Session 26: Six-Eight Time

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 6/8 time. You count it as six counts in two groups of three, with two beats to a measure, and learn the course’s 6/8 strumming pattern on Em, strong on counts 1 and 4. You tell 6/8 from 3/4, first by playing the waltz strum and then by ear. Then you play the pattern over four chords you know, Em, G, C and D, in the “Six-Eight Strum Study”, four measures at a time. The session ends with the verse and chorus chords of “Blood Brothers”, played with one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4.

Learning Objectives

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

Strum the 6/8 pattern on Em without stopping, the two strong strums on counts 1 and 4, at 75 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes: 4 measures
Play the Six-Eight Strum Study from its chart four measures at a time, each phrase after one counted measure, at 75 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes: 4 measures, for 2 of its 4 phrases
Play the verse and then the chorus of Blood Brothers from its chart, one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4, a new chord on each, at 60 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes: 16 measures
Say aloud how a measure of 6/8 and a measure of 3/4 group their six eighth notes, and count one measure of each aloud: 2 measures, 1 of each
Write 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8 for each item of your own recording of Test 2: 9 items of 24 strums

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
Slips of paper and a pen, for this week’s ear check
A way to play Iron Maiden’s recording of “Blood Brothers”: listen to it three times before the session, as its “Listen first” paragraph asks
Handout for this session: Rhythm Beyond Eighth Notes (read after the session, 10 minutes)
Handout for this session: Rock Rhythm Guitar (optional reading, after the session)
Staff reading this week: Reading Staff Notation 2, the section “Lines for Week 26”
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

Play the crescendo strum (Session 10) on Em at 70 BPM, once through: soft and growing louder, then loud and growing softer, 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.

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

Slur 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.

Then the slur phrase of the “Slur Study in A minor” (Session 23), in quarter notes, legato: play it twice through at 70 BPM, one note per click.

Copy of Session 23: “Slur Study in A minor” - measures 1 to 4, the slur phrase

"Slur Study in A minor" - measures 1 to 4, the slur phrase
e|----------------------|-------------------|
B|----------------------|-------------------|
G|----------------------|-------------------|
D|------7---p5--5---h7--|---7---p5----------|
A|----------------------|-----------7---p5--|
E|----------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4
Pick:   D       D           D       D
Finger: 3   1   1   3       3   1   3   1
Notes:  A   G   G   A       A   G   E   D

e|----------------------|-------------------|
B|----------------------|-------------------|
G|----------------------|-------------------|
D|--------------5---h7--|---7---------------|
A|------5---h7----------|-------------------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1  (2) (3) (4)
Pick:   D       D           D
Finger: 1   3   1   3       3
Notes:  D   E   G   A       A

70 BPM is this week’s figure for the phrase; last week’s was 60 BPM.

On the practice days the slur phrase may reach 80 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.

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.

Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The 6/8 Strum (10 minutes)

Counting in Six

6/8 is counted 1 2 3 4 5 6, one count to each eighth note, in two groups of three: the strong counts are 1 and 4.

6/8 time — A time signature with six eighth notes in a measure, in two groups of three. It is counted 1 2 3 4 5 6, one count to each eighth note, and the strong counts are 1 and 4. In 6/8 a measure has six numbered counts and two beats. (Session 26)
Eighth note (in 6/8) — In 6/8 an eighth note is one numbered count, three to a beat. (Session 26)

Set the metronome to 70 BPM, clicking eighth notes.

The metronome clicks eighth notes: one click to each count, six clicks to a measure.

If your metronome can mark the first beat of a measure, set its beats per measure to 3, so that the marked click falls on counts 1 and 4.

First count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud with the click through 24 clicks, four measures, and clap on 1 and on 4.

Then the count with weight on counts 1 and 4, on Em, in 6/8:

Count:  1   2   3   4   5   6
Strum:  D   d   d   D   d   d
Accent: >           >

D = strong downstroke on counts 1 and 4, d = softer downstroke, > = accent (play that strum louder)

Strum it on Em at 70 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes: six downstrokes to a measure, the strong ones on counts 1 and 4, 8 times through the block without stopping.

This is a step towards the 6/8 pattern. It is not yet the pattern.

