Session 3: Rests You Can Hear
Duration: 50 minutes
Break: Put the guitar down for 5 minutes at the end of Segment 3. No stretch of playing is then longer than 30 minutes.
In this session you learn the rest stop: the strumming hand laid on the strings on a counted rest. You read a rest as a count in square brackets, you name the note values and their rests, and you play the rest stop 25 times in today’s piece, the “Stop-Time Study in E”.
Learning Objectives
Section titled “Learning Objectives”By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Play the Stop-Time pattern on E5 with the rest stop on count 4, recorded with the metronome sounding at 70 BPM: 4 measures, with 0 rests in which a string still rings
- Play the Stop-Time Study in E from its TAB at 70 BPM, from a count-in of four clicks to its last measure: 26 measures
- Say how many beats a whole note, a half note, a quarter note and an eighth note last, and name the rest of each: 4 note values and 4 rests
- Play the Seventh-Chord Blues in A once through in the D D U U D U pattern at 70 BPM: 38 measures
- Clap back a one-measure rhythm heard on your own recording and write down its four cells: 4 of 6 rhythms
Where an objective gives a tempo, it is the figure for the end of this week’s practice.
Materials Needed
Section titled “Materials Needed”- Your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar
- A guitar pick
- A clip-on tuner or phone tuner app
- A metronome
- A phone that records sound
- 30 slips of paper and a pen, for this week’s ear check
- Cards or slips for this week’s theory cards, written after the session
- Handout for this session: Rhythm Beyond Eighth Notes (read after the session, 10 minutes)
- Handout for this session: Strumming Rests And Sixteenths (read after the session, 5 minutes)
- Reference: Chord Chart, Glossary
Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)”Hand Warm-Up
Section titled “Hand Warm-Up”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 Your Guitar
Section titled “Tune Your Guitar”Tune all six strings (EADGBE). Before you look at the tuner, guess: too low, too high or right? Then look.
Warm-Up
Section titled “Warm-Up”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 &
Play this pattern at 75 BPM: two measures on Em, then two measures on G.
Brought back for today’s piece: palm-muted eighth notes, down-up (Beginner Session 9).
Copy of Beginner Session 9: palm-muted eighth notes
e|--------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------| A|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| E|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Strum: D U D U D U D U PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
PM = palm muted. O = let the string ring (palm lifted).
Play the block at 70 BPM, two strums per click: four measures on E5, as it is written, then four measures on A5. The edge of the palm rests where the strings cross the saddle: the rest stop of Segment 2 lands in the same place.
Spider crawl: frets 5-8, one finger at a time, all six strings, up and down. If it pulls, stop the crawl; if it aches, stop playing for today.
Barre presses:
The simplified F (Beginner Session 17): press, pluck four strings, release. Four presses.
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.
Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The Rest Stop (10 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The Rest Stop (10 minutes)”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.
The Rest Stop
Section titled “The Rest Stop”The motion you learn here is new for your strumming hand: the reminder above holds for that hand too.
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Count — A number, or a sign or word such as ”&” that comes between two numbers, said aloud to keep time, as a Count row prints it. (Session 3)
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Rest — A silence that lasts a set number of beats, or a set part of a beat. In this course you stop the strings for a rest, and its count is written in square brackets, as in [2]. (Session 3)
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Rest stop — Stopping the strings with the strumming or picking hand on a rest, so that the sound ends on that count and the silence can be heard. (Session 3)
The rest stop: on the count in square brackets, lay the edge of your strumming-hand palm (the fleshy side below the little finger) flat across every string you have just played and leave it there, so that the sound stops. The pick does not touch the strings.
Try the motion once on the open strings: strum them, let them ring, then lay the edge of the palm across all six strings and leave it there. It is right when no string still sounds.
How a rest is written: with brackets in a Count row. There are two kinds of brackets, and they mean different things.
A count in round brackets, such as (2), is a count on which you play nothing new: keep counting and let the note or chord ring on.
A count in square brackets, such as [4], is a rest: stop the strings on that count and keep counting. The silence lasts through every count in square brackets after it.
The beginner course wrote a rest and a held count both with round brackets; this course writes a rest in square brackets.
Count: 1 [2] 3 [4] Strum: D D
The metronome clicks the beat: one click to each numbered count.
This is the rest-stop drill. Strum on 1 and on 3, stop the strings on [2] and on [4], and say each silent count aloud. The hand keeps its swing: on 2 and on 4 it comes down, and the palm lands in place of a strum.
Play the drill at 60 BPM: eight measures on E5, then eight measures on Em. On E5 the palm covers two strings, on Em all six.
