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151

July 2022

Just over a month into the consolidation period for Grade 2.

The consolidation period has been extremely enjoyable and I feel in no rush to race to the commencement line for Grade 3.

Chords:

I have revised the chords learned in the first two grades and instantly know them including variations and alternative fingering.

I can comfortably locate and play any power chord on either the fifth or sixth string without the open strings ringing out

I have the notes ringing out true and clear with chord changes mostly smooth and on time. There is still room for improvement with particular chords which I will continue to work on.

Scales:

I have been working on the Am pentatonic scale using the approach in the classic course (all downs, all ups and alternate picking) to both embed the scale but also to improve my picking technique. I am gradually increasing the bpm every time I complete the scale exercises 4 times in a row without a mistake.

Once I get to play it at 120 bpm using all down-picks, all up-picks and alternate picking I will then move onto the minor pentatonic patterns in the classic course (3-in-a-line and 4ths) to train my fingers to play the notes in different orders and get to know the scale really well.

Strumming:

I am confident with the strumming patterns covered in the RUST Course Part 1. Though, there is still room for improvement with the percussive strumming. However, I will move onto Part 2 of the course whilst continuing to work on percussive strumming.

Fingerstyle:

I have been working on the applied fingerstyle patterns given in the classic course and feel comfortable with them. I will now focus on learning fingerstyle arrangements for a few songs whilst I complete the Tommy Emmanual Fingerstyle Milestones Course modules covering playing in the key of E.

The Blues:

Boy do I have the blues. I have been working on the shuffle rhythm and 12 bar blues progressions. I am confident playing in the key of A, D, E and G.

I have been working on the 12 bar shuffle riff and variation 1 given in the classic course. I am finding variation 1 a bit difficult using the little finger rather than just sliding along but I guess I will have to persevere and it will all come good in the end.

I have started working on the blues lead and blues solo given in the bonus material for the classic course. These have become a bit of a blues project for me. I will set myself the goal of recording the blues lead (over the backing track) and blues solo.

Rock:

I have not focused yet on rock power chords during consolidations. It’s next on my list and I plan to go through the 14 Master Rock Power Chords lessons in the old playground.

Songs:

I have been working on a number of songs recently including the following:

  • Supersonic by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
  • Don’t Look Back in Anger by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
  • Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton
  • Despacito by Luis Fonsi Daddy Yankee
  • Made of Stone by The Stone Roses
  • Why Does It Always Rain on Me by Travis
  • Writing to Reach You by Travis
  • Driftwood by Travis
  • Knockin’ on Heavens Door by Bob Dylan
  • Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
  • A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins
  • No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley

Theory:

I have completed Grade 1 and 2 of the Practical Music Theory Course. I have not yet started Grade 3 but plan to do so in the coming weeks.

Singing:

I have enrolled in the Discover Your Voice course. I have still to really start the course as I figured it may be best to first complete the ear training course which came with the package.

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Thanks for the great update, James. Sounds like you are making excellent progress. Looking forward to recordings of some of those songs.

I did the DYV course without doing ear-training first. I don’t think you need to do the ear-training first and may get better mileage from just diving into DYV. And I was fairly infamous for not having a great ear for melody and pitch etc when I started that course. I still have vast room for improvement on ear-training but developed significantly just doing DYV.

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James

As David says you are making good progress and adopting a sensible approach to your learning and ensuring it is applied. Good call to consolidate everything before leaping into Grade 3. The old BC199 was an important lesson to make sure all the Beginner stuff was ingrained before launching into the intermediate (now Grades 4 and 5). However, once you feel you are making progress in that consolidation, it won’t harm to slowly introduce the Grade 3 material a bit at a time. I’ve been retrofitting it, as it was not available back in the day and there is some really great skills now being taught.

As to DYV I also did the course without ear training, as I am sure CL changes the bundles quite frequently. But what I did find was that the DYV development actually helped my ear, especially regards intervals and tones. So don’t let that hold you back. You may find they work well in tandem !

Keep rockin keep sharing.

:sunglasses:

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Great update James. When you lay it all out like that it seems such a lot of content. You must be very proud of your progress. Well done.

Yes there is a load of new content in grade 3 and like Toby I’ve been dipping in and out of it.

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@DavidP @TheMadman_tobyjenner @DavidP

Thanks guys. Happy with my progress to date.

