Module 10 Practice Schedule

Here's the rundown of your practice schedule for the next few weeks!


View the full lesson at Module 10 Practice Schedule | JustinGuitar

Hey people -

Iā€™m on Module 10 and am curious whether I should be capably, effortlessly strumming along with the songs in the app before I move on. Depending on the bpm, most of the time I can get a downstroke on beat 1 (Just learning F, so ā€¦ not that. And I still struggle with C, but this roundā€™s weak G fingering might helpā€¦), but strumming on each beat and switching for the next is at the edge of my capacity (despite feeling very confident with the strumming practices themselves). ā€¦Should I be parked on a module until I can pair old reliable (isnā€™t that what Justin calls that first strum pattern?) with each song? (Do I have too many parentheticals in this short post?)

Bigger Picture, I suppose that question holds along many of the other practices, eg. riffs, naming notes, understanding intervals, etc. Should I have those down cold each module before ā€œleveling up?ā€

Thanks in advance!

Hi Adrewski. If your goal is to play songs by strumming rhythm, then I would say, yes you need to be able to play some simple songs quite smoothly and with good confidence at this stage. Many campfire guitarists donā€™t even know how to play F chord.

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The simplest answer is why do you want to learn to play guitar? If itā€™s not to learn songs then it would be mighty strange!
Learn songs, learn songs, learn songsā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦

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I think I will use the weak G for the Tom Petty song ā€˜Wonā€™t Back Downā€™ because the change between G and C in the song the app is quick.

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So, when Justin says we should learn a songā€“for example La Bamba, what does that actually mean? Does it mean to learn the parts that he taught during the lesson or we should be able to just play it start to end? Iā€™ve got the riff down pretty well (for this level, of course) and the pushed strumming C-F-G progression isnā€™t too bad considering Justin says that using F in songs at this stage is only something we can explore but isnā€™t a focus. La Bamba isnā€™t in the song app. So how would I bridge the gap between knowing the riff and the chord progression to playing the whole song? The song is fun and maybe finding the tab and learning the rest from it would be a worthwhile educational endeavour, but it is far from one of my favourite songs and seems outside the scope of the lesson. Yet, he does say that learning ā€˜the songā€™ is a goal of the lesson. I similarly felt like I was cheating with "Wish You Were Hereā€™ cause I couldnā€™t play the whole song. Iā€™ve got the riff and strumming down enough to make me happy. What have you all done with these elements of the lessons?

No advice but I just want to say I sympathize. ā€œLearn songsā€- its hard to know what that means exactly. Learn the lead melody? Learn the rhythm chords? Learn the riff? Learn an easy version? I donā€™t really like easy versions of anything, not on piano and I donā€™t like the idea of it on guitar either.

On a side note, donā€™t forget that on the website, there is an entire section with song lesson videos that you can filter by grade, skill, and a few other ways. Thereā€™s hundreds of song lessons there. Iā€™ve been using the website for 7 months and just recently realized Iā€™d been neglecting the free song lessons. Iā€™ve tried a few and found theyā€™re too complicated for me even if theyā€™re in my grade level, but having said that, I clearly need the challenges.

Maybe someone will come in with some great advice here. But I have to admit, I havenā€™t been doing very well at learning songs. I donā€™t think I confidently know even one song. Well, thatā€™s not true. I think Iā€™m getting Happy Birthday down pretty well.

LIke @artax_2 I donā€™t really have advice. But Iā€™ve pondered this as well, and hereā€™s how Iā€™ve processed Justinā€™s various pieces of advice so far. As a beginner, ā€œlearn songsā€ means to memorize the chords, be able to play through the song by memory (I struggle with this) with a strumming pattern that you can manage. Take satisfaction in what weā€™ve accomplished, knowing that as we progress weā€™ll return to songs weā€™ve learned, and apply new techniques. (I seem to recall that there are four lessons on Wish You Were Here - certainly beyond my current skill level!) I really struggled with this especially in Grade 1 (Iā€™m in Grade 2 now) because I took little pleasure in switching between two or three chords using a simple strum!

I approached La Bamba in a similar way to you, @GuitarZen: I learned the riff (fun!) and the pushed chords. Then I played through the song simply, using the pushed chords - which sounds pretty cool. (FWIW, I do see La Bamba in my version of the app.) Thatā€™s enough for this beginner to say ā€œI know that song!ā€

One problem I have is learning songs that I donā€™t especially care for, or that Iā€™m not familiar with. I guess I need more instant gratification than those things provide. Iā€™ll need to work on that. :grin:

I think it ultimately depends on your own goals. Personally, Iā€™m not motivated to do this ā€œstrummingā€ kind of song learning as Iā€™m not looking to perform in front of anybody and I donā€™t sing anyway, so playing the same chord progressions becomes a bit stale after a while. Itā€™s great for practicing the techniques of strumming and keeping time, though.

However, I really like transcribing and figuring out melodies and playing along to real recordings. I think itā€™s a way to enhance my connection to the music and helps me understand whatā€™s going on musically.

Agreed. A lot of the songs that are listed are ones that, most of the time Iā€™ve not heard, or want to hear for that matter (not my genre) so it reduces down the list of songs available. It also most feels like being forced to learn these. Saying that I have found a couple that I hadnā€™t heard before that I use for practice.

I havenā€™t gotten around to that either!

That has absolutely been my experience with the few Iā€™ve tried in the past.

