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GUITAR
• FOR •
NEAR
BEGI NNERS
Guitar for Near Beginners
© 2014 New York City Guitar School
Text © 2014 by Dan Emery
Illustrations © 2014 by Dan Emery
Flowcharts, music notation and numerous
graphic accents by Chika Azuma
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any manner in any media, or transmitted by any means
whatsoever, electronic or mechanical (including photocopy,
film or video recording. Internet posting, or any other
information storage and retrieval system), without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Published in the United States by NYC Guitar School.
Acknowledgements
This book was improved by the experience of hundreds
of New York City Guitar School students and dozens
of teachers and staff. Their real world feedback helped
make this book effective, and I am utterly grateful for
their help. Teachers Lenny Molotov and Anne Husick
were especially helpful in the early stages of writing the
book. Thanks are also due to Jen Elliott for her friendly yet unremitting pressure to finish the book. Chika
Azuma not only designed and laid out the book beautifully, but exhibited extreme patience with an often less
NYC Guitar School
251 West 30th Street
New York, NY 10001
than focused author, and I am grateful for that. Woody
Publisher: Dan Emery
Copy editor: Vince DeMasi
Book design: Chika Azuma
Illustrator: Dan Emery
Photographer: Woody Quinn
Vince DeMasi for his musically aware editing,
Paper: TK (Oxford The Holly Hunt Collection, Fired, 100 lb.
cover and Cougar Natural Opaque, 60 lb. text)
Printing: TK
ISBN TK
First edition
Printed and Bound in the United States
Quinn’s warm and personal photos helped capture the
feeling of our school. Finally, I am especially thankful to
Dan
GUITAR
• FOR •
NEAR
BEGI NNERS
NEW YORK CITY
GUITAR SCHOOL
NYC GUITAR SCHOOL
G UITA R FOR NEAR BEGI NNERS
OBJECTIVE: To play basic chords with AMAZING confidence, rhythm, and groove!
| CLASS ONE | 9 |
The Fundamental Habits of Great Guitar
Players with G add 5 and C add 9
Review the most basic chords and strums of guitar, plus two incredible chords suitable for playing songs such as
“Time of Your Life” by Green Day. Giant review of the habits of great guitar players; pivoting, planting, locking your hand in
with the beat, the basic and best strums, review of reading tablature, secrets of success.
| CLASS TWO | 19 |
Laying Down The Law: The Art of
the Palm Mute PLUS the Almighty Shuffle
and the Punk Rock Strum
If you’ve ever listened to The Blues, The Cars, Punk Rock or “Rolling InThe Deep” by Adele you’ve heard the Palm Mute.
The palm mute, the 12 bar blues, the shuffle rhythm, the Punk Rock rhythm.
| CLASS THREE | 26 |
For A Mellow Feel, Strum…Faster?
Sixteenth Notes and the Ballad Strum
Curiously, Slow Songs Such As “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison, “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones, “
Fake Plastic Trees”, by Radiohead, “Wonderwall” by Oasis, “What’s Going On” by 4 Non Blondes
and More feature MORE strums per measure than much faster songs.
How to count and strum alternating sixteenth notes.
| CLASS FOUR | 32 |
The Mighty, Mighty Bass-Strum Style,
Foundation of Expressive Rhythm Guitar
PLUS F Major 7th
Articulating A Picked Root Note (or two) from a Strummed Chord Allows
One To Play Hundreds of Songs, Including All Johnny Cash
How to play the bass-strum rhythm, foundation of tricky rhythm guitar.
| CLASS FIVE | 40 |
Getting Physical: Learn The Scratch and
Never Need a Drummer Again
Learn The Scratch and Never Need A Drummer Again As You Authentically Strum Songs Like “Stand By Me”
a la John Lennon, “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and many MORE .
The scratch, in alternate eighth form.
| CLASS SIX | 52 |
SuperRock and SuperBallad Strums PLUS D Minor
Combine palm mutes and full strums to emulate the driving rhythm of songs like
“Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye or “When I Come Around” by Green Day or the poignant feel of songs
like “Crazy” by Aerosmith or “End of The Road” by Boyz ii Men. And learn Dm.
Explore the powerful and/or heartbroking down strummed medley of palm muted eighth notes (or triplets) and full strums.
| CLASS SEVEN | 59 |
Mixing and Matching Bass Notes
and The Best Strum To Create The Bass-Best Strum
Like Cats and Mice, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Vikings and Helmets With Horns, Some Things Just Go Great Together.
Combine Bass-Strums with an alternate strum pattern (for example, The Best Strum) to play
tunes like “Redemption Songs” by Bob Marley, “Closer to Fine” by Indigo Girls, many Oasis songs, and MORE..
Combine the bass-strum (foundation of expressive rhythm guitar) with the ever popular best-strum.
| CLASS EIGHT | 66 |
The Scratch Blended with The Best Strum—
The Scratch-Best Strum!
Amazing x Amazing = Really Amazing. The Scratch-Best Strum, which will come in handy for capturing
the feel of songs like “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie, or “Don’t Panic” by Coldplay.
The scratch, with the best strum.
| CLASS NINE | 70 |
Class Two PLUS Three PLUS Four=
The Palm-Muted Bass-Strum w/ Sixteenth Note Up-Pick.
WOW! Let’s Just Call It Funky Super-Rock.
Add a Syncopated Up-Pick to A Bass-Strum To Give A Song Urgency, Groove and Flow as in “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix,
“Last Dance With Mary Jane” by Tom Petty, “Dani California” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many other songs.
| CLASS TEN | 76 |
REVIEW and ROCK STAR MOMENT
Massive Review and Celebratory Party!
APPENDIX: Rhythms and Chords
Is This the Right Class for You?
This is not NYC Guitar School’s Guitar I: Guitar
for Absolute Beginners. If you are an absolute beginner, this is not (yet) the book for you, and you should
immediately put it down, while keeping your hands in
the air. For your own safety, slowly move away from
the book while avoiding sudden moves. I’m sorry, but
if you know nothing about guitar, you’re just not ready
for the powerful information contained in these pages,
and could accidentally hurt yourself or, worse, injure
small children or cute animals if you tried to attempt
the moves within. Instead, I recommend that you pick
up the aforementioned NYC Guitar School’s Guitar I:
Guitar for Absolute Beginners book.
Below is a rough checklist to see if it is safe for you to
use this book.
Please note that the questions do not include “Are you
totally comfortable with open chords?” or “Have you performed in front of more than 100 people?” If you know
your basic chords and strums, but do not yet feel totally
confident with changing chords in rhythm, reading song
charts, understanding the structure of songs or taking small
lead guitar solos, then this is the book for you. Welcome!
Here is a rough checklist to see if it
is safe for you to use this book
You are not qualified to take this
class, but you may be hungry.
Go to a deli.
NO
Can you tell the
difference between a guitar and
a ham sandwich?
YES
NO
Can you play basic
open chords like
C, G, D, Am and Em?
You have legitimately
begun to play guitar, and
are no longer an Absolute
Beginner. Welcome to
Guitar for Near Beginners!
YES
You are not ready for this class.
NO
Can you play basic rhythms,
such as the “Basic Strum” and
the “Best Strum”?
YES
Go learn to play
a song all the way through,
and then come back.
NO
Can you play
a song all the way through,
from start to finish?
YES
6 | NYC GUITAR SCHOOL | GUITAR FOR NEAR BEGINNERS
Introduction
You have signed up for a class which focuses
other aspects of guitar playing. Lead guitar, finger-pick-
on the most vital element of great guitar playing
ing, singing and playing at the same time—anything
(WHICH IS RHYTHM).
they tried to learn was fraught with difficulty. Sometimes they blamed themselves and became discouraged,
Of all the amazing classes at NYC Guitar School,
this one is probably the most vital to your success as
not realizing they had simply skipped over a vital stage
of learning guitar.
a guitar player. Let me explain why:
We started this school
with a class called Guitar
for Absolute Beginners and
gradually added more advanced classes, like Lead Guitar Basics, Fingerpicking, and
Guitar for Intermediate and
Advanced Beginners. As our
little school grew, we began
to get a lot of calls from New
Yorkers who said, “I don’t belong in the beginners class,
because I’ve been playing
guitar for years. What class
SHOULD I go into?” I’d
invite them in for an evaluation, and in under 60 seconds
I’d ascertain that:
They
couldn’t
change
As beginners we sometimes focus so much on
A
learning all these new and
s beginners
we sometimes
focus so much
on learning all those
new and crazy chords
that we forget
that our fretting hand
doesn't actually
make much music.
crazy chords that we forget
that our fretting hand doesn’t
actually make much music. It
just sets up the music—the
strumming hand actually expresses it. Expressive rhythm
is far more important than a
wide knowledge of chords.
To illustrate, THOUSANDS
of songs have become wildly
popular which use just two
or three or four chords...but
NO songs have become popular which do not have an
engaging groove or rhythm.
Remember, right now and
for the rest of your guitar
playing life:
between basic chords in
The number one job of a
rhythm.
guitar player is to play in
rhythm!
Often, this person had been playing guitar for
years—they’d been telling their friends that they played
We set out to create a course which would help gui-
guitar, they knew dozens of chords and owned one, two
tar students develop rock-solid rhythm. After several
or even three guitars—but they couldn’t play even one
versions of the class and a lot of feedback from teachers
song all the way through, because they couldn’t change
and students, you now hold in your hands the results. I
between basic chords in rhythm!
am very proud of it!
Without a strong rhythmic foundation, these stu-
This class is equally important and helpful whether
dents experienced tremendous frustration in any and all
you are a continuing NYC Guitar School student pro-
7 | NYC GUITAR SCHOOL | INTRODUCTION
gressing through our courses, or an experienced player
acquired. However, it is not a path which can be fol-
who wants a comprehensive and progressive review of
lowed without effort. In order to get the most out of
rhythm fundamentals. Commit to practicing these les-
this class, you must put forth the energy to learn and
sons over the next ten weeks and you WILL be amazed
master new skills. Nevertheless, the path is so clear that
with your expressiveness and confidence!
anybody who commits to the necessary practice will
find their understanding, confidence, and skill as a gui-
A Note Along Your Path To Greatness
tar player revolutionized in ten short weeks.
This book which you hold in your hands has been
The first half of the course is dedicated to developing
painstakingly written, rewritten and revised at least a
a confident and physical style of play, by learning four
half-dozen times. Over one thousand students success-
basic approaches to rhythm guitar; the palm mute, six-
fully took this course at NYC Guitar School in its less
teenth note alternate strums, bass-strums, and the spec-
developed and less perfect forms. I taught over one
tacular and oh-so-fun “scratch.” In order to fully focus
hundred of these students personally, making many
on building your confidence in these rhythms, you will
mistakes as a teacher. Other teachers, their students,
use a limited palette of chords, introduced in the first
and my own students all generously provided feed-
lesson—especially the four finger G and C chords, along
back, resulting in what I believe may be the best course
with Em, Am and D.
of study on basic rhythm guitar ever developed for the
general public.
In the second five weeks you will revisit each of the
basic rhythmic motifs in greater depth and in combina-
This course, then, is your path to greatness. It is a
tion with other techniques. In short, you will develop an
sure path, walked on (or rather, played through) by
array of jaw-dropping, groove-inducing rhythmic skills
thousands of people eager to improve their playing.
in your “guitarsenal” of rock. In addition, as the course
It is an achievable path, broken down into small, un-
progresses you’ll gradually re-expand your chordal pal-
derstandable chunks. It is a progressive path, with each
ette to include Fmaj7 and D, thus making it possible for
lesson providing the foundation for a subsequent lesson,
you to play complex songs in the key of C (C, Dm, Em,
and building on skills and understanding previously
Fmaj7, G, and Am).
8 | NYC GUITAR SCHOOL | GUITAR FOR NEAR BEGINNERS
N Y C
G U I T A R
S C H O O L
|
G U I T A R
F O R
N E A R
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
1
{
The Fundamental Habits
of Great Guitar Players with
G add 5 and C add 9
Review the most basic chords and strums of guitar, plus two incredible chords
suitable for playing songs such as “Time of Your Life” by Green Day.” Giant review of the
habits of great guitar players; pivoting, planting, locking your hand in with the beat,
the basic and best strums, review of reading tablature, secrets of success.
I
n this first class you’ll
review this basic knowledge and learn
a few songs to practice them with.
You’ll also get an overview of music
theory, a synopsis of fundamental habits
of good guitar players, and most
importantly an understanding of how to
practice guitar effectively.
