Session 21: The Fifth Position
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 moves your fretting hand to the fifth position. You play A minor pentatonic there in two octaves, with the little finger at fret 8, and the first two of the six Fifth-Fret Phrases. You name the notes under fingers 1 and 3, and you find that the scale has the same five letters as in open position. The session ends with the Shuffle Blues in A (Session 20): you record it once through as your own backing and play along with it.
Learning Objectives
Section titled “Learning Objectives”By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Play A minor pentatonic in fifth position, two octaves, up and down in quarter notes, one note per click at 65 BPM: 21 notes, 2 times in a row
- Play two of the six Fifth-Fret Phrases from their TAB, one note per click at 60 BPM: 2 phrases of 2 measures each
- Say the note at each of the twelve places at frets 5 and 7, string by string, pressing with fingers 1 and 3: 12 places, 10 right
- Record the Shuffle Blues in A once through as a backing, with the metronome sounding, after four clicks, and play along with the recording to its last chord at 65 BPM: 38 measures
- Play back six-note phrases in fifth position from your own recording of Test 3: 6 phrases, 4 right
Where an objective gives a tempo, it is the figure for the end of this week’s practice.
Materials Needed
Section titled “Materials Needed”- Your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar
- A guitar pick
- A clip-on tuner or phone tuner app
- A metronome
- A phone that records sound
- Slips of paper and a pen, for this week’s ear check: 48 note slips
- The fourteen note-name cards of Session 17
- Handout for this session: Notes On The Neck (read after the session, 20 minutes)
- Handout for this session: Picking Across Strings (read after the session, 10 minutes)
- Staff reading this week: Reading Staff Notation 1, the section “Lines for Week 21”
- Reference: Chord Chart, Glossary
Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)”Hand Warm-Up
Section titled “Hand Warm-Up”Open and close both hands loosely five times. Circle each wrist five times each way. Touch your thumb to each fingertip in turn. Shake the hands out.
Tune Your Guitar
Section titled “Tune Your Guitar”Tune all six strings (EADGBE). Before you look at the tuner, guess: too low, too high or right? Then look.
Warm-Up
Section titled “Warm-Up”Play the crescendo strum (Session 10) on Em at 70 BPM, strumming D/U: its eight measures, twice, as its Dyn row marks.
Copy of Session 10: the crescendo strum
Chord: Em Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | Dyn: p cresc. Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | Dyn: f dim. Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | Strum: D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U |
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.
Tempo: 70 BPM, strumming D/U (down on the click, up between clicks)
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.
The four frets of the crawl, 5 to 8, are the four frets of today’s new position.
Barre presses:
A (four strings) (Session 19), at fret 5: place it by the four steps of “How a Barre Works” (Session 19), then press, pluck the four strings, release, and shake out the hand. 4 presses in the minute. Its diagram, its lines and the dead-string table are in Session 19, under “Presses at Fret 5”.
Barre work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The Fifth Position (10 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The Fifth Position (10 minutes)”Session day: the daily limits count today too. The limited work you do in this session is all you do of it today, also if you pick up the guitar again later.
Limited work today: little-finger work, 4 minutes: the scale and the two phrases under “The Scale and Two Phrases”.
Limited work today: barre work, 1 minute: the presses under “Warm-Up” in Segment 1.
The Scale and Two Phrases (5 minutes)
Section titled “The Scale and Two Phrases (5 minutes)”Little-finger work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total in the first two weeks at a new fret.
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.
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Position — A place on the neck for the fretting hand in which each finger has its own fret, four frets in a row. It is named by the fret that finger 1 plays. (Session 21)
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Fifth position — The position in which finger 1 plays fret 5, finger 2 fret 6, finger 3 fret 7 and finger 4 (little finger) fret 8. (Session 21)
Move your whole hand along the neck, thumb travelling with it. This is a shift, not a stretch.
Stop when finger 1 is over fret 5.
If it pulls, stop that item for today; if it aches, stop playing for today.
In fifth position, fret 5 = finger 1, fret 6 = finger 2, fret 7 = finger 3 and fret 8 = finger 4 (little finger).
