Session 10: Major Sevenths: Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7

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 session teaches three major seventh chords, Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7, and the gradual change of loudness that crescendo and diminuendo ask for. Both come together, with Em7 and Am7 from Session 9, in the complete piece “Evening Sevenths”, which the session ends with. Staff reading also starts this week, in its own handout.

Learning Objectives

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

Form Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7 so that every string that should sound rings, Dmaj7 with three separate fingers: 3 times in a row for each chord
Pass the change test for Am7 and D7, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM: 8 chords, twice on the same day
Strum one chord in the down-up strum getting gradually louder for four measures and gradually softer for four at 65 BPM: 8 measures
Play Evening Sevenths once through from its page in the down-up strum, with its written crescendo and diminuendo at 60 BPM: 26 measures
Record Test 3 of the recorded card test with five notes, and play back and write down each phrase when you mark it: 6 phrases, 4 right

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
Your 48 note slips from Session 4 and a pen, for this week’s ear check
Handout for this session: Seventh Chords (read after the session, 10 minutes)
Staff reading this week: Reading Staff Notation 1, the section “Lines for Week 10”
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

Crescendo (cresc.) — Getting gradually louder. (Session 10)
Diminuendo (dim.) — Getting gradually softer. (Session 10)

In Beginner Session 13 loud and quiet were two levels. Now the change is gradual. The crescendo strum is the down-up strum you know (Beginner Session 5) on Em, 8 measures: the first half gets gradually louder and the second half gradually softer.

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   |

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.

Use a bigger, faster strum with the same loose grip. Loud does not mean tense.

Play the crescendo strum on Em once through, its 8 measures at 65 BPM. Start soft. From count 2 of measure 1, get gradually louder, up to the loud strum on count 1 of measure 5; from count 2 of measure 5, get gradually softer to the end.

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, then Dm7 (Session 9): press, pluck four strings, release. Two presses of each in the minute, and shake the hand out after each press.

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: Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7 (10 minutes)

The Cmaj7 Chord

Cmaj7 is the C chord with finger 1 lifted: fingers 2 and 3 stay where they are, and string 2 now rings open.

Cmaj7

XOOO

EADGBe

Finger 2 (middle): string 4 (D), fret 2
Finger 3 (ring): string 5 (A), fret 3
Strings 3, 2 and 1 are played open
Do not play string 6
Strum strings 5 to 1 (five strings)
Notes, string 5 to string 1: C, E, G, B, E

Tuner check: Pluck strings 5 to 1 one at a time, slowly. The tuner should show C, E, G, B, E. A different letter means a finger is on the wrong string or the wrong fret.

Rest the pick on string 5, then strum from there.

Place C. Lift finger 1 and strum strings 5 to 1: that is Cmaj7. Put finger 1 back and strum C. Do this 6 times.

The Amaj7 Chord

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.

Amaj7 is the hand shape of D7 moved one string towards the ceiling: finger 2 on string 4 at fret 2, finger 1 on string 3 at fret 1, finger 3 on string 2 at fret 2.

Amaj7

XOO

EADGBe

Finger 1 (index): string 3 (G), fret 1
Finger 2 (middle): string 4 (D), fret 2
Finger 3 (ring): string 2 (B), fret 2
Strings 5 and 1 are played open
Do not play string 6
Strum strings 5 to 1 (five strings)
Notes, string 5 to string 1: A, E, G#, C#, E

Tuner check: Pluck strings 5 to 1 one at a time, slowly. The tuner should show A, E, G#, C#, E. A different letter means a finger is on the wrong string or the wrong fret.

Rest the pick on string 5, then strum from there.

Place Amaj7, strum strings 5 to 1, lift the hand, and place the shape again: 8 times.

Then change from A to Amaj7, four times, slowly and with no metronome. Finger 3 is an anchor finger: it stays on string 2 fret 2. Finger 2 moves one string towards the ceiling at fret 2 (string 3 to string 4). Finger 1 goes from string 4 fret 2 to string 3 fret 1.

