Tag: week summaries

Week 9. Summary

This week I concentrated myself mostly on consistency. I played 2341, 2413, 2431 combinations across the neck the whole week and became much better at it.

The scales are much more reliable and precise right now too, which I’m also happy about.

I watched Modules 15-16 and now I’m really excited about implementing routines from them. Chord construction is so much fun! But I’ll be working on this topic the next week.

Anyway, the most major update is the video summary format. I decided to put everything in a single video so that it became more watchable and even more organized. There are time codes in order to separate the chapters and cards with links to the full routine videos as well.

UPD. There are no cards cause there’s a limit – 5 per video. I added all links in the description instead.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] 2134, 2143, 2314, 2341, 2413, 2431 as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck
  • [Done] 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 34 as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck
  • [Done] Improved consistency of the scales as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck
  • [Done] All the scales pronouncing notes in less than 5 min starting on ADG strings
  • [Done] Get to the level with 7 intervals on ear training at tonedear.com

My goals for the next week:

  • 3124, 3142, 3214 as 8th notes at 150 bpm on the 5th fret
  • Scales pronouncing notes using the random scale machine
  • Consistently get to the level with 7 intervals on ear training at tonedear.com
  • Implement Modules 15-16 routines

1234 exercise

2341 – 8th notes @ 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
2413 – 8th notes @ 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
2431 – 8th notes @ 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 34 – 8th notes @ 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)

Scales

Major scales – 1-12 frets – EADG strings – 8th notes @ 150 bpm (increasing consistency)
Minor scales – 1-12 frets – EA strings – 8th notes @ 150 bpm (increasing consistency)
Major scales – 1-12 frets – A string – Pronouncing notes – 7:42 → 4:55
Major scales – 1-12 frets – D string – Pronouncing notes – 6:50 → 4:38
Major scales – 1-12 frets – G string – Pronouncing notes – 7:00 → 4:50
Minor scales – 1-12 frets – A string – Pronouncing notes – 6:54 → 5:02

Strumming

Module 15 pattern – 80 bpm → 120 bpm

Ear training

Intervals – 314 of 400 – 78.50% → 207 of 250 – 82.80%
Minor 2nd – 34 of 36 – 94.44%
Major 2nd – 21 of 28 – 67.86%
Minor 3rd – 11 of 25 – 44%
Major 3rd – 38 of 49 – 77.55%
Perfect 4th – 9 of 14 – 64.29%
Perfect 5th – 48 of 49 – 97.96%
Octave – 48 of 49 – 97.96%

Songs

The Phantom of the Opera
Gravity Falls Opening

Week 8. Summary

This week I practiced mostly 1234s and scales. Nothing too special, just was trying to increase the speed and consistency of them. Something went well, something didn’t, but overall I’m gradually improving, which is great.

I kinda stuck with the 1234s. The half of my entire daily routine consists of them. But I can’t just leave them as they are now when there are still some which I haven’t practiced yet 😀 It’s still a long way to go but in 7 weeks I’ll get to the point when I’m satisfied and can play all of them as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck consistently-ish. Then finally I’ll let this routine go and use this freed time for something else.

Module 14 gave an idea of circle of fifths but really didn’t tell anything about its application. Hopefully there will be something about this in the future modules but for now I just found one useful way of using it: I noticed that all keys (despite F# and for major scales) with sharps are just notes which open guitar strings in standard tuning have. So I used that knowledge to remember which key has sharps and which has flats for now. In minor scales there are no such simple pattern so I just counted 3 semitones up and referred to the corresponding major scale.

Scales notes pronunciation is an interesting exercise. I underrated myself and set an easy goal for this week, which I managed to achieve on the second or third try. So next week I’ll try some different approaches to improve my fretboard knowledge and scales notes knowledge even more. I’ll be starting at different strings or maybe play each scale on every possible spot of the fretboard. We’ll see.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] 2341, 2413, 2431 as 8th notes at 150 bpm
  • [Done] 34s without moving my middle finger at least as 8th notes at 100 bpm
  • [Done] All the scales consistently as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the fretboard
  • [Done] All the scales pronouncing notes in less than 8 min [the first attempt was in 13 min]
  • Get to the level with 7 intervals on ear training at tonedear.com

My goals for the next week:

  • 2134, 2143, 2314, 2341, 2413, 2431 as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck
  • 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 34 as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck
  • Improved consistency of the scales as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the neck
  • All the scales pronouncing notes in less than 5 min starting on ADG strings
  • Get to the level with 7 intervals on ear training at tonedear.com

As always, here’s the video.

