Students
All Students | Info | Songs | Notes | Receipts | iCal Link
Rhys Laing
Past Notes
April 11th, 2022
Rhys has soccer today.
March 28th, 2022
Rhys wasn't able to make it today.
March 14th, 2022
Rhys is learning a new song on his own, and we talked about how to tune with the alternate tuning. I recommended getting a better free app like Nail the Pitch or Pro Guitar Tuner app.
We then talkd about the next pentatonic scale to learn. Here's a good diagram to help
He's learned the 5th and 4th already
https://beginnerguitarhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Majorpent-1024x640.png
I suggested he now attack the 3rd.
February 28th, 2022
Rhys was able to play a good part of Sweet Child of Mine, but not the whole thing, so we decided to move on. I asked him to pick another song that he really liked that he didn't know already, and learn all the chord and lead parts on it over the next two weeks.
Hopefully he's able to make some progress on that!
We also talked more about pentatonic/blues scales, and I showed him the next shape to learn (which he already knew). I explained how they connected, and I asked him to learn the next shape down the neck toward the head;.
January 31st, 2022
Rhys' connection was bad today, and he wasn't able to connect to Zoom, so he is sending me a video of him playing along with Sweet Child of Mine. I'll listen through it, give feedback, and tell him what to practice for next time.
January 17th, 2022
We struggled with the connection today, so I ended the lesson 15 minutes early - let's try to make it up next time he can come to the studio, maybe 15 minutes early, and we'll do 45 minutes.
We talked about what to work on next time, and I asked him to learn the rest of the song "Sweet Child Of Mine," not just the lead parts but the chords too, so he can play along with the whole song.
January 3rd, 2022
Rhys is coming this week in place of Sherry.
Link to Zoom:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3019566325?pwd=G9uKt0UAwD2wIumekTziMw
Today in Rhys' lesson we talked through the relationship of major to minors (relative minors). I showed him the circle of fifths, and how they describe this relationship.
https://neelmodi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Circle-of-fifths-1200.png
Put a copy of that circle somewhere in your book or phone so you can refer to it.
December 13th, 2021
Rhys and I went through major 7ths and dominant sevenths, and then solos on my standard pentatonic scale, and then the blues scale by adding the flat third.
Next time, let's continue with melody making and soloing using the scales.
November 29th, 2021
We reviewed the major sevenths, sevenths, and added sus chords to the list.
I walked through finding chords with Rhys, like C major 7, C7, D^7, D7, etc. etc.
His home work is to continue committing these to memory, and trying to memorize where they are on the fretboard.
Also, look at these songs and try to learn the guitar parts.
Adore For Unto Us/Open The Eyes
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
In The Bleak Midwinter
Born Of God
Midnight Clear (Love Song)
I'll send the charts in another email.
November 15th, 2021
We continued working out where all the chords were on the neck for major and minors, using the E string, A string, and D string as the bass note.
We talked briefly about three different chord types on each of these strings: the seventh, major seventh, and minor seventh, but didn't get into a lot of detail for the last two (just showing him the shapes).
For homework, I want him to be able to do all the sevenths for minor and major chords for any chord name I give him- just like he did last time (for majors and minors).
November 1st, 2021
Today we started out with the bar chords and shapes which we worked on last time. Rhys really remember much of what we'd worked on... I asked him to be ready next time to find two places to play every chord I name, like F sharp minor as two different bar chords (using the a minor and e minor shapes).
Then we talked about recording software. A good free option is Audacity, although it is a bit difficult to really use well.
As I was demoing, he got booted out of Zoom, so we reconnected after a bit of a challenge with his laptop.
I personally use Ardour. I also recommended NTrack and Reaper. I sent the links to his cell phone.
October 4th, 2021
I'm wondering if Rhys forgot today?
UPDATE:
Rhys was waiting downstairs, not realizing the student before him had cancelled today. :) We talked about him not waiting, but just coming to the door at his time slot... next time he doesn't come up, I'll check downstairs too.
We did a very fast cram lesson, in which we discussed bar chord shapes E, Eminor, A and Aminor and how to find any of the major and minor chords by using those four shapes.
I quizzed him on about 10 chords, and we found them together, talking it through. It's a bit weird to get used to, but I asked him to try to commit that to memory by next week.
September 20th, 2021
This was Rhys' first guitar lesson. It was good to have him back!
We started at A, and went through G, learning the chords for:
major, minor, seventh, and sus.
We ran out of time learning the sus chords.
He's going to bring a book next week for taking notes in.
June 9th, 2015
Rhys missed again-- Steve emailed to say that they would like to take the rest of the month off.
June 2nd, 2015
Rhys missed lessons again tonight.
May 26th, 2015
May 19th, 2015
Rhys and I spent the first half of Crazy Nights, looking at the fills especially.
We then worked on Uptown Funk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ya2U8XN_Zw
This is a really fun piece to play on the drums, so he should enjoy it.
May 12th, 2015
Rhys forgot today (May 12)
May 5th, 2015
Rhys and I worked mostly on getting the kick beat right on Sweet Child of Mine.