9 | NYC GUITAR SCHOOL | CLASS ONE
}
This Course Assumes
Knowledge of Basic Chords!
Note that any chord written as a letter alone, such as
Here are the chords that you need to know
at a minimum. If you already know these chords
then congratulations. If you already know these
chords but with different fingerings it will be very
helpful for you to learn the suggested fingerings
over the next week in preparation for Class Two.
chords will be identified as “m” and “7” respectively.
“D” or “G”, is assumed to be major. Minor and seventh
Are there more chords? Yes, but you can play thousands of songs with the chords you know. These are not
only the most commonly used chords in guitar, but
many of your future chords will bear a physical resemblance to the chords you already know.
D
C
G
Am
A7
A
Em
E
10 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | G U I T A R F O R N E A R B E G I N N E R S
Now, learn Gadd5 and Cadd9—
to change between that they will allow you to concentrate
A Pair of Well Matched and Shockingly
Convenient Four-Finger Chords which We
will Use Constantly in this Class!
In 1984, E
ddie Van Halen wrote an article called “My Tips
For Beginners” for Guitar Player magazine. You may be too
young to revere Mr. Halen as a guitar deity, but I was alive
and conscious at the time, and I eagerly absorbed the article, in which he suggested that brand new beginners learn
two specific chords FIRST. These easy chords are the basis
of countless songs, including “Good Riddance (Time of
Your Life)” by Green Day, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”
by Poison, “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd,
and more, more, more, more! Yes, they are new chords.
Yes, they are four-finger chords. But they are so darn easy
on your burgeoning rhythm skills.
First we’ll learn the four finger G chord. Sometimes
this chord is called Gadd5 by people who want to make
sure you know that it isn’t a three-finger G chord. Some
purists will argue that there is no such thing as a Gadd5
chord. They have a point. We will simply call this chord
a G chord—for the rest of the course, unless otherwise
noted, if you see a “G” chord in a chart, play it as below
(The G Major Chord).
Now that you are the master of adding the pinky to
a G chord, let us leverage that skill to the stunningly
similar Cadd9, often called a Cadd2 or even a C(9). Do
you see how the Cadd9 outlines the same bass notes as a
regular C chord (The Cadd9 Chord)?
G (4 finger version)
Cadd9
THE G MAJOR CHORD
Sometimes called the Gadd5, or “the big G”, this
four finger G chord is essential for rock and roll,
and makes changing to Cadd9 and D a breeze!
THE Cadd9 CHORD
An add 9 chord is a major chord
with added “ninth” tone.*
G
Cadd9
*The notes in a C major scale are C, D, E, F, G, A and B. There are only seven of them! So how do you get a ninth? Simple, you keep going, like
this 1-C, 2-D, 3-E, 4-F, 5-G, 6-A, 7-B, 8-C (again), 9-D (again). So a Cadd9 has an extra D note in it. Using this logic you can make 13th chords,
16th chords, or even 99th chords if you have a big enough guitar with enough strings.
11 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | I N T R O D U C T I O N
Q: Wait a minute, Dan—I want to learn the absolute right
teacher (and an even more frequent contributor to Gui-
way to play guitar—why do you keep saying that chords
tar Player magazine than Eddie Van Halen) Vincent De-
can have different names?
Masi taught me the musicological principle of “Com-
A: The first reason is that the name of a chord can de-
mon Practice” which we will follow, i.e. most people call
pend on context. For example an Am7 and a C/A look
a Cadd9 chord a Cadd9 chord, so we will too!
exactly the same, except that an Am7 is from the point
of view on an A, and the C/A is from the point of view
See how similar the four finger G is to the Cadd9?
of a C. The second and more important reason is that
Go back and forth between them incessantly for a few
the right to call chords by slightly different names is
minutes. Leave your third and fourth fingers down!
enshrined in the constitution of the United States of
Don’t move them! Just move your first two fingers back
America, in the Bill of Rights. Top NYC Guitar School
and forth.
“ G
\
Cåª
‘
This Class Assumes
Basic Knowledge of Rhythm
means: Strum DOWN on the downbeat (1, 2, 3
GOOD GUITARISTS KNOW THAT PLAYING IN
Let’s review basic strum patterns, using G, Cadd9 and
RHYTHM IS THEIR MOST IMPORTANT MUSICAL
D. In this class we will be using standard rhythm nota-
TASK—LOCK YOUR HAND IN WITH THE BEAT.
tion, but for the next page-and-a-half
or 4). Strum UP on the upbeat (“and”).
only I’ve written out the down and
The secret to playing great rhythm guitar is
up-beats and indicated which down
to move your hand with the beat. Usually this
or up-beats should be strummed.
THE ALTERNATE STRUM
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
1
=
2
=
3
=
4
=
1
=
2
=
3
=
4
=
[
]
[
[
]
2
=
3
4
=
' G
\ Cå ª
‘
THE BASIC STRUM
[
1
' G
+
[
]
[
2
=
3
+
[
]
[
4
=
1
+
\ Cå ª
+
‘
THE BEST STRUM
[
1
' G
+
[
]
2
=
#
]
[
]
[
=
4
=
1
+
\ Cå ª
[
]
2
=
#
]
[
]
=
4
=
]
[
]
=
4
=
‘
MIXED RHYTHMS AND SPLIT MEASURES
HERE IS THE BASIC STRUM
[
1
' G
+
[
]
[
2
=
3
Cå ª
+
[
]
4
=
Riffing is playing a short, easily recognizable and
repeated phrase. Instead of just strumming away, when
you riff with chords you will play the chords on specific and memorable down and upbeats. Here is a classic
HERE IS THE BEST STRUM
[
1
\ D
+
[
]
2
=
#
‘
riff used in many songs, including “All Star” by Smash
Mouth, “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the
Waves, and of course “Wild Thing”, originally by The
Wild Ones and later popularized by The Troggs.
THE WILD RIFF!
1
' G
+
2
+
#
=
Cå ª
4
+
Play with all down strums, and remember:
LEAVE YOUR THIRD AND FOURTH FINGERS DOWN on the change from G to Cadd9.
And as long as you are playing guitar efficiently,
1
\ D
+
2
+
#
=
4
Cå ª
+
‘
also LEAVE YOUR THIRD FINGER DOWN
on the change from Cadd9 to D and back. At the
end of the chapter you’ll get the opportunity to use
your new chords in the context of a song.
13 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | I N T R O D U C T I O N
How Deliberate Practice Can Help You Achieve Greatness In Guitar (or Anything Else)
All practice is not equal. In Guitar for Absolute
Beginners there are several pages of powerful practice tips.
I suggest going back and reading them to remind yourself
of the power accurate, regular and focused practice.
Now, at the beginning of your Guitar for Near Beginners class, I know you are filled with the desire to
learn more and play better. So I’m happy to have the
opportunity to help you learn to constructively channel
that desire into the productive practice which is necessary for learning and improvement. To get the most out
of this course and your precious and limited time, read,
understand and remember these important points:
true of NYC Guitar School students, who tend to be
very busy people. You don’t have the time to not practice effectively!
“Deliberate Practice”
Is The Best Way To Become A Good
(or Great) Guitar Player
Science and research reveal that the secret of successful
practice is to practice deliberately! Deliberate practice
is what makes the greats great in music, sports, art, and
just about anything else that requires deep knowledge
and deeply ingrained physical habits. The classes at
To Be A Guitar
Player, You Must
Play Guitar
Aristotle said, “we are what
we repeatedly do.” If you wish
to be a guitar player, you must
pick up your guitar, on a regular basis, and play. There is
P
NYC Guitar School are designed to aid, abet and elicit
ractice
deliberate practice. According to one of my favorite
does not make
books, Talent Is Overrated,
perfect
deliberate practice has four
by Geoff Colvin, successful
components:
no other way.
1) It is specific. Too often, guitar students achieve a
To Be A Good Guitar Player,
You Must Have Good Practice
ity which is far below what they are capable of, because
But—and this is important—practice time doesn’t au-
or because they practice everything at once—for exam-
tomatically lead to improvement! Poorly spent practice
ple, only playing songs to the exclusion of working on
time will give you poor results. Only effective practice
specific techniques or moves. In deliberate practice, the
will give you the improvement you desire. This prin-
practitioner focuses on one thing at a time—something
ciple was famously expressed by coach Vince Lombar-
they don’t already know—and works to master it.
merely modest level of abilthey only practice what they already know how to do,
di who said “Practice does not make perfect—perfect
practice makes perfect.” Understanding the basics of
2) It is sequential. Each element builds on previous
how to successfully practice are even more important
elements and in turn are themselves building blocks for
to your eventual success in guitar (or anything) than
future elements. NYC Guitar School’s classes have been
knowing a “D chord” (or any fundamental move of
carefully designed to progress gradually and methodi-
any art, sport, science or discipline)! This is especially
cally from the very basics of guitar playing to more com-
plicated techniques. The elements in each class build on
For most people, three 30 minute practice sessions per
previous classes and in turn provide the foundation for
week is a bare minimum—it is difficult to keep up with
future classes.
the class with less. For some people, more sessions are
needed, but for anyone more better practice is…more
3) It includes feedback from a mentor or coach.
and better! Of course, you have a busy life full of many
The greats learn from others, and if you want to be great
responsibilities and joys besides guitar playing. Given
you need to learn from others, too! Ideally you receive
your particular circumstances and goals, just do your
regular feedback from a teacher in a class or lesson. But
best! After all, nobody can do better than that!
in music there is another way to receive feedback: it is
Here is a three-part 30 minute Deliberate Practice
by playing along with recordings of songs you love! If
routine which is guaranteed to help you progress:
you are in rhythm with the recording, that is positive
feedback. If your guitar part sounds similar to the rock
Warm-up (approx 5 minutes). Play though pre-
star guitar part that is also positive feedback. And…if
viously learned material. Take your time and be
you can’t keep up with the song, that is negative feed-
clean and accurate. Ideally, use a metronome so that
back, which is telling you to
you can gauge your prog-
master the technique more
ress from week to week. Do
P
slowly before coming back
to the song!
not play your warm-up too
quickly…instead treat it as
erfect
4) It is highly demanding
practice makes
mentally. Deliberate practice takes time, effort and a
perfect
ttention. It is the price
which must be paid for be-
the chance to drop into your
practice flow.
Deliberate Practice (approx 10-15 minutes). Select one element from your
ing your best at your level,
weeks class to practice with
whatever that is. For maxi-
maximum focus. Some stu-
mum effect, make sure that
dents prefer to work from
whatever you are practicing
their class book. Many oth-
is at the intersection of what is challenging yet achiev-
ers play along with videos on our website, www.NYC-
able. During deliberate practice, you should be able to
GuitarSchool.com. Select only one element of the les-
accomplish whatever you are practicing perfectly only
son at a time, and work to master it. When you are
with total focus. If you cannot do the technique per-
confident with the technique, then move onto another
fectly even with total focus, you must make the exercise
technique. If a technique is too difficult, practice it
easier, slower, or more broken down. If you can easily
more slowly and/or break it down into a smaller com-
accomplish the task, then you must make the exercise
ponent part! If it is too easy then practice it at a faster
tempo or add complexity.
The more deliberate practice you get in,
the faster you’ll improve.
Play Songs (approx 10-15 minutes). This is the
fun part! Turn to the song section of your lesson. Pick
one of those songs, listen to it, and then practice along
with it. Many times there will be a NYC Guitar School
15 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S O N E
'
Near Beginner
Warm-up
'
'
[
]
2
3
[
[
0
[
|
]
0
G
[
[
G
|
[
3
[
PM
]
2
[
[
0
[
|
]
1
C
[
[
[
[
[
|
[
0
]
2
[
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
4
3
0
3
3
0
3
2
3
0
3
1
3
0
[
|
]
2
3
D
[
[
[
|
[
]
2
3
[
0
]
1
C
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
"
"
"
as you practice the song break it down into components,
Plan Now to Experience Setbacks
Which Will Require Resiliency
slow it down or simplify as needed, and be sure to speed
I promise you that something will get in the way of your
up and make it more complex in order to stay in your
practice routine! I don’t know what it is, but I here are
most productive practce zone.
some guesses: Sometime in the next ten, or fifty weeks
tutorial on our website! Just as you did with techniques,
you may get the flu or a bad cold…or your child or parent will. You may have to work late or go out of town
Make Your Practice Routine
A Regular Part Of Your Life
on business. You may fall in love or break up, you may
As you commit to regular practice, try to set a regular
hurricane or severe winter storm. You may be hurrying
place and time for your routine, so that you can let the
to class late, with a headache, and then be caught in rain
force of habit help you maintain your new habit. Leave
storm two blocks from school. The neck may snap off
your guitar out, if possible, in a place where you can
your guitar, or a string may break. I don’t know what
see and grab it easily. Come to class, and ask your class-
will happen…but I know it will! Expect one of these
mates about their week of practice, then share yours.
normal and usual calamities to happen, and plan for it.
