Session 30: Phase 5 Showcase

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 closes Phase 5 and has nothing new for either hand. You bring the phase’s rhythms to the figures the checkpoint asks for, try an unseen TAB passage and an unseen chart, check the song map of your own song, and walk through the Phase 5 checkpoint, which you take after this week. The session ends with the programme of the phase: “Greensleeves” and one complete piece of your choice from Phases 2 to 4, one of the two from memory.

Learning Objectives

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

Record Greensleeves and one complete piece from Phases 2 to 4 in one take, each alone from your own count-in to its written ending, one of the two from memory: 2 pieces, with no stop and at most 3 wrong or missed notes in either piece
Strum the 6/8 pattern with the metronome at 30 BPM, clicking twice a measure, and record it: 8 measures
Play the pushed pattern through the first four measures of the Push Study at 45 BPM, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1: 4 measures
Play a four-measure TAB passage you have not seen, after 30 seconds of study, at 55 BPM in the session and at 60 BPM on its practice day: 4 measures with at most 1 wrong note
Strum a four-measure chord chart you have not seen, after 30 seconds of study, one strum on each chord, at 65 BPM in the session and at 70 BPM on its practice day: 4 measures, every chord in its measure

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

Materials Needed

Your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar
A guitar pick
A clip-on tuner or phone tuner app
A metronome
A phone that records sound
A metronome that goes down to 30 BPM, or a metronome app on your phone
Your theory cards of Phases 1 to 5, your note-name cards, and the song map of your own song
The pages of Greensleeves (Session 28) and of the second piece you choose
The page Phase 5 Checkpoint, open for Segment 3
Session 17 open at “Finding the Nine Roots”, to check a note-name card
Slips of paper and a pen, for the two recordings made after the session (the 15 time-signature slips of Session 26; the 60 cell slips of Session 15, with the push slips taken out)
Handout for this session: Performing A Programme (optional reading, after the session)
Staff reading this week: Reading Staff Notation 2, the section “Lines for Week 30”
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

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.

Copy of Session 27: “Slur Study in A minor” - the slur phrase in eighth notes

"Slur Study in A minor" - the slur phrase in eighth notes
e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
D|------7---p5--5---h7--7---p5----------|-----------5---h7--7---------------|
A|------------------------------7---p5--|---5---h7--------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &       1   &   2   &   3  (&) (4) (&)
Pick:   D       D       D       D           D       D       D
Finger: 3   1   1   3   3   1   3   1       1   3   1   3   3
Notes:  A   G   G   A   A   G   E   D       D   E   G   A   A

Copy of Session 28: “Slur Study in A minor” - the slur phrase, eighth notes, picked and short

"Slur Study in A minor" - the slur phrase, eighth notes, picked and short
e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
D|------7---5---5---7---7---5-----------|-----------5---7---7---------------|
A|------------------------------7---5---|---5---7---------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &       1   &   2   &   3  (&) (4) (&)
Pick:   D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U       D   U   D   U   D
Finger: 3   1   1   3   3   1   3   1       1   3   1   3   3
Short:  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .       .   .   .   .

A dot in the Short row means that the note or chord above it is played short (staccato): play it, then stop its sound straight away. A note with no dot rings for its full length.

Play the slur phrase of the “Slur Study in A minor” in eighth notes, two notes per click, at 45 BPM: once legato, from the first block, with the slurs; then once staccato, from the second block, every note picked, and short where the Short row has a dot.

45 BPM is this week’s figure for both forms. On the practice days the “Warm-Up” row may take them to 50 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.

Barre presses:

A (full barre) at fret 5 (Session 28), placed by the four steps of “How a Barre Works” (Session 19): press, pluck the six strings one at a time, release, and shake out the hand. 3 presses. Its diagram is in Session 28 and is not printed again here. The checkpoint asks for these presses: at least 5 of the 6 strings ring, 3 presses in a row.

Full barre work: no more than 2 minutes a day in the week of Session 28 and 3 minutes a day from Session 29, at fret 5 only. It counts inside the 5 minutes of barre work.

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.

The full barre never has to pass: the pain rule comes first.

Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The Rhythms of Phase 5 (10 minutes)

D D U U D U at 95

This is a showcase week: this segment brings the rhythms of the phase to the figures the checkpoint asks for, and starts nothing new.

