Session 13: G7, C7 and the Chords of a Key

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 makes two new chords from chords you know: G7 from G, and C7 from C. You build the chords that belong to a major key, and learn the two, five and one chords of C and of G, which make a turnaround. You play both turnarounds in the session’s piece, the “Turnaround Study in C and G”. Then you record a backing of the G turnaround and make up four measures of your own over it.

Learning Objectives

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

Form G7, then C7, and pluck the strings of each chord one at a time so that the tuner shows every letter of the chord’s Notes line: 3 times in a row for each chord, lifting the hand in between
Pass the change test for C and G7, one strum on each chord, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM: 8 chords, twice on the same day
Say aloud, with the page covered, the two, five and one chords of C major and then of G major: 6 chords
Play the Turnaround Study in C and G from its chart at 60 BPM in the down-up strum, one chord to a measure, the last G strummed once: 16 measures without stopping
Play four measures of your own over the backing you recorded, a question and an answer that ends on G, by the rule of the task: 4 measures, all 5 ticks of the tick list

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
Paper and a pen, for writing this week’s ear-check answers
The pile of 48 note slips you made in Session 4: this week’s ear check uses it again, and no new slip is written
Handout for this session: Keys And Their Chords (read after the session, 10 minutes)
Handout for this session: Warm Up And Playing Time (read after the session, 5 minutes)
Handout for this session: How To Practise At This Level (read after the session, 5 minutes)
Staff reading this week: Reading Staff Notation 1, the section “Lines for Week 13”
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 80 BPM: four measures on G, then four measures on C, without stopping between them. That is today’s tempo, and the pattern’s new figure: from Session 9 it was 75 to 80.

Tempo: 80 BPM, D D U U D U pattern

On the practice days the D D U U D U pattern in the “Warm-Up” row may reach 85 BPM this week. 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.

Copy of Session 3: the Stop-Time pattern

Chord:  E5
e|--------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------------|
A|------2---2---2-------2---------------|
E|------0---0---0-------0---------------|
Count:  1   &   2  (&)  3  (&) [4] [&]
Strum:  D   U   D       D
PM:     PM  PM  PM      O

Then play the Stop-Time pattern (Session 3) on E5 at 70 BPM, four times in a row, with the rest on count 4 made by the rest stop.

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), then Dm7 (Session 9): press, pluck strings 4 to 1 one at a time, release, and shake the hand out. Two presses of the simplified F, then two of Dm7.

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: G7 and C7 (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 G7 Chord

G7 is the G chord with finger 4 lifted and finger 1 added on string 1 at fret 1: fingers 2 and 3 stay where they are.

OOO

EADGBe

Finger 1 (index): string 1 (high e), fret 1
Finger 2 (middle): string 5 (A), fret 2
Finger 3 (ring): string 6 (low E), fret 3
Strings 4, 3 and 2 are played open
Strum all six strings
Notes, string 6 to string 1: G, B, D, G, B, F

Tuner check: Pluck strings 6 to 1 one at a time, slowly. The tuner should show G, B, D, G, B, F. A different letter means a finger is on the wrong string or the wrong fret.

Place G7 in this order: form G, lift finger 4, then add finger 1 (index) on string 1 (high e) at fret 1. Then place the chord, strum all six strings once, lift the hand off and place it again: 8 times, with no metronome.

The C7 Chord

C7 is the C chord with finger 4 added on string 3 at fret 3, the fret of finger 3: fingers 1, 2 and 3 stay where they are.

EADGBe

Finger 1 (index): string 2 (B), fret 1
Finger 2 (middle): string 4 (D), fret 2
Finger 3 (ring): string 5 (A), fret 3
Finger 4 (little finger): string 3 (G), fret 3
String 1 (high e) is played open
Do not play string 6
Strum strings 5 to 1 (five strings)
Notes, string 5 to string 1: C, E, Bb, C, E

Tuner check: Pluck strings 5 to 1 one at a time, slowly. The tuner should show C, E, A# (Bb), 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 C7 in this order: form C, then add finger 4 (little finger) on string 3 (G) at fret 3. Then place the chord, strum strings 5 to 1 once, lift the hand off and place it again: 8 times, with no metronome.

If a string does not ring:

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

Now use the two fixes. G7: hold it and pluck its six strings one at a time. C7: hold it and pluck strings 5 to 1 one at a time. Where a string does not ring, take the two fixes in their order.

