End-of-Course Assessment
How to Use This Assessment
Section titled “How to Use This Assessment”This assessment has eight sections. They check every exit criterion of the course that is still open, in the order of the criteria. Sections 1 to 7 are taken in two sittings, on two days after the last practice day of Week 35. Section 8 is taken at the Final Showcase, in Session 36.
The days of the two sittings are added to the week: the rest day stays a rest day, and Session 36 waits until both sittings are done.
The checks:
- The metronome: it clicks at the figure the item gives; for a chord card, count the clicks the item names.
- A count said aloud: as you play, or along with a recording.
- A recording: made as you play, then followed on the page, the TAB or the chart; you mark what the item names.
- A card pile: shuffled, and drawn one card at a time; each card is checked on its back, or on the page the item names.
- The recorded card test (Session 2): items 22 to 24b, by the method printed in Section 6.
Set the metronome to the tempo given; each click is one beat. Strum each chord once, with a downstroke, and let it ring. Play a new chord every 4 beats (on beat 1 of each measure) or every 2 beats (on beats 1 and 3), as the target says. Alternate the two chords until you have played 8 chords in a row: that is 7 changes. You pass when all 8 land on their click with every string that should sound ringing, twice on the same day.
In an assessment a change-test pair passes on one run of 8 chords in a row with no click missed. “Twice on the same day” is the pass mark of the weekly Self-Check Questions.
Write each result beside the item’s number as a count, such as “9 of 12”, with the date, and tick Yes or Not yet on the two lines under the item. An item passes at its pass mark, and not before.
For an item that did not pass, its If not part says what to do and when to try again. It is taken again by its number in the week of Session 36.
Every item is printed as one line: its number, its minutes, what to do, then Check, Pass and If not. Under it are two lines to tick: Yes, and Not yet. A star after the number marks an item that must pass. Where one item of a group must pass, a sentence under the section’s items says so.
No item asks for a tempo above the figure its ladder has reached by the end of Week 35’s practice.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
An item with a barre, a slur or a three-string power chord is never repeated beyond its daily limit to pass.
A card and its answer are never shown together: the answer key is under “Answers”, the last heading of this page.
Items 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7a, 8, 9, 10a, 10b, 11, 12, 13 and 14 may be tried a second time on the same day, and the second try counts; there is no third try. Item 12’s second try is on the same three cards. If anything aches, stop playing for today: nothing is tried again after it.
Item 7b is taken once: items 5 and 7b are 3 minutes of three-string power-chord work, and a second try of item 5 makes them 5, the whole of the day’s limit.
Every other item is taken once in a sitting: item 4 is the day’s full barre work; item 15 is the whole piece once; items 16, 17 and 18 need a passage you have not seen; items 19a, 20 and 25 are one draw of cards; items 19b and 21 are written once; items 22 to 24b are answered from a recording; item 26 is one take a day, and item 27 is taken once.
A second try is inside the sitting’s 30 minutes of playing: when they are used up, the sitting ends, and what is left is taken on another day.
Begin each sitting with the movements under “Hand Warm-Up” in Segment 1 of any session, and tune the guitar: neither is counted in the sitting’s minutes.
Print this page, or copy the item numbers and the lines to write on onto paper, so you can write your marks.
The Two Sittings
Section titled “The Two Sittings”The order of the last days: finish Week 35; take Sitting 1 on the first day after its last practice day that is not your rest day; leave at least one day; take Sitting 2; then, on a later day, take Session 36 with your sheet of results. On the day of a sitting you play nothing else. On a day between the two sittings you may play Week 35’s plan once more, without its “Barre” row and its “Programme” row.
Sitting 1 is Sections 1, 2 and 3, with the guitar throughout. Sitting 2 is Sections 4, 5, 6 and 7, and item 15b of Section 3, the marking of your recording of item 15. Section 8 is in no sitting: its two items are taken in Session 36.
The day’s limits hold in a sitting too. Sitting 1 is that day’s full barre work, barre work, slur work and three-string power-chord work (items 1, 2, 4, 5, 7b and 14). Neither sitting is taken on a practice day.
Before Sitting 1, warm up your hands and tune. Leave at least one day between the two sittings. The four ear recordings were made after Session 35; they are marked in Sitting 2, at least one day after you made them.
Open and close both hands loosely five times. Circle each wrist five times each way. Touch your thumb to each fingertip in turn. Shake the hands out.
Tune all six strings (EADGBE). Before you look at the tuner, guess: too low, too high or right? Then look.
For Sitting 1, have ready:
- the guitar, a pick, the tuner, the metronome and a phone that records
- your twelve seventh-chord cards and the nine power-chord cards, and a sheet of paper to lay over a card pile
- the eight scale cards, and Scales And Arpeggios to follow the scales and the arpeggios on
- the pages of your three pieces: for item 15, if Giuliani’s Andantino is one of them, its pages in Sessions 11 and 14
- paper and a pen
For Sitting 2, have ready:
- the guitar, a pick, the tuner, the metronome and a phone that records
- your note-name cards, your theory cards and the six number slips
- the slips and key piles of the four ear tests, with their recordings
- your song map, with its published chart and its recording
- the pages of your three pieces, and your recording of item 15 if you took it
- paper and a pen
- a second device, if you have one, to record yourself while your backing plays
Sitting 1 takes 28.5 minutes, 28.5 of them playing.
Without item 15 it takes 26.5 minutes.
Sitting 2 takes 47 minutes, 12 of them playing (items 16, 17, 18 and 25) and 35 with the guitar down or marking a recording.
Without item 15b it takes 45 minutes, 33 of them with the guitar down. Item 21 takes twice the length of your song: the 47 minutes count a song of three and a half minutes.
The two results of Section 8 are written in Session 36 and are in no sitting. No sitting holds more than 30 minutes of playing or is longer than 50 minutes in all.
Section 1: Chords
Section titled “Section 1: Chords”The pain rule comes before every item: an item that hurts is stopped and counted as not yet passed, and nothing more is played that day.