The 6/8 Pattern

This is the session’s hard new skill, for the strumming hand: the 6/8 pattern, on Em, in 6/8:

Count:  1       2   &   3       4       5   &   6
Strum:  D       d   u   d       D       d   u   d
Accent: >                       >

D = strong downstroke on counts 1 and 4, d = softer downstroke, u = softer upstroke, > = accent (play that strum louder)

In 6/8 every numbered count is a downstroke. An upstroke falls only on an & between two counts.

Say it aloud first: ONE, two-and, three, FOUR, five-and, six.

Build it in two stages at 70 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes. First play counts 1 to 3 alone, down, down-up, down, and stop as count 4 arrives. Do this until the upstroke comes without a pause. Then play the whole pattern. Nothing is strummed between count 3 and count 4, or between count 6 and count 1.

Then play four measures without stopping, four times, with a breath between the runs.

The strong strums on counts 1 and 4 are played as loud strums are:

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

Tempo: Metronome at 70, clicking eighth notes (one count per click). Work up to 75. Raise the metronome 5 at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. This week, take one step at most.

The Muted Strum on F5

Three-string power-chord work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.

This is kept ready for Session 29: the muted strum with the fretting hand (Beginner Session 20), in eighth notes on F5.

Chord:  F5
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
Strum:  chk chk chk chk chk chk chk chk

chk = a muted strum: a strum on strings that are being held still, so that you hear a dry “chk” and no note.

Here the fretting hand holds the strings still: keep the chord shape, relax your fretting fingers so they touch the strings without pressing, and strum the same three strings.

Turn the metronome down to 50 BPM, clicking the beat. Play the block 4 times through at 50 BPM, two strums to each click. That is all of it for today: do not play the block again in the session.

Segment 3 — New Learning: Six-Eight Time (15 minutes)

Six Counts, Two Beats

Nothing is played in this part.

Time signature — Two numbers at the start of a piece. In 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 the top number is the number of beats in a measure and the bottom number, 4, means that a quarter note is one beat. In 6/8 the top number counts eighth notes, six to a measure, and a beat is three of them. (Session 26)
Compound time — A time signature in which each beat is made of three equal notes, not two. 6/8 is one: it has two beats in a measure, each of three eighth notes, which is why the metronome can click twice a measure. 12/8, with four such beats, is another; this course names it and does not use it. (Session 26)

This is the time-signature line of a chart in 6/8:

Key: E minor        Time: 6/8 (six counts in a measure)

Example, 4 measures:

| Em | G  | C  | D  |

The words in brackets say six counts, not six beats.

The four time signatures of this course:

Time signature	Top number	Bottom number	Numbered counts in a measure	Beats in a measure
4/4	4	4	4	4
3/4	3	4	3	3
2/4	2	4	2	2
6/8	6	8	6	2, each three counts long

12/8 is only named here: no piece of this course uses it.

6/8 Against 3/4

A measure of 6/8 and a measure of 3/4 both hold six eighth notes. 6/8 groups them in two threes, counted 1 2 3 4 5 6 with the strong counts on 1 and 4; 3/4 groups them in three twos, counted 1 & 2 & 3 & with the beats on 1, 2 and 3.

The waltz strum (Beginner Session 7) comes back here as what 6/8 is not. It is in 3/4:

Copy of Beginner Session 7: the waltz strum

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

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

Play it on Em at 70 BPM in 3/4, one strum per click, 4 times through the block.

What differs: in the waltz each strum is a beat, three beats to a measure. In 6/8 a count is an eighth note and a beat is three counts long, two beats to a measure.

Two measures of this waltz at 70 BPM are the same strokes at the same speed as one measure of the count with weight on counts 1 and 4, under “Counting in Six” in Segment 2. So six even downstrokes with a loud one every three could be either time. What marks 6/8 is this session’s pattern, with its upstrokes in the same place in each half, and, from Session 29, a metronome that clicks twice a measure.

Ear Drill: Fours, Twos and Threes

Strum Em in downstrokes at one speed, with no metronome, and count aloud: two measures as a slip marked 4/4 is strummed, two as a slip marked 3/4 and two as a slip marked 6/8. The strums never change speed: only the loud strums move.

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

In the beginner course’s Test 2 every strum was one beat, and a loud strum every three was 3/4. In this test every strum is an eighth note: a loud strum every three is 6/8, and 3/4 is a loud strum every two, with the first of every six the loudest.

