Tag Archives: guitar chords

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March and April Lesson Materials

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In March and April, I gave the bar chords lessons in my Guitar Method Book an overhaul. I moved some chords and exercises around, and even added a few more bar chords. All of these materials and more can be found in the “FOR MY STUDENTS” drop-down menu under “GUITAR”.

Here is a detailed description of what I changed and added:

In Unit 6, Lesson 36, I now introduce the high Em bar chord (with the root on the A string) to use in progressions where it is more appropriate/easier than the original low Em chord (starting with a i iv v progression in A minor, but not i iv v in E minor). I also incorporated it into Lesson 38 in 12-Bar Blues in A minor, but again not in E minor. 

In Unit 7, Lesson 43, I now introduce Am as a bar chord (with the root on the E string) to use in progressions where it is more appropriate/easier than the original Am chord (i iv v progressions in D minor and A minor). I also incorporated it into Lesson 44 in i VII VI V and i V VI VII progressions in A minor, as well as in Lesson 45 in 12-Bar Blues in D minor and A minor. 

In Unit 8, I was originally going to add DM and high EM as bar chords (with the root on the A string), but instead I decided to introduce them in their own unit. I went through all of Unit 8 and removed any progressions with DM and EM that would work better with them as bar chords (I IV V progressions using bar chords in G Major, D Major, and A Major etc.). Unit 8 still focuses on introducing BbM, BM, and CM as bar chords (with the root on the A string), using mostly progressions in the keys of F Major, C Major, E Major, E minor, D minor, and A minor.

In Unit 9 I finally introduce DM and high EM as bar chords (with the root on the A string), using mostly progressions in the keys of G Major, D Major, A Major, A minor, G minor, and a few in D minor and E minor. In Lesson 68 I also introduce the high FM bar chord (with the root on the A string) because it made more sense as a VI chord in A minor when using the high EM bar chord as V, and also in the key of D minor as the III chord. 

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January Lesson Materials

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Throughout the month of January, there were many resources for my lessons that I worked on. They can all be found under the recently-streamlined “FOR MY STUDENTS” tab.

I started work on a method book for mallets. So far, I have unit 1 which is note-reading exercises in the key of C Major, unit 2 in the key of G Major, and unit 3 in the key of F Major. On the topic of note-reading, I started a ukulele note-reading method book and a guitar note-reading method book. Also for guitar, I created “Beginning Finger-Picking Patterns”, “Beginning Riff and Solo Exercises”, “Which Pentatonic Scales and Modes to Play Over Chords”, “Common Chord Progressions”, and “Reggae Strumming Rhythms”.

I also made a big addition to my Composition/Songwriting page. I included “Which Pentatonic Scales and Modes to Play Over Chords” and “Common Chord Progressions” from my guitar page, and also added staff paper of varying sizes, staves, and orientations. I created an entirely new document, “Composing Phrases, Periods, and ABA Compositions” so that I have a workbook to use with composition students, teaching them how to use common chords progressions found in major and minor scales and modes.

Please let me know if you use any of these teaching tools with your students and if you find them helpful (or if you have any questions or comments).

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Wrapping Up 2023

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Here’s a summary of all of the projects I worked on at the end of 2023.

In my Guitar Method Book I added Unit 7 (Minor Bar Chords, Root on the E String) and Unit 8 (Major Bar Chords, Root on the A String). I also started working on some basic riff exercises which I will post once I’ve tried them out with some of my students and revised them. In my Ukulele Method Book I added Unit 6 (The Key of A Major), Unit 7 (The Key of E Major), and Unit 8 (Progressions in Minor Keys). I also started working on a Bass Guitar Method Book with a focus on note-reading.

With my previous set of Practice Tracks, I realized there were two problems: (1) it was taking me forever to make them since I had to be very specific about the bass guitar part so that it would exactly match every chord progression, and (2) if the tempo was too fast for a student then they couldn’t use them at all. In my new Practice Tracks I used just drum set (no bass guitar) so that any chord progression can be played with them. They are organized by number of measures, so you just have to find the right amount of measures and the right musical form for the exercise or song that you want to play with them (four-measure phrases with repeats, 12-Bar Blues with repeats, and even full songs like Jingle Bells which is 32 measures in AABB form). To better accomodate a student’s gradual progress throughout the week, each Practice Track is now at seven different tempi, from slow to fast: 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, and 150 beats-per-minute. I recommend starting with the middle speed (105 BpM), then adjusting from there (if it’s too fast, go to the previous one and if it’s too slow, go to the next one). Also, they used to be on separate pages (one for ukulele, one for guitar) but now they are all on the PRACTICE TRACKS page in the FOR MY STUDENTS drop-down menu, because they can be used with any instrument (ukulele, guitar, piano, bass guitar, etc.).