A minor pentatonic, two octaves, fifth position: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-------------------|-----------5-------| B|----------------------|-------------------|---5---8-------8---| G|----------------------|-----------5---7---|-------------------| D|----------------------|---5---7-----------|-------------------| A|--------------5---7---|-------------------|-------------------| E|------5---8-----------|-------------------|-------------------| 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: 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 Notes: A C D E G A C D E G A G e|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| B|------5---------------|-------------------|-------------------| G|----------7---5-------|-------------------|-------------------| D|------------------7---|---5---------------|-------------------| A|----------------------|-------7---5-------|-------------------| E|----------------------|---------------8---|---5---------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 (2) (3) (4) Pick: D U D U D U D U D Finger: 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 Notes: E D C A G E D C A
A minor pentatonic in fifth position, in quarter notes: one note per click. The top A is played once. The last A 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.
A minor pentatonic, two octaves, fifth position: up and down, eighth notes e|--------------------------------------|-----------5-----------------------| B|--------------------------------------|---5---8-------8---5---------------| G|------------------------------5---7---|-----------------------7---5-------| D|----------------------5---7-----------|-------------------------------7---| A|--------------5---7-------------------|-----------------------------------| E|------5---8---------------------------|-----------------------------------| 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 U Finger: 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 3 1 3 Notes: A C D E G A C D E G A G E D C A e|--------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------| D|------5-------------------------------| A|----------7---5-----------------------| E|------------------8---5---------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 (4) Pick: D U D U D Finger: 1 3 1 4 1 Notes: G E D C A
A minor pentatonic in fifth position, in eighth notes: two notes per click. The top A is played once. The last A lasts two beats: let it ring while you count (4).
You play this form from Session 24.
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.
Three fingers play this scale: 1, 3 and 4. Finger 2 is not used, and finger 4 plays fret 8 on strings 6 and 2 only.
Play the quarter-note block up and down, one note per click: first once without the metronome, saying each note’s name from the Notes row; then once with the metronome at 60 BPM.
On the practice days the “A minor pentatonic at fret 5” row may reach 65 BPM this week. 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.
”Fifth-Fret Phrases”
Section titled “”Fifth-Fret Phrases””Credits: Written for this course.
What this is: A study: an original exercise written for this course. It is not a song. It holds six phrases of two measures each, in quarter notes, on the notes of A minor pentatonic in fifth position, and every phrase ends on A. Phrases 1, 3 and 5 use fingers 1 and 3 only. Phrases 2, 4 and 6 also use the little finger at fret 8, five notes in all. You play two phrases a day, one of each kind. Not yet play-tested.
Key: A minor
Time: 4/4
Tempo: 60 BPM, one note per click (quarter notes) all week. It does not go up this week: the position is new.
Picking: Every note is a downstroke: in a tune the pick follows the count, and every note here is on a numbered count.
"Fifth-Fret Phrases" - phrase 1 e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|------------------5---|---7---5-----------| D|----------5---7-------|-----------7-------| A|------7---------------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D D D D D Finger: 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 Notes: E G A C D C A
"Fifth-Fret Phrases" - phrase 2 e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|----------------------|-------------------| D|----------------------|-------------------| A|--------------5---7---|---5---------------| E|------5---8-----------|-------8---5-------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D D D D D Finger: 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 Notes: A C D E D C A
"Fifth-Fret Phrases" - phrase 3 e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|----------------------|-------------------| D|------7---5-----------|-------5---7-------| A|--------------7---5---|---7---------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D D D D D Finger: 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 Notes: A G E D E G A
"Fifth-Fret Phrases" - phrase 4 e|----------------------|---5-------5-------| B|--------------5---8---|-------8-----------| G|------5---7-----------|-------------------| D|----------------------|-------------------| A|----------------------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D D D D D Finger: 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 Notes: C D E G A G A
"Fifth-Fret Phrases" - phrase 5 e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|------5-------7---5---|-------------------| D|----------------------|---7---5---7-------| A|----------------------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 (2) 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D D D D Finger: 1 3 1 3 1 3 Notes: C D C A G A
"Fifth-Fret Phrases" - phrase 6 e|------5---------------|-------------------| B|----------8---5-------|-------------------| G|------------------7---|---5---------------| D|----------------------|-------7-----------| A|----------------------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 (3) (4) Pick: D D D D D D Finger: 1 4 1 3 1 3 Notes: A G E D C A
Every note of a phrase is a downstroke, because a phrase is picked by the count, though the scale above alternates.
How to Learn This Exercise:
Step 1 — The scale first: Play the scale before the day’s two phrases: the same eleven places, in scale order. Today you have just played it.