The more you make playing guitar part of your life, the
If you miss a class or two, or if you don’t practice for
more natural and effective your practice will be.
a week or two, that is OK…simply begin again from
even elope or have a child! There may be a blackout or
wherever you are at!
CLASS ONE SONGS
Gadd5 and Cadd9
Wouldn’t it be great if you could practice with some
of the best musicians in the world? Wait—you can,
1. Practice playing through the chord changes
by yourself.
by playing along with recordings of your favorite
bands. In fact, one reason the best guitarists in the
2. Practice playing just the chord changes with a
world are so good is that they almost invariably lis-
single strum per chord along with the recording.
tened to and played along with recordings by artists
3. Practice playing the changes with the strum
they admired.
One of the world’s most beloved Gadd5/Cadd9
pattern by yourself.
songs is “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by
Green Day. Therefore, if you know and like that
song, a great strategy for becoming a better guitar
4. Build up to playing along with the song using
the strum pattern.
player would be to purchase and play along with
said song. If you are not immediately fast enough to
To prepare to play “Good Riddance (Time of Your
play along with Billie Joe, you may want to practice
Life)” practice the following chord progression which I
in stages:
am calling “Good Chords (Time to Play Guitar)”. I’ve
written it with the best strum, which is also the strum
used for most of the Green Day song.
Good Chords (Time to Play Guitar)
[
[ ]
] [ ]
V
' G
\ G
\ Cå ª
\ D
‘
PC
' Em
\ D
\ Cå ª
\ G
‘
C
\ Em
\ G
\ Em
\ G
\
\ Em
\ D
\ G
\ G
>
17 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S O N E
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
Your teacher will assign you something great to fill in on this page!
(If you’re studying this book on your own, then use this page
as a worksheet to figure out and write down an entire song you’d
like to practice, or just write your own if you prefer.)
RHYTHM:
\
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PRACTICE TAB, LICK or RIFF
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2
Laying Down The Law:
The Art of the Palm Mute PLUS the Almighty
Shuffle and the Punk Rock Strum
{
If you’ve ever listened to The Blues, The Cars, Punk Rock or
“Rolling In The Deep” by Adele you’ve heard the Palm Mute. The palm
mute, the 12 bar blues, the shuffle rhythm, the Punk Rock rhythm.
did not attend my graduation
from the University of Idaho, on account of being asleep, but I did immediately put my degree to work! I was a
“Bachelor of General Studies”, and as a
22 year old bachelor, I generally studied guitar. In fact, I
normally played until I fell asleep with the guitar in my
hands, dreamed about playing guitar, then woke up and
played some more guitar!
One day, after playing with my duo at the Moscow,
Idaho Earth Day celebration, I came home to my little
apartment and suddenly realized that I, Dan Emery, was
one of the twenty greatest living guitarists—maybe even
better! After all, that very day I had overheard somebody in the crowd saying, “That guy plays guitar like
he thinks he’s the greatest guitar player who ever lived!”*
It seemed selfish as to withhold the gift of my music
from a deprived and waiting world, so I decided to go
to New York City to become a rock star.
The first part of my plan worked perfectly; I went to
New York City.
After my first night checking out live music in Gotham, I came home and optimistically thought “I might
}
not be one of the 20 best living guitarists, but I’m probably one of the 1,000 best living guitarists!” A week later
I had fallen to around the 10,000th best guitarist and
was feeling a little dejected at my downward mobility.
A week after that I was barely hanging on in the top
100,000, and I was despondent.
Then something wonderful happened. I realized I
was simply one of five or six billion human beings on
the earth and I started to feel better. I realized that playing music was a journey, not a race, and I started to get
really excited about learning more.
I began asking every guitar player I met for tips and
lessons, starting with a hot shot player named Walter,
who listened to my playing for 30 seconds, then said
in dismay, “Dan, listen, man—you gotta work on your
palm mute!”
I know now what Walter knew then: the palm mute is
a move of vital importance. In fact, I would be derelict
in my duty as your guitar teacher if I did not give you
the opportunity to learn and master this essential move.
Grab your guitar and get ready to get physical!
*A 22-year old who thinks he is one of the twenty greatest living guitarists does play with a sense of utter conviction which can be compelling.
This confidence has an important place in rock and roll, even if, as in my case, it was utterly unwarranted.)
19 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S T W O
The Palm Mute and The Punk Rock Strum
Kirk Hammett of Metallica said that the palm
mute is THE essential technique of heavy rhythm guitar. The Ramones used it in punk. It is rife on White
Stripes songs, it’s all over Black Keys songs, it’s in and
out of Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, and Garth Brooks
and Paramore use it too. Let’s learn the palm mute!
Make an E chord. Place the outside edge of your palm
against the strings of the guitar, very close to the bridge.
Now, strum with your pick while holding the strings
down with your palm. Because you are holding your hand
down, you won’t be able to strum the entire chord. That’s
OK. Just strum the two or three lowest (thickest) strings.
You should hear the notes, but muffled—not ringing out.
Experiment with your hand position and the distance
from the bridge. Here is a picture of the hand position:
Here is tablature with palm mute in our “Big G” chord
be playing a few strings. The palm mute is notated with
and Cadd9 as it would be written in a guitar magazine or
the letters P.M. followed by dashes for the duration of the
songbook. Finger the entire chord, even though we’ll just
technique. We’re playing quarter notes here.
'
PM
|
G
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
When playing eighth notes with a palm mute, use all
down strums. Try it with G and Cadd9 below! Your fretting hand may be in motion on the “and” of 4—that’s
O.K. the muted open strings make a nice passing sound,
'
[
PM
]
[
[
[
[
[
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
sometimes called a “ghost chord”. Your fretting hand
may be in motion on the “and” of 4...that’s O.K. and
that is why I’ve written in the open strings even though
they will just happen naturally as you change chords.
[
G
2
3
2
3
"
0
0
|
[
2
3
C
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
0
0
"
This progression is reminiscent of “I Wanna Be
Sedated” by the Ramones…play it with fast downstrummed palm-muted eighth notes. Play only the
two or three thickest strings in each chord; since the
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
edge of your picking hand should maintain
constant contact with the strings, it’s
hard to play more than a few strings
anyway.
[
etc.
PM
V
< G
\ G
\
\ Cå ª
\ G
\
\ G
\ G
\
\ Cå ª
\ G
>
W
ARNING: Serious Fun Ahead
Good guitar players listen to great guitar music.
If you have not heard much blues, now would be a great time to listen to a
twelve-bar blues so that you can begin to understand the feel. Listen to one or
more of these songs carefully before doing anything else: “Why Don’t We Do It
In The Road” by the Beatles; “Peach” by Prince; “Dust My Broom” by Robert
Johnson/Elmore James, “Red House” by Jimi Hendrix, “Leopard Skin Pillbox
Hat” by Bob Dylan, “Before You Accuse Me” by Bo Diddley, “Pride And Joy”
by Stevie Ray Vaughn, “Kansas City” by Eric Clapton, etc., etc.
The Shuffle Rhythm
In the blues, the propulsive, driving feel is allimportant. The elemental blues feel is the “shuffle”.
It can be thought of as being based on a “one-twothree” count, where you only play the “ones” and
the “threes”.
To get the hang of this, first count by 3s. Just tap
your foot on the ones, though. (Fig. 2a)
Then make a G and strum ones AND the threes. It
might be a little tricky! Strum the one heavier, along
with your foot tap. (Fig. 2b)
Fig. 2a
SAY: "ONE
TAP
TWO THREE ONE
TWO THREE ONE
TWO THREE ONE
TAP
TAP
TAP
TWO THREE ONE
TWO THREE ONE
TWO THREE"
Fig. 2b
PLAY
SAY: "ONE
TWO THREE ONE
‹W
—< G
| G
| G
TWO THREE"
| G
>
Now you are playing a shuffle rhythm. Next add the
holding your hand down, you won’t be able to strum
palm mute. Place the outside edge of your strumming
the entire chord. That’s OK. Just strum the two or three
palm against the strings of the guitar, close to the bridge.
lowest strings. You should hear the notes, but muffled—
Then, strum down with your pick while pressing against
not ringing out. Finger the entire G chord, even though
the strings with your palm. Remember, because you are
you’re not strumming all the strings.
<
PM
‹W
—
G
2
3
2
3
|
2
3
2
3
The shuffle is actually in 4/4 time and counted with
triplets, not 3/4 time. (Like most things in life, it is a
matter of perspective.) A triplet is one-third of a beat.
Instead of counting “one-two-three”, count “ONE trip
|
2
3
2
3
|
2
3
2
3
>
LET. TWO trip LET. THREE trip LET. FOUR trip
LET.” Try to tap your foot ONLY on the numbers!
You can tell that the notes are triplets because each
set of three has a little “3” overhead.
PLAY
<
SAY:
ONE – TRIP – LET
PM
G
2
3
2
3
|
TWO – TRIP – LET
2
3
2
3
|
THREE – TRIP – LET
2
3
2
3
|
FOUR – TRIP – LET
2
3
2
3
>
Try it with a chord change.
PLAY
'
SAY:
1–TRIP–LET 2–TRIP–LET 3–TRIP–LET 4–TRIP–LET
PM
G
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
|
1–TRIP–LET 2–TRIP–LET 3–TRIP–LET 4–TRIP–LET
Cå ª
2
3
2
3
2
3
Cyclops blues singers.
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
"
CLASS TWO SONGS
Punk Rock and Blues Shuffle
“Firework” by
“Firework”, try playing a tightly damped punk rock
Katy Perry, “Tunnel” by Third Day, and “Five
strum over the verse and a regular best strum over
Years” by Placebo among others. To better emulate
the chorus.
This progression is reminiscent of
Fire Quirk
Verse
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
e
PM
' G
\ Am
\ Em
\ Cå ª
\
The palm mute and blues shuffle drive thousands
may wish to keep in mind “Open All Night”, “Peach”,
upon thousands of songs. Here is THE 12-bar blues
“Red House”, “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” or
progression, using G, Cadd9, D. As you play it you
any of the other zillion songs that follow this pattern.
The Twelve Bar Blues
Verse
[
[
[
PM
[
[
[
[
[
e
' G
\ G
\ G
\ G
\
\ Cåª
\ Cåª
\ G
\ G
\
\ D
\ Cåª
\ G
\ D
‘
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
RHYTHM:
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T
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3
For A Mellow Feel, Strum…Faster?
Sixteenth Notes and the Ballad Strum
{
Curiously, Slow Songs Such As “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison, “Wild Horses” by
The Rolling Stones, “Fake Plastic Trees”, by Radiohead, “Wonderwall” by Oasis, “What’s Going
On” by 4 Non Blondes and More feature MORE strums per measure than much faster songs.
}
he topic of slow songs, like any
dances weren’t all about jumping around to “Mony,
other topic, reminds me of my
Mony” and sweating. They were also about standing
misspent youth, specifically of
very close to another person and swaying very slowly to
not dancing to slow songs. Did
a “slow song”. In fact, sometimes dancing close seemed
you dance with that special
a lot more like standing close!
someone to a ballad at the end of the senior prom? If so,
In order to get the correct feeling for strumming these
then I am sincerely happy for you. How was it? Good, I
super-mellow songs, eighth notes just aren’t fast enough!
bet! I wouldn’t know, because I went to my senior prom
In order to play a ballad, you need a ballad strum, and
“stag” along with my best friend, Ted. “Stag” is another
that means sixteenth notes, which means that there will
word for a male deer with antlers. In theory, going “stag”
be 16 pulses per measure of music. Let’s learn to count
meant that Ted and I went to the dance with the bold-
sixteenth notes. First, count slowly though a measure of
ness and confidence of actual stags looking out over a
eighth notes, tapping on the beat, and saying “one and
forest full of female deer from the top of a cliff. In reality,
two and three and four and” aloud like this:
going “stag” meant exhibiting the boldness and confidence of actual stags which had been shot with tranquilizer darts in their forest home, tied to the hoods of
pickup trucks, and left to wake up in a dark gymnasium
SAY: ONE
and
\ TAP
TWO
and THREE and
FOUR
TAP
TAP
TAP
and
\
filled with teenagers and loud music.