Segment 3 — New Learning: The Chords of a Key (15 minutes)

The Chords of a Key

Build a chord on each note of a major scale from that scale’s notes alone, taking every other note. The chords on notes 1, 4 and 5 are major (I, IV, V) and the chords on notes 2, 3 and 6 are minor (ii, iii, vi); the chord on note 7 is neither, and this course does not use it. With one more note added in the same way, the chord on note 5 is a dominant seventh chord (V7): ii, V7 and I are Dm, G7 and C in the key of C, and Am, D7 and G in the key of G.

The table gives the chords of the two keys you have scales for: C major (the beginner course) and G major (Session 7).

Note of the scale	Chord in C major	Chord in G major
1	C	G
2	Dm	Am
3	Em	—
4	F	C
5	G	D
6	Am	Em
7	—	—

The chord on note 3 of G major comes in Session 15, with its shape.

Chord numbers — Roman numerals for the chords built on the notes of a key’s scale, counted from the home note. An uppercase numeral is a major chord (I, IV, V), a lowercase one a minor chord (ii, iii, vi), and a 7 after the numeral adds the seventh (V7). (Session 13)

The Turnaround

The two, five and one chords (ii, V, I) — The chords on notes 2, 5 and 1 of a major scale, played in that order so that the progression comes to rest on the home chord. In the key of C they are Dm, G7 and C; in the key of G they are Am, D7 and G. (Session 13)
Turnaround — The last measure of a 12-bar blues, which leads back to the start. In this course it is also a short chord progression that leads back to the home chord, such as the two, five and one chords. (Session 13)

Key	Two	Five	One
C	Dm	G7	C
G	Am	D7	G

Cover the table and say the six chords aloud, once: the two, five and one chords of C, then of G. Then uncover it and compare.

Change Test: C and G7

Take the change test (Beginner Session 3) for the new pair, C and G7: one downstroke on each chord, on count 1, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM.

Tempo: a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM

How the pair moves:

C to G7: nothing stays down. Fingers 2 and 3 move together one string towards the ceiling, each at its own fret (finger 2 from string 4 to string 5; finger 3 from string 5 to string 6). Finger 1 moves one string towards the floor at fret 1 (string 2 to string 1).
G7 to C: each finger makes the same move the other way.

Play the 8 chords C G7 C G7 C G7 C G7, three times, with a rest between.

This is the only change with G7 or C7 that is drilled this week, and it stays at 60 BPM all week.

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 the E minor pentatonic notes on strings 3 to 1.

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.

Do the drill once now, with your pile of 48 note slips from Session 4: about a minute.

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

The six-note rhythm is two half notes and then four quarter notes: each half note rings through the count in round brackets after it. The TAB shows it with six slips as an example: the notes of your phrases come from your own slips.

Play the example block once, without the metronome, counting slowly and evenly. 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, six 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 six slips in a row from left to right: play their notes as two half notes and then four quarter notes. 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 six slips to an item. A phrase is right only if every note matched.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Turnaround Study in C and G (15 minutes)

“Turnaround Study in C and G”

Credits: Written for this course.

For listening only: “Yeh Dosti” sung by Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey, from the film Sholay (1975). Music: R. D. Burman. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi. Listen for the chords changing: one chart of the song, posted on a website, names three chords. The study below is not that tune.

What this is: A study: an original exercise written for this course. It is not a song. It is 16 measures of chords in the down-up strum, one chord to a measure: eight measures in C major, then eight in G major. The first eight play the turnaround Dm7, G7, Cmaj7 twice, with C7 and F (simplified) between the two. The last eight play the turnaround Am7, D7, G twice. The last G is strummed once and left to ring. At 60 BPM the study takes 1 minute 4 seconds. Not yet play-tested.

Key: C major, then G major

Time: 4/4

Tempo: 60 BPM, strumming D/U (down on the click, up between clicks) all week. It does not go up this week: the study is new, and G7 and C7 are new in it.

Strumming pattern: the down-up strum in every measure but the last; in the last measure, one downstroke on beat 1, left to ring.

"Turnaround Study in C and G" - the first two measures in the down-up strum
Chord:  Dm7                                 G7
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   |

In this study the two chord and the one chord carry a seventh as well: Dm7 for Dm and Cmaj7 for C, and in G, Am7 for Am. Each seventh is a note of the key’s own scale.

C7 is not one of the chords of C major: it holds B flat. It is the five chord of F, and it leads to F.

