Session 5: Lighter Week: A Complete Tune

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.

This is a lighter week: nothing new is asked of either hand. You play a complete traditional tune, “Amazing Grace”, as a melody and as a strummed verse, and you play the melody over your own recording of that verse: the tune is today’s piece. You also write the tune’s song map and read first and second endings in a chart.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

Play the melody of one verse of Amazing Grace from its TAB at 65 BPM, from the pick-up note to measure 14: 14 measures
Strum the verse of Amazing Grace from its chart in the waltz strum at 65 BPM: 14 measures
Play the melody over your own recording of the strummed verse and finish with it: 14 measures, the last note within 1 beat of the backing’s last chord
Write the song map of Amazing Grace, its sections in order and the number of measures in each: 3 sections and 42 measures
Strum a chart with a first and a second ending from the page, one strum to a measure: 14 chords as played

Where an objective gives a tempo, it is the figure for the end of this week’s practice.

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
A sheet of paper and a pen, for your song map
A second device that plays sound, if you have one
Handout for this session: Learning A Song (read after the session, 5 minutes)
Reference: Chord Chart, Glossary

Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)

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

Tune all six strings (EADGBE). Before you look at the tuner, guess: too low, too high or right? Then look.

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 D D U U D U (Beginner Session 5) at 75 BPM: two measures on G, then two measures on C.

Brought back for today’s tune, which is in 3/4: the waltz strum (Beginner Session 7).

Copy of Beginner Session 7: the waltz strum

Strum:  D   d   d
Count:  1   2   3
Accent: >

D = strong downstroke on beat 1, d = softer downstroke on beats 2 and 3, > = accent (play that strum louder)

Set the metronome’s beats per measure to 3 and count 1 2 3. Play the waltz strum at 60 BPM: four measures on G, then four measures on D7. D7 is the chord of Session 2 that the tune uses once in a verse.

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: Scales and Changes (10 minutes)

Scale Ladder: The Pentatonic Pair

This is a lighter week: this segment drills what you have already been taught and starts nothing new.

Copy of Session 4: E minor pentatonic, two octaves, open position

E minor pentatonic, two octaves, open position: up and down, quarter notes
e|----------------------|-------------------|-----------0-------|
B|----------------------|-------------------|---0---3-------3---|
G|----------------------|-----------0---2---|-------------------|
D|----------------------|---0---2-----------|-------------------|
A|--------------0---2---|-------------------|-------------------|
E|------0---3-----------|-------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4
Pick:   D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U
Finger: -   3   -   2       -   2   -   2       -   3   -   3
Notes:  E   G   A   B       D   E   G   A       B   D   E   D

e|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
B|------0---------------|-------------------|-------------------|
G|----------2---0-------|-------------------|-------------------|
D|------------------2---|---0---------------|-------------------|
A|----------------------|-------2---0-------|-------------------|
E|----------------------|---------------3---|---0---------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4       1  (2) (3) (4)
Pick:   D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U       D
Finger: -   2   -   2       -   2   -   3       -
Notes:  B   A   G   E       D   B   A   G       E

E minor pentatonic, in quarter notes: one note per click. The top E is played once. The last E lasts four beats: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (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.

Copy of Session 4: G major pentatonic, two octaves, open position

G major pentatonic, two octaves, open position: up and down, quarter notes
e|----------------------|-------------------|-------0---3---0---|
B|----------------------|---------------0---|---3---------------|
G|----------------------|-------0---2-------|-------------------|
D|------------------0---|---2---------------|-------------------|
A|----------0---2-------|-------------------|-------------------|
E|------3---------------|-------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4
Pick:   D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U
Finger: 3   -   2   -       2   -   2   -       3   -   3   -
Notes:  G   A   B   D       E   G   A   B       D   E   G   E

e|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
B|------3---0-----------|-------------------|-------------------|
G|--------------2---0---|-------------------|-------------------|
D|----------------------|---2---0-----------|-------------------|
A|----------------------|-----------2---0---|-------------------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|---3---------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4       1  (2) (3) (4)
Pick:   D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U       D
Finger: 3   -   2   -       2   -   2   -       3
Notes:  D   B   A   G       E   D   B   A       G

G major pentatonic, in quarter notes: one note per click. The top G is played once. The last G lasts four beats: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (4).