Step 2 — Two phrases a day: One phrase with fingers 1 and 3 only and one with the little finger: phrases 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, then 5 and 6, then 3 and 4 again, then 1 and 2 again. On the last practice day the two phrases of the row are the two of Self-Check Question 2. On a practice day, play each phrase six times.
Today, play phrase 1 three times, then phrase 2 three times, at 60 BPM, each time after four clicks.
What it should sound like: With the metronome at 60 BPM, every note falls with a click. Count 1 2 3 4 aloud through both measures, and let the last A ring through the counts in brackets. On a recording, followed on the TAB, count the notes of each phrase: 7 in phrases 1 to 4 and 6 in phrases 5 and 6, and none wrong.
Naming the Notes of the Position (5 minutes)
Section titled “Naming the Notes of the Position (5 minutes)”In this part fingers 1 and 3 press and the little finger does not: today’s little-finger minutes are used up by the scale and the phrases.
The table gives every place under the four fingers in fifth position, string by string from string 6.
| Note | String | Fret | Also called | Finger | In the fifth-position scale of Session 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 6 (low E) | 5 | 1 (index) | A minor pentatonic | |
| A# | 6 (low E) | 6 | Bb | 2 (middle) | |
| B | 6 (low E) | 7 | 3 (ring) | ||
| C | 6 (low E) | 8 | 4 (little finger) | A minor pentatonic | |
| D | 5 (A) | 5 | 1 (index) | A minor pentatonic | |
| D# | 5 (A) | 6 | Eb | 2 (middle) | |
| E | 5 (A) | 7 | 3 (ring) | A minor pentatonic | |
| F | 5 (A) | 8 | 4 (little finger) | ||
| G | 4 (D) | 5 | 1 (index) | A minor pentatonic | |
| G# | 4 (D) | 6 | Ab | 2 (middle) | |
| A | 4 (D) | 7 | 3 (ring) | A minor pentatonic | |
| A# | 4 (D) | 8 | Bb | 4 (little finger) | |
| C | 3 (G) | 5 | 1 (index) | A minor pentatonic | |
| C# | 3 (G) | 6 | Db | 2 (middle) | |
| D | 3 (G) | 7 | 3 (ring) | A minor pentatonic | |
| D# | 3 (G) | 8 | Eb | 4 (little finger) | |
| E | 2 (B) | 5 | 1 (index) | A minor pentatonic | |
| F | 2 (B) | 6 | 2 (middle) | ||
| F# | 2 (B) | 7 | Gb | 3 (ring) | |
| G | 2 (B) | 8 | 4 (little finger) | A minor pentatonic | |
| A | 1 (high e) | 5 | 1 (index) | A minor pentatonic | |
| A# | 1 (high e) | 6 | Bb | 2 (middle) | |
| B | 1 (high e) | 7 | 3 (ring) | ||
| C | 1 (high e) | 8 | 4 (little finger) | A minor pentatonic |
The blocks of A minor pentatonic in fifth position go up to A on string 1 at fret 5: C on string 1 at fret 8 is a note of the scale that no block plays.
From string 6 to string 1: press fret 5 with finger 1, pluck it and say the note; then press fret 7 with finger 3, pluck it and say the note. The tuner shows the letter. The twelve places are A, D, G, C, E, A at fret 5 and B, E, A, D, F sharp, B at fret 7.
String 2 at fret 7 is an in-between note, F sharp, also called G flat, and a tuner may show either name. B, on strings 6 and 1 at fret 7, is a natural note that is not one of the five notes of A minor pentatonic.
Then, without pressing, point at fret 6 and at fret 8 on each string and read their names from the table.
Last, cover the table. Name the twelve places at frets 5 and 7 again from memory, string by string, pressing with fingers 1 and 3 and plucking each. Check each against the tuner, count how many are right, and write the number down.
Segment 3 — New Learning: The Same Notes in a New Place (15 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 3 — New Learning: The Same Notes in a New Place (15 minutes)”What a Position Is
Section titled “What a Position Is”Nothing is played in this part.
A position is named by the fret that finger 1 plays: in fifth position finger 1 plays fret 5 and finger 4 (little finger) plays fret 8. A scale moved to a new position keeps its note names and changes its strings and frets: A minor pentatonic is A, C, D, E, G in open position and in fifth position.