1234 exercise

2341 on the 5th fret – 8th notes @ 110 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
2413 on the 5th fret – 8th notes @ 110 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
2431 on the 5th fret – 8th notes @ 110 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
34 on the 5th fret – Quarter notes @ 100 bpm → 8th notes @ 100 bpm
12-13-14-23-24-34 on the 5th fret – 8th notes at 130 bpm → 8th notes at 150 bpm

Scales

Major scales – 1-12 frets – EADG strings – 8th notes @ 130 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
Minor scales – 1-12 frets – EA strings – 8th notes @ 130 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
Major scales – 1-12 frets – Pronouncing notes – 8:35 → 4:00
Minor scales – 1-12 frets – Pronouncing notes – 9:27 → 4:41

Ear training

Intervals – 314 of 400 – 78.50%
Minor 2nd – 61 of 67 – 91.04%
Major 2nd – 36 of 58 – 62.07%
Minor 3rd – 27 of 50 – 54%
Major 3rd – 41 of 73 – 56.16%
Perfect 5th – 73 of 76 – 96.05%
Octave – 76 of 76 – 100%

Week 7. Summary

Wow, that was a week and a half! I’ve reached all my goals and even more, got through Module 13 and Module 14 and had so much fun finally practicing something music theory related.

I totally agreed with somebody’s comment under my When I Come Around cover – there is no need to look at the left hand all the time, especially while playing something easy and muscle memory related. So this week’s motto was “Don’t look there” and I practiced almost everything looking at the window 🙂 This approach led to some mistakes which were not a thing before, but I think I managed to adapt to it more or less, so I’m happy about that.

The main issue with 1234s this week was 2314 combination. My brain just couldn’t comprehend it after playing 1423 for a couple of weeks before. I tended to switch to the next string after playing 23 part instead of 14 one. But by the end of this week I seem to get rid of this habit. The combination is not perfectly played yet, not at all. But this major issue is gone.

I still struggle with the 34s in 12-13-14-23-24-34 exercise. My middle finger lives his own life and moves around a lot. So I started practicing this combination separately keeping my middle finger on the G string and trying not to let him go away from the strings. I’m getting there at the slower pace, but I need much more practice to achieve the current speed I use for this exercise.

The scales are the fun part for me 🙂 It may sound weird, but I haven’t practiced one before, so it’s really fun. After 1234s it’s something different and finally more music related. So I enjoy playing them and trying to do it consistently. Pronouncing notes while playing scales are really tricky for me. It takes a lot of time, so I only practiced it once this week. And I completely forgot about the circle of fifths, so I had to figure out myself whether this scale is with sharps or flats. It was really long, but it was fun 😀

I also practiced the intervals ear training at tonedear.com, but I only had time to do it once. I started from the easiest level and practiced for about half an hour non-stop. In that time the level increased only twice – Major 2nd and Minor 2nd were added. After that I didn’t succeed in increasing the level more by making mistakes too often to make any progress. But the final result is not bad – 78.27%.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Play at least three 1234 combinations starting with 2 at 300 bpm
  • [Done] Increase my ring-pinky endurance and precision in 12-13-14-23-24-34 exercise
  • [Done] Find notes on all strings in fretboard knowledge exercise in less than 1:30
  • [Done] Watch through Module 13 again and start the ear training

My goals for the next week:

  • 2341, 2413, 2431 as 8th notes at 150 bpm
  • 34s without moving my middle finger at least as 8th notes at 100 bpm
  • All the scales consistently as 8th notes at 150 bpm across the fretboard
  • All the scales pronouncing notes in less than 8 min [the first attempt was in 13 min]
  • Get to the level with 7 intervals on ear training at tonedear.com

As always, here’s the video.