Play both from memory at 70 BPM, which is today’s tempo: one run of E minor pentatonic, up and down, then one run of G major pentatonic, up and down. The second is the scale of today’s tune. The line below is for the week’s practice.

Tempo: Start at 70 BPM, one note per click (quarter notes) and work up to 75. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. This week, take one step 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

Copy of Session 2: A natural minor scale, one octave, open position

A natural minor scale, one octave, open position: up and down, eighth notes
e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
G|------------------------------0---2---|---0-------------------------------|
D|------------------0---2---3-----------|-------3---2---0-------------------|
A|------0---2---3-----------------------|-------------------3---2---0-------|
E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &       1   &   2   &   3   &   4
Pick:   D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U   D   U   D
Finger: -   2   3   -   2   3   -   2       -   3   2   -   3   2   -
Notes:  A   B   C   D   E   F   G   A       G   F   E   D   C   B   A

A natural minor scale, in eighth notes: two notes per click. The top A is played once. The last A lasts a full beat.

Play two runs at 50 BPM, up and down, two notes per click. That is today’s tempo. The line below is for the week’s practice.

Tempo: Start at 50 BPM, two notes per click (eighth notes) and work up to 55. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. This week, take one step at most.

Change Test: Four Pairs

Take the change test (Beginner Session 3) for Em and B7, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM: 8 chords. That is today’s tempo. 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 65. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. This week, take one step at most.

G and D7 change form this week: a new chord every 2 beats at 60 BPM, on beats 1 and 3. The figure starts again at 60 and does not rise this week: a change of form is not a step. Play 8 chords, then 8 chords more.

Two pairs of chords from the beginner course join the test in the same form, a new chord every 2 beats at 60 BPM: D and Am, and D and C. Both are held at 60 this week. In neither pair does a finger stay down, so lift the fingers together, form the new shape in the air and land it as one shape. Before the first run, read how each pair moves:

D to Am: Finger 1 goes from string 3 fret 2 to string 2 fret 1. Finger 2 goes from string 1 to string 4 (fret 2). Finger 3 goes from string 2 fret 3 to string 3 fret 2.
D to C: Fingers 2 and 3 keep their shape and move together three strings towards the ceiling (finger 2 from string 1 to string 4, at fret 2; finger 3 from string 2 to string 5, at fret 3). Finger 1 goes from string 3 fret 2 to string 2 fret 1.

Going back, each finger makes its move the other way.

Play D and Am, 8 chords; then D and C, 8 chords; then each pair once more.

Segment 3 — New Learning: The Song Map (15 minutes)

The Song Map

Song map — A written list of the sections of a tune or song in the order they are played, with the number of measures in each. For a song it also gives the tuning, the key and the capo fret. (Session 5)

A map of a tune is made in three steps:

List the sections in the order they are played.
Beside each section, write its number of measures, counted on the page.
Add the numbers up and write the total.

Here is the map of a piece you already play, the “Seventh-Chord Blues in A” (Session 2):

Section	Measures
The 12-bar form	12
The 12-bar form again	12
The 12-bar form a third time	12
The ending	2
Total	38

Write that map on your sheet of paper now.

Today’s tune is mapped in Segment 4, after you have played it. A map of a song from a songbook’s chart comes later in the course.

First and Second Endings

First ending, second ending — Two different last parts for a repeated passage, marked 1. and 2. directly after the bar line that begins each. The first time, play the first ending and go back to the sign |: and play again; the second time, leave out the first ending and play the second. (Session 5)

1. marks the first ending and 2. the second. The first time through, play the first ending and go back to |:. The second time, leave the first ending out and go straight to 2.

