MATT'S LESSON PAGE
LESSON 1Hi Matt! Welcome to your lesson page. Let's jump right in...
First, we were talking about Keys and chords in keys. I made this tab/chart to help illustrate the concept. It's pretty simple: find your major scale from the chromatic scale (using the WWhWWWh pattern) and make your triads based on each scale degree. Remember that these patterns will hold true for ALL MAJOR KEYS! I made a video with the licks we added to "This Land is Your Land." I also wrote out a few bluegrass/flatpicking licks in the key of G. The kind of stuff you might find on that True Fire thing. They'll help you to start turning some of these scales we're learning into more musical lines! Good luck and see you next week, z |
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LESSON 2Hi Matt! Today we're talking about the CAGED system, a few bluegrass runs, and some CCR! The CAGED system is pretty simple. 5 major scale shapes based on the open chord shapes C, A, G, E, D. When you practice them see if you can visualize the shapes of the chord tones while you play the scale. You can practice the arpeggios (just playing the chord tones) as well. All shapes can be played in any key!
In the video I review the bluegrass lick we were working on over G, C and D chords. See if you can see how each version of this lick sits in the CAGED system. Once you can see that pattern, you'll be able to move the lick around the guitar to any key you want. Special homework: Play the lick as many times as humanly possible over "Midnight Special." Fogerty won't mind a bit:) Creedence did it in the key of D. So you can change the chart to the key of G like we were working on (good practice!) You can work on it in the key of D too if you have the time. Have fun! See you next week, Z |
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Lesson 3
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Matt - Here is a video going over the C shape in the key of D. Practice the chord shape and arpeggio and then see if you can visualize the scale around that shape. I made you a long D drone so you can blast off and play around with the scale and shape. While your doing that and getting used to the fingerings and such, take notice of how each one of the scale tones sounds over the drone. They each have their own color. Have fun!
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Lesson 4
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Hey Matt! Today we're looking at Ashokan Farewell in D major. You should be able to figure it out pretty well from the video and the chart. Remember to use the C shape from the CAGED system starting on the 5th fret (key of D). Get the melody down and then use the notes in the D major scale to solo over the chord changes. Listen to how the notes sound over the chords as they pass by, and try to get that shape solid in your fingers. Have fun and good luck!
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lesson 5
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Hi Matt! We're looking at some arpeggios this week. Arpeggios are used when you want to outline the tones of a chord. You can think of them as playing a chord as a line or melody (liquid) rather then as a block (frozen). I wrote out all of the arpeggios in the C shape (Key of D) for Ashokan Farewell. Practice them slowly and then see if you can connect them over the backing track to outline the chords as they pass by. It's fun! Like temporal Sudoku. Have fun, and I'll see you next week, Z.
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Lesson 6
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Hey Matt! Today we're talking about intervals. Hopefully this will give you something to grab on to while you search for all those scale and arpeggio shapes!! Intervals are simply the space or distance between two notes. The smallest interval being a half step and the largest being limited only by our ears and instrument. This set of exercises is designed to help you see these intervals as a shape between two adjacent strings. The shapes will be consistent from string to string, with a one fret adjustment between the 3rd and 2nd strings. Check out the exercises and see if you can find these shapes and intervals in Ashokan Farewell. Remember that a Major triad is made up of a Major 3rd and a Minor 3rd. A Minor triad is made up of a Minor 3rd and a Major 3rd. Have fun and good luck! Z
lesson 7Hey Matt! We're talking about arpeggios and ear training today. The ear training website I wanted you to check out is https://www.good-ear.com/. There are also some really great apps out there you can check out. First we'll focus on ascending intervals up to a perfect 5th. Here are your song prompts:
1/2 step: jaws whole step: sound of music minor third: lullaby major third: mary had a little lamb( ma -ry -had. the ma is the major third) 4th: here comes the bride tri-tone: Hendrix 5th: Star Wars You can substitute any other tunes you find that work well for you. So listen to the ascending intervals and identify!! The Arpeggio etude is explained well in the video. Take it one arpeggio at at time and try to work it up to where you can play the whole thing smoothly over the chord changes. Good luck and have fun! See you next week, z |
