muse-eek publishing

Rhythm Primer

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Q	I have been playing guitar for several years now, but I have good bit of trouble keeping in time and I forget where I'm at in the tune that I am playing. What books will help me with this?
A	"1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist" should help you with the time and counting problems. Students frequently have problems with rhythm and coordination. A combination of understanding rhythm, applying it in a real music situation and working on exercises to develop an ability to play various rhythms can help a lot. Therefore along with "1st Steps" I would recommend "Rhythm Primer." If possible spend 20 minutes on each book each day. It's very important that you use the audio files for both books found on the muse-eek.com website. By hearing the sounds you see on the page it will give you an aural memory of the sound. It will be tough going for a while but if you stick with it you will see improvement.

Q	When doing the rhythm exercises in the rhythm primer book, should I start by only playing to a metronome? Or should I try to play along with the recording?
A	I would play the exercises in Rhythm Primer using both methods. Maybe divide it up so you do one page with the the metronome and then try it again with the midifiles from the website.

Q	I can't see the neccesity of the Rhythm Series (Primer and Volume One, Two, Three). Isn't rhythm something different creative musicians make up themselves? Do we really need specific guidelines on every detail of playing the guitar? I mean, isn't playing the guitar supposed to be fun, rather than all theory?
A	The rhythm books are used to teach you how to read music and to expand your rhythmic palette. When you are just starting out with music, many times it's hard for students to see why different types of practicing is important. I'm sure the time will come when you open up a music book and want to play the notes written on a music staff. At that point you will need to know how to read rhythm. The other thing to keep in mind is that students don't just naturally develop the ability to play many complex rhythms. Many times a method has to be used to fix and understand certain rhythms and fix coordination problems. "Do we really need specific guidelines on every detail of playing the guitar?" Most students that contact me want as much information as they can get to make sure they are learning correctly. For most students some things come natural and they do it right for others there are problems at every step. Since I'm not there to check your technique, rhythm, ear training, time, music theory and general musical expression I have no choice but to recommend as many things as I think will help. Music is suppose to be fun and along with the technical assignments I'm figuring you are going to be "noodling" around, learning other music, jamming and doing the things you like about the guitar. These are all important too but usually students do this without me having to specify how and when to be creative and have fun.

Q	I'm 58 years old with some musical training a very long time ago: I took piano lessons for 8 years as a child & played oboe for 3 years in high school. Despite all those years of lessons, I can hardly play piano now. Recently my son's school started a parent chorus (12 other amateurs led by the head of the music department-no auditions were required! -it's really great to sing in a group!). I bought Fanatic's Guide and Ear Training One Note (complete). I am progressing slowly. I can reliably sing "do" and now I'm working on "mi". As far as recognizing the notes, I'm pretty poor, although occasionally I feel completely certain of a note and when that happens, I'm almost always right. Even though I do not feel I've made much progress, I find that once I've learned a harmony part, I can sing it in tune and not be influenced by hearing the other parts. I could not do this before I started practicing with your CDs. (I practice the harmony part with your Fanatic's CD playing the drone in the key of the piece-if this is not a good idea, please tell me!) My goal is to be able to improvise harmony in social singing, e.g. around a campfire, also to sight read well enough to sing the alto/second soprano parts. Now I feel the need for better rhythm skills, both reading & feeling it. Syncopation is very hard for me (although I can get it if I practice enough). I also feel that I do not have much of a sense of rhythm. Which of your books do you recommend for a complete beginner? I prefer something that already has the CD with it, although I think my son could make a CD from something downloaded.
A	Thanks for contacting me. Sounds like your just getting started with the Ear Training. Just keep in mind that changing your perception of sound can take time. So try to practice each day and you will see improvement over time. It's fine if you want to sing melodies or harmonies over the chord vamps just remember that over time you want to get to the point where you can hear the relationship of the notes you are singing against the key. I have a whole course in rhythm. These books do not come with CDs but they do have midifiles which can be downloaded on-line. These files will allow you to hear each rhythm exercise. These files of course help students studying on their own and check each exercise against the audio file. I would suggest you start with the book Rhythm Primer. This book has a whole practice schedule laid out at the beginning of the book. If you need more direction let me know and I'll help you out.

Q	I came across your books on amazon and then found this site. I have been playing for about 18 years and have a good ear but I don't know how to sight read and I don't really have the notes on the fretboard memorized. I feel left behind and would love to be able to pick up sheet music and read it. I'm so sick of not knowing how to read. Shame on me. So, which book would be best for me? I want to be a great sight reader and have the patience and resolve to do it.
A	Thanks for contacting me. I would recommend you start with 3 books. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One Rhythm Primer LINES Sight Reading and Sight Singing Exercises. Rhythm Primer is the beginning of the Rhythm Series of books. You would follow Rhythm Primer with: Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Odd Meters There are further books but if you can get through these you will be in pretty good shape. I recommend you spend 1 hour a day reading. I would spead 10 minutes on the 3 books I've recommended and then try to get some music from your local library and read that for the last 1/2 hour. In the next few months I will be starting a paid access section of Muse-eek.com where you will be able to download music to sight read. This could take the place of your local library. I suggest you take advantage of this when it happens.

Q	I have looked over your material on learning music and find that it looks good. I am a beginning adult musician. I think that my current level of playing (piano) will be most enhanced by doing rhythm training. You have a plethora of books on both time and ear training. What is your recommendation from your catalog for beginning with rhythm training. I have neither the time nor the money to do ear training and rhythm at the same time. I have good internet access.
A	I think the best place for you to begin is with Rhythm Primer. Follow the directions given in the book and make sure to use the midifiles found on the muse-eek.com website under the books title. These midifiles will allow you to hear each exercise as you work on it, thus letting you know when your are correct.

