Chris's Lesson Page
lesson 1
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Hi Chris! Welcome to your lesson page. This next tune we're going to work on is a classic fingerstyle tune called "Louis Collins (Angels Laid Him Away)." You can find it by Mississippi John Hurt and also a good version by Jerry Garcia. It's the same idea as "Freight Train" with the alternating bass and melody in the high strings. Check out the video and the chart and let me know if you've got any questions. Once we get into lessons again, we'll break it down section by section and go through slowly. This will get you started... Good luck! I hope the move is going smoothly. z
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Lesson 2
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Hey Chris! Nice to see you the other day. This week we're talking about a new roll! I go over it pretty well in the video, but there's tab here too for you to check out. "Angels Laid Him Away" is sounding pretty great, so if you work on incorporating this new roll, and the walkdown (also in the vid) you'll have a pretty good start on a decent arrangement! Let me know if you have any questions. See you next week! z
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lesson 3
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Hey Chris! Nice work on the tune last week. We're almost there. This week we're working on the walk-down, the ending lick, and getting the rolls to match the chords. I updated the chart with all the new stuff, so make sure you print out the new one. The chords are notated above the melody so count along with the measures to get the timing until you can just hum the tune in your head! Have fun and let me know if you have any questions, z.
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lesson 4
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Hi Chris! Here is a chart and video of the first bit of the new song "Take a Look at that Baby." You can check out John Fahey to see how it should be played!! Play each of the phrases/loops on their own at first. Then try to stitch them together once you have the coordination down. Have fun! It's a great tune. See you next week, z
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lesson 5
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Hi Chris! Here's the next installment of "Take a Look at That Baby." This tune is moving right along!! Take it slow and make sure to maintain the alternating bass. I went over that string to string finger exercise too. Have fun and see you next week, z
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lesson 6
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Chris- Here's the next part of "Take a Look at That Baby." This brings us to the end of the first verse. It repeats back to the beginning and the second verse is exactly the same as the first for the first eight measures. Have fun! z
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lesson 7
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Hi Chris! Here's the next installment of "Take a Look at That Baby". We're getting there!!! This is the trickiest section of the tune, so take it slow. Remember to keep you hand as relaxed as possible, and to work the bend with your wrist rather than your fingers. It's all there in the chart and vid so have a ball and I'll see you monday. z
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lesson 8
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Chris! We're gaining on it:) This is the toughest section of the tune. After this, it's relatively easy- famous last words right? This video goes over the transition from the D/F# to F chords. Taking it ludicrously slow and paying attention to thumb position. Then I cover the three part bend on the F chord and how it leads into the following C chord. All should make sense with the video and chart. Have fun! See you next week, z
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lesson 9
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Hey Chris! This week we're finishing up "Take a Look at That Baby." Nice work!!! The video takes you all the way through the end of the tune. Remember to tuck your elbow and relax your ring finger on that G chord:) Have fun- We're getting close! z
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lesson 10
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Hey C! No new music this week. We're working on refining some technique for the Fahey tune. We're really focusing on the G chord here. Remember to RELAX your fingers. Play it slowly and keep reminding yourself to relax any tension in your left hand. It's difficult to feel it at first, but you'll get the hang of it. The video has a good progression of exercises to help you out. Have fun and keep at it. Happy Thanksgiving!! Z
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lesson 11
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Hey Chris! Here are some exercises to help you with the form on your G chord. Practice them slowly with focus on keeping the fingers and wrist relaxed and especially the knuckle on that ring finger as loose as possible. Good luck! z
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lesson 12
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Hi Chris! Here is the first installment of the Delta Blues. I didn't palm mute anything, so don't look for that. Remember that the main difference is the thumb is thumping four bass notes on the same string instead of alternating strings like we've been doing. The chart has the whole blues, but really focus on the first four measures. Good luck! z
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Holiday filler lesson!
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Hey C! Happy holidays!!! I hope the skiing is great. Here's the next four bars of the blues to hold you over till next week. See you then, Z
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lesson 13
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Hey C! This lesson we are looking at a few scales: G major, C major, and the E minor pentatonic. I uploaded a chart of all the major scales in the first postiton so you'll have them all when we get to them. I think you'll be able to get the E minor pentatonic from the video. Also I play through the A chord section of the blues with a metronome so you can play along and get the timing. Have fun! See you later this week. Happy new year! z
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Lesson 14 |
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Hey C! It's a good time to play the blues:) Here's the E minor pentatonic scale exercise we were talking about during lessons. I wrote it all out for you as well. Practice each subdivision and then try at the end of your practice session to make some blues phrases while you keep the bass going strong. Have fun and set an alarm! This kind of playing can make you zone out...z
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lesson 15
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Chris! 12 bar blues in E. The chart will show you the form, and I go over the shuffle pattern in the video. Check out these tunes for examples! Have fun, z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8hqGu-leFc&list=PL7BU5FuIl66Pg8MTIytGl0dpQBUC3nB9N |
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lesson 16
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C- In this video, I go over some exercises for loosening up your fingers and playing with a light touch. Remember to go SLOW and to check your thumb position as you go. Keep checking in with your fingers to make sure you're keeping them relaxed. Try to play with as little tension in your hand and wrist as possible. This kind of work will really help you to get around the guitar fluidly and reach those more challenging chords we've been working on. See you next week! z
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lesson 17 |