Read each sitting’s items through before you begin it: an item’s minutes are for doing it, not for reading it.
No chord diagram is printed in this section: a card tests whether your hand knows the shape.
Item 1 uses your twelve seventh-chord cards. Shuffle them face down and lay a sheet of paper over the pile, so that the back of the top card cannot be read; draw them one at a time from under the paper. With the metronome at 60 BPM, draw a card and count the next three clicks: the chord is down when the third sounds.
Barre work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
1*. (3 minutes) Form each of A7, D7, E7, B7, G7, C7, Am7, Em7, Dm7, Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7 from its card. Dm7, the one card with a small barre, is pressed once and released. Check: the metronome at 60 BPM: the chord is down by the third click. Then pluck the strings one at a time. Pass: 10 of the 12 cards, every string that should sound ringing. If not: for each card that failed, look the shape up in the chord chart, place it three times, and put the card back in the pile; a failed Dm7 is not put back, as a chord with a barre stays out of the pile, and its three presses count as barre work; then the rotation row for a week, under “Section 1: Chords” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
In item 1 a card that does not come is counted as not passed and is not drawn again that day. The line below, the one on the back of each chord card, is for the days after the sitting:
If the shape will not come: look it up in the chord chart, place it three times, and put the card back in the pile.
2. (1.5 minutes) Play Bm (four strings) and A (four strings): press, pluck four strings, release. Check: pluck the strings one at a time. Pass: all 4 strings ring, 3 times in a row, for each shape. If not: press, pluck, release, four presses of the shape that failed, once a day; move a finger closer to the fret wire before any other change, under “Section 1: Chords” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Item 3 is the change test, by the rule quoted under “How to Use This Assessment”: one run of eight chords for each pair.
3*. (2.5 minutes) Play the change test: a new chord every 2 beats, eight chords in a row, for G and D7, Em and B7, Am7 and D7, and C and G7; and every 4 beats for D and Bm (four strings), at 80 BPM. Check: the metronome: one strum on each chord, counted aloud. Pass: 8 chords with no click missed, for each of the 5 pairs. If not: for a pair that failed, drop to 70 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time, three runs with no click missed before each step, under “Section 1: Chords” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Full barre work: no more than 2 minutes a day in the week of Session 28 and 3 minutes a day from Session 29, at fret 5 only. It counts inside the 5 minutes of barre work.
Barre work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
4. (1.5 minutes) First steps on the full barre: A (full barre) at fret 5, press, pluck six strings, release; and the change from E to A (full barre) and back, a new chord every 4 beats, at 60 BPM. Check: pluck the strings one at a time; the metronome for the change. Pass: at least 5 of the 6 strings ring, 3 times in a row; and the change 4 times without stopping. The item never has to pass, as the line under it says. If not: presses only for a week, inside the daily limit; then the drill at 50 BPM, under “The Change Drill: E to A (Full Barre)” in Session 31; take this item again after one week, in the “Barre” row of the week of Session 36, in place of that day’s presses and change drill.
- Yes
- Not yet
The full barre never has to pass: the pain rule comes first.
Item 5 uses the nine power-chord cards of Session 17. They have nothing on the back, and the pile lies under a sheet of paper all the same. Shuffle them face down and lay a sheet of paper over the pile, so that nothing on the top card can be read; draw them one at a time from under the paper. With the metronome at 60 BPM, draw a card and count the next five clicks: the chord is down when the fifth sounds.
Three-string power-chord work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
5. (2 minutes) Find and play a three-string power chord from its card. There are nine cards, each naming a root and its string: F#5, G5, A5 and B5 with the root on string 6, and B5, C5, C#5, D5 and E5 with the root on string 5. Check: the metronome at 60 BPM: the chord is down by the fifth click. Then pluck its three strings. Pass: 7 of the 9 cards, only the three strings sounding. If not: for each card that failed, say the root’s fret from the fretboard note map, place the shape, pluck, let go, three times, under “Section 1: Chords” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Section 2: Strumming and Rhythm
Section titled “Section 2: Strumming and Rhythm”Each item of this section is played from the block printed above it. Three keys to the blocks:
Clap on every count that is written, and stay silent on a count in brackets. Say the count aloud as you clap, including the counts in brackets.
The Dyn row shows how loud to play: p = soft, mf = medium, f = loud, cresc. = get gradually louder from here, dim. = get gradually softer from here. Each mark stands under the count where it begins; cresc. and dim. last until the next mark in the row, also when the TAB or pattern goes on to a new line, or to the end of the TAB or pattern.
