Chord Workbook for Guitar: Volume One
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
| Q | Thank you for the books you have put together. I am new to music theory and newly learning the acoustic guitar. I have taken one semester of guitar at a University and I am presently enrolled in Fingerstyle Guitar 2 and Guitar Chord Theory. I was looking at Amazon for additional books to supplement my learning, and I found your books. I have purchased the first and second volumes of the Chord Workbooks. The information contained within those two volumes about chords is impressive, and I'm sure as I grow in my development I will find it all indispensable. However, I was wondering if you have written a book that describes scales in detail? My Guitar Chord Theory class just started and there is quite a mix of beginners to advanced guitarists. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by their knowledge of guitar/music theory and my almost complete lack of it in comparison. I'd like to learn how to build scales, the best way to study them, and I'd like to play them with ease. I do have a workbook provided by the University that is helpful, but it seems written more for the student who has more knowledge than I. It doesn't explain which finger goes where when you start at the second position, or what does it mean to be at the second position, etc... It assumes that I will understand this already. I didn't skip any prerequisites for the class, so I feel I must need additional instruction. Can you tell me if a beginner will find it easy to grasp scales and how to perform them by purchasing your Music Theory for Guitar Vol. 2. I realize that I should probably purchase both Vol. 1 and 2, but I'm a little tight for spending money after buying all my books for 19 credits. I'd like to just get the one that will help me right now, and I'd get the others later. Also, A Big Metronome, is it helpful for sight reading guitar sheet music and understanding the timing between notes? I'd love to have some more practice with that as well. Thank you very much for your time, and I'll be looking forward to your response. |
| A | Thanks for contacting me and thanks for buying my books. I think the 2nd volume of the Chord Workbook may be a little over your head to start with. But you should find that once you get comfortable with the chords in Chord Workbook Volume One the chords in Volume Two will be particularily helpful when you start playing with ensembles. The chords in Volume One are more commonly used in solo and duet playing. The chords in Volume Two are more useful when playing with an ensemble because in those situations one doesn't generally play any notes on the two lowest strings on the guitar. That's because the two low strings can interfere with the bass player's range and cause a muddy sound. Using chords based on the upper four strings keeps your sound more separate and discreet and can also help you work better with a piano player. As far as scales go I would highly recommend getting the 2nd volume of the music theory for guitar. This book gives you information on how to build 22 scales and also gives you exercises to help you memorize each scale. Also the muse-eek website gives you a bunch of audio examples so you can start applying these scales. If you need help on how to practice scales go to www.arnoldjazz.com and go to the music workshop. If you look under the scale section you will find 19 scales that you can download for free and these will give you the fingerings and how to play them all over the guitar neck. You definately should not get The Big Metronome. This book is for intermediate to advanced musicians looking to improve their internal concept of time. Obviously it would help you but I think for now you need to work on the basic mechanics of music. If you want to help your recognition of notes on the guitar via notes on a page I would recommend Single String Studies for guitar Volume One. This will give you exerices on one string at a time so you can concentrate on learning were each note is on each string in relation to the notes you see on a music staff. As far as rhythm goes I would recommend Rhythm Primer. This will not explain the timing between notes but it will give you simple rhythms that you can learn. If you run into a rhythm you don't understand, e-mail me or check the FAQ page where your question may have already been addressed. It sounds like you are very dedicated to learning music the right way and I applaude you for this. You are the type of person I have written my books for and I'm glad you have found them useful. I wish you great success and don't hesitate to contact me if you have more questions. By the way postions on the guitar neck refer to the fret that you place your index finger on. so... if you start playing something on the 5th fret with your first finger on the 5th fret you are playing in 5th position. I too was mystified when I fist started studying at Berklee, as to what they meant when they talked about position. but its really that simple---it's where you put your index finger that determines the position. |
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| Q | I've recently purchased your Music Theory and Chord Theory workbooks and find them to be excellent sources for studying the guitar. However, I do need clarification on the "Cycle 5" Movement through the cycle 5, (C,F,Bb,Eb, etc.) is in 4th's (5 half steps) and not in 5th's as I previously assumed - Please explain. Also, I know the study/practice pace will vary depending on the student's time, motivation, etc. but is there a recommended pace for your workbooks? |
| A | Thanks for buying the books and I'm glad you are finding them useful. Cycle 5 can be thought of in two ways. The most common way is to think moving UP in 7 half steps i.e. C to G etc or 5 diatonic step in the key of C C i.e. C to D to E to F to G equals 5 steps or a 5th. But, you can also think of moving DOWN 7 half steps from C which would be the note F. Once again if you are in the key of C you could also move down 5 diatonic steps i.e. C to B to A to G to F which equals 5 steps or a 5th. The reason I use the cycle moving to down rather than up is because of the way music (particularly contemporary music) moves in many compositions, i.e. it modulates through keys moving DOWN the cycle 5 pattern. But, really either way will work when practicing your theory or chord work. As far as how to work through the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two" I would learn maybe 10 to 15 chords moving them cycle 5 the way I recommend in the book. This will help to make sure you know these chords in all keys and will also help you memorize the notes on the two lowest strings on the guitar. The next step would be to skip to the progressions in the back of the book. By learning chord progressions you will hear how these chords relate to real music and it will help you to memorize each new chord. One of my main criticisms of other chord books is that you aren't given enough examples of how these chords are used and what they sound like in a musical example. I noticed through my many years of teaching that if you don't apply chords to a musical situation it is almost impossible to remember a chord voicing for a long period of time. In "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" I would recommend doing a page a day. Some of my students also do one example from 10 different pages a day because they feel it helps them remember chords better. The most important thing is to at least do some work everyday. In "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" I would recommend taking one scale writing out the answers and then applying that scale to the midifile chord progressions found on the Muse-eek website. Once again some of my students do one example from 2 or 3 different scales a day because they feel it helps them remember scales better. The most important thing is to at least do some work everyday, and applying these scales to the midifile progressions is a must. Really the bottom line of both theory books is to keep you "thinking the notes." Over time you will see a pattern developing which is OK as long as you know what the notes are and you are not relying on a pattern. With all practicing, consistency is the key. Whatever amount you can do always try to practice every day rather than once every few days. I wish you good luck and feel free to write back if anything I have said is unclear. |
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| Q | I came across your "Single String Studies for Guitar" at amazon.com. the title immediately caught my eye as i have never seen or heard of such a method. I researched your book and am impressed with it. I just have some questions and doubts which i hope you can clarify.
I am currently studying with a good teacher and I am using "A modern method for guitar" by William G. Leavitt as my main guitar method course. since you have studied at Berklee and perhaps used this text there, I am assuming you will understand my concerns better. I am also using a Mel Bay guitar method course, which I am studying on my own. My concern is, can I use your "Single String Studies for Guitar" while also learning from Leavitt's "A modern method for guitar" or any other good guitar method course? when i read your comments at amazon.com, you mentioned that your book will force the student to stop playing patterns, which is what i am doing now and haven't seen any other way until now. then I thought, how come your book was recommended for advanced players, when after reading everything about the method, I felt a student should learn via single string method from the beginning. otherwise wouldn't a student, when using a good conventional method, be used to position playing and then if he/she studies your book at a later time, wouldn't he/she have something totally new? and would this cause a problem? does your method also teach how to read chord notation, which will mean one has to read one more than one string simultaneously? how would you advise me accordingly, keeping in mind that I am already using method books such as "A Modern Method for Guitar". can I come up with nice combination where I can use both? the reason why I hope you can clarify this from me is, I only recently started learning how to read and learning "proper technique" using a systematic and structured course such as Leavitt's "A modern method for guitar". otherwise, I was self-taught for 2 years and one day found myself in a rut and disappointed with my progress. so I am now very conscious about getting it done the "right way" from the start. if your book will definately help me, then I will surely focus on it. but being self conscious about using too many "methods", I don't want to find myself on the other extreme of when I was frustrated being self-taught. please advise me and share your wisdom. I appreciate it very much. thank your for you time. |
| A | I am very familiar with Leavitt's books because not only did I study at Berklee, I taught there for 4 years. "A Modern Method for Guitar" by Leavitt is a pretty good book but I do have my reservations about it which is one of the reasons I wrote my own.
You should keep a couple of things in mind; All students at Berklee used the Modern Method book in conjuction with a "chord lab" and a "sight reading lab." The material used in these labs is not available in book form but is crucial to learning the guitar. The chord lab gives you a progression every week to learn. First you have to read four or five part chord voicings and also read these chords as chord symbols. Then, in the sight reading lab you are given short melodies to read. Some melodies are read on the spot and some are prepared for the next week's class. If you want to get the experience of reading chord voicings and symbols, I would recommend my "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One." This book will give you 36 progressions either written with chord voicings or chord progressions. This will go a long ways to help you read chords and also teach you how they are used. I would also recommend as a suppliment text, LINES: Sight Reading and Sight Singing Exercises. This book gives you single through 4 part melodies and exercises to work through and helps a lot with learning to read more than one note at a time. As far as the" Single String Studies" goes you could use that in conjunction with the Leavitt books. I would recommend "Single Strings Studies Volume One." One of my main criticisms of the Leavitt series is that it gets students boxed into reading in one position at a time and only presents examples that are in that position. In the real world melodies commonly do not stay in one position so many students who have studied this method end up with problems later on. One way you can avoid this is to work out of a book like Single String Studies, but also spend time reading any music of any style you can get your hands on. A library is a good place to find music, hopefully you have a good library near you. As long as we are on the subject of what I think you need, I should mention that gaining a thorough knowledge of the guitar is a key factor in becoming a great guitarist. I recommend you get the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar at some point. These books will give you exercises to write out both on a staff and on a guitar fretboard so you learn your music theory in both of these two crucial ways. Also I would recommend you get "Ear Training: One Note Beginning." All of the music information you are gaining means nothing if you can't hear it and understand how you should be hearing music. This book is crucial beginning for a student. Ear Training is really a combination of listening and singing therefore I would also recommend "Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing" thought you could use the "LINES: Sight Singing and Sight Reading" book as your sight singing book. I realize this is a lot of books, a lot of money and a lot to think about. But you seem to be a very serious and motivated person, so I have outlined for you a complete course of study for improving your musical abilities. I wrote these books because when I was first learning about music, I was rather isolated, and looking back, I could have made musical progress a lot faster and from an earlier age, if I had had access to the information that I have put in my books. You would need quite a bit of time each day to get through all of this information, I would estimate about 4 hours. But, I feel it's my responsiblity to let you know what serious students at New York University and Princeton University are doing to become accomplished musicians. Of course any of these books could be used in conjunction with your current books of study. Good luck and I wish you the best with your music. |
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| Q | I don't understand how transposition works with the guitar. I realize that guitar is a transposing instrument when you read a written part but I don't understand what that means. Could you explain it to me? |
| A | Well this transposition stuff does get confusing doesn't it. Let me give you a couple of examples that will help you see how to write for the guitar and also understand what you are reading when you play guitar music.