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 95 BPM, the click on the beat: 8 times through the block, four on G and then four on C, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1. 95 BPM is where its ladder has stood since the week of Session 25. The checkpoint asks for it at 95 BPM, and no row of this week’s plan holds it: the note on the “Warm-Up” row says where it is played in the week.

The Plain Sixteenth-Note Pattern at 50

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.

Copy of Session 8: the plain sixteenth-note pattern

Count:  1   e   &   a   2   e   &   a   3   e   &   a   4   e   &   a
Strum:  D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U

Play the plain sixteenth-note pattern (Session 8) on Em at 50 BPM, the click on the beat: 4 times through the block, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1. It is the half of exit criterion E7 (Course Overview) that has to pass at the end of the course, and no row of this week’s plan holds it.

The Pushed Pattern at 45

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

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.

Copy of Session 29: “Push Study” - measures 1 to 4, one chord to a measure

"Push Study" - measures 1 to 4, one chord to a measure
Chord:  F5
Count:  1  (e)  &  (a)  2   e  [&]  a  (3) (e)  &  (a)  4   e  [&] [a]  |
Strum:  D       D       chk chk     U           D       chk chk         |

Chord:  Bb5
Count:  1  (e)  &  (a)  2   e  [&]  a  (3) (e)  &  (a)  4   e  [&] [a]  |
Strum:  D       D       chk chk     U           D       chk chk         |

Chord:  Ab5
Count:  1  (e)  &  (a)  2   e  [&]  a  (3) (e)  &  (a)  4   e  [&] [a]  |
Strum:  D       D       chk chk     U           D       chk chk         |

Chord:  Db5
Count:  1  (e)  &  (a)  2   e  [&]  a  (3) (e)  &  (a)  4   e  [&] [a]  |
Strum:  D       D       chk chk     U           D       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.

A chk is a stroke like any other: down or up as its count says.

If your hand, wrist or thumb aches during the study, stop playing for today: the pain rule comes before the plan.

This is the first strum block of the Push Study (Session 29): the pushed pattern with one chord to a measure, F5, Bb5, Ab5 and Db5. Play its four measures 2 times in all at 45 BPM, the click on the beat. Each time, let four clicks pass as the count-in, play the four measures, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1. Take a breath between the two.

45 BPM is where the pattern’s ladder ended, and the pattern goes no faster in the course. If your week of Session 29 ended below 45 BPM, play at the figure you reached. The checkpoint asks for these four measures, recorded, with every muted strum a chk and no note in it.

The 6/8 Pattern, Recorded

Copy of Session 26: the 6/8 pattern

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)

Tempo: Metronome at 30, two clicks to the measure (three counts per click), all week. It does not go up this week: 30 is the pattern’s last figure.

Play the 6/8 pattern (Session 26) on Em with the metronome at 30 BPM, two clicks to the measure. First count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud twice, over 4 clicks: the clicks fall on 1 and 4. Then start the recording and play the pattern 8 times through the block without stopping.

Listen to the recording and count 1 2 3 4 5 6 with it: are counts 1 and 4 the two loudest strums each time? Then record the eight measures once more. The checkpoint asks for the pattern in this form.

Segment 3 — New Learning: Unseen Reading and the Checkpoint (15 minutes)

Unseen TAB

You take an unseen TAB passage by the routine of Session 6, here, on its practice day and in the checkpoint alike:

The unseen TAB routine: (1) Set the metronome to 55 BPM. (2) Study the passage for 30 seconds without playing: the strings it uses, its lowest and highest fret, any eighth notes, and the count of its last note. (3) Start the recording. (4) Count one measure aloud. (5) Play the passage once, to the end, without stopping. (6) Follow the recording on the TAB and count the wrong notes.

Take passage A now by the routine, at 55 BPM. When the routine is done, play the passage once more. The pass mark, as the checkpoint has it: no stop and at most 1 wrong note.

The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.

Passage A

Unseen TAB, passage A
e|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
B|----------------------|-------------------0---------------|
G|------2---------------|---0-------2---------------2-------|
D|----------4---0---2---|-------4---------------------------|
A|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
E|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   &   2       3       4
Pick:   D   D   D   D       D   U   D       D       D
Finger: 2   4   -   2       -   4   2       -       2
Notes:  A   F#  D   E       G   F#  A       B       A

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

Unseen Chart

You take an unseen chart by the routine of Session 18, here, on its practice day and in the checkpoint alike:

The unseen chart routine: (1) Set the metronome to 65 BPM. (2) Study the chart for 30 seconds without playing: its Key and Time line, each chord, any measure that holds two chords, and any repeat signs or endings. (3) Start the recording. (4) Count one measure aloud. (5) Strum the chart once, to the end, without stopping, one strum on each chord. (6) Follow the recording on the chart and count the chords that do not fall in their measure.