The table gives the fret under each finger in the course’s two positions, and what each position is used for.
| Position | Finger 1 (index) | Finger 2 (middle) | Finger 3 (ring) | Finger 4 (little finger) | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first position (open position from Session 7) | fret 1 | fret 2 | fret 3 | fret 4 | every open-position scale |
| fifth position | fret 5 | fret 6 | fret 7 | fret 8 | A minor pentatonic |
The course uses no other position.
Most guitar books and videos call this shape Box 1, as Beginner Session 16 said. This course calls it A minor pentatonic in fifth position.
Answer two questions in writing, then read the answer printed under each.
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Which fret does finger 3 play in fifth position?
Answer: fret 7.
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What would a position be called in which finger 1 plays fret 3?
Answer: third position. The course does not use it.
The Same Five Notes
Section titled “The Same Five Notes”A minor pentatonic in open position, from the beginner course, stands here to compare with the new position. Play it from the page, not from memory: it has no card.
Copy of Beginner Session 16: A minor pentatonic, open position
A minor pentatonic, open position: ascending (twelve notes) e|----------------------|-------------------|-----------0---3---| B|----------------------|-------------------|---1---3-----------| G|----------------------|-----------0---2---|-------------------| D|----------------------|---0---2-----------|-------------------| A|--------------0---3---|-------------------|-------------------| E|------0---3-----------|-------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Finger: - 3 - 3 - 2 - 2 1 3 - 3 Notes: E G A C D E G A C D E G
Copy of Beginner Session 16: A minor pentatonic, open position
A minor pentatonic, open position: descending (eleven notes) e|------0---------------|-------------------|---------------| B|----------3---1-------|-------------------|---------------| G|------------------2---|---0---------------|---------------| D|----------------------|-------2---0-------|---------------| A|----------------------|---------------3---|---0-----------| E|----------------------|-------------------|-------3---0---| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 Finger: - 3 1 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - Notes: E D C A G E D C A G E
When you play up and then down without stopping, the top G is played once: after it, carry straight on with the descending TAB, which starts on the open string 1. That is why the descending TAB has eleven notes. The last E lasts two beats.
Play it up and then down once, as printed, at 60 BPM, one note per click.
The table gives every place of A minor pentatonic in open position and in fifth position, lowest note first.
| Note | Position | String | Fret | Same pitch in the other position? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | open position | 6 (low E) | 0 (open) | only in this position |
| G | open position | 6 (low E) | 3 | only in this position |
| A | open position | 5 (A) | 0 (open) | the same note is in both positions |
| A | fifth position | 6 (low E) | 5 | the same note is in both positions |
| C | open position | 5 (A) | 3 | the same note is in both positions |
| C | fifth position | 6 (low E) | 8 | the same note is in both positions |
| D | open position | 4 (D) | 0 (open) | the same note is in both positions |
| D | fifth position | 5 (A) | 5 | the same note is in both positions |
| E | open position | 4 (D) | 2 | the same note is in both positions |
| E | fifth position | 5 (A) | 7 | the same note is in both positions |
| G | open position | 3 (G) | 0 (open) | the same note is in both positions |
| G | fifth position | 4 (D) | 5 | the same note is in both positions |
| A | open position | 3 (G) | 2 | the same note is in both positions |
| A | fifth position | 4 (D) | 7 | the same note is in both positions |
| C | open position | 2 (B) | 1 | the same note is in both positions |
| C | fifth position | 3 (G) | 5 | the same note is in both positions |
| D | open position | 2 (B) | 3 | the same note is in both positions |
| D | fifth position | 3 (G) | 7 | the same note is in both positions |
| E | open position | 1 (high e) | 0 (open) | the same note is in both positions |
| E | fifth position | 2 (B) | 5 | the same note is in both positions |
| G | open position | 1 (high e) | 3 | the same note is in both positions |
| G | fifth position | 2 (B) | 8 | the same note is in both positions |
| A | fifth position | 1 (high e) | 5 | only in this position |
| C | fifth position | 1 (high e) | 8 | only in this position |
Pluck three of its pairs, one after the other: the open string, then fret 5 with finger 1, and read the tuner each time. A: string 5 open, then string 6 at fret 5. D: string 4 open, then string 5 at fret 5. G: string 3 open, then string 4 at fret 5.
The letters are the same five, A, C, D, E and G; only the strings and frets change.
Note-Name Cards
Section titled “Note-Name Cards”Take the note-name cards of Session 17: the natural notes on strings 6 and 5, frets 0 to 10. They have a row again this week. Shuffle them and draw five. For each card, find its place and say the note. Check each against the sentence on the natural notes under “Finding the Nine Roots” in Session 17, and count how many are right.
