Study Group: A Modern Method for Guitar Vol 1 Pages 15 to 19

[fep]

Here we go. Welcome to the new folks that joined us last week.

Don't forget to spend some time with the earlier material.

[fep]

I'm reading thru this weeks material...

Sharp and flats, there is only one exercise that includes and sharps and flats and that is page on 15. For those of you that this sharp and flat info is new, you may need to come back to this later to review. I'd say just read the page do the exercise and move on. Ask questions if needed.

Page 15 exercise, for me the challenge is muting. M.1, I mute the G with the pad of my 2nd finger as I play the next note, the B. M.2 the G I'm muting with the side of the tip of my 1st finger as I fret the C note. M.6 I mute the G with my 3rd finger as I play the open B note. I need to give extra practice to M.2 and M.6. All other mutes I'm doing with the pad of my finger that is fretting the next note.

That's just one way to do it.

[ten left thumbs]

Originally Posted by fep

Ask questions if needed.
.

Commonly asked question at this point: why do we need both sharps and flats? Surely one would be enough.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by ten left thumbs

Commonly asked question at this point: why do we need both sharps and flats? Surely one would be enough.

take a key like G# major. if we go up the scale, there are 6 sharps and 1 double sharp (Fx). it's confusing to write out. instead, let's write out the same scale as Ab major. Fx becomes G natural. we still have 4 flats, but it's a heckuva lot easier to read.

[mjsarlington]

Originally Posted by ten left thumbs

Commonly asked question at this point: why do we need both sharps and flats? Surely one would be enough.

I'd much rather have the key of F use all the letters:

F G A Bb C D E

rather than

F G A A# C D E

[Dazz]

Originally Posted by mjsarlington

I'd much rather have the key of F use all the letters:

F G A Bb C D E

rather than

F G A A# C D E

Well explained!

If you buy the reason or not, F major is always written with one flat note and the key signature is always written that way.

[Dazz]

I would just like to thank everyone for keeping this going; I am trying to keep up (through some enforced gaps) and do enjoy all the posts, even if I do not post much on it myself.

Des

[Marty W]

Originally Posted by mjsarlington

I'd much rather have the key of F use all the letters:

F G A Bb C D E

rather than

F G A A# C D E

Right. Every key has all seven letters ABCDEFG in the scale. Sometimes they're #'s and b's but each letter is included.

[ten left thumbs]

Nice explanations!

[ronjazz]

Once you've sharped or flatted a note in the key signature, that note is no longer available as a natural note. That's why sharps and flats are both necessary.

[ten left thumbs]

Originally Posted by ronjazz

Once you've sharped or flatted a note in the key signature, that note is no longer available as a natural note. That's why sharps and flats are both necessary.

This is very true, however, as an explanation, it involves more concepts than a student (when first encountering sharps and flats) can normally deal with. I now see that *all * explanations do, though I am particularly taken by the answers of msjarlington and Marty combined.

I asked because students often ask me, and tbh, I get jaded with what I say sometimes and I wanted to hear what others would say. When a student first encounters a sharp or flat they know nothing of scales, keys or key signatures. It can be hard to get someone past this stage because every new concept also involves them taking on board a hundred and one new concepts. it is truly difficult to break it down into nice easy chunks.

sorry if I've taken us off at a tangent!

[Help!I'maRock!]

Page 15, Exercise: http://db.tt/Omel9Q5E

[oldhead]

Nice job, Rock. I like the dissonant sounds in there.

I've posted 3 or 4 posts but they vaporize into Cyberspace. They appear for a second and then they are gone!! Any ideas?
Mr. Beaumont and Administrator can hopefully figure it out.

