zhipeng's lesson page
lesson 1
| major_scales_first_position.pdf |
Hey Z! Welcome to your lesson page. Here is a downloadable file with all of the major scales in the first position. Practice them slowly and try to say the note names as you go. There are 12 total. Eventually you can have them all memorized. Hints: Gb is easy to remember because it only has an F natural. Everything else is flat. Like G only has an F#. Sometimes you can relate the scales with lots of sharps or flats to ones you already know to make remembering them easier! Have fun and happy lunar new year! z
lesson 2
| melodic_patterns_in_g_for_autumn_leaves.pdf |
Hi Z! Happy New Year:) Here is a chart of two melodic patterns in the key of G. They are two of the ideas that occur in the "Autmn Leaves" melody. The concept here is to take a short pattern and cycle it through the key - So the pattern starts on D then C then B etc... it's a common tool used by improvisors and composers. It gives structure to melodic lines, and it helps us to learn the keys! Have fun and let me know if you have any trouble, z.
lesson 3
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| diatonic_arpeggios_first_position_-_bb.pdf |
Hey Z! Here are the arpeggios for the keys of C, F, and Bb. Each key has 7 arpeggios: Major, minor, minor, Major, Dominant, minor, and Minor7b5. Take your time and try to learn the notes for each. This is really good work for understanding the guitar and music theory in general. Have fun with it! See you next week, Z.
lesson 4
| c_major_-_triad_arpeggios_.pdf |
| c_major_-_triad_arpeggios_with_approach_notes.pdf |
Hi Z! These two exercises are for arpeggios in the first position. The first is just the triads in the key of C. You should transpose to all 12 keys. The arpeggios are notated only ascending but practice ascending and descending. The second exercise is for you to practice playing these arpeggios with "Approach Notes." Approach notes are ways of approaching the arpeggio note from above, below, or a combination, to make more melodic lines. This exercise is approaching each arpeggio note from a scale tone above. You can make up your own approaches! Some that work well are: Scale tone above, chromatic below, scale tone above and below. Have fun and as always let me know if you have questions. z
lesson 5
| stella_by_starlight_7th_chords.pdf |
| stella_by_starlight_chord_chart.pdf |
Hi Z! In this lesson we are looking at the song "Stella By Starlight." It's an old Jazz standard with a beautiful melody and really nice chord changes. We're using it right now to practice our 7th chord shapes. I wrote out the shapes for you, but try to get to where you can just look at the chart with chord names and find all the shapes on your own! Have fun and see you soon, z
Lesson 6
| ants_go_marching_-_a_min.pdf |
Z- I found an old melody for you in a minor key and transcribed it. It's a classic american melody used in a childrens song "The Ants Go Marching One by One..." but it originated as an American Civil War song called "When Johnny Goes Marching Home Again." It's a cool melody in A minor. Try playing through while thinking in absolute pitch! Remember that A minor has the same key signature as C major. Have fun! Z
lesson 7
| ants_go_marching_-_e_minor.pdf |
Z- Here is "The Ants Go Marching One by One" transposed into the key of e minor. Play through the melody and think of absolute pitch while you play. It's written in open position, but feel free to play it in any position you like. We're just using the melody to get you used to playing songs in a minor key. Have fun and I'll see you this weekend! z
lesson 8
| my_music_score.pdf |
Z- I wrote up a lesson for you about the Harmonic Minor Scale. We were talking about minor scales and how there is no dominant chord for the V chord. The Harmonic minor raises the 7th scale degree to create this dominant chord. This allows for stronger cadences when we create chord progressions in a minor key. Check out the lesson and we'll discuss it later this week to make sure it all makes sense! Have fun:) z