Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on January 15, 2009 5:53 pm
January 15, 2008
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed previous material
- Learned to tune the guitar with electronic tuner and manually
- Learned C major
- Worked on moving between G and C
THIS WEEK:
1) Tune your guitar every time you play it
- Use your electronic tuner. Remember to 1) make sure the right string is indicated and 2) the needle or light is in the center
- Check out the video at the top of the page
2) Play G four times, then move to C and play it four times
- Try to close the gap between chords
- Cheat the upstroke, think shapes and practice until your fingers bleed!
- C major diagram http://z.about.com/d/guitar/1/0/e/s/c-major-chord.gif
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on January 22, 2009 5:47 pm
January 22, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed previous material
- Rotated one-on-one practice with Eric
- Learned D major
- Began working on “Sweet Home Alabama”
OTHER:
- Great job this week in class! You made progress last week. Really spend some time practicing this week and you’ll be playing this song in no time!
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on January 29, 2009 6:02 pm
January 29, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed material from previous lesson
- Introduced Jonathan, an advanced student who will assist Eric with class from time to time
- Practiced “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Rotated one-on-one practice with Eric
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice our warm-up pattern (D/C/G… each using d/d-u pattern, playing each chord four times)
2) Practice “Sweet Home Alabama”
OTHER:
- You’re making good progress. Like I said in our one-on-one, you’re staying with the rhythm much better and your chords sound good. Keep working on the warm-up and get to “Sweet Home Alabama” before the week is out. I want to start our class next week with the song.
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on February 5, 2009 6:03 pm
February 5, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed material from previous lesson
- Practiced “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Worked together to teach lesson #1 to our new student, Erica
- Rotated one-on-one practice with Eric
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Sweet Home Alabama” as it should be played – D once, C once and G twice
- Slow it down if you need to
OTHER:
- Remember the two things I told you: 1) You ARE making progress! You’re playing guitar… four weeks ago, you weren’t! That’s success! 2) The main thing that will help you continue to succeed is a positive attitude. Keep your chin up – you should be proud of your progress.
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on February 19, 2009 6:53 pm
February 19, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Worked on “Savin’ Me”
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Savin’ Me”
- Remember to let the Em ring at the end of the verse
- Keep the strum pattern going in your head when the Em rings so you don’t come back into the progression too late or too early
OTHER:
- I will be out of town next week, so we won’t have lesson. There’s no need to reschedule… there are several months with five Thursdays in them this year, so we’ll make up the missed day later without rescheduling.
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on March 12, 2009 5:46 pm
March 12, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed verse and chorus of “Savin’ Me”
- Worked on transitioning from the Em to the Bm in the chorus
THIS WEEK:
1) Keep working on “Savin’ Me”
- We’re really focusing on the chorus right now
- Keep working to close the gap going from the Em to the Bm
OTHER:
- I foresee my more advanced students in the beginner class moving to the early intermediate class before too long. That class meets at 5PM on Thursdays. Will this work for your schedule?
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on March 19, 2009 5:02 pm
March 19, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS WEEK:
- Reviewed verse and chorus of “Savin’ Me”
- Introduced the ending to “Savin’ Me”
THIS WEEK:
1) Keep working on “Savin’ Me”
- Follow the chord chart linked in one of the above lessons and play through every part of the song. Try to make the whole song flow.
- Next week I hope to start the lesson with a review of this whole song and then move on.
OTHER:
- Making great progress! Keep it up! You guys are a lot of fun to teach.
OTHER:
- Congratulations! You have graduated from the Beginner Guitar Class! Come to Early Intermediate Guitar Class at 5PM on Thursdays starting next week (April 2)
Comment by Eric Foster-Whiddon on April 2, 2009 6:10 pm
April 2, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed “Savin’ Me”
- Practiced “S.O.S.”
THIS WEEK:
1) Work on “S.O.S.”
- Practice the first verse
- If you feel comfortable with that verse, move on to the chorus
OTHER:
- The new version of my music lessons Web site will launch this weekend. It’s http://www.imagomusic.net. Check it out!
- We will have lesson next week even though it is Spring Break.
January 8, 2008
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Learned the names of the strings
- Learned the parts of the guitar
- Worked on G major
THIS WEEK:
1) Memorize the names of the strings and the parts of the guitar
STRINGS:
E_lvis
A_te
D_inner
G_ood
B_oy
E_lvis
PARTS OF GUITAR: body, neck, head, tuners/machine heads, nut, frets, fret wires, fingerboard/fretboard, pick guard, sound hole, binding, bracing, strap button
2) Work on G major
- G major: http://z.about.com/d/guitar/1/0/j/s/g-major-chord.gif
- Use the down/down-up strum pattern
OTHER:
- Remember to bring your tuner next week and we’ll work on tuning the guitar
January 15, 2008
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed previous material
- Learned to tune the guitar with electronic tuner and manually
- Learned C major
- Worked on moving between G and C
THIS WEEK:
1) Tune your guitar every time you play it
- Use your electronic tuner. Remember to 1) make sure the right string is indicated and 2) the needle or light is in the center
- Check out the video at the top of the page
2) Play G four times, then move to C and play it four times
- Try to close the gap between chords
- Cheat the upstroke, think shapes and practice until your fingers bleed!