D = strong downstroke on counts 1 and 4, d = softer downstroke, u = softer upstroke, > = accent (play that strum louder)
Copy of Beginner Session 5: the D D U U D U pattern
Strum: D D U U D U Count: 1 2 & (3) & 4 &
6*. (1 minute) Keep D D U U D U going for eight measures on a chord cycle of your choice, at 100 BPM. Check: the metronome. Pass: 8 measures with no stop, and after the last measure 1 more downstroke lands on the next click. If not: go back to 95 BPM for a week, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Fast strumming: if your strumming hand or forearm aches, that is tension. Stop playing for today, and next time loosen your grip on the pick.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Copy of Session 8: the plain sixteenth-note pattern
Count: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a Strum: D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U
7a*. (1 minute) Play the plain sixteenth-note pattern for four measures, with the click on the beat, at 50 BPM. Check: the metronome. Pass: 4 measures with no stop, and 1 more downstroke lands on the next click. Of the two patterns, this is the one that has to pass. If not: go back to 45 BPM for a week; if the strumming hand aches, stop playing for the day, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Three-string power-chord work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Copy of Session 29: the pushed pattern
Chord: F5 Bb5 Count: 1 (e) & (a) 2 e [&] a (3) (e) & (a) 4 e [&] [a] Strum: D D chk chk U D chk chk
7b. (1 minute) Play the pushed pattern of the Push Study for four measures, with the click on the beat, and record it, at 45 BPM. Check: the metronome, and the recording. Pass: 4 measures with no stop; 1 more downstroke lands on the next click; every muted strum is a dry tick with no note in it: 0 muted strums with a note. It is reported under “A start on Grade 3 skills” and does not have to pass. If not: go back to 40 BPM for a week, inside the daily limit for three-string power chords, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Copy of Session 3: the Stop-Time pattern
Chord: E5 e|--------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D PM: PM PM PM O
8*. (1 minute) Play the Stop-Time pattern with its damped rests for four measures, and record it, at 70 BPM. Check: a recording. Pass: 0 rests with a string still ringing, in all 4 measures. If not: play the pattern at 60 BPM and say “stop” aloud on each rest as the palm lands, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Copy of Session 26: the 6/8 pattern
Count: 1 2 & 3 4 5 & 6 Strum: D d u d D d u d Accent: > >
9. (1.5 minutes) Strum the course’s 6/8 pattern for eight measures, with two clicks to the measure, and record it, at 30 BPM. Check: a recording. Pass: you never stop, and counts 1 and 4 are the loudest strums in all 8 measures. If not: go back for a week to the metronome at 80 BPM, clicking eighth notes, counting 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Fast strumming: if your strumming hand or forearm aches, that is tension. Stop playing for today, and next time loosen your grip on the pick.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Copy of Session 20: the shuffle
Chord: A5 e|--------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------| D|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| A|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| E|--------------------------------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Strum: D U D U D U D U PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
10a. (1 minute) Play four measures of straight eighth notes and then four measures of swung eighth notes on a palm-muted A5 without stopping, and record it, at 70 BPM. Check: a recording: clap the click along with it and say for each measure whether the upstroke falls halfway between two claps or late. Pass: 8 measures with no stop: in measures 1 to 4 the upstroke falls halfway between two claps, and in measures 5 to 8 it falls late. If not: go back to 60 BPM for a week, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Copy of Session 20: the clapped triplet count
The triplet count, clapped Count: 1 trip let 2 trip let 3 trip let 4 trip let | Count: 1 trip let 2 trip let 3 trip let 4 trip let |
10b. (1 minute) Clap eighth-note triplets for four measures, counting 1 trip let aloud, and record it, at 60 BPM. Check: a recording: count the claps to each click. Pass: 3 claps to each of the 16 clicks, and the spoken count is unbroken in all 4 measures. If not: clap two measures at a time, counting aloud, once a day, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Copy of Session 10: the crescendo strum
Chord: Em Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | Dyn: p cresc. Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | Dyn: f dim. Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U |
11*. (1.5 minutes) Strum one chord for four measures getting louder, then four measures getting quieter, and record it, at 70 BPM. Check: a recording. Pass: measure 4 is clearly louder than measure 1 and measure 8 clearly quieter than measure 5, with no sudden jump in any of the 8 measures. If not: play the block at 60 BPM with a bigger, faster strum for loud and the same loose grip, under “Section 2: The Seven Patterns” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Of the two patterns of item 7, only the plain pattern has to pass: the pushed pattern is reported under “A start on Grade 3 skills”.
Section 3: Scales, Arpeggios and the Slur Phrase
Section titled “Section 3: Scales, Arpeggios and the Slur Phrase”No scale block is printed for items 12 and 13. Play each from memory; afterwards, follow the recording on its TAB in Scales And Arpeggios, under the scale’s or the arpeggio’s own heading.
Scale card: shuffle the pile and draw one card. Play that scale from memory, up and down, in eighth notes at 60 BPM, twice. Then look at its TAB in the Scales and Arpeggios sheet. If a note was wrong, or you were not sure of one, play the scale once from the TAB and once more from memory.
The eight scale cards are: C major scale, one octave, open position; D major scale, one octave, open position; A natural minor scale, one octave, open position; G major scale, two octaves, open position; E minor pentatonic, two octaves, open position; G major pentatonic, two octaves, open position; A minor pentatonic, two octaves, fifth position; A blues scale, two octaves, fifth position. A scale whose checkpoint item is still open is one of your three: take its card out first, then draw the rest.
12*. (3.5 minutes) Play from memory, up and down, in eighth notes, three scales drawn by card from the eight scale cards (a scale whose checkpoint item is still open is one of your three: take its card out first, then draw the rest), and record them, at 60 BPM. Check: a recording, followed on the scale’s TAB in the scales reference sheet. Pass: 3 cards, each twice in a row with no wrong note. If not: for a scale that failed, once from its TAB and once from memory each day, in the rotation row, under “Section 3: A Scale Card and the Slur Phrase” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
13. (2 minutes) Play the G major arpeggio in two octaves and the A minor arpeggio up to the open first string, up and down, one note per click, from memory, and record them, at 70 BPM. Check: a recording, followed on the arpeggio’s TAB. Pass: each 2 times in a row with no wrong note. If not: go back to 60 BPM: three times from the block, then once from memory, under “The set from memory” in Session 34; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Slur work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Copy of Session 27: “Slur Study in A minor” - the slur phrase in eighth notes
"Slur Study in A minor" - the slur phrase in eighth notes e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------7---p5--5---h7--7---p5----------|-----------5---h7--7---------------| A|------------------------------7---p5--|---5---h7--------------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 (&) (4) (&) Pick: D D D D D D D Finger: 3 1 1 3 3 1 3 1 1 3 1 3 3 Notes: A G G A A G E D D E G A A
Copy of Session 28: “Slur Study in A minor” - the slur phrase, eighth notes, picked and short
"Slur Study in A minor" - the slur phrase, eighth notes, picked and short e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------7---5---5---7---7---5-----------|-----------5---7---7---------------| A|------------------------------7---5---|---5---7---------------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 (&) (4) (&) Pick: D U D U D U D U D U D U D Finger: 3 1 1 3 3 1 3 1 1 3 1 3 3 Short: . . . . . . . . . . . .