In a measure that holds two chords, strum the first on beat 1 and the second on beat 3.

Take chart A now by the routine, at 65 BPM. When the routine is done, strum the chart once more. The pass mark, as the checkpoint has it: no stop, and every chord falls in its measure, in all 4 measures.

The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.

Chart A

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

Chart A, 4 measures:

| G      | D      | Em  Am | G      |

Unseen Passages for Your Practice Days

Passage B is for the day on which the “Checkpoint items” row is an unseen TAB passage: the first practice day. Chart B is for the day on which it is an unseen chart: the third practice day. On its day, take each once by its routine under “Unseen TAB” or “Unseen Chart”, and record it, with the metronome at the figure the “Checkpoint items” row gives it, in place of the figure in step (1) of the routine. Self-Check Questions 4 and 5 are answered from those two recordings. The checkpoint’s own passages are other ones, printed in the checkpoint only. Open neither block today.

Each passage or chart below is in a closed block. Open a block only on its day, when its routine tells you to study it.

In a week you repeat, open the same blocks again on their days. They are no longer unseen, and that is expected: the routine is still the practice, and the next unseen passage is in the next session or assessment.

Passage B

Unseen TAB, passage B
e|------------------2---|---3---0---2-----------------------|
B|----------0---3-------|-------------------3-------0-------|
G|------0---------------|-----------------------------------|
D|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
A|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
E|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   &   2       3       4
Pick:   D   D   D   D       D   U   D       D       D
Finger: -   -   3   2       3   -   2       3       -
Notes:  G   B   D   F#      G   E   F#      D       B

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

Chart B

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

Chart B, 4 measures:

| Am     | G      | C   G7 | C      |

Unseen Staff Measures

No staff notation is printed in a session. On the second practice day the “Checkpoint items” row is four unseen staff measures: that day’s line under “Lines for Week 30” in Reading Staff Notation 2 is the unseen passage. That day, play the “Checkpoint items” row in Sitting 1, directly before the “Staff reading” row, and not again in Sitting 2. The “Staff reading” row then reads the same line by its usual steps. Take the line by the unseen staff routine:

The unseen staff routine: (1) Set the metronome to 55 BPM. (2) Study the passage for 30 seconds without playing: its first note and its last, its lowest note and its highest, and any eighth notes. (3) Start the recording. (4) Count one measure aloud. (5) Play the passage once, to the end, without stopping. (6) Check the recording against the passage’s TAB under “Answers” and count the wrong notes.

In the 30 seconds, look at the key signature first: if there is one sharp, it is F sharp, and every F in the passage, high or low, is played as F sharp.

The pass mark: no stop and at most 1 wrong note.

Theory Cards

The theory cards of Phases 1 to 5 come back now. Shuffle the pile, keep it question side up, and draw two. Answer each aloud before you turn it over and read the answer on its back. The checkpoint draws ten, and passes at 8 of 10.

If you have no card yet for a question printed at the end of the sections you read after Sessions 25 to 29, write those cards this week, after the session, from the questions printed there: why the barre work is at fret 5; 6/8 against 3/4; the four things to read on a published chart; the full barre shape; the notes a minor tune raises.

Then draw one note-name card of Session 17, find its place on the neck and say the note. Check it against the table of the fourteen places under “Finding the Nine Roots” in Session 17: the card has nothing on its back.

Your Song Map, Checked

No playing here. Take the song map of your own song (Session 27), with the two sets of counts you made when you checked it. It has passed when the counts were the same on both of the 2 listens and add up to the map.

If it has not passed, or was never checked, do the check this week, on the day the “Checkpoint items” row names your song map, away from the guitar: tap eight clicks with the recording, then listen through twice, counting the measures of each section. For a song of four minutes that takes about 10 minutes. The row holds 3 of them; the rest is listening, not playing, and is outside the practice minutes.

The checkpoint asks for one map that has passed. It may be the map of another song.

The Checkpoint, Item by Item

Open Phase 5 Checkpoint and read this part with that page beside it. No item is taken now.