First, let me say that the guitar is a transposing instrument and sounds an octave below where piano music is written. So, let's say I'm composing a melody at the piano and I want the melody to be C, D and E starting on middle C on the piano. If I want the guitar to play this melody in the same octave that it is sounding on the piano I will have to write this on the 3rd space of the staff for C, moving to the 4th line for D and then the 4th space for E. As you can see the guitar is reading notes an octave above so that the sound will come out in the same octave of the piano. Second, let say you are reading a guitar part and the first three notes are C (one ledger line below the treble clef or what would commonly thought of as middle C) to D space below lowest line and E first line of the treble clef. When you play the first note C this is not sounding in the same octave as middle C it is the pitch one octave below middle C. As you can see from these two examples the guitar as far as pitch is concerned is a fairly low sounding instrument - (the low e-string sounds way down an octave and a minor sixth below middle C) but with a very broad range of notes; at least four octaves. This actually is one of the reasons they made the guitar a transposing instrument because it would need both the bass and the treble clef to accomodate all the notes on the instrument. Rather than have guitar written with a grand staff (grand staff is when you use both the bass and treble clefs together, like piano) they just use the treble clef but make the guitar a transposing instrument. It's really ultimately easier to do it that way. (--you don't want to have to read grand staff, do you?) Single String Studies is written for guitar, therefor it is already transposed into the treble clef for you . But remember if you read middle C in an exercise, you are playing the 3rd fret of the A string and it is actually sounding an octave below this note. If you are playing along with a pianist and looking over their shoulder at treble clef, you will have to play an octave higher on your instrument if you want to play the same pitch and blend with the piano.. Hopefully this helps you understand and picture how this system works. |
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| Q | I have a question about a pretty specific topic I suppose. My main interest is jazz and I am in search of a work book type of text book that would teach harmonic theory as used in jazz (swing to Bop primarily) and then present the reader with a number ( maybe 5-10) of chord progressions to be analyzed in terms of Roman Numeral function, say I vi ii V7 patterns and others etc..., and also song structure AABA, ABAC, etc..., modulations to new key centers, and also chord function possibly, say Tonic, Dominant, Sub Dominant, etc...this also could include the recognition and use of substitutions within these progression exercises or quizzes. Lastly, an answer key would be provided at the back of the book, accompanied by an explanation of the authors analysis for the reader to check his analysis against. |
| A | I'm sorry to say that at this time I don't have exactly the book you are describing. I have been planning an analysis book like that, but it's still only in the planning stages.
I will say that "Chord Workbook Volume One" and "Two" discusses possible reharmonization methods and are a great tool for learning how to reharmonize a jazz chord progression-- but I haven't included an analysis of each of the 36 progressions found in Volume One or the 24 found in "Volume Two." One thing you should consider though, is that while analyzing chord progressions is essential to understanding how harmony works, you really need to be able to "hear" how these progressions are functioning. Therefore ear training is an integral companion to really understanding how "you" hear a progression. This is done through developing relative pitch ear training. I'm not talking about learning intervals, I'm talking about being able to hear 4 to 6 note structures moving from one to another and hearing each voice and knowing how it is functioning in a key and when these progressions modulate. Getting to that point is a long process but I consider it to be key to a solid, working understanding of harmony. Check out the ear training books listed on the Muse Eek site; both the listening and the singing books are about building an understanding of how you "hear" a progression. If you need more help deciding where to start with the ear training method let me know. In the mean time I will keep you posted regarding that analysis book. |
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| Q | I JUST bought you're "Chord Workbook for Guitar: Volume One." through amazon.com, and was wondering if it is "imperative" that I at least know something about reading sheet music (i.e. time signatures, half notes, treble clefs etc...) I have been playing guitar for two years, but only my favorite band's music (Dave Matthews Band) so I have some experience, but I cant read music. Should I get another book read before this book? |
| A | You don't have to be able to read music to work through the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One." All chord voicings are given with chord diagrams and symbols. The chords are also presented on a music staff which will help you to start to learn where the notes are on your guitar. The chord progressions in the back of the book are shown with chord symbols and a reference number (the fret) to let you know where I suggest you play the chords.
The very back of the book does also contain the chord progressions written out with only notes on the staff, but you don't have to use this section if you don't want to. The advantage of using this back section is that you can find out exactly how I would play the chord progressions. Some students also use this section to start to work on reading chord voicings which of course is very challenging on the guitar. There is also a music theory section where I explain the theoretical ideas I used to construct the chord progressions. This may be a little over your head, but it's not necessary for you to understand this section in order to use the chord progressions. The muse-eek website is currently working on a new "members section" where book owners can register and receive free help files, and other items of interest. I plan on taping short videos of some of the concepts which I presented in the book and posting them in this section. This could be of great help for someone like you because I think it's a lot easier to understand musical concepts when you have someone talking to you and showing you something, rather than reading about it. Look for the beginnings of this is a few weeks. 5/1/00 |
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| Q | I am a beginner of actual guitar instruction, but have played for 2 years. Anyway, I was wondering if you were to place your books in order of "importance for beginners" or "best way to learn" and the student had the amply time and money to focus his/hers time and energy into the books what order would you recommend them? I have already bought your, "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1" and already (in only a week in fact) have learned tons about what makes chords, why certain chords go together etc, but is there a book of yours that would be more beneficial in the long run to study before this one? I realize that all students have different wants/desires out of the guitar but could you please give me a kind of "road map"? Thanks again Mr. Arnold, and I look forwarding to getting better at the guitar through your books. |
| A | Regarding a regimen of study with my books, I recommend starting with "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1" and "Theory Workbook for Guitar" Volume 1 or Volume 2 (you don't have to complete Volume One before going to Volume 2) Along with this I recommend getting started with Ear Training. You should at least work with "Ear Training: One Note Beginning" and at some point not too far in the future you should start working with "A Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training."
