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Session 5 - Basic Open Chords


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A Forum for Learn and Master Guitar Students to ask questions, make comments, receive advice and encouragement, and post their progress.

 

Edited by NeilES335
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Just started lesson 5 and look forward to the journey. Be good once to get these chords down.....really starting to have fun now..... practice....practice...practice....anyone recommend a good starting bpm....thanks 

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Chris, you're making progress! That's what it's all about. The "Zone of Proximal Development," or "Sweet Spot" as Daniel Coyle calls it, is where about 50-80% of your reps are correct. You want to practice at the edge of your ability, but not so far beyond that you practice making mistakes. Slow down as needed, relax, use good technique, and you will be rewarded.

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Congrats on working session 5. I always start my bpms at whatever speed is a challenge and that can be slow, real slow. Some fingerstyle stuff I start at 30-40 bpms. Once I get comfortable, I bump it up 10 bpms at a time until I get to 120 or whatever Steve recommends before moving on. Good luck man!

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Steve's Jam Along CD's for Session 5 have three version: Slow, Medium, and Fast. In the course material he doesn't mention any bpm, but if you can play the CD you can get a count of each. As always, Listen to Steve. Lotsa luck.

Edited by John Wells
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14 hours ago, John Wells said:

Steve's Jam Along CD's for Session 5 have three version: Slow, Medium, and Fast. In the course material he doesn't mention any bpm, but if you can play the CD you can get a count of each. As always, Listen to Steve. Lotsa luck.

Play-along CDs - tempos

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Thanks for the feedback and still finding my way through the chord changes but enjoying the journey. Wanted to ask if the chord changes are easier for certain chords, when using your pinky as finger number 3, is this a good practice? 

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4 hours ago, ChrisJ032 said:

Thanks for the feedback and still finding my way through the chord changes but enjoying the journey. Wanted to ask if the chord changes are easier for certain chords, when using your pinky as finger number 3, is this a good practice? 

Chris;  Certainly some chord changes such as the open G chord when fingered this way using fingers 2, 3 & 4 , make for an easier (and quicker)change to open C, Am, Em, and D chords. Later, having your index finger 1 free allows for hammer on/pull off's of various "colour " notes, or chord melody, especially when playing fingerstyle. Its a good habit to develop. Of course it depends on the chord shape. There are no fixed rules on what finger(s) to use but rather what note makes up the chord played.

Edited by NeilES335
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Thanks for advice Neil.....yes as you noted there are really no rules and practice, practice, practice  

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Still working on lesson 5 and the chords are coming along a lot better. began lesson 6 shortly as these 2 lessons seem to work together. Any advice on lesson 6... I tried the first barre chord and can get the E and B string sounding ok but can’t seem to get the G string with my 3rd finger to sound  cleanly....are there better exercises that would provide better flexibility to stretch my fingers. Thanks 

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Chris, my only advice is don't get them perfect.  I probably worked on these two barre chord sessions for at least 9 months.  With some retrospection I wish now that I had moved on sooner.  You are going to play these the rest of your guitar playing life.  They are going to improve as you play.  Memorize the 5 shapes for 6th string and 5th string chords.  Get them "pretty" good?  If you can't get the F7 to ring out perfectly, live with it.  If the G7 rings out clearly, you're close. 

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2 hours ago, ChrisJ032 said:

Still working on lesson 5 and the chords are coming along a lot better. began lesson 6 shortly as these 2 lessons seem to work together. Any advice on lesson 6... I tried the first barre chord and can get the E and B string sounding ok but can’t seem to get the G string with my 3rd finger to sound  cleanly....are there better exercises that would provide better flexibility to stretch my fingers. Thanks 

Barre cords like F at the 1st fret are hard enough for even the seasoned player so dont sweat it too much right now.... you will need time for your hand muscles to develop. Be sure you're using the correct muscles... dont be afraid to pull the guitar toward yourself using your large muscles and body, not just gripping the daylights out of the neck with your thumb.

You could also try barre cords (they are movable) at say the 3rd to 7th fret (G, G#,A,A#,B,C) for practice which are usually easier to fret. 

Some day soon, you'll be playing barre cords most of the time... clear as a bell.

All the Best! Neil

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Appreciate the feedback and happy to hear I am moving in the right direction. I will try to remember that perfection at this point is little too early....that is due to my ocd...lol...expect to move on to lesson seven early August......will keep you posted on my progress...?

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Wow...No Comments in this Session since July.....Somebody Post us a Progress Report.....We need something to Read and Smile about.

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47 minutes ago, SandyB53 said:

Wow...No Comments in this Session since July.....Somebody Post us a Progress Report.....We need something to Read and Smile about.

How about you @SandyB53  ?

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Oh I Will be Posting here when I get Back to Here.....lol. I am working down on 2,3,and 4 for a little while till I get back up to Speed. Session 5 scared me to death but I was doing OK when I had to Stop, so hopefully I will have many Happy Posts for Y'all here in Session 5 in the near future.

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@SandyB53 as Steve says ,, Session 5 and 6 is the 'candy store' .

it's the heart of songs, as it tends to the rhythm of the song.. it opens up the gateway to singing and playing (and makes you sound good).