A slip marked 4/4, in 4/4:

Ear Test 2, a slip marked 4/4, one measure of its three
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
Strum:  D   d   d   d   D   d   d   d
Accent: >               >

A slip marked 3/4, in 3/4:

Ear Test 2, a slip marked 3/4, one measure of its four
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &
Strum:  D   d   D   d   D   d
Accent: >

A slip marked 6/8, in 6/8:

Ear Test 2, a slip marked 6/8, one measure of its four
Count:  1   2   3   4   5   6
Strum:  D   d   d   D   d   d
Accent: >           >

D with > = the loudest strum, D = a loud strum, d = a soft strum. In this test only, a D without > is a loud strum that is not the loudest.

In this test every strum is a downstroke, also on an &. If the strokes changed from slip to slip, they would tell you the answer.

Each slip is 24 strums: three measures of 4/4, four measures of 3/4 or four measures of 6/8.

Play the drill once now, on Em, with no metronome, counting aloud.

Read the form below now, so that nothing in it is new on recording day. After the session you write the 15 slips and record nine items with the recorded card test (Session 2), in the 6 minutes of the Record line at the end of this page. You mark the recording on your fourth practice day. Nothing is recorded or marked in the session.

Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8. The pile is 15 slips: five marked “4/4”, five marked “3/4” and five marked “6/8”. Before you record, set the metronome to 70, listen to eight clicks and stop it: that is the speed of every strum. An item is one slip: strum Em 24 times in downstrokes at that one speed, with no metronome, and make the loud strums fall as the slip says. Count in your head while you strum: if you said the count aloud, the recording would tell you the answer. For “4/4”: the first of every four strums. For “3/4”: the first of every two, and the first of every six the loudest of all. For “6/8”: the first of every three. Turn over the next slip as soon as the last strum has rung. Record nine items; six slips stay in the pile unseen. Your answer for each number is “4/4”, “3/4” or “6/8”. Count the strums from one loud strum to the next: four is 4/4, two is 3/4, three is 6/8. To mark, deal the key pile one slip to an item.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Six-Eight Strum Study (15 minutes)

“Six-Eight Strum Study”

Credits: Written for this course.

For listening only: “Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli” sung by Manna Dey, from the film Anand (1971). Music: Salil Chowdhury. Lyrics: Yogesh. Listen for the chords changing: one published chart of the song names four 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 has sixteen measures in E minor and 6/8 time, on the chords Em, G, C and D, with one chord to a measure. Measures 1 to 15 each play the 6/8 pattern once; in measure 16 you strum Em once, on count 1, and let it ring. No chord in it is new and none holds a barre: the only new thing is the strum. Not yet play-tested.

Key: E minor

Time: 6/8

Tempo: Metronome at 70, clicking eighth notes (one count per click). Work up to 75. Raise the metronome 5 at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. This week, take one step at most.

Strumming pattern: the 6/8 pattern in measures 1 to 15. Measure 16 is one downstroke, left to ring.

Measure 1, in 6/8:

"Six-Eight Strum Study" - measure 1, the 6/8 pattern on Em
Chord:  Em
Count:  1       2   &   3       4       5   &   6
Strum:  D       d   u   d       D       d   u   d
Accent: >                       >

D = strong downstroke on counts 1 and 4, d = softer downstroke, u = softer upstroke, > = accent (play that strum louder)

The ending, in 6/8:

"Six-Eight Strum Study" - measures 15 and 16, the ending
Chord:  Em
Count:  1       2   &   3       4       5   &   6       |
Strum:  D       d   u   d       D       d   u   d       |
Accent: >                       >                       |

Chord:  Em
Count:  1  (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)  |
Strum:  D                       |
Accent: >                       |

D = strong downstroke on counts 1 and 4, d = softer downstroke, u = softer upstroke, > = accent (play that strum louder)

The chart:

"Six-Eight Strum Study" - the sixteen measures

Key: E minor        Time: 6/8 (six counts in a measure)

Study, 16 measures:

Measure:   1    2    3    4
         | Em | Em | G  | D  |

Measure:   5    6    7    8
         | Em | Em | C  | D  |

Measure:   9    10   11   12
         | G  | D  | Em | Em |

Measure:   13   14   15   16
         | C  | D  | Em | Em |

In measure 16, strum Em once, on count 1, and let it ring.

Now play the first two lines of the chart at 70 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes, by the steps under “How to Learn This Study” below. Step 1: play the first box, measure 1, alone, until it runs without a stop. Step 2: count one measure aloud, 1 2 3 4 5 6, and play the first line, measures 1 to 4; then the same again. Then play the second line, measures 5 to 8, the same way, twice.