I don’t regret a thing, though. It’s not like there were
Now, we’re going to sub-divide the notes. There will
that many amazingly cute girls back in Kendrick, Idaho
be an “ee” after 1 and an “a” after the “and-of-1”. BUT
(population 289) that I wanted to slow dance with at
STILL TAP ONLY ON THE NUMBERS while count-
my senior prom anyway! Well, I mean besides Denise
ing aloud: (say "and" when you see "+".)
maybe, or perhaps Trudy, or maybe Vicki, or Beth ,or
Laine, or Amy, Celeste, Dawn, Eve, Faustina, or...hang
on... My apologies, I accidentally fell into a reverie and
needed a moment to climb out. My point is that those
SAY: 1
\ TAP
e
+
a
2
TAP
e
+
a
3
TAP
e
+
a
4
TAP
e
+
a
\
Remember how we said that a basic guideline of
the hand moved up. Since we now have FOUR pulses
great guitar playing is “lock your strumming hand in
per beat instead of just two, the hand will move down
with the beat”? Until now, that meant that on the beat
on the one and the “and” of one, and up on the “e” and
the hand moved down, and off the beat (on the “and”),
the “a”, like so:
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
1 5 = 6 2 5 = 6 3 5 = 6 4 5 = 6
TAP
TAP
TAP
TAP
Here are two important hints to get this right. First
Secondly, many sixteenth-note first-timers find
of all, make the down strum on the beat heavier than
it difficult not to tap on the “ands”, but don’t do it!
the other three strums in each beat. We really want the
Tap only on the beat—otherwise your strum is like-
beat to feel extra heavy and ponderous. Make this hap-
ly to come out sounding like eighth notes. Here it is
pen by tightening your grip on the pick on the beat and
again—Chika has designed the strums with appropri-
loosening on the other strums, not by speeding up your
ate heaviness for dynamic weight! Congratulations!
strum. (Strumming faster will mess up the feel.)
You’re playing sixteenth notes!
! � + � @ � + � # � + � $ � + �
TAP
TAP
TAP
Now, Learn The Ballad Strum
Let’s begin learning this pattern with eighth notes.
There are exponentially more variants o f sixteenth
note strums than there are of eighth note strums—it
only makes sense—we’ve doubled the possible choices
for strums. Today we are going to learn one of the most
straightforward, called The Ballad Strum. The application
of this strum to any chord progression at the appropriate
tempo will create a feeling of poignant emotional intensity!
[
[
TAP
[
This strum pattern starts out very much like the
basic strum, only easier—strum down on beats one
and three, plus down on the four and up of the “and”
of four. KEEP YOUR HAND MOVING even when
you are not hitting the strings! As we strum we could
say “Down…Down, Down-Up”, or “One…Three,
Four-and”.
]
[
[
[
]
1 + @ + 3 + 4 = 1 + @ + 3 + 4 =
' G
| G
27 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S T H R E E
"
Now we’re going to do the EXACT SAME THING
Try it going back and forth between your new G and
except that we will count differently. We can still say
Cadd9 chords: (Fig. 3b)
“Down…Down, Down-Up” or we could say “One…
Try it with a split measure! (Fig. 3c)
Two, And-a”. Only tap your foot on the numbers, not
the “ands”. (Fig. 3a)
Fig. 3a
[
[
[
]
[
[
[
]
1 � + � 2 � = 6 3 � + � 4 � = 6
' G
"
Fig. 3b
[
[
[
]
[
' G
[
[
\ Cåª
]
"
Fig. 3c
[
' G
[
[ ]
[
[
[ ]
Cåª
\
g
"
Now, let’s apply it to a song! Your teacher will very
just meant to be...that NYC was perfect for me and
likely give you one...but in the meantime, here’s another
that I was perfect for NYC. But I just heard an al-
true story.
ternate explanation in the form of a scientific study
You know, thinking about all these love songs has
concluding that danger increases attraction. In other
gotten me thinking about my first love. I hope you
words, if potential mates meet in a hazardous situation,
won’t mind if I share with you the beginnings of a
such as in the middle of a narrow footbridge twisting
breathtaking romance which continues in my life to
in the wind, they are more likely to fall in love than if
this very day. You see, I don’t just live here. I am in
they meet in a safer setting, such as in the middle of the
love with New York City. I always thought that it was
toothpaste aisle at the pharmacy.
How I Fell In Love With New York City
Early one morning I left Moscow, Idaho. Late that
the windshield and the panorama of onrushing traffic.
evening I arrived at LaGuardia Airport, Queens. I posLuckily he glanced in the indicated direction, and
sessed an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, and a banjo.
immediately wrestled the wheel to the side with a loud
I had some clothing which I stuffed around the instruscreeching sound. “Go to hell!” he screamed, rolling
ments in order to protect them. I had a tuning fork. I
down his window and shaking his fist enthusiastically
even had fifty dollars to live on for the first few weeks
at a nearby truck. Continuing on his theme he said “I’m
until I got signed to a major
a New Yorker too! I’ve been
music label. I felt more than
here for two weeks.”
prepared.
At this time I successfully
I heaved my guitar cases
articulated in my mind a
into the trunk of a yellow
question that had been sort
"
elcome
cab and settled into the back
of tugging at my brain for
seat, attempting to exude an
the last three and one-half
to New York City"
air of bored sophistication,
minutes, namely I asked
as though I took cabs every
myself: “Did my driver remy driver yelled
year. “120th Street and Amally just take a swig from a
back at me in a
sterdam Avenue” I said with
bottle of vodka? No, that is
conviction. “Or possibly
not possible, is it?”
hither-to-unheard-by-me
120th Avenue and AmsterMy driver took another
dam Street. It’s in Manhatswig from his bottle of vodaccent.
tan. An island.”
ka. “Want some vodka?” he
I was immediately flung
yelled.
back into the seat by extreme
“Urgggghhh,” I whimacceleration, then pitched
pered. (At this point in the
from side to side as the cab swerved violently. “Welstory, please allow me to point out that I have made nothcome to New York City” my driver yelled back at me
ing up.)
in a hither-to-unheard-by-me accent. Then he ran over
We were now hurtling over a bridge...and that is
a curb, exiting the airport and entering a busy freeway
when I saw her: New York City. It was night and the
with several inches to spare between our vehicle and
lights of the city were myriad and beautiful beyond my
those to the front, rear, right and left.
power of comprehension. Suddenly, I felt the energy of
“Aighhhh” I replied, distracted by the fear of immimillions of people, millions of dreams, and millions of
nent death by car crash.
stories. I became one of those people, in a swerving cab
He looked back at me and continued shouting in a
with a turbaned, vodka-swilling maniac, and a mere 22
friendly manner, “New York is the best city in the world.
minutes away from being a New Yorker. I was moving
If you are here for thirty minutes you are New Yorker.”
very quickly into the unknown. I was terrified. And...I
I would have appreciated his insight except that, as
was in love.
I mentioned, he was looking back at me, and yet was
By the way, if you yourself are looking for love, you
continuing to press down the accelerator to the fullest.
may be interested in my latest brilliant business idea:
“Gahhhh” I responded weakly, feebly gesturing towards
Speed Dating While Being Shot At.
W
CLASS THREE SONGS
The Ballad Strum
This progression (Not Much A) is similar to
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan, or “Dust
of the Chase” by Ray Wylie Hubbard, or “Closing
Time” by Semisonic.
Not Much A
[
[
[] [
[
[]
< G
\ D
\ Am
\ Am
\
\ G
\ D
\ C
\ C
>
This progression (Not Much B) is similar to “What’s
Up” by 4 Non Blondes or “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”
by The Byrds or “Pair of Brown Eyes” by The Pogues…
I changed the sixteenth note pattern a little bit. Can you
figure it out?
Not Much B
[
< G
[] [
[][][] [
[]
\ Am
\ C
\ G
\
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
RHYTHM:
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4
The Mighty, Mighty Bass-Strum Style,
Foundation of Expressive Rhythm Guitar
PLUS F M ajor 7 th
{
Articulating A Picked Root Note (or two) from a Strummed Chord Allows
One To Play Hundreds of Songs, Including All Johnny Cash
s I sit here on the number 9 elevated train, riding through the
Bronx and typing on this little
laptop, I am delighted to come
to such an exciting and important topic—the bass-strum style. Virtually all acoustic
guitar songs and most electric guitar songs are based in
part on this style. In any given week, a dozen or more
people come into NYC Guitar School and say “I’d really
like to learn such-and-such a song by such-and-such an
artist” and I know that once again I will be teaching a
bass-strum song. In the past few days such artists have included: Coldplay, The Beatles, The White Stripes, Taylor
Swift, Mumford and Sons, John Meyer, Jason Mraz….
In this lesson you’ll learn the basic bass-strum style,
which will serve as the basis of a vast number of songs
and styles. You’ve already begun understanding this style
without even knowing it, because you already know one
of the essential good habits of guitar playing:
}
strings. On a G chord you strum six strings. Good for
you—we have good habits to build on. But first, let’s
add an important chord to your guitarsenal.
The F
major
7 Chord!
Congratulations! You are now ready for the Fmaj7,
which will open up zillions of new tunes to you. Major
7th chords are beautiful, dreamy chords...think of the
chord at the end of the chorus in “Under the Bridge”
by The Red Hot Chili Peppers or the opening chord to
“Color My World” by Chicago.
THE SUPERIOR GUITARIST HABITUALLY PLAYS
THE OPTIMUM NUMBER OF STRINGS IN A CHORD
On a D chord, for example, you don’t strum six
I've been working on another song. Do you want to hear it?
strings—you strum four. On a C chord, you strum five
The Fmaj7 looks very much like a C chord, and starting
Now that you know the Fmaj7, let’s go into today's
with a C is a great way to learn it. When changing from C
main course: the bass-strum.
to Fmaj7, leave your first finger down! Don’t move it—
but do move your second and third fingers simultaneously.
To Play the Bass Note,
Strum the Lowest Note in the Chord
Grab a C, then try this new chord out. Start with one strum
per measure and work up to quarter note strums.
“ C
\
F J7
When you strumthe optimum number of strings in a
chord, you’re making sure that the lowest sounding note
(thickest string) is the root note of the chord. In other
words, on a C chord, the fifth string is a C note. On
the G chord, the sixth string is a G note. On the Fmaj7
chord, the fourth string is an F note—and so on. This
lowest note is called a bass note. Because it is the tone
that the rest of the chord is based on and named after, it
is also called the root note.
In the bass-strum style, you must strum the root by
itself. For example, on a G chord (a six-string chord)
you play a bass note by strumming only the root string,
which is the sixth. On a D chord (a four-string chord)
you play a bass note by strumming only the root string,
which is the fourth string, and so on.
Below is a little exercise to help you become comfortable with strumming bass notes. Play using rest
strokes—as you no doubt recall, that means you’ll let
your pick rest on the next string after strumming the
root string.
Don’t worry about keeping an even rhythm the
first few times you go through the exercise. Make an C
chord, count yourself in, begin! Even though you are
fingering the entire chord, you will only sound only one
string! Notice that with each of these chords, the bass
note is an open string.
‘
FM7
Fmaj7
THE FMAJ7 CHORD.
F Major 7 is one of my favorite chords,
because it sounds so sweet and pretty.
Another common Fmaj7 change worth practicing is
Am to Fmaj7. In this change, the first finger is in the
same place on both chords, so be sure to leave it down!
“ Am
\
'
C
3
F J7
3
|
‘
3
3
|
F J7
3
3
|
33 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S F O U R
3
3
"
The Lowest String in
a Chord is the Root Note
play the lowest pitched note in the chord, and you’re
You know how to play an A chord, an E chord, a
G chord and so on. But can you play an A note? Or an
E note? Or a G note? The answer is yes! All you do is
ers know which note is the root of any chord! As a little
A
automatically playing the root note. Good guitar play-
C
D
E
To Play The Bass-Strum Rhythm,
Articulate the Root Note by itself,
then Strum the Rest of the Chord
exercise, play each of the notes below, by making the
chord of the same name but only playing the root string:
G
D
A
G
The bass-strum rhythm is rhythmically identical to
our regular QUARTER NOTE strum. Count yourself
in, tap your foot, strum once per beat:
The quarter-note strum:
STRUM
STRUM
STRUM
E
The bass-strum rhythm:
STRUM
STRUM
STRUM
STRUM
STRUM
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
THE SAME!