14. (1.5 minutes) Play the slur phrase of Session 23 in eighth notes, once legato with its hammer-ons and pull-offs and once staccato with every note picked and cut short by relaxing the fretting finger, and record both, at 50 BPM. Check: a recording. Pass: every slurred note can be heard, and every staccato note stops before the next begins, in both playings: 2 of 2. If not: go back to 45 BPM, inside the daily limit for slurs; make each tap quicker and closer to the fret, under “Section 3: A Scale Card and the Slur Phrase” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Giuliani’s Andantino was tested at the Phase 3 checkpoint and closed there if it passed. Items 15 and 15b are taken only if it is one of your three programme pieces, and it is one of them if it has not passed yet. Play it from its pages in Sessions 11 and 14: measures 1 to 16 are in Session 11, measures 17 to 32 in Session 14.
15*. (2 minutes) Only if Giuliani’s Andantino is one of your three programme pieces: play all 32 measures from your own count-in to its last note with the metronome sounding, and record it, at 55 BPM. Check: the metronome, and the recording being made. Pass: 32 measures with no stop, and the last note lands with the click. When this item is taken it has to pass. If not: work on it in sections in the programme row, the slowest four measures first, under “Section 8: Your Programme” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Item 15b is taken in Sitting 2, from the recording you made in item 15.
15b*. (2 minutes) Follow your recording of item 15 on the page and count the wrong or missed notes. Check: the recording, followed on the page of the piece. Pass: at most 3 wrong or missed notes counted against the page. When this item is taken it has to pass. If not: work on it in sections in the programme row, the slowest four measures first, under “Section 8: Your Programme” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Section 4: Reading at Sight
Section titled “Section 4: Reading at Sight”Sitting 2 begins here, on its own day.
The pain rule comes before every item: an item that hurts is stopped and counted as not yet passed, and nothing more is played that day.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
- Unseen — Written music you have not seen before a test: an unseen TAB passage, an unseen chart or unseen staff measures. You study it for 30 seconds and then play it; another name for this is sight-reading. (Session 6)
If a note or a chord goes wrong, keep the count and play the next one in time: never go back.
16. (2.5 minutes) Play the four-measure TAB passage printed with this item, which you have not seen, in quarter and eighth notes, with a longer note where a phrase ends, by the unseen TAB routine printed with it, after 30 seconds of study, and record it, at 60 BPM. Check: a recording, followed on the page afterwards. Pass: no stop and at most 1 wrong note. If not: on each day of the week play one of the TAB passages of Session 34 again by the routine, at 55 BPM, in the “Assessment sections” row: they are no longer unseen, and it is the routine that is practised, under “Unseen TAB” in Session 34; take this item again after one week, only if none of items 16, 17 and 18 passed, with the passage under “Second Try: Unseen Passages”.
- Yes
- Not yet
The unseen TAB routine: (1) Set the metronome to 60 BPM. (2) Study the passage for 30 seconds without playing: the strings it uses, its lowest and highest fret, any eighth notes, and the count of its last note. (3) Start the recording. (4) Count one measure aloud. (5) Play the passage once, to the end, without stopping. (6) Follow the recording on the TAB and count the wrong notes.
The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.
The passage of item 16
Unseen TAB e|----------------------|-----------------------------------| B|----------0---3---0---|---1-------0-----------------------| G|------0---------------|---------------2---0-------2-------| D|----------------------|-----------------------------------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 & 3 4 Pick: D D D D D D U D D Finger: - - 3 - 1 - 2 - 2 Notes: G B D B C B A G A e|------------------0-------------------|-----------------------------------| B|------0-------3-------3-------0-------|---3---1---0-----------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-------------------0---------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 & 3 4 1 & 2 3 (4) Pick: D D U D D D U D D Finger: - 3 - 3 - 3 1 - - Notes: B D E D B D C B G
17. (2.5 minutes) Play the four-measure melody in staff notation printed with this item, which you have not seen, in first position, in C major or G major, in half, quarter and eighth notes, by the unseen staff routine printed with it, after 30 seconds of study, and record it, at 60 BPM. Check: a recording, checked against the passage’s TAB in the “Answers” section of this page. Pass: no stop and at most 1 wrong note. If not: on each day of the week play one line of “Lines for Week 35” in the staff handout again by the routine, at 55 BPM, in the “Assessment sections” row, and say the letter name of every note in the 30 seconds, under “Unseen Staff Melody” in Session 34; take this item again after one week, only if none of items 16, 17 and 18 passed, with the melody under “Second Try: Unseen Passages”.
- Yes
- Not yet
The unseen staff routine: (1) Set the metronome to 60 BPM. (2) Study the passage for 30 seconds without playing: its first note and its last, its lowest note and its highest, and any eighth notes. (3) Start the recording. (4) Count one measure aloud. (5) Play the passage once, to the end, without stopping. (6) Check the recording against the passage’s TAB under “Answers” and count the wrong notes.
In the 30 seconds, look at the key signature first: if there is one sharp, it is F sharp, and every F in the passage, high or low, is played as F sharp.
Every staff here is printed without TAB: the TAB of each is its answer, under “Answers”.
The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.
The passage of item 17
18. (3 minutes) Strum the eight-measure chord chart printed with this item, which you have not seen, by the unseen chart routine printed with it, after 30 seconds of study, one strum on each chord, and record it, at 80 BPM. Check: a recording, followed on the chart afterwards. Pass: no stop, and every chord falls in its measure, in all 8 measures. If not: on each day of the week strum one of the charts of Session 34 again by the routine, at 75 BPM, in the “Assessment sections” row, with a finger on each box in the 30 seconds, under “Unseen Chart” in Session 34; take this item again after one week, only if none of items 16, 17 and 18 passed, with the chart under “Second Try: Unseen Passages”.
- Yes
- Not yet
The unseen chart routine: (1) Set the metronome to 80 BPM. (2) Study the chart for 30 seconds without playing: its Key and Time line, each chord, any measure that holds two chords, and any repeat signs or endings. (3) Start the recording. (4) Count one measure aloud. (5) Strum the chart once, to the end, without stopping, one strum on each chord. (6) Follow the recording on the chart and count the chords that do not fall in their measure.
