Rock & Roll 101

November 26th, 2013

This was Sean's last week. I'll miss him!!

We added three new songs today, all of which were quite simple! :)

Maybe see you in lessons again another time Sean!

November 19th, 2013

Sean wasn't able to come to the make up on November 20th (I moved the lesson from the 19th because of Stewart MacLean.)

November 12th, 2013

Sean and I reviewed the last three songs before adding a new one, Living Like You Were Dying:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xSGLZd9Vg4

November 5th, 2013

Sean is done at the end of November.

Today we added chords for Wake Up, and then for I'm In a Hurry;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CICwZ01bT3w

October 29th, 2013

Sean and I reviewed the Tim McGraw song, and worked on the B chord... coming along, practice more!

Next week we're doing this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FxZde6SCqg

October 22nd, 2013

Sean was sick tonight.

October 15th, 2013

Sean and I added Fly Away, by Tim McGraw, he did a good job on last week's songs-- this week is a bit harder in that there is a B chord which is new to him.

Work on playing it without slowing on the B, and always remember accuracy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubm0BmO-Vns

October 8th, 2013

Sean and I added three new songs today:
1994 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqhyh3Mzbo0

Radioactive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO_WxYC34eM

Started With a Song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsQpGtvAhZM

October 1st, 2013

Sean hurt his hand this week, and wasn't able to come.

September 24th, 2013

We reviewed last week's songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXN279BM2bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvYsNBWiaxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF1zB1hMxhk


We added a new song, Tonight's the Night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLNOhpbG0C8

September 17th, 2013

Sean and I added two songs this week-- my computer wasn't working, so we used the phone to listen.

1. Boys 'Round Here - by Blake Shelton
2. The World Is Ours - by Eleven Past One

Both songs were pretty easy. ;-)

September 10th, 2013

Sean and I worked through as many chords as we could remember from last year, and then reviewed a few random songs. Once we played for a while, he got back into it.

I charted out Bait a Hook for him to learn, and asked him to continue to review, and work especially on playing the chords accurately.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXN279BM2bw

June 25th, 2013

It's been a real fun year with Sean-- he's come a long way from those kid's songs we started with!! I've enjoyed teaching him very much.

We added Remind Me today, and I gave him a challenge for the summer to learn the B bar chord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qzhngp7jh8

June 18th, 2013

Sean and I added two new songs this week.

I'm Gonna Miss Her, by Brad Paisley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwRrKaq0IyY

And

I Don't Want This Night to End by Luke Bryant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJq7qQP_Gvk

June 11th, 2013

Sean was busy this week,

June 4th, 2013

New song, by Dry Country, God Loves Red Necks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juPFC9DkL6s

Think of a song to learn next week.

May 28th, 2013

We went over Why? a couple of times, don't know why? LOL

We focused on that little 16th beat after 4, so practice that some more.

Then we added Drunk On You by Luke Bryan, and worked on the upbeat after the slap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHjhsRW-cZw

May 23rd, 2013

May 14th, 2013

Sean learned a new Jason Aldean song this week, called "Why?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLF5daSZmYo

It has a tricky little "hit" in the intro and chorus which he should spend some time working on.

Good job on last week's two songs!

May 7th, 2013

Sean and I went over yesterday- the bar chords are hard for him, but he is so close I can taste it.

We then added a couple of other songs to work on, including "Is Somebody Singing" by Chris Hadfield and the singer from Barenaked Ladies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvAnfi8WpVE

April 30th, 2013

Sean and I added Yesterday today which uses a few more bar chords than usual. He can do it, just practice practice practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNnaxGFO18o

We also went over Hey Jude again, and I want him to keep working on that one.

April 23rd, 2013

Sean has decided to take a break from Blackbird, and we learned two new songs tonight.

The first was The Only Way I Know It by Jason Aldean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqqFU_1D5nY

The second was Hey Jude:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfTrthOpKCA

He is picking up these songs very quickly now-- he's got a good basis of chords and ability, so if we can encourage him to stretch into harder music, this will help him not to get bored with it.

April 16th, 2013

We added the next section of Blackbird-- Sean is doing really well on working this through.

April 11th, 2013

April 2nd, 2013

Sean got a new guitar!! :)

We reviewed last week's songs, and then added Someday by Nickleback:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHQkI8o2ctk

We also decided to start next week on scales-- Sean is ready to go to the next level.

Also, I think some finger picking is good to know.

March 26th, 2013

Today we added two new songs, one from a commerical:
Land of Dreams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUA1CXIku8

The other a Nickelback song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7jgHqQiK8E

March 19th, 2013

We worked on the solo part as well as the A E B7 part, and Sean is really coming along.

I suggested he just do the first note instead of the hammer part to get faster at the solo. He came a long way just in the lesson time.

March 12th, 2013

March 5th, 2013

We added Back In Black,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBQ0_9IFzU0

E, D D, C#m C#m (then that hammer off thing as a lead).

February 26th, 2013

We learned a new guitar part tonight that's in the bridge of the song, and I showed Sean a brief 'how to' on reading TAB.

Work on that guitar part, and try to get it smooth.

Also be careful of playing the B7 with your first finger in the right place.

Pay attention to the dots on the neck of the guitar when you're playing the C#m so you're in the right place.

Good job!

February 19th, 2013

Today we added a new song by Boston, called Peace of Mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaR2JeqxQDY

It has a cool guitar part in the middle which we'll work on next week.

February 12th, 2013

Sean added a new song tonight, Philip Phillips, "Home"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKTjUre_wZo

It has a neat walking bass part at the end of the verses which we spent quite a bit of time working on. He is very close to having it learned.