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
The only difference is that there are two sounds in
the bass-strum style: a bass note on beats one and three
and a strum on the two and four.
Make a C chord and let’s try this! On the first
beat play the 5th string with a rest stroke, finishing with your pick resting on the 4th string. Then
lift it up to prepare for the next beat. On beat two
strum the three thin strings. If you hit four or five
'
C
3
or two strings instead, this is still fine—just stay
relaxed. Don’t hit the root note again, though, because we want the sound and feeling of completely
different parts, the bass and the strum.
Now in a relaxed manner, pick your hand up to
get ready for the next beat. On beats three and four
repeat what you did one beats one and two. Get
comfy with several repeats of the line:
0
1
0
0
1
0
3
"
Keep Your Hand Moving
to Keep Things Grooving
an attempt to gain accuracy for their subsequent strum,
Pay attention, b ecause here comes a key point! As
you know, the secret to great rhythm guitar is to lock
your hand in with the beat. Accordingly, after your nice
crisp bass note on the one you must lift your hand with
the “and” in order to remain locked in with the rhythmic pulse. This upward lift need not be large or pronounced, it just needs to be enough so that your body
can feel the alternating pulses of the beat.
Sometimes, guitarists play a bass note and then leave
their pick lying against the string during the “and” in
losses in groove. As Rhianna said, “please don’t stop the
<
however any such gains will be more than offset by
0
1
0
0
1
0
3
3
music.” When you play bass-strum patterns (or anything else) follow this guiding principle:
Never compromise on groove. Keep your hand
locked in with the beat.
Try your bass-strum again, being sure to lift your
hand on the “and” of one in preparation for your next
down strum.
|
0
1
0
3
0
1
0
3
>
Create Contrast by
Separating the Bass Tones
and the Strum Tones
you play though—in the tab below I’ve written three
The bass note and the strum a re two different parts.
One sounds bassy and the other sounds trebley. A strum
played on three or four strings will sound better in context than a strum played on six strings because there will
be contrast between the bass note and the strum. Don’t
worry too much about the exact number of strings that
words of The Offspring:
'
G
3
strings, but four strings or two strings would also sound
fine. When playing bass-strum patterns, remember the
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
“You gotta keep ‘em separated.”
Try your bass-strum with a six string G chord, being
sure to have a bass part and a treble part.
|
3
3
0
3
3
3
0
3
"
Now do the same thing with a four string D in Fig.
changes are actually pretty easy. Usually, on the first
4a below. Since your bass note is on the fourth string,
beat of a measure with a new chord, we need the chord
you only have the remaining three strings available for
completely formed, right? But with the bass-strum style,
your strum.
on the first beat we only need to sound the bass note,
which on chords like A, D and E is an OPEN string,
and on chords like Cadd9 or G or Fmaj7 necessitates
Changing Chords is Easy in the
Bass-Strum Style, Because on
the First Beat, We Only Need One
Note, Not the Entire Chord
ONLY ONE FINGER. Either way we have a little extra
time to sort out our chord, which is is handy because
we may need to be looking at our strumming hand on
the first beat.
Now that you’re moderately comfortable making bass-strums, let’s CHANGE CHORDS. Bass-strum
Work on the progression in Fig. 4b, below, until you’re
moderately confident and comfortable with each change.
Fig. 4a
'
D
0
2
3
2
0
2
3
2
|
0
2
3
2
0
2
3
2
"
3
3
0
\
0
1
2
\
Fig. 4b
\
C
\
Am
0
1
0
3
0
0
1
0
3
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
|
G
|
F J7
3
3
0
3
3
3
0
1
2
3
Playing The Bass-Strum
with Eighth Notes
“ands”. This is a very common country rhythm as exemplified by almost every Johnny Cash song.
Now do the same thing, but this time play eighth
notes. It should be pretty easy, if you just count differently! Play bass notes on the beat, and strums on the
\
C
\
Am
0
1
0
3
0
1
0
3
0
1
2
0
0
1
0
3
0
1
2
0
0
1
0
3
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
0
|
|
G
3
3
0
3
3
3
0
3
0
FJ7 1
2
3
3
3
3
0
3
0
1
2
3
3
3
0
\
0
1
2
\
3
0
1
2
3
The Palm-Muted Bass-Strum
are two heavy bass-strums on the one and the “and” of
As a bonus in this intensive survey of bass notes, let’s
look at something a little trickier. Often good guitar
players palm mute their bass note. In the example
below, which is rhythmically reminiscent of “Purple
Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, “Everlasting Light” by The
Black Keys, or “We Will Rock You” by Queen there
one followed by a full strum on the two. Try singing
\
PM
PM
E
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
get the hang of it.
Good job! By learning to play bass-strums you have
begun the transition from a mere strummer to an adept
picker. Now onto your songs!
|
PM
0
0
1
2
0
“We Will Rock You” along with the exercise to help
2
0
PM
E
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
2
0
\
CLASS FOUR SONGS
Bass-Strum
Here is a basic arrangement o f a tune similar to a tune
by the man usually considered the best rock guitarist of
all time!
Purple Palm Mute Bass Strum
\
PM
|
2
0
2
0
PM
0
0
1
2
|
|
2
0
2
0
PM
0
0
1
2
|
2
3
2
3
PM
3
3
0
0
\
|
2
0
2
0
0
2
2
2
This progression underpins thousands of popular
songs. Lately I’ve been playing “One Day” by Matisyahu
with this progression, but it also is the harmony behind
“No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley, “Someone Like
You” by Adele and zillions of other tunes.
Cliche Progression
\
\
C
0
1
0
3
Am
0
0
1
0
3
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
|
|
e
G
3
3
0
3
F J7
3
3
3
0
3
0
1
2
3
0
1
2
\
\
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
RHYTHM:
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S C H O O L
G U I T A R
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N E A R
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
5
Getting Physical: Learn The Scratch and
Never Need a Drummer Again
{
Learn The Scratch and Never Need A Drummer Again
As You Authentically Strum Songs Like “Stand By Me” a la John Lennon,
“Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and many MORE .
ntroducing the Scratch
city, and I thought “wow, I want to be able to sound just
There I was, years ago, fresh from
the farm and knocking around the
amazing August nighttime streets of
New York City. I heard the sound
of music from inside a darkened doorway. I heard an
amazing singer. I heard a great grooving guitar player.
And I heard a really strong and laid-back drummer just
hitting the snare drum on the two and the four. They
sounded great! I had to get closer to the band, so I
followed the music in past the bar and into the smoky
back room of the club.
Imagine my surprise when I saw just one guy with a
guitar doing everything. He was singing and playing the
song “Summer in the City”, and it was summer in the
\
PM
G
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
}
0
2
3
like that.” I was really amazed by how he could sound
like a guitar and a drum at the same time!
I had to find out how he did it, so after the show I introduced myself, and that guitarist and I became friends.
His name was Ish, his secret was a technique called the
scratch, and now it is my turn to pass the knowledge
onto you.
How To Scratch
Let’s build up the scratch b it by bit. First, review
your right hand damp (also called the palm mute) from
class two, because the scratch and the damp are related
at the excersise at the bottom of page!
|
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
\
Now, onto the scratch. Make a G chord, and put the
outside edge of your palm across all six strings, right
put this into practice. Feel freeYour teacher will be a big
help with this!
where it would be on a big loose nice strum. This isn’t
Finally, put this into practice from a free strum.
where you put it for a palm mute. It isn’t close to the
PICK UP your hand. Let it drop in such a way that the
bridge—it is probably over the sound hole.
edge of your palm hits the strings first, and sound a nice
Now, strum all six strings with the outside edge of
strong pick stroke! Turn it into a continuous motion,
your palm remaining down across the strings. Since
palm contact followed by pick scrape. This may feel
your palm edge is preventing the strings from vibrating,
extremely awkward at first—that’s OK! Here are stop
you’ll should get a beautiful SCRATCH sound. Try it
motion pictures of the beginning, middle and end of a
out a few times—but not too many, because we have to
single scratch:
1. The beginning of the scratch.
2. The middle of the scratch.
3. The end of the scratch. The pick
The outside edge of the palm is
The pick begins to scrape against
is below the strings.
touching the strings.
the strings.
The key to making an amazing scratch sound is to
keep your strumming hand moving! Review an alternating eighth note strum.
[ ]
[ ]
[
]
[
]
\ G
\
Nothing to it, right? Now, we’re going to turn the
2 and the 4 into scratches. In guitar rhythm notation,
a scratch is usually shown with an X instead of a regular note.
[ ]
[ ]
[
]
[
]
\ G
41 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S F I V E
\
The most important thing is KEEP YOUR HAND
Then play your scratch rhythm with an Am to G
MOVING! Listen to your teacher do this, and get the
plant change. Lead with your second finger when
sound in your head! Download “Stand By Me” by John
going to the G chord—remember that good guitar
Lennon, or a Crowded House album, or “Don’t Panic”
players use their fingertips to play close to the fret! On
by Coldplay or any Ben Harper or Jack Johnson record
your way back to the Am, lead with your second finger.
and lead with the outside edge of your palm on the two
(Fig. 5b)
and the four, and soon you’ll start to get the hang of this.
Is your mind totally blown by the scratch? I hope so,
Try your scratch rhythm with an Em to G pivot
and if you are playing the scratch now, you’ve had a suc-
change, remember the first finger stays down! (Fig. 5a)
cessful class. Good job. Now, let’s try a song!
Fig. 5a
' Em
\ G
"
Fig. 5b
' Am
\ G
"
A Note About the Cartoons
Observant readers m
ay notice that there are several
cartoons in this guitar manual. You may wonder why,
and here is the answer: I like cartoons and so I wanted
to include some.
When I wrote my first guitar book, literally dozens of
guitar education professionals told me “the book is good,
but there are way too many unrelated stories about
growing up in Idaho—you should get rid of them.”
And literally hundreds of amateur guitar students told
me “The book is good and I really like the stories.” So I
left the stories in. For this, my second guitar book, I’ve
decided to keep the stories and add cartoons. Here is a
story about cartoons.
When people ask me what I do for a living, I usually
say “I’m a rock ‘n’ roll entrepreneur.” I figure I qualify,
because I play lots of rock guitar, I teach lots of rock
guitar, and I helped start a school where lots of people
play and teach lots of rock guitar.
But I didn’t always want to be a rockpreneur. My first
dream career was to be a defensive back in the National
Football League. Sadly, the University of Idaho coaching
staff seemed to think I could make my highest contribu-
tion to the team by folding socks, so I decided to learn to
After that misadventure I decided I should restart
juggle as a back-up plan. Soon, my brother Luke and I
my art career with stick figures and work up from
were performing regularly, he in the capacity of a juggling
there. Here is an example of a work from my early stick
prodigy, and I in the guise of a haplessly uncoordinated
figure period:
yet enthusiastic introducer of tricks. “Ladies and gentleman!” I’d yell, “Now Luke will juggle fire...now he will
juggle knives...now he will make and eat a salad while
juggling! Isn’t he great?” But one day Luke began to tell
his own jokes, and once again I was adrift.
That’s when I became an artist. First I thought I’d
be a gifted painter, but there were so many different
colors and I found it difficult to make spaceships and
aliens look as realistic as they deserved. So I decided to
Stick nuclear family running from stick nuclear explosion.
simplify and began working hard on ink drawings. After a semester of this I figured that I had mastered my
Strangely, such simple work seemed to garner more
art enough to attract members of the opposite sex, so
attention than even my most detailed and lush panora-
I put some ink sketches of aliens, fruit, and trees on
ma of alien plants devouring human astronauts. Encour-
the outside of my dormitory door as a sort of beacon
aged, I decided to make a comic strip about two long
to art-loving females. Sure enough, a few days later I
haired guitar playing and juggling brothers, one who
opened my door to discover one peering intently at my
slept in all the time and watched lots of TV, but pulled
door. “Hi,” I said in a suave and artistic tone. “Hi,” she
straight A’s in Chemistry, and the other who was sincere
said. “Are you a psychology major?” “No, I am an art
yet hapless. I ended up drawing this cartoon strip for
major” I replied. “Then why do you have Rorschach
the University of Idaho Argonaut (usually referred to as
ink blot tests all over your door” she asked. “Ha, ha” I
the Arggggghhhhonaut). I called it “Thin Soup”, because
replied, pleased to discover that my attractive admirer
whenever I told my dad about my plans for world domi-
also had a sense of humor. (Side note: She and I did end
nation in football, juggling, art or guitar he would say,
up seeing each other regularly over the next couple of
“Dan, someday you’re going to get tired of thin soup.”
years, usually from a distance as she was walking rapidly
I’m still not sure what he meant. At the bottom of the
away from me.)
page is an example of Thin Soup.