1234 exercise

2134 on the 5th fret – 8th notes @ 110 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
2143 on the 5th fret – 8th notes @ 110 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
2314 on the 5th fret – 8th notes @ 110 bpm → 8th notes @ 150 bpm
34 on the 5th fret – Quarter notes @ 80 bpm → Quarter notes @ 100 bpm
12-13-14-23-24-34 on the 5th fret – 8th notes at 120 bpm → 8th notes at 150 bpm [Then made a step back to 130 bpm]

Fretboard knowledge

All strings at once – 1:35 → 1:30

Ear training

Intervals – 317 of 405 or 78.27%

Songs

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train [Ear training]
Cream – Sunshine Of Your Love [Ear training]
Europe – The Final Countdown [Ear training]
Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know? [Ear training]

Week 6. Summary

What a great week it was! I reached all my goals for it and more importantly – uploaded my first cover in a very long time.

It was much fun to practice and record it, but the downside of cover making is that it took almost all my practicing time. So in order to progress through the course faster I’ll try do do one every month or so. Just to practice something else useful in between.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Play all six 1234 combinations I managed to get to 300 bpm across the whole neck at the same speed
  • [Done] Record When I Come Around and make it into a video
  • [Done] Start implementation of Modules 12-13 routines

My goals for the next week:

  • Play at least three 1234 combinations starting with 2 at 300 bpm
  • Increase my ring-pinky endurance and precision in 12-13-14-23-24-34 exercise
  • Find notes on all strings in fretboard knowledge exercise in less than 1:30
  • Watch through Module 13 again and start the ear training

As always there is a video with some details.

1234 exercise

1234 on the 1-12 frets – 8th notes at 170 bpm → 16th notes at 90 bpm
1243 on the 1-12 frets – 8th notes at 150 bpm (increasing consistency)
1324 – 8th notes at 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
1342 – 8th notes at 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
1423 – 8th notes at 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
1432 – 8th notes at 150 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
12-13-14-23-24-34 on the 5th fret – 8th notes at 100 bpm → 8th notes at 120 bpm

Strumming

Module 12 pattern – 120 bpm

Songs

Green Day – When I Come Around [Cover]
Imagine Dragons – Demons [Thumb snare + Palm muting]

Week 5. Summary

This week I had three goals. Two of them are achieved now. I played 1423 and 1432 combinations at 300 bpm. Not perfectly, it’s still work in progress, but I’m getting there.

The third goal however appeared to be an overkill for me. I wanted to record guitar and bass cover of When I Come Around, but the bass line appeared to be trickier that I thought so in order to play it the way it was played in the original I had to start over a few times.

As soon as I had made some progress I watched another cover or Green Day’s live performance and found out something slightly different but yet crucial and returned back to square one. Nevertheless I manages to learn it the way it should sound so now it’s only a matter of time. Hopefully I will manage to record it the next week.

The goals for the next week are:

  • Play all six 1234 combinations I managed to get to 300 bpm across the whole neck at the same speed
  • Record When I Come Around and make it into a video
  • Start implementation of Modules 12-13 routines

Anyway, here’s the video summary for Week 5.

1234 exercise

1423 on the 5th fret – 200 bpm → 300 bpm
1432 on the 5th fret – 220 bpm → 300 bpm
1243 – 300 bpm (on the 5th fret → on the 1-12 frets)
1234 on the 1-12 frets – 320 bpm → 340 bpm

Songs

Green Day – When I Come Around

Week 4. Summary

This week I finished the beginner part of the course (watched through modules 8-11) and I’m really eager to proceed further.

At the same time when I faced the When I Come Around routine I really started to want this song to be fully covered and recorded by myself. I learned the bass part already so it’s only a matter of time for me to master it completely, record and make a video out of it.

So in order to be able to spend more time on it I wanted to finish as much routines as I could this week, because my routine schedule became really large and after the practice I didn’t have much time left to do anything else.