Tempo: 60 BPM, the click on the beat
Eighth Rests
Section titled “Eighth Rests”The same drill with shorter rests: a strum on every number, and the palm down on every &, as the hand comes back up.
Count: 1 [&] 2 [&] 3 [&] 4 [&] Strum: D D D D
The rests of the first block are quarter rests, and the rests of this block are eighth rests. Segment 3 explains the two names.
Play it at 60 BPM, counting 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & aloud: four measures on E5, then four measures on Em.
The Stop-Time Pattern
Section titled “The Stop-Time Pattern”- Stop-time — A rhythm in which the sound is stopped on counted rests, so that the silences are part of the pattern. (Session 3)
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
The metronome clicks the beat. The rest on 4 falls on a click: you hear the click and no string.
This measure is the Stop-Time pattern, written here on E5. What is played: three palm-muted eighth notes, down, up, down; one count with nothing new, the (&) after 2, in which the palm lifts; one ringing strum on beat 3; then the rest stop on beat 4. For the rest the palm comes down where it palm mutes, at the saddle, and it stays there for the three muted strums of the next measure.
PM and O in the PM row are explained under the palm-muted block in Segment 1.
Play four measures with no metronome, counting aloud. Then play eight measures with the metronome at 65 BPM.
Segment 3 — New Learning: Note and Rest Values (15 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 3 — New Learning: Note and Rest Values (15 minutes)”Note and Rest Values by Name
Section titled “Note and Rest Values by Name”A whole note lasts four beats, a half note two beats, a quarter note one beat and an eighth note half a beat. Each has a rest of the same name and the same length, except that a whole rest fills one silent measure of any time signature.
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Whole note — Four beats in 4/4 and 3/4 (a whole measure of 4/4). (Session 3)
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Half note — Two beats in 4/4 and 3/4. (Session 3)
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Whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest — A rest as long as the note it is named after: in 4/4 and 3/4, a half rest is two beats, a quarter rest one beat and an eighth rest half a beat. A whole rest is four beats in 4/4, and it also fills one silent measure of any time signature. (Session 3)
The table has the four note values, each with its rest.
| Note | How long it lasts | Its rest | How long the rest lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | four beats | whole rest | four beats |
| Half note | two beats | half rest | two beats |
| Quarter note | one beat | quarter rest | one beat |
| Eighth note | half a beat | eighth rest | half a beat |
Your hand has played two of these rests today: the rest on count 4 of the Stop-Time pattern is a quarter rest, and each & of the second drill was an eighth rest.
Change Test: G and D7, A7 and D7
Section titled “Change Test: G and D7, A7 and D7”This is the change test (Beginner Session 3) for last week’s two pairs, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM. Play G and D7, 8 chords; then A7 and D7, 8 chords; then the pair that went worse, 8 chords more.
That is today’s tempo. This week the figure may rise: the line below is for the week’s practice.
Tempo: Start at a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM and work up to 70. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. In one week, take two steps at most.
A run is clean when every note or chord lands on its count, every string that should sound rings, and you do not stop.
Scale Ladder: A Natural Minor
Section titled “Scale Ladder: A Natural Minor”Copy of Session 2: A natural minor scale, one octave, open position
A natural minor scale, one octave, open position: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|----------------------|-----------0---2---| D|------------------0---|---2---3-----------| A|------0---2---3-------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U Finger: - 2 3 - 2 3 - 2 Notes: A B C D E F G A e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|------0---------------|-------------------| D|----------3---2---0---|-------------------| A|----------------------|---3---2---0-------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D U D U D U D Finger: - 3 2 - 3 2 - Notes: G F E D C B A
A natural minor scale, in quarter notes: one note per click. The top A is played once. The last A lasts two beats: let it ring while you count (4).
In a scale or an arpeggio the pick alternates on every note, down then up, whatever the count: in quarter notes an upstroke falls on counts 2 and 4. In a tune the pick follows the count: down on the numbers, up on the &s.
Play the scale up and down at 70 BPM, one note per click: three runs. That is today’s tempo. The line below is for the week’s practice.
Tempo: Start at 70 BPM, one note per click (quarter notes) and work up to 80. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. In one week, take two steps at most.
Ear Drill: Clap the Cells
Section titled “Ear Drill: Clap the Cells”Clap each kind of cell on four clicks in a row, one kind after another, with the metronome at the test’s tempo, saying the count aloud. Then turn over four cell slips in a row and clap the row twice.
This is a drill, not a test: you know each answer as you play it.