You take the checkpoint after this week’s practice and before Session 31, in two sittings, on one day or on two.

These are its items, by number, each with its figure:

A (full barre) at fret 5: 3 presses
D D U U D U for 8 measures
The pushed pattern through the first four measures of the Push Study
The 6/8 pattern on Em for 8 measures, two clicks to the measure
An unseen TAB passage of 4 measures
An unseen chart of 4 measures
Four unseen staff measures
Your programme: Greensleeves and your second piece, in one take
Ten theory cards
The song map of one song: two listens
Your recording of Test 2
Your recording of Test 5

The checkpoint prints the tempo of each item with it. No item asks for a tempo above the figure its ladder reaches by the end of this week’s practice.

The “Checkpoint items” row of this week’s plan prepares five of them, one a day, in this order: on the first practice day an unseen TAB passage; on the second, four unseen staff measures; on the third, an unseen chart; on the fourth, five theory cards and five note-name cards; on the fifth, your song map. So the staff measures fall on the second practice day, whose line has the key signature of G.

The two ear recordings, Tests 2 and 5, are made after this session. They are marked at the checkpoint, at least one day after you make them.

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.

This is the first of two ear sections. The recordings for the checkpoint are Tests 2 and 5, and the words of each test stand last in its section.

Copy of Session 26: Ear Test 2, a slip marked 4/4, one measure of its three

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: >               >

Copy of Session 26: Ear Test 2, a slip marked 3/4, one measure of its four

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: >

Copy of Session 26: Ear Test 2, a slip marked 6/8, one measure of its four

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, with no metronome.

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.

Ear Drill: Clap the Cells

Clap each kind of cell on four clicks in a row, one kind after another, with the metronome at the test’s tempo, saying the count aloud. Then turn over four cell slips in a row and clap the row twice.

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

Copy of Session 3: The quarter cell on each beat of a measure

The quarter cell on each beat of a measure
Count:  1   2   3   4

Clap on every count that is written, and stay silent on a count in brackets. Say the count aloud as you clap, including the counts in brackets.

Copy of Session 3: The two-eighths cell on each beat of a measure

The two-eighths cell on each beat of a measure
Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &

Copy of Session 3: The rest cell on each beat of a measure

The rest cell on each beat of a measure
Count: [1] [2] [3] [4]

On a click, quarter = one clap, two eighths = two even claps, the first on the click, and rest = no clap: the click sounds alone.

Copy of Session 9: The four-sixteenths cell on each beat of a measure

The four-sixteenths cell on each beat of a measure
Count:  1   e   &   a   2   e   &   a   3   e   &   a   4   e   &   a

On a click, four sixteenths = four even claps, the first on the click.

A worked rhythm of two measures, built from eight slips, as in Session 15. Clicks 1 to 4 are the first measure and clicks 5 to 8 the second.

Click	Slip	Claps on that click
1	quarter	1
2	four sixteenths	4
3	two eighths	2
4	rest	0
5	two eighths	2
6	quarter	1
7	quarter	1
8	four sixteenths	4

Clap the drill once now, with the metronome at 50 BPM.

Before you record Test 5, take the six push slips of Session 29 out of the pile: this recording uses the 60 cell slips alone.

Both recordings, Tests 2 and 5, are made after the session; neither is marked this week, and each is marked at the checkpoint at least one day after you made it.

Test 5, rhythm recall, two measures. The pile is 60 cell slips: the 38 of Session 9 and 22 more: 6 marked “quarter”, 6 marked “two eighths”, 4 marked “four sixteenths” and 6 marked “rest”. An item is eight slips in a row from left to right: the eight beats of two measures. Record with the metronome sounding at 50 BPM, one cell to a click. For each item say “1, 2, 3, 4” with four clicks, then clap the row twice through without a break. Count in your head while you clap: if you said the count aloud, the recording would tell you the answer. Record six items. On each click the claps name the cell: none is “rest”, one is “quarter”, two are “two eighths”, four are “four sixteenths”. To answer, listen to an item, stop the recording, clap the rhythm back once, and write the cells you clapped, in order. Write each cell as the number of claps on its click: 0, 1, 2 or 4. To mark, deal the key pile eight slips to an item. A rhythm is right only if every cell matched.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: The Phase 5 Programme (15 minutes)

The Phase 5 Programme

Read this part first; nothing is played in it.