"Turnaround Study in C and G"

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

In C major, 8 measures:

| Dm7            | G7             | Cmaj7          | C7             |
| F (simplified) | Dm7            | G7             | Cmaj7          |

In G major, 8 measures:

| Am7            | D7             | G              | G              |
| Am7            | D7             | G              | G              |

Strum the last G once and let it ring.

Barre count: 3 of the 16 measures of this study hold a barre chord (Dm7 and F (simplified)), so 2 of its 6 practice minutes count as barre work.

If C7 will not come in this first week, play its measure, the last box of the first line, as C.

How to Learn This Study

Step 1 — One strum to a measure: Play line 1 (Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, C7) with one downstroke on count 1 of each measure, as the map block shows for its first two measures. Then lines 2, 3 and 4 the same way, one line at a time.

"Turnaround Study in C and G" - measures 1 and 2, one strum to a measure
Chord:  Dm7                 G7
Count:  1  (2) (3) (4)  |   1  (2) (3) (4)  |
Strum:  D               |   D               |

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

Step 2 — The down-up strum: Play the same line in the down-up strum, as the block under the Strumming pattern line shows. Do this for each of the four lines before you join any two.

Step 3 — Join the lines: Play two lines joined, then all four. In the last measure, strum G once and let it ring.

In the session, play Step 1 and then Step 2 once each at 60 BPM, line by line, with four clicks counted in before each line: that is twice through the chart. Step 3 is for the practice days, at the same 60 BPM.

What it should sound like: Record the study with the metronome sounding at 60 BPM and count the measures aloud on the recording: 16, with no stop, and each new chord begins on count 1. On the same recording, count 1 2 3 4 through the last measure: one strum on count 1 and no strum on counts 2, 3 and 4. Pluck test: hold Dm7 and pluck strings 4 to 1 one at a time, then hold F (simplified) and do the same: 4 strings sound in each.

Four measures of your own in G major

Credits: Written for this course.

What this is: A task, not a piece: you make up 4 measures of your own over your recording of the G turnaround, with the G major pentatonic, by the rule printed below. Not yet play-tested.

Key: G major

Time: 4/4

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

Strumming pattern: downstrokes in every measure of the backing but the last; in the last measure, one downstroke on beat 1, left to ring.

Four measures of your own in G major - the backing, one strum per click
Chord:  Am7
Count:  1   2   3   4
Strum:  D   D   D   D

The Backing

Four measures of your own in G major - the backing

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

The G turnaround, 4 measures:

| Am7 | D7  | G   | G   |

Record the four measures four times, then strum one last G.

Record the backing now, in three steps.

Count the form first. With the metronome at 60 BPM and no guitar, point to each box of the backing chart and count the four measures aloud, saying the measure number on beat 1: “ONE 2 3 4, TWO 2 3 4, THREE 2 3 4, FOUR 2 3 4”.
Record. Start the phone recording with the metronome still clicking at 60 BPM. Let four clicks go by, then strum, one strum per click: the four measures four times through, then one last strum of G, left to ring. Say the measure number aloud on beat 1 of every measure.

If you lose your place while recording, stop, let four clicks pass, and start again from measure 1.

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.

Check. Play the recording back with the chart in front of you: “ONE” to “FOUR” four times, then the last G.

No introduction is recorded. The recording lasts 1 minute 12 seconds: 72 beats at 60 BPM.

The Note Pool

The note pool is the twelve places of G major pentatonic in open position:

Note	String	Fret
E	6	0
G	6	3
A	5	0
B	5	2
D	4	0
E	4	2
G	3	0
A	3	2
B	2	0
D	2	3
E	1	0
G	1	3

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

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.

The block holds eleven of the twelve places. The twelfth, E on string 6 played open, is in the table. Play the block once, up and down, at 60 BPM, one note per click.

The Model Phrases

Phrase 1 in G major pentatonic: a question (measures 1 and 2)
Chord:  Am7                 D7
e|------0-------0-------|-------------------|
B|----------3-------0---|-------------------|
G|----------------------|---2---------------|
D|----------------------|-------------------|
A|----------------------|-------------------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1  (2) [3] [4]
Pick:   D   D   D   D       D
Finger: -   3   -   -       2
Notes:  E   D   E   B       A

The counts in square brackets are rests. In Session 3 you made a rest after a strummed chord with the rest stop.

In a picked line a rest is made with the same rest stop: lay the edge of your picking-hand palm across the strings you have played.