[leodbil]

Hi, this is my first post here, but I have been following along. This is wonderful. And inspiring. Makes going through the book a whole lot easier knowing others are right there with you for support and guidance. Anyway, the reason I'm writing today is ... I told a friend what I was doing here at Jazzguitar.be and he loaned me his copy of the Berklee DVD that goes along with the book. Whoa! this thing is great. The instructor goes through all the exercises, including the duets part by part. Just thought I'd post this incase others didn't know this aid was available. It is helping me a bunch.
Amazon has it for $23.09 quite a deal. BTW I'm not affiliated with Amazon or Berklee, just wanted to pass on the news. Back to the shed .......

Bill

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by leodbil

Hi, this is my first post here, but I have been following along. This is wonderful. And inspiring. Makes going through the book a whole lot easier knowing others are right there with you for support and guidance. Anyway, the reason I'm writing today is ... I told a friend what I was doing here at Jazzguitar.be and he loaned me his copy of the Berklee DVD that goes along with the book. Whoa! this thing is great. The instructor goes through all the exercises, including the duets part by part. Just thought I'd post this incase others didn't know this aid was available. It is helping me a bunch.
Amazon has it for $23.09 quite a deal. BTW I'm not affiliated with Amazon or Berklee, just wanted to pass on the news. Back to the shed .......

Bill

i have the Berklee DVD. unfortunately, my new Mac doesn't support the interface. my old one did, and it was nice because you could play certain sections of the piece without going through the entire lesson. now it only plays in Quicktime. still glad to have it, but just an FYI for anybody on a Mac running Lion.

[leodbil]

Finally, a reason to be happy my computer is too old to support Lion.

[ronjazz]

Originally Posted by ten left thumbs

This is very true, however, as an explanation, it involves more concepts than a student (when first encountering sharps and flats) can normally deal with. I now see that *all * explanations do, though I am particularly taken by the answers of msjarlington and Marty combined.

I asked because students often ask me, and tbh, I get jaded with what I say sometimes and I wanted to hear what others would say. When a student first encounters a sharp or flat they know nothing of scales, keys or key signatures. It can be hard to get someone past this stage because every new concept also involves them taking on board a hundred and one new concepts. it is truly difficult to break it down into nice easy chunks.

sorry if I've taken us off at a tangent!

I like to start any student out with the explanation of the scale, using both the piano keyboard and the "do-re-mi" concept. Getting the formula into their heads early on makes the explanation of sharps and flats very easy when the time comes. Singing the scale as do-re-mi in any given key is also good for ear training, and helps to lock the concept in.

[ten left thumbs]

Very wise, ron.

[richard vandyne]

hi everyone- i am writing this for my own information so please bear with me. i would like to know just how much time you should stay with a lesson. should you have it memorized or stay with it until you know the concept.i have studied a lot of these lessons and i know what is being asked and i understand but i dont have it memorized. when would you advize going on to the next lesson?

[ronjazz]

You don't need to have any lessons memorized. You need to be able to play each lesson with good time and tone, and understand the concepts. Leavitt was a stickler for constant reviewing, so once you've done the first lesson, when you move on to the second one, use the first one as your warmup before tackling the exercises in the second one, and so on. The only memorization required is the basic notes, time values and key signatures; everything else will build on these basics.

[richard vandyne]

ronjazz- thanks for the reply. i have been worried about shirking my duty to the lessons by not having them momorized . i know key sigs., time and notes. those are not the problem. it is just that i would like to play them smoother and more rapidly. appreciate your help!!!!!

[fep]

Originally Posted by Help!I'maRock!

Page 15, Exercise: http://db.tt/Omel9Q5E

Right on Rock. You got all the muting down perfect, timings good, all the right notes.

I think the chords are a bit loud. I'd say try to experiment with picking the chords softer than the other notes. And try to pick all the notes softer and see what you think. I think that may give a 'sweeter' sound with less initial attack.

Thanks for posting. It's already Friday at a lot of us (myself included) need to get busy and practice and make some recordings.

[fep]

Originally Posted by oldhead

Nice job, Rock. I like the dissonant sounds in there.

