Session 23: End-of-Course Run-Through

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 is a rehearsal of what the course has built: your scales, your chords, reading a short passage of TAB, the ear tests, and three pieces played one after another. It is the course’s own run-through, not a mock of any exam board’s exam. If you are thinking of taking a Grade 1 exam afterwards, the section ‘What a Grade 1 exam asks’ below shows what each exam really contains, so you can see what you already have and what you would still need to learn.

Learning Objectives

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

Play three course pieces one after another, each started with your own count-in and played to its written ending
Play the C major and A minor pentatonic scales up and down at 60 BPM in eighth notes
Play each of the eight open chords and the simplified F within 2 seconds of turning over its name on a shuffled card
Play a short TAB passage you have not seen before at 50 BPM after 15 seconds’ study
Take the three recorded ear tests (major or minor, 4/4 or 3/4, play back a four-note phrase)

Materials Needed

Your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar
A guitar pick
A clip-on tuner or phone tuner app
A metronome
A phone or other device that can record sound and play it back
About 30 slips of paper or small cards, and a pen (for the chord cards and the ear tests)
Reference: Final Assessment (End-of-Course Assessment)
Reference: Chord Chart (for quick chord reference)
Reference: Scale Diagrams
Reference: Glossary

Run-through script. Work through the session in one go, in this order:

Part	Where	Minutes	What to record
Warm-up and tuning	Segment 1	5	Nothing
Scales, chord cards, change test	Segment 2	10	Nothing
Three unseen TAB passages; the ear tests	Segment 3	15	The three ear tests (you mark them on later days)
Three pieces, played twice	Segment 4	15	The second playing of the three pieces
Review; what a Grade 1 exam asks	Segment 5	5	Nothing

Today is a rehearsal and is not marked. Mark yourself with Final Assessment after Session 24. That assessment also has a strumming section and a theory quiz, which are not rehearsed today; reading an unseen TAB passage is tested in Phase 4 Checkpoint.

Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)

Hand Movements

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) on your own, as quickly and accurately as you can. Before you look at the tuner, guess: too low, too high or right? Then look.

Quick Warm-Up

Play each chord once (Em, Am, E, D, A, G, C, Dm, and the simplified F), one strum each, with no metronome: place every finger, then strum. Then play the C major scale up and down once at 60 BPM, one note per click (quarter notes).

Two skills from earlier phases, so that nothing in the end-of-course assessment has been left unplayed:

Waltz strum, D d d, on D and Am, four measures each, at 70 BPM in 3/4, one strum per click.
E5 to A5, palm-muted eighth notes at 70 BPM, two notes per click, 4 measures.

Spider crawl: frets 1-4, one finger at a time, all six strings, up and down. Stop if it pulls or aches.

Segment 2 — Technique Focus: Scales and Chords at the Course Tempos (10 minutes)

Scales

Play each scale up and down with even notes. These are the course’s own tempos, not an exam’s.

Tempo: 60 BPM, two notes per click (eighth notes). In the C major scale that is 8 notes in 4 beats, so the way up fills exactly one measure.

C Major Scale — Run-Through

C Major Scale — Up and Down

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

The top C is played once; the last C lasts a full beat. The fret number is the finger number (fret 1 = finger 1, fret 2 = finger 2, fret 3 = finger 3); a dash in the Finger row is an open string.

Tuner check (once, slowly, no metronome): going up, the tuner should read C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
Click check: play the scale up and down 3 times in a row at 60 BPM, two notes per click. Pass: no wrong note, no stop, and you finish with the click.
If not: drop to 50 BPM, two notes per click, and come back up 5 BPM at a time.

A Minor Pentatonic Scale — Run-Through

Notes and positions, low to high: string 6 frets 0 and 3 (E, G); string 5 frets 0 and 3 (A, C); string 4 frets 0 and 2 (D, E); string 3 frets 0 and 2 (G, A); string 2 frets 1 and 3 (C, D); string 1 frets 0 and 3 (E, G). The five notes are A, C, D, E, G. String 2 is never played open in this scale (open string 2 is B).

