Phase 4 Checkpoint: Performance Ready

Sessions covered: 19–24 (cumulative: Sessions 1–24)

You have completed the entire course. Phase 4 brought together every technique, every concept, and every piece of musical knowledge into performance-level playing. You learned moveable power chords, played “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” performed expressive Hindi film melodies with slides and ornaments, improvised a blues solo, prepared for a grade exam, and performed a three-piece concert. This checkpoint is your final self-assessment before the Grade 1 Readiness Assessment.

How to use this checkpoint: Play each item. Record your entire checkpoint session — you will want to hear your progress. This is the most comprehensive checkpoint in the course.

What You Have Learned

In Phase 4 you added:

Song arrangement: combining melody, chords, and dynamics in one performance
Moveable power chord shape (root on string 6): F5, Bb5, Ab5, Db5
Dynamic contrast: palm-muted verses vs open choruses
Slide technique (ascending and descending)
Expressive melody playing with vocal phrasing
Improvisation: Am pentatonic soloing over 12-bar blues
Call-and-response phrasing
Sight-reading simple TAB passages
Ear skills: echo tests, rhythm clapping, major/minor recognition
Grade 1 exam structure and preparation
Concert performance: three pieces from memory

Skills Checklist

Song Arrangement

1. Play a song with both melody sections and chord sections (e.g., “Wasted Years” arrangement)

Mastered — You can play a melody intro, transition to chord strumming for the verse, and switch back to melody. The transitions are smooth (within 1 beat of silence).
Needs Work — Transitions between melody and chords are rough or take too long. Review Session 19, transition technique section.
Not Yet — Cannot combine melody and chords in one performance. Return to Session 19.

2. Play notes above fret 5 on the first string (e.g., fret 5, fret 7 from “Wasted Years”)

Mastered — Notes at frets 5 and 7 on string 1 ring clearly. You can navigate to these positions without looking.
Needs Work — You can find the notes but it takes time. Use the fret dots as landmarks: fret 5 has a dot, fret 7 has a dot. Review Session 19.
Not Yet — Cannot play above fret 5 reliably. Return to Session 19.

Moveable Power Chords

3. Play F5, Bb5, Ab5, and Db5 — each sounds clean (strings 6, 5, 4 only)

Mastered — All four power chords ring with a full, tight sound. No extra strings ringing. You can form each chord in under 2 seconds.
Needs Work — One or two positions are weak, or extra strings ring. Review Session 20, power chord positions section. Use the neck dot markers to find positions.
Not Yet — Cannot play moveable power chords cleanly. Return to Session 20.

4. Slide between the four power chords in sequence (F5-Bb5-Ab5-Db5) without lifting your fingers

Mastered — Your hand slides along the neck, landing accurately on each fret position. The shape stays consistent throughout the slide.
Needs Work — You overshoot or undershoot one position. Drill the sequence slowly, 10 times, using the fret dots (frets 3, 5, 7, 9) as landmarks. Review Session 20.
Not Yet — Cannot slide between positions. Return to Session 20.

5. Play the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” riff with muted strums (chord-chord-chk-chk) at 65 BPM

Mastered — The riff grooves. Power chord hits are clean, muted “chucka” strums are crisp, the pattern cycles through all four chords rhythmically.
Needs Work — Muted strums are unclear or you land on wrong frets. Review Session 20. Practise the pattern on one chord position first before adding movement.
Not Yet — Cannot play the riff. Return to Session 20.

6. Play the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” arrangement with dynamic contrast (quiet verse, loud chorus)

Mastered — The verse is palm-muted and noticeably soft. The chorus is open and loud. The contrast is dramatic and deliberate.
Needs Work — The difference between verse and chorus is subtle. Exaggerate: verse should be a whisper, chorus a shout. Review Session 20, dynamic contrast section.
Not Yet — Cannot maintain different dynamics. Return to Session 20.

Expressive Melody

7. Play a clean slide on string 1 from fret 3 to fret 5 — the pitch glides audibly

Mastered — You hear the pitch rise smoothly from G to A. The note sustains throughout the slide.
Needs Work — The note dies during the slide, or the slide sounds like a jump rather than a glide. Maintain firm pressure while sliding. Review Session 21, slide technique section.
Not Yet — Cannot produce a clean slide. Return to Session 21.

8. Play the “Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen” melody at 60 BPM with slides and hammer-ons

Mastered — All four phrases are musical and expressive. Ornaments (slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs) sound fluid. There are breathing pauses between phrases.
Needs Work — Ornaments are choppy or phrases run together without pauses. Practise each phrase separately. Focus on Phrase 4 (the most ornamented). Review Session 21.
Not Yet — Cannot play the full melody. Return to Session 21.

Improvisation

9. Improvise over a 12-bar blues in Am for one chorus (12 measures) using the Am pentatonic scale

Mastered — You play phrases with space between them (call and response). You use notes from the Am pentatonic. You end the chorus on the note A. The solo has shape — it is not just running the scale up and down.
Needs Work — You run out of ideas or play scale runs instead of phrases. Review Session 22. Use the four starter phrases (Question, Answer, Climb, Release) as building blocks.
Not Yet — Cannot improvise. Return to Session 22. Start with the guided improvisation roadmap.

10. Use at least one hammer-on, pull-off, or slide in your improvised solo

Mastered — Your solo includes expressive techniques naturally — they are part of your vocabulary.
Needs Work — You can use them but forget to during improvisation. Practise Phrase C (all hammer-ons) and Phrase D (all pull-offs) from Session 22 until they are automatic.
Not Yet — Ornaments disappear when improvising. Return to Session 22 and Session 16.

