've just discovered that the library where I just started working stocks musical scores, so I have a new source of material to adapt for class! I'm excited!
Now onto the recaps.
Thursday's Guitar 4Ever (and ever...and ever...) will have to update ME on what happened because I was busy getting married. We'll talk tomorrow about the plan for this session. I know there's a demand to "workshop" some previous material, so we'll figure that out, along with a strategy for hitting some great new tunes I have in mind for you. Get your "desert island" answers ready, 'cause you know that's coming!
On Saturday, Guitar 2 dove headfirst into some new chords. First off is Dm7, which requires you to execute the rather daring maneuver of playing two strings with one finger! Cover the first AND second strings at the first fret with the outside edge of your index finger. It's easier to use that part of your finger because it's harder. If you try to do it with the pad, it's just too squishy to get a faithful sound. Complete the chord with your second finger on the 3rd string, second fret. You only strum the bottom 4 strings, and there you have it. If you're having trouble getting enough pressure for those bottom 2 strings, try adjusting your wrist and thumb position by bringing them down. Moving in and out of that chord will require a sort of deflating-reflating action with your whole hand position. A little muscle pain inside your hand is normal as you build the tone there, but anything shooting down your wrist is wrong, so if that's happening, let go right away and shake it out and start again.
Welcome to the brand new session in the brand new year. (Keyword here is: new!)
I have a lot of "new" in my life too, what with the husband and the fresh day job. I'm still getting my rhythms down in those contexts, so it may be that I bounce a little between updating this page on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Either way, you get a mid-week bump! I've just discovered that the library where I just started working stocks musical scores, so I have a new source of material to adapt for class! I'm excited!
Now onto the recaps.
Thursday's Guitar 4Ever (and ever...and ever...) will have to update ME on what happened because I was busy getting married. We'll talk tomorrow about the plan for this session. I know there's a demand to "workshop" some previous material, so we'll figure that out, along with a strategy for hitting some great new tunes I have in mind for you. Get your "desert island" answers ready, 'cause you know that's coming!
On Saturday, Guitar 2 dove headfirst into some new chords. First off is Dm7, which requires you to execute the rather daring maneuver of playing two strings with one finger! Cover the first AND second strings at the first fret with the outside edge of your index finger. It's easier to use that part of your finger because it's harder. If you try to do it with the pad, it's just too squishy to get a faithful sound. Complete the chord with your second finger on the 3rd string, second fret. You only strum the bottom 4 strings, and there you have it. If you're having trouble getting enough pressure for those bottom 2 strings, try adjusting your wrist and thumb position by bringing them down. Moving in and out of that chord will require a sort of deflating-reflating action with your whole hand position. A little muscle pain inside your hand is normal as you build the tone there, but anything shooting down your wrist is wrong, so if that's happening, let go right away and shake it out and start again.
Summertime also requires an Fmaj7 chord, which I said was sort of like a compressed C chord. You'll put your first finger on the 2nd string at the first fret, your second finger at the 3rd string second fret, and your third finger at the 4th string third fret. Three strings in a row, three frets in a row, three fingers in a row! You only strum the bottom four on that one too, and it should sound kinda dreamy and cool.
Both of these new chords are setting us up for the big news of next week--THE F CHORD! Keep on strumming, because we've got work to do.
Summertime is one of the most covered songs of all time. Do some YouTube searching and take a listen to Janis Joplin and more!
And Sunday's Guitar 4 class got started with Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion. Remember to lay back in the strumming to give the song that island feel. Little palm mutes between downUPs will help that too. And the riff at the top of the song has that trip-el-let thing we talked about over beats 3 & 4 of the second measure. Subdivide that space into thirds instead of quarters and it'll sound just right.
We also got started fleshing out the chords for Baby Blue. Slash chords are something I hope you're familiar with. They all require you to alter the normal bass note that supports a chord. Take an advanced peek at the "fiddly bits" on the supplemental page if you'd like, and we'll go over them in detail next time we meet.
Both of these new chords are setting us up for the big news of next week--THE F CHORD! Keep on strumming, because we've got work to do.
Summertime is one of the most covered songs of all time. Do some YouTube searching and take a listen to Janis Joplin and more!
And Sunday's Guitar 4 class got started with Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion. Remember to lay back in the strumming to give the song that island feel. Little palm mutes between downUPs will help that too. And the riff at the top of the song has that trip-el-let thing we talked about over beats 3 & 4 of the second measure. Subdivide that space into thirds instead of quarters and it'll sound just right.
We also got started fleshing out the chords for Baby Blue. Slash chords are something I hope you're familiar with. They all require you to alter the normal bass note that supports a chord. Take an advanced peek at the "fiddly bits" on the supplemental page if you'd like, and we'll go over them in detail next time we meet.
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