The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.
The chart of item 18
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Unseen chart, 8 measures: | G | D | Am | Em | | C | D | G D7 | G |
Of items 16, 17 and 18 one must pass.
The passages for a second try are under “Second Try: Unseen Passages”, each in a closed block: open them only for a second try.
Section 5: Notes, Theory and Your Song Map
Section titled “Section 5: Notes, Theory and Your Song Map”No guitar is needed in this section. None of its four items has to pass: each is reported.
Item 19a uses your fourteen note-name cards of Session 17: the string and the fret on the front, nothing on the back. Shuffle them and draw ten.
19a. (1.5 minutes) Name the natural note at ten card-drawn places on strings 6 and 5, frets 0 to 10. Check: the cards against the fretboard note map. Pass: 8 of 10 cards. If not: say the natural notes of string 6 and of string 5 aloud from the fretboard note map once a day, then draw five cards, under “Section 5: Cards, Three Answers and Your Song Map” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
19b. (2 minutes) For each programme piece, write its key, its time signature and two techniques it uses. Check: your written answers against the Key, Time and Techniques lines printed with each piece: any two of the techniques its line names. Pass: the key, the time signature and both techniques right for every one of the 3 pieces. If not: read the three lines of each piece aloud, close the page and write them again, under “Palm-Muted Eighth Notes and the Three Questions” in Session 31; take this item again the next day at the earliest, by its number in the week of Session 36.
- Yes
- Not yet
Item 20 uses your own pile of theory cards: shuffle it, keep it question side up, and draw ten. No question is printed here.
20. (2 minutes) Answer ten theory question cards drawn from the pile you wrote from the theory handouts. Check: turn each card over. Pass: 8 of 10. If not: read the handout section of each card that failed, then answer that card again, under “Section 5: Cards, Three Answers and Your Song Map” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Item 21 is a new song map, or the map you made in the weeks of Sessions 27 to 32, checked again against its recording by listening through twice.
21. (8 minutes) Make a song map for one song from a published chart you own: tuning, key, capo, the sections in order and the measures in each. Check: listen through twice, counting the measures of each section; first tap eight clicks of the chart’s tempo with the recording. Pass: the counts are the same on both of the 2 listens and add up to your map. If not: map one section at a time: listen to it alone twice and write its count before the next, under “Section 5: Cards, Three Answers and Your Song Map” in Session 35; take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Section 6: Ear
Section titled “Section 6: Ear”The four ear recordings you made after Session 35 are marked here, by the method below.
The recorded card test
You need a phone that records sound, some slips of paper, a pen and a sheet of paper for your answers. A test that needs the metronome says so.
- Make the pile of slips the test describes. If you made it for an earlier recording, use it again. After you have marked a recording, put all its slips back into one pile.
- Shuffle the pile face down. Start recording. For each item, turn over as many slips as the test says and lay them in a row from left to right: say the item’s number aloud (“one”, “two”, …), play the item, and put its slips face down on a new pile, one at a time from left to right. Keep the pile in order.
- Stop recording. Put the slips you did not turn over to one side: they are not part of the key. Put the new pile away without looking through it. The new pile is your answer key.
- Wait until the day you take this assessment, at least one day later, so that you no longer remember the order.
- Play the recording once through. Write your answer for each number. Stop the recording after an item if you need time to answer, but do not play any item again.
- When every answer is written, turn the key pile over, so that the first slip you played is on top. Deal the slips out in order, as many to an item as the test says, and mark your answers.
If someone else can play the items for you where you cannot see their hands, that works equally well: skip steps 2 to 4.
Before the first item, record five seconds: say “test” and make the sound of the test once, a strum, a note or four claps, with the metronome sounding if the test uses it. Then listen. If you cannot hear your voice, the sound and the click, move the phone and record the five seconds again.
The number you say aloud is the item’s place in the recording (“one” for the first item), never anything written on a slip.
If you play or clap an item wrongly while you record, say “again” and do the item again. On marking day, answer from what comes after the last “again”.
If you cannot make out an item on the recording, cross out its number: it counts as wrong. If two or more numbers are crossed out, do not mark the recording: make a new one the same day and mark it on your next practice day. If that day is the last practice day of the week, mark it on the first practice day of the next week and answer the self-check question then. The new recording and its marking are not part of the practice minutes. You do not repeat the week for it.
In this assessment, mark the new recording on the day after you make it, and mark its item then: the result waits for it.
Write the result as a count, such as “7 of 10”, with the test’s number and the date, at the foot of your answer sheet, and keep the sheet: a self-check question or a checkpoint item will ask for the figure.
Test 3, play it back
Section titled “Test 3, play it back”Test 3, play it back, six notes with the metronome. The pile is 48 note slips, eight for each of these six places: string 3 open, string 3 fret 2, string 2 open, string 2 fret 3, string 1 open, string 1 fret 3. An item is six slips in a row from left to right: play their notes as two half notes and then four quarter notes. Record with the metronome sounding at 60 BPM, one count to a click, and start each playing on a click. Play the phrase twice. If you play a note that is not on its slip, say “again” and play the phrase twice more. Record six items. To answer, listen to both playings of an item, stop the recording, play the phrase back once on the six places of the pile, and write the places you played, in order. If you hear “again”, answer from the two playings after the last “again”. Write each place as two figures, the string then the fret, such as 2-3; an open string is 3-0. To mark, deal the key pile six slips to an item. A phrase is right only if every note matched.