You should download the proper way to play scales, which is located on the www.arnoldjazz.com music workshop site. This will give you a good base to start from. Also you should get yourself a tape recorder so you can record some chords/vamps to play over. Keep in mind that there are 5 basic areas that you should be working on to develop properly: 1. Music Theory 2. Chord Work 3. Ear Training 4. Scale work 4. Improvisation (playing over chord progressions)-- basically being creative! This is where you apply the chords, scales, theory you've been working so hard to learn. This will also develop your ear and your musical connection to real music. You should also register for the "members area" on the main book page of muse-eek.com Over the next year muse-eek will be adding extra text and audio files, videos and other educational information which is free for you, being an owner of one of my books. |
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| Q | I left music as a professional classical guit player & teacher to raise a family. I keep practicing and learning but with limited time. I am very interested in your books. Haven't bought any yet. I am very interested in learning to comp without bass and drums to work with singers and with a clarinetist. I listen to a lot of jazz, and have a decent classical right hand technique. I work at learning voicings but need a way to put it together. Can you suggest which of your books to get to help develop a good comping ability? Do you offer qty discounts? Truthfully, all your books sound interesting. |
| A | I look at comping from a few different angles. Within any given musical style you could look at playing chords in the following ways
1. Knowing different chord voicings. 2. Knowing different possible rhythms that could be used. 3. Being able to add or subtract chords to create diversity (reharmonization) 4. Developing alternate possible style of comping within a given style. (i.e. chords and bass at the same time) I have address each of these in different ways in different books. "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One" gives you the common chords a professional musician uses. You probably know most of these already. But, the back of the book gives you 36 chord progression which have been reharmonized using the techniques I layout in a reharmonization section found before the progressions. So this book will help you develop number 3 from the list above. "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" gives you all the upper 4 string voicings which are great for chord melody playing. You once again probably know a lot of these but this book gives you all the possibilities within 5 frets. The back of this book gives you 24 chord progression which have been reharmonized used the techniques I layout in a reharmonization section found before the progressions. This reharmonization method is different from book one but it does use the same progressions as book one and then reharmonizes the reharmonizations. This book will also help you develop number 3 from the list above. "Comping Styles for Guitar Volume Two FUNK" takes the progression found in Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One and plays them in a funk style. This funk comping uses a bass and chord funk style so you could lets say accompany a vocalist with a funky style of chord comping. I find this book to be very useful for developing alternate ways to comping and create the feeling of a whole rhythm section. "Guitar Clinic" is a book which covers many of subjects I present at clinics. This book contains one of the possible bass and chord comping style that jazz players commonly use in duet playing. I think you would find that half of this book is stuff you already know or is very much pitched to a beginner but the other half would contain important information you could use. Below is a list of some of it's other content: 1. Exercises from my "Rhythm Series" of books which are basically sight reading books to develop your rhythm. (If your interested in developing your sight reading or honing in on your rhythm the rhythm books will kick your ...) 2. Excerpts from two theory workbooks which are meant mostly for beginning to intermediate students to develop their understanding of chord building and scale construction. (This would not be a section that would apply to you) 3. How to read music. (This would not be a section that would apply to you) 4. Modal sequencing (developmental exercises for playing scales which gives you a good way to develop a through command of scales on the guitar) 5. Approach Note Theory (developmental exercises for playing bebop lines) 6. Hexatonic Improvisation (developmental exercises for using these scales) If you have a more questions about the books let me know. If you want to order any of these you would get a better deal by ordering them direct from muse-eek publishing company. Some of these book they have "seconds" of (these are books that are nearly new or just have a typo or other small problem but are just fine) Many of these are half price. You can go to www.muse-eek.com website to look at all the books and see what they have for seconds. I know sometimes they have seconds that aren't listed so ask. I know they have the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One as a second but send them an e-mail at info@muse-eek.com after you check out the site and tell them what your interested. Depending on how many books you get I would think they probably will give you a discount. I'm not sure what that would be but certainly ask them if they will give you one. As a personal recommendation I would check out the ear training books. You should probably start with Ear Training One Note Advanced. A development of your ears is of utmost importance in your development as a musician. Of all the concepts and things I've worked on this has advanced my ability more than anything. Hopes this help you understand the books. Thanks again for contacting me. |
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| Q | I have found it VERY difficult (actually I can't even do it) to use my index finger to cover multiple strings used on many chords. This is very frustrating to me, since most of your workbook assumes that the reader is capable of this. Is there any way to get around this? Thanks a lot. |
| A | You are not alone. Many students have problems play "barre chords." These are the chords in the "Chord Workbook for Guitar" that require you to use your index finger to cover multiple strings. This is usually caused by one or two things: (1) The student hasn't played or practiced "barre chords" much in the past, and the muscles that are used have not been sufficiently developed, (2) They are using an acoustic guitar to play these chords, which has a higher action than an electric, and so is more physically demanding.
Usually a person new to "barre chords" will find it takes a month, maybe two before the chords consistently sound good to them. If you are playing an acoustic this could be even longer. Usually "barre chords" are the most difficult on the lower frets of the guitar but some students with big hands find it hard to finger the "barre chords" on high frets because they are so close together. It's easy to get frustrated with these chords. "Barre chords" though are some of the most commonly used chords on the guitar. From rock to jazz to just about any style using a guitar these chords will be used. So the delemma is how to get your hand to cooperate. I usually recommend the follow things: 1. Play the major "barre chords" cycle 5 as I recommend in the Chord Workbook once a day. Don't worry about what the chords sound like just get your hand used to moving around the neck. This will actually help your hand build up muscle memory and will exercise the hand especially by moving to so many different places on the guitar. Usually after a couple of weeks students notice a slight improvement. As mentioned before this could be a couple of month process if you are having a lot of problems. I would also mention that this can be very difficult for some students because the bad sound they are producing makes them not want to continue to play the "barre chords." In this case you just have to persevere because these chords are so very important to playing many songs. Maybe you could think of it as going to the gym to pump up your hand! Only instead of being able to show off your deltoids you will eventually be able to play those difficult chords with ease. 2. If you have an acoustic guitar that you are playing these "barre chords" on just to keep your sanity go to the house of a friend with an electric guitar or a music store and try to play these chords. You will find that there is not something wrong with you it's just that on a acoustic guitar or even some electric guitars that have high action "barre chords" can be very difficult. 3. You also can work with just one "barre chord" and keep adjusting your fingers to try and improve the sound. I used to do this everyday when I started. I'd move the index finger a little this way or that and would find that sometimes slight adjustments would help certain string to sound better. Keep in mind that the high strings will be particularly hard to get sounding good. But also remember that many times the "barre chords" people use in rock music only use the bottom 3 or 4 notes rather than the whole chord. But still you want to develop the ability to play these chords perfectly over time. 4. I should mention that in extreme cases I have recommended that students get a new acoustic or electric guitar. Fortunately there are very reasonably priced guitars on the market today. The Seagull acoustics are excellent and easy to play for around $300.00 and the Fender Mexican Stratocasters are great electric guitars for under $300.00. I hope this helps you. In many cases is just good to know you're not alone in trying to play "barre chords." If I can be of any further assistance let me know. |
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| Q | I 'll try to be short. I am caught between buying your course of study ("Chord/Theory Workbooks") and one other course "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards that has gotten a lot of attention. I would ask if you have any idea of the fretboard logic series compared to the info your course contains. |
| A | Bill Edwards book "Fretboard Logic SE Special Edition Volumes 1 and 2 combined" ISBN 09624770 is pretty much a completely different approach to learning guitar-and music for that matter than the Music Theory Workbooks.
Deciding on the educational path you want to take with guitar is probably the most important decision you will make in your musical career so you should think about a few things: 1. Your goals with music 2. Your internal ability to hear/process/understand music 3. Your attitude towards learning music. 4. What you want from music. Take a few moments and think about these four things. Maybe even write down 3 or 4 answers per question. Because so many guitarists start out wanting to play rock guitar, most guitar book authors first and foremost figure that you really just want to get to play the guitar as fast as possible. Guitarists more than any other instrumentalist are very concerned about speed. Many types of books have been created to accommodate this rather large group of students who think they don't need ear training, music theory, note names etc. Usually the rationale students give behind these beliefs is that "so and so" from this "famous rock band" doesn't know any music theory or maybe even the notes on the guitar, so why should I have to know these things. There are a couple of points that these students don't realize. 1. Many of these musicians have exceptionally good ears but very little musical knowledge. But an exceptional ear is very rare. The ability to hear what you want to play or write can go a long way towards sidestepping the handicaps created by lack of formal musical knowledge, but most students are not gifted in this way and need to develop better aural skills. 2. There is also the category of musicians that are for instance, singer songwriters who just use the guitar as a vehicle to express their lyrics and basic song forms, and therefore need only a limited amount of information usually just chord voicings. Then they use their "ear" to guide them. As a result of these demographic most guitar and music books rather than spending time helping a student develop their aural comprehension just give students a visual reference to music through tablature and diagrams. (Note: Teaching with diagrams is not within itself a bad thing. You just have to have excellent ears and the ability to internalize (audiate) the sounds you see on a page or on the guitar fretboard. So the problem here is that 99.9 percent of every student I have taught has had very weak ears. When I taught at Berklee College of Music they would say "That student can't even hear a door slam." This is really the main problem I have with alot of the books that are available for guitarists. They make no mention of developing your ear, which is a key component of musicianship; particularly if you are going to rely only on tablature and diagrams to play your instrument. To make matters worse most ear training books teach you the wrong concepts for learning how to hear. Therefore even if you realize you have an "ear" problem, you will be directed toward learning intervals, and that will not get you to the point you want to be at. Many students commonly tell me that they have this friend who: never practices, can play anything they hear really quickly and when they play, it just sounds so good. The student also feels because of this that there is something wrong with them because they don't play as well even though they practice a lot more. Again, 99.9 percent of the time it's the student's aural comprehension that is holding them back. If this all makes sense to you and you feel like you should give some attention to developing your aural comprehension check out the "Ear Training: One Note Method" and the "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training." To Sum up: It must be kept in mind that everyone has different priorities and tastes, therefore a student may get much more from "Fretboard Logic" than from the Music Theory Workbooks or even the ear training books. When Mr. Edwards states on page ix of his book that he feels that "Fretboard Logic SE Part 1 will teach you a great deal about just one thing: how the tuning works out on the fretboard in terms of patterns," he is summing up the first half of his book very well. It basically comes down to a student realizing through time and experience which system of education best fits their needs and goals. |
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| Q | First, I'm using your second edition book, and the basic open chords that are found on pages 17-24 I can play well. As for the barre chords, I was taught by a different book to play them in the form of E-based and A-based. As for the page numbers, I'm not sure where they fall because I'm confused by all the different keys and voicings of each chord. So I can play E-based and A-based barre chords. I'm in dire need of a practice schedule. Help! |
| A | Seems like you already know the "open" position chords at the beginning of the Chord Workbook then I would start with the barre chords on page 26. (If you need more practice with the "open" chords join the member's are of the muse-eek.com website and practice the chord progression found there). For each barre chords you learn use the method presented on page 25 this will make sure you learn the chords in all keys. After you have learned about 10 pages of chords go to the back of the book and start learning either the C major or C minor Blues progression. (You may occasionaly have to look up a chord). It is important that you start applying the chords you are learning with real music. This is why I've presented the chord progressions in the back of the book. The rhythmic feel for the chord progressions should be strummed on the 1 and the "and of 2." You want to learn a new progression every week and 3 or 4 new chord voicings a week. You should spend about 1/2 hour a day on the chord stuff. You will notice that each barre chord page gives you between 2 and 4 possible ways to play a given chord. By using the method of page 25 and playing through all these chords along with applying them in the chord progressions you should find that these chords become second nature to you. Make sure to read the "chord tones and tensions" pages before each chord with tensions is given. This will help you figure out where you can use these chords. Of course the chord progressions will also give you common examples with the blues, minor blues and rhythm changes. |
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| Q | Progressions can get boring sometimes, so I was wondering how I might start to build a repetoire of songs to play. If you could give me suggestions on where to start learning songs, that would be helpful. I think once I start to learn to play more songs, it will greatly boost me confidence in my playing. |
| A | Well there are a lot of directions you could move in to learn some other songs. Stores are full of sheet music to just about every tune imaginable. If you want to get more specific to the chords you are learning in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One, you might want to pick up a fake book. Check
http://www.shermusic.com/standard_real.htm This is a good one. When learning tunes, you can first learn the chords or learn the melody without a metronome. After you can play the melody in time try learning the chords and putting them down on a tape recorder. You will then be able to play the melody over the chords. |
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| Q | I've been working through your books, mostly the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1, and I've gotten to the point where I'm trying to improvise solos over the various blues progressions in the book. I'm wondering if you could offer me some general guidelines for soloing over chord changes?