Key: G major        Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure)

Example, 8 measures, 14 as played:

|:  G     |   Em    |   C     |   D7    |
|   G     |   Em    |1. D7   :|2. G     |

Read the endings example aloud as it is played, pointing at each box: G, Em, C, D7, G, Em, D7; then G, Em, C, D7, G, Em, G. The first time through you read the seven boxes up to the repeat sign: the seventh is the first ending. The second time you read the first six boxes and then the second ending in place of the first.

Then strum it from the page with one strum to a measure at 60 BPM: once through as played, which is 14 measures, and once more.

First and second endings, like the repeat signs of Session 2, are for reading the charts of songbooks: this course’s own pieces write a repeat out in words.

Today’s tune has such a pair in its last measure, given in words in Segment 4: the last measure of the strummed verse leads into the verse after it, and the last measure of the melody ends on G, left to ring.

An Outside Pulse

Outside pulse — A steady beat that comes from outside you while you play: the metronome, a backing you recorded yourself, or a song’s own recording. (Session 5)

So far you have played to the first of these three and, in the week of Session 4, to the second. Today you record the strummed verse of the tune as a backing and play the melody over it. This part is reading only.

One Earlier Piece: Stop-Time Study in E

This part is reading only: the piece is played on the practice days, not today. This week’s earlier piece is the “Stop-Time Study in E” (Session 3). Play it once through on each practice day at 70 BPM, the click on the beat. That is its performance tempo, and it does not rise. If a rest still rings, the rest-stop drill is Step 1 of Session 3, “How to Learn This Piece”.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Amazing Grace (15 minutes)

“Amazing Grace” (traditional; the course’s arrangement in G)

Credits: Traditional hymn tune, known as “New Britain”; no known composer. The melody is printed as it stands in E. O. Excell’s hymnal Make Christ King (Chicago, 1912), No. 251, which is out of copyright. The chords and the guitar arrangement are written for this course. The title is that of John Newton’s hymn (1779), which is usually sung to this tune; no words are printed here.

What this is: A complete traditional tune in G major and 3/4 time, arranged for this course. You play three verses: the melody, then a strummed verse on G, C, D7, Em and D, then the melody again. Each verse is 14 measures, so the piece is 42 measures and a one-beat pick-up long. That takes 2 minutes 7 seconds at 60 BPM, and 1 minute 49 seconds at 70 BPM, the performance tempo. The melody was read from E. O. Excell’s hymnal Make Christ King (Chicago, 1912), No. 251. It is in the key the hymnal prints. You play it note for note on strings 4, 3 and 2 in open position, with the last note left to ring for its whole measure, one beat longer than printed. The arrangement and the chords are this course’s own. Recordings of the tune differ from this printing in small ways, and may be in another key, so do not expect to play along with one. Not yet play-tested.

Key: G major

Time: 3/4

Techniques: pick-up notes; the waltz strum

Tempo: Start at 60 BPM in 3/4, the click on the beat and work up to 65. 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 in 3/4, the click on the beat.

Picking: The pick follows the count: down on the numbers, up on the &s.

Strumming pattern: the waltz strum in measures 1 to 13 of the strummed verse; in its measure 14, strum on beats 1 and 2 only, and play the pick-up note on beat 3 in place of the third strum.

"Amazing Grace" - the strummed verse in the waltz strum
Chord:  G
Strum:  D   d   d
Count:  1   2   3
Accent: >

Read the lines above before you play. The techniques of this piece are pick-up notes and the waltz strum. The form of the piece:

Count 1 2 and play the pick-up note on beat 3.
Verse 1: the melody.
Verse 2: the strummed verse. In its last measure, strum on beats 1 and 2 and play the pick-up note on beat 3.
Verse 3: the melody again. It ends on G, left to ring.

How to Learn This Tune

Step 1 — The melody, phrases 1 and 2: The pick-up on beat 3 and measures 1 to 7, one phrase at a time: the phrases are 4 and 3 measures, and each begins with a pick-up on beat 3 of the measure before it (phrase 2 with the note on beat 3 of measure 4).