- Rhythm cell — A rhythm exactly one beat long, written on a slip of paper for an ear test: at first a quarter note, two eighth notes or a quarter rest. Cells drawn from the pile and put side by side make a measure. (Session 3)
The quarter cell on each beat of a measure Count: 1 2 3 4
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 two-eighths cell on each beat of a measure Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
The rest cell on each beat of a measure Count: [1] [2] [3] [4]
On a click, quarter = one clap, two eighths = two even claps, the first on the click, and rest = no clap: the click sounds alone.
Do the first half of the drill now, with the metronome at 60 BPM, the test’s tempo: clap each kind of cell on four clicks in a row, saying the count aloud.
For its second half, write four cell slips now: two marked “quarter”, one marked “two eighths” and one marked “rest”. Lay them face down, turn them over in a row and clap the row twice. Write the other 26 slips of the pile after the session, in the 5 minutes that the “Record” line at the end of this page gives.
Ear Test 5, one measure built from four cell slips Count: 1 & 2 [&] [3] [&] 4 [&]
Beside a shorter cell, the silent parts of a cell are printed as counts in square brackets: a quarter cell on beat 2 may be printed 2 [&], and it is still one clap, on the number.
Read this block as the row of slips “two eighths”, “quarter”, “rest”, “quarter”. Clap it once, saying the count aloud.
You make the recording after the session, with the recorded card test (Session 2), and you mark it on your fourth practice day.
Test 5, rhythm recall, one measure. The pile is 30 cell slips: 12 marked “quarter”, 12 marked “two eighths” and 6 marked “rest”. An item is four slips in a row from left to right: the four beats of one measure. Record with the metronome sounding at 60 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”. 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 or 2. To mark, deal the key pile four slips to an item. A rhythm is right only if every cell matched.
Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.
Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Stop-Time Study in E (15 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Stop-Time Study in E (15 minutes)”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.
”Stop-Time Study in E”
Section titled “”Stop-Time Study in E””Credits: Written for this course.
What this is: A complete piece written for this course. It is not a song. Every measure but the last is the Stop-Time pattern: three palm-muted strums, one strum that rings, and the rest stop on beat 4. The chords are E5, A5 and D5, the open power chords of the beginner course, one to a measure. A power chord has only two different notes, so on its own it is neither major nor minor; the four notes of this piece, E, A, B and D, fit the key of E minor, and that is what its Key line says. There are 24 measures in six phrases of four, then a two-measure ending, 26 measures in all. That takes 1 minute 36 seconds at 65 BPM, and 1 minute 29 seconds at 70 BPM, the performance tempo. In the last measure you strum E5 once, on beat 1, and let it ring. Not yet play-tested.
Key: E minor
Time: 4/4
Techniques: palm muting; rest stop; the Stop-Time pattern
Tempo: Start at 65 BPM, the click on the beat and work up to 70. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. This week, take one step at most. The performance tempo is 70 BPM, the click on the beat.
Strumming pattern: the Stop-Time pattern in every measure but the last; in the last measure, one downstroke on beat 1, not palm-muted, left to ring.
"Stop-Time Study in E" - one measure of 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
Read the lines above before you play. The techniques of this piece are palm muting, rest stop and the Stop-Time pattern.
The form, phrase by phrase:
| Measures | Chords | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | E5, E5, A5, E5 | first phrase |
| 5 to 8 | E5, E5, D5, E5 | second phrase |
| 9 to 12 | A5, A5, E5, E5 | third phrase |
| 13 to 16 | D5, A5, E5, E5 | fourth phrase |
| 17 to 20 | E5, E5, A5, E5 | the first phrase again |
| 21 to 24 | D5, A5, E5, E5 | the fourth phrase again |
| 25 and 26 | E5, E5 | ending: the pattern once more, then one strum on beat 1, not palm-muted, left to ring through counts 2, 3 and 4 |
Every phrase ends on E5. Every change of chord falls in the rest on beat 4: the last strum of a measure is on beat 3, and the next chord is not needed until beat 1.
How to Learn This Piece
Section titled “How to Learn This Piece”Step 1 — The rest stop first: Play the rest-stop drill on E5 for four measures at 60 BPM: strum, stop, say the silent count aloud.
This step comes before the pattern. The drill is the first block under “The Rest Stop” in Segment 2: play it as you did there.
Step 2 — Measures 1 to 8: The first and second phrase. Finger 1 changes string during the rest on beat 4, after the palm has landed.
"Stop-Time Study in E" - measures 1 to 8 Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: A5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------2---2---2-------2---------------|-----------------------------------| A|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|--------------------------------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: D5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|------2---2---2-------2---------------|-----------------------------------| D|------0---0---0-------0---------------|-----------------------------------| A|--------------------------------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|--------------------------------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O
Before the first turn, read the three moves of finger 1. In each of them no finger stays pressed down: finger 1 keeps its fret, fret 2, and changes string.