Q	Thanks for replying to my earlier messages. I have just received Rhythm Primer and there is a term on page ix that I don't understand. The book mentions that it works through '9 rhythms' in '4 metric levels.' Excuse my ignorance but what is a metric level? And should I be able to spot what the 9 rhythms are? Also, when is a tie used to extend the duration of a note and when is a dot used? Will the other books in the Rhythm Series that I have on order explain this? Sorry to be a nuisance; I know that you must be extremely busy with recording, gigging, teaching and writing so I will try not to bother you again!
A	No Bother! I'd rather you understand what you are doing. The nine rhythms refer to the nine ways you can divide up one beat without using rests or ties. So here they are: quarter 2 eighths triplet 4 sixteenths eighth, 2 sixteenths 2 sixteenths, eighth sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth dotted eighth, sixteenth sixteenth, dotted eighth These values could be done on 4 practical rhythmic levels. Basically it's the same rhythms just written out at a different time value. Below I've started with a whole note. If you sped the note values up below to 4 times as fast they would sound the same as the values above. whole note two half notes half note triplet 4 quarters half note, 2 quarter 2 quarters, half note 1 quarter, half note, 1 quarter dotted half note, quarter quarter, dotted half note So to get the 4 metric levels you would write out the 9 basic rhythms, start with a whole note, half note, quarter, eighth Your question "when is a tie used to extend the duration of a note and when is a dot used?" is pretty much impossible to answer given the many different types of rhythms there are and metric levels. I would say the best thing to do is read the "Learning the Read Rhythm" file found in the "member's area." This along with reading through the books in the Rhythm series will help you see the many ways a rhythm can be express by notation. Remember there are many ways to write the same rhythm in music. Overtime you will get so you instantly recognize these patterns.

Q	I have been playing guitar for a number of years but decided to begin filling in my theory background with 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist. I quite enjoyed that book and so I've just ordered Ear Training and look forward to its arrival. Here's my question: Occasionally I will attempt to transcribe a fingerstyle guitar piece from the recording. Sometimes I can get most of the notes but I would like to learn how to add measures and note durations to the TAB I've created. Do any of your books address this issue?
A	Learning how to recognize and comprehend rhythms used in melodies requires some previous training. 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. Just reading this file and listening to the audio files will not solve your problem though. 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. But remember in order to get to the point where you can tell what rhythm is being played when you are transcribing you would need to internalize many types of rhythms. This is not an overnight process. I would suggest a good six months of work with rhythm books would certainly help. I would suggest you start with the Rhythm Primer book if you want to get started on this process. I should also mention that when people write out the rhythms used in melodies and improvisations they usually approximate the rhythm. This gets into a pretty deep subject but let me just say that when a human plays a melody the notes they play are not perfectly in rhythm all the time. Therefore when writing out the rhythms the transcriber will approximate the rhythm used. It is possible to write out the rhythm in many instances but these rhythms become so complex that it is a common practice to approximate the rhythm in order to make reading the rhythm easier. I hope this helps in your understanding. I wish I had an easier answer for you but rhythm takes as long to develop as scales, ear training or any other aspect of music.

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.

Q	I tried playing the first 2 pages of the rhythm primer at whole note= 100. I could sort of do it, but there were a lot mistakes. So my question is this: when working on any of your rhythm books, should one keep working on the rhythms at a given speed until they are perfect-- even spending all ten minutes on just a few measures of an excercise-- or should one just try to work through them quickly doing a new exercise(s) every day
A	You should slow the tempo down until you get about 80% correct and don't get lost. You will speed it up over time.

Q	I had emailed earlier asking which rhythm books I could get started on to work on this aspect of music. You had suggested Rhythm Primer, and the Vol 1 and Vol 2 books. I have purchased the Rhythm Primer book. But I think from looking inside the Rhythm Primer book, I will have plenty to keep me busy and working. How should I go about practicing these exercises? Although directions are given in the book, how can I incorporate it into my current schedule? Also, another question that arose: Do you feel it would be worthwhile to speak these rhythms (for instance how Indian percussionists do)? Like maybe sit down with a metronome, and in the same way one would play all the exercises with their instruments, speak them using either syllables or just counting the beats? Thanks for your continued willingness to help out on matters relating to practice!
A	I had in mind that you would practice rhythms for about a 1/2 hour to an hour a day. This is why I recommend more than one book to work out of. You could just work out of Rhythm Primer for awhile and then move on to the other books. That's not the way I usually do it but you certainly could proceed that way. I think it is a good idea to sing the rhythms. You could also clap or tap the rhythms too.

Q	You sort of answered this question in the email without me asking it, but if a vocalist looked at your Rhythm books, how would they go about working in your books? I'm asking because I know a vocalist that is interested in your books, but I wasn't sure exactly how one should go about practicing. Maybe just like you said, sing the rhythms or tap them. Would it be better for a singer to sing these rhythms just using one pitch? Or maybe for each exercise write out a melody (or possibly even the singing exercises in Fanatics?) using the provided rhythms and work from it using the Fanatics Guide CD in the background?
A	All of your suggestions would work. I think any singer would first work through the rhythm books by just singing the rhythms without adding in a melody. The rhythms are not easy so they will need all their concentration to get the rhythms right just singing one note. It actually will help to develop perfect pitch too, so the singer should make sure they are in tune with each note they use. To help with this Perfect Pitch ear training I would only use one pitch for each book. Once they finish the books they could also follow any of your suggestions to improve there use of pitch and rhythm together.

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.

Q	Rhythm Primer (consecutive downs) 1 & 2 & 3 4 & d u d u d d u 1 & 2 3 & 4 1 & 2 3 & 4 d u d d u d d u d d u d This is what some of my other music books show. If this is wrong then that means that sometimes a strong beat ie 3 gets an upstroke? I can play synchronized both hands quickly ala Dimeola but to do this was like trying to run using the left leg twice and then the right. Confused
A	The picking patterns you are showing are most commonly used for playing scales: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & d u d u d u d u is used for playing scales that are either 3 notes per string or a combination of 2 and 3 notes per string. You can also play these scales with: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & u d u d u d u d In other words you don't have to use a down stroke just because it is a down beat. The picking pattern below is used mostly for playing 3 notes per string scales: (see http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES ) When the scale is ascending you play 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 d u d d u d d u d When the scale is descending you play 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 u d u u d u u d u None of these picking pattern have much of anything to do with the book Rhythm Primer where I would just recommend using alternate picking starting with either a down or up stroke. Rhythm Primer as you know is all played on one pitch and while the whole Rhythm Book Series is great for developing fast right hand technique it is all about making your movement as small as possible on one string using alternate picking.