I've posted 3 or 4 posts but they vaporize into Cyberspace. They appear for a second and then they are gone!! Any ideas?
Mr. Beaumont and Administrator can hopefully figure it out.

Hi Oldhead, I'm guessing you are trying to attach mp3's with the reply 'manage attachments' tool. That has been hit and miss for years, I think to work it needs to be a small file and then you have to get lucky.

Most of us use a separate hosting site and attach a link. I use youtube for videos, and Box.net for mp3 files. There are a lot of free choices, another one that I've used is Soundcloud, I see the Help!I'maRock! uses dl.dropbox.com.

[fep]

Originally Posted by richard vandyne

ronjazz- thanks for the reply. i have been worried about shirking my duty to the lessons by not having them momorized . i know key sigs., time and notes. those are not the problem. it is just that i would like to play them smoother and more rapidly. appreciate your help!!!!!

+1, Thanks Ron for your insight and knowledge.

Richard, How about recording some of the examples and/or tunes from the book and posting them here?

That's a great exercise that helps you focus, critique yourself, and share with the rest of us... and you might get a critique or two from us.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by fep

Right on Rock. You got all the muting down perfect, timings good, all the right notes.

I think the chords are a bit loud. I'd say try to experiment with picking the chords softer than the other notes. And try to pick all the notes softer and see what you think. I think that may give a 'sweeter' sound with less initial attack.

Thanks for posting. It's already Friday at a lot of us (myself included) need to get busy and practice and make some recordings.

thanks, that's something i'm working on. being a rock guitarist, i'm used to attacking the chord instead of letting it bloom. i'm working on "here we go again" and having the same issues, which is why i haven't posted it yet.

and yeah, i use the public folder in Dropbox. it's very easy to use.

[oldhead]

P 15 EXERCISE
Pg 15 EXERCISE.mp3 - File Shared from Box - Free Online File Storage

FEP, thanks. Had a couple days of frustration but think it's taken care of now.
Just for anyone new to the forum, Mr. F. told me you have to be approved before posting w/links.

[richard vandyne]

fep- again thanks for the input. i think recording my playing would be a great help. that way i can see and hear what i am doing and get help from more knowledgeable people. my only problem is that i have no idea on how to set up a recording situation and how to transfer it to the web. may sound crazy in this day and age but i am not that smart about the computer and am at a loss as to how to go about that process. have any ideas on how i could learn?????????

[Marty W]

Originally Posted by richard vandyne

fep- again thanks for the input. i think recording my playing would be a great help. that way i can see and hear what i am doing and get help from more knowledgeable people. my only problem is that i have no idea on how to set up a recording situation and how to transfer it to the web. may sound crazy in this day and age but i am not that smart about the computer and am at a loss as to how to go about that process. have any ideas on how i could learn?????????

It's not too hard Richard. Are you using a PC or a laptop? A laptop has a built-in mic. That might be good enough. Or you can plug your guitar into the mic or line input, via an 1/8" mini jack.

I use free recording software called Audacity. The controls are easy to understand, similar to a cassette recorder. You just need to save your recording as an mp3 file.

Originally Posted by Help!I'maRock!

being a rock guitarist, i'm used to attacking the chord instead of letting it bloom.

That's a great description. I like the imagery of strumming the chord with the melody blooming on top.

[ten left thumbs]

Originally Posted by oldhead

P 15 EXERCISE
Pg 15 EXERCISE.mp3 - File Shared from Box - Free Online File Storage

FEP, thanks. Had a couple days of frustration but think it's taken care of now.
Just for anyone new to the forum, Mr. F. told me you have to be approved before posting w/links.

Sounds nice and smooth.

[richard vandyne]

marty thanks for the info. i have already down loaded the program and have been spending time trying to understand how to operate it. do you have some shortcuts that will minamize my studying. i would like to have file names for each recording and then send them but i see nowhere where i can send the recordings to jazz forum?????????? h e l p