For instance, the 12 bar blues in C on page 107 of your Chord Workbook. For the first chord, C13, C Mixolydian seems to work. The second chord, F9, could be accommodated with a change to C Dorian or - and this is what I'm confused about - one could pick out a mode from the key of F for that F9 chord. What I'm wondering is, is it normal to change to a scale that shares the same root as the chord when soloing over chord changes? For example, if the progression goes from a C chord to an F, should I play a mode in the key of C for the first chord, then a mode in the key of F for the second, or should I play a mode in the key of C for both chords, if possible one which shares the same notes as both chords? Or should I change modes, staying in the same key, playing for instance C Mixolydian over the C13 and C Dorian over the F9? Or is this completely up to one's own tastes? Should I just try everything and see what sounds best? Are there any books that cover this subject? |
| A | When soloing over chord changes it is important to consider what key you hear each change in. This of course implies that you have worked through my ear training books so you understand how you should be hearing notes relative to the key and how to tell if you have changed keys as the chords go by. In general though you want to play a scale based on the key you are in so if you go to the four chord F7 in a C blues and you hear the F7 as a four chord then you would play a C dorian scale because you are still in the key of C. If for instance it is a very very slow blues you might hear the four chord modulate to F so then you would stop thinking C dorian and start thinking F mixolydian. I would recommend you get the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two because that will explain this concept of key vs. chord and give you the common scales play for each chord type along with audio files to practice each scale.
If you run into chords in the chord progressions that you are not sure what scale to play let me know and I'll help you out. But remember you should always think about what key you are in before deciding on how to think about any scale that you are going to use for improvisation. |
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| Q | I recently started studying 4 of your music books. Right Hand Technique, Single String Studies, Volume 1, Ear Training:One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide. Prior to that and on an ongoing basis I have been studying W. Leavitt's "123 Complete". I am reviewing parts of book 2 and am about 30 pages into book 3 i.e. just before the 4 voice arpeggios.
What recommendations can you make for learning how to improvise with the major scale, or any scale for that matter? I know the mechanics of the major scale pretty well, i.e. 11 scales in each position. I know all the triads in position as well as the two octave triads presented in Leavitt's level 2 book. The ear training materials are helping, but I am a beginner in that area. My guitar playing on the otherhand is approaching intermediate level. My second question is about songs written out for guitar. I really enjoy all the songs and chord studies in W. Leavitt's book. I have composed a few chord melody studies on my own using fake sheets, but my versions are comparatively boring. Where can I find more materials like Leavitt's or materials of similar difficulty to read and memorize? |
| A | To start to improvise you need to pick a scale and then begin using it over a chord progression. At the beginning this can be quite awkward but you should find if you try a little each day that you start to hear little melodies. As far as which scales fit with which chords I would recommend you get the Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. This will give you all the scales you need to know along with chord progressions to use to start to improvise. There are also midifiles of these progressions on the muse-eek.com website look under the books title. You could use the progressions without getting the book but if you also work on the exercises in the Theory Two book you will find you will make faster progress. As your ear gets better with the ear training I would start trying to pick a few notes off from solos you like too. This will help you understand the proper rhythmic feel as you solo.
Finding chord solos and other interesting guitar music isn't as easy as you might think. I know there is a Joe Pass solo guitar book that is quite good. One thing I would recommend as a longer term project is to understanding a lot of the harmonic aspects that many solo guitar pieces use. You should study the Theory and Reharmonization section in the back of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. The chord progressions in this book will show you many example of how to use these Reharmonization principles. If you need more help on applying these concepts to chord solos, let me know and I'll step you through it. |
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| Q | I have been on a quest trying to find advanced books on the subject of analyzing non diatonic and modal chord progressions. I have recently become fascinated by the music of The Beatles and Elton John. Both of these artists tend to utilize complex chord progressions that seem to verge off on any number of directions with little regard to the key. I guess what I am looking for is a method to help me understand and then implement these concepts into my own music. I am not really interested in chord shapes and formation as much as advanced theory on creating chord progressions, modulations, cadences, why some chord progressions sound good, etc. My search led me to Stone Dragon's website where he references a couple of your books in the course of some very good articles. However when I checked the table of contents at Amazon it seemed to me that they focussed more on chord construction than the subject matter I am really interested in. Maybe I am wrong. Can you recommend a book or resource to help me in my pursuit of knowledge. Any advice would be most appreciated. |
| A | Chord Workbooks Volume One and Two each contain a section on chord reharmonization. Chord Workbook one covers harmonic based reharmonization and Chord Workbook two covers the use of chord scales to reharmonize progressions. There are also 36 chord progressions supplied as examples in Chord Workbook Volume One and 24 examples in Chord Workbook volume two. Currently these sections of the book are not available independently. Within the next 6 months or so we will be doing a "Print on the Fly" situation where you can buy sections of my books and kind of create your own book which will be bound and sent to you. At that time you would be able to just get the information you need. My suggestion would be to study the aforementioned books and examples and then apply this information to the Beatles and Elton John progressions. If in some cases you still can't figure out the music theory behind these progressions send them to me and I'll help you out. |
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| Q | I have purchased your chord and theory workbooks from Amazon.co.uk and I am also very keen to begin to learn how to sight read from scratch. I have read your recommendations for study on muse-eek.com, but was wondering whether the books mentioned therein are suitable for learning to sight read or whether they are best used to improve sight-reading once a musician already has reasonable competence in this area. This query does not relate as much to the recommended rhythm books, as I have been informed that these start from a basic level. |
| A | The books that I have for sight reading can be used by a beginning student. I teach a rather extensive program of sight reading for guitar at NYU and Princeton Universities. It's quite a few books to start out with, so you may want to start with a couple if money is tight. Here is a list of what I start students with:
Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One LINES Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One Students spend one hour a day working out of these books. You will find that if you put in this amount of time your reading will be much better within a year. This is a four-year course and many of these books are used over and over at different tempo markings and also different musical concepts are applied. If you end up getting these books let me know and I'll work out a practice schedule for you. Another good thing about many of these books is that I also use them in my Ear Training courses, so they serve double duty. Some of these books, like Single String Studies, are very difficult for beginning students, but once you understand that it's the process that's important and not that you get everything perfect the first time through you will be fine. There is also some help files in the "member's area" if you have specific problems like reading and understanding rhythm. |
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| Q | Thank you very much for replying. I have indeed ordered all of the books you prescribe for sight-reading from Amazon.co.uk. Additionally, I have also ordered the Music Theory and Chord Workbooks Vols 1 and 2 and will be ordering the recommended books for ear training as soon as finances permit. As regarding the time I have available for practicing, I am taking currently on a 'gap year' after recently graduating in Law. The sole purpose for this gap year is to study the guitar. Thus I have around 8 hours per day for 7 days a week to study! I would be incredibly grateful if you could advise me on a suitable programme (or program as it is on your side of the Atlantic!).
Just to mention I have ordered your 'First Steps' book. I have been playing around 10 years but I only ever consciously sat down and practiced for the first 6 months of that time so I thought I should ensure that my basic technique and knowledge is correct. I think I would prefer to work through this book before I embark on the others but would be very interested to see what you think. |
| A | 1st Steps is a good place to start, particularly for checking out your technique. Can't stress enough how important that is going to be to your progress. You may initially move a little slower but once your technique is in the right place you are going to fly through stuff. Your obviously going to have to build up to practicing 8 hours a day, so start with a comfortable amount of work that leaves you wanting more each day and add on some time each day.