I’ve found reviewing the classic course has given me additional material (some of which more challenging) to incorporate into consolidation particularly BC-193, BC-194, BC-195, BC-207 & BC-209. It’s probably the same for those looking at the new beginners course having completed the classic course.

Once I get to that stage where I’m running dry on material to practice I will start diving into the Grade 3 material. Looking at the content of the first module for Grade 3 I’ve kind of incorporated a chunk of the material when learning songs e.g. connecting chords with scales.

The one thing that’s been bugging me is when to learn pull offs, bends etc as these aren’t taught until Grade 5. So is it best to wait until Grade 5 or start earlier?

You are probably right :wink: Maybe subconsciously I was thinking hey that ones only got a couple of modules to complete, let’s get that one out of the way first.

Yes, when you look at the material covered in the classic course and the beginners course its a lot of material. Then the bonus ones in the book, I think are taken from other courses. That doesn’t include everything else you’ve learned as you’ve strayed off the path from time to time.

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Interestingly, I’ve only just discovered that I can connect my electric guitar directly to my Boss DB-90 metronome and monitor via headphones and use the rhythm coaching function. I’ve only started using it more now rather than the Time Trainer App as its got drum patterns whilst the rhythm coaching is similar to the Time Training App. It’s also helped being able to change the emphasis on the beats when practising applying accents.

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Awesome update James. I too am consolidating Grade 2 at the moment and I know how much structure helps to avoid, as you say in your last update, getting lost in the process.

Lots of awesome songs you are working on and it looks like you are on the right track. I haven’t pulled the trigger on Discover Your Voice yet, but I hear great things and it’s def something I myself will do at some point.

My approach for consolidation was to go deep into Rock instead of spreading my time so I was looking into Justin’s mastering rock power chords as well. Really nice mini course that goes deeper into rock techniques discussed in the Grade 2 rock module.

Looking forward to seeing you play in some AVOYPs.

P.S. A question for a fellow Grade 2 Consolidation student. How are you gauging when to move on to grade 3? For me I’m thinking of moving on at the 3 month point but interested to see what others are thinking. Especially since there isn’t a set “when to move on section”

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I’d certainly be the wrong person to ask. Going through the Old BC and then onto the IM, there were no lead or riff click bait to entice people into the world of bends and flicks. It was all about core foundation skills and rhythm, because you can’t play lead well without the fundamentals of strong rhythm. A such it was only when the Blues and Impro skills came up in the IM that I started to learn it (properly). As it had been the first time, in by then 20 years, I actually had a structured path, I just went with the flow as it was working.
So with all the changes and additional riff and Blues teasers along the way, I can understand why folks are asking, like you, when ? All I can say is I followed the bouncy ball, as it was the only ball I had but am happy I focused on the core skills. Other will have a different view, so just MHO.

:sunglasses:

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Awesome update James, looking forward to hearing the benefit of the consolidation and perhaps some of those songs in AVOYP.
Congrats on your progress!

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Hi James, good progress. Good you are aware of what needs to be improved and are taking your time to perfect your current skills before venturing into learning new ones. Module 3 is still a few months ahead for me and I still do not have a consolidation strategy in mind after I finish Beginner Course and take a quick pass over Grades 1 and 2.

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Hi Alexis,

Thanks. I will be following your rock study with great interest. You have been making great progress.

I’ve adopted the approach in the classic course and created a spreadsheet similar to the one in the classic course book. The spreadsheet has 10 categories:

  • Chords
    Each chord learned in Grades 1 and 2 are listed including variations. Once I am confident that I have the chords memorised and can play them without looking ensuring that the notes ring out clearly, strings not played are muted correctly and changes are smooth and on time I tick them off.

  • 12 Bar Blues
    For this category I’ve set it to be able to play confidently (1) the standard, fast and slow change 12 bar blues in the key of A, D, E and G, (2) the Classic 12 bar blues shuffle Riff and variations 1 to 4, (3) the blues lead in the bonus section of the classic course book to a backing track and (5) the solo blues in the bonus section of the classic course book. I may experiment with palm muting while doing the blues shuffle riff but won’t consider that as a requirement for moving on.

  • Power Chords
    For this category it is a straight forward being able to play power chords whilst ensuring open strings are muted and applying correctly palm muting and shifting. I will probably do the Master Your Power Chords Lessons as part of consolidation. It means I’ll be consolidating but at the same time learning a bit more whilst applying it to the Backing Tracks.

