Session 34: Reading at Sight, and Two Arpeggios
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 prepares you for the three reading tests of the end-of-course assessment. You learn the routine for each, in the form the assessment uses: an unseen TAB passage, an unseen staff melody and an unseen chord chart, with a first try at a TAB passage and a chart today. You learn two arpeggios, G major and A minor, as the “Arpeggio Set”. The session ends with the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” and the rule for adding its full pattern.
Learning Objectives
Section titled “Learning Objectives”By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Play the G major arpeggio in two octaves and the A minor arpeggio up to the open first string, up and down, one note per click at 70 BPM: each 2 times in a row with no wrong note
- Play a four-measure TAB passage you have not seen, after 30 seconds of study, and record it at 60 BPM: 3 of the 5 days’ passages, each 4 measures with no stop and at most 1 wrong note
- Play a four-measure staff melody you have not seen, after 30 seconds of study, and record it at 60 BPM: 3 of the 5 days’ melodies, each 4 measures with no stop and at most 1 wrong note
- Strum an eight-measure chord chart you have not seen, after 30 seconds of study, one strum on each chord, and record it at 80 BPM: 3 of the 5 days’ charts, each 8 measures with no stop and every chord in its measure
- Play the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” once through, alone, in the form you have reached, with every chord placed by count 1 at 60 BPM: 32 measures with no stop
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
- Reading Staff Notation 2, open at the section “Stage 5: The Unseen Routine”
- Handout for this session: Picking Across Strings (read after the session, 10 minutes)
- Staff reading this week: Reading Staff Notation 2, the section “Unseen Melodies for Week 34”
- 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 6/8 pattern (Session 26) on Em from its block, with the metronome at 30 BPM, two clicks to the measure: four measures.
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)
The metronome clicks twice a measure, on counts 1 and 4: three counts to each click.
If your metronome does not go down to 30, use a metronome app on your phone.
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: Two Patterns, the Barre and Four Hard Measures (10 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 2 — Technique Focus: Two Patterns, the Barre and Four Hard Measures (10 minutes)”Two Patterns
Section titled “Two Patterns”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 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: four times through the block, a breath, then four times more. This is the pattern and the figure of the end-of-course assessment: it goes no higher.
Three-string power-chord 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 29: the pushed pattern
Chord: F5 Bb5 Count: 1 (e) & (a) 2 e [&] a (3) (e) & (a) 4 e [&] [a] Strum: D D chk chk U D chk chk
A chord name over the count “a” means that the chord arrives early: change to it for that upstroke and let it ring through the beat that follows.
The metronome clicks the beat. On beat 3 you play nothing: the chord you struck one count earlier, on the “a” of 2, is still ringing.
Play the pushed pattern (Session 29) on F5 and Bb5 from its block at 45 BPM, the click on the beat: four times through the block, once. 45 BPM is where the pattern’s ladder ended, and the pattern goes no faster in the course.
Barre: Presses and the Change Drill
Section titled “Barre: Presses and the Change Drill”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.
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. 4 presses. Its diagram and its lines are in Session 28, under “Presses at Fret 5: the Full Barre”, and are not printed again here.
Then the change drill for E and A (full barre) (Session 31), a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM: one downstroke on beat 1 of each measure, the chord left to ring. One set is E, A (full barre), E, A (full barre), E: five measures. Play the set twice, and shake out the hand between the two. It stays at 60 BPM and goes no higher.
On a day you play the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” in your programme, leave out one minute of the “Barre” row.
The Hardest Four Measures
Section titled “The Hardest Four Measures”This is the work of the week’s “Programme pieces” row, begun today. Take one of the three pieces of your programme (Session 33, “Your Programme: The Three Pieces”). Find the four measures in a row that go wrong most often, and mark them on its page. Play those four measures alone, counting aloud. Play them again until they have gone through with no stop.
Two limits hold, as the row has them. In the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” the measures you repeat are never its chorus. A piece with a daily limit is played for no more of these minutes than keeps the day inside that limit; today that count includes the barre and power-chord work of this segment and the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” in Segment 4.
No tempo is set here: the piece keeps its own.