I'm going to give you an assignment for the ear training too so you can get started on that right away. So you need to get: Ear Training One Note Fanatic's Guide Try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs. This can help you think of this practice correctly. Start with the 1st "one note" exercise in Fanatic's Guide. Sing for about 10 minutes working your way through all keys with one or more notes. Do this 5 to 10 times a day. Now for the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One you want to learn around 10 new chords a week. Go through the chords from the beginning and make sure you learn them all. Use the cycle 5 suggestion to help you memorize these chords. If you already know quite a few, go back and start learning the chord progressions. You should try to learn one chord progression per week. In the next couple of weeks there is going to be a link up with some audio files for this book so stay tuned, Volume Two will come later. For the Music Theory books you want to do one page a day from Volume One, one scale a week from Volume Two. You need to go to the music workshop on www.arnoldjazz.com and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes, so first C major all positions, then C dorian positions etc... Remember that we are learning note names and degrees here, not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this, because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with the scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the "member's area," this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. With your right hand technique, the important thing to remember is that if you have played a lot, or with a previous technique, it's going to take some time for your mind to stop sending commands to your wrist, for example, and start sending it to your forearm. Concentrating on your forearm will help your mind switch these impulses to the right place. Never play if you have pain and if you do have pain your probably tensing up somewhere. Always practice standing up and have your guitar high enough so your left hand isn't bent too much at the wrist. Check the website for pictures and videos. Remember it's going to take time to build up to this much serious practicing so work up to a full schedule over time. Now for the sight reading. All exercises will be sped up, or I'll give you approximate starting tempos if they are too easy or hard to adjust to on the metronome. Never stop once you start reading something until the piece is over. The worse thing you can do is stop. If you miss something, just try to keep your place in the music, this is the most important thing. 1. Go to the "member's area" and download the file "beat reading." Find some music at home or from a local library and do the beat reading 10 minutes a day. 2. Rhythm Primer: start with first pages. You want to work these exercises up to a very fast tempo. I'm talking like 120 bpm for a measure (so a whole measure goes by in one beat of the metronome). Obviously, you're not going to start there, but start where you're comfortable and speed up the exercise each day. Read from this book for 5 minutes then move on, just one page a week. 3. Rhythms Volume One: Three pages a week. First read through the 3 pages. Over time you want to start using the metronome on beats 2 and 4 rather than every beat or 1 and 3. Isolate the measures you have problems with after reading all the way through and work on them. Do this for 10 minutes. 4. Rhythms Volume Two is the same as Volume One except you will use the metronome on every beat. 5. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One can drive ya nuts so be patient with this book: One page a week, don't look at the fretboard and use the midifiles on the muse-eek.com website to let you know if you are correct or not. Start REAL slow. Don't worry if you make a lot of mistakes, this will improve overtime. Make sure that you are standing when you work with this book. This should be 5 to 10 minutes of practice. You want to move through the book by keys, so first do low E string in C then A string in C, etc.. 6. LINES will be one key a week (10 pages). Obviously you will be able to read through the 1st 4 pages much easier than the pages with double stops etc ... If you have to play the multiple note chords really slow, that's totally cool. You'll see over time that you'll just start to remember the shapes. Should be about 10 minutes of practice. 7. As you get better with the reading you also want to read just about any kind of music that you can find and vary it as much as you can. I'm working on a new section of the website with downloadable pdfs of music to sight read, but this may be awhile. If you run into problems or questions let me know. |
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| Q | I'm having a hard time deciding which book I should buy, the music theory workbook or the chord workbook. I have been playing guitar for about 2 years (mostly in the flatpick bluegrass style) and have had theory course in college (7 years ago), so I have something of a decent foundation. I want to stay sharp in my knowledge of theory and how it relates to guitar playing, so I was excited to find that you offered workbooks (with the answers!!). I wonder if one of the books I mentioned would be "better" to learn first, or if one is more advanced than the other, or if they are geared toward different approaches...etc. Any info you could give me would be very helpful and appreciated. |
| A | The two books do entirely different things.
The Theory book presents you with exercises that you fill out. Most of the book deals with spelling chords (from simple to highly complex) and writing down where these chords would be on a music staff and on the guitar fretboard. This book is excellent for getting music theory knowledge and applying it directly to the guitar. The Chord Workbook actually contains the same explanation of theory as the Theory books but none of the music theory exercises. The Chord Workbook contains all the chords that you would commonly find in a well put together chord book but this book contains chord progressions so you can apply the chords you are learning. This is crucial. If you are ever going to use a chord, you need to practice it with real music and have examples of how it is used. The chord progressions provide you with an outlet for all of this. There is also a reharmonization section which explains chord reharmonization. The chord progressions, along with giving you examples of how the chords are used, also give you examples of how to apply the reharmonization method. This reharmonization method is useful for any type of music including bluegrass. The examples are more weighted towards jazz, but if you use less reharmonization you can apply these concepts to any style. I'm not sure of your goals, but the above explanations should give you a pretty good idea of the books contents. If you want a well-rounded approach to your music studies I would recommend getting both of these books and the Ear Training One Note Complete book which will get your ears developing along with your mind. I would also recommend you go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. Learn a new scale each week if you can. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes, so first C major all positions and then C dorian positions etc. Remember, we are learning note names and degrees here, not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique ebook to make sure you are using the proper technique. This is important! If you decide to go for all of this you will see some amazing progress in your ability. Give yourself 6 months of practicing this stuff an hour or two a day and you'll be turning some heads. |
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| Q | I'm interested in how to apply reharmonization to chords and melodies. Could you help me out? |
| A | You should go to the back of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One and there is a section on reharmonization right before the chord progressions. Read this section it will explain the resolution of the 3 dominant chords and the fact that you can put their related II's before each of the 3 dominants. Then you want to start checking out how I have applied this concept in the chord progressions. The idea being that if for instance you had a G7 to C you could put the following progression
Eb-7 Ab7 G7 F-7 Bb7 C because Eb-7 Ab7 resolves to G7 and the F-7 Bb7 resolves to C. This is similiar to the four dominants that are often mentioned in books i.e. G7, Bb7, Db7 and E7 all resolving to C. The theory behind why these chords can resolve to C is completely different than the information in the book. G7, Bb7, Db7 and E7 all resolving to C because they are derived from the G symmetrical diminished scale i.e. G, Ab, Bb, B, C#, D, E and F which is a scale used most commonly over a G7 chord when it is resolving to C. In practice though, E7 is very seldom used as a chord substitution but the chord tones are used as a substitution when used as a melody line. This scale substitution theory of deriving alternate chords from scales is common. There are of course other scales that you could use for dominant chords. One of these is the G7 altered scale i.e. G, Ab, Bb, B, C#, D# and F. For instance you could derive a Eb7 chord from this scale or add some tensions to it Eb7b13. You should check this and other scales for alternate possibilities. Also see Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume Two for application of some of these concepts. |
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| Q | I have the first books and I am ready to start. What type of schedule should I use to practice? I take the train to work so I have an extra hour and a half away from the guitar to do the exercises in the workbook. |
| A | For the Ear Training One Note Complete book try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs this can help you think of this practice correctly. Doing this on the train is a good idea.
Now for the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One you want to learn around 10 new chords a week. Go through the chords from the beginning and make sure you learn them all. Use the cycle 5 suggestion to help you memorize these chords. If you already know quite a few go to the back of the book and start learning the chord progressions. You should try to learn one chord progression per week. There are mp3 files up on the muse-eek.com website for these progressions. Look under the title and you will see a folder on the left side called mp3. The Music Theory books you want to do one page a day from Volume One. Additional stuff: You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. I'd recommend you buy the the Guitar Technique ebook and check out how I recommend you play the guitar. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006J9UF/museeekpublishin Be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to Music Theory Workbook Volume Two or make up your own. You can find the Music Theory Workbook files under the book title on the muse-eek.com website. Also download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. |
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| Q | I have previously studied classical guitar, especially Spanish master's pieces by Tarrega, Torres and Segovia, and some Brazilians like Villalobos, obviously as an interpreter. Needless to say, in a pretty much mechanistic way since I feel my knowledge in music theory is rather too modest, not to say mediocre.
I've read outstanding reviews about your accomplished musicianship and teaching approaches and therefore I would like to get some advise from you; I am planning to purchase some of your publications and in face of your prolific editorial production I would like to count on your proficient advise to choose the right ones for me. As I said before, I have some background, I don't have huge playing limitations, in terms of my playing skills I would rank myself as an intermediate-to-advanced amateur player. I am looking forward to getting an in-depth understanding of basics in chord construction, classification and terminology, intervals and scales over chords concepts. Needless to say, exercises on modes and scales are always welcome as well as other concepts not mentioned above. |
| A | I would recommend the following books for you.
Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two Chord Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Guitar Technique Ebook If you let me know the amount of time you have to practice I will help you with a practice schedule. If you want me to do this also let me know when throughout the day you might have 10 to 15 minutes of down time that you could do ear training exercises with a discman. You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. PS Guitar Clinic would also be a good book because the back of the book contains information on 3 very important concepts of improvisation. |
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| Q | I know that I sent an email about practicing, but I just want to say that I've made tremendous progress with the ear training. After three days I'm getting 95% of the intermediate CD correct with plenty of time to spare. This is by far the most effective practice I've done in a while. It forces me to organize my thoughts. I have a good ear for recognition of pitch, but identification is so important. I've been listening to music and identifying melodies as they apply to the key center with actual ease. Really great stuff, thanks. As far as the practice schedule, whenever you get a chance to offer some suggestions, that'd be awesome, I can't wait to keep improving. |
| A | As far as a schedule goes you should plan on 4 to 5 hours of practice a day if you have the time. You should work up to this amount because it's easy to burn out and consistency is important.