The Dmaj7 Chord

Dmaj7 is the hand shape of A moved one string towards the floor: fingers 1, 2 and 3 side by side at fret 2 on strings 3, 2 and 1.

Dmaj7

XXO

EADGBe

Finger 1 (index): string 3 (G), fret 2
Finger 2 (middle): string 2 (B), fret 2
Finger 3 (ring): string 1 (high e), fret 2
String 4 (D) is played open
Do not play strings 6 and 5
Strum strings 4 to 1 (four strings)
Notes, string 4 to string 1: D, A, C#, F#

Tuner check: Pluck strings 4 to 1 one at a time, slowly. The tuner should show D, A, C#, F#. A different letter means a finger is on the wrong string or the wrong fret.

Use three separate fingers for Dmaj7. Do not lay one finger flat across the three strings: that is a barre, and it is not in your barre minutes for the day.

Rest the pick on string 4, then strum from there.

If a string is muffled, the finger on the string next to it is leaning on it: arch that finger more.

Place Dmaj7, strum strings 4 to 1, lift the hand, and place the shape again: 8 times.

If a string does not ring:

These are for reading: no playing here.

If a note buzzes: (1) move the fingertip right up behind the fret wire; (2) stand the finger on its tip; (3) only then add the smallest extra pressure that clears the buzz.
Amaj7: if string 1 is muffled, look first at finger 3 on string 2.
Dmaj7: if string 3 is dull, look first at finger 1. Three fingers share fret 2, so finger 1 sits furthest from the fret wire: move it closer to the wire first.
If the tuner shows the right letter but the note is dull or buzzing, do not press harder. Move the finger closer to the fret wire and try again.

Segment 3 — New Learning: Major Sevenths, Louder and Softer, and the Staff (15 minutes)

What a Major Seventh Chord Is

A major seventh chord is a major chord with one more note added. Name the added note by counting a half step (one fret) down from the root; in every shape of this course it lies above the lowest root.

Major seventh chord — A major chord with one more note added, written with maj7 after the letter: Cmaj7 is C, E, G and B. The added note is named by counting a half step down from the root, and in the chord it lies above the lowest root. (Session 10)
Seventh chord (three kinds) — This course has three kinds of seventh chord: dominant seventh, minor seventh and major seventh chords. (Session 10)

The table shows the three kinds on one root, A. Count frets down from A to find the added note: A7 and Am7 add G, two frets below A; Amaj7 adds G sharp (G#), one fret below A. The last two columns say where the added note lies in each shape. Fret 0 is the open string.

Chord	Kind	Added note	Frets below A	String	Fret
A7	dominant seventh	G	2	3	0
Am7	minor seventh	G	2	3	0
Amaj7	major seventh	G#	1	3	1

Find each added note in its shape: string 3, open, in A7 and in Am7; string 3 at fret 1 in Amaj7.

Change Test: Am7 and D7

Take the change test (Beginner Session 3) for a new pair, Am7 and D7: a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM, 8 chords in a row, twice.

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.

How the pair moves, from Am7 to D7: finger 1 is an anchor finger and stays on string 2 at fret 1. Finger 2 moves one string towards the floor at fret 2 (string 4 to string 3). Finger 3 lands on string 1 at fret 2. Going back, finger 3 lifts and finger 2 moves back to string 4.

The pair joins the week’s “Change test” row at 60 BPM and does not go up this week.

Louder and Softer by Degrees

Play the crescendo strum of the Warm-Up again on Em at 65 BPM, its 8 measures twice, from the block in Segment 1.

Before the first playing, find the softest strum that still sounds all six strings, and start there. In the crescendo each measure is a little bigger than the one before. The loudest strum is count 1 of measure 5, marked f. Then each measure is a little smaller.

Record the second playing. Listen back and compare measure 4 with measure 1, and measure 8 with measure 5.

