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Chords in early sessions of The Song Hits


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Hi, I am working my way through the first few sessions of the Song Hits and I am still on Session 4 of Learn and Master Guitar.  I looked ahead a bit and saw that session 5 is chords.  How much time should I be spending on the chords in the Song Hits at this point?  The ones in Session 1 and 2 were straightforward, but the ones in Eye of the Tiger and Bye Bye Love are giving me trouble.  I can't decide if I should come back to them later or keep wrestling with them?

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This is really a question for Steve, but protocol never stopped me from sticking my two cents in. Your objective is to learn to play the guitar, and should be foremost in your mind. Session five's one of the most important sessions of the course, and by the time you're ready to tackle session six, you'll be far more skilled in fretting and strumming chords. While overcoming difficulty builds confidence, falling short of expectations breeds disappointment. I recommend you go on to session five and periodically return to the Song Hits, and one fine day what was difficult yesterday is today's piece of cake. And always remember the "Three P's: Practice, Perseverance, and Patience." Lotsa  luck.

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Thanks for the reply and exactly as stated what was difficult yesterday seems a bit easier today. I am now in lesson 11 and pieces are starting g to fall into place. It has been an exciting and fun journey so far and happy to have picked up the guitar again and sticking with it.....🎸😎🎼

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14 hours ago, costancr said:

I looked ahead a bit and saw that session 5 is chords.  How much time should I be spending on the chords in the Song Hits at this point?  The ones in Session 1 and 2 were straightforward, but the ones in Eye of the Tiger and Bye Bye Love are giving me trouble.  I can't decide if I should come back to them later or keep wrestling with them?

@costancr, I'm not Steve either but, like @John Wells, will add my $.02.  How much time should you be spending on the chords?  My answer, not Steve's, is: very little.  The sessions in The Song Hits are designed to reflect where one is at in the same session of L&M.  To stress this point in the introduction of "All I Have to Do Is Dream" Steve states, "If you are in Session 3 (of L&M) then you can play the Into and Verse because you know the notes.  If you have moved on to 4 then you can also play the Bridge." So my opinion is that Steve is only expecting one to learn the melody, not chords.  He does make some reference to the song having relatively easy open chords. 

Should that discourage you from learning the chords if you are that motivated?  Of course not.  But just memorizing the chord shapes should be even more than is expected at this point.  And if any, such as those in Eye of the Tiger and Bye Bye Love "are giving me trouble", then don't let them frustrate you. Keep it fun!  Especially in "All I Have to Do Is Dream", in the bridge, there is a Bminor barre chord.  That is going to frustrate you plenty in Session 8!  No sense doing it now!🤣

Should you come back later?  Sure, if you want.  But you are also going to soon be working sessions in The Song Hits that concentrate on the chords and barre chords of L&M sessions 5-8. And, if you are like most of us, you will probably be bringing outside materials and songs to learn into your practice regimen.

Keep us posted on your progress!

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Thank you all for the replies!  Focusing on the melody right now definitely took some of the stress out of learning the Session 3 Song Hits material.  I still have the Sharps/Flats exercises and songs to work through in the LEarn and Master Course before session 5, so I have redirected my chord learning efforts towards making sure I have the C, G7, Am, and E chords down from the lesson book.

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