I loved, just absolutely loved, to walk around campus
Guy One: Hey, did you see the Thin Soup in the
and see my cartoons stuck on dormitory doors and office
Argggghhhhhonaut today?
bulletin boards. “Look, here’s a cartoon of a dog, cat and
Guy Two: No.
dryer by famed cartoonist Gary Larson...and...and here’s
Guy One: It was great, first (laughs), there’s this guy
one of a cow, a chalkboard and some remoras by me. I’m
next to a radio and (laughs some more) and it says
on the same door as Gary Larson. Wow!” And then it
(laughs) it says (laughs) it (Guy One collapses on the
happened...the second greatest moment of my life up to
floor and rolls under a table, laughing, unable to to
that point. I was hanging out in the art building drawing
speak or breath.)
quietly away when two unknown guys walked in, and
Guy Two: Are you OK?
had the following conversation about one of my cartoons:
Guy One: arghhhh...
To my astonishment, I was paid actual money for
life. I thought “If I work hard and do my best, I have a
drawing these cartoons. I was also earned money for do-
legitimate chance to be the preeminent seafood car-
ing a series of cartoons about automatic lumber testing
toonist in the world!” The idea of being
machinery for a company that built such equipment,
the best in the world at something
and a guitar shop traded me a banjo for a couple car-
so excited me that I immediately
toon advertisements. It was FUN! But it wasn’t until
thought up another fifty fish
I had drawn a few dozen cartoons for the Anthony’s
related cartoons.
Seafood in-house newsletter that I realized that I, Dan
Emery, might have the chance to do something
really, really special with my
I decided that I would start at the top and work my
way down, so I began bombarding the mailboxes of
who sits in the back of calculus. Also, invest in something called Google.”
high profile magazines such as The New Yorker and The
Alas, I’m sure such wise words would have fallen on
Atlantic Monthly with dozens of fish related cartoons.
deaf ears. The reality is, without even noticing it, my
Soon I had papered an ENTIRE WALL with rejection
22 year-old self was spending less and less time draw-
letters. “Could it be?” I wondered, “that the world just
ing seafood cartoons and more and more time playing
isn’t ready for my envelope pushing fish cartoons?” Sure,
guitar, because he loved playing guitar even more than
Seafood Digest bought some and Anthony’s Seafood or-
drawing lobsters. And that is OK. In fact, when I re-
dered another 50, but the non-seafood-industry world
flect on my life thus far, I realize that my biggest regrets
just didn’t seem interested.
are for the times when I didn’t do what I loved, and
Sometimes I imagine traveling back in time, and
my greatest successes and the most fun have come from
arriving at say one or two o’clock in the afternoon 20
throwing myself into what I did love. So, instead of ac-
years ago, to my 22 year old self. I would shake myself
tually traveling back in time, I’m going to imagine that
violently awake, and then I’d yell “Don’t quit! You can
I’m whispering in my younger self ’s ear, and your ear,
do it! Stay focused on seafood cartoons! You are closer
and my ear: Do what you love.
than you think!” And then I’d yell “And while you’re at
it, I really think you should talk to that red-haired girl
I’m sure it will work out fine. In the meantime, I
hope you enjoy the cartoons!
CLASS FIVE SONGS
The Scratch
The following progression can be used to play many dif-
This is a great song for practicing several fundamen-
ferent songs, one of which is “Stand By Me” by Ben E.
tal habits of guitar. LEAVE COMMON FINGERS
King. I am thinking of that song, because if you purchase
DOWN while changing from G to Em, from Em to C,
John Lennon’s version, you’ll hear laid back, confident
and from C to D7. KEEP THE HAND MOVING as
scratching sounds. I’ve arranged a similar progression,
you play your scratch strum, and play the correct num-
“Standish”, in homage not only to John Lennon’s awe-
ber of strings on each chord (six strings on the G and
some scratching on “Stand By Me” but also in memory
Em, five on the C and four on the D7.)
of the intimidating Pilgrim militia leader, Myles Standish.
Standish
[
]
[
]
[
]
[
]
etc.
V
' G
\ G
\
\ Em
\ Em
\
\ C
\ D¶
\
\ G
\ G
"
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
RHYTHM:
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5
1(Page xx-xx) What's better
than jamming with a friend?
Sometimes it is jamming with
two hundred other people in the
summer sun. For several years
we've spent the summer solstice
playing guitar en masse in Union
Square Park as part of Make
Music New York.
2Teacher Kyle and student Peter
share a song and a smile in
Brooklyn Guitar School's Blue
Room. Sometimes rock bands
rehearse here. If you look closely
you can see part of the drum set
reflected in the mirror.
3I love teacher Woody's smile
as he backs up students Shari,
Ancil and Kimberly on stage at
a student showcase at Hanks
Saloon in Brooklyn. Woody is
also a talented photographer who
took many of the pictures in this
book--but not this one.
4Students love how welcome they
feel when they walk into one of
our schools, because they are
going to get smiled at! In this
case, Michelle is the one sharing
the incredible smile.
5One of the best ways to learn
to play guitar is to get ready
to perform a show. That's
why we sponsor the Open Mic
for Beginners meet-up. Here
stalwart students Nancy and
Janine take the stage in The Club
Room. Wait a minute, Nancy
and Janine, you aren't beginners!
That's ok, you used to be!
N Y C
G U I T A R
S C H O O L
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G U I T A R
F O R
N E A R
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
6
{
SuperRock and SuperBallad Strums
PLUS D M inor
Combine palm mutes and full strums to emulate the driving rhythm of songs like “Somebody
That I Used To Know” by Gotye or “When I Come Around” by Green Day or the poignant
feel of songs like “Crazy” by Aerosmith or “End of The Road” by Boyz ii Men. And learn Dm.
his class is all about YOU b ecoming a strong rhythm player who
can establish an honest to goodness
GROOVE. If you are playing a confident, smooth rhythm, it almost
doesn’t matter what chords you are playing, because your
listener won’t be able to stop themselves from responding
to the music. In this week’s lesson, we’ll explore two of
my favorite grooves, which I’m calling “Super Rock” and
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
}
“Super Ballad”. These strum patterns are VERY similar in
approach, but dramatically different in effect. We’ll also
learn a powerful new chord for your rock and roll arsenal.
The “Super-Rock” Strum Pattern
Review the palm mute—it consists of eighth notes
played with all down strums across the low strings as
you dampen them with your palm.
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
PM
V
' E
\ E
"
Good guitarists don’t always do the same thing,
full strums. Note that the two and four are marked with
though. They may mix full strums in with their palm
an accent symbol—“>”. The reason I like to call this the
mutes. They are expressive. Here is a measure of palm
“Super-Rock” strum is because it sounds super on punk
muted eighth notes, but each two and four are played as
>
PM
V
' E
rock and hard rock songs.
>
PM
>
PM
>
PM
\ E
PM
"
Try this strum pattern while changing between
an Am and a G chord. This changes similar to the
progression in “Somebody That I Used to Know”
by Gotye or the traditional nautical drinking song
“What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor”.
(Fig. 6a)
Now...try changing in the middle of a measure.
Take it slow. (Fig. 6b)
Fig. 6a
>
PM
>
PM
>
PM
' Am
>
PM
PM
\ G
"
Fig. 6b
>
PM
>
PM
>
PM
' Am
G
>
PM
\ G
PM
G
"
The “Super-Ballad” Strum Pattern
strums and count aloud. Remember to tap your foot only
Next, let’s take the concept of the Super-Rock, and apply
it to triplet rhythms. Begin by reviewing triplets. Divide
each beat into three pulses, counted “one-trip-let”, “twotrip-let” and so on. Strum all short, palm-muted down
on the beat, not on the “trip” or the “let”: (Fig. 6c)
Now, to turn this into the “Super-Ballad” strum, all
you have to do is play a heavy down strum on the two
and the four, like so: (Fig. 6d)
Fig. 6c
PM
V
' G
"
Fig. 6d
>
PM
V
>
PM
PM
' G
53 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S S I X
"
In order to really strum with the Super Ballad feel
counted one, two, three, four, five, six. The “8” in 6/8
we need to leave the perspective of 4/4 time with a trip-
means that each eighth note will count as one beat. Try
let feel and enter the perspective of 6/8 time. The “6”
it out, counting each beat aloud.
in 6/8 means that there will be six beats per measure,
>
PLAY
PM
SAY
fl— '
X
PM
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
G
FIVE
SIX
"
Let’s try this with a progression. This is the classic
Hmmm...this is a BIG WEEK! Did I put too much
“I-vi-IV-V progression that you learned in the key of G
in this lesson? I hope not, because before we go onto our
(G-Em-C-D7) in the last class.
songs, there is one important new chord to learn.
>
PM
>
PM
' G
PM
\ Em
>
PM
' C
\
>
PM
PM
\ D¶
\
The D
minor
Chord!
Here is the D minor, essential for songs such as “Los-
Two days ago as I typed away on this book in the NYC
Guitar School office, our amazing teacher Anne Husick
walked in. She is always ready to stand up for the best
interests of her students, and she said, “Dan, I just want
you to know that I think that we really, really need a D
minor in the first classes.”
One day ago as I typed away our amazing teacher
Lenny Molotov, who wrote NYC Guitar School’s Fingerstyle Basics for Guitar book, walked in and said, “You
know, Dan, there’s no D minor in our first classes.
They’re going to need that D minor.”
Today I’m thinking about trade offs—do we work
late or spend time with our family? I’m thinking about
balance—do we nourish an old relationship or make a
new friend? I’m thinking about choices—do we keep
playing in a band or start a guitar school?
What is the MOST essential guitar knowledge we
should present to you in the ten limited classes of this
course? Some would argue for the G seventh, others for
the blues vamp and yet others would advocate skipping
directly to playing guitar with your teeth. All I know is
that if Anne and Lenny think you should learn the D
minor chord, you probably should!
(+1 line 10 words of text)
ing My Religion” by REM, “Evil Ways” by Santana,
“Masters of War” by Bob Dylan, “Dani California” by
the Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.
Dm
D minor
THE DM CHORD.
When I looked up D minor on Wikipedia, the entry said that film composer
Hans Zimmer is sometimes criticized for his constant use of D minor in
movies like Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The
Da Vinci Code. That’s one of the coolest personal faults I’ve heard of. Personally, I much rather be accused of overuse of the D minor chord than procrastination, poor hygiene, or scratching myself in public. Keep it up, Hans!
REPLACE TEXT
Try changing between the D and the Dm. Leave
Then work on your Dmi with a plant change to the
your third finger down! Start with slow whole note
four fingered G. Notice that you can leave your third
strums and build it up to the full rhythm, our “Super
finger down! Start with one strum per chord before
Ballad” strum. (Fig. 6c)
building up to the full rhythm. (Fig. 6d)
Fig. 6c
>
>
PLAY
PM
fl— '
X
PM
PM
D
| Dm
"
Fig. 6d
>
>
PLAY
PM
fl— '
X
PM
PM
Dm
| G
Fmaj7 to Dm and vice versa is another common
change and features a second finger in common.
Below, try playing this change with the SuperRock strum pattern.
>
PM
V
' DM
Good job! You can scratch, bass-strum, palm mute...
and as of today you can also play Dmi. Now, your
teacher will give you an appropriate songs to take home
with you. Have a great week!
>
PM
"
>
PM
>
PM
\ FJ7
PM
"
CLASS SIX SONGS
Super Rock/Super Balld Strums
This progression i s similar to “Drivers Seat” by Sniff ’n
To Know” by Gotye. It will sound amazing with the
The Tears, “Sick of You” by Iggy and The Stooges,
Super Rock rhythm. Try playing along with your capo
“Stay” by Lisa Loeb or even “Somebody Who I Used
on fret five.
Strumbody Who I Used To Know
>
>
etc.
PM
V
PM
' Am
PM
G
' Am
G
\ Am
G
"
\ FJ7
G
"
My 12 year old son and 9 year old daughter have
playing a progression very much like this next one. Tune
spent a lot of time in rock clubs—but now we are just a
down a half step for an even closer approximation! Oh,
few weeks away from their first ever big time arena show!
and this is Katy Perry’s “Firework”, again, in the Key of
We are so excited! It’s Muse at Madison Square Garden.
