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Eli Beckwith
Past Notes
March 10th, 2020
I realized this week that there are two versions of Let It Go, and Eli was interested in learning the other version, which is very similar but with a different intro.
So we spent the lesson learning the intro, which means that we put the capo on a different spot. It also means relearning the bridge and verses.
It's all good, he picked it up quite quickly.
March 3rd, 2020
Eli had learned most of Let It Go's intro, except for that one note every 4 bars, which we added today.
We then learned the prechorus part, which is kinda tricky. He wanted to leave it at that, and save the chorus for next week. So we just went over the prechorus for the rest of the lesson.
February 25th, 2020
Eli nailed Paper Kits!! Amazing! We played through the whole song together, and then added a new song, Let It Go by James Bay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDD_JOxFy28&ab_channel=JRRPJ
We worked mostly on the intro but this is repeated through out the song, so a big part of the song.
February 18th, 2020
We continued working on Paper Kites - he'd forgotten some of the stuff - well, he said he was confused about some of the details, and he brought his phone this time, so he recorded my instructions of the first four bars, which essentially repeat the same way throughout the song.
He's almost got it, including the hammer on.
February 11th, 2020
Eli hadn't gone through the whole video yet, and figured he could do that at home easier, so we added a new song, called Bloom by Paper Kites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8inJtTG_DuU
This is the same one Sophia did last week...
We worked out the finger picking of the first 8 measures or so - it's a steep learning curve, but Eli wants to do it the right way, which is impressive to me.
It will take practicing though, so hopefully he remembers.
February 4th, 2020
We continued working on Georgia - there are a few places that needs to be worked on - the bridge, the harmonics, the ending... he should have it finished by next Tuesday.
January 28th, 2020
Eli has been working on a song by Vance Joy, called Georgia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-EsU6N26Ic
We worked through the second half of the parts together, learning the chorus and starting the bridge.
He still has to learn the last part after the bridge, which is slightly different.
January 21st, 2020
Eli was well practiced today with both songs.
We tried to continue with Crazy Train, but he said it was too hard.
Instead we started learning the finger picking for shepherd of my soul by Rivers and Robots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4S8ne-xU0E
January 14th, 2020
We went over Sweet Child of Mine and he said he is going to keep working on it, that he wants to practice it more than he had been.
We still had twenty minutes left, so we added Crazy Train's intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Bk746OqhQ
Break it down into little "digestible" bites.
January 7th, 2020
Eli knew the first part of Sweet Child of Mine, but not the second part, so we spent most of the lesson just working through the tab for that.
There is one section that moves high on the neck in the melody which is just going to take time to memorize - he's got the basic idea, just needs to spend 30 minutes committing it to memory.
December 17th, 2019
Eli did well with the introduction of Sweet Child of MIne. After that, we worked through the tab in the rest of the video, and we focused on sight reading, especially on fret 1,2, and 4.
Continue working on that, and expand into frets 9 through 13 on the E and B string.
No lessons next week, (Christmas Eve,) or the week after (New Year's Eve).
December 10th, 2019
Eli wanted to change direction today - he said he wasn't as passionate about learning chords and playing songs as much as learn familiar themes from rock songs like Crazy Train, Sweet Child of Mine, 7 Nation Army, etc.
So we started with Sweet Child of Mine. We went over the tab from this video, and worked on the first few bars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yE4hhRWnZ4
Once he's got that smooth, then he should continue working through the tab in that video and learn more of the song.
December 3rd, 2019
We continued working through Barricuda - there were some parts that Eli wasn't counting very well through, and it's critical to know when to play the C chord in the right place to count - since it's in a weird spot. We worked through that most of the lesson.
We also worked on the progression of chords right before the little run on the a string.
November 26th, 2019
Eli said he had been enthusiastic about practicing this week, which is great. He likes this song, and so is more drawn to work on it.
However, I'd like him to really work on the fast parts of this song, like the lead part that starts on the A string which we went over a number of times tonight.
We did it at about 65% of the full speed, so he needs to work on getting that up to regular 100% speed.
November 19th, 2019
Eli worked through Barricuda with me some more today - we moved further through the song, including the run on the electric guitar from the A note - a b c d c b a Em Em Em___
We also learned how to use the wammy bar on the high harmonics in the intro.
November 12th, 2019
Eli said football kept him pretty busy the last two weeks, so he hadn't practiced much - it kinda showed, unfortunately. We went through Man in the Mirror a couple times, but then added a new song.
We added Barricuda:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYoQyMXsNU
It has a fun, but challenging guitar part in the beginning, which we worked on at 60% speed, to help him play it in time.