Staff Reading Starts

Staff notation — This course’s name for standard notation: music written as notes on the lines and in the spaces of the five-line staff. (Session 10)

No staff is printed in the sessions. The staff, its six notes on strings 1 and 2 (B, C and D on string 2; E, F and G on string 1), half notes and quarter notes are taught in the handout Reading Staff Notation 1, in “How to Read a Day’s Line” and “Stage 1: The Notes on Strings 1 and 2”. Read both after this session.

From now on every practice day has a “Staff reading” row of 3 minutes: that day’s line, from “Lines for Week 10”, then its answer. The answer is the line’s TAB, under “Answers” at the end of the handout.

Now open the handout at “Stage 1: The Notes on Strings 1 and 2”. Say the six letter names from its staff block. Then play the six notes once from the staff, finding each one in the table under the block. That is the only playing from the staff today: the day’s lines are for the practice days, so do not open them now.

Ear Drill: The Six Places

Play the six places of the table from the lowest note to the highest and back, saying each note’s name. Then turn over two note slips, play the two notes, and say which is higher. Put the two slips back and mix the slips. Do this five times.

This is a drill, not a test: you know each answer as you play it.

These six places are also one octave of G major pentatonic, from G to G: use the same slips.

Note	String	Fret
G	3 (G)	0 (open)
A	3 (G)	2
B	2 (B)	0 (open)
D	2 (B)	3
E	1 (high e)	0 (open)
G	1 (high e)	3

A note slip names one place: write its string and its fret, such as “string 2, fret 3”, or “string 3, open” for an open string.

Play back on the six places of the table only. No two of them sound the same, so a note you hear has one place.

Where two notes in a row are at the same fret on two strings, lift the finger and set its tip on the new string: do not lay it flat across both.

Play the drill once.

Ear Test 3, the five-note rhythm, five slips as an example
e|------------------0---|-------------------|
B|------3---0-----------|-------------------|
G|--------------2-------|---0---------------|
D|----------------------|-------------------|
A|----------------------|-------------------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1  (2) (3) (4)
Pick:   D   D   D   D       D
Finger: 3   -   2   -       -
Notes:  D   B   A   E       G

The five-note rhythm is four quarter notes and then one note held for a whole measure: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (4). The TAB shows it with five slips as an example: the notes of your phrases come from your own slips.

The pile is your 48 note slips from Session 4. To try the form, turn over five slips in a row and play the phrase once in the printed rhythm. The test itself is the recorded card test (Session 2): you make the recording after the session and mark it on your fourth practice day. These are its words for this week:

Test 3, play it back, five notes. 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 five slips in a row from left to right: play their notes as four quarter notes and then one note held for a whole measure. No metronome: count slowly and evenly, about one count a second. 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 five slips to an item. A phrase is right only if every note matched.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Evening Sevenths (15 minutes)

“Evening Sevenths”

Credits: Written for this course.

What this is: A complete piece written for this course. It is not a song. It is 26 measures in 4/4 in the down-up strum, one chord to a measure: a first part of four measures and a middle part of eight, both played again, and an ending of two measures. It uses five seventh chords, Dmaj7, Em7, Amaj7, Am7 and Cmaj7, with A, D and G, and no barre chord. Each time, the middle part gets gradually louder for four measures and gradually softer for four. It is written in the manner of a slow film ballad: a slow tempo, one chord to a measure, and major and minor seventh chords. The last measure is one downstroke, left to ring. At 70 BPM, the performance tempo, it lasts 1 minute 29 seconds. Not yet play-tested.

Key: D major

Time: 4/4

Techniques: the down-up strum; crescendo; diminuendo

Tempo: 60 BPM, strumming D/U (down on the click, up between clicks) all week. It does not go up this week: the piece is new. The performance tempo is 70 BPM, strumming D/U (down on the click, up between clicks).