A minor pentatonic, open position: ascending (twelve notes)
e|----------------------|-------------------|-----------0---3---|
B|----------------------|-------------------|---1---3-----------|
G|----------------------|-----------0---2---|-------------------|
D|----------------------|---0---2-----------|-------------------|
A|--------------0---3---|-------------------|-------------------|
E|------0---3-----------|-------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4
Finger: -   3   -   3       -   2   -   2       1   3   -   3
Notes:  E   G   A   C       D   E   G   A       C   D   E   G

A minor pentatonic, open position: descending (eleven notes)
e|------0---------------|-------------------|---------------|
B|----------3---1-------|-------------------|---------------|
G|------------------2---|---0---------------|---------------|
D|----------------------|-------2---0-------|---------------|
A|----------------------|---------------3---|---0-----------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|-------3---0---|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4       1   2   3
Finger: -   3   1   2       -   2   -   3       -   3   -
Notes:  E   D   C   A       G   E   D   C       A   G   E

Coming down, the top G is played once, so there are eleven notes; the last E lasts two beats. The count shown is for quarter notes (one note per click). In eighth notes, each printed measure lasts two beats: count “1 & 2 &”. Fingering: fret 1 = finger 1, fret 2 = finger 2, fret 3 = finger 3.

Tuner check (once, slowly, no metronome): going up, the tuner should read E, G, A, C, D, E, G, A, C, D, E, G.
Click check: play the scale up and down 3 times in a row at 55 BPM, two notes per click (eighth notes), then 3 times at 60 BPM. Pass: no wrong note, no stop, and you finish with the click.
If not: keep to 55 BPM for the first two practice days, then try 60 BPM again from the third practice day, as the practice plan says.

Chord Card Drill

Write each of these chord names on its own card or slip of paper: Em, Am, E, D, A, G, C, Dm, and F (simplified). Shuffle the nine cards and put them face down.

Drill: Turn over one card at a time and play that chord, one strum, within 2 seconds of seeing its name. Then pluck its strings one at a time: every string that should sound must ring clearly. Go through the pack twice. If someone can call out the names for you in a mixed-up order, that works equally well.

The simplified F is in the pack because this course teaches it; it goes a little beyond Grade 1.

Chord-forming drill: Close your eyes. Think of a chord name. Form it. Strum. Open eyes and check. Repeat 10 times.

Chord Transition at Tempo

Change test: Em-Am, G-D and C-G, a new chord every 2 beats at 70 BPM. This is the change test from Session 3: strum each chord once with a downstroke on beats 1 and 3 and let it ring, alternating the two chords until you have played 8 chords in a row: that is 7 changes. You pass when all 8 land on their click with every string that should sound ringing, twice on the same day.

Then play this progression at 70 BPM, one measure per chord, strumming D/U (down on the click, up between clicks):

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

Check: twice round without stopping, with every chord landing on beat 1 of its measure.

Segment 3 — New Learning: Reading Unseen TAB and the Ear Tests (15 minutes)

Reading an Unseen TAB Passage

Reading an unseen TAB passage means playing a short passage you have not seen before, after only a short look at it. The passages here use notes in open position (the open strings plus frets 1 to 3) on one to three strings, with simple rhythms. This is TAB reading: playing from staff notation is not taught in this course.

How to read a passage you have not seen:

Look at the TAB before playing. Identify the highest and lowest notes. Are they in a range you know?
Count the beats. Identify the time signature. Tap the rhythm before playing.
Play slowly. A slow, accurate reading is better than a fast, messy one.
Keep going. If you make a mistake, do not stop — continue to the next note.

For each passage below: cover the Notes row with a slip of paper, study the passage for 15 seconds, then play it once with the metronome. Afterwards uncover the Notes row and check any note you were unsure of with your tuner. Aim for no more than one wrong note and no stop. Each passage is unseen only once, so do not practise them beforehand.

Reading Passage 1

Study for 15 seconds, then play at 50 BPM, one note per click (quarter notes):

Reading Passage 1 (4/4 time)

e|------0---3---1---3---|---0---------------|
B|----------------------|-------1-----------|
G|----------------------|-----------2---0---|
D|----------------------|-------------------|
A|----------------------|-------------------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4
Notes:  E   G   F   G       E   C   A   G

Reading Passage 2

Study for 15 seconds, then play at 50 BPM, one note per click (quarter notes):

Reading Passage 2 (4/4 time)

e|----------------------|-------------------|
B|------0---1---3---0---|-------------------|
G|----------------------|---0---2-----------|
D|----------------------|-----------3---0---|
A|----------------------|-------------------|
E|----------------------|-------------------|
Count:  1   2   3   4       1   2   3   4
Notes:  B   C   D   B       G   A   F   D

Reading Passage 3 (with rhythm)

Study for 15 seconds, then play at 50 BPM. The click is one beat, and each column of this TAB is half a beat:

Reading Passage 3 (4/4 time)

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

Note: the first note (fret 3) is a half note (two beats), held through beats 1 and 2. The (2) in the Count row is that held beat: play nothing new and keep counting. The open string and fret 1 are eighth notes (half a beat each), on beat 3 and the ”&” of 3. The last note (fret 3) is a quarter note (one beat) on beat 4.