For the scales I'd like to see you get through all keys all positions in the next 3 months. The scales don't have to be fast just have them be consistent in tempo as you go up and down. I also want you to make some flash cards for testing the scales: 1 set with list of all 19 scales 1 set with degress 1-7 1 set with all keys. So you turn over one card it says Dorianb2 you turn over another and it says 3rd you turn over the last and it says Bb So you play a BbDorianb2 scale from the 3rd. You of course should go through all keys all scales all degrees but use these cards to help test yourself. Make sure to also apply the scales to vamps and tunes so you understand how each scale sounds. With the Chord Workbook you pretty much know most of the chords so find the ones you don't know and play them cycle 5 i.e. C, F, Bb, Eb, etc... Read the section of Chord Reharmonization and then learn and analyze the chord progressions in the back of the book. Check under the Chord Workbook title on the Muse Eek Website there are MP3 files of the chord progressions play by me. This will help to make sure you have the right feel and give you a backing track to solo over. Try to learn a few new progressions each week. Analyze the progressions and let me know if you have any questions. Continue the ear training. Glad to hear it is going well. With all guitar work I can't emphasis the importance of correct technique so monitor your technique with a mirror or even video tape yourself. |
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| Q | I have obtained the following books:
Guitar technique (thanks for the email version) Guitar clinic Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol 2 ET one note complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Rhythm primer Rhythms Vol 1 Single String Studies Vol 1 Chord Workbook Vol 1 Rhythm primer: started working assignments on page xxi. These are not difficult for me, but the faster tempos (whole note = much above 60) seem excessive in that by that point I think I have gotten what I need out of the exercise from a reading standpoint. ET one note: I read through the book and understand what you are saying. I was on the road in the car a lot this week with the first CD on random play. What a blast! I get more than 80% right overall, but have particular problems with b5, b7 and the highest register for some unknown reason. I'm working on it. Fanatic's guide: I can sing 1, 3 and 5 in all keys and am working on the other diatonic tones. Let me also say that I am deeply impressed by your scholarship and dedication. I have been teaching and studying for years and have never seen such a comprehensive and well-thought-out method. I could use some guidance through this vast forest of material. What next? |
| A | The reason for the faster tempos in Rhythm Primer is to get your eye moving quickly across measures of music. Don't underestimate the importance of this. You should also check out the file on beat reading found in the member's area. This is closely related to training your eye to move ahead of the music which is key to sight reading.
As far as the other books first check out the modal sequencing information found in the Guitar Clinic and the Applying music theory in the member's area. As mentioned before I want you get all 19 scales listed on the www.arnoldjazz.com music workshop website down in all keys from every degree. Remember we are just doing an introduction to all these scales they don't have to be fast but they need to be consistent and Gb major should be as strong as C major. We are working towards using the 19 modes as a warm up everyday. So you might for instance run through all 19 modes in one key from every degree for a warm up. This will take time to reach that point but sooner or later you should be able to do this in 20 to 30 minutes. But for now you want to make sure you know all of these scales by playing all of them in every key. You can also use flash cards to test yourself. Make the following flash cards: 1 set with list of all 19 scales 1 set with degress 1-7 1 set with all keys. Flip over one card from each set and play the scale. Along with these technical ways of working on the scales complete the exercises in Music Theory for Guitar Volume Two and play along with the vamps that are suggested for each scale type. Remember there are midifiles of these progressions on line at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mtwbforguit2/midi.html For sight reading you want to do this for 1 hour a day. Do 10 minutes out of each of the following books: Rhythm primer: try to do these as fast as possible Rhythms Vol 1: metronome on 2 and 4 read with a swing feel if you tap your foot do it on 1 or 1 and 3. Single String Studies Vol 1: One page a day move through the book by string. So first low E string in C major then A string in C major, D string in C major etc. Chord Workbook Vol 1: Learn one new chord progression a week. You can also find examples of me playing these progressions at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/chord1/mp3.html Augment this time with reading out of books check out of the library or other sources. Remember to read as many types of music and manuscripts as you can find. Ear training continue as you have described, seems like your on the right track. If you have more questions let me know. I would like to move on past scales in a few months so try to get all the scales together. Study the concepts of modal sequencing and rhythmic variation that I have set forth in the member's area files and Guitar Clinic. |
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| Q | I might be interested in the Chord Workbooks to start with, but I'm not sure that the Vol 1 may be useful for me: I already know the fingerings for barré chords, open chords, 7th, maj 7th, min, minor 7th... even if I have trouble switching between them. And the content summary that you give on the site for Vol 1 is not precise enough to realize if there is more than a mere presentation or dictionary of those chords and some basic theory on how to build them, or if there are tips and extra knowledge, which can be worth it, even if one already knows all those chords (like extra tips for velocity switching going beyond the ones given in e-book, for a good picking technique, etc.). In other words, do you think that Vol 1 is mandatory to build a stronger technique before going to Vol 2, even for someone who already knows - if not masters - all the main chord fingerings, or that he/she can skip this book and go directly to Vol 2, in order to learn the tricks for playing good sounding chords in a band context (which in fact is the main goal)? |
| A | It sounds like you know a bunch of triad and 7th chords using open and barre positions but are unable to first switch between them and therefore use them convincingly to make music. It has been my experience that students in your situation need to apply the chords they know to chord progressions. Therefore I think Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One would be a good place for you to apply the 7th chords and chords with more tensions. I should stress that if you still have problems switching between basic open position chords you need to spend time with the chord progressions found in the ebook Chord Velocity. If you feel you can play songs with open position chords, stay in time and it sounds like music then it is time to move on to the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One.
Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One gives you these things: 1. Explanation of Music Theory on how to build basic chords and chords with tensions. 2. A list of the available tensions for each chord type. 3. Open position chord voicings and barred voicings for all 7th chords and 7th chords with tensions. This book doesn't contain every possible chord voicing but only those used most often by professional guitarists. 4. A reharmonization theory section which is key to understanding how to reharmonize and analyze complex chord progressions. This information can also be used in improvisation. 5. 36 chord progression which allow you to apply the 7th chords and chords with tensions. 6. Downloadable mp3 files of the 36 chord progressions so you can play along with me and get the proper feel and technique. This book is key to developing a professional ability to play any chord progression found in modern music. The chords found in this book have the root based on the 5th and 6th string and are therefore used more often in a situation where it is OK for the guitar to be playing in this lower range. This situation can be found with a full group playing but is more often found with solo and duet playing. Unfortunately, many uniformed guitarist will use these chords in a jazz context where there is a walking bass. These chords tend to make a rhythm section sound very muddy in this situation. That said I should also point out that not knowing these chords would be a grave oversight on your part. Any professional guitarist knows all of the chords found in this book. Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume Two contains the chords commonly used in a group context. This is particularly true when it is a jazz or funk style. You will find that knowing the chord voicings in Volume One will make learning the voicings found in Volume Two much easier. Volume Two is an extremely dense book and takes any guitarist years to learn and apply all the chords found in this book. Therefore from your description of your abilities I would highly recommend you start with Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. |
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| Q | I've been studying your book and wanted to make sure I was on track with the reharmonization theory you provided. All the progressions sound great. I tried to analyze the 12 Bar Blues in Ab. Here is what I came up with measure by measure:
1. I chord with tension addition. 2. How is Db7 explained by your theory? It is the V chord of Gb7 which would resolve up a whole step, but you don't go to Gb7 this time. It is a substitute for Ab-6 which Leavitt says occurs commonly. 3./4. Series of cycle V resolving to Db9 with the D9#11 being a tritone sub for Ab7 5. IV chord with tension addition. 6. Db-9 is II-7 of Gb7 but you don't go there. Is it just a suggestion of pointing there but not resolving? Is it just a substitution for Db9? 7./8. Cycle 5 resolving to Bb-11 where B7#9 is tritone sub for F7 9. Bb-11 is II-7 of Eb7, the V chord of the progression. 10. A7#11 is tritone sub for Eb7. 11./12. Cycle five resolving to Gb13. D9 is tritone sub of Ab7. Gb13 wants to resolve up a whole step to Ab7. The G13 is a chromatic passing chord? |
| A | It is common in a Blues progression to move to the IV chord in the second measure. Some blues players will refer to this as a 'quick four.' So if you ever hear someone say that that is what they mean. You can think of this chord in a couple of ways. First, it's just part of the original chord changes and a common movement within blues progressions. (Don't underestimate this explanation because there are many chord changes that are based on historical uses and some of these are very hard to fit into a tight theoretical explanation. For instance, C7 to Bb7 to Ab7 to G7 to C. The Bb7 is not resolving properly. This progression dates back to Gregorian Chant if not even earlier. It most likely started with a melodic movement but over time has become common place in the music of our time).
You can also explain the 'quick four' as a movement from major to minor as the Leavitt book refers to. This is also called modal interchange because you are borrowing a chord from the parallel minor key. The Db-9 chord in the 6th measure could be defined as a modal interchange too but I should also mention that this chord movement is closely tied to counterpoint and voice leading. In other words, in this case the inter movement of the notes of one chord to another. If we look at the movement of the notes between a Db7 to a Db-7 to an Ab7 we see the F moving to an Fb to an Eb. It is important many times to look at the voice leading of the notes to understand why one chord follows another. You are correct that the Db-7 is like the two chord of Gb7 too. You will often find that common chord progressions are used but certain chords are left out and our ear finds this acceptable. The G13 is a parallel movement chord. You can use the same exact structure and slide it up and down half steps (or even other intervals) because your ear will hear the same type of chord moving. Usually these parallel movement chords are the exact same chord i.e. the same tensions. You can see in my example I'm sticking to 13th chords. Remember this can be done with any type of chord (see E minor blues). I should also mention that this would also be a way to explain C7 to Bb7 to Ab7 to G7. The rest of your analysis is correct. I'm glad to see you working through each of these progressions and let me know if you have more questions. By understanding the theory I have presented in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One you will be much closer to making harmony work for you. Chord Workbook for Guitar Two will examine a completely different way of looking at harmony, which is also quite fascinating. |
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| Q | I'd like a little advice on what books to purchase. Right now, I am a beginner. I am working through Hal Leonard's Play Guitar Today series which basically teaches the user to read in 1st position, a little in 5th position, delves into chords a bit, technique, and a bit on theory (scales, etc). After I complete those books, I want to keep up my studies. I've been looking at Leavitt's Modern method for guitar, David Oakes's music reading for guitar, Leavitt's Reading studies for guitar, and of course your books. What I want to do is to keep developing my ability to read music on the guitar but to further my knowledge in theory as well. I want to know how (and to recognize when) to read in different positions, recognize things like different keys, develop my knowledge of scales, things of that nature. Single String studies piqued my interest. Will this book teach me reading, position changing, how to transpose, things like that? What about proper rhythm, time signature and music notation? Does SSS cover these things? How far up the fretboard will SSS take me? |
| A | Thanks for contacting me. I've given you a pretty comprehensive look at studying guitar. I'm sure it will be overwhelming but take some time and study what I've said. Most importantly, if you do decide to get serious about this and start working from my recommendations, build up your practice time slowly over a few months. Don't just jump in and overwhelm yourself.