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lesson 8
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Hi Matt! Here is another arpeggio exercise for you. It's in the same position as "Ashokan Farewell." It's the chord changes to "Stand By Me." Proceed along the same lines - get each arpeggio down and then try to smooth them out so you can play through the chord changes with ease. Have fun! z
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lesson 9
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Hi Matt! This week were continuing with arpeggios. In the video I go over the arpeggio up and scale down exercise, connecting arpeggios with scale tones, and moving up the neck into the next CAGED position. I think you'll be able to get the stuff in the C position from the video, but I've included a chart of the "Stand By Me" arpeggios for the next (A) position. Have fun and go slow! As always, let me know if you've got any questions. See you next week, z
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lesson 10
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Hi Matt! Today we're moving up the fretboard! One of my other students sent me a cool chart of the CAGED system. I put it here for you to check out. She said it helped her piece it together, so hopefully it will be a good thing for you too. In the video, I go into the A shape and the G shape. Everything is still in the key of D. Remember that all of these things can be moved to any key! Have fun and see you next week, z
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lesson 11
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Hi Matt! This week we're looking at the CAGED scales a little differently. One thing about the guitar, that is both a blessing and a curse, is that you can play the same thing in lots of different positions. A good way to practice is to take a melody through each of the CAGED shapes. Take a look at the video and try playing some different melodies up and down the neck, from shape to shape. Good luck! z
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lesson 12
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Hey Matt! I checked out that Dead tune - "Crazy Fingers" It's a great tune and a good opportunity for you to work on your barre chords and 7th chords! In the video I go over how to construct them. Points to remember: There are four parent shapes. Two with bass notes on the 6th string, and 2 with bass notes on the 5th string. From those you can adjust to make the 7ths. Remember: A major 7th chord is a major triad with a major seventh. A dominant 7th (written C7) is a major triad with a flat 7th. A minor-major is a minor triad with a major 7th. A minor 7th chord is a minor triad with a flat 7th. A half diminished chord is a minor 7th chord with a flat 5th. (sometimes written Cmin7-b5). Good luck! If this is too much, just take from it what you can get and we can pick through the rest next lesson. Have fun and see you next week! z
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lesson 13 |
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Hey Matt! We're looking at "Crazy Fingers" by the Dead. Lots of chords in this one! I checked out the song and found a chord chart for you. Most of the chords are notated in the first position. These are all great voicings to learn, and a great way to play the song. Keep in mind the other alternatives as you go. Particularly on the Dmaj7, Dbmaj7, and Eb chords. You can play them in the first position or find them up the neck in one of the barre chord shapes we worked on. Options are good! Have fun working through it, and we'll check it out together next week. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Z
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lesson 14
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Hi Matt! This week we're talking about some strategies to work on transitioning smoothly between chords. This method, which I've heard dubbed the "Matrix" method, works extremely well. It's tougher than it looks, so take it easy and don't try it for too long at once to avoid burning out! The idea here is to pick a shape or a change and to track the movement of each finger individually through space. Notice the arc it makes when moving from one note to the next. Notice if it changes strings, or stays on the same string. Notice if you can position your wrist or thumb differently to accommodate the new shape. Once you have things feeling comfortable, practice going from one shape to the next as slowly as humanly possible. Keep fingers empty and relaxed. IF you practice this way, you will notice the chord changes smoothing out and things finding their way almost on their own. Good luck and have fun! z
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lesson 15Hi Matt! This week we're looking at some barre chord alternatives for "Crazy Fingers." We checked these out in lessons, but I thought it'd be good for you to have a record of them, so you can refer back. Most of the chords in the "Crazy Fingers" tab are notated in the 1st position. These are great voicings, but if you get these barre chords under your fingers you'll have some options. I find it easier to play the barre chords when playing the Ebmaj7, Dmaj7, Dbmaj7 chord changes. All voicings are good so pick and choose what works for you. Have fun! z