Q	I had multiple tendonitis, and other muscle inflammation in arms, neck, back and shoulders, and some nerve damage (from prolonged compression). So it was a multi-dimensional problem coming not just from bad guitar technique, but many other areas such as bad posture in daily life, bad diet, not enough water, stress, computer use, other uses of the hand that contributed to it. But bad guitar technique was definitely one of them. Over the 6-7 months that I was not able to touch the guitar, I eliminated most of my bad habits such as those mentioned above and it really has made a big difference along with getting physical therapy. My old technique was as follows: right hand wrist rested on bridge with all movement coming from wrist, and left hand wrist was bent much more than it should have been. Also, I pressed down with the left hand fingers much harder than is needed. Shoulders were also shrugged. But I have taken all this into consideration and worked with my therapist on correct technique and posture. By the way, she was very delighted to read your right hand technique book, especially for the fact that someone actually described how to move the arm and hand, not just say 'use alternate picking and practice slowly.' My main confusion is just where to start in getting back to playing. I am feeling much better now and am OK'd by the doctor to start playing again, but I just don't know where my focus should be. Unfortunately, it seems like coming back from injury puts one at rank beginner, if even that, because the risk of injury coming back is so great. One more thing I should mention is that about a year before this all started I really picked up the amount of time spent practicing to about 5-6 hours daily. So I'm sure going through 5-6 hours of practice with bad technique pushed things over the edge. So that's where I am as of now. By the way, I just wanted to say that I really, really appreciate you willing to help me out on this. Not only are your books great, but the fact that one can get in contact with you about questions is quite wonderful.
A	I would recommend the follow path to get back up and running. Start with the Right Hand Technique book and do the beginning exercises for proper elbow movement and then work into the exercises for proper forearm movement. I would start off with shorter practice sessions so that you can make them very concentrated and secondly because many students notice pain after they stop practicing and not while they are practicing. You probably will only need a week or two on the elbow movement because this is just used to get you across the strings while the forearm movement is for actually picking the strings. Once you work up to it I would spend 1/2 hour a day on just right hand technique. You can also use the Rhythm Series of books to help develop your right hand technique. Start with Rhythm Primer and Rhythms Volume One. Remember that when you are changing your technique you are actually changing where your mind sends it's 'rhythm' signals so you need to work on a rhythm method to develop your rhythm in the new muscle groups. After a few weeks of forearm movement exercises I would add in the left hand. I would start with the scales found at: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES Work 3 notes per string and use the techniques found in the Guitar Technique Ebook http://www.muse-eek.com/books/guitartech/lower.html To start the scales I want you to do an exercise to develop a light feel on the neck. I want you to start with the C major scale starting on the F on the low E string. Press on the F and pick 10 times as you slowly push the string onto the fret. On the 10th time the note F should sound out clearly. Continue up and down the scale in this manner. It will take forever to finish the scale but will help you develop a very light feel because you will know exactly how hard you need to push on each note to make it sound. I would spend a few weeks on this before moving on to playing the scales in a regular fashion. Once again develop this slowly with short practice sessions (10 to 15 minutes). You actually can put in as many 10 to 15 minute sessions as you want just so you wait an hour or so between sessions. Over time you can lengthen your sessions up to 20 minutes but I would make it a habit of taking at least a few minutes for break after 20 minutes as a general rule. When you feel up to it I would begin working with some chord exercises. I would start with the chord progressions found in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Try to learn one progression a week. It you find you are pressing too hard with the chords, use the same scale/note pressing technique on the chords.

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 10 minutes for each book, alternating throughout the day. 2. Music Theory Workbook One: Work up to doing 5 pages a day. I'd break this up into a few different sessions each day 3. Chord Workbook One: Learn one new chord progression a day with associated chords. Play both the exercises with notes only and with chord symbols. Also, work your way through the book learning all chords cycle 5. I'd work through 5 to 6 new chords per week. 4. Chord Workbook Two: Learn one new chord type per week. Be able to play all the chords up and down the neck for each chord type. After completing this you will then work on the chord progressions. 5. Rhythm Primer: Follow directions in book. Play a new page each day. Try to work the tempo up as fast as you can using directions in book. 6. Single String Studies: One page per week moving to a new string, same key, each week. Do not look at the guitar neck as you play, try to feel where the notes are. Use midifiles to check your accuracy. 7. You should really have: Rhythms Volume One and Two and LINES along with a lot of different style sheet music to complete your sight reading studies. I want you to read one hour a day from the books and various sheet music. Download Beat Reading from the member's area, rhythm studies, and apply to various pieces of sheet music each day. Spend about 15 minutes doing this. 8. Learn the 19 Scales off of Arnoldjazz.com in all keys. I want you to learn all 19 scales in one key each week. Hopefully you have checked out Guitar Technique ebook so you don't go through all of this with bad technique and then have to start over later. 9. You need to apply the scales to real music. Make loops or vamps each day and apply the scales. Also download the Applying Music Theory from the Muse Eek member's area for other scale ideas to try when you improvise. You should spend at least 2 hours a day applying the scales. Remember to build into this so you don't hurt yourself. Again please check out the ebook guitar technique so you don't do all this work in vain.

