How to Link Guitar Chords using Scales

For those with the DVD (us dinosaurs) its an hour 28 mins in on DVD 1. I know what to do but could not recall seeing a “normal” lesson. The RUST series would explain that but boy have I slept since then. Heck of lot of distractions in the intervening years for sure. :sunglasses:

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Richard,

I assume that RUST pattern 17 is covered in the premium course Strumming Techniques 1 ( or perhaps 2).

Is there material covered ( strumming patterns, rhythm techniques, etc.) in the premium course for strumming techniques (1 & 2) that is not in the Strumming Technique 1 and 2 DVDs which I purchased when I was studying the classic beginner course?

I considered buying the premium course strumming techniques for convenience in viewing, but there were no alternate payment methods such as PayPal or ApplePay and my prepaid VISA did not like international transactions for some reason.

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Hi Stephen,

Yes, RUST Pattern 17 is covered in the Premium Course Strumming Techniques Part 1.

I would have thought that the Premium Course Strumming Techniques is the Strumming Techniques 1 and 2 DVDs that you purchased when studying the classic course.

Maybe drop an email to the support team regarding purchasing any premium courses. I understand that they have issues doing alternative transactions for subscription courses but may be able to assist you if it’s a lifetime subscription rather than a monthly or six monthly subscription.

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@Socio James, thanks for the info.

I also purchased the JG Rhythm Reading book, so with all the strumming examples in the Song Lesson videos, I probably have enough to learn.

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@SteveL_G99

Contact laryne@justinguitar.com about this.
:slight_smile:

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I find this lesson incredibly difficult to follow

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Hey @RonanF : what specifically are you having trouble following? If you give a timestamp of the video that you are finding confusing, I’m sure somebody could help.

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I keep this lesson open as a separate tab in my browser and have been working on it for about 10 minutes a day for the last month. Got C to G down, now I have A to D down. Next up Am to Dm. Getting it into muscle memory until I no longer have to look at my fingers. Great practice for me for fretboard picking without looking where I need to be. Great lesson!

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Welcome to community
This is a great lesson and makes your playing sound better. Can’t wait till I master this. Linking cords with scale notes sounds cool.

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Hey everyone! The GuitarPro file and tab for this lesson are now available! :slight_smile: Enjoy!

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Glad I’m not the only one finding this to be somewhat tricky but it’s the kind of embellishments I hear Justin do all the time when he does his chord transitions, and an attainable goal I’d like to achieve in my 1st year. At least the basic stuff.

I especially love the transitions with C(#), B then A. I find myself singing “I Can’t Be Arsed”. Just need to think up of lyrics to A, B and C and I may have written myself my first ever tune.

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For this lesson I decided to rework “Folsom Prison Blues” by good ol’ Johnny Cash. I am playing it in the key of E and this uses a country blues I-IV-I-V-I with 7th chords sprinkled in for effect. Due to the bluesy nature of the song I believe it doesn’t sound quite right to use strictly notes in the major or minor scales .

For I-IV I am doing E-G-G#-A. For IV-I I am doing A-G-Gb-E. For I-V I am doing E-G-A-B and for V-I I am doing B-G-G-E (yes that’s two Gs instead of A and then G).

Any suggestions for how to play this aside from my links above? In a country blues context or any blues context for that matter what are the typical notes you use to link?

-Dan

How about “I Walk the Line”?

Justin mentions that these chords like c/g and variations of chords can be found in the slash chord grip videos which are in the last module of grade 2 . Perhaps why you can’t explicitly find it is because in the video the chord is only reviewed briefly in the video .I hope this helps!

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G’n’R’s Don’t Cry has a fun one from the C to Am. I don’t know if this is exactly it, but it sounds good (so it is good :smiley:) when I do C-B-C-B-A.

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i just wish you had some practical applications in these kind of lessons. like show us the chord progression you did in the beginning, or a simple song that uses the concepts you show us. it’s easy to learn but i forget if i’m not using it…

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Have a go at Take Me Home, Country Roads.

The chorus goes: G / D / Em / C — G / D / C / G

The strumming pattern is loosely based on the one that Justin used in the lesson: D DU D DU D DU D DU

Try different notes from the key of G major and use your ears to find what works for you: G A B C D E F#

G (chord)      ?  ?
D DU D DU D DU D  D
1 +a 2 +a 3 +a 4  +

D (chord)      ?  ?
D DU D DU D DU D  D
1 +a 2 +a 3 +a 4  +

Etc.

The original tempo is probably a bit fast, so slow it down as much as you need to. To play along with the original, put the capo on fret 2 (key of A major).

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Re: C → F → C chords, I’ve been noodling with “Lean on Me” which has that chord progression. Instead of moving from the A string to the E string, I go the other way, from A string to D string and then back. The bass line progression is C, D, E F when going from the C to the F and then F, E, D, C when going from the F to C. That progression also fits well with the lyrics of the song.

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Why is this so hard? The C to G walkdown is not very easy, but is it because I have issues with being able to get to the thicker string with the fingertips without bending the wrist? I sooooo want to be able to have a flat wrist like Justin, but I can’t figure out how. I have a very strong and natural tendency to bend the wrist to get my fingers on their tips, and with much strength to fret without buzzing the intended fret. Especially anytime the C chord is involved. Will strength build over time in the fingers themselves (not the tips, but there’s a whole other fingertip issue I could start a thread on) for applying pressure on thick strings? Or is it a short finger thing where I’ll just have to get the leverage somehow, even if the wrist bends?

It looks like it’s okay to mute the thin strings if needed in this exercise? I admit I have a hard time with what, in my brain, can sometimes get categorized as sloppy playing when I am just letting my fingers lay down all over the lower strings. But maybe that’s part of the secret to keeping the wrist straight is just laying the fingers flat most of the time.

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Hi @artax_2 , it’s a little hard to diagnose your issue without a video. Perhaps you could post something showing what the problem is?

When you are playing single notes you needn’t necessarily fret them with the fingertips, but can lay down flatter if that’s more doable for you. In fact, many times it’s preferable as you end up muting the strings that you are not playing, a good thing.

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