  • Rhythms
    For this category I was just considering Part 1 of the RUST course which I’ve completed. I’ll start Part 2 but won’t consider that as a requirement to move on.

  • Fingerstyle
    For this category I was considering being confident applying the basic and applied fingerstyle patterns given in the classic course. I’m doing other fingerstyle stuff in the background but don’t consider that as a requirement to move on.

  • Minor Pentatonic Scale
    For this category I considered being able to play the minor pentatonic scale with all downs, all ups, alternate picking, 3-in-a-line and loose 4ths at 120 bpm.

  • Improvising
    For this category I set myself the goal of improvising over some loops and over backing tracks. Really just have fun making music and exploring the looper.

  • Theory
    For this category I set myself the goal of completing Grades 1 to 3 of PMT.

  • Ear Training
    For this category it was more about exposing myself to some of the ear training course.

  • Songs
    The most important category. Learn songs, learn songs, learn songs. I’ve set myself the target that for everything I’ve learned whether it is a chord or a technique that I have learned at least one or two songs using that chord or technique.

It’s a bit of a tick box exercise to be honest ensuring that I’ve not skipped something and have applied it with the end goal learning lots of songs along the way.

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Thanks Mark. Yes, you will definitely be hearing some Oasis AVOYPs soon. I’ve still got a couple of loose ends to close out with them but they are getting there.

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Hi Andres, yes consolidation for Grade 2 is a bit left open to pursue the type of music that you want to play. I think that’s a good point you make about being able to make music using the skills you have learned first. Those skills can also be expanded and developed further and applied to more songs.

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Nothing like a good list! I also have a physical copy of the classic book so I went to the back and found the checklist. That’s a pretty solid strategy for consolidation and a well rounded approach that makes sure you got the most out of grades 1 & 2.

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Interestingly I found that BBC Radio 1 has quite a few guitar tutorial videos on YouTube where the artist teaches the song. Below are the ones I’ve selected to add to my practice routine.

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Fantastic! Look forward to it :+1:

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Hi James

Wow, you’re certainly going to town with this!
Great update. Reading through it confirms to me what a huge amount of stuff there is to learn in Grade2. I reckon about another 5 years and I’ll be consolidating. Ha ha. I don’t think I’ll be able to set it out like you have though.
Sounds like you’re having a lot of fun with it too.
Good luck with it
David

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Hi James, great to read the LL update.

On pull offs, bends, etc. I reckon just give it a go on songs that have it. There’s no rule to say you can’t do them whenever you want - sure they may not be the perfect technique but watch what others do and imitate. At least that’s my approach.

@alexisduprey At end of Grade 2 I just made sure I could do everything taught in G2, and had a couple of songs with each of the skills in them. I didn’t have a proper list. However I didn’t think I could do a technique properly unless I could play a whole song that used it. HTH, there are lots of approaches and ultimately it’s about when you feel ready.

I will say don’t be in a huge rush to get to grade 3 - I’ve found it a lot more fluid, and some of the things taught are quite challenging IMHO. Much slower progress for me.

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Hi David,

I’ve been actively following your progress and you are doing very well.

I would look at it a different way. If you spend more time consolidating each module then there is no need to consolidate the grade. I’ve read your learning log and understand that work has kept you busy so when time is limited to practice consider that as part of the consolidating period as your using the time that you have efficiently.

You don’t need to set it out as I have mate. The trick is to set it out how it works for you. If it helps with work being busy spend more time consolidating after each module and tick the boxes when you feel you’re confident that what you’ve learned is embedded.

As Richard says learn songs learn songs learn songs. Use them to tick the boxes. There is no rush to the finish line. We are here to enjoy the journey.

I look forward to following you on that journey.

James

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Thanks JK (@jkahn),

You read my mind. I’ve already started looking at the exercises. I’ve learned Wonderful Tonight Picking and would like to add the little bending bits in the instrumental.

That’s the key bit. I think @TheMadman_tobyjenner nailed it. Don’t put a time against it, it will vary for every individual. If I remember correctly effective practice should be 50% practice and 50% songs. Take what you’ve practiced and apply it to at least to songs to consolidate. Once your practice section of your routine drops below 50% then its time to add new things. As Justin says practice what you can’t do not what you can do.

Exactly and as Richard says learn songs learn songs learn songs.

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