"Amazing Grace" - melody, measures 1 to 7 (the pick-up is on beat 3)
e|----------|---------------------------|---------------|
B|----------|-------------------0-------|---0-----------|
G|----------|---0-------------------0---|-----------2---|
D|------0---|---------------------------|---------------|
A|----------|---------------------------|---------------|
E|----------|---------------------------|---------------|
Count:  3       1      (2)      3   &       1  (2)  3
Finger: -       -               -   -       -       2

e|------------------|---------------|
B|------------------|---------------|
G|------0-----------|---------------|
D|--------------2---|---0-------0---|
A|------------------|---------------|
E|------------------|---------------|
Count:  1  (2)  3       1  (2)  3
Finger: -       2       -       -

e|------------------------------|---------------|
B|----------------------0-------|---0-----------|
G|------0-------------------0---|-----------2---|
D|------------------------------|---------------|
A|------------------------------|---------------|
E|------------------------------|---------------|
Count:  1      (2)      3   &       1  (2)  3
Finger: -               -   -       -       2

e|------------------|
B|------3-------0---|
G|------------------|
D|------------------|
A|------------------|
E|------------------|
Count:  1  (2)  3
Finger: 3       -

Phrase 1 is the pick-up and measures 1 to 4 as far as beat 2. Phrase 2 runs from its pick-up on beat 3 of measure 4 to beat 2 of measure 7. Take two turns at each phrase at 60 BPM, counting 1 2 3 aloud. On a count in round brackets you play nothing new: the note before it rings on.

Step 2 — The melody, phrases 3 and 4: Measures 8 to 14, one phrase at a time: again 4 and 3 measures, each with its pick-up (phrase 3 with the note on beat 3 of measure 7, the last note of the first block; phrase 4 with the note on beat 3 of measure 11). Let the last G ring for its whole measure.

"Amazing Grace" - melody, measures 8 to 14
e|------------------------------|---------------|
B|------3-----------0---3---0---|---------------|
G|------------------------------|---0-----------|
D|------------------------------|-----------0---|
A|------------------------------|---------------|
E|------------------------------|---------------|
Count:  1      (2)  &   3   &       1  (2)  3
Finger: 3           -   3   -       -       -

e|------------------------------|---------------|
B|------------------------------|---------------|
G|------------------0---0-------|---------------|
D|------2-------------------2---|---0-------0---|
A|------------------------------|---------------|
E|------------------------------|---------------|
Count:  1      (2)  &   3   &       1  (2)  3
Finger: 2           -   -   2       -       -

e|------------------------------|---------------|
B|----------------------0-------|---0-----------|
G|------0-------------------0---|-----------2---|
D|------------------------------|---------------|
A|------------------------------|---------------|
E|------------------------------|---------------|
Count:  1      (2)      3   &       1  (2)  3
Finger: -               -   -       -       2

e|------------------|
B|------------------|
G|------0-----------|
D|------------------|
A|------------------|
E|------------------|
Count:  1  (2) (3)
Finger: -

Phrase 3 runs from its pick-up on beat 3 of measure 7, the last note of the first block, to beat 2 of measure 11. Phrase 4 runs from its pick-up on beat 3 of measure 11 to the end of measure 14. Take two turns at each phrase at 60 BPM. In measure 14, count (2) (3) while the G rings.

Step 3 — The chord map of the verse: The 14 measures of the chart with one downstroke on beat 1 of each measure, the chord left to ring. No strum yet.

"Amazing Grace" - chords for the strummed verse

Key: G major        Time: 3/4 (three beats in a measure)

Verse, 14 measures:

Measure:   1    2    3    4    5    6    7
         | G  | G  | C  | G  | G  | G  | D7 |

Measure:   8    9    10   11   12   13   14
         | G  | G  | C  | G  | Em | D  | G  |

This is the first step of the strummed verse. Play the chart once at 60 BPM.

Step 4 — Measures 11 to 14 alone: G, Em, D, G, one strum to a measure. G to Em and Em to D are in no change test: this is their step.