- E5 to A5: Nothing stays. Finger 1 moves one string towards the floor at fret 2 (string 5 to string 4).
- E5 to D5: Nothing stays. Finger 1 goes from string 5 to string 3 (fret 2).
- D5 to A5: Nothing stays. Finger 1 moves one string towards the ceiling at fret 2 (string 3 to string 4).
Two of these moves are also made the other way round in these eight measures: A5 to E5 and D5 to E5. D5 to A5 comes first in measures 13 and 14, and this piece never makes it the other way round.
Play measures 1 to 8 at 65 BPM: two turns.
Step 3 — Measures 9 to 16: The third and fourth phrase, in the same way.
"Stop-Time Study in E" - measures 9 to 16 Chord: A5 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] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: D5 A5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|------2---2---2-------2---------------|-----------------------------------| D|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| A|--------------------------------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O
Play measures 9 to 16 at 65 BPM: two turns.
Step 4 — Measures 17 to 24: The first phrase again and the fourth phrase again.
"Stop-Time Study in E" - measures 17 to 24 Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: A5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------2---2---2-------2---------------|-----------------------------------| A|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|--------------------------------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: D5 A5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|------2---2---2-------2---------------|-----------------------------------| D|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| A|--------------------------------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---2---2-------2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---0---0-------0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] Strum: D U D D D U D D PM: PM PM PM O PM PM PM O
Play measures 17 to 24 at 65 BPM: two turns.
Step 5 — The ending: Measures 25 and 26: the pattern once more, then one strum on beat 1 that is not palm-muted and rings through counts 2, 3 and 4. Lift the palm before that strum.
"Stop-Time Study in E" - the ending, measures 25 and 26 Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-------------------| A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|---2---------------| E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|---0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 (&) 3 (&) [4] [&] 1 (2) (3) (4) Strum: D U D D D PM: PM PM PM O O
That lift is the one thing here that the pattern does not have: the palm, down for the rest on count 4 of measure 25, is off the strings by count 1 of measure 26. Everywhere else it stays down after a rest.
Play measures 25 and 26 at 65 BPM: three turns.
Step 6 — Once through: All 26 measures from a count-in of four clicks.
Play it at 65 BPM: that takes 1 minute 36 seconds.
What it should sound like: With the metronome at 65 BPM, the rest on count 4 falls on a click: you hear the click and no string, in each of the 8 measures of a block. Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & aloud through 8 measures without stopping, saying the 4 in the silence. On a recording of measures 15 to 18, count the rests in which a string still rings: 0 of the 4.
Seventh-Chord Blues in A: This Week
Section titled “Seventh-Chord Blues in A: This Week”You do not play this piece today: it is played on the practice days, from its chart in Session 2. Its tempo this week:
Tempo: Start at 60 BPM, D D U U D U pattern and work up to 70. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. In one week, take two steps at most. The performance tempo is 70 BPM, D D U U D U pattern.
In this piece one time round the 12 measures is one run: once through with no stop is three runs.
The week’s row is once through. On your fourth practice day the row is left out for the ear check.
Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)”What You Learned Today
Section titled “What You Learned Today”- The rest stop
- A rest written as a count in square brackets
- The four note values and their rests, by name
- The Stop-Time pattern
Common Mistakes
Section titled “Common Mistakes”- A string still rings in the rest — The palm landed on some of the strings only, or after the count. Lay the edge of the palm flat across every string you have just played, on the count in square brackets, and leave it there until the next strum.
- The strum on count 3 of the Stop-Time pattern is muted like the three before it — The palm has to lift on the & of 2, the count in round brackets. Say “lift” aloud on that & for four measures, then count as written.
- Count 1 of the next measure comes early because the rest is hurried — The rest is one whole beat and it falls on a click. Say “4” aloud in the silence, with the click, before you strum beat 1.
Self-Check Questions
Section titled “Self-Check Questions”- By the end of this week’s practice: play the Stop-Time pattern on E5 for four measures at 70 BPM, inside the “Stop-Time Study in E” row (measures 15 to 18 of the study are those four measures), and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: listen to the recording and count the rests in which a string still rings. Pass: 0 rests with a string still ringing, in all 4 measures. If not: go back for two days to the rest-stop drill on E5 at 60 BPM (strum, stop, say the silent count aloud, with the edge of the palm laid across every string you have played), under “The Rest Stop” in Segment 2, and try again after those two days.