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Lesson 16
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Hi Matt! This week we're checking out Autumn Leaves. It's a great old tune. Here's a couple of links to Youtube clips to get you aquainted with it: https://youtu.be/Gnp58oepHUQ https://youtu.be/XvTxzAXx8gQ We're going to be staying in the first position on the guitar. The first move is to get the melody and the chord changes down. It's a pretty simple melody in the key of A minor, with a phrase or two that moves out of the key. Try to get the tune in your head and read the tab! Have fun, and we'll work on adding the barre 7th chords next time. z
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lesson 17
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Hey Matt! Nice work on Autumn Leaves this week. In the video I talk about some different approaches you can take to make it more fun to play. One is to play only the melody and the bass notes. It's a great way to learn to get around the guitar. It sounds cool, and when you start adding the chords back in, you can really build a nice arrangement. The other thing is to try some different rhythms with the right hand. Try arpeggiating the chords, playing the melody note first and the chord right after, and anything else you can think of that sounds good to you! Have fun and I'll see you next week. Remind me to get into some of the barre 7th chords for this tune. It'll give us some more options of how to get around:) z
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lesson 18
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Hey Matt! We're adding some ideas to Autumn Leaves today. Really focus on getting the melody under your fingers first and let the other pieces fall around that. Have fun and see you next week! z
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Lesson 19
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Hey Matt! Happy thanksgiving!! This week we're looking at "Autumn Leaves." We are investigating how you can hear the C major (A minor) scale as it relates to the chord changes. Practice starting the C major scale on the root of the chord you're on. If you're playing over a Dmin7 for instance, play C major from D to D. The only difference comes at the E7 chord where we substitute a G# for the G getting the scale: E F G# A B C D. This is just one note different from C major, and accommodates the G# in our E7 chord. Some folks would call this A harmonic minor, but right now it couldn't matter less:) Have fun with it! z
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lesson 20
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Hi Matt! This week we're looking at the C major scale in a different way. We're breaking it up into chord tones and passing tones. In a 7 note scale four notes will be chord tones (for a 7th chord) and three notes will be passing tones. In the video I review how to make a loop of the chord and spend time in smaller sections of the scale to get used to this way of looking at things. It really helps to start hearing how the major scale can be used to make so many melodies! The looping app I found is called "Loopy HD." It costs five bucks or so, but the interface is nice and I think it'll do what we want. Have fun! z
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lesson 21
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Happy Holidays Matt! Here is something for you to work on next week. It's a video and chart of playing over the first three chords of Autumn Leaves. The idea here is to do an ascending arpeggio and a descending scale. You should get it from the vid and chart no problem! Have fun with it and have a happy vacation, z
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lesson 22
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Hi Matt! Hopefully you're holding up ok during Trumps presidential death rattle... It's a good time to play the blues. Here is the form for the standard 12 bar blues in E. Notice that all chords are dominant 7th chords. Try to memorize and get an ear for the form - it's already in there somewhere as you've heard it a million times. Also I go over the E minor pentatonic scale for soloing and melody purposes. Have fun and let me know if you have any questions! Z
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lesson 23
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Matt! We're looking at some shuffle blues in E this week. Our three chords are: E7, A7, and B7. In the video I go over two different shuffle patterns, some bass walk ups between chords, and some turnaround options to get you back to the top of the form. All is hopefully clear in the vid, but if you need further clarification, or if you need me to write something out, just let me know! Have fun and remember that you can sing pretty much any 12 bar blues lyrics over this groove. That gives you somewhere around a million songs to choose from...