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C- This lesson is focused on a shape. There's a system for organizing scales on the guitar called the C, A, G, E, D system. Remind me to talk with you about it next lesson. This is one of the shapes from that system... The E shape. It's like the E chord in the first position on the guitar but moved up the neck with a bar. Don't worry too much about it, I'll explain it in detail later. Just work on getting the shape down with the corresponding arpeggio and scale. But it's good to know that this is one of five shapes that will really help you get around the guitar in the future! z
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lesson 18
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Hey Chris! This lesson is focused on moving up the neck with our C major scale. We are working on two things: 1. The one string scale 2. The A shape scale (still in C Major) Make sure you practice the one string scale with just your index finger for now. Get the spacing of the notes and try to memorize what note is where by saying it out loud as you play it. For the A shape scale, get the chord shape down first, then the arpeggio, then the scale. One builds off the other. I'm including a chart for all of the CAGED scales in C major. Just focus on the first position (C shape) and the A shape scale for now. As always, let me know if you've got questions. Have fun and have a great weekend! z
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lesson 19
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Hey C! We're looking at the key of Bb this week. Remember: The way you find the notes in a key is to write out your chromatic scale (12 notes) and use the WWhWWWh formula to widdle it down to 7 notes. The key of Bb is: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A
In the video I go over how to find the notes, and how to play them in the two shapes we've been working on. Good luck! z |
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lesson 20
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Chris- In this lesson we are talking about getting to know our C major scale horizontally on the 2nd (B) string. We think of that string as the highway starting on the first fret (C) and ending on the 13th fret (C). We have three "exits" to explore. Exits are vertical scale patterns in different positions. Now we are looking at the C shape in the first position, the A shape starting on the third fret, and the E shape starting on the 8th fret. This Video should get you going! Let me know if you need anything to make it clearer. I'm happy to write it out too if that helps. Have fun, Z
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lesson 21 and 22 |
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C- This is a combined entry. I didn't post a lesson for you last week so there will be two videos here. The first video goes over the highway on the 2nd string with the C Major scale in the G shape. You seemed to have it down pretty well, but its here if you need to refer back. The next video gets into the C major triad shapes we covered in lessons. These shapes contain three notes each: C, E, and G. They are all C major chords in different inversions. Root position is when the root is in the bass. First inversion is when the third is in the bass. Second inversion is when the fifth is in the bass. Have fun and let me know if you've got questions! z
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lesson 23
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Hi Chris! We're looking at triads again here. This is called a chord scale. It's taking a scale (in this case C major) and making triads on every note of the scale. The video will show you shapes and positions, but here is the theory to back it up:
C MAJOR SCALE: C D E F G A B Traids in C Major: C E G : C Major D F A : d minor E G B: e minor F A C: F Major G B D: G Major A C E: a minor B D F: b diminished |
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lesson 24
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Hi C! We're continuing on the path of learning triads! This video goes over the basics again to really solidify your understanding of how triads are put together. I also go over the first inversion chords scale. Take it slow and really make sure you are understanding how to construct major, minor, and diminished triads, and how all of these forms come together in a key! Have fun and see you soon, z
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lesson 25
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Hey Chris! Here is a video with an overview of these triads we've been working on. I would recommend practicing each inversion separately until you get it, and then combining them for the chord progressions. Remember: This is all in the key of C so we are only using 7 notes; C D E F G A B. Each inversion has three shapes: Major, Minor, and Diminished. I wrote out all the triads for you to print out. We are working on "String Set 1" so disregard the other info until we get to it. Have fun! z
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lesson 26
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Hey C! We covered a lot of ground last lesson. I thought it might be a good idea to slow it down a little and just get one thing down at a time. I made you a worksheet on how to identify a triad. It goes step by step through the process. You can apply it to the other work we were doing on finding the chords in a key etc. Hopefully this will help clarify things! For practice see if you can come up with these 7 Major triads: C, D, E, F, G, A, ad B. We'll keep at it this week! Good luck, z
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lesson 27
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Hey C! In this video I go over some of the 7th chord ideas we were talking about last lesson. The two main types of 7th chords we are looking at here are the Major 7th and the Dominant 7th. You can think of 7th chords as a triad with an extra note. So instead of 1, 3, 5... we get 1, 3, 5, 7. If we do this in the C major scale we would get C, E, G, and B. This is a Cmajor7 chord. Its a major triad with a major 7th on top. An easy way to remember a major 7th (interval) is that it is just a half step below the octave. To make a dominant 7th chord we take a major triad and a minor 7th. In C this is: C, E, G, and Bb. It's a major triad with a minor 7th. To make a minor 7th (interval) go to the octave and go down a whole step. *The dominant 7th chord usually functions as a V chord!
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lesson 28
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Hi Chris! Here is a video demonstrating the process for naming all the notes and triads in a particular key (In this case the key of G). I tried to go slow and be deliberate about each step, but please let me know if something is unclear! Keep practicing. The more you do this stuff the more it makes sense! See you soon, z
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lesson 29
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Hi C! Hope you're feeling better and better. Here is the arrangement for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." We're focusing on the first line, but feel free to explore it as you please! The shapes we're using will be all triad shapes on the first string set (Strings 1, 2, and 3) which you have practiced. There will be a few shapes from the second string set (strings 2, 3, and 4) which we have not practiced! This will be a good introduction to those shapes. Remember: we're trying to keep the melody as the highest sounding note in any given chord. Have fun and good luck! See you soon, z
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lesson 30
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Hey C- So here we have "Over the Rainbow" transposed to the key of E. I go over it pretty well in the vid, but the main ideas here are to understand the structure of the melody (scale degrees) and the roman numerals of the chord changes so that we can move a song to any key. Check out the video after you've got your own figured out, and see if we got the same thing! See you soon, z
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