He has trouble with playing the pick up kick beat (the and of four and the and of two)-- he turns it around after once or twice, playing the kick on the and of one and the and of three.
I suggested he get daddy curtis and/or Stephen to help with that part.
April 28th, 2015
Rhyse and I worked on the intro and beginning part of Sweet Child of Mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSnemfy6Nkw
It's got a challenging kick and snare section at the second half of the intro which he struggled with. If Stephen can help him with the
BOOM CHUCK boom BOOM CHUCK boom BOOM CHUCK
Once we get through that section we'll add the signature fill.
April 21st, 2015
April 14th, 2015
We reviewed Back in Black (with me on electric lol!) then Crazy Nights, which was kinda rough. Rhys should work on this more this week.
Then we tried Rise to It:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIUPfJWq-rI
Straight forward, but need to look at the fills.
We then finished up with a review of Seven Nation Army.
April 7th, 2015
Sweet Home Alabama tires out Rhys' leg, but we worked on it a bit, I showed him the side-shot / click sound in the verses.
After that we tried Rock and Roll all Night, but way too hard.
We settled on Crazy Nights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9AKkBx01wQ
He does pretty good on that though gets backwards with the kick and snare at times. *counting* :)
March 31st, 2015
Rhys and I worked on the Back in Black song some more, and I videoed him playing it.
We then reviewed the drum beat with the extra eighth pick up in the kick. Two examples of songs that have this are:
Sweet Home Alabama:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye5BuYf8q4o
Kiss, I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidArfl6QzA
We played through those-- Kiss was too fast for him, so I told him to work on getting it up to speed.
March 24th, 2015
Rhys was a bit late today... held up in traffic.
We started with reviewing both songs we've been working on, and trying to count out the beats for when the snare plays-- especially in the whitestripes song.
We didn't have time to look at the new kick beat from last week. HE should keep trying this at home.
March 17th, 2015
Rhys did really well on the Back in Black song-- at the last lesson, we didn't really make it into the solo section (done as the little kid played it), so we added that-- which involves a triplet-style cymbal fill. We went over the whole song twice, and I helped him count the rhythm of that part.
we then talked about increasing the complexity of a kick beat, adding an upbeat before beat three; Boom Chuck (boom) Boom Chuck
I wrote out the part for him in his book, though we haven't talked much about reading rhythms yet, so he may not remember that... Stephen should be able to remind him of how that beat sounds.
Stephen said at the beginning of the lesson that counting really helped him find two and four, and I found the same to be true for this kick beat-- ONE two AND THREE four.
March 10th, 2015
Rhys and I worked on seven nation army a couple of times:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qy8H6-5WY
Then moved on to a new song, Back in Black by AC DC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiq9HDUkNxg
This video is of a little 5 year old kid playing it-- I would like him to work on this song at least four times this week.
March 3rd, 2015
It was great to see Rhys again! He was sick a long time. :(
Today we returned to the white stripes song-- Rhys and I watched the video together of a drummer playing along, and I pointed out the different aspects of the song where the drummer comes in and so on, and then we practiced through it various times.
I did video record the last playing of it to show you, but the distortion is just terrible from the cymbal crashes... I may upload it anyway, just so Rhys can see it. :)
He should continue to practice along with the song, especially noting the triplets on the cymbals in the chorus, and working on playing the snare on the right beat.
February 24th, 2015
Poor Rhys is still sick.
February 17th, 2015
Rhys is sick at home today.
February 10th, 2015
Today we reviewed the Bon Jovi song, then listened through Seven Nation Army, and he played it through a few times.
This song is good because the drummer has to change up what he's doing through out.
Here's a version that shows the drummer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qy8H6-5WY
And here's the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY
February 3rd, 2015
We played alng with a couple of Bon Jovi songs-- Rhys did really well with it's my life-- we tried to integrate crashes into the beginning of each four bar phrase, and also stopping at the first 2 measures of the verses (liek the recording). He said he was afraid of the song's sound effects (heart beat,) so we added a new one:
You Give Love a Bad Name:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxdR0bOK7BM&list=PLmfMgqsFYhSN7tt9NaOY3SsuMrsQbnIFa
I asked him to keep working on smoothing his rolls.
January 27th, 2015
January 20th, 2015
January 13th, 2015
Rhys and I set up the microphone this week, and recorded a couple of songs, including "Living on a Prayer," and Sweet Home Alabama.
I suggested he work on the double kick at the beginning of each bar, so if you think of it, remind him to listen to that and try it some more.
He also wanted me to record some video, which I did-- I'll try to remember to share it with you.
January 6th, 2015
We reviewed the sixteenth fills we worked on last week, and the flams on each drum.
We then worked on rolls again, trying to get the bounce in the stick.
He needs to work on bouncing the sticks.
We then did drum fills, on beat 8, then 7 and 8, then full toms starting on beat 5.
He's a natural!
December 30th, 2014
December 23rd, 2014
Rhys was with his dad today.
December 16th, 2014
Rhys and I worked on a few aspects of his drumming tonight.