Phrase 2 in G major pentatonic: an answer (measures 3 and 4)
Chord:  G
e|----------------------|-------------------|
B|------0---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:  B   D   B   A       G

Phrase 3 in G major pentatonic: a short answer (measures 3 and 4)
Chord:  G
e|--------------------------------------|-------------------|
B|------3---0---------------------------|-------------------|
G|--------------2-------0---------------|-------------------|
D|--------------------------------------|-------------------|
A|--------------------------------------|-------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   &   2  (&)  3  (&) (4) (&)     [1] [2] [3] [4]
Pick:   D   U   D       D
Finger: 3   -   2       -
Notes:  D   B   A       G

Play each phrase twice at 60 BPM, the click on the beat, without the backing. Make each rest with the rest stop.

The Rule

Read the rule and the tick list aloud once.

Four measures: once through the G turnaround (Am7, D7, G, G), over your backing. During the first time through you listen and count, and you come in at the second “ONE”. The second, third and fourth times through are three turns of four measures; mark the tick list for the fourth.
These notes only: the twelve places of G major pentatonic in open position (the notes G, A, B, D and E), one note at a time, and no note shorter than an eighth note: two notes to a click at most.
Two phrases: a question in measures 1 and 2, then an answer in measures 3 and 4. Neither is longer than its two measures. The question ends on a note that is not G, B or D, the notes of the G chord. The answer ends on G.
Empty measures: at least one of the four measures holds a rest of two beats or more.
The ending: your last note is G, the home note, in measure 3 or measure 4, where the chord is G.

The Tick List

I came in at the second “ONE”, and in my fourth time through I stopped as measure 4 ended.
Every note was at one of the twelve places, and I played no more than two notes to a click.
I played a question in measures 1 and 2 that ended on E or A, and an answer in measures 3 and 4 that ended on G.
At least one measure held a rest of two beats or more.
My last note was G, in measure 3 or measure 4.

Five ticks is a pass.

If one is missing, play the map once more, then try again.

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 the second tick, the place of each note is marked from what you saw your hand do as you played: a recording does not show the place a note was played at.

How to Learn This Exercise

The table is the map of the four times through: it shows what you play each time through the backing.

Time through	Measures 1 and 2 (Am7, D7)	Measures 3 and 4 (G, G)
1	listen and count	listen and count
2	Phrase 1	Phrase 2
3	a question of your own	Phrase 2 or Phrase 3
4	a question of your own	an answer of your own, ending on G

If you lose your place while playing, stop, listen for the next ONE on the recording, and come in again there.

Step 1 — Listen, then the model phrases: Start the recording. The first time through, listen and count ONE to FOUR. Come in at the second ONE: Phrase 1 over Am7 and D7, then Phrase 2 over G.

Step 2 — A question of your own: The third time through: a question of your own in measures 1 and 2, ending on E or A, then Phrase 2 or Phrase 3 as its answer.

Step 3 — Four measures of your own: The fourth time through: a question of your own, then an answer of your own that ends on G. Stop as measure 4 ends, and mark the tick list for this time through.

In the session, play over the recording once, at its 60 BPM, from its four clicks to its last G, following the table, and mark the tick list for the fourth time through. If recording the backing took more than its 3 minutes, leave this for your first practice day: the “Four measures of your own” row begins with it.

What it should sound like: Play your backing recording against its chart and count aloud: ONE to FOUR four times, then 1 last strum of G. Count the ticks of the tick list after the fourth time through: 5.

Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Learned Today

G7 from G, and C7 from C
The chords built on the notes of a major scale
The two, five and one chords as the turnaround, in C and in G
Four measures of your own, ending on G, the home note of G major

Common Mistakes

In C7, string 2 or string 1 is muffled — String 2: finger 4 is leaning on it, so arch finger 4 until only its tip touches string 3. String 1: finger 1 is leaning on it, so stand finger 1 on its tip.
The change from C to G7 arrives after the click — Nothing stays down in this change. Move fingers 2 and 3 together, one string towards the ceiling, and let finger 1 follow to string 1. Slow the metronome by 10 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time.
All six strings are strummed in C7 — Rest the pick on string 5, then strum from there.
Coming in over the backing during its first time through — The first time through is for listening: count ONE to FOUR aloud and come in at the second ONE.

