Lesson: 1 hour
Lesson Overview - I decided to implement exercises that I had worked out with my previous lesson. This particular student wants to be a songwriter. She has been writing a song a week and we are working on her latest one. I had her play the song for me while I made TAGpoints in my head that we could use to clean up some of the inconsistencies with her technique.
These were the issues I saw with her playing during the song:
- Inconsistent strum patterns and technique
- Constantly resetting fingers for each chord played
I used these TAGpoints to address the issues:
- Stop pick at Marker: This TAGpoint is in conjunction with a visual marker applied to the instrument. For the electric guitars I physically put masking tape onto the guitar to mark where the pick (or hand) should stop when strumming down and strumming up. For acoustics we use the top and bottom edges of the sound hole.
- Keep fingers close to strings: This TAGpoint is a little general but is meant to keep the student from taking their fingers completely away from the fret board and then resetting them with each chord. The idea is to keep the fingers close to the guitar fretboard and strings so the that you can move between chords as quickly as possible. There is not a specific distance that the fingers need to be away from the strings, however the fingers should not be completely pulled away and then placed back on the fretboard one by one. Instead, the fingers should stay close to the strings between chords to maximize efficiency.
I began by going over the strumming TAGpoint. Explaining the reasons for the hand to not pass these points to ensure for efficient technique. I had her practice with the first chord of her song. I let her know "The TAGpoint is - Stop pick at marker" then signaled for her to start. I had her strum for 30 seconds 4 times. I had the student then strum the chord without tagging. When it seemed that we had given that chord enough time we moved to the second chord. The sme TAGpoint was applied to this chord and we practiced that chord for 30 seconds 4 times. I had the student then alternate between the chords to get the feel of how the strumming pattern should feel between the two chords. Her technique had improved.
The third chord of her song was a difficult from the second. This is where I had noticed the student completely taking the fingers away from the fretboard and resetting them one by one to make the third chord. I explained what I wanted her to do to achieve the next TAGpoint. I let her know "The TAGpoint is - Keep finger close to strings" and signaled her to move from one chord to the other, concentrating on keeping the fingers closer to the strings.