Four of today’s places are on these cards: A and B on string 6 at frets 5 and 7, and D and E on string 5 at frets 5 and 7.
Ear Drill: The Six Places
Section titled “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 A minor pentatonic notes on strings 5, 4 and 3 in fifth position.
| Note | String | Fret |
|---|---|---|
| D | 5 (A) | 5 |
| E | 5 (A) | 7 |
| G | 4 (D) | 5 |
| A | 4 (D) | 7 |
| C | 3 (G) | 5 |
| D | 3 (G) | 7 |
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.
The six places use fingers 1 and 3 only. The finger sentence for fifth position and the shift are under “The Scale and Two Phrases” in Segment 2.
Write six note slips now, one for each place of the table; the other 42 slips are written after the session. Then play the drill once with these six.
Ear Test 3, the six-note rhythm in fifth position, six slips as an example e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|--------------7-------|-----------5-------| D|------5---------------|-------7-----------| A|----------------------|---5-----------7---| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 (2) 3 (4) 1 2 3 4 Pick: D D D D D D Finger: 1 3 1 3 1 3 Notes: G D D A C E
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 at 60 BPM, one count to a click, two times through, each time starting on a click.
Read the form below now; it is for after the session. After the session you finish the 48 slips and record the six phrases with the recorded card test (Session 2), inside the 8 minutes of the Record line. You mark the recording on your fourth practice day, in 6 minutes, and that day the “Shuffle Blues in A” row is left out. Nothing is recorded or marked in the session.
Test 3, play it back, six notes in fifth position. The pile is 48 note slips, eight for each of these six places: string 5 fret 5, string 5 fret 7, string 4 fret 5, string 4 fret 7, string 3 fret 5, string 3 fret 7. An item is six slips in a row from left to right: play their notes as two half notes and then four quarter notes. Record with the metronome sounding at 60 BPM, one count to a click, and start each playing on a click. Play the phrase twice. If you play a note that is not on its slip, say “again” and play the phrase twice more. Record six items. To answer, listen to both playings of an item, stop the recording, play the phrase back once on the six places of the pile, and write the places you played, in order. If you hear “again”, answer from the two playings after the last “again”. Write each place as two figures, the string then the fret, such as 4-7. 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: Shuffle Blues in A (15 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Shuffle Blues in A (15 minutes)”Once Through, Then Your Backing (15 minutes)
Section titled “Once Through, Then Your Backing (15 minutes)”The piece is Session 20’s, and the little finger is not used in it. Its chart, its three lines of TAB and its ending stand below as copies of Session 20; the lines under its name are in Session 20 and are not printed again.
Tempo: Start at 65 BPM, Swing, two strums per click (swung eighth notes) and work up to 70. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. In one week, take two steps at most. The performance tempo is 70 BPM, Swing, two strums per click (swung eighth notes).
In this piece one time round the 12 measures is one run: once through with no stop is three runs.
Fast strumming: if your strumming hand or forearm aches, that is tension. Stop playing for today, and next time loosen your grip on the pick.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Copy of Session 20: “Shuffle Blues in A” - the chords, one to a measure
"Shuffle Blues in A" - the chords, one to a measure Key: A major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) The 12-bar form, 12 measures: | A5 | A5 | A5 | A5 | | D5 | D5 | A5 | A5 | | E5 | D5 | A5 | E7 | Ending, 2 measures: | D7 | A7 | Play the 12-bar form three times, then the ending: 38 measures as played.