C—which sounds great with Super-Rock. Beyonce uses a
Hopefully they’ll play “Starlight” and if they do, they’ll be
similar progression for “Halo” but with a different feel.
>
PM
V
' C
Musebright
>
PM
PM
\ Dm
We’ve already used this classic progression in an earlier
\ Am
\ F
"
Love Me” by James Morrison, “In The Still of The Night”
lesson in the Key of G (G-Em-C-D). Here the I-vi-IV-V is
by The Five Satins or myriad others. Try capoing up to the
again a la “Donna” by Rudy Valens, “If You Don’t Wanna
the sixth fret for the James Morrison version.
If You Don't Wanna Play Full Barre Chord F
>
PM
VX
fl— ' C
PM
\ Am
\ FJ7
\ G
"
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
RHYTHM:
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646-485-7244
N Y C
G U I T A R
S C H O O L
|
G U I T A R
F O R
N E A R
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
7
{
Mixing and Matching Bass Notes
and The Best Strum To Create
The Bass-Best Strum
Like Cats and Mice, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Vikings and Helmets With Horns,
Some Things Just Go Great Together. Combine Bass-Strums with an alternate strum pattern
(for example, The Best Strum) to play tunes like “Redemption Songs” by Bob Marley,
“Closer to Fine” by Indigo Girls, many Oasis songs, and MORE.
ou’re most of the way
through the class! Good job!
Today we’re going to begin
spinning the straw of your basic rhythm skills into audible
gold. But first I have a question for you.
Have You ever Wondered
if You had Enough Talent to
Accomplish Your Goals?
I have...but it turns out that an inappropriate focus on
talent actually holds people back. You see, talent is not
an unchangeable characteristic.
In fact, science tells us that when a person practices music, their brains and nerve connections actually
change in an observable way. Your ability increases! Unfortunately, when musicians think that talent is a static
predictor of future success or failure, they are headed for
disappointment. Here are two false beliefs about talent
held by many first time guitar player which are deadly
threats to their enjoyment and success:
}
False Belief # 1
“I have no musical talent a nd I can’t learn to play
guitar.” Many of our students took piano or other music
lessons when they were young with over strict teachers
using difficult, boring lessons, and decided they lacked
musical talent. Others were told, “you just aren’t good
at music” or “you are tone deaf.” And, based on this
limited experience or inaccurate feedback, they decided
“I guess I just can’t play guitar.”
This Belief is Wrong!
If you enjoy listening to music, t hen you can learn
to play music. If your fingers hurt or you confuse one
chord with another it has nothing to do with talent—
your fingers, brain and body are simply learning to do
something new.
Studies show that people who think they have low
talent falsely interpret normal difficulties as proof of low
talent, and that’s discouraging. Instead, remind yourself
“My body and brain are learning something new, and the
more I practice the better I get.”
59 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S S E V E N
False Belief #2
cause studies show that these students are more likely to
“I’m very gifted musically.” T
his belief can be even
more dangerous to success than the first! This student
may also have failed in childhood music lessons and
been told “you’re very gifted, you just didn’t try”, or they
were told “you have a natural gift for singing” or “you
have a good ear.”
quit when they experience difficulty. What a bummer!
They should be reminding themselves that they love music, saying “my body and brain are learning something
new., and the more I practice the better I get.”
Please, Don’t Worry About Talent!
The bottom line?Thinking about talent is a waste
of time. No matter who you are or what your background experience, the best path to joy in guitar playing is to concentrate on having fun and getting better.
And you know what? If you do that, it won’t be long
until your friends and family are saying “hey, you’re
pretty talented.”
Wrong Again!
I like to remind our teaching staff, “never tell students
they are talented.” Because, the truth is, no matter how
much you love music or feel an affinity for it, your body
and brain will still have to work to learn new things. And
if a student thinks they have a natural gift, that’s bad, be-
The Bass-Best Strum
Q: What about bluegrass, bachata, balakadri, bebop, bossa
In your first bass-strum class you learned to
play a nice crisp bass note followed by downward
strum across the treble strings. This technique is
used in myriad country, bluegrass and folk tunes,
but versions of the bass-strum show up in ALL
styles of guitar music. Did I just
say “all”? Yes! Metal, punk, classical, flamenco, emo, it does not
matter—if you are playing guitar,
you will be playing bass notes.
\
C
3
3
nova and the blues?
A: If you play them with a guitar, you will be playing
bass notes even if the musical style is not alliterative
with the word “bass”.
There are bass strums in bluegrass, bachata, Today
we are going to explore a couple of these other approaches to bass notes. Why don’t you warm up with playing
some straight ahead bass-strums with C and Fmaj7.
|
F J7
3
3
\
Mixing Bass Notes
and Alternate Strums
referred to as the Country Strum, the Down, DownUp Strum, or even the Boom Chuck-A). This should
One of the most common variants o f the bassstrum is to combine it with the Basic Strum (often
[
[
]
[
[
be pretty easy…first review the Basic Strum without
bass notes:
]
[
' C
|
To combine the basic strum with bass notes,
play the basic strum with exactly the same feel and
hand motion, except instead of playing a full strum
\
[
[
]
C
0
1
0
0
1
0
3
[
[
]
0
1
0
0
1
0
3
[
]
[
[
]
F J7
"
on the one and three, play a bass note instead. Try
it with the C to Fmaj7 progression below, and then
let’s talk about it.
|
[
[
]
F J7
0
1
2
0
1
2
3
[
3
[
]
0
1
2
0
1
2
\
Remember to Keep Your Hand
Moving After Bass Notes
your hand locked in with the beat. Try the strum again,
Remember the rhythmic secret from the first bassstrum class...lift your hand after the bass note to keep
the bass note. Also, “keep ‘em separated” to create con-
\
[
[
]
G
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
[
3
this time making sure that you are lifting your hand after
[
]
3
3
0
3
3
0
trast by separating the bass tones from the strum tones.
|
[
[
]
Cå ª
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
[
3
[
]
3
3
0
3
3
0
\
The Bass-Best Strum
an entire winter in a snowy mountain pass with fifty
We could spend weeks o n learning basic strum songs
with bass notes, but we have a lot of material to cover, so
let’s skip on to the main course.
What strum shows up in more great songs than any
other? What strum is the one that would keep you and
your guitar from being eaten if you were stranded for
hungry music fans? What strum will bring untold hours
[
[
of joy to you and those you love? It is The Best Strum!
I know you are extremely familiar with the Best
Strum, but for purposes of pedagogy, play through it a
couple times just to make sure you’re feeling extra confident with it.
]
]
[
]
' G
‘
Now let’s replace the strum on beat one with a bass
Got it? Good. Now pivot from
note. Keep your hand moving and omit the bass note
Em to G. (Fig. 7b)
from the subsequent strums to create sonic contrast. Try
it with a G chord. (Fig. 7a)
Fig. 7a
\
[
[
]
]
[
]
G
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
|
[
[
]
]
[
]
G
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
[
[
]
]
[
]
G
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
\
Fig. 7b
\
[
Em
0
[
]
]
[
]
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
3
\
Next, try it with chords with bass notes on different
strings, here the Fmaj7 and C.
Fig. 7c
\
FJ¶
3
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
|
C
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
\
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
\
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
\
3
To really get used to this technique, try this four bar
progression using bass notes on multiple strings, C to
Fmaj7 to G back to C.
Fig. 7d
\
[
[
]
]
[
]
C
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
|
FJ¶
\
G
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
1
0
|
C
3
3
3
3
Now, onto your song!
CLASS SEVEN SONGS
Bass Best Strum
Here againis the I-vi-IV-V progression, a la “One Day”
by Matisyahu, “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley,
“Someone Like You” by Adele and zillions of other tunes.
Many of these songs are played with the Bass Best-Strum!
One Play
\
\
3
0
|
C
|
Am
G
3
3
FJ7
\
\
This Am-C-G-D or ii-IV-I-V progression is the basis for songs like “Who Will Save Your Soul” by Jewel
and “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People.
Who Will Play Your Chord
\
\
0
3
Am
G
|
|
3
0
C
D
\
\
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
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S C H O O L
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G U I T A R
F O R
N E A R
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
8
{
The Scratch Blended with
The Best Strum—
The Scratch-Best Strum!
The Scratch-Best Strum, which will come in handy for capturing
the feel of songs like “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by
Death Cab For Cutie, or “Don’t Panic” by Coldplay.
his is a short lesson. B
ut it’s
a good one! Once again we are
going to take that incredible, mutable, beloved and amazing Best
Strum and apply it to one of your
[
}
Amazing x Amazing = Really Amazing.
[
]
]
[
' Dm
new techniques. Then you’ll be able to play with a feels
similar to Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson and more. Wow!
First review the Best Strum as you change between a Dm
and a 4 finger G. Of course I know that you are leaving
your third finger down.
]
[
|
]
]
[
]
G
The Scratch Reviewed
As we continue to build up our foundation for this
week’s incredible groove, review the scratch with alternate eighth notes:
[
"
[ ]
[ ]
\ G
[
]
[
]
\
The Best Strum x The Scratch =
The Scratch Best-Strum
strum with a scratch on beats two and four. Warning: when you get this, you won’t want to stop. It’s
easy, all you have to do is practice and practice and
practice! First try it with a G.
You now have the capacity to generate some
serious guitar firepower. Next, combine the best
[ ]
[ ]
]
[
]
\ G
\
Then move on to a Dm to G change.
[
[
]
]
[
]
[
' Dm
|
]
]
[
]
G
"
The “Ultimate” Strum?
Now you’ve got the skills to play mixes of scratches,
If you want to get really crazy, and I know you
do, you can combine the bass-best and the scratch-best.
I think I’ll just call that “The Ultimate Strum”. To get
comfy with this technique, just play the
scratch-best strum and replace the one
with a bass note. WOW! That is NICE!
Give it a try.
bass notes and alternate strums that you might hear in
songs like “Don’t Panic” by Coldplay or “I’m Yours” by
Jason Mraz. On to songs!
Q: Dan, I’ve combined the Best Strum with bass notes
and with the Scratch. What else can I combine?
A: Absolutely everything!!!!
\
[
[
[
]
]
[
]
3
3
0
3
3
0
X
X
X
X
X
X
3
3
0
3
X
X
X
X
X
X
|
[
[
]
]
[
]
3
3
0
3
3
0
X
X
X
X
X
X
3
3
0
3
X
X
X
X
X
X
67 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S E I G H T
\
CLASS EIGHT SONGS
Scratch Best-Strum
Speaking of Jason Mraz, h
ere is a progression very simi-
similar as well. If you were to place your capo on the
lar to the one he uses for “I’m Yours”, and if you play
fourth fret you’ll even be in the same key!
it with the best strum and scratches, your feel will be
Give it a try!
"Yours"
BASS
' G
| D
| Em
| C
"
The next progression recalls “I Will Follow You
is kept with a fingernail sweep rather than the scratch.
Into The Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie. I love the
I challenge you to watch the video and try to learn the
video for the song because at the beginning you can
exact guitar part. In the meantime, play this progres-
see a close up of the guitar part. Ben Gibbard is using
sion with the Scratch Best-Strum to really come close
thumbs and fingers instead of a pick, and the backbeat
to the feel of the song.
"Follow"
BASS
' C
| C
| Am
| Am
' FJ7
| FJ7
| C
| G
|
"
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
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646-485-7244
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N E A R
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
9
Class Two PLUS Three PLUS Four=
The Palm-Muted Bass-Strum w/ Sixteenth Note Up-Pick.
WOW! Let’s Just Call It Funky Super-Rock.
{
}
Add a Syncopated Up-Pick to A Bass-Strum To Give A Song Urgency, Groove and
Flow as in “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, “Last Dance With Mary Jane” by Tom
Petty, “Dani California” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many other songs.
A Nice Haunch of Juicy Pulsing
4/4 Time Braised In Eighth Notes
and a Rich Solid Undertone of
Pulsing Bassy Palm-Mutes
t is now time to start putting your
newly acquired rhythmic powers into
use simultaneously. Think of it as a delicious recipe—start with a nice haunch
of juicy pulsing 4/4 time braised in
eighth notes, then add a rich solid undertone of bassy
palm mutes, mix in the bright, full flavors of a shimmering chord strum, and then add a dash of up-strummed
sixteenth note to the mix to complete a compelling rich
rhythm that is sure to please your musical dinner guests
every time! Let’s cook up this dish one ingredient at a
time. Play through each part with your teacher, building
mastery as you go.
