Hey guys, As most of you know I'm heading off tomorrow (very, very early!!!) so just thought I would do a quick post about what you need to know at each level of your guitar playing....
This will give you a broad idea of what you need to do in your practice in order to consistantly improve.
Please refer to your particular level "Page" (at Student Login area) for more information, or just ask during your lessons.
This is a basic outline for each level. Remember to memorise all the information at your level before moving to up.
Young Beginners
What do you need to know?
Warm up – “The Worm”
Songs – learn 3 - 4 (See sheet)
Notes on the guitar fretboard
Rhythm – Learn 3 basic rhythms – (1234, *234, *2*4)
Chords – Cmaj, Amin, Fmaj (triad) Gmaj (triad)
Scales – Open position - C maj
Reading music - TAB & standard notation
Beginners
What do you need to know?
Warm up – The worm (Chromatic scale)
Songs – learn 3 to 5 (see sheet)
Notes on the guitar fretboard
Rhythm – Learn 4 basic rhythms – (1234, *234, *2*4, 123)
Chords – learn all 21 open chords (Maj, Min & Dom7)
Scales – Open position - C maj, A min pentatonic.
Arpeggios – Open position Cmaj, Dmin, Emin, Fmaj, Gmaj, Amin, Bmin
Chord Progressions- I, IV, V (12 Bar Blues - Guitar Boogie)
Technique - Relax, use the minimun physical effort to get the job done.
(Chords Tip: Curve your fingers and use your tips on single notes, and relax your hand and arm as you play)
Intermediate
What do you need to know?
Warm ups - "The Worm" & variations
Songs – Have at least 10 songs in your repertoire.
Rhythm – Learn Rhythm sheet (Know how to subdivide a beat by 2's, 3's & 4's)
All notes on the fret board (see sheet)
Chords – Learn all moveable (bar chords) - Maj, Min & Dom7
Scales –(Moveable) C maj, A maj pentatonic, A min pentatonic.
Arpeggios –
Cmaj, Dmin, Emin, Fmaj, G7, Amin, Bmin7b5
Gmaj, Amin, Bmin, Cmaj, D7, Emin, F#min7b5
Fmaj, Gmin, Amin, Bbmaj, C7, Dmin, Emin7b5
The Cycle - moving in 4ths or 5ths
Chord Progressions- I, IV, V (12 Bar Blues variations,)
Transcribing.... learning songs or musical ideas by ear
Improvisation....
Song writing.....
As always, happy playing, and see you all in a few weeks! :-)