I tend to just pick one or two of the recommended songs and find others in the song app on my own. I like a variety of songs instead of learning one or two perfectly. The exception is if the songs are in the practice assistant. I treat the prescribed practice routine as non-negotiable but do stuff around it.

Yes, I can see that. I wouldnā€™t/donā€™t plan to perform in front of anyone either, but Iā€™m a bit different. I enjoy feeling the music with my strumming and feel that since Iā€™m not very good at [feeling/staying with the] rhythm, the strumming is foundational for me. But if that wasnā€™t my cup of tea then I imagine the course would have been boring for me so far. Iā€™m Beginner Grade 2 Lesson 10 and the lessons seem good for meā€“Learning chords and scales and then playing around with them seem fundamental to me as well. Weā€™re learning theory without learning theory, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the input! I feel more at ease with the process after reading some of your experiences.

I noticed the practice schedule on the site is different than the practice schedule on the app. Should I be focusing on one over the other or it doesnā€™t matter?

Iā€™m right on queue with @artax_2ā€¦.thereā€™s plenty to keep me entertained and busy with productive practice routines yet. But having a song down is definitely not one of my hallmark accomplishments. That said, attempting Harvest Moon on the app is decent chord progression work as I try to get nearer the proper speed. I figure, only 3 months in, campfire entertainment is a long game with a few seasons of fundamental development if I take the patient approach and not make songs a hard line in the sand right out the gate. No sense on penalizing progress at this stage of learning if the ultimate goal is to play songs after they said a tad bit more ā€œrealistic?ā€

Hey JustinGuitar team,

In this video Justin asked us to leave an update to let you all know how Iā€™m doing. I havenā€™t commented on here yet, but figured Iā€™d give an update since he asked.

Iā€™m loving all the content. Iā€™m in my early 40s and have tried to learn guitar a few times in my life but have given up in the past. I thought that Iā€™d try again and just follow along with lessons and not stress too much on how Iā€™m coming along. This course has been great for me! Iā€™m plugging away 15-30 minutes per day 3-4 days per week and I canā€™t believe how much Iā€™ve progressed in just a few months. The pace is great and lots of things are coming together.

I sometimes get tempted to jump ahead and investigate other things Iā€™m hearing about, but I find that when I do that I start wasting time instead of just making steady progress.

At some point Iā€™m going to stop working through intermediate and jump over to some modules on strumming and theory. Both of those areas would help a lot Iā€™m sure. As Iā€™m watching these modules itā€™s clear to me that strumming in particular would help me progress.

Iā€™d be curious to hear where Justin (and his team) recommend pausing the main course to do the strumming work.

Thanks for the fantastic resource. I know I wouldnā€™t be learning this instrument without you.

-Jim

Iā€™m not part of the team, but Iā€™m glad youā€™re enjoying the course and finding it helpful. You donā€™t have to pause the main course to work solely on strumming and nothing else. If youā€™re talking about the Strumming SOS course, you can do that as part of your practice routine, just like the Grade 1 practice schedule had some minutes of strumming practice throughout different modules of it. Likewise, when youā€™re ready to learn music theory, you can add it as part of your existing practice schedule, rather than stopping everything else to learn it.

I still cant play the F barre chord properly( I am unable to play F barre chord) , but I completed all the check boxes to move on to next module, can I move to next module? or should I stay until I can play F barre chord.

Oopsā€¦used the wrong Reply button the first time! Hereā€™s what I wrote:

Hi Sharath @sharath_chandra, Iā€™m also in Grade 2. My advice is to move on. Iā€™ve been working on F for many months, and still only hit it about 50% of the time in songs. Itā€™s a process! I think it takes many of us a good amount of time to tame the F. And - it will continue to come up, so youā€™ll be playing it in future modules. :slightly_smiling_face:

In general, when I encounter a chord or technique that I canā€™t master as well as Iā€™d like, itā€™s keeping me from advancing, and Iā€™m getting impatient, I do move on. (Iā€™ve had this experience recently with power chords.) If itā€™s something I care about, I add it to my practice routine. Itā€™ll come eventually with practice!

The other thing that has helped me is periodically going back and reviewing past lessons. Itā€™s amazing how good it feels to do the ā€œoldā€ work a second time, and to improve! This doesnā€™t work for everyone, but for me it is always time well spent.

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You have made some valid points. Guess Iā€™ll move on then.
Thank you :smile: :+1:

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Justin is always suggesting songs, not saying you need to learn them (even La Bamba). Up 'til module 10, I think heā€™s just shown riffs that exercise the lessons of the module. La Bamba is great to learn all the things in this module, but it will be a long climb to really nail it. If itā€™s not a song you like, donā€™t play it! Practice the riff a bit to integrate some key of C fingering and move on. There are usually a few suggested songs for each module - if you do love one of them, learn that one really wellā€¦ keep working on it. Itā€™s really fun to be able to play a song you love well, and if you try to learn a bunch of songs youā€™re not into, itā€™ll be hard to keep your interest long enough to master any of them. And if none of the songs he suggests for the level are your faves, use the internet to find tab for something that is. For the early lessons you could search ā€œguitar tab songs in key of Dā€, for module 10, key of C, et al.

Iā€™m an intermediate player going through the whole beginner course to learn things I may have missed over the years, and Iā€™m finding something useful to practice in each module. Iā€™m on the fence about putting time into La Bamba because itā€™s not a song that I like, but it really has a lot to offer in terms of skill-building from learning the riffs and rhythm. Plus I love to play jam/singalongs and it would be a great one for that.

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