Q	Could you please help me choose an effective practice schedule? My musical history: guitar playing for 12 years, graduate from a two-year jazz studies degree in guitar performance. I have been working diligently on the Beginner's One Note and Fanatic's Guide for about 2 months now. I have worked on the major scale with success incorrectly using resolutions such as re to do and la to so etc. I figured it out after starting the non-diatonic notes and I saw that I was blatantly doing this. So I will have to start again trying to make sure this habit does not persist. Also I would like to learn to play the piano and I only have class piano lessons that I don't remember much of (I know you are a guitarist but I would like any suggestions you may have). I have a lot of music theory knowledge from school such as what scales go with each chord, chord substitutions etc. but I don't know any voicing on the piano accept what I build using my theory knowledge. One problem with my theory knowledge was based on scale degree recognition (by position) on the guitar and I have never memorized the names of the notes within the scale. I would also like to learn to read (I used to get by in rehearsals by my chord chart reading skills base on known chard shapes). All of this in a consistent two-hour a day. I am an electrical engineering student and this is what I have to offer my musical life. I would like the focus to be ear training (could you please tell me what exercises to focus on?). I feel that my ear should lead me to technique advancement because my technique (fingers and guitaristic patterns) have been leading me for years.
A	First for the ear training I would listen to the One Note CD 5 times a day for 10 minutes. You should space this out throughout the day. You can even do other short 3-5 minute listens. Every little bit will help you remember the sounds. In the Fanatic's Guide I'd start with the One Note exercise. If you could do that for 10 minutes at the beginning, middle and end of your practice session that would be great. For piano I'd highly recommend Roberta Piket's Jazz Piano Vocabulary http://www.muse-eek.com/books/piket_v1_major/lower.html She has one of the few books that gives you hip chord voicings along with lots of other information to get you playing the piano quickly. To help you learn what the notes are of every scale and where they are on the fretboard I'd recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. This will have you write out every scale on the music staff and on a guitar fretboard to help you learn it in a way that will be useful. I would also follow the links provided with this book to start learning the scales on the guitar. You will find PDF's and Videos to help you learn the scales properly. I would also get the ebook Guitar Technique so you can use the proper technique when learning the guitar. This is important stuff. If you use bad technique you will not improve past a certain amount. For sight reading I have a pretty big resource for this. To start out with I'd spend approximately 30 minutes sight reading. I'd work out of these books for 5-10 minutes a piece. Rhythm Primer LINES Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One Single String Studies 1. Rhythm Primer: 3 Pages a day. Follow the direction in the book. 2. LINES: Read first four pages of each key as fast as possible. You want to strive to put the metronome on 2 and 4 when you read these pages. You may have to start with the metronome on every beat or on 1 and 3 if that's where your current ability is. In any case you always want to tap your foot either on 1 and 3 or on every beat if it is slow. I'd go through the book just reading the single note pages first, then start the book over reading the 2 note pages. Try to do one key a week. 3. Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume: Learn one chord progression starting on page 107 a week (use a swing/blues feel i.e. 1 and the and of 2). 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. Of course play these pages slower if you have to and if you can put the metronome on 2 and 4. 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 you may have to read them out of time. 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 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 = 50 with the metronome on each beat or slower if you need it. 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 I'd like you to get through the 22 most commonly used scales in improvising which are contained in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. You can find a list with fingerings in the member's area under Help files for 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... Then 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.

Q	I've been working on your Rhythm Primer book and I'm almost through all the exercises in the beginning level. When done should I go back and work through the intermediate exercises next or move on to your other rhythm books? Also, I've been doing all the exercises with a down pick stroke on the down beats, should I do them in reverse also? (This book and the Midi files have really helped me in reading music and recognizing some of the rhythms I hear and imagine.) Re: Pre hearing notes: I've been working very hard on ear training and singing. I've gone through the one note complete and some of the two note series. I worked through the 5 note series. I started working on Lines and two songs you recommended. Then I developed a very bad cold and found I couldn't sing the notes and discovered that I had been relying on vocal placement a lot and particularly for the non-diatonic notes. This was very apparent when I tried to sing without a drone and I ended up off key. So, I've sort of started over. But this time really focusing on pre hearing. But I can only do it going very slowly, like quarter note equals 40 when sequences of non-diatonic notes occur. I need to rest between notes so I can hear the next one. For example, if I am singing Fi and the next note is Di I can't hear the Di until I stop singing. Is this normal? Should I be able to prehear notes while singing another note?
A	You should do the Rhythm Primer and all rhythm books with alternate picking. It shouldn't matter whether a note is on the beat or off you just want to do alternate picking either starting with a down or up stroke. You should go through the Rhythm Primer and try a few exercises with the alternate picking. If it's OK then move on to the Rhythms Volume One and Two book. If the alternate picking really causes you problems then work your way through the Rhythm Primer again. You shouldn't worry about trying to pre-hear a note while singing another. Just stop singing and try to pre-hear the next note. You will find this whole thing speeds up over time. Overall it sounds like you are doing well by questioning your progress.

Q	Here's what I own: Music Theory Volumes 1 and 2 Jazz and Blues Bass Lines Comping Styles for Bass Single String Studies for Bass Volumes 1 and 2 Rhythm Primer Fanatic's Guide One Note Complete Big Metronome What kind of schedule would you recommend for someone who works two jobs and has a wife and three kids? I can give a committed hour everyday in addition to time in my car (delivery job). What would you recommend I do when I have additional time (very sporadic)?
A	In your situation practicing in your head is the best solution. It is common knowledge among classical musicians that you can learn a piece of music or for that matter anything in music by visualizing it in your head. Many classical musicians don't even play a piece on their instrument before performing it live in front of an audience. You can use this technique to help you work on music when driving a car or waiting for a light to change. Of the books you have you could use any of them to practice in your head. For instance you could think through and finger in your mind any scale or arpeggio from the Music Theory Books. You could memorize a bass line from the Jazz and Blues Bass Lines or Comping Style book or you could work on hard rhythms from the Rhythm Primer. You of course can listen to the ear training and sing notes over the Fanatic's Guide CD as you drive. (You might want to get a chromatic pitch instrument to help you check notes.) http://www.encoremusic.com/vocal/6630002.html Just remember that mental practicing is exhausting when you first start it. It takes months before you can do it for any length of time. As it develops you will find it to be the most efficient way to learn. I would then spend your hour or instrument practicing playing the things you have mentally practiced or use the time to improvise with the scales you are learning in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.