Throughout this email I'll make some recommendations for books that will help you: 1. Learn read music on the guitar 2. Learn to read in different positions, 3. Recognize things like different keys 4. Develop your knowledge of scales 5. Include additional suggestions and assignments I'll first make some comments of the books you mentioned. I'm not familiar with David Oakes's book. Leavitt's Modern Method and his sight reading books I both learned out of when I was at Berklee and taught from when I taught at Berklee. I have to say I'm not totally in love with these books and that's one of the main reasons I wrote my own methods. I would say in general it is good to own and have worked through Leavitt's books because it does show you how to develop reading in one position and gives you little reading exercises, shows you the 5 position scales. On the other hand: 1. I don't believe reading in position is always the best thing to do. As a professional guitarist most music I play is not stay in one diatonic key so the position play is a hindrance rather than a help. Of course if all you every play is diatonic music position playing is fine. 2. I think learning scales in only 5 positions isn't the total picture. I teach scales starting in all 7 positions with 3 notes on every string. I find this method helps to open up the guitar fretboard in a more linear fashion. You can download my scales for free at http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES 3. Leavitt's book does teach you about scales, chords and music theory. But honestly, just because you read something in a book doesn't mean you know it the way you will need to use it. It's kind of like if you read a book about speaking French and it explained all the words and how they are put together into sentences. You still wouldn't be able to speak French because you need to apply and use the information. This is were the Leavitt books fall short because once your at Berklee College they give you the exercises to help you apply the information. I guess they feel if they include this information in book form students wouldn't have any need to go to the school. This of course would be short sighted because Berklee can add so much more to your education but most students don't think that deeply. So this brings me to what I would recommend. I'm going to give you a rather large list here so don't think I'm just trying to get you to buy a million books I just want to set out a course of study for you over the next few years so you can develop into a great guitarist. The amount of this that you can work through at any given time will depend of how much time you have to practice everyday. To develop yourself I think you need to explore the following things: 1. Make sure your guitar technique is correct so you don't go off learning a bunch of stuff only to find later that your technique was flawed and have to start over. 2. Develop you ability to play any chord and read through chord charts that either give you chord voicings or chord symbols 3. Develop your music theory in relation to understanding all commonly used chords and scales and have a working knowledge of this information on the guitar fretboard. 4. Develop your knowledge of the fretboard in conjunction with reading music in time. 5. Develop your overall sight reading skills. 6. Develop an ability to play and apply all the scales you need for improvising which will also help with your overall technique and sight reading skills. Now here are the books I would recommend for each of the points above. I've also given you a more detailed explanation below. These books would be what I would begin with: 1. Guitar Technique ebook 2. Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One 3. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two 4. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One 5. LINES Sight Reading and Sight Singing Exercises 6. Rhythm Primer Here is a more detailed explanation with practice tips: 1. Get Guitar Technique ebook so you can see how to play correctly with both hands. 2. Get Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Start learning the chords cycle 5 as suggested in the book and as soon as possible start learning the chord progressions in the back of the book. You want to learn both the chord symbol and chord voicing examples for each exercise. You can also find examples of me playing these progressions at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/chord1/mp3.html 3. I would recommend working through both Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two. I'd do a page out of each book a day if possible. This course of study will take you about a year but you will know all chord types everywhere on the guitar and all of the important scales used in music 4. Single String Studies will help you develop your knowledge of the fretboard in conjunction with reading music in time. Keep in mind that this book is hard and will take you some time before you can play any of the exercises completely correct. Most students find they have to work through this book at least two times before things start to click so be patient. Start with metronome on 60 and give yourself two clicks for each note. The first exercises are all on one string. I would recommend going through the book as follows: C major low E string exercise C major A string C major D string C major G string C major B string C major high E string Then start the process over in the key of F. Do the all strings study after completing all single string studies. Try to work towards not looking at the fretboard but feeling where each note is. 5. LINES would be a good book to get you reading in all keys. Read first four pages of each key as fast as possible. Half equals 132 would be a good place to start. Once you work through the book start reading the 2 note examples at a slower tempo like quarter equals 60. I would work on these two exercises through all keys in this book. Try to do one key a week. 6. Rhythm Books First you need to understand how rhythms are written out. There is a file in the member's area which explains the basic of rhythm and how to write out various types of rhythm. You need to develop your recognition of rhythms written on a page and also learn and internalize what they sound like. I would recommend you start working through the rhythm series of books in order to gain this ability. The rhythm books have midi files with them so you can play along with a file. This will help you know if you are playing the rhythms correctly. Start with Rhythm Primer and follow the directions given in the book. Overtime you want to work through the following rhythm books to fully develop your sight reading skills. The books are in order: Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Odd Meters Rhythms Volume Three Contemporary Rhythms Volume One Contemporary Rhythms Volume Two Scales Remember we are just doing an introduction to all these scales they don't have to be fast but they need to be consistent and Gb major should be as strong as C major. You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with thes scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. You can also use the midifile from the 2nd Music Theory book which are downloadable at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mtwbforguit2/midi.html You can also use flash cards to test yourself. Make the following flash cards: 1 set with list of all 19 scales. 1 set with degrees 1-7. 1 set with all keys. SIDE NOTE: Augment reading out of these recommended books with books that you check out of your local library or other sources. Remember to read as many types of music and manuscripts as you can find. SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION If at some point you want to study reading like a freshman majoring in music here is the assignments and books given for any student entering NYU as a jazz guitar major: 1. Go to the member's area and download the file 'beat reading.' Find some music at home or from a local library and do the beat reading 10 minutes a day. 2. Rhythm Primer: start with first pages. You want to work these exercises up to a very fast tempo. I'm talking like 120 bpm for a measure (so a whole measure goes by in one beat of the metronome). Obviously your not going to start there but start where your comfortable and speed up the exercise each day. Read from this book for 5 minutes then move on. Just one page a week. 3. Rhythms Volume One: Three pages a week. First read through the 3 pages. Over time you want to start using the metronome on beats 2 and 4 rather than every beat or 1 and 3. Isolate the measures you have problem with after reading all the way through and work on them. Do this for 10 minutes. 4. Rhythms Volume Two is the same as Volume One except you will use the metronome on every beat. 5. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One can drive ya nuts so be patient with this book. One page a week, don't look at the fretboard, use the midifiles on the muse-eek.com website to let you know if you are correct or not. Start REAL slow. Don't worry if you make a lot of mistakes this will improve overtime. Make sure you're standing when you work with this book. This should be 5 to 10 minutes of practice. You want to move through the book by keys so first do low E string in C then A string in C, etc.. 6. LINES will be one key a week (10 pages). Obviously you will be able to read through the first 4 pages much easier than the pages with double stops etc. If you have to play the multiple note chords really slow that's totally cool. You'll see over time you'll just start to remember the shapes. Should be about 10 minutes of practice. 7. As you get better with the reading you also want to add in reading just any kind of music you can find and vary it as much as you can. I'm working on a new section of the website with downloadable pdfs of music to sight read but this may be awhile. EVEN MORE INFORMATION This is the assignment sent out to NYU guitar students to prepare for entry into NYU Assignments: Suggested Work for entry into NYU performance program You want to read one hour a day. 10 minutes or so from each of these books. If you have time left over read classical music, transcribed solos and any other music you can find. It is good to look at lots of different types of scores to train your eye to deal with multiple manuscript styles. 1. Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume: learn one chord progression starting on page 107 a week (use a swing/blues feel). Use metronome markings from book but make them half notes rather than quarters so the progression on page 107 would be a half note equals 80. Put the metronome on 2 and 4. You will be expected to play the progression by yourself and also solo over these changes while someone else comps for you. Learn to read chord voicings for this chord progression which is located on page 131. We usually do the reading of the actually chord voicings slower so say half note equals 60. You should go to the address below to hear me playing these progressions so you know what I'm looking for: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/chord1/mp3.html 2. Rhythms Volume #1 Read 3 pages a day, play rhythms on one note at half equals 80, metronome will be on 2 and 4. This will be with a swing feel. You can hear some examples at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/rhythm1/mp3.html We are shooting for a half note equals 120 with this book. Start where you are comfortable but always have the metronome on 2 and 4. If you are going to tap your foot tap it on 1 and 3 or not at all. 3. Rhythms Volume #2: 3 pages a day, play rhythms on one note. We are shooting for quarter equals 120 with this book. Start where you are comfortable. Metronome should be quarter notes. You should tap your foot with the quarters or not at all. 4. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume #1: Read one page a week and be patient with yourself this is a hard book, play exercise on one string, start somewhere at around quarter equals 50 with the metronome on each beat. Try not to look at the neck to find notes. You can find audio files to help you make sure you are playing correctly at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/sst1/midi.html 5. Rhythm Primer Pages 3 Pages a day. These are easier rhythms so the idea is to get your eye moving through music quicker so shoot for a whole note equals 200 on the first 6 pages or so. Once you get into the eight note studies slow the metronome down to around a half equals 120. 6. LINES: Read first four pages of each key as fast as possible. Half equals 132 would be a good place to start. If that is fine then start reading the 2 note examples at a slower tempo like quarter equals 60. I would work on these two exercises through all keys in this book. Try to do one key a week. ********************* Jury requirements: I'd like you to get through the 19 most commonly used scales in improvising. You can find a list with fingerings at: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES All keys all degrees. Learn it by the notes not the patterns. Technique is extremely important here so if you can send a video before starting that would be great. I would learn the scales all in one key and then move to another so. C major then C dorian then C phrygian. etc... The learn them all in F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G. Use flash cards to check yourself so: 7 cards for degrees of scale (there are 6 and 8 notes in some of the scales but just use 7 cards) 12 cards for the keys 19 cards for the modes You turn over a degree card it says 5th You turn over a key card and it says Gb You turn over a mode card and it says Dorian b2 So you play a Gb Dorian b2 scale from the 5th. These scales do not have to be fast but should be played consistently from beginning to end without stopping. ************************* Ear Training: Get: Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training Follow the concepts laid out in the book. Go to the muse-eek.com website and read the FAQs. http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/lower.html Try to do work out of both of these books about 5 times a day for about 10 minutes. It would actually be a great idea to get these two books soon. The ear training process takes quite a while. Email me if you have questions. If you can get a head start on this stuff it's going to make a major difference in your ability and your work-load at NYU. As I'm sure you know it's hard to find time to practice when you are in school so getting some of this basic stuff together before hand will help us concentrate on the hipper stuff. |
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| Q | I took some time off from studying after I finished my Master's degree late last year, so I have only been using your books since the beginning of this year (about 2-3 weeks now). The way the material is presented is very logical and I have made great strides in a short period, though I have a few questions. In the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1, I am familiar with many of the chords, so I initially went to the chord progressions in the back. Your suggestion to me was that I learn 10 chords a week and one chord progression. Does this mean that I should learn 10 chords, apply cycle 5 to all 10, and learn one progression using both chord symbols and notes only? This seems like a lot, but I can do it if that is what you suggest. Actually, now that I think about it, that is my only question.