The Ear Tests

These are the three ear tests of the end-of-course assessment. They use the recorded card test (Session 6): you write the items on slips, shuffle them face down, record yourself saying each slip’s place in the pile (“one”, “two”, …) and playing it, and keep the pile in order as your answer key. You answer from the recording on a later day, when you no longer remember the order. Today you make the three recordings. If someone else can play the items for you where you cannot see their hands, that works equally well.

Test 1, major or minor. Ten slips, one chord name on each: E, A, D, G, C, Em, Em, Am, Am, Dm. One down-strum per slip. On the later day, answer “major” or “minor” for each number. Pass: 8 of 10.

Test 2, 4/4 or 3/4. Six slips: three marked “4/4”, three marked “3/4”. For a 4/4 slip strum Em for two measures, D d d d, D d d d; for a 3/4 slip strum Em for two measures, D d d, D d d. No metronome. On the later day, answer “4/4” or “3/4”. Pass: 5 of 6.

Test 3, play it back. Six slips, one four-note phrase on each. The phrases use only E (string 1 open), F (string 1 fret 1), G (string 1 fret 3), B (string 2 open), C (string 2 fret 1) and D (string 2 fret 3):

1: E F G E    2: G F E D    3: B C D C    4: D E F E    5: C D E G    6: E D C B

Write only the four notes on each slip, not its number in this list: when you record, the number you say aloud is the slip’s place in the shuffled pile (“one” for the first slip you turn over), so that the recording does not tell you which phrase it is. Play each phrase twice, slowly. On the later day, listen to both playings, then play the phrase; turn the slip and compare the strings and frets you played with the slip. A phrase is right only if every note matched. Pass: 4 of 6.

Optional extra, rhythm playback. Six slips with one-measure rhythms, clapped twice each: “1 2 3 4”; “1 2 & 3 4”; “1 & 2 3 & 4”; “1 2 (3) 4”; “1 & 2 & 3 4”; “1 (2) 3 & 4” (a bracket is a silent beat). On the later day, clap each back after two hearings, then say which slip it was.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

Segment 4 — Song Workshop: Three-Piece Run-Through (15 minutes)

Choosing Your Three Pieces

Choose three pieces from the course to play one after another. They are practice pieces, not exam pieces: both exam boards require pieces from their own books. The studies in the list were written for this course; they are not songs, and none of them is a named exam piece.

If you wrote down three pieces in Session 19, play those. If not, choose now. This is the same list you will choose from in Session 24: the pieces named in the end-of-course assessment, plus four earlier course pieces.

Piece	What you play, and how it ends	Tempo
”Smells Like Teen Spirit” simplified arrangement (Session 20)	Moveable power chords, loud and quiet sections. Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, ending: 33 measures	70 BPM
Showcase Study in A minor (Session 21)	Melody and chords. Melody phrases 1 and 2, chord section, melody phrases 3 and 4, chord section, phrase 1 again (26 measures), then one slow strum of Am	60 BPM
Em–D arpeggio study (Session 15)	Fingerpicking study: arpeggios, p-i-m-a technique, chord changes. 16 measures, then one last thumb note left to ring	55–60 BPM
”About a Girl” verse accompaniment (Session 10)	Open-chord strumming. The verse accompaniment only: 8 measures, then one Em strum, let it ring	70 BPM
”Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (Session 10, half-speed chart)	Gentle strumming, four chords. The eight-measure chart twice through (16 measures), then one G strum, let it ring	70 BPM
Arrangement study in E minor (Session 19)	Melody and chords. 20 measures, the last one a final Em chord left to ring	70 BPM
”Iron Man” riff four times (Session 9), then “Paranoid” verse riff twice (Session 13)	Single-note riff; palm-muted power chords. 8 measures, then 8 measures; the last chord rings	70 BPM, then 75 BPM
Blues in A minor with your own solo (Session 22)	The performance printed in Session 22, over your recorded backing: 40 measures, then one Am chord left to ring	The speed of your backing: 60 BPM, or 65 BPM if you recorded the faster backing in Week 22
”12-Bar in A” (Session 8)	Blues form with A, D and E. Three times round (36 measures), then one A chord, let it ring	75 BPM
”Scarborough Fair” accompaniment (Session 7)	Waltz strum in 3/4. The 16-measure verse twice, then one Am strum, let it ring	70 BPM in 3/4
”Two-Chord Rock” (Session 3)	Em and Am. 8 measures, then one Em chord, let it ring	60 BPM
”Em Groove” (Session 2)	Em downstrokes. 8 measures, then one Em chord, let it ring	70 BPM

Each tempo is the metronome setting from the piece’s own session, which also says how many notes or strums go with each click. In the two-riff piece the tempo changes: stop, set the metronome to the new tempo, count in one measure, and start the next section. The blues needs a second device to play your backing while the phone records.