Q	First a little information. I am a bass player. I play a six string bass. I use a three finger right hand technique: i - index m- middle r - ring 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & i m r m i m r m I do this strictly alternating. I am having a hard time increasing my speed to match your tempo markings. Would you please give me some suggestions? Lastly, is it necessary to have rhythm primer up to advanced speed before moving on to your other books in the series?
A	I think your right hand picking technique is good and should present a problem no matter what the tempo is. Your problems with playing faster tempos could come from a few different things. First it could be related to how long you have been playing but I think you could expand upon this technique by doing some right hand technique exercises. First you need to work on all the permutations of your three finger method. To do this you would first take constant triplets and work on the different combinations of fingers. I, M, R I, R, M M, I, R, M, R, I, R, I, M R, M, I Once you have worked these up you should expand in a few ways. 1st try 4 note combinations: I, M, R, I I, R, M, I I, M, R, M I, R, M, R M, I, M, R M, I, R, M M, R, M, I M, R, I, M R, M, I, R R, M, R, I R, I, M, R R, M, I, R I would then extend this into complex rhythms. A good place to start is the eighth and sixteenth note rhythms in the Rhythm Primer. I would then do it using the rhythms in Rhythms Volume One and Two. The important thing to remember is that your mind memorizes rhythmic patterns and sends this information to your fingers. So you need both multiple fingering and multiple rhythms to get your fingers responding correctly to any situation. You don't have to work up to the advanced level of Rhythm Primer before moving on. Come back to it after you have worked through Rhythms Volume One and Two and I think you will find it much easier.

Q	I own three rhythm series books (with plans to purchase all of them when money permits). Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume 1 Contemporary Rhythms Volume 1 I noticed in both the Rhythms Volume 1 and Contemporary Rhythms Volume1 that each exercise is ten pages long and they look very similar. Would you tell me what each book in your series (all of them) is meant to teach me? How would be the best way to practice out of them?
A	Rhythms Vol. 1 gives you every combination of eighth note rhythms with rests and ties. Once you finish this book you have read through all the rhythms within one measure that exist in music. Contemporary Rhythms uses the same rhythms but is written out in more modern notation which breaks the imaginary barline (4/4 measures are traditionally notated by dividing the measure into two beat segments). Contemporary Rhythms helps your eye read through notation patterns that don't divide a measure into two beat segments (in other words they break the imaginary barline). The books are meant to teach you how to read all rhythms and meters found in music. Some guitar students also use these books to develop right hand technique. I usually recommend you work through the books in the following order: Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Odd Meters Rhythms Volume Three Contemporary Rhythms Volume One Contemporary Rhythms Volume Two You can work on more than one book at a time. For instance freshman students at NYU, Princeton, New School work through: Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two at the same time. They usually have to read through these books twice in order to reach the recommended tempos: Rhythm Primer: see practice suggestions in book Rhythms Volume One: half note equals 120 metronome on 2 and 4 Rhythms Volume Two: quarter note equals 120 metronome on every beat Odd Meters: eight note equals 200. Usually don't use a metronome when playing exercises Rhythms Volume Three: quarter note equals 60. Metronome on quarters though you may want to start with metronome on eighths Contemporary Rhythms Volume One: same as Rhythms Volume One Contemporary Rhythms Volume Two: same as Rhythms Volume Two

Q	I'm working through your rhythm series books and making good progress. I've worked through Rhythm Primer at the beginner level and some parts at the intermediate level. I don't feel confident with how 16th notes should sound in a swing rhythm, i.e. metronome on beats 2 and 4. I've tried counting. I get the eighth note feel. When I play exercises 19 - 27 swing style I don't really differentiate between the feel of the dotted eighth note and a sixteenth and just two eighth notes. Do you have an mp3 file for one of those pages? I would really like to hear how you play these in swing style. I also was hoping you could give me some tips on single string articulation. There are lots of rests in Rhythms Volume One. As the tempo picks up it seems that only some form of muting can accommodate the rests. What technique(s) do you recommend for clean string dampening to accommodate the rests? Muting with my right hand is often too awkward at faster tempos. My instinct is to try to dampen the string with the pick but it makes noises. When I lift off with my neck hand finger I often get some rattling fret buzz sounds. Rhythm Primer and Rhythms volume one are really helping my sight reading.
A	I don't really have an example of 16th note swing feel. I'll try to make one soon but there is quite a bit on my plate right now. One way you could think of it is 16th note rhythms are the same as 8th note rhythms only played twice as fast. So in reality there is no different in sound. You can hear some of the 8th note rhythms on the muse-eek.com website under the Rhythms Volume 1 title. I would dampen the strings with your left hand and I would play the exercises using an open string. Most of my students us the high E string.

Q	Would you say that in swing time, 2 consecutive 16th notes are played like the outside notes of a sixteenth note triplet? (directly analogous to 8th note swing feel)?
A	Yes as a general statement you are right. But you need to realize as time goes on most jazz musicians are playing notes straighter and straighter so the triplet thing is a little misleading. Why don't you check out the Rhythm Volume One swing mp3's files. That should give you a sense of what I'm talking about.

Q	I already own a copy of your 1st Steps for the Beginning Guitarist. Wonderful book for breaking down chords and chord progressions. I have been using this in collaboration with an Alfred book by the name of Teach Yourself to Play Guitar (mainly for strumming techniques). My first problem is that I have difficulty remembering the positions of the chords. Secondly, I have no idea of what notes are where on the fretboard. I read your Recommendations for Study pdf and decided that the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One might be a great start and maybe later complimented with Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. Am I headed in the right direction? Also, do any of your books cover strumming? But, beyond that. The main purpose of this e-mail is to ask you about my piano studies. I don't know what you're experience is with the instrument, but you seem like my last recourse in a long journey. I started out using Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Piano, which was cool for awhile but I soon found out that it didn't teach me anything about fingering or improvisation, which are two very important issues for any burgeoning pianist (I think or at least have learned since receiving no training on those topics). Anyway, I've sort of given up on that book and am in the market for something new. But then that creates an even worse situation because there is so much crap out there.I'm currently looking at purchasing the Piano Handbook by Carl Humphries. I guess my question is: Are there any books that you could recommend for an autodidact like myself? I'm really stumped right now and ready to throw in the towel.
A	There are two problems that most students have when starting the guitar. Remembering where the notes and chords are on the instrument and coordinating their strumming. For the open chords I would recommend learning the chord progressions in 1st Steps and other songs you like to help you memorize the open chords. For the barre chords you could use the cycle 5 progression found on page 28 of 1st steps. By moving the chords cycle 5 it will help you to memorize and play the various barre chords. Over time this will help you memorize the notes on the low E and A strings and then you can just plug in whatever barre chord you need. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One is also excellent for building your knowledge of notes and their corresponding shapes on the guitar. This book isn't much fun but will make a major difference if you work through it a little at a time. Single String Studies is also good. Once again a hard book and you shouldn't expect it to get any easier for quite some time. But once you get the hang of it you will have a real deep knowledge of the guitar fretboard. For strumming there is quite a bit of information in various places. You will find really basic help files for strumming in the member's area under Help files for First Steps. Of course the 1st Steps book gives you 3 strumming patterns per chord progression so that helps to build ability. I would also recommend the Rhythm books for strumming. Each page of these books gives you various rhythms. I would randomly pick a chord and strum through the exercises rather than just playing them with one note which is what the book recommends. I'd start with Rhythm Primer. For Piano I would check out Roberta Piket's books on various modes. See muse-eek.com or amazon.com She gives you the background for each scale, fingerings for playing the scale and associated chords, improvisational concepts with written out melodies so you can see typical melodies and she gives email support so you can stay on the right track.