February 5th, 2013

Sean and I recorded "Eye of the Tiger" tonight. Sean played, and sang!

Great job, Sean, stay tuned for the mix!

January 29th, 2013

Today Sean and Christine decided to not risk driving in.

January 22nd, 2013

Today we tried to record by Jack wouldn't start, so we'll try next week.

We reviewed the Beatles songs and added More Than A Feeling by Boston:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4QK8RxCAwo

We'll finish that song after we record next week.

January 15th, 2013

Today Sean and Christine expressed interest in recording a few of the songs he has done over the past, so we reviewed them.

The first was Eye of The Tiger, and we went over it a number of times, working out areas that need some focus.

The next was a Nickelback song which I don't recall offhand.

We then reviewed Penny Lane from last week, which he has down pretty good. He can work on playing his F's more.

Lastly, we learned another Beatle's song, She Loves You.

January 8th, 2013

I loaned my Suzuki guitar to Sean today.

We did Penny Lane, and I encouraged him to work on the F chord, as well as adding a few of the extras like the Esus and the Am/F#.

Also the B under the G chord in the chorus is a nice addition. It's the second lowest string of the G chord.

December 18th, 2012

Today Sean and I added "They Grinch," and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."

We then talked briefly about pentatonic scales, and I showed him a simple scale to work on.

We added the D7 chord and the diminished four finger chord pattern.

December 11th, 2012

December 4th, 2012

Today we reviewed the Christmas songs from last week. Sean should continue working on B7, C7, C#m, and G#m.

November 27th, 2012

Today we added three new songs, Here Comes Santa Claus, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, and Jingle Bells Batman Smells.

Work on the B7 especially, since it's in all the songs.

Good job, keep practicing all the chords.

November 20th, 2012

Sean has really got the chords down well... he is switching between them quite quickly.

The next thing to focus on is pressing a little harder so we can really hear all the notes of those chords. You know you're getting there when there's blood on the strings.

November 13th, 2012

We started with going over the song from two weeks ago, by Nickleback (I don't remember the name of it now), and then Eye of the Tiger.

Sean is really doing very well. He is changing to the chords much faster.

After that review we added a new song, Never Going to Be Alone, also by Nickleback. It has a nice open E chord sound, using E, A, B, with the E fingering, sliding up the neck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWQ-oDMG6g

We talked about the sound of the open chord, and the way it rings-- this ringing is the result of something called "harmonics."

He should focus on improving his C#m, (2 bars up from a B minor), and playing the open E chord for B and A.

November 6th, 2012

Sean forgot his book tonight, so we added Eye of the Tiger:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEjgPh4SEmU

Since the chords change so quickly, we talked about shots (putting the fingers on and off the chords really quickly, like it's a hot iron)... practice them on Am and G.

October 30th, 2012

Heart of Gold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gjy21t5fwo

Syncopation was added to the bears with Em and D, and C.. G.

October 23rd, 2012

AWESOME job today SEAN!! You sound so good! I am really impressed with how you are playing your chords, and switching to them quickly. Your strumming was also very good!

Watch the first finger in the C chord, it sometimes slips up to the next fret.

Amazing with the B7 and the E, keep working on that.

Today we added Burn It To the Ground:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzhSXZwvDH8

It has a cool guitar lead part in the verses... work on getting that a little bit faster.

GREAT JOB!

October 16th, 2012

We went over the "We Stand Together" song a few times, then added "Gotta Be Somebody". Sean is learning very quickly, and I'm quite impressed.

I asked him to work on the D minor this week, as one finger is going to the wrong place sometimes.

We also worked on timing, count 8 beats between the chord changes, (except just that one place).

We added the B7 chord to his list of chords, and he is to practice switching between B7 and E.

October 9th, 2012

Nickleback, When We Stand Together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y96WY5Do_bs

Am / F / | G / / / |
Bridge: F / / / | Dm / / / | Am / / / | G / / / |
F / / / | G / REST REST |

Work on the stomp clap thing.
Work on Dm - Don't forget to not play the lowest string
Go over the If I Had $1000000 song a few times, try to get it all smooth. F#m is good, keep working on it.

Pick some more songs to learn.

October 2nd, 2012

Today Sean and I went over Yellow Sub and his other two songs, then decided to being "If I Had a Million Dollars."

He picked it up quite easily, and will be working on it this week.

I encouraged him to try, on the A chord, to play this way:

A - strum - E - strum

This is all on the A chord, without actually switching to the E chord.

We also worked on timing a bit, by having him tap his toes along with the metronome, and to clap his hands on his knees. He struggled with being able to sense the 'in-between' beats.

In other words, if we count as follows:

1 2 3 4

I want him to clap

1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4 AND

so that they are all evenly spaced between the counting.

http://www.metronomeonline.com

September 25th, 2012

Great job on the F#m and the Bm, keep working on those.

Today we started Born to Be Wild, and worked a lot on the rhythm. Sean is going to practice playing the rhythm, and clapping it as well, maybe with mom and dad.

G, A, and E, play those faster and faster.

Keep working on the other songs as well.

Pick some new songs to learn.

September 18th, 2012

These are the songs we did tonight:

Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qFIaI1M5kU

Yellow Submarine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkhTA6MQ3BQ

Practice them, but also just have fun with the guitar - take it out every single day, even if you're just messing around on it, it counts.

Keep working on the F#m to make it fast, and the Bm.

September 11th, 2012

Today Sean and I reviewed the chords he learned over the last year, and added F# minor 7 to his list of known chords.

We also added the song "Here for a Good Time" by Trooper, wrote out the chords, and played it through a few times.