Chords & Schedule for a beginner

[acronia]

First post after my introduction to the forum members: hello everybody!.

A year ago I bought Mel Bay's Complete Guitar Method by Mike Christiansen. Since then, I've tried to learn all the chords presented by Mike, from the barre chords to the altered seventh. That isn't a lot. But I can just practice one hour a day, and not everyday and I'm stack with them. Every time that I try to progress in my learning I have to go back and memorize again all the chords or the most difficult ones. I'm not going forward.

So, I would like to find a chord book with multiple lessons, exercise or songs to practice. Right now, I'm really bored of doing again and again the same chord charts. What would you recommend me? Any link to other threads that address this problem?

Besides that, I'm gonna commit myself to practice everyday at least one hour (I'm not gonna be able to do more). Could you recommend me a seven day schedule or any link to other threads that address this problem?

Thank you for reading my post,
Sam

[fep]

I'm thinking you should try to apply those chords to a song. And then you can play the song until you've got it down cold. Should be able to remember the chords that way.

I haven't seen the book, but there are certain chords that are good to learn first and some chords later on. Hopefully the book presents them in a logical sequence.

Also you should eventually learn to build the chords yourself. 1st) you need to know the rules of chord construction and 2nd) know all the notes on the fretboard.

[ruiner54]

I agree..years ago I bought on of those big thick chord books and tried to go through and memorize. Now, my teacher gave me a book of standards to work from (Real Book) and I find the chords just as easy to remember as a simple E major or A major

[matt.guitarteacher]

+1 on playing real tunes from a Real Book. The thing is, in Real Books they don't indicate exactly what kind of dominant chord to play most of the time. It'll just say G7 or whatever. You can play 9ths, 11ths etc. as well as altered dominant chords.

Pick a chord or two that you don't have memorized yet (9th chords for example). Play them everytime you come across a 7th chord in whatever tune you're playing through until you know them without thinking about it too much. Then work on mixing in all the dominant types you know throughout the tune. Do the same for Major, Minor, Diminished and Minor7b5 chords.

If you did this with a few tunes, you could have a couple of chords you're working on each week. That would make it pretty simple and you're playing real music.

[acronia]

Thank you very much fep, ruiner54, and Matt for your quick response.

I totally agree with your recommendations. It's what I felt that I need: some real music. Two of you mentioned "The Real Book". I quick search in the Internet shows different editions. Which should I buy?

- The Real Book: Sixth Edition by Hal Leonard Corporation.
- The New Real Book by Chuck Sher
- ?

Best,
Sam

[matt.guitarteacher]

Either of the ones you listed. A lot of people on the forum seem to prefer the Sher books. I have the Hal Leonard books myself.

[Tommycorsica]

I've got 1 hour a day as well, maybe two on Sat and Sun. Here's my current practice routine, strictly focused on weaknesses and repetoire:
--10-15 mins Beat Accumulation/Melodic Minor Scale (my timing is horrible and i need to nail the MM scale): Set metronome to 60bpm and do one note per beat up and down scale, then two notes, then three notes, then four, etc. up to 7 notes per beat thru all modes of scale and thru Cycle of 5ths.
--10-15 mins of ii-V-I arpeggios (I'm lazy and rely on Root and 5th inversions): Play inversions starting on 3rds and 7ths thru Cycle of 5ths and in time to metronome.
--10-15 mins New Song: Currently learning "Witchcraft" I've nailed the basic melody in 3 places on neck and the basic chord changes, so now i'm arpeggiating the entire song, in time, and trying to find basic chord subs.
--Remaining time on Repetoire: Play each song i know, that's 5 so far. Set metronome, play one chorus of the melody, or chord melody if i've learned that. Then one chorus of chord changes, one chorus of bass line, then one chorus of improv, then repeat with tweaks to the melody, chord subs in the harmony and a little more bravery in the improv. Next song, same treatment.
Short breaks really do help you retain the info and working on different concepts/techniques prevents boredom and frustration.
Two Things I Swear By: I ALWAYS enter the practice zone knowing exactly what i want to accomplish. And i ALWAYS practice one small thing, like a new melody or new scale or chord, just once or twice right before going to bed--my brain works on that melody/scale/chord while I'm sleeping.

[acronia]

Hi everybody,

I just wanted to thank you for your advices and encouragement. It has been almost two weeks since I started applying your ideas, guys, and now I feel that I'm progressing.

I've divided my hour of practice on three 20' sections to practice chords, scales, and songs. I reserve one day a week to improvise and just play whatever I want to. I'm learning "Honeysuckle Road" (Herb Ellis & Joe Pass version) and "Autumn Leaves" (I found that song in the forum)

I bough "A Mother Method for Guitar Vol. I" to have a better guide for advancing.

I'm also studding jazz theory (how to build chords, chord embellishment, substitutions, ...)

Definitely, I'm enjoying the instrument again.

Best,
Sam

[AmundLauritzen]

I want to encourage you to post a video of you playing one of those tunes. I've learned a lot from the critique I've gotten on my videos. It's good to have your playing evaluated by other people, because they might notice something you overlook when listening to yourself.
This forum is a great place with good minded people who want to help each other become better players

[Jonzo]

I just posted something that might interest you here:

http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/getti...rt-chords.html

[acronia]

Thanks! I will check it.