Strumming pattern: the down-up strum, one chord to a measure. Measure 26 is one downstroke, left to ring.

"Evening Sevenths" - the down-up strum
Chord:  Dmaj7
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
Strum:  D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U

Read the lines above before you play. The techniques of this piece are the down-up strum, crescendo and diminuendo.

Then read the chart below aloud, one section at a time: the five sections with their measures, and the chord of each measure. The piece has eight chords: the three of today, Em7 and Am7 from Session 9, and A, D and G. None is a barre chord. Do not play yet.

"Evening Sevenths" - chords

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

First part, 4 measures:

| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Em7   | A     |

Middle part, 8 measures:

| Amaj7 | Amaj7 | Am7   | D     |
| G     | Cmaj7 | Em7   | A     |

First part again, 4 measures:

| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Em7   | A     |

Middle part again, 8 measures:

| Amaj7 | Amaj7 | Am7   | D     |
| G     | Cmaj7 | Em7   | A     |

Ending, 2 measures:

| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 |

Measure 26, the last Dmaj7: one downstroke on count 1; let it ring.

How to Learn This Piece

The two changes into the new shapes: A to Amaj7, one strum on each, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM, four times. Then A to Dmaj7 in the same way, four times. So each change into a new shape is made on its own, at the piece’s tempo, before the chord map asks for it. On the practice days these two changes end the “Major sevenths” row, which comes before the piece’s row.

Step 1 — The chord map, once through: After four clicks counted in, play all 26 measures with one downstroke on count 1 of each, at 60 BPM, with no Dyn mark.

"Evening Sevenths" - the chord map, one strum to a measure
Chord:  Dmaj7
Count:  1  (2) (3) (4)
Strum:  D

Strum on beat 1 and let it ring; move during beats 3 and 4.

The block shows the first measure. Every measure of the map is that one downstroke, on the chord the chart gives for the measure. Play the map through, not in sections: the changes into the two new shapes, A to Amaj7 and A to Dmaj7, fall between one section and the next.

Step 2 — The strum on Dmaj7: The down-up strum on Dmaj7 alone, four times.

Play it from the block under the Strumming pattern line, at 60 BPM, four times.

Step 3 — The down-up strum with the marks, four measures at a time: Play measures 1 to 4, then 5 to 8, then 9 to 12, then the ending, measures 25 and 26, each after four clicks counted in, in the down-up strum at 60 BPM with the marks of the Dyn row.

"Evening Sevenths" - measures 1 to 8
Chord:  Dmaj7                               Dmaj7
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

Chord:  Em7                                 A
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   |

Chord:  Amaj7                               Amaj7
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.

Chord:  Am7                                 D
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   |

"Evening Sevenths" - measures 9 to 16
Chord:  G                                   Cmaj7
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.

Chord:  Em7                                 A
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   |

Chord:  Dmaj7                               Dmaj7
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

Chord:  Em7                                 A
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   |

"Evening Sevenths" - measures 17 to 26
Chord:  Amaj7                               Amaj7
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.

Chord:  Am7                                 D
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   |

Chord:  G                                   Cmaj7
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.

Chord:  Em7                                 A
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   |

Chord:  Dmaj7                               Dmaj7
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &   |   1  (2) (3) (4)  |
Strum:  D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U   |   D               |
Dyn:    p

The three blocks are one piece: the Dyn row runs on from one block to the next. Its marks are explained under the crescendo strum in Segment 1.

Today, play the first 12 measures in their three sections, each after four clicks counted in, at 60 BPM. Measures 1 to 4, the first part: soft. Measures 5 to 8, the first half of the middle part: soft on count 1 of measure 5, then gradually louder from count 2. Measures 9 to 12, the second half: loud on count 1 of measure 9, then gradually softer from count 2. Then play the three sections again, so that each is played two times.

Then the ending, the last two measures of the third block, soft: Dmaj7 in the down-up strum in measure 25, then one downstroke on count 1 of measure 26, left to ring. Play the ending three times.