Q	I'm a tenor singer. I can sing fairly well a classical piece after hearing it a few times from a CD (My favorite material is Renaissance and Baroque and especially Henry Purcell). My problem is that I can't sing notes and rhythms from a music sheet. (I believe that skill is called solfege? Is solfege and sight-singing are basically the same thing?) I also work with a private teacher which teaches me vocal training and theory and some solfege and rhythm. I don't worry about the vocal part but I feel I could use your advice concerning how to make a leap in singing notes and rhythms.
A	Sounds like you need some work with rhythm. I recommend you work with my Rhythm Series of books. I would start with Rhythm Primer. You can clap or sing the rhythms on each page. Inside the book there is a complete guide to how to practice the exercises. In your case you might also do this book in combination with the Fanatic's Guide CD. Basically play the 1st track on the CD and do the One Note singing exercise found in the Fanatic's Guide but do it singing the rhythms in Rhythm Primer this will help you with your rhythm and your aural skills.

Q	Thank you for your reply. And what about developing the ability to sing the correct pitch by looking at a music sheet?
A	A couple of things to keep in mind for developing the ability to sing the correct pitch when looking at sheet music. First sheet music is a combination of notes and rhythms so developing the abilities you learn in the Fanatic's Guide and Rhythm Books will go a long way to helping you master this important skill. Another very important thing to keep in mind is that the music you are singing is in a key and you need to figure out what that key is. A knowledge of music theory can help you with this but experience and developing your ear through my books will help you quickly figure out the key for a piece or section of a piece of music by listening to the notes you sing. Once you know the key then it's just a matter of singing the sounds that you memorize from the ear training. So I think you are on the right path to developing this skill just keep working from the ear training and rhythm books and I think you will find it will all come together over time.

Q	I followed your advice (a bit more I admit) and I now have in my possession your following books: Ear Training One Note Complete Method A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sightsinging Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Music Theory for All Instruments (Will arrive in 2 weeks from amazon) So now that I have the books I'll be glad to receive some study plan for them so I can be organized with my studies. I already for 2 days listen to the One Note CD trying to identify notes. I just want to stress that my sole (soul) aim right now in the musical world is to be able to read/sing from a music sheet as if I was reading a text book. I know it's a high aim right now but I'm willing to work hard to attain it provided the working plan is clear in my mind. I'll appreciate any advice you could give.
A	Hoping that you would have a couple of hours a day to practice. Here is the schedule I would recommend. Rhythm primer and Rhythms Volume One do 3 pages a week. Read the rhythms at a tempo that you feel you are getting about 80% of the rhythms right. Use the midifiles or the mp3 files for these books found on the muse-eek.com website under the books title to aid your progress. Use a metronome. You can start with the metronome on every beat but over time you want to work towards using the metronome on beat 2 and 4 especially with the Rhythms Volume One book. You should also read the suggested ways of study in the Rhythm Primer for a more detailed practice schedule. Music theory for all instruments I would do one page a day. You may have to build up to that but that is your goal. With the Fanatic's Guide and the Ear Training One Note Complete you should work from these books many times throughout the day. They are good books to work with when you are taking a brake from practicing or anytime when you have 5 to 10 minutes.

Q	How do you go about teaching a beginning student how to read? As I'm sure you know most method books teach using positions. This style of reading is taught very logically. I am greatly interested in the way you recommend reading. Your recommendations seem to facilitate an impressive sense of freedom on the instrument. Would you explain to me how you would take a student that never played before and progress him to a professional level of reading?
A	I usually start a beginning student with the following books. Rhythm Primer Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One Lines Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One or 1st steps for a Beginning Guitarist I also have them read simple melodies, usually classical pieces. As they progress I work my way through the Rhythm Series of Books and the Chord Series of books. I should mention that with my new New York Guitar Method series all these books will be combined into one method book. Well I should say into 9 method books and counting. My method does not use a position based approach to sight reading. The main concept is to learn the notes on the guitar through the use of the above mentioned books in combination with the 3 notes per string scale approach I use in Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. One problem I have found with position based reading is that most music I read isn't within one key center so you are commonly pulled out of position in order to play the melodies. If a piece of music is mostly in one key center then the position based method works well. Because a professional level of reading requires you to play all types of music I find that students really run into problems as they read more complicated styles of music therefore I developed my method for sight reading. I usually recommend a student work one hour a day on sight reading. This would mean reading out of each of the above books for 5 to 10 minutes then reading music that you check out of libraries. The library music should be a diverse as you can possibly make it. You should take a look at the beat reading file found in the member's area for some pointers on how to dramatically improve your sight reading.