How to Learn This Study

Step 1 — The pattern on Em: Play measure 1 alone: the 6/8 pattern on Em, as the first strum block shows. This week, do this before the study on every practice day.

Step 2 — Four measures at a time: Play measures 1 to 4 with one measure counted in. Then measures 5 to 8, measures 9 to 12 and measures 13 to 16, each on its own.

Step 3 — Once through: From Session 27, play the sixteen measures with one measure counted in. In measure 16, strum Em once, on count 1, and let it ring.

Step 3 begins next week. Today, play Step 2 for the last two lines at 70 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes. Count one measure aloud and play the third line, measures 9 to 12; then the same again. Then count one measure and play the fourth line, measures 13 to 16: it closes with the one strum of Em on count 1, left to ring to the bar line. Play it the same again.

What it should sound like: With the metronome at 70 BPM, clicking eighth notes, the two strong strums of each measure fall with the clicks of counts 1 and 4: 4 measures. Count ONE, two-and, three, FOUR, five-and, six aloud through 4 measures without stopping. On a recording of one of the first three phrases, count the strokes of each measure: 8, and the 2 loudest are counts 1 and 4.

”Blood Brothers” (verse and chorus chords)

Credits: Written by Steve Harris. Recorded by Iron Maiden on Brave New World (2000).

Listen first: Find Iron Maiden’s recording of “Blood Brothers” (Brave New World, 2000) and listen from the first verse to the end of the first chorus (there are two verses before it) three times before you pick up the guitar. Listen for: (1) four chords going round and round at an even pace, a new one about once a second; (2) the order in the verse, which this chart writes as Em, G, C, D; (3) the chorus, where the second and third chords change places: Em, C, G, D.

What this is: A chord accompaniment for the verse and the chorus only, with two chords to a measure: each chord lasts three counts. The album’s printed tab book writes this song in 6/4: six counts to a measure in two groups of three, with a new chord on counts 1 and 4. This chart writes the same six counts as 6/8, the time this session teaches, so one count here is one quarter note there. Writing it in 6/8 is this course’s choice. Change chord on count 1 and on count 4. The order of the chords is the same in that book and in two transcriptions posted by users, a tab and a chord analysis. The book and the tab write the guitars’ part as power chords on these four roots. The open chords Em, G, C and D are this course’s fuller version of them, taken from the key of E minor. The chord analysis writes the same four full chords; the book and the tab leave the extra notes out. The strumming pattern is this course’s own too: it is not taken from the recording. By the book and the tab, the recording has two verses before its first chorus. By the book, its later verses are not the same as the verse printed here. This chart goes verse, chorus, verse, chorus, which is a shorter form made for the course, and the ending is written for the course. The later verses, the introduction, the solos and the other sections are not printed. By these sources the recording is in standard tuning and in E minor, so these chords should be at its pitch. Nobody has checked that with a tuner. By the same sources the recording moves at about one chord a second, much faster than you will play this chart, so do not try to play along with it yet. Not yet play-tested.

Key: E minor

Time: 6/8

Tempo: Metronome at 60, clicking eighth notes (one count per click), all week. It does not go up this week: the chart is new.

Strumming pattern: the plain 6/8 strum in every measure but the last. Measure 33 is one downstroke, left to ring.

The plain 6/8 strum on the verse’s chords, in 6/8:

"Blood Brothers" - the two verse measures in the plain 6/8 strum
Chord:  Em          G               C           D
Count:  1  (2) (3)  4  (5) (6)  |   1  (2) (3)  4  (5) (6)  |
Strum:  D           D           |   D           D           |
Accent: >           >           |   >           >           |

D = strong downstroke on counts 1 and 4, d = softer downstroke, > = accent (play that strum louder)

The three listenings of “Listen first” are done before the session, as the materials list says, and not in it.

Turn the metronome down from 70 BPM to 60 BPM, still clicking eighth notes.