22. (5.5 minutes) Mark your recording of Test 3, play it back, made after Session 35: play back each of the six phrases after hearing it twice, and write the places you played. Check: the slips, turned over in order. Pass: 4 of 6, a phrase counting only if every note matched. If not: play the drill once a day; make a new recording, with the pile shuffled, under “Ear Drill: The Six Places” in Session 33; mark the new recording at least one day after it is made, and take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Test 5, rhythm recall
Section titled “Test 5, rhythm recall”Test 5, rhythm recall, two measures. The pile is 60 cell slips: the 38 of Session 9 and 22 more: 6 marked “quarter”, 6 marked “two eighths”, 4 marked “four sixteenths” and 6 marked “rest”. An item is eight slips in a row from left to right: the eight beats of two measures. Record with the metronome sounding at 50 BPM, one cell to a click. For each item say “1, 2, 3, 4” with four clicks, then clap the row twice through without a break. Count in your head while you clap: if you said the count aloud, the recording would tell you the answer. Record six items. On each click the claps name the cell: none is “rest”, one is “quarter”, two are “two eighths”, four are “four sixteenths”. To answer, listen to an item, stop the recording, clap the rhythm back once, and write the cells you clapped, in order. Write each cell as the number of claps on its click: 0, 1, 2 or 4. To mark, deal the key pile eight slips to an item. A rhythm is right only if every cell matched.
23. (7.5 minutes) Mark your recording of Test 5, rhythm recall, made after Session 35: clap back each of the six two-measure rhythms, and write down what you clapped. Check: the slips, turned over in order. Pass: 4 of 6. If not: clap the drill once a day; make a new recording, with the pile shuffled, under “Ear Drill: Clap the Cells” in Session 35; mark the new recording at least one day after it is made, and take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Test 6, major, minor or dominant seventh
Section titled “Test 6, major, minor or dominant seventh”Test 6, major, minor or dominant seventh. The pile is 18 chord slips: each of these nine names on two slips: E, A, D, Em, Am, Dm, E7, A7, D7. An item is one slip: play one down-strum and let it ring. If you hear a muffled string as you strum, say “again” and strum the same chord once more. Wait about five seconds after each item. Record ten items; eight slips stay in the pile unseen. No metronome. Your answer for each number is “major”, “minor” or “dominant seventh”. To mark, deal the key pile one slip to an item: a name that is a letter alone is major, a name with m is minor, a name with 7 is a dominant seventh.
24a. (2.5 minutes) Mark your recording of Test 6, made after Session 35: say major, minor or dominant seventh for each of the ten strummed chords. Check: answer from your recording, then turn over the pile. Pass: 8 of 10 chords. If not: play the drill once a day; make a new recording, with the pile shuffled, under “Ear Drill: Major, Minor, Seventh” in Session 33; mark the new recording at least one day after it is made, and take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8
Section titled “Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8”Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8. The pile is 15 slips: five marked “4/4”, five marked “3/4” and five marked “6/8”. Before you record, set the metronome to 70, listen to eight clicks and stop it: that is the speed of every strum. An item is one slip: strum Em 24 times in downstrokes at that one speed, with no metronome, and make the loud strums fall as the slip says. Count in your head while you strum: if you said the count aloud, the recording would tell you the answer. For “4/4”: the first of every four strums. For “3/4”: the first of every two, and the first of every six the loudest of all. For “6/8”: the first of every three. Turn over the next slip as soon as the last strum has rung. Record nine items; six slips stay in the pile unseen. Your answer for each number is “4/4”, “3/4” or “6/8”. Count the strums from one loud strum to the next: four is 4/4, two is 3/4, three is 6/8. To mark, deal the key pile one slip to an item.
24b. (4 minutes) Mark your recording of Test 2, made after Session 35: say 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8 for each of the nine items of 24 strummed eighth notes. Check: answer from your recording, then turn over the pile. Pass: 7 of 9 rhythms. If not: play the drill once a day; make a new recording, with the pile shuffled, under “Ear Drill: Fours, Twos and Threes” in Session 35; mark the new recording at least one day after it is made, and take this item again after one week.
- Yes
- Not yet
Of items 22 and 23 one must pass.
Item 24, its two halves 24a and 24b, is reported under “A start on Grade 3 skills”.
Section 7: Eight Measures of Your Own
Section titled “Section 7: Eight Measures of Your Own”Item 25 is taken by the five steps of “How to Learn This Exercise” in Session 33: draw a card, read it for 30 seconds, strum it once, record the backing twice through, and play eight measures of your own over the second time round.
The rule, the note pool and the model phrases are not printed again here: they are in Session 33, under “The Rule”, “The Note Pool” and “The Model Phrases”.
If you lose your place while recording, stop, let four clicks pass, and start again from measure 1.
If you lose your place while playing, stop, listen for the next ONE on the recording, and come in again there.
If your phone cannot play the backing and record you at the same time, play with the backing sounding and judge it as you play; checking it on a recording then needs a second device.
25*. (4 minutes) Improvise eight measures over a chart drawn from the six cards in G major or E minor, over your own recorded backing, recorded twice through: you play over the second time round, at 70 BPM. Check: a recording. If your phone cannot play the backing and record you at the same time, play with the backing sounding and judge it as you play; checking it on a recording then needs a second device. Pass: you finish with measure 8 of the second time round, your last note is the home note, and at least 2 measures hold a rest of two beats or more. If not: play nothing more of this item today; before the next try, play the map that follows the rule in Session 33 once over the backing you recorded for this try, then draw another card, under “How to Learn This Exercise” in Session 33; take this item again the next day at the earliest, by its number in the week of Session 36.
- Yes
- Not yet
The card keeps the five steps of Session 33. Its one strum through is how you learn the chart before you record it: it is not a reading test, it is not recorded and it has no pass mark. Strum it at 70 BPM, the figure of the backing, after four clicks.
Draw a number slip and open only the card of that number.
Card 1
Copy of Session 33: Card 1
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Card 1, 8 measures: | G | Em | C | D | | G | Em | D | G |
Card 2
Copy of Session 33: Card 2
Key: E minor Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Card 2, 8 measures: | Em | C | Em | B7 | | Em | C | D | Em |
Card 3
Copy of Session 33: Card 3
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Card 3, 4 measures as written: |: G | C | D | G :|
Card 4
Copy of Session 33: Card 4
Key: E minor Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Card 4, 4 measures as written: |: Em | G | D | Em :|
Card 5
Copy of Session 33: Card 5
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Card 5, 6 measures as written: |: G | Am |1. Em | C :| |2. D | G |
Card 6
Copy of Session 33: Card 6
Key: E minor Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Card 6, 6 measures as written: |: Em | Am |1. C | D :| |2. D | Em |
Section 8: Performing
Section titled “Section 8: Performing”Items 26 and 27 are taken at the Final Showcase, in Session 36, and not in a sitting. Their results are written here.