- C major diagram http://z.about.com/d/guitar/1/0/e/s/c-major-chord.gif
January 22, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed previous material
- Rotated one-on-one practice with Eric
- Learned D major
- Began working on “Sweet Home Alabama”
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Link to chord chart: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/l/lynyrd_skynyrd/sweet_home_alabama_crd.htm
- Strum pattern: down/down-up
- Play D once, C once and G twice
- Practice A LOT to work on closing the gap
- Chord diagram for D major: http://z.about.com/d/guitar/1/0/f/s/d-major-chord.gif
OTHER:
- Great job this week in class! You made progress last week. Really spend some time practicing this week and you’ll be playing this song in no time!
January 29, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed material from previous lesson
- Introduced Jonathan, an advanced student who will assist Eric with class from time to time
- Practiced “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Rotated one-on-one practice with Eric
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice our warm-up pattern (D/C/G… each using d/d-u pattern, playing each chord four times)
2) Practice “Sweet Home Alabama”
OTHER:
- You’re making good progress. Like I said in our one-on-one, you’re staying with the rhythm much better and your chords sound good. Keep working on the warm-up and get to “Sweet Home Alabama” before the week is out. I want to start our class next week with the song.
February 5, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed material from previous lesson
- Practiced “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Worked together to teach lesson #1 to our new student, Erica
- Rotated one-on-one practice with Eric
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Sweet Home Alabama” as it should be played – D once, C once and G twice
- Slow it down if you need to
OTHER:
- Remember the two things I told you: 1) You ARE making progress! You’re playing guitar… four weeks ago, you weren’t! That’s success! 2) The main thing that will help you continue to succeed is a positive attitude. Keep your chin up – you should be proud of your progress.
February 12, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Introduced “Savin’ Me” by Nickelback
- Learned A and Em
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Savin’ Me”
- Chord chart: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/n/nickelback/savin_me_ver3_crd.htm
- Em chord diagram http://www.guitaralliance.com/images/E_minor_open.gif
- A chord diagram http://z.about.com/d/guitar/1/0/c/s/a-major-chord.gif
- Strum pattern: down/down-up
- Work on the first part of the verse progression: G / D / A / Em
OTHER:
- Very, very good progress this week! You learned a song in six lessons… you should be proud of yourself!
February 19, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Worked on “Savin’ Me”
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Savin’ Me”
- Remember to let the Em ring at the end of the verse
- Keep the strum pattern going in your head when the Em rings so you don’t come back into the progression too late or too early
February 26, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Worked on “Savin’ Me”
- Introduced Bm
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “Savin’ Me”
- Begin working on the chorus
- Chord diagram: http://www.jebochords.com/Bm-Chord_861.html
OTHER:
- I will be out of town next week, so we won’t have lesson. There’s no need to reschedule… there are several months with five Thursdays in them this year, so we’ll make up the missed day later without rescheduling.
March 12, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed verse and chorus of “Savin’ Me”
- Worked on transitioning from the Em to the Bm in the chorus
THIS WEEK:
1) Keep working on “Savin’ Me”
- We’re really focusing on the chorus right now
- Keep working to close the gap going from the Em to the Bm
OTHER:
- I foresee my more advanced students in the beginner class moving to the early intermediate class before too long. That class meets at 5PM on Thursdays. Will this work for your schedule?
March 19, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS WEEK:
- Reviewed verse and chorus of “Savin’ Me”
- Introduced the ending to “Savin’ Me”
THIS WEEK:
1) Keep working on “Savin’ Me”
- Follow the chord chart linked in one of the above lessons and play through every part of the song. Try to make the whole song flow.
- Next week I hope to start the lesson with a review of this whole song and then move on.
OTHER:
- Making great progress! Keep it up! You guys are a lot of fun to teach.
March 26, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed “Savin’ Me”
- Introduced “S.O.S.”
THIS WEEK:
1) Practice “S.O.S.”
- Chord chart: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/j/jonas_brothers/sos_acoustic_crd.htm
- Strum pattern: down/down-up/up-down-up
- Work on the verse this week
OTHER:
- Congratulations! You have graduated from the Beginner Guitar Class! Come to Early Intermediate Guitar Class at 5PM on Thursdays starting next week (April 2)
April 2, 2009
WHAT WE DID THIS LESSON:
- Reviewed “Savin’ Me”
- Practiced “S.O.S.”
THIS WEEK:
1) Work on “S.O.S.”
- Practice the first verse
- If you feel comfortable with that verse, move on to the chorus
OTHER:
- The new version of my music lessons Web site will launch this weekend. It’s http://www.imagomusic.net. Check it out!
- We will have lesson next week even though it is Spring Break.