Copy of Session 20: “Shuffle Blues in A” - measures 1 to 4
"Shuffle Blues in A" - measures 1 to 4 Chord: A5 A5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| A|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| 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 PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM Chord: A5 A5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| A|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| 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 PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
Copy of Session 20: “Shuffle Blues in A” - measures 5 to 8
"Shuffle Blues in A" - measures 5 to 8 Chord: D5 D5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| D|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| A|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| 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 PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM Chord: A5 A5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| A|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| 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 PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
Copy of Session 20: “Shuffle Blues in A” - measures 9 to 12
"Shuffle Blues in A" - measures 9 to 12 Chord: E5 D5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| D|--------------------------------------|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| A|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|-----------------------------------| E|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Strum: D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM Chord: A5 E7 e|--------------------------------------|---0---------------| B|--------------------------------------|---0---------------| G|--------------------------------------|---1---------------| D|------2---2---2---2---2---2-----------|---0---------------| A|------0---0---0---0---0---0-----------|---2---------------| E|--------------------------------------|---0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & [4] [&] 1 [2] [3] [4] Strum: D U D U D U D PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM O
Copy of Session 20: “Shuffle Blues in A” - the ending, measures 37 and 38
"Shuffle Blues in A" - the ending, measures 37 and 38 Chord: D7 A7 e|------2---------------|---0---------------| B|------1---------------|---2---------------| G|------2---------------|---0---------------| D|------0---------------|---2---------------| A|----------------------|---0---------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 [2] [3] [4] 1 (2) (3) (4) Strum: D D PM: O O
The rests of measures 11 and 12 and of the ending are made with the rest stop (Session 3): the strumming-hand palm laid flat across the strings. No single picked note is followed by a rest in this session.
With the guitar still, say the form aloud from the chart: the twelve chords of the form three times, then D7 and A7 of the ending. Nothing is played yet.
Then set the metronome to 65 BPM, count in one measure aloud yourself, and play the whole piece once through in the shuffle: all 38 measures as written.
Record Your Backing:
Set the metronome to 65 BPM and leave it sounding. Start the recording, let four clicks pass, and play the piece once through: 38 measures. Record no introduction and add no chord. When you play the piece along with the recording, its four clicks are your count-in. When you play a chorus of your own over it in a later session, its first time round the form is for listening and counting.
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.
Hear It Back:
Put the guitar down. Play the recording back with the chart in front of you. Point at each box and count the measures aloud: ten measures of the shuffle, the stop on beat 4 of measure 11, the one strum of E7 in measure 12; the same a second and a third time; then D7 and A7. Then make three ticks:
- The form is whole: 38 measures, none missing and none added.
- The click is heard through the silent beats of measures 12, 24, 36 and 37.
- The guitar and the click are both heard.
Write the date and the tempo, 65, in the recording’s name: Sessions 22 to 25 use this recording.
Play Along with Your Backing:
If a tick is missing, record the piece once more now, in the same way, and hear it back on your first practice day. If all three ticks are there, start the recording and play the piece along with it at 65 BPM, from its first measure to its last A7: all 38 measures. This is what the week’s row asks for after its first play.
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.
Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)”What You Learned Today
Section titled “What You Learned Today”- The fret that finger 1 plays names the position
- A minor pentatonic in fifth position, with finger 4 at fret 8 on strings 6 and 2
- The same five letters as in open position, in a new place
- Your own recording of the Shuffle Blues in A is now a backing
Common Mistakes
Section titled “Common Mistakes”- Finger 4 reaches for fret 8 while the hand stays near the nut — Do what the three sentences under “The Scale and Two Phrases” in Segment 2 say, in their order: the shift, where it stops, and what to do if it pulls or aches.
- A note at fret 8 buzzes — Move the fingertip right up behind the fret wire, then stand the finger on its tip; only then add the smallest extra pressure that clears the buzz.
- Finger 1 is laid flat across two strings at fret 5 — Lift the finger and set its tip on the new string each time: in a scale one fingertip plays one string.
- The backing has a measure missing or a stop in it — Stop, let four clicks pass, and start the recording again from measure 1. Keep only a take that has all 38 measures.
Self-Check Questions
Section titled “Self-Check Questions”- By the end of this week’s practice: play A minor pentatonic in fifth position, two octaves, up and down in quarter notes at 65 BPM, one note per click, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: follow the recording on the scale’s TAB. Pass: 21 notes with no wrong note, 2 times in a row. If not: go back to 60 BPM for two days, inside the day’s little-finger minutes, under “The Scale and Two Phrases” in Segment 2, and try again after those two days.
- Play phrase 1 and then phrase 2 of the Fifth-Fret Phrases at 60 BPM, one note per click, each after four clicks, and record them with the metronome sounding. Check: follow the recording on the two TABs and count the notes. Pass: 7 notes in each of the 2 phrases, with no wrong note. If not: play the scale once, then the same two phrases only, on two days, inside the day’s little-finger minutes, under “Fifth-Fret Phrases” in Segment 2, and try again after those two days.
- With the table covered, say the note at each of the twelve places at frets 5 and 7, from string 6 to string 1, pressing each with finger 1 or finger 3 and plucking it. Check: the tuner shows the letter you said (at string 2, fret 7 it may show F# or Gb). Pass: 10 of the 12 places. If not: read the table aloud string by string once a day for three days, under “Naming the Notes of the Position” in Segment 2, and try again after those three days.