Segment 3 — New Learning: Reading at Sight: The Three Routines (15 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 3 — New Learning: Reading at Sight: The Three Routines (15 minutes)”The Routine Every Reading Test Shares
Section titled “The Routine Every Reading Test Shares”- Unseen — Written music you have not seen before a test: an unseen TAB passage, an unseen chart or unseen staff measures. You study it for 30 seconds and then play it; another name for this is sight-reading. (Session 6)
In the end-of-course assessment each of the three reading tests has its routine in one line of six numbered steps, always in the same order: set the metronome to the figure, study for 30 seconds without playing, start the recording, count one measure aloud, play once to the end without stopping, then check the recording. The line for TAB stands under “Unseen TAB” below, the line for a chart under “Unseen Chart”, and the line for a staff melody in the staff handout.
If a note or a chord goes wrong, keep the count and play the next one in time: never go back.
A passage you have studied once is no longer unseen.
| Test | This week’s figure | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Unseen TAB passage, 4 measures | 60 BPM | no stop and at most 1 wrong note |
| Unseen staff melody, 4 measures | 55 BPM, rising to 60 BPM | no stop and at most 1 wrong note |
| Unseen chord chart, 8 measures | 75 BPM, rising to 80 BPM | no stop, and every chord falls in its measure, in all 8 measures |
Unseen TAB
Section titled “Unseen TAB”The unseen TAB routine: (1) Set the metronome to 60 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.
Step (2) lists what to look at in the 30 seconds. Take the first try now: the routine once, at 60 BPM. When the routine is done, play the passage once more. The check is step (6); the pass mark is no stop and at most 1 wrong note. The TAB passages stay at 60 BPM all week.
The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.
First try: TAB passage
Unseen TAB, the first try e|----------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------0-------|---0-------1---3---0---------------| G|------0---2-------0---|---------------------------0-------| D|----------------------|-----------------------------------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 & 3 4 Pick: D D D D D D U D D Finger: - 2 - - - 1 3 - - Notes: G A B G B C D B G e|--------------0-----------------------|-------------------| B|------3---------------3---0-----------|-------0-----------| G|------------------------------2-------|---0-------0-------| D|--------------------------------------|-------------------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 & 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D U D D D D Finger: 3 - 3 - 2 - - - Notes: D E D B A G B G
Unseen Staff Melody
Section titled “Unseen Staff Melody”No staff notation is printed in a session. Open Reading Staff Notation 2 at the section “Stage 5: The Unseen Routine” and read its routine now. Its step (2) lists what to look at in the 30 seconds.
Then take the routine once on a line that is not unseen: the first line of “Lines for Week 33” in the same handout, which you read last week. Set the metronome to 55 BPM in step (1), record it, and check the recording against the line’s TAB under “Answers”. The pass mark is no stop and at most 1 wrong note.
The five unseen melodies of this week are in the same handout, under “Unseen Melodies for Week 34”. Do not look at them today.
On the practice days the “Reading sets” row may take the staff melody to 60 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. As the staff handout says, the three runs are counted across days: one melody a day.
A run is clean when every note or chord lands on its count, every string that should sound rings, and you do not stop.
Unseen Chart
Section titled “Unseen Chart”Strum on beat 1 and let it ring; move during beats 3 and 4.
In a measure that holds two chords, each chord has two beats: strum the first on beat 1 and the second on beat 3.
The unseen chart routine: (1) Set the metronome to 75 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.
Step (2) lists what to look at in the 30 seconds. Take the first try now: the routine once, at 75 BPM. When the routine is done, strum the chart once more. The check is step (6); the pass mark is no stop, and every chord falls in its measure.
On the practice days the “Reading sets” row may take the chart to 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. The three runs are counted across days in the same way: one chart a day.
The block below is closed. Open it at step (2) of the routine, when the 30 seconds begin, and not before.
First try: chart
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) First try, 8 measures: | G | Em | D | G | | D7 | G | Am7 D7 | G |
Reading Sets for the Week
Section titled “Reading Sets for the Week”Nothing is read or played here. This is the week’s “Reading sets” row: on each of five practice days, one unseen TAB passage, one unseen staff melody and one unseen chart. The TAB passage and the chart of each day are printed below, under the title of the day. The staff melody of each day is that day’s melody under “Unseen Melodies for Week 34” in Reading Staff Notation 2. Take each of the three by its routine, record it, and then check it.
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.
