L E V E L I
Module II
In Module II you’ll begin to strengthen and stretch your fingers with a warm-up exercise. You’ll also improve your strumming technique, add two strumming patterns, and learn a new song.
Learn the following exercise, and begin every practice session with it: B2Warm-Up Exercise If you are a complete beginner, start with only the first half of this exercise (1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1). Every detail in this exercise is important, so watch the video carefully several times and then go back periodically to make sure you’re still doing it correctly.
Lesson
1
It’s time to learn another song! The second song in Getting Started, Careless Love, will add the G chord to your vocabulary and introduce you to the bass/strum accompaniment technique. If you don’t have Getting Started, choose a song that fits that description from The World Still Needs These Songs.
Lesson
2
Sing—even if (or maybe especially if) you don’t want to or will never do it in front of anyone! You need to sing with the songs that you’re learning, so that you can fully understand them, play the rhythm accurately, memorize them correctly and quickly and more. This lesson will help you! ET3 Sing!
Lesson
3
Keep learning new songs! The third song in Getting Started introduces the C chord and the bass/down strum. Each new song you learn at this stage should have one or more new first position chords and and/or accompaniment techniques or patterns.
Lesson
4
The metronome is an essential tool and the sooner you discover and benefit from it, the better! Use this video to master working with it: G2 Metronome Use. For a quick synopsis or refresher, you can refer to this article.
Lesson
5
Go here to learn how to refine your strumming and begin building your collection of strumming patterns: T6 Pick Technique, Strum Patterns. Don’t get in a hurry to learn all all of the patterns now. Just learn one, practice it until it’s easy and smooth and use it in one or more songs. (You’ll use the first one in the fourth song in Getting Started, Circle Be Unbroken.) You can refer back to the lesson when you’re ready for a different pattern.
Lesson
6
If you haven’t ever used a capo, start now! Begin by experimenting with the placement of the capo and taking note of how it affects your ability to sing easily (or not) in the key that you’re used to playing the song in. Once you’re comfortable with placing the capo on your guitar, you’ll probably have some questions. Lesson G7The Capo/Understanding Keys will help you sort out any confusion, as will the video lesson G8 Using the Capo.
Lesson
7
Do you struggle to hit the right string with your pick? You’ve probably found that it’s even more challenging when you’re skipping strings. This lesson will help you with that T5 Pick Technique – Single Notes
Lesson
8
Playing guitar can be physically taxing and when you’re in the beginning stages, it may take some muscle to get a clean sound. But tension in your hands and arms can not only result in pain and discomfort, it can also compromise your sound and speed. For these reasons, I developed this simple exercise to help you play with less pressure. Return to this exercise often. It’s important and I’ve never met a guitar player who didn’t need it! B3 Minimum Pressure Exercise
Lesson
9
You should feel pretty good about yourself right now. You’ve not only made it past the beginning stage, you have a great foundation for an unlimited future in your guitar playing! Ready to go on to Module III? Click here!