The daily limits hold at the Final Showcase and at every later try. The limit lines of these pieces, and the day on which item 27 is taken when the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” is also in your programme, are in Session 36, under “A Piece over Your Own Backing”.
Your programme is three complete pieces of this course, chosen by four rules:
- At most one is from Phase 1.
- At least one is from Phases 4 to 6.
- At least one is Giuliani’s Andantino, “Down by the Salley Gardens” or “Greensleeves”.
- At least one is played from memory.
Each piece is played alone, as its page writes it, from your own count-in, with no backing sounding.
No metronome sounds while a piece of a programme is played. Before each piece, with the recording running, set the metronome to that piece’s performance tempo, listen to eight clicks and stop it, then count one measure aloud and begin.
A piece that begins with pick-up notes is counted in as its page prints it: the tune’s own counted measure is the count-in.
A stop is a break in the count inside a piece: going back, beginning a measure again, or waiting a whole measure or longer before coming in. Keeping the count and coming in on the next beat 1 is not a stop: its notes are counted as missed.
A take with a stop has not passed and ends at the stop. One take a day: the next is made on a later day and begins with the first piece.
In a strummed piece, and in the strummed verse of a tune, one wrong or missed note is one measure in which the chord is wrong, late or not played.
26*. (0.5 minutes) At the Final Showcase (Session 36, “The Concert”), not in a sitting: perform three complete pieces, one after another, each played alone from your own count-in to its written ending, recorded in one take. At most one is from Phase 1; at least one is from Phases 4 to 6; at least one is Giuliani’s Andantino, “Down by the Salley Gardens” or “Greensleeves”; at least one is from memory. Here you write the three counts. Check: the recording, followed on the page of each piece: each piece played alone, as its page writes it, with no backing sounding; a piece with measures of your own plays its written backing there. For the Fifth-Fret Rock Study the page is the form you perform, the first or the full. Pass: no stop; each of the 3 pieces reaches its written ending; at most 3 wrong or missed notes in any one piece. If not: the piece with the most wrong notes in sections on the days before, then one recorded take, under “The Concert” in Session 36; take this item again on the last practice day of the week of Session 36.
- Yes
- Not yet
Wrong or missed notes, piece by piece: first piece ______, second piece ______, third piece ______
Item 27 is a separate item from the programme, taken once. The pieces that fit it: “Amazing Grace” over its own strummed verse; the “Shuffle Blues in A” with one chorus of your own over your recording of it; the “Slur Study in A minor” over your second recording of the Shuffle Blues, made at 60 BPM, ending with one A on its last chord; the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”.
If your phone cannot play the backing and record you at the same time, play with the backing sounding and judge it as you play; checking it on a recording then needs a second device.
27*. (0.5 minutes) At the Final Showcase (Session 36, “A Piece over Your Own Backing”), not in a sitting: play one complete piece from start to finish over a backing you recorded yourself. The metronome alone does not count. It is a separate item from the programme, taken once. Here you write the result. Check: a recording made on a second device while the backing plays. If your phone cannot play the backing and record you at the same time, play with the backing sounding and judge it as you play; checking it on a recording then needs a second device. Pass: you finish with the backing: your last note falls within 1 beat of its last chord; a piece with a tick list is marked by that list as well (the Fifth-Fret Rock Study: 5 ticks). If not: play nothing more today; before the next try, listen to the backing once with the page and count its measures aloud, under “A Piece over Your Own Backing” in Session 36; take this item again the next day, in the “Assessment sections” row of the week of Session 36.
- Yes
- Not yet
What Your Result Means
Section titled “What Your Result Means”Each item belongs to one level set. The sets are the course’s own, and no item changes its set:
| Item | What it checks | Level set |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twelve chord cards | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 2 | Bm (four strings) and A (four strings) | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 3 | The change test, five pairs | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 4 | First steps on the full barre | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 5 | Nine power-chord cards | The course’s own |
| 6 | D D U U D U | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 7a | The plain sixteenth-note pattern | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 7b | The pushed pattern | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 8 | The Stop-Time pattern | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 9 | The 6/8 pattern | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 10a | Straight, then swung | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 10b | The clapped triplet count | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 11 | The crescendo strum | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 12 | Three scale cards | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 13 | The two arpeggios | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 14 | The slur phrase | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 15 | Giuliani’s Andantino, played | Grade 2 core: must pass, if you take it |
| 15b | Giuliani’s Andantino, marked | Grade 2 core: must pass, if you take it |
| 16 | Unseen TAB | Reading: one of items 16, 17 and 18 must pass |
| 17 | Unseen staff melody | Reading: one of items 16, 17 and 18 must pass |
| 18 | Unseen chart | Reading: one of items 16, 17 and 18 must pass |
| 19a | Note names on strings 6 and 5 | The course’s own |
| 19b | Key, time and techniques of your pieces | The course’s own |
| 20 | Theory cards | The course’s own |
| 21 | A song map | The course’s own |
| 22 | Test 3, play it back | Ear: one of items 22 and 23 must pass |
| 23 | Test 5, rhythm recall | Ear: one of items 22 and 23 must pass |
| 24a | Test 6, major, minor or dominant seventh | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 24b | Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8 | A start on Grade 3 skills |
| 25 | Eight measures of your own | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 26 | Your programme of three pieces | Grade 2 core: must pass |
| 27 | A piece over your own backing | Grade 2 core: must pass |
Item 15, Giuliani’s Andantino, was tested at the Phase 3 checkpoint, and it is closed if it passed there or at a later try. If it is closed, take items 15 and 15b only if the Andantino is one of your three programme pieces: then both must pass. If it is still open, you choose the Andantino as one of your three pieces and take items 15 and 15b here, and both must pass.