Day 1: TAB passage
Unseen TAB, day 1 e|----------0-------1---|---3-------0-------1---0-----------| B|------1-------3-------|---------------------------3-------| G|----------------------|-----------------------------------| D|----------------------|-----------------------------------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 & 4 Pick: D D D D D D D U D Finger: 1 - 3 1 3 - 1 - 3 Notes: C E D F G E F E D e|------1-------0-----------------------|-------0-----------| B|------------------3---1-------0-------|---1-------1-------| G|--------------------------------------|-------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-------------------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 & 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D U D D D D D Finger: 1 - 3 1 - 1 - 1 Notes: F E D C B C E C
Day 1: chart
Key: C major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Day 1, 8 measures: | C | Em | C | G7 | | C | C7 | C G7 | C |
Day 2: TAB passage
Unseen TAB, day 2 e|----------------------|-----------------------------------| B|----------------------|-------0---------------------------| G|------------------0---|---2-------2-------0---------------| D|------2---0---2-------|---------------------------2-------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 & 2 3 4 Pick: D D D D D U D D D Finger: 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 Notes: E D E G A B A G E e|--------------------------------------|-------------------| B|------------------------------0-------|-------------------| G|----------------------0---2-----------|---2---0-----------| D|------0-------2-----------------------|-----------2-------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 & 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D D U D D D D Finger: - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 Notes: D E G A B A G E
Day 2: chart
Key: A major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Day 2, 8 measures: | A7 | E7 | D7 | A7 | | D7 | A7 | E7 | A7 |
Day 3: TAB passage
Unseen TAB, day 3 e|----------------------|-----------------------------------| B|----------------------|---0-------------------------------| G|------0-------0---2---|-----------2-------0---------------| D|----------2-----------|-----------------------2---0-------| A|----------------------|-----------------------------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 & 4 Pick: D D D D D D D U D Finger: - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - Notes: G E G A B A G E D e|--------------------------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------0-------3-------|---0---------------| G|----------0---2-----------------------|-------0-----------| D|------2-------------------------------|-----------2-------| A|--------------------------------------|-------------------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 & 2 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D U D D D D D D Finger: 2 - 2 - 3 - - 2 Notes: E G A B D B G E
Day 3: chart
Key: E minor Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Day 3, 8 measures: | Em | D | Am | C | | D | Em | B7 | Em |
Day 4: TAB passage
Unseen TAB, day 4 e|----------------------|-----------------------------------| B|----------------------|-----------------------------------| G|----------------------|-----------------------------------| D|----------------------|-----------0-------2---0-----------| A|------0---2---3---2---|---3-----------------------3-------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 & 4 Pick: D D D D D D D U D Finger: - 2 3 2 3 - 2 - 3 Notes: A B C B C D E D C e|--------------------------------------|-------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-------------------| D|------2-------3---2---0---------------|-------------------| A|------------------------------3-------|---2---3---0-------| E|--------------------------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 & 3 4 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D D U D D D D D Finger: 2 3 2 - 3 2 3 - Notes: E F E D C B C A
Day 4: chart
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Day 4, 8 measures: | G D7 | G | Em | Am | | D | G | C | G |
Day 5: TAB passage
Unseen TAB, day 5 e|----------------------|-----------------------------------| B|----------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------0-------|-----------------------------------| D|----------2-------2---|---3-------2---0-----------0-------| A|------3---------------|-------------------3---------------| E|----------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 & 3 4 Pick: D D D D D D U D D Finger: 3 2 - 2 3 2 - 3 - Notes: C E G E F E D C D e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------0-------2---0-----------|-----------------------------------| D|------2-----------------------2-------|---3-------0-----------------------| A|--------------------------------------|---------------2---3---------------| E|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| Count: 1 2 3 & 4 1 2 & 3 (4) Pick: D D D U D D D U D Finger: 2 - 2 - 2 3 - 2 3 Notes: E G A G E F D B C
Day 5: chart
Key: G major Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Day 5, 4 measures as written: |: Em | Am | Am7 | G :|
Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.
Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Arpeggio Set (15 minutes)
Section titled “Segment 4 — Piece Workshop: Arpeggio Set (15 minutes)”Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
”Arpeggio Set”
Section titled “”Arpeggio Set””The set is two arpeggios, played one after the other: the G major arpeggio, then the A minor arpeggio. Both lie in open position, on frets your fretting hand already knows.