For the widest range of skills choose the first three rows: power chords, melody with chords, and fingerpicking.

Performance Run-Through

Play your three pieces twice. Before each piece, check your tuning and count yourself in.

First time: with the metronome. Play each piece once, from its first note to its ending, with the metronome clicking at the tempo in the table. Finish with the click.
Second time: recorded, without the metronome. Start your phone recording and play all three again, one after another, from memory as far as you can. For any part you still need the page for, use “How to memorise a piece” (Session 6) on your practice days this week.
Check the recording. Start the metronome at the piece’s tempo, tap along with the recording, and mark any measure where your taps leave the click. If time is short today, do this check on your first practice day.

If you chose the first three rows:

Piece 1 — “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: Play the simplified arrangement (intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, ending: 33 measures) at 70 BPM. It lasts a little under two minutes.

Piece 2 — Showcase Study: Play the full study (melody phrases 1 and 2 → chord section → melody phrases 3 and 4 → chord section → phrase 1 again and one slow strum of Am) at 60 BPM.

Piece 3 — Em–D arpeggio study: Play the full 16-measure study at 55–60 BPM.

Recovery Drill

With the metronome on, play your piece. Stop on purpose for one measure, counting “1 2 3 4” aloud, and come back in on the next beat 1. Do this at three different places.

Performance Tips

Tune before each piece. Check your tuning between pieces — playing can pull strings slightly out of tune.
Count yourself in. Tap your foot for 4 beats before starting. This sets the tempo in your body.
Start steadily. The first four measures set the tempo for the whole piece. Play them at the speed of your count-in.
Do not stop. If you make a mistake, keep counting and come back in on the next beat 1, as in the recovery drill.
End clearly. Your final note or chord should be deliberate, not fading into uncertainty. Let the last chord ring and look up — that signals “I am done.”
Show contrast. If your pieces include both loud and soft sections, make the difference big enough to hear on your recording.

Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Covered Today

The two scales at the course tempo, the chord card drill and the change test
How to read an unseen TAB passage, with three practice passages
The three recorded ear tests: major or minor, 4/4 or 3/4, playing back a four-note phrase
A run-through of three pieces, once with the metronome and once recorded
Performance tips, the recovery drill, and what a Grade 1 exam asks

Common Mistakes

Not practising the scales and chords — Many students focus on songs and neglect scales and chord accuracy. Both are part of the end-of-course assessment — practise them.
Rushing into an unseen passage — Take the full 15 seconds to study the passage before playing. Look for patterns (ascending scales, repeated notes). The slower you play, the more accurate you will be.
Rushing when it counts — Nerves make you play faster. Set a deliberate tempo before starting each piece. Use the count-in to lock in the speed.
Choosing three similar pieces — If all three pieces are strummed open-chord songs, you show limited range. Choose pieces that demonstrate different skills (power chords, melody, fingerpicking).
Not practising the ending — Many students practise the beginning of songs but not the ending. Practise each ending until you have played it three times in a row without a slip.

Self-Check Questions

Can you play the C major scale and the A minor pentatonic scale up and down at 60 BPM, two notes per click (eighth notes), three times in a row with no wrong note and no stop? If not: C major: drop to 50 BPM, two notes per click, and come back up 5 BPM at a time. A minor pentatonic: keep to 55 BPM for two days, then try 60 BPM again.
Can you play each chord (Em, Am, E, D, A, G, C, Dm, and the simplified F) within 2 seconds of turning over its card, with every string that should sound ringing? If not: take the cards of the chords that were late or had a string that did not ring and do the Chord Card Drill from Segment 2 with those cards only, twice through, then try the whole pack again the next day. If it pulls or aches, stop for today.
Can you pass the change test for Em-Am, G-D and C-G at a new chord every 2 beats at 70 BPM? Check: for each pair, all 8 chords land on their click with every string that should sound ringing, twice on the same day. If not: make the pair that did not pass your one pair in the Chord Cards row of the practice plan for two days, then try again.
Can you play a TAB passage you have not seen before at 50 BPM, one note per click, after 15 seconds’ study, with no more than one wrong note and no stop? If not: read the four steps under “How to read a passage you have not seen” again, then try with a new passage in the Unseen TAB row of the practice plan the next day.
Have you marked the three recorded ear tests and scored at least 8 of 10 (major or minor), 5 of 6 (4/4 or 3/4) and 4 of 6 (play it back)? If not: shuffle the slips of the test you did not pass and record it again in the Ear Tests row of the practice plan, then mark it on a later day.
Can you play your three pieces one after another from memory, each to its ending without stopping? If not: make the place where you stopped, or needed the page, your four measures in the Weakest Four Measures row of the practice plan for two days, then try again.