Take two turns at these four measures at 60 BPM. Before the first turn, read how the two changes move:

G to Em: Finger 2 is an anchor finger: it stays on string 5 fret 2. Finger 3 goes from string 6 fret 3 to string 4 fret 2. Finger 4 lifts.
Em to D: Nothing stays. Finger 2 goes from string 5 to string 1 (fret 2). Finger 3 goes from string 4 fret 2 to string 2 fret 3. Finger 1 lands on string 3 fret 2.

The first of these moves is written for G with fingers 2, 3 and 4, the fingering of this course’s diagram.

Step 5 — The waltz strum: The verse in the waltz strum, on the chord of each box of the chart, in measures 1 to 13. In measure 14, strum on beats 1 and 2 and play the pick-up note on beat 3; then play that measure three times more.

Play the verse at 60 BPM. The strum is the block under the Strumming pattern line, and the pick-up note is string 4 open. Measure 14 is the join into the last verse: it is the one place in the piece where a picked note follows a strum. That is 17 measures in all.

Step 6 — Your backing, and the melody over it: Record the strummed verse with the metronome sounding, after a spoken 1, 2, 3 with three clicks, and play the melody over the recording. The pick-up note falls on the spoken 3.

Record the verse at 60 BPM, in the waltz strum. The last measure of the backing is not the piece’s: strum G once on beat 1 and let it ring, because the melody over it ends there. Every backing you record of this verse ends in this way, also on your practice days.

If your phone cannot record while its metronome app is sounding, listen to eight clicks, stop the metronome, and keep that beat with your foot.

With the metronome stopped, the spoken 1, 2, 3 is the only count on the recording: say it at the speed of your foot.

If you lose the place as you record, stop, say 1, 2, 3 aloud again, one count to a beat, and start again from measure 1. Over the recording, your pick-up note then falls on that second spoken 3.

Then play the recording back and play the melody over it: your pick-up note, on the spoken 3, comes before the first strum.

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.

In measure 13 the melody’s B, on beats 1 and 2, is not a note of the D chord, and it falls to A, which is a note of the chord, on beat 3.

Now write the tune’s song map on your sheet of paper, by the three steps of Segment 3. Then check it against this one:

Section	Measures
Verse 1, the melody	14
Verse 2, strummed	14
Verse 3, the melody	14
Total, after a one-beat pick-up	42

Step 7 — The whole tune: Three verses without a stop: the melody, the strummed verse, the melody. In the last measure of the strummed verse, strum on beats 1 and 2 and play the pick-up note on beat 3.

This step is for the practice days and is not played today. At 60 BPM the whole tune takes 2 minutes 7 seconds.

What it should sound like: With the metronome at 60 BPM, count 1 2 3 aloud through the melody: 14 measures without stopping. On the recording of your strummed verse, count the measures aloud: 14, each with its first strum on a click. Play the melody over the backing and count the beats between your last note and the backing’s last chord: 1 at most.

Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Learned Today

A complete tune of three verses
The song map
First and second endings
Your own recording as an outside pulse

Common Mistakes

The melody is begun on beat 1 — Its first note is a pick-up on beat 3. Count ‘1 2’ aloud with the clicks and play on the third.
A long note of the melody is cut short, so the melody runs ahead of the backing — Say the count in round brackets aloud. Where the row reads 1 (2) 3, the first note lasts two beats and the next note comes on 3. Where it reads 1 (2) &, in measures 8 and 10, the next note comes on the & after 2.
The chord after Em arrives late in the strummed verse — Go back to the chord map for measures 11 to 14: one downstroke on beat 1 of each measure, the fingers moving during beats 2 and 3. Add the waltz strum again when each chord is down by count 1 three turns in a row.