My big end of the year project was to create a songbook of winter holiday music. Since all of my private students celebrate Christmas it is mostly Christmas songs, but there are also two popular Hanukkah songs. There are 50 songs total, and each one is in both the keys of C Major and G Major (to accommodate ukulele and guitar chords as well as different voice ranges). Eventually I am going to split it into four separate books (easy songs in C Major, intermediate songs in C Major, easy songs in G Major, and intermediate songs in G Major), but for now it is just one big book. Even though it was originally intended for ukulele and guitar, it can be used by anyone who knows how to read notes on treble clef and/or anyone who knows chords. It can be found on the METHOD BOOK pages for guitar, ukulele, and piano.

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Strumming Rhythms and Practice Tracks

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I recently made some changes to the layout of the “For My Students”  page. It now has a drop-down menu so that you can select the specific instrument that you are looking for.

I started creating Practice Tracks for guitar and ukulele using bass guitar and drum set. You can find them in the new drop-down menu under “For My Students”. Go to the Practice Tracks page for your instrument, look for the lesson you are working on, and match the chord progression from your book to the corresponding audio file. The drums will give you a two-measure (eight-beat) count-off, and then you start playing. So far I have added all of the lessons from Unit 1 (in both books), but I will keep adding more weekly, so keep checking back once you’re caught up.

I also made some changes to my Guitar Method Book and my Ukulele Method Book. I simplified the strumming rhythms throughout the lessons, but I added a Strumming Rhythms Index in the appendix, so that each student can learn new rhythms at their own pace. These advanced rhythms can be applied to previous lessons that they’ve completed, current lessons that they are working on, or any songs they are learning or writing outside of the method book. (If you previously printed the Strumming Rhythms Index for Ukulele, this is an updated version. You don’t need to print the whole thing all at once, maybe just the first few pages to start off with.)

 

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Method Book Updates

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I recently made some updates to my Ukulele Method Book. I combined the Practice Instructions and Fretboard pages into one document so they are easy to print onto one double-sided page that can be used as a bookmark and reference throughout the book. I added the scales and chords used for each key, and I integrated “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in the corresponding key as its own lesson into each unit.  I also added three new units and the Strumming Rhythms Index. I also added a new unit to my Guitar Method Book.

Check out the links to free PDFs on the “For My Students” page.

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Music Lesson Method Books

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Since I’ve been teaching more private lessons lately, I took some time to work on my method books.

In my Guitar Method Book I made the chord symbols bigger and more detailed, added some minor key progressions, and started to incorporate bar chords. I also included a fretboard and practice instructions.

Guitar Chord Practice Instructions
Guitar Method Book 1 Fretboard
Guitar Method Book 1 Unit 1: Major and Minor Chords
Guitar Method Book 1 Unit 2: Common Chord Progressions
Guitar Method Book 1 Unit 3: 12-Bar Blues
Guitar Method Book 1 Unit 4: Sus2 and Sus4 Chords
Guitar Method Book 1 Unit 5: Major Bar Chords, Root on the E string
Coming soon: Unit 6: Minor Bar Chords, Root on the A string.

I also created some Advanced Guitar Exercises.

Advanced Guitar Exercises Introduction: “Chromatic” Exercises
Advanced Guitar Exercises Unit 1: Major Chords, Scales, and Modes
Advanced Guitar Exercises Unit 2: Minor Chords, Scales, and Modes

I recently started writing a Ukulele Method Book.

Ukulele Practice Instructions
Ukulele Method Book Fretboard
Ukulele Method Book Unit 1: The Key of C Major
Ukulele Method Book Unit 2: The Key of G Major
Ukulele Method Book Unit 3: The Key of F Major
Ukulele Method Book Unit 4: The Key of D Major
Ukulele Method Book Unit 5: The Key of Bb Major

I also transcribed some simple songs that can be played on ukulele or guitar.

Frosty the Snowman (in C Major and G Major)
Jingle Bells (in C Major and G Major)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (in C Major and G Major)
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (in C Major and G Major)

Finally, I cleaned up my Music Theory Method Book and sectioned it into units like my other books.

Music Theory Method Book Unit 1
Music Theory Method Book Unit 2
Music Theory Method Book Unit 3
Music Theory Method Book Unit 4
Music Theory Method Book Unit 5

Links to free PDFs of all of these materials (along with my Snare Drum and Drum Set method books) can be found on the “For My Students” page.