The next week goals are:

  • Play 1423 and 1432 combinations at 300 bpm
  • Increase the consistency of 1234, 1243, 1324, 1342 combinations
  • Play and record Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar and Bass parts of When I Come Around

I didn’t practice fretboard knowledge this week. Need to get it back into my routines schedule.

Here is the video with more details:

1234 exercise

1234 on the 5th fret – 320 bpm → 340 bpm (as a warmup)
1234 on the 1-12 frets – 320 bpm (increasing consistency)
1243 on the 5th fret – 300 bpm (increasing consistency)
1324 on the 5th fret – 240 bpm → 300 bpm
1342 on the 5th fret – 240 bpm → 300 bpm

Chord transitions

C/D – 110 bpm → 120 bpm
A/E – 150 bpm (increasing consistency)
A/Dm – 140 bpm → 150 bpm
G/D – 140 bpm → 150 bpm
B7/E – 70 bpm → 120 bpm
B7/C – 70 bpm → 120 bpm
Am G/B C G/B – 60 bpm → 120 bpm
Em D/F# G D/F# – 60 bpm → 120 bpm

Strumming

Module 6 pattern – 120 bpm → 160 bpm
Module 7 pattern – 60 bpm → 120 bpm
Module 9 pattern – 120 bpm (line by line → all at once)

Songs

Green Day – When I Come Around
Green Day – Welcome to Paradise
The Beatles – Let It Be

Week 3. Summary

I’m only happy with the first half of this week. Then there was too much planned and the practice was not the priority of that reason. So the only time to play was at night and I really couldn’t do what I needed and wanted to at that time.

I watched modules 6 and 7, played some more chord transitions and strumming patterns, but mostly I focused on 1234s again but this time with some new finger combinations. The details are in the video.

1234

1234 – On the 5th fret at 320 bpm → On the 1-12 frets at 320 bpm
1243 on the 5th fret – 200 bpm → 300 bpm
1324 on the 5th fret – 200 bpm → 220 bpm
1342 on the 5th fret – 200 bpm → 220 bpm

Fretboard knowledge

All strings at once – 1:44 → 1:35

Chord transitions

C/D – 90 bpm → 110 bpm
Am/C – 140 bpm → 180 bpm
E/D – 120 bpm → 160 bpm
A/E – 110 bpm → 150 bpm
A/Dm – 90 bpm → 140 bpm
G/D – 120 bpm → 140 bpm
B7/E – 60 bpm → 70 bpm
B7/C – 60 bpm → 70 bpm

Strumming

Module 6 pattern – 80 bpm → 120 bpm

Week 2. Summary

This week I worked mostly at my 1234s technique. I tried to keep my fingers on the strings to keep my pinky from moving too far away from them. Beyond that I watched the 5th module and did some strumming exercises. This is my week 2 summary video.

Fretboard knowledge

All strings at once – 2:26 → 1:44

1234

On the 5th fret (with all my fingers on the strings) – 80 bpm → 240 bpm
On the 5th fret (without paying attention to the fingers) – 300 bpm → 320 bpm

Chord transitions

C/D – 80 bpm → 90 bpm
Am/C – 120 bpm → 140 bpm
E/D – 100 bpm → 120 bpm

Strumming

Whole PDF at once – 80 bpm → 180 bpm

Week 1. Summary

I went through modules 1-4 and tried to maximize the results in each practice routine. I record the video with details, and my results are below.

Fretboard Knowledge

E string – 0:47 → 0:23
A string – 1:02 → 0:24
D string – 1:29 → 0:25
G string – 1:17 → 0:26
B string – 1:16 → 0:25
e string – 0:40 → 0:26

All strings at once – 4:42 → 2:26

1234

On the 5th fret – 200 bpm for 3 min → 300 bpm for 5 min
Across the neck – 240 bpm for 5 min → 270 bpm for 5 min

Different variations of 1234

1324 – 100 bpm for 5 min
4321 – 120 bpm for 5 min
1243 – 100 bpm for 5 min
1423 – 100 bpm for 5 min

Am/E chords transition

Consistently – 180 bpm for 2 min
Maximum – 240 bpm for 1 min