Self-Check Questions

By the end of this week’s practice: play the melody of one verse of Amazing Grace from its TAB at 65 BPM, from the pick-up note to measure 14, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: follow the recording on the TAB and mark every wrong note and every stop. Pass: 14 measures with 0 stops and at most 2 wrong notes. If not: go back to 60 BPM and play one phrase at a time for two days, under “How to Learn This Tune” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
By the end of this week’s practice: strum the verse of Amazing Grace from its chart in the waltz strum at 65 BPM, 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: 14 measures with no stop, and each new chord is down by its count 1. If not: go back to the chord map for two days: one downstroke on beat 1 of each measure, and measures 11 to 14 two turns more, under “How to Learn This Tune” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
Play the melody of Amazing Grace over your own recording of the strummed verse. Check: record it and listen for where your last note falls against the backing’s last chord; if your phone cannot play the backing and record you at the same time and you have no second device, judge it as you play. Pass: you finish with the backing: your last note falls within 1 beat of its last chord. If not: listen to the backing once without playing and count 1 2 3 aloud through its 14 measures, under “How to Learn This Tune” in Segment 4, and try again the same day.
Without looking at the page, write the song map of Amazing Grace: its sections in order and the number of measures in each. Check: count the measures on the TAB and on the chart and compare. Pass: 3 sections of 14 measures each, 42 in all, after a one-beat pick-up. If not: make the map again with the page open, by its three steps, under “The Song Map” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
Strum the endings example from the page, one strum to a measure at 60 BPM, saying each chord’s name as you strum it. Check: the metronome clicks the beat; after each chord’s name say its number, from 1 to 14. Pass: 14 chords in this order: G, Em, C, D7, G, Em, D7, then G, Em, C, D7, G, Em, G. If not: read the chart aloud twice without the guitar, pointing at each box, then strum it, under “First and Second Endings” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
By the end of this week’s practice: pass the change test (Beginner Session 3) for Em and B7, a new chord every 4 beats at 65 BPM, and for G and D7, D and Am, and D and C, a new chord every 2 beats at 60 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 4 pairs. If not: take the pair that failed 10 BPM lower and climb back 5 BPM at a time, under “Change Test: Four Pairs” in Segment 2, and try again the next day.
By the end of this week’s practice: play from memory, up and down, E minor pentatonic and G major pentatonic in quarter notes at 75 BPM, and the A natural minor scale in eighth notes at 55 BPM, and record them. Check: follow each recording on the scale’s TAB and mark every wrong note. Pass: 2 runs in a row of each pentatonic and 3 runs in a row of the third scale, with 0 wrong notes. If not: take the scale that failed 5 BPM lower and take the step again only after three runs in a row with no wrong note, under “Scale Ladder: The Pentatonic Pair” or, for the A natural minor scale, under “Scale Ladder: A Natural Minor”, both in Segment 2, and try again the next day.
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 of Session 3 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: play the rest-stop drill of Session 3 on E5 for four measures at 60 BPM before each run, for two days, under “One Earlier Piece: Stop-Time Study in E” in Segment 3, and try again after those two days.

Practice Plan for Week 5 (each practice day, 25 minutes)

This is a lighter week: one sitting of 25 minutes on each practice day.

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
Amazing Grace	8 min	melody one phrase at a time (the phrases are 4, 3, 4 and 3 measures); then the strummed verse from its chart; record that verse as a backing and play the melody over it; write the tune’s song map. On the last two practice days, the whole tune once through: the melody, the strummed verse, the melody
Scale ladder	5 min	the pentatonic pair in quarter notes; A natural minor scale in eighth notes
Change test	4 min	Em-B7 at 4 beats; G-D7, D-Am and D-C at 2 beats. On two days of the week, begin with the session’s endings example, strummed once from the page
One earlier piece	4 min	the Stop-Time Study, once through

Barre rows this week: “Warm-Up”, 1 minute. Total: 1 minute a day.

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 6.

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

Before you record a backing on this guitar, find the place for the phone with a short test. Record four measures of the strum with the metronome sounding, and listen. If you cannot hear both the strum and the click, move the phone and record the four measures again. Record the backing with the phone in the place where both are heard.

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

Read: Learning A Song, the section “The Song Map”. (5 minutes)