- Arpeggio (as a technical exercise) — The notes of one chord played one at a time in order of pitch, going up and then down, like a scale made only of that chord’s notes. The G major arpeggio goes up G, B, D, G, B, D, G and comes back down by the same notes. (Session 34)
G major arpeggio, two octaves: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-----------3-------| B|----------------------|---0---3-------3---| G|------------------0---|-------------------| D|--------------0-------|-------------------| A|----------2-----------|-------------------| E|------3---------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U Finger: 3 2 - - - 3 4 3 Notes: G B D G B D G D e|----------------------|-------------------| B|------0---------------|-------------------| G|----------0-----------|-------------------| D|--------------0-------|-------------------| A|------------------2---|-------------------| E|----------------------|---3---------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 (2) (3) (4) Pick: D U D U D Finger: - - - 2 3 Notes: B G D B G
G major arpeggio: one note per click. The top G is played once. The last G lasts four beats: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (4).
G major arpeggio, the fingers: finger 3 plays G on string 6 and D on string 2, both at fret 3; finger 2 plays B on string 5 at fret 2; finger 4 (little finger) plays the top G on string 1 at fret 3, as it does in the G chord.
| Note | String | Fret | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| G | 6 (low E) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
| B | 5 (A) | 2 | 2 (middle) |
| D | 4 (D) | 0 (open) | — |
| G | 3 (G) | 0 (open) | — |
| B | 2 (B) | 0 (open) | — |
| D | 2 (B) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
| G | 1 (high e) | 3 | 4 (little finger) |
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.
Play the G major arpeggio up and down three times from the block at 60 BPM, one note per click.
On the practice days the “Arpeggios” row may take both arpeggios to 70 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 minor arpeggio, up to the open first string: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-------0-----------| B|----------------------|---1-------1-------| G|------------------2---|---------------2---| D|--------------2-------|-------------------| A|------0---3-----------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U Finger: - 3 2 3 1 - 1 3 Notes: A C E A C E C A e|----------------------| B|----------------------| G|----------------------| D|------2---------------| A|----------3---0-------| E|----------------------| Count: 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D U D Finger: 2 3 - Notes: E C A
A minor arpeggio: one note per click. The top E is played once. The last A lasts two beats: let it ring while you count (4).
A minor arpeggio, the fingers: finger 3 plays C on string 5 at fret 3 and A on string 3 at fret 2, the move it makes between the C chord and the Am chord; finger 2 plays E on string 4 at fret 2; finger 1 plays C on string 2 at fret 1.
| Note | String | Fret | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5 (A) | 0 (open) | — |
| C | 5 (A) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
| E | 4 (D) | 2 | 2 (middle) |
| A | 3 (G) | 2 | 3 (ring) |
| C | 2 (B) | 1 | 1 (index) |
| E | 1 (high e) | 0 (open) | — |
Its range is from the open string 5 up to the open string 1: it is not two octaves. Play the A minor arpeggio up and down three times from the block at 60 BPM, one note per click.
The set from memory:
Cover the two blocks and play the set from memory at 60 BPM: the G major arpeggio, then the A minor arpeggio, each after four clicks. Then uncover the blocks and check each note against them. Play the set twice. This is the form of the week’s “Arpeggios” row and of exit criterion E13 (Course Overview).
”Fifth-Fret Rock Study”: Adding the Full Pattern
Section titled “”Fifth-Fret Rock Study”: Adding the Full Pattern”You keep the piece of Session 32 going. Its chart is printed again below.
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.
Three-string power-chord work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.
If your hand, wrist or thumb aches during the study, stop playing for today: the pain rule comes before the plan.
Copy of Session 32: “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” - the form, 32 measures
"Fifth-Fret Rock Study" - the form, 32 measures Key: E minor Time: 4/4 (four beats in a measure) Riff, 4 measures: | E5 | E5 | G5 (string 6) | A5 | Verse, 8 measures: | E5 | E5 | G5 (string 6) | A5 | | E5 | E5 | G5 (string 6) | E5 | Chorus, 8 measures: | D | A (four strings) | D | A (four strings) | | D | E | A (full barre) | E | Solo, 8 measures: | A5 | A5 | E5 | E5 | | A5 | A5 | E5 | E5 | Ending, 4 measures: | E5 | E5 | G5 (string 6) | E5 | Strum the last E5 once and let it ring.