Self-Check Questions

Play G7, then C7, plucking the strings of each chord one at a time. 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 chord, lifting the hand in between. If not: use the two fixes, under “If a string does not ring” in Segment 2, and try again the next day.
Pass the change test (Beginner Session 3) for C and G7, 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: C and G7” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
By the end of this week’s practice: play D D U U D U on G for four measures and on C for four measures at 85 BPM, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: listen to the recording and count the measures aloud. Pass: 8 measures with no stop, and the 1 downstroke after them falls with its click. If not: go back to 80 BPM for two days, under “Warm-Up” in Segment 1, and try again after those two days.
Cover the page and say aloud the two, five and one chords of C major, then of G major. Check: uncover the table under “The Turnaround” and compare. Pass: 6 chords said, 6 right. If not: read its table aloud once on each of the next two practice days, under “The Turnaround” in Segment 3, and try again after those two days.
Play the Turnaround Study in C and G from its chart at 60 BPM in the down-up strum, the last G strummed once, 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: 16 measures with no stop, and each chord begins on count 1 of its measure. If not: play Step 1 and Step 2 one line at a time for two days; if it is C7 that stops you, play its measure as C, under “How to Learn This Study” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
Play over your backing recording once, with four measures of your own in the fourth time through. Check: mark the tick list as soon as you stop; mark its second tick from what you saw your hand do. Pass: 5 ticks. If not: play the table of the four times through once more, under “How to Learn This Exercise” in Segment 4, and try again straight after, on the same day.
Read the result you wrote when you marked your recording of Test 3, play it back: six phrases of six notes. Check: the key pile, dealt six 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.

Practice Plan for Week 13 (each practice day, 35 minutes)

Notes on the rows:

Rotation this week, the change-test pairs: Em and B7, a new chord every 2 beats at 70 BPM; Am7 and D7, a new chord every 2 beats at 65 BPM. One of them a day, in turn.
The Staff reading row: from this week its lines add G and A on string 3, and eighth notes. Today’s line is from the section “Lines for Week 13” of Reading Staff Notation 1; read its section “Stage 2: String 3 and Eighth Notes” after the session.
The Change test row: G and D7, a new chord every 2 beats, start the week at 75 BPM and may reach 80 BPM. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row.

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	4 min	Movement warm-up, tune; then D D U U D U on G and C, and the Stop-Time pattern for four measures; 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	G and A on string 3 join strings 1 and 2; eighth notes: today’s line, then its answer
G7 and C7	4 min	place, strum, lift, place; then C to G7 and back, a new chord every 4 beats
Turnaround Study in C and G	6 min	one turnaround at a time, from its chart: first one strum to a measure, then the down-up strum
Four measures of your own	3 min	over the backing you recorded in the session (the G turnaround), with the G major pentatonic
Giuliani: Andantino, measures 1 to 16	4 min	once through
Evening Sevenths	3 min	once through
Change test	4 min	G-D7 at 2 beats: its last step

Barre rows this week: “Warm-Up”, 1 minute; “Turnaround Study in C and G”, 2 minutes. Total: 3 minutes a day.

Two sittings this week: Sitting 1 is the rows from “Warm-Up” to “G7 and C7” (15 minutes). Sitting 2 is the rows from “Turnaround Study in C and G” to “Change test” (20 minutes). Leave at least an hour between them. Begin Sitting 2 with the movements under “Hand Warm-Up” in Segment 1, and tune again: neither is counted in the minutes.

Ear check this week: on your fourth practice day, mark the recording you made after this session. It takes 6 minutes: that day, leave out the “Turnaround Study in C and G” 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 14.

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.

If the item is barre work, slur work, little-finger work or three-string power-chord work, do not add it to your warm-up: play it inside the row of next week’s plan that holds that work, in that row’s minutes. The daily limits do not change.

Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK

The tuner check of G7 and C7 uses the tuner you tune with: a clip-on tuner on the Saga’s headstock, or your phone’s tuner app. Pluck one string at a time and wait for the letter to settle before you read it; then pluck the next string. In C7 the note on string 3 is B flat. A tuner that shows only sharps shows it as A#, which is the same note: that is why the tuner check of C7 prints A# (Bb).

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

Read: Keys And Their Chords, the sections “The Chords of a Key” and “The Turnaround”. (10 minutes)
Read: Warm Up And Playing Time, the section “Two Sittings”. (5 minutes)
Read: How To Practise At This Level, the section “Two Sittings”. (5 minutes)
Read: Reading Staff Notation 1, the section “Stage 2: String 3 and Eighth Notes”. (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)