Q	I'm a casual singer trying to get better at all my musical aspects. I also want to write songs as there are often the times when tunes come up in my head but I have no idea how to put them down. For this, I figure I need to train my skills in music theory and ear training, and that's how I found out about your books. My preference leans toward rock, and there are times when I feel frustrated that I could only sing, so I decide I would pick up the guitar, too. (Seriously this time, because, in fact, I've played it on and, mostly, off for several years already but made little progress.) I also love the colors added to the music with the sound of synthesizers, as those found on electronic and progressive music, so I feel compelled to also learn the keyboard. All this should be valuable also when I later have the ability to compose my own music on computers, as I'll be able to perform most of the parts myself. I think I'm ready to put in 2-3 years or so before I'm at least beginning to be able to do that. I've read through the FAQ archive, which took me a few days. And my questions are as follows: 1. I figure I need to start with the following books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Ear Training: One Note Complete A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1 Rhythm Primer As for keyboard, I think I need to look elsewhere since I don't feel the Jazz Piano Vocabulary series are for a complete keyboard beginner like me. I also need a book to improve my singing, such as breathing techniques, resonance, range widening, etc ... I'm currently looking into "Singing for Dummies," "Singing for the Stars" and "Jeff Allen's Secrets of Singing: Male." Do you have any suggestion/recommendation for my selection, and for the books on keyboard and singing? 2. I'm currently working in the field of computing and I often have to do work over-time, so I think I could put in only at most 2-3 hours each day. Do you think that amount is enough for practicing the guitar, keyboard, and singing all together? Or would you recommend I choose only one or two? What is your recommended practice schedule? 3. As for Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1, which one would you recommend for people who play both the guitar and keyboard? What is in the "All Instruments" version that the "Guitar" version does not have, and vice versa? 4. Just my curiosity, do you still practice ear training everyday, or has this already become your second nature so that you don't need to practice anymore?
A	1. I don't have any recommendation for keyboard or singing. I think the books you picked for guitar and ear training are what I would recommend. 2. I think two would be just right. 3. I would do the guitar theory book. 4. In a way I do because I'm using it everyday to understand the music I encounter.

Q	To sum it up, I decide to go for these books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Ear Training: One Note Complete A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1 Rhythm Primer And other two books on keyboard and singing. You've recommended that I choose only 2 of the 3 things (guitar, keyboard, and singing). I still feel like I would first give it a try doing all three. I think I have 2-3 hours each day for these, with several short breaks for ear training. Do you have any recommendation for a schedule for such a crazy undertaking? Regarding your recommendation on Guitar version of Music Theory Workbook over the All Instruments version, does the Guitar version also include stuffs and practices on Bass Clef?
A	Well here is what I would recommend for the books you want to get. I can't recommend a course of study for the other books because I don't know their method. 1. 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Learn a chord progression each week. You may have to first learn the chords which I would recommend learning 3 or 4 per week but it is always best to apply them to chord progressions. This book has multiple resources so join the "member's area" for additional help. I would study 30 minutes from this book daily. 2. Ear Training: One Note Complete This should be done with a discman and listened to mulitple times throughout the day. 3. A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing 15 minute singing 2 to 3 times a day. 4. Music Theory Workbook Vol.1 One page a day would be great but at least one page a week. The time this takes greatly depends on your ability to understand music theory. At least 15 minutes a day 5. Rhythm Primer At least 15 minutes a day developing your rhythmic understanding. Both versions of the Music Theory books are trying to get you to know the notes in any chord. Neither book works on bass clef recognition. The most important resource you need first is a quick recognition of what notes are in any chord.

Q	I've been doing the rhythm books Rhythm Primer, Rhythms Volume 1, and Rhythms Volume 2 on my breaks at work. I got a PraxAx, www.twanger.com, to practice picking on. I've been working out of the first three sections in Rhythm Primer, three pages each section. Is this the correct way to go through it or should one go straight through the book? When working on the "3 pages a week" should I work on one page at a time or play the three pages consecutively while advancing the tempo or do this one page at a time?
A	I would play 3 pages out of each book consecutively then move to the next book. Each week I would play the exercises a little faster.

Q	I am a choral singer who has been relying extensively on memory to sing choral works. My poor sight reading/singing skills are holding me back in audition situations. Do you have suggestions as to how to improve my sight reading skills so that I can continue to become the best musician that I am able to be? As you know, most choral auditions require fairly good to excellent sight reading ability. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
A	To be a great sight singer you need to work in the following areas: 1. Rhythm 2. Pitch Recognition 3. Intonation 4. Key Retention It will take awhile to get all of these things together. I would start with the following books: 1. Rhythm Primer 2. Ear Training One Note Complete 3. Fanatic's Guide to sight singing and ear training. I would suggest that once you get these books you contact me and give me a run down on how much time you have to practice each day. I will then give you a suggested course of study. I would also strongly suggest that you keep in touch and let me know your progress so I can help you improve at your fastest rate.

Q	I'm a choral singer - working on the Rachmaninoff "Vespers" at the moment - and also a folky-rocky guitarist/singer, who's trying to learn to sight-read, and Bruce Arnold's books have come to my attention, and I'm intrigued. But there appear to be many of them, and from e.g. the Amazon descriptions it's not exactly clear to me which to start with, where one leaves off and another picks up, etc. Is there a horse's-mouth description somewhere of the intended audience for each volume and what the hierarchy among them is, if any?
A	Sight Reading really involves 3 things. Rhythm, note recognition and ear training. To get all 3 of those things working together for a singer takes a few years of study. I would be glad to recommend some books to get started with this but first I just wanted you to know that it won't happen over night. Give me a more detailed description of your abilities and past educational experience with music and I'll recommend some books for you.

Q	I've been singing in a chorus for a couple of years now and can "kind of" get along - i.e. I can read the rhythms (I'm sloppy and lazy about it, but when I put my mind to it I can get the rhythmic part right), but am fairly at sea about the other two elements. If I "lean" and listen to the record long enough, the rising and falling notes on the page start reminding me of the melody I've practiced, but I don't really read them. (I sing bass, by the way, so I use the term melody very, very loosely.) By concert time, I can get the notes, pretty much, but the entire rehearsal period is devoted to learning them instead of singing them well, which should be the point. Is that enough to suggest where I am?
A	I'd start your work with: Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training These two you definitely need I would also highly recommend you improve your rhythm recognition for this I would get Rhythm Primer With the ear training books try to practice out of them many times through out the day. Make these practice periods 10 to 15 minutes. But if you only have 5 minutes do that multiple times. With the rhythm work if you could spend 15 minutes a day on that and work your way through the Rhythm Series of books you will be all set.