Until now you have played the first form, whose blocks are in Session 32, under “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”: in measures 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 30 and 31 counts 3 and 4 are a rest. In the full pattern there is no rest: the palm-muted eighth notes go on through counts 3 and 4, and each change to or from G5 (string 6) has half a beat.
The rule: you may add the full pattern once the first form has been played through three times in a row, on one day or from one day to the next, with every chord placed by count 1. If you do not add it, you perform the first form.
The two blocks of the full pattern, printed here for the first time: the riff, and the closing phrase.
"Fifth-Fret Rock Study" - the riff, measures 1 to 4 and 5 to 8 Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| E|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|---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: G5 (string 6) A5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|------5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| A|------5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---| E|------3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---|-----------------------------------| 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
"Fifth-Fret Rock Study" - the closing phrase, measures 9 to 12 and 29 to 32 Chord: E5 E5 e|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| A|------2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---| E|------0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|---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: G5 (string 6) E5 e|--------------------------------------|-------------------| B|--------------------------------------|-------------------| G|--------------------------------------|-------------------| D|------5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---|-------------------| A|------5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---|---2---------------| E|------3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---|---0---------------| Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 (2) (3) (4) Strum: D U D U D U D U D PM: PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM O
Today play the piece once through in the first form, alone, at 60 BPM, the click on the beat, from your own count-in: one measure counted aloud. That run is one of the three. Play the riff in the full pattern only if the three runs are already behind you. 60 BPM is the piece’s performance tempo, and it goes no higher.
In the programme the piece is played as written, alone. Over your recording, with the solo, it is played for exit criterion E27.
Your Programme This Week
Section titled “Your Programme This Week”Nothing is played in this part. In the week’s “Programme pieces” row, play one of your three pieces a day, then its hardest four measures, as under “The Hardest Four Measures” in Segment 2. The piece you chose to play from memory is played from memory. Play each piece alone, from your own count-in to its written ending.
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”- One routine for all three reading tests: six steps, from setting the metronome to checking the recording
- The “Arpeggio Set”: the G major arpeggio in two octaves and the A minor arpeggio up to the open first string
- When you may add the full pattern to the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”
- How to find and repeat the hardest four measures of a programme piece
Common Mistakes
Section titled “Common Mistakes”- You stop to put a wrong note right in an unseen passage — Keep the count and play the next note in time. A wrong note costs one mark; a stop fails the test.
- The 30 seconds are spent trying the notes on the guitar — Play nothing in the 30 seconds. Look for the things the routine lists, then count one measure aloud and begin.
- The top note of an arpeggio is played twice — The top note is played once: it is the last note of the way up and the first of the way down.
- The full pattern is added to the Rock Study before the first form is ready — Keep to the rule: three runs of the first form in a row, with every chord placed by count 1. If they do not come, you perform the first form.
Self-Check Questions
Section titled “Self-Check Questions”- By the end of this week’s practice: play the G major arpeggio, then the A minor arpeggio, from memory, up and down, one note per click at 70 BPM, each twice in a row, and record it. Check: listen to the recording and follow it on each arpeggio’s TAB. Pass: each arpeggio 2 times in a row with no wrong note. If not: go back to 60 BPM and play each arpeggio three times from its block, then once from memory, under “The set from memory” in Segment 4, and try again the next day.
- Each day, write in the notebook of your practice log whether the day’s unseen TAB passage passed: no stop and at most 1 wrong note, at 60 BPM. On the last practice day count the passes. Check: the five results you wrote, one for each day’s passage. Pass: 3 of the 5 passages. If not: in the week you repeat, take each day’s passage again by its routine at 55 BPM, and in the 30 seconds say the count of each pair of eighth notes aloud, under “Unseen TAB” in Segment 3, and try again on the last practice day of the week you repeat, by the same count of 3 in 5. The passages are no longer unseen, and that is expected: your next unseen passage is in Session 35.