- Play the Shuffle Blues in A along with the backing you recorded in the session, from its first measure to its last. Check: count the measures aloud as you play; with one device only, judge it as you play. Pass: 38 measures with no stop, and your last A7 falls within 1 beat of the recording’s last A7. If not: play along with the first twelve measures only, on two days, under “Play Along with Your Backing” 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 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 21 (each practice day, 35 minutes)
Section titled “Practice Plan for Week 21 (each practice day, 35 minutes)”Notes on the rows:
- Rotation this week, the change-test pairs: G and D7, a new chord every 2 beats at 80 BPM; Em and B7, a new chord every 2 beats at 80 BPM; Am7 and D7, a new chord every 2 beats at 75 BPM; C and G7, a new chord every 2 beats at 65 BPM; D and Bm, a new chord every 4 beats at 70 BPM. One of them a day, in turn.
- The “Staff reading” row: this week’s lines are in Reading Staff Notation 1, the section “Lines for Week 21”, the last week of lines in that handout.
- The “Note-name cards” row: five cards a day, as under “Note-Name Cards” in Segment 3, then the twelve places at frets 5 and 7 named once with the table covered, from string 6 to string 1, pressing each with finger 1 or finger 3, as under “Naming the Notes of the Position” in Segment 2; the little finger is not used, so the row holds no limited work.
- The “Fifth-Fret Phrases” row: the phrases stay at 60 BPM all week, also on a day the scale in the row before has reached 65 BPM.
- Set the metronome back to 60 before the study.
- The “Shuffle Blues in A” row: once through, then over the backing you recorded in the session.
- The “Down by the Salley Gardens” row: this week play the strummed verse only, from its chart and strum block in Session 16, because the day’s 4 little-finger minutes are in the scale and the phrases.
| Block | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | 4 min | Movement warm-up, tune; then the crescendo strum; then the spider crawl at frets 5 to 8 |
| 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, with the Bm (four strings) card and the nine power-chord cards of E5. 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 | today’s line from the staff handout, then its answer |
| Barre presses | 3 min | A (four strings) at fret 5: press, pluck four strings, release, 2 minutes; simplified F and Dm7 the same way, 1 minute |
| Note-name cards | 3 min | five cards a day, then the twelve places at frets 5 and 7 named once with the table covered, from string 6 to string 1, pressing each with finger 1 or finger 3 |
| A minor pentatonic at fret 5 | 3 min | two octaves, quarter notes |
| Fifth-Fret Phrases | 2 min | two phrases a day |
| Shuffle Blues in A | 8 min | once through, then over the backing you recorded in the session |
| Down by the Salley Gardens | 5 min | the strummed verse only: the week’s 4 little-finger minutes are in the scale and the phrases |
Barre work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
Barre rows this week: “Barre presses”, 3 minutes. Total: 3 minutes a day.
Little-finger work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total in the first two weeks at a new fret.
Little-finger rows this week: “A minor pentatonic at fret 5”, 3 minutes; “Fifth-Fret Phrases”, 1 minute. Total: 4 minutes 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.
Two sittings this week: Sitting 1 is the rows from “Warm-Up” to “Note-name cards” (17 minutes). Sitting 2 is the rows from “A minor pentatonic at fret 5” to “Down by the Salley Gardens” (18 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 “Shuffle Blues in A” row.
This is your plan for the whole week. On your last practice day, answer this session’s Self-Check Questions as you play the rows that hold them: a question adds no minutes to a row and nothing to a daily limit.
All yes: go on to Session 22.
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
Section titled “Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK”You can find fret 5 without counting up from the nut. Your Saga has dot markers on the fretboard at frets 3, 5, 7 and 9: set finger 1 in the fret of the second dot from the nut, fret 5, just behind its fret wire. Then check with the tuner: press string 6 at fret 5 with finger 1 and pluck it, and the tuner shows A. If it shows another letter, count the frets from the nut once and look again at which dot you used.
After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)
- Read: Notes On The Neck, the sections “Positions”, “The Fifth Position, String by String”, “The Same Letters in a New Place” and “Naming a Moveable Shape by Its Root”. (20 minutes)
- Read: Picking Across Strings, the section “The Fifth Position”. (10 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. (8 minutes)