Exam Skills

11. Play the C major scale at 60 BPM in eighth notes (two notes per beat), ascending and descending

Mastered — Smooth, even, no hesitation. Alternate picking throughout. The scale sounds like a flowing line, not individual notes.
Needs Work — One or two notes hesitate. Review Session 23. Practise the scale 5 times daily at 55 BPM, then increase.
Not Yet — Cannot play the scale at exam tempo. Return to Sessions 14 and 23.

12. Play the Am pentatonic scale at 60 BPM in eighth notes, ascending and descending

Mastered — Smooth and even across all six strings. No pauses between strings.
Needs Work — String crossings are uneven. Practise one string pair at a time. Review Session 23.
Not Yet — Cannot play at exam tempo. Return to Sessions 16 and 23.

13. Form any open chord (Em, Am, E, D, A, G, C, F simplified) within 2 seconds when its name is called

Mastered — Instant recall. You hear the name and your fingers form the chord without thinking.
Needs Work — Most are instant but one or two take longer. Write chord names on cards, shuffle, and drill. Review Session 23, chord accuracy section.
Not Yet — Several chords take more than 2 seconds. Practise the random chord drill daily. Review Sessions 2–11 for any weak chords.

14. Sight-read a simple TAB passage (strings 1–3, frets 0–3, 4/4 time) at 50 BPM

Mastered — Given a TAB you have never seen, you can study it for 15 seconds and play it slowly but accurately.
Needs Work — You can read it but make errors. Review Session 23, sight-reading section. Practise: look at the TAB, identify the highest and lowest notes, tap the rhythm, then play.
Not Yet — Cannot sight-read. Return to Session 23 and Reading Tab.

15. Distinguish major from minor chords by ear

Mastered — When you play a chord without looking, you can correctly identify it as major (bright) or minor (dark) at least 4 out of 5 times.
Needs Work — You get it right about half the time. Play pairs: E then Em, A then Am, G then… G (trick — it is major). Say your answer before checking. Review Session 23, ear skills section.
Not Yet — Cannot hear the difference. This takes time. Practise major/minor pairs daily. Review Sessions 5, 6, and 23.

Performance

16. Perform three complete pieces from memory without stopping

Mastered — Three songs from your repertoire, played start to finish. When you make a mistake, you keep going. Each piece demonstrates different skills (e.g., one strummed, one fingerpicked, one with power chords).
Needs Work — You can play two pieces well but the third falls apart, or you stop after mistakes. Choose your three strongest pieces and run through them daily. Review Session 24, performance rules.
Not Yet — Cannot play three pieces from memory. Return to Session 24 and choose simpler pieces from earlier sessions.

17. Transition between pieces in a concert-style performance (tune check, count-in, begin)

Mastered — Between pieces, you pause, check tuning if needed, take a breath, count yourself in silently, and begin the next piece. The transitions are calm and professional.
Needs Work — Transitions feel rushed or awkward. Review Session 24, pre-performance routine section.
Not Yet — Cannot maintain composure between pieces. Practise the routine from Session 24.

Cumulative Skills

18. Play all seven open chords plus simplified F — each rings cleanly

Mastered — Em, Am, E, D, A, G, C, F (simplified) — all eight chords are solid.
Needs Work — One or two chords are weak. Daily drill: play all eight chords in sequence, one strum each, 5 times.
Not Yet — Multiple chords have deteriorated. Review the relevant sessions.

19. Play a fingerpicked arpeggio pattern (p-i-m-a) through a chord change (e.g., Am to C) at 55 BPM

Mastered — The arpeggio flows through the chord change without a gap. Both chords ring fully.
Needs Work — There is a pause at the chord change. Review Session 15. Practise the chord change with just the thumb first, then add fingers.
Not Yet — Cannot fingerpick through chord changes. Return to Session 15.

20. Play the “Wasted Years” arrangement (melody intro + chord verse) or equivalent from Session 19

Mastered — Melody and chord sections are both clean. Transitions between them are smooth. The arrangement sounds like a complete performance.
Needs Work — One section is weaker than the other. Practise each section separately, then connect them. Review Session 19.
Not Yet — Cannot play the arrangement. Return to Session 19.

Overall Phase Assessment

Count your “Mastered” items: _____ out of 20

Result	What It Means
16–20 Mastered	You are ready for the Grade 1 Readiness Assessment (Final Assessment). You are performing at course completion level.
12–15 Mastered	Very close. Spend a week on your “Needs Work” items, then take the final assessment.
8–11 Mastered	Some skills need more time. Focus on the areas with the most “Needs Work” marks before attempting the final assessment.
Below 8	Revisit Phase 4 sessions. Consider redoing the showcase (Session 24) after more practice.

Encouragement

You have completed a 24-session journey from absolute zero to performing a three-piece concert on acoustic guitar. You play chords, melodies, fingerpicking patterns, power chord riffs, and improvised solos. You read TAB fluently, understand music theory fundamentals, and can hear the difference between major and minor. Your fingers have calluses. Your ears have opened. Your hands know things your brain does not have to think about any more.

This is what it means to be a guitarist.

When you are ready, take the Grade 1 Readiness Assessment (Final Assessment) to formally evaluate your exam readiness. Then look at Whats Next for your path forward. Whatever you choose — taking a grade exam, learning new songs, starting the intermediate course, or simply playing for the joy of it — you have earned the right to call yourself a guitarist.