Practice Plan for Week 23 (each practice day, 30 minutes)

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	3 min	The warm-up from this session’s Segment 1, then tune. On practice days that means the hand movements, the waltz strum, E5 to A5 and the spider crawl; the chords and the C major scale have their own rows below
Scales	4 min	C major 3 times at 60 BPM, two notes per click (eighth notes). A minor pentatonic 3 times at 55 BPM, two notes per click; from the third practice day, at 60 BPM. Repeat until the time is up
Chord Cards	3 min	Shuffle the nine chord cards. Turn over one at a time and play each chord within 2 seconds. Twice through the pack, then the change test on one pair (Em-Am, G-D or C-G) at 70 BPM, a new chord every 2 beats
Unseen TAB	3 min	Use a passage from a later page of Reading Tab that you have not played (Exercises 4, 5 and 6, one a day). Study 15 seconds, play once at 50 BPM, then check the notes you were unsure of with your tuner. On the other days, read one of this session’s three passages from its last note back to its first: the order is new, so it has to be read
Ear Tests	3 min	Mark one recorded ear test a day, never on the day you recorded it. When all three are marked, shuffle the slips and record them again for the following days
Concert Pieces	5 min	Your three pieces, all three in a row, from memory as far as you can; check the page afterwards. If the 5 minutes are up before you reach the third piece, stop there and start with that piece the next day
Metronome Run	4 min	One of your three pieces (a different one each day), with the metronome clicking at its tempo. Pass: you never stop and you finish with the click. Repeat until the time is up
Weakest Four Measures	5 min	Find the weakest four measures in today’s three pieces. Play them at half tempo 5 times, then once at full tempo. Then, if time is left, do the recovery drill once in that piece

This is your plan for the whole week. The end-of-week check is in Weekly Plans Phase 3 4, Week 23.

What a Grade 1 exam asks (read, 3 minutes)

RSL Awards Rockschool Acoustic Guitar, Grade 1 (the closest match to this course)

Three pieces (60% of the marks). At least one must come from Rockschool’s Grade 1 book.
Technical exercises (15%): four scales (C major, A natural minor, A minor pentatonic, G major pentatonic), one octave in quarter notes at 70 BPM to a click; the chords A, D, C, G, Am, Dm and Em, strummed once each when asked; power chords in sequence; and a riff from the book played with its backing track.
Your choice of sight reading or improvising (10%).
Two ear tests (10%): say whether notes go up or down; play back a two-bar rhythm.
Five spoken questions (5%) about the music you played and about the guitar.

Trinity College London Rock & Pop Guitar, Grade 1

Three songs (25, 25 and 30 marks). Two of them, including a ‘technical focus’ song, must be Trinity’s own arrangements played with Trinity’s backing tracks. One may be your own choice.
One ‘session skills’ test (20 marks): you choose playback or improvising.
No scales, no chords on demand, no sight-reading test, no ear tests, no theory questions.

How the course compares: you have the chords, two of Rockschool’s four scales (at a faster speed than the exam asks), steady strumming and simple melodies. You have not learned any board’s set pieces, played with backing tracks, learned A natural minor or G major pentatonic, played from staff notation, or practised the boards’ own tests. Exam rules change: read the board’s current syllabus before entering. More detail: Whats Next.

Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK

A steel-string acoustic like your Saga SF-600C-BK is the instrument the Rockschool Acoustic Guitar exam is written for, and Trinity allows an acoustic up to Grade 2. Exam or no exam, have your guitar in good condition for next session’s concert: a clean fretboard, stable tuning, and strings that have had at least a week to settle if they are new. If you have not had a professional setup, consider getting one — a properly set-up guitar makes everything easier, from the simplified F chord to scale playing.