Regarding the music theory workbook, vol 1, I am doing one page a day and reviewing the previous material as I go. The single note ear training is going well also. When I first started, I got maybe 1 in 10 (if that) correct, and now I am getting about half correct. Also, I can sing the C major scale from memory without reference, which I could not do prior to this training. I am very excited about this entire process and, since I can't quit my job and go to Berklee full-time, I am going to treat this as my formal course of study. On a side note, I have been perusing your website and I admire the passion and dedication that you have for sharing your knowledge with all that are interested, not to mention the time that it must take. So, thank you. Oh, one more question, are you going to be on the west coast performing anytime soon (I live just outside of Los Angeles)? I noticed that you were here last Summer. It would have been great to see you play live. |
| A | Thanks for your kind words. Glad to hear you have been applying yourself to the assignments I sent you. I'm hoping that you can build up to practicing at least 4 hours a day. This time will be divided up into Chord, Music Theory, Ear Training, Scales, Improvisation and some time thrown in there to just have fun with the guitar. I'm also figuring that the ear training is broken up throughout the day into short 10 minute practice from 5 to 10 times so I'm really thinking about Chord, Music Theory, Scales, Improvisation and fun being the 4 hours. I would like you to spend about an hour on each of the 4 previously mentioned categories. Like I said you may have to build up to this to have it be a sustainable approach. If you find that for instance 10 chords a week and a progression takes you longer than a hour to do then cut back on the number of chords you are leaning per week for now. As you improve with all these different things you should find that over time you can accomplish more in the allotted time.
Glad to hear you have been checking out the FAQs there is a lot of additional information there and I'm glad you are finding it useful. Keep up the good work and let me know if you run into any problems. I may be out in California in May but not sure yet. I'll let you know if something develops. |
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| Q | I am studying from these books:
One-Note Complete Fanatics Guide Rhythm Primer Single String Studies for Guitar VOL.1 Chord Workbook for Guitar VOL.2 Music Reading for Guitar (The Complete Method) by David Oakes and for now studying theory from different websites. I plan on ordering your Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol.1 on Monday. I am a lefty who played righty for about 15 years but about 2 years ago decided to teach myself lefty because I could not get my staccato up to the speed that I wanted. Now after drilling myself in proper technique, the speed in my picking hand is better then when I was playing righty and my vibrato is better. QUESTIONS: 1. Fanatic's Guide - On tracks 5 and 10 I cannot reach the 13 with my voice and if I lower the tonic down an octave then I can't go low enough to sing the 1. Here is where I am starting the singing for each tonic on the guitar for each track: Track One: C on 3rd fret A string. Track Two: F on 3rd fret D string. Track Three: Bb on 1st fret A string. Track Four: Eb on 1st fret D string. Track Five: Ab on 6th fret D string. Track Six: Db on 4th fret A string. Track Seven: Gb on 4th fret D string. Track Eight: B on 2nd fret A string. Track Nine: E on 2nd fret E string. Track Ten: A on 7th fret D string. Track Eleven: D on 5th fret A string. Track Twelve: G on 5th fret D string. 2. On Rhythm Primer you say to get up to playing a whole measure equals one beat at 100 bpm. How am I going to play that fast with 2 downstrokes in a row? I can only play a measure equals one beat at about 55 bpm with consecutive downstrokes. And when it comes to playing the beats on 2 and 4 I have to put the metronome on 100 at a half note equals a measure to feel the beats on 2,4. 3. On Single String Studies I assume that when it comes to the All Strings Exercises you can play any single note on any fret of any string as long as it is the correct octave pitch. So it is a matter of quick decision? 4. I ordered as a seconds Chord Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1 but they sent me Vol. 2 instead. I kept it because I realized that on the top of the pages it shows the spellings for each chord and therefore I can on my own create each of the chords that are on volume one by simply locating the tonic on the low E string or A string and from there go get a fake book and start applying the six and five string bar chords. The only thing I would be missing would be your reharmonization method for Vol.1? Also if I were to play in a band with just a drummer and bass player should I play the six and five string chords or should I play the 4 string chords and inversions? I know 4 string chords are good for ensemble and chord melody. 5. Are you familiar with Music Reading for Guitar by David Oakes? He teaches reading in 5th position, 5th position 8va, open position, 2nd position, 3rd position, 7th position, 12th position, and SHIFTING POSITIONS - The Pipeline he says 'I like to think of positions as sharp-key and flat-key reading areas on the neck. For example, first position is a flat-key reading area. Second position is a good sharp-key reading area. Third position is a flat-key reading area, and so on. I would never read a flat-key melody in the second position. For a melody in this range, I would choose first or third position, up and down the fingerboard (the pipeline technique).' 6. I am going to order your Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol.1 just to help drill in all the chord spellings as I will also play 6 and 5 string chords I construct to the progressions from Chord Workbook 2. Until I purchase Theory Workbook 2 I will use the scales on Arnoldjazz.com to improvise over the midifiles for Theory Workbook 2 on museek.com. |
| A | First with your question about being able to sing the 13th of the key of Ab which is the 5th track on the Fanatic's Guide CD. First let me say that in your well documented examples of where you sing each note you refer to singing the root of F major on the 3rd fret of the D string: Why not sing this note for the 13th of the key of Ab major?
Once you get to the All String Studies in the Single String Studies book you can access the notes anywhere you feel is appropriate. Of course, you will first have read through all of the single string studies before attempting the all string studies so you should have a pretty good idea of the possibilities. I'm wondering with Rhythm Primer where you got the idea that you should play these exercises with only downstrokes? As a tempo gets quicker on the guitar you will need to alternate pick. Furthermore you shouldn't start these exercises faster than your current ability but should slowly work up to faster tempos. Sorry to hear that you received Volume Two rather than Volume One of the Chord Workbook for Guitar. Please contact Muse Eek and have them send you Volume One. I'm sure they will do this at no expense to you because it is their mistake. The chords in the second chord book are mostly used in ensemble playing though you will find the voicings in Volume One used especially in cases where the bass player is playing the same bass note over and over again. I am not familiar with the book Music Reading for Guitar by David Oakes. While I believe that position reading can be useful when reading melodies that are mostly in a key center, they really handicap a person when they read a melody that has a lot of accidentals, or switches keys frequently. Therefore I'm not that fond of a sight reading system that bases reading on positions. In general you will find that most melodies will be easy to read in either 5th or 7th position. While this is a generalization I have found this to be the case in most instances. Ledger-line melodies in upper positions should most certainly NOT be read vertically but should be read in a position that allows you to gain access to these notes quickly, especially when the melodies are fast and move through larger intervals. I think the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar would be a good addition to your learning materials. Hopefully you will take the advice I give you above and think it through. I wish you the best of luck with your music studies. |
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| Q | Lets say each of the books/CDs of yours that I purchased are classes I am taking at a University. In which order would my classes be and for how long? I presently have all the time in the world for music, but unless I have a daily road map I sometimes get loose discipline. With the One Note and Fanatics I currently do each of them for 10 minutes one after the other for 8-10 times a day because I can only take them in small doses. So just insert 20 wherever in my routine that you think would be good to work on them.
I OWN: 1. One-Note Complete 2. Fanatics Guide 3. Music Theory Workbook One 4. Chord Workbooks One and Two 5. Rhythm Primer 6. Single String Studies 7. 19 Scales off of Arnoldjazz.com ** a lot of different style sheet music |
| A | You want to build up to 6 to 10 hours a day. I would suggest doing this over a years worth of time in order to change your current life style and develop the mental and physical conditioning needed to work this hard. The schedule is below:
1. One-Note Complete and Fanatics Guide: Do short 10 minute practice periods |