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lesson 24 |
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Matt! Here is the A section of "Baby Please Don't Go" by Lightnin' Hopkins. To start, get the melody down solid, and then add the bass notes. There's some good blues coordination stuff to learn hear, as well as phrasing and feel. Check out the video and match it up with the chart. Also listen to Lightnin' play it. It's not ever phrased exactly the same twice so listen to how you can play with phrasing to make a simple melody more interesting. Have fun, Z
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lesson 25
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Matt- Here's the bridge or interlude to "Baby Please Don't Go." It's an instrumental break he puts in between the verses. It's basically the 12 bar blues form starting on the 5th bar (the A7 chord). Have fun with it, and I hope you enjoy that book! z
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lesson 26
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Hey Matt! In this video I go over the three pull-off licks from the Lightnin' Hopkins tune. I loop each one a few times so you can play along with me. I recommend practicing each one separately to get the fingerings down, and then to try it with the video before moving on to the next one. We'll have fun jamming together virtually until I see you next week! z
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lesson 27
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Hey Matt! Here is a video about the e minor and e minor pentatonic scales. Get the scales under your fingers and in your ears. Then try playing them over an E drone on the looper and/or using the open E string! Also, you can try this link for a decent e minor blues backing track to jam with: https://youtu.be/2aQRF47hJa0 The track starts about one minute into the video... you can skip straight there or watch from the beginning to hear this guy play blues licks and make terrible guitar faces:) have fun, z
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lesson 28
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Matt- In this lesson we are looking at adding a few notes as possibilities for soloing and general blues vocabulary. We're looking at blues in the key of A. So our three chords are A7, D7, and E7. You can play the A minor pentatonic scale over all three of these chords and it will sound good, but to give you some more melodic options: 1. Try finding the major third for each chord. 2. Try playing a line that goes root, b3, 3, root. For the A chord that line would be A, C, C#, A. The blues dances between major and minor thirds a lot. A line like this is pretty standard vocabulary! Try finding it for all three chords and playing it over a loop or backing track. Have fun! z **This is a decent A blues backing track on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L2mqkk28sE
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lesson 29 |
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M- I made you a backing track for a shuffle blues in A. I also made you a long video of me playing over the track with with different ideas for some blues vocabulary. We're focusing on: 1. The Minor Pentatonic Scale 2. Targeting the Roots of each chord. 3. Targeting the 3 and flat 3 of each chord. The video should give you some jumping off points! Have fun, z
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Lesson 30
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Hi Matt! Here's some more blues vocabulary to check out. We're expanding on the last lesson video to include the 5th and flat 7 of each chord. This completes each arpeggio for the chords in the A blues! We were working on them mostly at the 5th fret position, but feel free to explore at the first position as well. Just find the same notes and see how the different shapes feel on your fingers. Have fun with the backing track! See you next week, z
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Lesson 31
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M- We're working on "Oh When the Saints" here. It's in the key of A. The main points are to get the melody down in the shape we've been working in (The G shape in the key of A major) and to get each one of the arpeggios. The three arpeggios are: A7, D7, and E7. They are all dominant chords: major chords with a flat (minor7). This is a blues thing. To take each one of the chords and make them dominant. When we do this, we get the notes A, C#, E, G for A7, D, F#, A, C, for D7, and E, G#, B, D for E7. This takes us out of the key of A major a little bit, but gives the song a more "Bluesy" tonality. If the fingerings seem strange sometimes, it's just because I'm trying to keep us in the one position we're working in. There are definitely easier ways to play this stuff, but it's good to work in positions to keep it organized. Have fun! z
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lesson 32
Matt- I made you a funky little backing track for "Oh When the Saints." Practice the melody and arpeggios separately first to get the sapes and fingerings down. Then work on playing them over the chords in the track. Our main goal here is to get you familiar with what its like to improvise using chord tones. Take it slow and down be afraid to explore on your own! Have fun, z
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Lesson 33
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Hi Matt! We're continuing our arpeggio study of "Oh When the Saints." This video will give you a few ideas on how to use arpeggios to improvise with the melody. Have fun! z
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lesson 34
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Hi Matt! Here's the next installment of "Oh When the Saints." The two main ideas here are to practice the scale and the melody with good relaxed technique and legato. I explain about legato in the video, but the main idea is to connect the notes so things sound smooth like a voice or a cello. The next idea is to play through the chord changes of the tune targeting just the root notes of each chord. Then expand to the Root and third... It should be clear from the video. Take it slow and have fun with it! See you next week, z
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lesson 35
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Hi Matt! Here is a video about how to expand on the arpeggios you've been practicing to make some more musical phrases. We're looking at the Major Pentatonic Scale. This Scale is: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 of the major scale. If you relate it to the arpeggio you just have an added passing tone from 1 to 3 and from 5 to the octave. This is one of the most popular scales for singing and guitar playing. It's very melodic and it's easy on the fingers! Check out some of the ideas in the video and we'll hash em out next week. Have fun and as always feel free to improvise, experiment, and expand on these ideas as you wish! z
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