Q	I looked through your FAQ section and found some great information, but I do have a question for you regarding my specific situation. I am a classically trained vocalist looking to improve my sight reading skills. I also have some experience playing piano, and guitar, mostly self-taught by ear. My strong suit is that I have always been able to learn music when I hear it, have strong relative pitch and good pitch recognition, but because of it, my sight reading skills have suffered. I would like to be able to sight read music off the sheet, so I can learn music more easily without always having to hear a recording of it, and so I can do this better at auditions that require it, etc ... I found your books and website, and would like to implement your program but I have a couple of questions: 1. I am planning on going back to university to get my degree in music in a few months. I have had some musical theory training, enough to know the basics, but not enough to say I learned the interval training method that is most taught in schools today. If I begin with your course of study, will I be totally confused when I then take a college music class where they teach the other method? I have about 4 months or so of lead-in time, do you think this would be enough time to get grounded in some of the basics of your program with diligent practice? 2. Which books would you recommend I start with, and how should I use them? I would like to order them ASAP so I can get started. I am not afraid to work hard at it, I love music, have just started to get back into lessons again and am excited to be back on the musical path again after being absent from it for several years. I just want to be the best musician that I can be in every aspect.
A	I would work out of the following books: 1. Music Theory Workbook for all Instruments. This will help you get your theory working quicker which will help in all aspects of musical training. 2. Ear Training One Note Complete. I'd start with the intermediate CD (book contains 3 CDs). 3. Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. Both of the previous mentioned books will go against your learning in school. I look at school as a place to learn as much as you can and to also realize that everything that is taught is not particularly to your advantage but is dictated by poorly run programs and poorly educated teachers. Don't let their mistakes be yours. Always question everything you learn and remember the best place to hang out at school is the library. The library will give you alternate sources of education to help you find the truth. 4. I'd work through the Rhythm Series of books to get your rhythm totally happening. I'd start with Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One and Two If you can play/sing the rhythms in these books you will be well on your way to feeling comfortable with the common rhythms you will run into. I'd also recommend you work through Odd Meters once you get these basic rhythms together. With the Music Theory Work try to do one page a day. With the Ear Training do it many times through out the day in 15-20 minute increments. With the Rhythm books spend 15 minutes a day working from each book. This will really give you an advantage on your musical ability. It won't always jive with what you are required to do at school but it will make you a better musician. I think being a better musician should be your goal not how well you do in school. Unfortunately they don't always coincide.

Q	Sometimes I guess g# for g and d for d# and like that. Is this okay? I have read about another of your books. About Rhythm Primer and Rhytym One, I just know that they are teaching rhythm... how important is it and whats the function of these books? And what is your fact that tapping your foot isn't very good? I`m considering to purchase it, because I have a habit to tap the foot. And I'm asking about, if I have learned your ear training method, how can I use it because I have to learn about the solfege in all other scale, right ? So I must learn the solfege in other scales?
A	As I'm sure you know it's not OK if you guess g# for g and d for d#. It doesn't mean anything if you are close to the correct answer. All notes have a distinct sound none are like others. Rhythm development is extremely important. Rhythm Primer will teach you all the basic rhythms and Rhythms Volume One will introduce you to rests and ties. These are excellent books for developing a strong rhythmic sense and I recommend you get these to start developing your rhythm. Tapping your foot is OK if you are still having problems playing a rhythm or are just a beginner. Overtime though you want to stop tapping your foot as your recognition of the rhythms you are playing improves. You need to learn all scales and chords in all keys in order to apply the ear training to all keys. I would suggest you work through Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two or Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments if you don't play guitar. This will help you memorize what all pitches are in every key so when you are doing your ear training in any key you will know the correct answers.

Q	I purchased your book Volume 1 Single String Studies For Guitar and it arrived today. I am so confused. I have been playing the guitar for quite a while, always played rhythm and notes in the open position. Finally figured at the age of 51, that I would really try to learn the fretboard and after seeing your book on line it looked like the perfect way to learn. I am guessing that the first note on page 1 is played at the 15Th fret? If it is then I think I can figure it out, if not then I have no clue.
A	Yep that Single String Book can have your scratching your head that's for sure. The idea behind the book is to: 1. Get you to know all the notes on the guitar. 2. Learn where the notes are on the staff. 3. Get you to know where the notes are on the neck without looking. Because it's doing so much stuff at once it's extremely hard to master. Be patient with it and just work with the book for 10 to 15 minutes each day. Basically just read through the page and play all the notes on the assigned string. I'd spend a week on each page and I would work through the book by doing a different string each week. So the 1st week you would do page 1 then you would go to the 1st exercise on the A string key of C then the next week D string key of C. When you get through all strings start over again in the key of F. Use a metronome and put the tempo at 40 bpm and play one note per click. I would also recommend you download the midifiles for these exercises at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/sst1/midi.html There are also some recommended midifile players that will allow you to set the tempo. You could also use something like GarageBand if you have a Mac. Anyway playing along with the midifiles will allow you to hear whether you are playing the right note. I would also recommend you get started with improving your rhythm so if you have to time to add in another 10 minutes a day for rhythm work get the "Rhythm Primer" and work on that. The directions for the exercises are contained in the book. This book also has midifiles that you can play along with to make sure you are correct.

Q	I got a copy of Rhythm Primer some time ago and only just got around to taking a more detailed look at it. Unfortunately the copy I have seems to be missing a crucial page - How to use this book! Erm... I've had a go figuring out from the rest of the book how I'm supposed to go about doing it but just thought I'ld check to make sure I'm doing it right. Do I: 1. Look at the rhythms on the page and with a metronome in the background try and figure them out and clap what I think the rhythms are. 2. If I have problems, zoom in to specific parts of the midi file, or even play the whole thing to check that I've got it right. 3. Increase the tempo and make sure I'm still clapping the right rhythm. (How do I check that I'm right? Do I keep playing the midi in the background or do I do it on my own first?) I guess it's not rocket science but... some clarification would be helpful.
A	I would work on each page with the midifile until you feel like you know the material well enough to speed up the tempo. If you have problems with specific rhythms within an exercise isolate these measures and work on them very slowly and count out each beat or sub-beat i.e. 1-e-and-ah for sixteenth notes. After you feel you have memorized the rhythm bring the tempo up and then try it again with the midifile.