An item marked “A start on Grade 3 skills” is reported as “started” or “not yet” and never has to pass. An item marked “The course’s own” is reported and is not part of the level sentence.
Must-pass marks passed: _____ of 12 (of 14 if you take items 15 and 15b). Still open, by number: ______________________________
A start on Grade 3 skills, “started” or “not yet”: item 2 ______, item 4 ______, item 7b ______, item 9 ______, item 10a ______, item 10b ______, item 13 ______, item 14 ______, item 24a ______, item 24b ______
The course’s own: item 5 ______, item 19a ______, item 19b ______, item 20 ______, item 21 ______
The twelve marks are the ten Grade 2 core items (1, 3, 6, 7a, 8, 11, 12, 25, 26 and 27) and the two groups, each counted once: the reading items 16, 17 and 18, and the ear items 22 and 23. Items 15 and 15b are two marks more for a student who takes them.
Use this sentence only when every must-pass item has passed:
When all of these pass, you have reached about Grade 2 level in the skills this course teaches.
This course takes you from the end of the beginner course to about Grade 2 level in the skills it teaches, and makes a start on Grade 3 skills.
It is called intermediate because it follows the beginner course. In the exam boards’ own terms it covers the later early grades: Grades 1 to 3 are the first level of the graded system, and RSL calls Grade 3 the “final stage as a beginner player”.
The benchmarks are the course’s own. They are set from what RSL Awards, Trinity College London and LCME publish for Grade 2 and Grade 3 guitar, but they are not any board’s requirements, and meeting them does not mean you are ready to sit an exam.
A real exam also needs the board’s own book: its set pieces, backing tracks and tests, which this course does not contain.
An item is still open only if it has to pass and has not passed. Once one of items 16, 17 and 18 has passed, none of the three is open, and the same holds for items 22 and 23. An item that is only reported is never open. Write the number of each open item on the result line above: nothing else on this page decides who has passed.
What to do about an item that is still open is in Whats Next, under “If an Item Is Still Open”.
What comes after the course is in Whats Next.
Second Try: Unseen Passages
Section titled “Second Try: Unseen Passages”Open this section only for a second try at an item of Section 4, one week after the first, and only if none of items 16, 17 and 18 passed.
This section is for a second try only. Each passage in it is in a closed block: open a block only when you take its item again, at step (2) of the routine.
Each passage is taken by the same routine as its item, at the same tempo, with the same check and the same pass mark: the TAB passage as item 16, at 60 BPM; the staff melody as item 17, at 60 BPM; the chart as item 18, at 80 BPM. The TAB of the staff melody is under “Answers”.
Second try at item 16
Unseen TAB, second try e|--------------0-------|-----------------------------------| B|----------1-------1---|---3---1---0---------------0-------| G|------2---------------|-------------------2---------------| D|----------------------|-----------------------------------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 & 2 3 4 Pick: D D D D D U D D D Finger: 2 1 - 1 3 1 - 2 - Notes: A C E C D C B A B e|--------------0-----------------------|-------------------| B|------1---3-----------3-------1-------|---0---1-----------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------2-------| D|--------------------------------------|-------------------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 & 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D U D D D D D D Finger: 1 3 - 3 1 - 1 2 Notes: C D E D C B C A
Second try at item 17
Second try at item 18
Key: C major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Unseen chart, second try, 8 measures: | C | Em | Am | G | | C G7 | C | G7 | C |
Answers
Section titled “Answers”Each answer below is in a closed block. Open a block only after you have played its passage.
Pick: D = a downstroke, U = an upstroke, on a single string.
In the Finger row, a number is a finger of the fretting hand: 1 (index), 2 (middle), 3 (ring), 4 (little finger).
The Notes row names the note above it.
Item 17:
Answer to item 17
Unseen staff melody e|----------0---3-------|---1---0---------------------------| B|------1---------------|-----------3-------1-------0-------| G|----------------------|-----------------------------------| D|----------------------|-----------------------------------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 (4) 1 & 2 3 4 Pick: D D D D U D D D Finger: 1 - 3 1 - 3 1 - Notes: C E G F E D C B e|------------------------------0-------|---3---0-----------| B|--------------0-------1---3-----------|-----------1-------| G|------2-------------------------------|-------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-------------------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 & 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D U D D D D Finger: 2 - 1 3 - 3 - 1 Notes: A B C D E G E C
Second try at item 17:
Open this only after a second try has been played.
Answer to the second try at item 17
Unseen staff melody, second try e|------3---2---0-------|-----------0-----------------------| B|----------------------|---3-----------3---0-------3-------| G|----------------------|-----------------------------------| D|----------------------|-----------------------------------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 (4) 1 2 & 3 4 Pick: D D D D D U D D Finger: 3 2 - 3 - 3 - 3 Notes: G F# E D E D B D e|------0---2---3-------0---------------|-------------------| B|------------------------------3-------|---1---------------| G|--------------------------------------|-------2---0-------| D|--------------------------------------|-------------------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 & 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D U D D D D D D Finger: - 2 3 - 3 1 2 - Notes: E F# G E D C A G
The six cards as played:
Open this only after you have strummed your card, and read only the line of that card.
Answer key to the six cards
- Card 1, as played: G, Em, C, D, G, Em, D, G. By number in G major: I, vi, IV, V, I, vi, V, I.
- Card 2, as played: Em, C, Em, B7, Em, C, D, Em. By number in E minor: i, VI, i, B7 in place of v, i, VI, VII, i.
- Card 3, as played: G, C, D, G, G, C, D, G. By number in G major: I, IV, V, I, twice.
- Card 4, as played: Em, G, D, Em, Em, G, D, Em. By number in E minor: i, III, VII, i, twice.
- Card 5, as played: G, Am, Em, C, G, Am, D, G. By number in G major: I, ii, vi, IV, I, ii, V, I.
- Card 6, as played: Em, Am, C, D, Em, Am, D, Em. By number in E minor: i, iv, VI, VII, i, iv, VII, i.