Notes - Lesson 5

www.clicktolearnguitar.com

Lesson 5

Our fifth lesson consisted of a more open approach. I did not plan anything, instead We went over previous information, talked some more about how the student was feeling and what her goals were. The lesson exercises went as follows:

Chord Exercise: Play each string of the chord in ascending order. Each correct string played is tagged. Once all the strings are tagged that is cue for the student to then play the entire chord. Correct performance of the entire chord is tagged.

*note: The chord exercise is meant to teach the student how each string should be played and heard to properly play the entire chord. If all strings are played correctly then the chord will be played correctly. Focusing on each string breaks the chord mechanics down to small steps to achieve a big success which is playing the entire chord correctly and easily.

Strumming Exercise: This exercise is meant to learn the mechanics of strumming. The strings should be strummed with an easy attack that is musical. Each correct strum is tagged. each chord is strummed 4 times. The fourth correct strum of the chord is tagged twice to signal a chord change.

*note: The double clicking of the fourth strum teaches the student where the end of a 4 bar measure would be. This is crucial when paying with others or reading music. Also, with all these exercises you can have the student call out the chord being played for their memory.


Chord Shape Exercise: This exercise improves the mechanics of moving from chord to chord. The teacher calls out a chord and the student simply put their fingers on the chord shape. Each correct chord shape is tagged. This exercise can be done by the teacher calling the chord, the student calling the chord or the student reading the chord.

Chord Reading Exercise: This exercise improves the student's reading skills. flash cards with chord names are set in a random order. The student does the strumming exercise using the order of the flash card chords. The student does not call out the chord, instead goes to the next chord. This improves the student's ability to read a chord progression and perform it.