- By the end of this week’s practice: play the Stop-Time Study in E once through at 70 BPM, from a count-in of four clicks, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: follow the recording on the TAB, count the measures aloud and make a mark at every rest in which a string still rings. Pass: 26 measures with no stop, and at most 3 of the 25 rests marked. If not: go back 5 BPM and play eight measures at a time for two days, under “How to Learn This Piece” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
- By the end of this week’s practice: play the Seventh-Chord Blues in A once through at 70 BPM in the D D U U D U pattern, from a count-in of four clicks, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: listen to the recording with the chart in front of you and count the measures aloud. Pass: 38 measures with no stop, and each new chord is down by its count 1. If not: go back 5 BPM for two days and take a step only after three runs in a row with no stop, under “Seventh-Chord Blues in A: This Week” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
- By the end of this week’s practice: pass the change test (Beginner Session 3) for G and D7 and for A7 and D7, a new chord every 4 beats at 70 BPM. Check: the metronome clicks the beat; each chord lands on its click with every string that should sound ringing. Pass: all 8 chords, twice on the same day, for each of the 2 pairs. If not: drop to 60 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time, under “Change Test: G and D7, A7 and D7” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
- By the end of this week’s practice: play the A natural minor scale from memory, up and down, in quarter notes at 80 BPM, and record it. Check: follow the recording on the scale’s TAB and mark every wrong note. Pass: 3 runs in a row with 0 wrong notes. If not: go back to 70 BPM and take one step of 5 BPM only after three runs in a row with no wrong note, under “Scale Ladder: A Natural Minor” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
- Without looking, say how many beats a whole note, a half note, a quarter note and an eighth note last, and name the rest of each. Check: compare what you said with the table under “Note and Rest Values by Name”. Pass: all 4 note values and all 4 rests right. If not: read the table aloud once, under “Note and Rest Values by Name” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
- Read the result you wrote when you marked your recording of Test 5, rhythm recall: six rhythms of one measure. Check: the key pile, dealt four slips to an item, against the cells you wrote. Pass: 4 of 6, a rhythm counting only if every cell matched. If not: record the test again after your last practice day of this week, play “Ear Drill: Clap the Cells” in Segment 3 once on each practice day of the week you repeat, and mark the new recording on its fourth practice day.
Practice Plan for Week 3 (each practice day, 30 minutes)
Section titled “Practice Plan for Week 3 (each practice day, 30 minutes)”| Block | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | 4 min | Movement warm-up, tune; then D D U U D U on two known chords, four measures; then the spider crawl at frets 5 to 8. Then simplified F: press, pluck four strings, release, for 1 minute |
| Rest stop | 5 min | strum, stop, say the silent count aloud: the quarter-rest block on E5 and on Em, then the eighth-rest block on E5 and on Em |
| Stop-Time Study in E | 9 min | eight measures at a time |
| Seventh-Chord Blues in A | 5 min | once through |
| Scale ladder | 4 min | A natural minor scale, quarter notes |
| Change test | 3 min | G-D7 and A7-D7, 4 beats |
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.
Barre rows this week: “Warm-Up”, 1 minute. Total: 1 minute a day.
Ear check this week: on your fourth practice day, mark the recording you made after this session. It takes 4 minutes: that day, leave out the “Seventh-Chord Blues in A” row.
This is your plan for the whole week. On your last practice day, answer this session’s Self-Check Questions as you play the rows that hold them: a question adds no minutes to a row and nothing to a daily limit.
All yes: go on to Session 4.
Any no: repeat this week’s plan for up to one more week and check again. If it is still no after the second week, go on, and add that item to your warm-up until it passes.
Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK
Section titled “Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK”The saddle is the thin strip on the bridge that the strings pass over. Find it without looking: rest the edge of your strumming-hand palm on the bridge behind the saddle, then move it towards the soundhole until it lies on the strings just where they cross the saddle. That one place is where the edge of the palm rests for palm muting and where it lands for the rest stop. In that one place the hand does two different things: for palm muting the edge of the palm rests lightly on the strings while the pick plays; for the rest stop it is laid flat across them and the pick does not strike. Check the place with a palm-muted E5: on the bridge itself is too far back and mutes nothing; too far towards the soundhole kills the note.
After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)
- Read: Rhythm Beyond Eighth Notes, the sections “Note Values by Name” and “Rests”. (10 minutes)
- Read: Strumming Rests And Sixteenths, the section “The Rest Stop”. (5 minutes)
- Record: this week’s ear check. Use the recorded card test (Session 2) with Test 5, rhythm recall, as Segment 3 gives it. Pass: 4 of 6. (5 minutes)