Step 4 — Once through: After four clicks counted in, play the 26 measures as written at 60 BPM.

What it should sound like: With the metronome at 60 BPM, the first strum of every measure falls with a click: 26 measures. Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & aloud through the 12 measures of the first part and the middle part without stopping; each new chord begins on count 1. On a recording of the middle part, measure 8 is louder than measure 5 and measure 12 is quieter than measure 9, with no sudden jump in any of the 8 measures.

On the practice days the “Evening Sevenths” row is played in this order: the chord map once, two rounds of the three sections and the ending, then once through. On the fourth practice day leave the row out: those minutes are for the ear check.

Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Learned Today

Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7, with Dmaj7 on three separate fingers
The three kinds of seventh chord: dominant seventh, minor seventh and major seventh
Crescendo and diminuendo, and the Dyn row that marks them
Staff reading lives in its handout, Reading Staff Notation 1, and in a “Staff reading” row on every practice day

Common Mistakes

One finger laid flat across three strings for Dmaj7 — Use three separate fingers, 1, 2 and 3, side by side at fret 2. One finger laid flat is a barre, and it is not in your barre minutes for the day.
String 3 is dull in Dmaj7 — Three fingers share fret 2, so finger 1 sits furthest from the fret wire: move finger 1 closer to the wire first, and stand it on its tip.
String 1 is muffled in Amaj7 — Look first at finger 3 on string 2: it is leaning on string 1. Arch finger 3 more.
The crescendo comes all at once, or by tensing the hand

Use a bigger, faster strum with the same loose grip. Loud does not mean tense.

Make each of the four measures a little bigger than the one before. Start from the softest strum that still sounds every string.
Strumming a string the chord leaves out — Cmaj7 and Amaj7 leave out string 6: rest the pick on string 5, then strum from there. Dmaj7 leaves out strings 6 and 5: rest the pick on string 4, then strum from there.

Self-Check Questions

Play Cmaj7, then Amaj7, then Dmaj7, plucking the strings of each chord one at a time; Dmaj7 with three separate fingers. Check: the tuner shows the letters of the chord’s Notes line, string by string. Pass: every string that should sound shows its letter, 3 times in a row for each of the 3 chords, lifting the hand in between. If not: use the fixes (move the fingertip right up behind the fret wire and stand the finger on its tip), under “If a string does not ring” in Segment 2, and try again the next day.
Pass the change test (Beginner Session 3) for Am7 and D7, a new chord every 4 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. If not: drop to 50 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time, under “Change Test: Am7 and D7” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
Strum Em in the down-up strum at 65 BPM, four measures getting gradually louder and then four getting gradually softer, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: listen to the recording and count the measures aloud, comparing measure 4 with measure 1 and measure 8 with measure 5. Pass: 8 measures with no stop; measure 4 is louder than measure 1 and measure 8 is quieter than measure 5, with no sudden jump in any of the 8 measures. If not: play only the four measures of the crescendo, each a little bigger than the one before with the same loose grip, four times, under “Louder and Softer by Degrees” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
Play Evening Sevenths once through from its page in the down-up strum at 60 BPM, after four clicks counted in, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: follow the recording on the page and count the measures aloud. Pass: 26 measures with no stop, every chord begins on count 1, and in each of the 2 middle parts the loudest measure is the one marked f. If not: play the chord map once through, then only the four measures that stopped, for two days, under “How to Learn This Piece” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
Read the result you wrote when you marked your recording of Test 3, play it back: six phrases of five notes. Check: the key pile, dealt five slips to an item, against the places you wrote. Pass: 4 of 6, a phrase counting only if every note matched. If not: record the test again after your last practice day of this week, play “Ear Drill: The Six Places” in Segment 3 once on each practice day of the week you repeat, and mark the new recording on its fourth practice day.
On your last practice day, play that day’s line of the staff handout from the staff alone, saying each note’s name before you play it, and record it. Check: compare the recording with the line’s TAB under “Answers” in the handout, note by note. Pass: no stop, and at most 1 wrong note in the line. If not: name the six notes of strings 1 and 2 aloud from the handout before you play, and play the line in two halves, under “Staff Reading Starts” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.