The programme of this phase is two complete pieces: “Greensleeves” (Session 28) and one complete piece of your choice from Phases 2 to 4. Choose the second piece from these five:

Piece	Session	Performance tempo	Length
”Evening Sevenths”	10	70 BPM	1 min 29 s
Giuliani: “Andantino”, Op. 50 no. 1	11 and 14	55 BPM	1 min 45 s
”Down by the Salley Gardens” (traditional air; the course’s arrangement in D)	15	65 BPM	2 min 57 s
”Shuffle Blues in A”	20	70 BPM	2 min 10 s
”Slur Study in A minor”	23	60 BPM	1 min 36 s

In a programme you play each piece alone, as its page writes it, from your own count-in to its written ending, with no backing sounding.

No metronome sounds while a piece of a programme is played. Before each piece, with the recording running, set the metronome to that piece’s performance tempo, listen to eight clicks and stop it, then count one measure aloud and begin.

A piece that begins with pick-up notes is counted in as its page prints it: the tune’s own counted measure is the count-in.

For “Greensleeves” the counted measure is 1 2 3 4 5, said aloud, and the pick-up note is played on its count 6, as in Session 28.

You play one of the two pieces from memory. If the piece you choose has a daily limit, the “Programme” row of the practice plan says how much of the row it may take. No block of either piece is printed here: play each from its own pages.

”Greensleeves” (Session 28)

Finger 4 at fret 4 comes in measures 7 and 15 of each melody.

The click of the tune changes this week, and its speed does not. Last week ended with the metronome at 120 BPM, clicking eighth notes. This week it is at 40 BPM, two clicks to the measure, three counts to each click: the tune’s performance tempo, and exactly as fast as 120 BPM clicking eighth notes.

The metronome clicks twice a measure, on counts 1 and 4: three counts to each click.

Changing the click is not a tempo step.

Tempo: Metronome at 40, two clicks to the measure (three counts per click), all week. It does not go up this week: the click changes this week. The performance tempo is the metronome at 40, two clicks to the measure (three counts per click).

Set the metronome to 40 BPM and let two clicks pass. Over the next two clicks count 1 2 3 4 5 aloud (the clicks are counts 1 and 4) and pick the pick-up note on count 6. Then play the tune once through with the metronome sounding, to the last A: all 48 measures.

This is rehearsal at the week’s figure, with the click. In the take of your last practice day no metronome sounds while the piece is played.

Your Second Piece

Play the piece you chose from the table once through, from its own pages, alone, to its written ending. Count it in as “The Phase 5 Programme” says. No tempo is named here: it is the piece’s own, printed with it. The longest of the five lasts 2 minutes 57 seconds.

Two of the five carry lines of their own: the “Slur Study in A minor” is slur work, and the “Shuffle Blues in A” is fast strumming.

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

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.

If your piece is the Slur Study, this run is part of today’s minutes of slur work.

From Memory

Choose which of the two pieces you will play from memory in the take, and write it down.

You learn it by the routine named “How to memorise a piece” in Beginner Session 6, which Performing A Programme prints under “Playing from Memory”. It is not printed here.

Today, its first chunk only, with no metronome: the first two measures of the piece you chose. Play them three times from the page. Then play them with the page out of sight: scrolled off the screen, or the printed page turned over. Then check them against the page.

Marking Your Take

This week’s “Programme” row works on sections on four practice days and makes one recorded take on the last. The take begins each piece with the count-in under “The Phase 5 Programme”.

A stop is a break in the count inside a piece: going back, beginning a measure again, or waiting a whole measure or longer before coming in. Keeping the count and coming in on the next beat 1 is not a stop: its notes are counted as missed.

A take with a stop has not passed and ends at the stop. One take a day: the next is made on a later day and begins with the first piece.

To mark the take, listen to it once for each piece, with that piece’s page in front of you. Make a stroke on paper for every wrong or missed note, and count the strokes piece by piece.

In a strummed piece, and in the strummed verse of a tune, one wrong or missed note is one measure in which the chord is wrong, late or not played.

In this programme that holds in the strummed verse of Greensleeves, measures 17 to 32.

The pass mark: no stop; each piece reaches its written ending; at most 3 wrong or missed notes in any one piece.

Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Achieved in Phase 5

The change to A (four strings) in time
6/8 time and its strum, with two clicks to the measure
A song of your own, screened and mapped
The first presses of the full barre
The pushed pattern, and Greensleeves played whole

Common Mistakes

A take is stopped and begun again inside a piece — A take with a stop ends at the stop, and the next is made on a later day, as “Marking Your Take” in Segment 4 says. Work that day on the four measures that stopped you, with the metronome.
The programme is recorded with the metronome sounding — In the take no metronome sounds while a piece is played: use the count-in of a take, as “The Phase 5 Programme” in Segment 4 gives it.
An unseen passage is looked at before its day — Keep the blocks of passage B and chart B closed until the second step of the routine on their day. A passage you have seen is no longer unseen, and its mark tells you nothing.
With two clicks to the measure Greensleeves speeds up between the clicks — Count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud through the first four measures: the clicks are counts 1 and 4, and three even counts lie between them. If the count will not stay even, go back for one day to the metronome at 120 BPM, clicking eighth notes.

Self-Check Questions

Record the programme in one take, each piece alone from your own count-in to its written ending, one of the two from memory: Greensleeves, and the complete piece you chose from Phases 2 to 4. Check: listen to the take once for each piece with its page in front of you and make a stroke for every wrong or missed note; in the strummed verse a stroke is a measure in which the chord is wrong, late or not played. Pass: no stop, each of the 2 pieces reaches its written ending, and at most 3 strokes in either piece. If not: work for two days in the Programme row on the piece that failed, four measures at a time with the metronome and inside its daily limit, then make one new take, under “Marking Your Take” in Segment 4, and try again on a later day, after those two days and before you take the checkpoint.
Strum the 6/8 pattern on Em for eight measures with the metronome at 30 BPM, two clicks to the measure, and record it. Check: listen to the recording and count 1 2 3 4 5 6 aloud with it. Pass: 8 measures with no stop, and the 2 loudest strums of every measure are counts 1 and 4. If not: say ONE two three FOUR five six aloud while you strum four measures in the “6/8 pattern” row, then record the eight again, under “The 6/8 Pattern, Recorded” in Segment 2, and try again the next day, before you take the checkpoint.
Play the first four measures of the Push Study at 45 BPM, the click on the beat, after one counted measure, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1, and record it. Check: listen to the recording and count 1 e & a aloud with it. Pass: 4 measures with no stop, the 1 downstroke after them comes with its click, and 0 of the 16 muted strums has a note in it. If not: go back to 40 BPM for two days; if a muted strum has a note in it, relax the fretting fingers further, so that they touch the strings without pressing, under “The Pushed Pattern at 45” in Segment 2, and try again after those two days, inside the Push Study row, before you take the checkpoint.
On its day in the “Checkpoint items” row: play unseen TAB passage B at 60 BPM, after 30 seconds of study, and record it. Check: follow the recording on the TAB and mark each wrong note. Pass: 4 measures with no stop and at most 1 wrong note. If not: in the rest of that day’s “Checkpoint items” row, do the steps of the routine aloud on a line of TAB from an earlier session that you have not played for a month, under “Unseen TAB” in Segment 3, and try again at the checkpoint, on a new passage: this one is no longer unseen.
On its day in the “Checkpoint items” row: strum unseen chart B at 70 BPM, after 30 seconds of study, one strum on each chord, and record it. Check: follow the recording on the chart. Pass: 4 measures with no stop, and every chord falls in its measure. If not: in the rest of that day’s “Checkpoint items” row, say the chord names of a chart from an earlier session aloud and place each change once without strumming, under “Unseen Chart” in Segment 3, and try again at the checkpoint, on a new chart: this one is no longer unseen.
Play D D U U D U on G for four measures and on C for four measures at 95 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 comes with its click. If not: go back to 90 BPM for two days in the “Warm-Up” row and take the step again after three runs in a row with no stop, under “D D U U D U at 95” in Segment 2, and try again after those two days, before you take the checkpoint.
Read the song map of your own song and the two sets of counts you made when you listened to its recording twice. Check: your two sets of counts against the map. Pass: the counts are the same on both of the 2 listens and add up to your map. If not: count the section that differed a third time and keep the number that comes twice; a map with two numbers for one section has not passed, and another song’s map may be used, under “Your Song Map, Checked” in Segment 3, and try again on the day the “Checkpoint items” row names the song map, before you take the checkpoint.