\
Ok, I know this is ridiculously easy for you, but
don’t take it for granted. Like a potato, basic rhythm
is plain yet hearty, and like rice, palm mutes can be
prepared in many different styles. Green Day. The Ramones. The Clash. Ben Harper. Jack Johnson. Kurt
Cobain. Great punk, metal, shred, country and acoustic guitar players all use a heavy palm mute for expression and tension. Play these eighth notes with all down
strums on just a couple of strings with a heavy damp.
PM
E
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
|
G
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
\
The Bright And Full Flavors of
a Shimmering Chord Strum
and “and”, and then strum several treble strings on the
Now turn the eighth notes i nto a bass-bass-strumbass pattern, which I’ve been calling “Super Rock”. Play
just a couple of low down palm muted notes on one
on. The tab shows three strummed treble strings on the
>
\
PM
E
0
0
1
2
2
0
strum, but four or five or even two are fine—the FEEL
is more important than the exact number of strings.
>
PM
2
0
two. Then go back to the palm mute on “and”, and so
>
PM
2
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
2
2
0
|
PM
G
2
3
>
3
3
0
0
2
3
PM
2
3
2
3
2
3
3
3
0
0
2
3
\
Step One—
A Dash of Sixteenth Notes
HOT. First, let’s slow this down a little bit. Then, keep
We’ll need to take a couple of steps to prepare our little
alternate strums on two–“e”–“and”–“a”. Just try two
spicy flourish. Like jalapeno it may be tiny, but it is
beats first, nice and slow with just one chord.
\
PM
your palm mutes going on the one and “and”, but play
|
PM
E
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
G
3
3
0
0
3
3
0
0
3
3
0
0
3
3
0
0
\
0
0
3
3
1�=�25=6��1�=�25=6��
2
2
2
2
Step Two—
A Dash of Sixteenth Notes
YOUR HAND but don’t actually play. That’s right, air
Now, d
o almost exactly the same thing with one
actually articulate the fourth, to make a bright little
important difference. On Two–“ee”–“and” MOVE
chirpy up strum on the “a” of two.
\
COUNT:
strum the first three of your sixteen notes pulses. Only
PM
1�=�@��6��1�=�@��6��
PM
E
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
2
|
G
2
3
2
3
3
3
0
0
71 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S N I N E
\
Step Two-And-A-Half
hand UP on the “e” of two and DOWN on the “and” of
Now we are going to put a bright treble down strum
back in on the two. After this down strum you must
move your hands in a sixteenth note pulse!!! Move your
two even though you are not actually strumming. (See:
\
COUNT:
Good guitar players lock their hands in with the beat!)
Include the chirpy up strum on the “a” of two!
PM
1�=�2��6��1�=�2��6��
|
PM
E
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
Step Three—
The Full Pattern
2
3
3
3
0
0
\
hear your teacher’s example. (Fig. 9a)
\
'
COUNT:
Fig. 9b
2
3
3
3
0
0
very next beat, the three! It may be extremely helpful to
When you are comfortable with that, then play this
pattern twice in a row, which makes up an entire measure. This will be slightly tricky, because you’ll upstrum
on the “a” of two and continue the movement of that up
strum all the way up above the strings so that you can
follow directly with a palm muted down strum on the
Fig. 9a
G
Step Four—
The Full Pattern with
a Chord Change
When you are comfortable w
ith that, play the pattern for an entire measure with a chord change! (Fig. 9b)
PM
E
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
2
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
PM
1�=�2��63�=�4��6
PM
E
2
0
\
PM
0
0
1
2
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
G
2
3
2
3
3
3
0
0
3
3
0
0
"
At Last Our Dish Is Complete!
Now play the pattern o ver two measures, with several chords. (The following progression is similar to
“Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, by the way.)
'
E
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
2
0
N
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
|
G
2
3
2
3
3
3
0
0
3
3
0
0
A
2
0
2
0
0
2
2
ow you’re all set to get
some appropriate songs from your
teacher to practice. GOOD JOB and
Congrats on a break-thru week.
73 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S N I N E
0
2
2
"
CLASS NINE SONGS
Funky Super Rock
Even though Funky Super-Rock m
ay seem complicated,
This Am-Fmaj7-C-G, or vi-IV-I-V progression recalls
and combines several rhythmic elements, make no mis-
“Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry or “Little Talks”
take—it is in heavy rotation in monster guitar songs!
by Of Monsters and Men.
Play Tonight
\
\
PM
Am
0
F
3
0
C
3
\
PM
3
\
G
3
3
3
And I can’t ignore one of the most famous Super-
G progression, just like “Elderly Woman Behind The
Rock guitar songs of all, “Sweet Home Alabama” by
Counter In A Small Town” by Pearl Jam, “San Disco
Lynyrd Skynyrd, which encompasses a D to Cadd9 to
Reggaefornia” by Jason Mraz, etc.
Sweet Funky Super-Rock
\
PM
PM
\ D
0
Cåª
0
3
3
|
| G
3
\
3
3
3
\
CLASS
PRACTICE CHART:
RHYTHM:
\
!
+
@
+
#
+
$
+
\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
|\\\\\
T
A
B
646-485-7244
N Y C
G U I T A R
S C H O O L
|
G U I T A R
F O R
A B S O L U T E
B E G I N N E R S
C L A S S
10
REVIEW
and ROCK STAR MOMENT
{
Massive Review and Celebratory Party!
You did it. Recognition is therefore due...
on’t make the mistake of
not rewarding yourself for your
success! Sure, there are new
mountains to climb and vistas
to view, but right now enjoy
the summit you are on. I congratulate you! If you’ve
kept up with this class, then you possess a precious
gift uniquely rare among beginning guitarists—you
possess groove! If you didn’t keep up with the class as
much as you wanted too, well, at least you are on your
way. Today enjoy playing through your songs from the
last nine weeks, and give yourself a well deserved pat
on the back. You’ve made it this far, and are indeed an
incredible rock star of a guitar student.
There is NO NEW MATERIAL in this, the final
session of our rhythm guitar laden course. Instead, your
teacher will take your questions and review some of the
vast array of guitar knowledge you’ve been exposed to
over the past few months.
Now I’d like to discuss summer storms.
Here in New York City, it is a hot and humid day
at the beginning of a hot and humid summer. People
are moving like zombies down West 30th Street under
the weight of all the water in the air. If you were to
roll in salted ice chips for twenty minutes in a desperate
attempt to cool down, you’d just be drenched in hot,
sticky sweat again seconds later.
Naturally, my mind slips back to my childhood home
}
of Kendrick, Idaho, where the summers were just as hot
but not at all humid. They were as dry as the inside of
a pottery kiln, and could desiccate living creatures into
astronaut food-like dehydrated material.
Back then and there a teenage boy without a summer
job had the social status of freshly flung mucus. Ideally,
one obtained a job driving a grain truck. Next best was
a job that would cover you in dirt and oil and give you
a chance to be seen by a teenage girl walking out of the
hardware store. I imagined that if I were that boy, that girl
would think “wow—that greasy, sweaty, dirty boy is such
a manly, hard-working hunk. He probably just purchased
some essential nuts or bolts in that hardware store—gosh,
I’d really like to French kiss him.” At least that is what I
hoped at the time. Years later, with the hindsight of adulthood, I realize that she was thinking “wow-that greasy,
sweaty, dirty boy is covered in oil, sweat and dirt. I’d better tell all my friends that he’s a leper.”
One summer my best friend Ted’s dad gave me a
job picking rocks. Despite what you may have heard,
picking rocks is not very glamorous. It entailed walking through a big field full of baking hot dirt and picking up any rock that might potentially damage a piece
of equipment more valuable than myself, i.e. any piece
of equipment. When my rock bucket overflowed with
stones, I staggered to the side of the field, dumped it out,
and went back for more. Sometimes Ted’s dad would
come by to remind us to be careful not to damage the
buckets. “Those buckets are valuable equipment,” he’d
cussing? Oh yes—summer storms! Of course! There’s
say. At other times he expressed touching concern for
the massive heat and weight of unmet potential and
our comfort. “You look cold,” he’d say, “Put on these
desire stretching on and on, heavy and hot and still...
gloves, masks, and parkas and go spray that Canadian
then, a rumble of thunder in the distance...a vibration
Thistle with noxious poisons. Don’t trip—you might
in the air and a tingle on your skin...a flash of lightning
tear your coat.”
against the hill and a rush of wind and the drumming
In Kendrick, rocks and thistles sprouted from the
fields in such natural abundance that sometimes it
fall of raindrops as the world turns cool and wet! Even
the rocks are shiny!
seemed like a shame to try to grow wheat. This led me
Summer storms are awesome! So is music. To me, the
to the first of many great entrepreneurial ideas. “Hey,
feeling of music is much like that of a summer storm—a
Ted,” I said, “I have a great entrepreneurial idea. I bet
tangible expression of the unknowable and inexpressible
that teenage kids from New York City would LOVE to
sweet mystery of life.
pick rocks. Maybe we could take out an advertisement
You have great power within you, to pick up your
and charge them to come to Kendrick to pick rocks and
guitar and to play in your own way or to do other un-
spray thistle for us. And if some of them are girls, they
told wondrous things. I wish you lots more beautiful
may want to French kiss us because we’re covered with
music to listen to, to play, or to experience. I’m going
oil, sweat and dirt!”
to play my own guitar right now! Congratulations and
Ah, good old Kendrick...but wait. What was I dis-
thank you for taking this class!
I see you’re practicing your scales.
77 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S T E N
YOUR NEAR BEGINNERS CHORD DICTIONARY
0
0
0
3
1
2
A
1
2
X
X
Bm
0
0
0
X
X
1
3
2
D7
2
X
X
3
0
X
X
0
0
0
FJ7
2
3
3
C
Dm
2
0
2
0
1
4
0
1
4
3
C7
2
E
3
2
1
0
X
X
0
0
0
0
B7
3
2
1
0
0
0
A7
1
0
X
0
1
1
2
Am
3
2
X
1
0
0
X
0
4
3
1
3
D
Em
2
1
3
1
G
2
4 Fingers of Fun Section
4
3
1
2
G(å∞)
4
3
0
1
2
Cåª
4
3
2
1
Em7
*COMBINE THESE 4 CHORDS IN ANY ORDER TO MAKE YOUR OWN HOT SONG.
0
X
X
(2) 4
3
1
DS¢
YOUR NEAR BEGINNERS STRUM PATTERN ENCYCLOPEDIA
ALTERNATE 8S
QUARTER NOTES
[
[
[
[
[
]
THE BASIC STRUM
[
[
]
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
]
[
[
[
]
[
[
[
[
PM
[
[
[
[
B
[
B
[
[
]
[
[
[
[
[
PM
[
]
[
[
[
= [
[
B
[
]
[
]
PM
fl—
X
> PM
PM
SCRATCH BEST STRUM
]
]
[
[ ]
[
]
[
[
FUNKY SUPER ROCK
PM
]
SUPER BALLAD
>
]
]
[
[ ]
[
BASS BEST STRUM
[
[
SCRATCH STRUM
B
> PM
B
]
[
B
SUPER STRUM
PM
]
BASS STRUM (QUARTER NOTE)
BASS STRUM (8TH NOTE)
B
[
BLUES SHUFFLE
BALLAD STRUM
[
]
THE BEST STRUM
PUNK ROCK(?)
PM
[
[
[
]
79 | N Y C G U I T A R S C H O O L | C L A S S T E N
]
]
[
]
WANT MORE?
Visit New York City Guitar School.
Take the 1 2 or 3 to Penn Station or the BDNQRVWPATH
to Herald Square. Walk downtown to 30th Street.
We’re on the 11th floor of the Recording and Rehearsal Arts Building at
251 West 30th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue.
Come on by!
View a complete schedule of upcoming classes on
the web at www.NYCGuitarSchool.com.
Take online lessons from NYC Guitar School teachers.
Click on the “Learn Online” link for lesson videos
and song examples that go along with this book.
For more books and special pricing for teachers and schools, contact Jen
at [email protected] or call 646-485-7244.
CANDID PHOTO OF THE AUTHOR, DAN EMERY
Here I am with the tools of my trade—
guitar, dry erase marker and white board.
I really enjoy teaching guitar.

guitar - Cloudfront.net

Transcription

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