Practice Plan for Week 10 (each practice day, 30 minutes)

Notes on the rows:

The “Rotation” row: the pile gains the chord cards Cmaj7, Amaj7 and Dmaj7.
Rotation this week: no change-test pair; every pair has its own row.
The “Staff reading” row: it is explained under “Staff Reading Starts” in Segment 3.
The “Major sevenths” row: play Dmaj7 with three separate fingers, and end the row with the two changes into the new shapes, A to Amaj7 and A to Dmaj7, one strum on each, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM, four times each.
The “G major scale” row: now in eighth notes, from the eighth-note block of Session 7; 50 BPM is the most the week may reach.
Now two notes per click (eighth notes): set the metronome to 40 BPM. That is exactly as fast as one note per click at 80 BPM.
The “Change test” row: G and D7 start at 65 BPM and may reach 70, and Em and B7 start at 60 BPM and may reach 65, both a new chord every 2 beats. In one week, take two steps at most. Am7 and D7 stay at a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM all week.
The “Sixteenth-note strum” row: start at 40 BPM, the metronome at 80, and work up to 45 BPM, the metronome at 90. In one week, take two steps at most. With the metronome set to twice the tempo, a step of 5 BPM is 10 on the metronome.

Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row.

A run is clean when every note or chord lands on its count, every string that should sound rings, and you do not stop.

Play the plan in one sitting on each practice day.

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	4 min	Movement warm-up, tune; then the crescendo strum at 65: four measures louder, four quieter, on one chord; then the spider crawl at frets 5 to 8. Then simplified F and Dm7: press, pluck four strings, release, for 1 minute
Rotation	4 min	One scale card, played twice. One change-test pair, played as the test at the figure its ladder has reached (80 once it is there). Two single chord cards from the pile of E1, as far as its chords have been taught. Each chord card: place the shape once, pluck each string that should sound, let go. These are the cards the end-of-course assessment uses. A chord that holds a barre is not in the pile, and that keeps Dm7 out: it is a barre chord, practised as presses, not as a card
Staff reading	3 min	the six notes on strings 1 and 2, in half and quarter notes: today’s line, then its answer
Major sevenths	4 min	C to Cmaj7 (lift a finger); Amaj7; Dmaj7 with three separate fingers, never one finger laid flat; then A to Amaj7 and A to Dmaj7, one strum on each, a new chord every 4 beats at 60, four times each
Evening Sevenths	7 min	first the whole piece with one downstroke on count 1 of every measure; then four measures at a time in the down-up strum with its written crescendo and diminuendo; then once through
G major scale	3 min	now in eighth notes
Change test	3 min	G-D7 and Em-B7 at 2 beats; Am7-D7 at 4 beats
Sixteenth-note strum	2 min	the plain pattern on Em, the metronome clicking eighth notes

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

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.

Ear check this week: on your fourth practice day, mark the recording you made after this session. It takes 5 minutes: that day, leave out the “Evening Sevenths” 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 11.

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

On the Saga a crescendo is made with the size of the strum, never with force. Find the softest strum that still sounds every string, and build up from there, a little bigger in each measure.

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

Read: Seventh Chords, the sections “Major Sevenths” and “Three Kinds of Seventh Chord”. (10 minutes)
Read: Reading Staff Notation 1, the sections “How to Read a Day’s Line” and “Stage 1: The Notes on Strings 1 and 2”. (5 minutes)
Record: this week’s ear check. Use the recorded card test (Session 2) with Test 3, play it back, as Segment 3 gives it. Pass: 4 of 6. (4 minutes)