We didn't get past the first half of the first verse, but the song is pretty repetitive. If he can put the time in this week, he should be able to learn the rest of the song by next week.
November 5th, 2019
Jason sick today.
October 29th, 2019
Really proud of Eli tonight - he said he hasn't practiced as much as he wanted, only four or five times this week, but he's coming along really well.
We worked on Living on a Prayer first, and worked out some of the strumming patterns the guitarist is doing in the recording, as well as practiced the chorus together. We added the 'palm-muting' in the verse, with eighths on the lower strings.... then big open chords for the distorted part -4, then 5...
We then went back to Man in the Mirror, and focused on the chorus where he's been having trouble.
Keep at it, Eli.
October 22nd, 2019
Eli is doing really well. I'm impressed with how he's learning the chords. We went through Man in the Mirror again today, and focused on the last part that he's having trouble with.
He realized that he needs to be able to switch chords without looking at his hands, so we talked about some strategies there, and he's going to practice that.
October 15th, 2019
Eli came fairly well prepared.
We reviewed Living on a Prayer, and then focused on the parts he was having struggles with, specifically the chorus. He should continue to practice the chorus.
We then added Michael Jackson's Main in the Mirror.
Again, we approached this in terms of numbered chords. I simplified the chords to make it easier to play in this way, but it highlights a need to talk through other ways chords can be played with different bass notes than top chords.
October 8th, 2019
Eli is doing a good job! It seems like he's practicing, and learning fairly quickly.
He played the 3 chord as a major in the songs he worked on this week, so keep those in the practice rotation this week.
We added a third song, Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsmGSnq3lE
PLEASE put together a list of songs you want to learn.
October 1st, 2019
We went through Roxanne together, and it was pretty good! He could still stand to practice the chords a bit, and especially the 2 and 3 minor chords.
We then added Billie Jean.
I asked him to pick three or four electric guitar oriented songs to learn.
September 24th, 2019
Today we reviewed the fret logic chord system, and added a new song by The Police, called Roxanne - spend 15 minutes aday going over this song, but also all the other stuff, including the chords at the front of the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-ABuRa9Qw
September 17th, 2019
We started with fret logic this week, working out 1 2 3 4 5 6 for major and minor chords in the major scale. Use the E shapes for the e string and the A shapes for the A string.
I wrote out some chord progressions to work through on this.
Also contiunue with last week's stuff - scales, seventh chords, stuff like that.
September 10th, 2019
Eli and I started by reviewing the pentatonic, and I told him to slow down a bit so he doesn't make any double notes or mistakes.
Then we went over open chords, and reviewed sevenths, minors, and minor sevenths. We analyzed how the middle note of the fingering, down two, makes a seventh. (but not always).
We then talked about F, and I shwowed how how all the strings can't be played, unless you use a bar chord. We talked about the E shape and A shape bar chords, and I gave him three excercises moving down the neck.
September 3rd, 2019
Eli wants to learn scales, he says, so we did a lot of the same things as Sophie - the pentatonic scale. We started in D, then to C, then to E. We talked about the in-between key above C, which is C#, and why it's called that, and what D flat is.
We played through the scale in a few different keys while I kept a beat on the drums, so that he could practice getting it even. He should work on smoothing it out as well.
I also asked him to learn a few more open chords, like the sevenths, and minors.
May 16th, 2017
I was feeling sore today - my back was hurt on Sunday, and so we made the lessons really short, and mostly just talked; Eli was feeling overwhelmed with his schedule anyway, so it worked out.
May 9th, 2017
Today we reviewed the chords we have been learning, and focused on a few Eli was having trouble with like F and B, and the sevenths.
We reviewed House of Gold a couple of times.
He's making good progress. He said he only had time to practice twice, I asked him to try to up his practice from 2 times a week to even 3... maybe before bed, instead of TV or computer. :)
May 2nd, 2017
We added the main major chords and main minor chords today, E, F, G, A, B, C, and Em, Am, Bm, A7, B7, C7, D7, E7
We added House of Gold by 21 Pilots and he should work on moving through the chords smoothly, especially C
April 25th, 2017
Eli brought his guitar today, and we worked on drills to speed up the playing of E7, A7, and B7.
We played through the blues a few times as well. He didn't bring his book so we didn't write it down, but he should be able to remember.
April 18th, 2017
Last week's lesson - Eli reminded me that we learned some guitar - he learned C, G, D, Em, Am, E, A, and maybe a few others.
This week we practiced for his audition tomorrow, and then learned three blues patterns and chords in G.
April 11th, 2017
For some reason, the note I sent to you yesterday about Eli's lesson didn't save - did you get an email with it? If so, can you send it to me?