- Each day, write in the notebook of your practice log whether the day’s unseen staff melody passed: no stop and at most 1 wrong note, at the figure the row has reached, 55 or 60 BPM. On the last practice day count the passes. Check: the five results you wrote, one for each day’s melody. Pass: 3 of the 5 melodies. If not: in the week you repeat, take each day’s melody again at 55 BPM, and in the 30 seconds say the letter name of every note, under “Unseen Staff Melody” in Segment 3, and try again on the last practice day of the week you repeat, by the same count of 3 in 5. The passages are no longer unseen, and that is expected: your next unseen passage is in Session 35.
- Each day, write in the notebook of your practice log whether the day’s unseen chart passed: 8 measures with no stop, and every chord falls in its measure, at the figure the row has reached, 75 or 80 BPM. On the last practice day count the passes. Check: the five results you wrote, one for each day’s chart. Pass: 3 of the 5 charts. If not: in the week you repeat, take each day’s chart again at 75 BPM, and in the 30 seconds put a finger on each box in the order it is played, under “Unseen Chart” in Segment 3, and try again on the last practice day of the week you repeat, by the same count of 3 in 5. The passages are no longer unseen, and that is expected: your next unseen passage is in Session 35.
- Play the “Fifth-Fret Rock Study” once through at 60 BPM, alone, in the form you have reached, from your own count-in, and record it. Check: listen to the recording with the chart in front of you and count the measures aloud. Pass: 32 measures with no stop, every chord placed by count 1. If not: if you played the full pattern, go back to the first form: it is the form you perform. If the stop was in the first form, play the two measures on either side of it four times (never the chorus more than four times in a day), then the piece once through, under “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”: Adding the Full Pattern in Segment 4, and try again the next day.
Practice Plan for Week 34 (each practice day, 40 minutes)
Section titled “Practice Plan for Week 34 (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 80 BPM; D and Bm, a new chord every 4 beats at 80 BPM. One of them a day, in turn.
- The “Reading sets” row: the day’s TAB passage and chart are under “Reading Sets for the Week” in Segment 3, and the day’s staff melody is under “Unseen Melodies for Week 34” in Reading Staff Notation 2. The TAB passage is played at 60 BPM; the staff melody starts at 55 BPM and the chart at 75 BPM, and each is played at the figure the row has reached.
| Block | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | 4 min | Movement warm-up, tune; then the 6/8 pattern on Em for four measures; 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 |
| Reading sets | 9 min | one unseen TAB passage, one unseen staff melody and one unseen chart a day, each recorded and then checked |
| Arpeggios | 4 min | G major in two octaves; A minor up to the open first string; one note per click |
| Barre | 2 min | A (full barre): presses 1 minute and the change drill 1 minute (the set E, A (full barre), E, A (full barre), E twice for each minute, shaking out the hand between sets). On a day you play the Fifth-Fret Rock Study in your programme, leave out one minute of this row |
| Fifth-Fret Rock Study | 5 min | once through, in the form you have reached; the full pattern may be added once the first form has been played through three times in a row, on one day or from one day to the next, with every chord placed by count 1; if you do not add it, you perform the first form |
| Programme pieces | 9 min | one of your three pieces a day, then its hardest four measures. If the Fifth-Fret Rock Study is one of your three, the measures you repeat are never its chorus. 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 |
| Two patterns | 3 min | the plain sixteenth-note pattern at 50 and the pushed pattern at 45, four measures each |
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: “Barre”, 2 minutes; “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”, 1 minute. Total: 3 minutes a day.
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”, 2 minutes; “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”, 1 minute. Total: 3 minutes a day.
Three-string power-chord work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total.
Power-chord rows this week: “Fifth-Fret Rock Study”, 1 minute; “Two patterns”, 2 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 “Arpeggios” (21 minutes). Sitting 2 is the rows from “Barre” to “Two patterns” (19 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: go on to Session 35.
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”At the start of each practice day, after you tune, play the G major arpeggio slowly up its seven notes with the tuner on, one note at a time. The seven notes cross all six strings, and three of them are open strings (strings 4, 3 and 2). Each note should show the letter of the block’s Notes row: G, B, D, G, B, D, G. If a note shows another letter or no letter, tune that string from its open string, as under “Tune Your Guitar” in Segment 1, and play the arpeggio up once more.
After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)
- Read: Picking Across Strings, the section “The Two Arpeggios”. (10 minutes)