Session 6 Minor 7 Chord Exercises and Rests

[Achilles Wrath]

So, I just started session 6 and it seemed to be going well till I come to eighth, quarter, and half rests when strumming the minor seventh chords.  I have watched Steve’s videos and when it comes to exercises 1 (C/Am7/C/Am7) and 3 (Em7/D/Em7/B7) of the “Open Minor 7th Chords” which contain rests, he actively mutes exercise 1’s quarter rests, but he doesn’t doesn’t mute the eighth and half rests in exercise 3. Why?  What is the difference?  Since I’m learning to read music on a staff, it seems to me that all rests should mute the strings.  I am so confused as to what to do. Please help guide me to the right answer as this is holding me up from advancing.

[Simira]

Hi Achilles Wrath.  You are correct, rests do indicate silence or mutes.  Steve does seem to be playing exercises 3 and 4 as if they were ties not rests.  Just play the exercises as written, with rests😊

[Eracer_Team-DougH]

@Achilles Wrath

ok reality check on the rests during strumming.. 

If you mute every rest while strumming the chord progression will be very choppy and not sound good.

a rest is a note not played.. it does not necessarily mean all prior notes need to be muted.

Steve states that your strumming arm/hand is a pump.. down/up/down/up/down/up/down/up.. it doesn't stop while doing rhythm playing.

but striking the strings in either a down or an up or not striking the strings on a down or an up is what happens.

a mute in this case would be a downward or upward travel of the hand that is not striking the strings.

some chords can be muted silent by your fretting hand easily and some can be muted with your strumming hand.. but if you mute with your strumming hand.. then your strumming hand has to stop going like a pump (down/up/down/up) and you will loose the rhythm of the piece.

so sufficient to say.. a rest is a note not played.. not necessarily muting all notes preceding. 

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by Eracer_Team-DougH

[Simira]

@Eracer_Team-DougH You are quite right!  I was reading it as in music notation not strumming instruction.  Now I realise it means miss the strum not the mute the note!  I've been working on fingerstyle using music notation for so long that I didn't twig. Apologies @Achilles Wrath for the misinformation. It was very late and way past my bedtime when I answered your query, but I was so excited to be giving the opportunity to help someone at last. Mea Culpa🥺

[Eduardo]

Hi Achilles, I was about to ask the same question as you because I'm going through the old chapters from the course to revise my technique, and on the video I see Steve doesn't mute the strings with his picking hand during the rests as well, so effectively, the last chord played just rings through. I guess he does this so as not to confuse younger learners, but I'm guessing that to do it right, you have to use your fretting hand so the picking hand keeps going through the down/up/down/up cycle. Can anyone throw some light onto this for me? (On the video of Chapter 6 this is at 36:42, and it's on page 39 of the Lesson book.

[Eduardo]

Dude! I have the answer! At 42:40 on the video of Session 6, Steve uses the heel of his strumming hand to mute the strings, so I guess it's a legitimate technique! Thank God, that's how I've been doing it for donkeys' years!