1. Not hitting them quite so hard
2. Crashing on the downbeat every two bars
3. Trying to integrate a full measure fill into a drum pattern without losing the beat. He tends to add one beat to the measure after the crash.
We played along with Bon Joni's Livin' on a Prayer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk&list=PLhd1HyMTk3f5yqcPXjLo8qroWJiMMFBSk
December 9th, 2014
Rhys continued with drums this week, and came in quite strong on the quarter-note groove "Boom chuck," including the high hat. He said he hadn't practiced, but you'd never know it- a natural!
He's playing awfully loud right now, but loving it. We'll work on finesse later I guess... lol
We reviewed the names of the parts of the kit, and also played through with some drum fills -- first sixteenths on each tom, followed by a crash/kick. Then eigths on each tom followed by a crash/kick.
We played through Queen's "We Will Rock You" as well, as well as just some random bass lines to get him used to staying in tempo.
December 2nd, 2014
Rhys and I played guitar for the firs half of his lesson, and he said that he wanted to try drum lessons. (I thought Stephen would be a better teacher, since he's a better drummer, but I thought he was a little bored with guitar-- so-- is that okay with mom and dad?)
I showed him the basic boom-chuck beat, a quarter note groove on hat, kick and snare. We learned the names of the parts of the kit: tom toms, floor tom, kick, snare, hat, ride, and crash.
November 25th, 2014
Rhys has parent-teacher interviews today.
November 18th, 2014
Rhys and I went over Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jingle Bells, and he's playing them quite well.
He's pretty determined to stick to two chord songs, but we tried Rudoplh the Red Nosed Reindeer today, which has five or six. I think he felt a bit overwhelmed by it, but he can do it-- tell him to hang in there and keep practicing. :)
November 11th, 2014
Rhys and I added two songs this week -- after reviewing the last two songs.
We added Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Jingle Bells.
He's liking the two chord songs, and it really helps him to play the songs without as much frustration. We'll keep simplifying the songs until he can get playing the chords up to speed, then gradually increase the complexity. He seemed interested in playing "Bless the Lord Oh My Soul," but he's going to need to improve his speed and chord knowledge just a wee bit.
November 4th, 2014
Rhys had obviously enjoyed practicing the "Down by the Bay" song. He C is still not where it needs to be, but it's better.
We added a new song, with an A and D chord (Found a Peanut), which I hope will help him want to focus on the new chords.
I love watching him sing!! He's so into it!
October 28th, 2014
Rhys and I worked on the G scale a bit-- he seemed not too interested, but I kept him focused pretty well -- LOL -- it helped when we added "Down by the Bay" to his song list, using the new C chord.
He should work on singing and playing this song-- the singing will force him to improve speed in switching.
The new C chord is a little hard to form, but he's more motivated now I think!
October 21st, 2014
Ryse and I added the G scale, and played the timing game with the chords as well. He's getting faster on them!
October 14th, 2014
I wrote four chords in Rhys' book this week, along with a melody we're picking out on the top two strings.
I also wrote down the strum pattern we've been working on.
A couple times this week, maybe time him to play the chord as fast as he can. He enjoys this, and maybe it will motivate him to practice the chords. :)
October 7th, 2014
Today Rhys and I worked on the chords we have learned so far... he forgot his book again today, and it would be really helpful if I could have one to write in for him to visualize the chords he's learning.
So we started with the one string melody, but I asked him to play it on the three highest strings of the guitar, one followed by the other.
We then added the A chord, and I timed him by having him put his hand on his knee, and counting elephants until he could form the chords.
He should do the same at home, trying to speed up the playing of the chords as best as he can.
September 30th, 2014
Today Reese didn't have his book, so the chord we added is A minor, which you can find online here:
http://www.musicguitarchords.com/guitar-chords-pics/minor_chords.gif
We also worked more on the melody on the highest string. So you can work with him on it, it's the highest string open, then press down on that string in the second fret, and then the third fret.
This plays the notes e, f sharp, g... go up and down with them (e f# g, f# e, f# g, etc)
The strings are a little hard on his fingers-- he has to press a little bit harder.
September 23rd, 2014
We reviewed the chords E minor, A minor, and added a new chord, G.
We went over the strum style as well, and I tried show him a simple melody on the high e string to work on.
I wrote these down in the little book he brought, which will hopefully help you in directing his practice. :)
We also talked about sliding strings (which he loved!)
September 16th, 2014
Reese and I started with tuning his guitar. We then reviewed the chords E minor and A minor.
He is tempted to play left handed, so remind him to play with the neck pointed to the right, so the left hand plays the chords, and the right hand strums.
We added a slap portion to the strum today:
1 2 3 and 4, strum slap strum slap
September 9th, 2014
Today was Reese's first lesson! We talked through the names of the parts of the guitar, like bridge, nut, neck, head, body, machine heads, frets, finger board, pick guard, etc.
We then learned E minor and A minor and a simple strum pattern of 1, 2, 3 and 4.
We thought we'd stay with guitar for a few weeks to see how committed he is to it, and if it hurts his fingers too much.
Web Development by CrookedBush.com • Login / Logout