 

 

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On 5/29/2018 at 12:54 PM, NeilES335 said:

Chris;  Certainly some chord changes such as the open G chord when fingered this way using fingers 2, 3 & 4 , make for an easier (and quicker)change to open C, Am, Em, and D chords. Later, having your index finger 1 free allows for hammer on/pull off's of various "colour " notes, or chord melody, especially when playing fingerstyle. Its a good habit to develop. Of course it depends on the chord shape. There are no fixed rules on what finger(s) to use but rather what note makes up the chord played.

This is awesome feedback, When I finally got used to using the 2-3-4 fingerings on my G chord it changed my whole style of playing and naturally it depends alot on the progression. This is one incredible forum for one incredible instrument.

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Some of the people who stayed Session 5 past what the criteria of the book was, what was your goal?  Was it playing the "All Basic Open Chords" exercises in the bonus book at 70 bpm (I'm sure it takes a while to get the E to B7 change down in #5 at 60-70 bpm)?

I'm currently in Session 5 and could probably move on, I'm not great-to-perfect with all the changes yet, but I had some prior chord experience so getting a lot of the session down didn't take long, but now I didn't know what a realistic goal to shoot for was.  I figured (as I just mentioned) getting perfect at 60-70 bpm on all chord changes in the bonus book might be a little too aggressive, but wanted to see some collective thoughts.

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Don't forget to play the single notes of the song melodies of the songs in S5 as well

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Hi, My goal in session 5 was to make sure I could finger the chords.I knew it would take a lot of practice to make the changes.The G7, G and the C chords  posed a problem for me but, I moved on before I could play them and continued to work on them.

When I started this course I wanted to play the stuff BB king played and I remember him saying he didn’t do chords.(He obviously didn’t count triads)That was very encouraging, but the fact is chords are everywhere 

The G7 and G barre chords are easier than the open chord versions. I was also relieved to learn chords like G/C, G/B and G/A and other fingering for G7. Even the 4 finger G chord turned out to be easier than the 3 finger version. Cadd9 and C major7 were also nice to know.

The one song that helped me with the E and B7 chords was the song Folsom Prison Blues.

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42 minutes ago, Eracer_Team-DougH said:

Don't forget to play the single notes of the song melodies of the songs in S5 as well

Yup got those down, after working on Chattahoocie (only at 80-90 bpm) the single notes seem to become a lot easier.

 

@Triple-o I can finger all the chords, lucky I have the G (both 3 finger versions), C, and G7 down pretty well due to past attempts at learning guitar.  The B7 and C7 are where I have the biggest issue with changes, but I can still get to them fine, just not fast.  The 234 A I am picking up slowly, but I originally learned to use 213 for the A and prefer it in most cases because it feels more natural to me, but I'm learning both.

Edited by S Bach
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Hi all, I started session 5 a week and a half ago and the exercises are progressing moderately well, but the songs in this session are throwing me for a loop for some reason.  Quick question, I know not to pinch the guitar neck with my thumb, and I don't do it during the exercises, but when I get to the songs after the first 2 lines or so I notice myself doing it.  I know that will come back to bite me, especially in barre chords, if I get in the habit but I wasn't sure if it was a matter of finger strength and time or if anyone else experienced a similar thing and found another cause?

 

I also remember seeing a thread awhile about not being able to hit G with fingers 234 (I can play the 123 version fine) does anyone know what happened to it?  Wanted to read through it as I'm having trouble with the same thing, and I did see the comments above, was just looking for more info...

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My guitar instructor says "This is Rock 'n Roll, if you get all the strings to ring clear ... that's a bonus."

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On 10/17/2019 at 8:04 PM, costancr said:

Hi all, I started session 5 a week and a half ago and the exercises are progressing moderately well, but the songs in this session are throwing me for a loop for some reason.  Quick question, I know not to pinch the guitar neck with my thumb, and I don't do it during the exercises, but when I get to the songs after the first 2 lines or so I notice myself doing it.  I know that will come back to bite me, especially in barre chords, if I get in the habit but I wasn't sure if it was a matter of finger strength and time or if anyone else experienced a similar thing and found another cause?

 

I also remember seeing a thread awhile about not being able to hit G with fingers 234 (I can play the 123 version fine) does anyone know what happened to it?  Wanted to read through it as I'm having trouble with the same thing, and I did see the comments above, was just looking for more info...

I remember one post where he/she could play the G with fingers123 but not with 234 without muting the A string (B note) with the 3rd finger.  My response to that problem would be don’t worry about  muting the B, because you also have the open B string in the chord shape.Having said that I would also say keep practicing and try lowering your wrist and making sure your fingers are on their “tippy toes”
 
One hand exercise you might try is to finger the G  Chord with just your 3rd and 4th fingers and then play the related notes  A (with second finger,) C (with  first finger)and F# (with second finger) , play these notes individually while Keeping fingers 3.and 4 in place.
You should  be capable of fingering the G chord and then removing your thumb from the neck  while strumming.

I also find that the 4 finger method of playing the G chord is my favorite. The G barre chord is the easiest.
 

You can use the site search tool, but limit your search to  the letter “G and fingering” to narrow the search.

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