Practice Plan for Week 30 (each practice day, 40 minutes)

Notes on the rows:

The “Warm-Up” row: the slur phrase starts the week at 45 BPM in both forms and may reach 50 BPM, by the step rule under “Warm-Up” in Segment 1. On the last two practice days, end the row with D D U U D U on G and C for eight measures, then one more downstroke on the next beat 1: at 90 BPM on the first of the two days and at 95 BPM on the second, as the Phase 5 checkpoint asks. On the last practice day record it: that recording answers Self-Check Question 6.
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 80 BPM; D and Bm, a new chord every 4 beats at 80 BPM. One of them a day, in turn.
The “Staff reading” row: read one line a day from the section “Lines for Week 30” of Reading Staff Notation 2, then check it against its answer under “Answers: Lines for Week 30”. On the second practice day the “Checkpoint items” row is played in Sitting 1, directly before this row, and takes that day’s line as its unseen staff measures.
The “Programme” row: sections on four practice days, and one recorded take on the last; Self-Check Question 1 is answered from that take.
The “Push Study” row: on the last practice day, record the first four measures for Self-Check Question 3.
The “6/8 pattern” row: its one recording of the last practice day answers Self-Check Question 2.
The “Checkpoint items” row: one kind a day, in the order of “The Checkpoint, Item by Item” in Segment 3. Self-Check Question 4 is answered on the first day, from passage B, and question 5 on the third day, from chart B. Question 7 is answered on the fifth day, the day of your song map.

Before Session 31, listen to Nirvana’s recording of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” three times.

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	4 min	Movement warm-up, tune; then the slur phrase in eighth notes, once legato and once staccato; 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
Full barre	2 min	presses at fret 5
A (four strings)	2 min	the Chord Study once
Programme	11 min	Greensleeves, and one complete piece from Phases 2 to 4, one of the two from memory: sections on four days, one recorded take on the last. If a piece you choose has a daily limit, play it for no more of this row than keeps today’s total inside that limit: 5 minutes of slurs, 5 of three-string power chords, and 5 of barre work, no more than 3 of them full barre
Push Study	3 min	once through
6/8 pattern	3 min	eight measures with two clicks to the measure, recorded once
A song of your own	5 min	one section a day from your own chart, after the screening step. In these weeks choose sections with no barre chord: a section that has one waits, because the day’s barre minutes are already planned. If every section has one, choose another song for now. Count the measures of the section that hold a three-string power chord: this week they may be at most 2 in every 5. In a section that holds more, play a three-string power chord in your own song as its root note alone, or let that section wait. The open E5, A5 and D5 do not count. If no section fits, choose another song for now.
Checkpoint items	3 min	one of these a day: unseen TAB at 60; an unseen chart at 70; four unseen staff measures at 55; five theory cards and five note-name cards; your song map. (Tests 2 and 5 are recorded after this session and marked at the checkpoint.)

Full barre work: no more than 2 minutes a day in the week of Session 28 and 3 minutes a day from Session 29, at fret 5 only. It counts inside the 5 minutes of barre work.

Full barre rows this week: “Full barre”, 2 minutes. Total: 2 minutes a day.

Barre rows this week: “Full barre”, 2 minutes; “A (four strings)”, 2 minutes. Total: 4 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: “Push Study”, 3 minutes. Total: 3 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 “A (four strings)” (15 minutes). Sitting 2 is the rows from “Programme” to “Checkpoint items” (25 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.

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: take the Phase 5 Checkpoint next, on another day, before you start Session 31.

Any no: take the Phase 5 checkpoint all the same: its own rule decides what happens next.

Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK

Before the take of your last practice day, find the phone’s place. Stand it about an arm’s length from the Saga, level with the soundhole, and not on a table that the guitar touches. Make a test recording of ten seconds: a few soft melody notes of Greensleeves, then two measures of its strummed verse. Play it back. If the soft melody notes or the two strummed measures cannot be heard on the playback, move the phone and record the ten seconds again. The test is played inside the “Programme” row and is not the take. Then leave the phone where it is until the last note of the second piece.

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

Read: Phase 5 Checkpoint, the section “How to Use This Checkpoint”. (5 minutes)
Record: the recordings for the Phase 5 checkpoint. Use the recorded card test (Session 2), but do not mark them this week: you mark them when you take that checkpoint, at least one day later. Test 2, 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8; and Test 5, rhythm recall, as Segment 3 gives them. (9 minutes)
Optional: Performing A Programme, the sections “Recording One Take” and “Playing from Memory”. (10 minutes)