April 4th, 2017
We spent the entire lesson practicing for the Leap audition. I recommended he play 'double time' through the verses to give the playing some variation. He's doing really well!
March 28th, 2017
We went through the song together, working on the counting so he plays and sings the song correctly... he has a bit of problem with pitch once in a while too, and with the lyrics.
I recommended he listen to the recording and sing along, and every time he makes a mistake, stop, start the song again, and try to get through the whole song without looking at lyrics, and commit to memory.
March 21st, 2017
Eli wants to record Spirits for Leap and Challenge auditions. We went over it together... he said that Sophie had the Uke most of the week, so couldn't practice the finger picking part we'd learned in the bridge.
I recommend we should record it next week so we don't lose time.
We also added a new song, House of Gold by Twenty One Pilots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtVftrBp70Q
March 14th, 2017
Eli and I worked through Spirits- he's basically done it... he's picking up the songs really quickly now.
I showed him how to finger pick a different way in the bridge, so he's going to work on that this week, and then has a new song in mind to start next week.
March 7th, 2017
On vacation this week.
February 28th, 2017
Eli did well today- we went over Heathens a couple of times, and he nearly has it perfect... just another week of practicing maybe, to get it mistake-and-stopping-free.
We also reviewed Falling Slowly intro melody, which needs some work.
We then added a new song by the Strumbellas, called Spirits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9kXstb9FF4
February 21st, 2017
Eli came well practiced this week, the C scale is nearly perfect, and quite fast.
We reviewed Heathens, and learned the melody for it using TAB. He should continue to practice it for one more week, and we're going to learn the next scale "E" next week.
Also think about another song to look at.
February 14th, 2017
We went over the intro for Falling Slowly, then the scales both ways, up and down.
He needs a bit more practice on these to get them even more smooth, but he's getting close.
We then added a new song, by Twenty One Pilots, called Heathens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGNFHa69Iv0
February 7th, 2017
Eli is doing really well.
We went over the C scale, which he had kind of forgotten, and then we played through the last few songs. Finally we reviewed Fireflies, and I showed him TAB, and how to play the intro of Falling Slowly.
January 31st, 2017
We reviewed 10000 Reasons, and it needs one more week of work.
We then added Owl City, Fireflies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytBR7ET_6uU
January 24th, 2017
Eli played Mary Had a Little Lamb really well, and then we reviewed "How Great Is Our God," (which he left the music here for).
He still needs to work on F# minor, I showed him another way to play it which is a bit easier.
We'll continue with that song, as well as the new one next week. The new one is Bless The Lord O My Soul.
January 17th, 2017
We finished up Hey Soul Sister, then reviewed the C scale again.
I wrote out "Mary Had a Little Lamb," so he could learn to play it by note. This is a simple song, and maybe a little beneath him, but it will help him memorize the note names on the frets.
January 10th, 2017
Eli did pretty good with Hey Soul Sister, but I'd like him to work on it another week. We especially focused on the chorus to get those chords changing on the right beat, and not to play the one beat chords for too long.
We then added some new chords to fill out the lesson and the C scale. I taught him to read TAB as well.
January 3rd, 2017
We went over the last song, and he really nailed it, even the hard chords! I was really impressed!
We decided to add Hey Soul Sister, and I am going to share the chart with you to print out for him.
December 27th, 2016
Sophia and Eli cancelled this week.
December 20th, 2016
Jacob wrote to cancel lesson.
December 13th, 2016
Eli did really well on Silent Night - we went on to God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen, and then added Baby It's Cold Outside.
I sent the chart to Melanie to print out for him since we're out of ink currently.
December 6th, 2016
Eli came in fairly well prepared, able to get to the G much faster than before. We went through all the songs together, and really worked on Silent Night especially. I tried to help him to switch a bit early so that he's ready to play the chord on the right beat.
We wrote out a new song, but didn't get to it in time, so I told him to keep working on the things we've already been doing.
November 29th, 2016
Eli came well practiced, but still not quite ready with Jingle Bells. We worked on switching chords quickly and I gave him some more tips.
We then added two new Christmas songs, "Silent Night" and -- something else I can't remember now.
November 22nd, 2016
Eli had obviously been practicing! He came knowing the chords, and had written them into his book. He seems very enthusiastic!
We learned two songs - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Jingle Bells. This required learning a couple of more chords to add to his collection.
November 15th, 2016
Eli's first lesson! He brought his ukulele, and we talked about the different parts of the instrument, and how to tune it. He tuned it himself and we then learned four chords: C, F, Am, and G.
We did some exercises to get faster at the G chord, and I asked him to practice for 5 minutes when he gets up every morning.
We wrote out his chords etc on a piece of paper, and I asked him to transfer them into a book and bring the book next week.
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