"Blood Brothers" - verse and chorus chords

Key: E minor        Time: 6/8 (six counts in a measure)

Verse, 8 measures:

| Em  G  | C   D  | Em  G  | C   D  |
| Em  G  | C   D  | Em  G  | C   D  |

Chorus, 8 measures:

| Em  C  | G   D  | Em  C  | G   D  |
| Em  C  | G   D  | Em  C  | G   D  |

Verse again, 8 measures:

| Em  G  | C   D  | Em  G  | C   D  |
| Em  G  | C   D  | Em  G  | C   D  |

Chorus again, 8 measures:

| Em  C  | G   D  | Em  C  | G   D  |
| Em  C  | G   D  | Em  C  | G   D  |

Ending (written for the course), 1 measure:

| Em     |

Strum the last Em once. Introduction, solos and other sections: not printed.

Change chord on count 1 and on count 4.

Play the verse once and then the chorus once in the plain form, at 60 BPM, the metronome clicking eighth notes: one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4, a new chord on each.

The 6/8 pattern is added to this chart only after three clean runs in a row of the verse and the chorus in the plain form, and still at 60 BPM. Then each chord takes one half of the pattern:

Where a measure of 6/8 holds two chords, the second begins on count 4: play counts 1 to 3 of the pattern on the first chord and counts 4 to 6 on the second.

How to Learn This Song:

Step 1 — Verse, then chorus, in the plain form: With the metronome at 60 BPM, clicking eighth notes, play the verse with one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4, a new chord on each; then the chorus the same way. Say each chord’s name as you strum it.

Step 2 — The four sections and the ending: When the verse and the chorus run without a stop, play the chart as it is written: verse, chorus, verse again, chorus again and the one strum of the ending, still in the plain form at 60 BPM (3 minutes 18 seconds). The 6/8 pattern is added only after three clean runs in a row of the verse and the chorus; then counts 1 to 3 of the pattern are played on the first chord of a measure and counts 4 to 6 on the second, still at 60 BPM.

What it should sound like: With the metronome at 60 BPM, clicking eighth notes, each strum falls with the click of count 1 or of count 4: 8 measures of the verse. Count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud through the verse and the chorus without stopping: 16 measures. On a recording of the verse, say the name of each chord as it sounds and follow the chart: 16 chords in the chart’s order.

Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Learned Today

Counting 6/8: six counts in two groups of three, with two beats to a measure
The 6/8 pattern on Em, strong on counts 1 and 4
How 6/8 differs from 3/4: two groups of three against three groups of two
The Six-Eight Strum Study, four measures at a time, and the Blood Brothers chart in its plain form

Common Mistakes

Six even downstrokes with no upstroke are taken for the 6/8 pattern — That is the count with weight on counts 1 and 4, a step towards the pattern. The pattern has two soft upstrokes, between counts 2 and 3 and between counts 5 and 6: say two-and and five-and aloud as you strum.
The strong strums fall on counts 1, 3 and 5 — That is 3/4: three groups of two. Say ONE two three FOUR five six aloud and give the wide strum to counts 1 and 4 only.
An upstroke is strummed between count 3 and count 4, or between count 6 and count 1 — Nothing is strummed there. Let the hand rise past the strings without touching them; in the study that empty rise is the time for the chord change.
In the study the new chord arrives after count 1 — Begin to leave the old chord as the stroke of count 6 ends. Play the two measures on either side of that change four times at 70 BPM, and raise the metronome by one step at most this week.
The Blood Brothers chart is tried in the full pattern at once — This week it is one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4, at 60 BPM. The pattern is added only after three clean runs in a row of the verse and the chorus: every chord on its count, every string that should sound ringing, and no stop.

