9/23 Class Summary
Summary:
Welcome to our new student! We continued working on our Boom-Chuck, talked about I, IV, V chords, talked about parts of the guitar, and introduced the Alternating Bass.
Technical Skills:
-How to hold a pick:
Hold your right hand out and make a claw shape with your fingers.
Put pick down so it balances on your knuckles with the pointed part sticking out from your first knuckle.
Put your thumb down on top of the pick
-I, IV and V
The major chords in any key are the I, IV, and V chords (Roman numerals for one, four, and five). The tonal center of any key is the I chord (Home), and you can use your fingers (aka your Handy Dandy Chord Selection Calculator) to count up to the IV (Grocery Store) and V (Colorado).
Example: in the key of D, D=I, G=IV, A=V
The I chord is our home base, the IV sounds familiar but not quite like home, the V chord sounds very different from home and pulls us back toward resolution (We get tired of our adventure and need to go home).
-Alternating Bass
When practicing your Boom-Chuck, alternate the “Boom” between the string with the bass note and the string next door.
Example: For a D chord a boom chuck with an Alternating Bass would be
Pluck 4th string (D), STRUM
Pluck the 5th string (A), STRUM
Practice Goals:
-Continue to work on mastering the Boom-Chuck!
-Practice using an Alternating Bass when you work on your chords.
-Quiz yourself on the I, IV, V chords in different keys so you can transpose songs lightning quick! Practice listening to see if you can hear the I, IV, and V chords in songs you hear throughout the week.
-Extra Bonus Life Points: If you get your bored of your basic open D Boom-Chuck, try barring (pushing down all the strings) at the 5th Fret and the 7th Fret to create IV and V chords.