Self-Check Questions

By the end of this week’s practice: play the 6/8 pattern on Em for four measures with the metronome at 75 BPM, clicking eighth notes, then one more downstroke on the next count 1, and record it with the metronome sounding. Check: listen to the recording and count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud with it. Pass: 4 measures with no stop, the 2 loudest strums of every measure are counts 1 and 4, and the 1 downstroke after them comes with its click. If not: go back to the two stages: counts 1 to 3 alone, then the whole pattern, under “The 6/8 Pattern” in Segment 2, and try again the next day.
By the end of this week’s practice: play the first line of the Six-Eight Strum Study, and then its last line, with the metronome at 75 BPM, clicking eighth notes, each after one counted measure. Check: count aloud and follow the chart: each chord begins on its count 1. Pass: 2 lines of 4 measures, each with no stop, and in measure 16 Em is strummed 1 time only. If not: play Step 1, then the two measures on either side of the change that stopped you, four times, under “How to Learn This Study” in Segment 4, and try again the next day.
Play the verse and then the chorus of the Blood Brothers chart with the metronome at 60 BPM, clicking eighth notes: one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4, a new chord on each. Check: count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud and say each chord’s name as you strum it. Pass: 16 measures with no stop: 32 chords, each strummed on its count. If not: play the verse alone, two measures at a time, for two days, under “How to Learn This Song” in Segment 4, and try again after those two days.
Say aloud, without the page, how a measure of 6/8 and a measure of 3/4 each group their six eighth notes, and count one measure of each aloud. Check: read the statement under the heading “6/8 Against 3/4” and compare it with what you said. Pass: 2 groupings right: two threes, counted 1 2 3 4 5 6, and three twos, counted 1 & 2 & 3 &. If not: read the statement aloud, then count one measure of each with the metronome clicking eighth notes at 70 BPM, under “6/8 Against 3/4” in Segment 3, and try again the next day.
Read the result you wrote when you marked your recording of Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8: nine items of 24 strums. Check: the key pile, dealt one slip to an item, against the answers you wrote. Pass: 7 of 9. If not: record the test again after your last practice day of this week, play “Ear Drill: Fours, Twos and Threes” 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 26 (each practice day, 40 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 80 BPM; C and G7, a new chord every 2 beats at 75 BPM; D and Bm, a new chord every 4 beats at 80 BPM. One of them a day, in turn.
The Rotation row: write the card “A minor pentatonic, two octaves, fifth position” now: it joins the pile of scale cards this week, and the pile has seven.
The Staff reading row: today’s line is in Reading Staff Notation 2, the section “Lines for Week 26”; play it, then check it against its answer in the same handout.
The Change drill row: it starts at 55 BPM this week and may reach 60 BPM. 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 Scale ladder row: the blues scale in eighth notes starts at 50 BPM this week, two notes per click, and may reach 60 BPM. 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.

Have these ready for Session 27: one published chart of a song you want to learn, which you own (a page of a songbook), and the song’s recording.

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	4 min	Movement warm-up, tune; then the crescendo strum, and the slur phrase of the Slur Study in quarter notes, twice; 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
A (four strings)	1 min	press, pluck, release
Change drill	2 min	D to A (four strings) and back, 4 beats: 8 chords, shake out the hand, 8 chords again
Fifth-Fret Chord Study	3 min	twice through, shaking out the hand between runs; whole runs only
6/8 pattern	6 min	count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud with the metronome clicking eighth notes; weight on 1 and 4; on Em
Six-Eight Strum Study	6 min	four measures at a time
Blood Brothers	5 min	verse, then chorus, from the chart, changing chord on counts 1 and 4: one downstroke on count 1 and one on count 4, with the metronome clicking eighth notes at 60. The full strumming pattern is added only when the changes are clean
Sixteenth-note strum	3 min	the plain pattern at 50 with the metronome clicking the beat; then the muted strum with the fretting hand on F5, in eighth notes at 50, four measures
Scale ladder	3 min	the blues scale, eighth notes

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: “A (four strings)”, 1 minute; “Change drill”, 1 minute; “Fifth-Fret Chord Study”, 1 minute. Total: 3 minutes a day.

Slur work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.

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

Three-string power-chord work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.

Power-chord rows this week: “Sixteenth-note strum”, 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.

Two sittings this week: Sitting 1 is the rows from “Warm-Up” to “6/8 pattern” (23 minutes). Sitting 2 is the rows from “Six-Eight Strum Study” to “Scale ladder” (17 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 4 minutes: that day, leave out the “Six-Eight Strum Study” 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 27.

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 your Saga the strumming hand works over the soundhole, with the forearm resting on the top edge of the body, as Beginner Session 1 set it. In the 6/8 pattern, make counts 1 and 4 strong by the width of the swing: let the pick cross all the strings of the chord, all six for Em. For the other counts make the swing shorter, so that they stay soft. Keep the same loose grip on the pick for both: the difference is in the swing, not in the grip.

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

Read: Rhythm Beyond Eighth Notes, the section “6/8 Against 3/4”. (10 minutes)
Record: this week’s ear check. Use the recorded card test (Session 2) with Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8, as Segment 3 gives it. Pass: 7 of 9. (6 minutes)
Optional: Rock Rhythm Guitar, the sections “How to Use This Handout” and “Blood Brothers” (verse and chorus chords). (10 minutes)