THE COURSE

A STRUCTURED AND PROGRESSIVE 26 LESSON GUITAR COURSE
The course is the perfect beginning to playing guitar and assumes the student has never picked up an instrument before. The 26 lesson course takes the student on a musical journey from complete beginner to intermediate level with a fun, enjoyable and easy to follow approach, but with real substance and quality, learning great riffs and licks along with great classic songs in their entirety. All lessons will be backed up with musical theory knowledge, hence students will understand what they are playing and why, in addition to just learning to play.
It is recommended that the lessons be taken once a week to allow for sufficient practise time in between each lesson. Regular practise time being the other key ingredient to improving your playing and progressing well through the course. In my experience however, people learn at different rates and each individual student will experience his/her personal strengths, weaknesses, challenges and successes at different times during the course, so students are free to take the lessons at their own pace. If one requires an extra week or two to master a certain song or technique then that’s perfect. Equally if a lesson is completed before the following week, then the next can be taken earlier. The student has complete control.
I’m also conscious that learning an instrument can sometimes be a solitary experience which can create feelings of self doubt as to what progress one should be making. I’ve created therefore a closed forum for my students only, so everyone can discuss what they’ve found easy or difficult at any time and offer useful help and advice to someone who might be struggling with a certain aspect of their learning pathway. I want this to be a family community where everyone can make theirs and their fellow students the best possible experience for learning guitar.
Most importantly ENJOY and have FUN learning, who knows where it may lead…
ONLY £59.99 FOR THE COURSE
YOUR LESSON PLAN
INTRODUCTION
A little welcome aboard message from Twangonline.
GUITAR TERMINOLOGY
Some important terms and phrases associated with the guitar, and also all the parts of the guitar are identified.
TUNING YOUR GUITAR
The all important method of keeping your guitar in tune.
LESSON 1
Some basic initial techniques; holding the plectrum correctly along with left and right hand positioning.
A finger exercise to coordinate both hands.
Your first 3 chords.
LESSON 2
An introduction on how to read a type of guitar music called Tablature.
The first part of a great fun blues style instrumental called E ride.
Arranging your first 3 chords into bars, explained using a 12 bar blues arrangement.
How to count the beats in each bar using down strums.
LESSON 3
Second half of E ride completed.
introduction of the up strum into the 12 bar chord progression.
How to count the up and down strums.
LESSON 4
Help with chord changes and strumming, introducing the metronome to help with this and understanding timing of up and down strums.
Introducing 3 new chords, A minor, D minor and E minor.
LESSON 5
Introduction to scales and their uses. Understanding that scales are music’s language and therefore emphasising their importance.
Today we’ll learn 2 scales, C major and A minor natural.
LESSON 6
In this lesson we learn our first song!! Wild Thing by The Troggs. This uses A,D and E major we’ve been practising over the previous lessons. We’ll learn the strumming pattern and how the songs is arranged.
3 new scales; E and A minor Pentatonic, and G major Pentatonic, explaining the make-up of each scale.
An introduction to C and G major, and B7 chords.
LESSON 7
Now we have our first full compliment of scales we’ll learn how to play them in time using the metronome, learning the importance of timing, tempo (speed) and increasing your playing tempo.
New chord sequences mixing up the major and minor chords and learning about chord families. We’ll introduce some new strumming patterns and i’ll encourage you to make up your own (improvisation).
LESSON 8
Today we’ll learn (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. We’ll learn the 2 separate parts, the main Riff (a set of notes which keeps repeating), and the chords for the verse.
I will explain the different amplifier settings required for this song, and I’ll also explain the rest of the amp functions as well.
LESSON 9
Here, we’re going to extend the Am natural scale and the Em Pentatonic scale across all 6 strings and therefore across 2 Octaves. All future scales we’ll learn will now run through at least 2 Octaves. We add in an extra note to the Em Pentatonic to create a blues scale. I’ll demonstrate how the blues scale sounds and how it works.
I also explain the note progression up and down the fretboard using the 6th string as an example, how that relates to the other strings. I also include a map of the fretboard for reference.
LESSON 10
New song week, featuring ‘Live Forever’ by Oasis. This song uses the C & G major chords plus the minor chords we’ve been practicing in recent lessons.
I will also introduce you to a new type of chord called a ‘power chord’.
LESSON 11
Today we shall develop the strumming for ‘Live Forever’ which we learned last lesson.
Then I’ll introduce the power chord, explaining finger positions and how they move up and down the fretboard relating to the notes on the 6th E string as explained in lesson 9. I’ll give a power chord exercise showing how the chords can be played both on the 6th and 5th strings.
LESSON 12
Today I’ll teach Lonely Boy by The Black Keys. We’ll begin with the main opening riff demonstrating how it is made up of notes from the Em pentatonic scale.
I’ll then use the power chords we’ve learned in previous lessons in relation to the verses and choruses of the song, applying different strumming patterns as well.
We’ll also be practising current 2 octave scales with the metronome and how to always strive to increase and improve speed and timing. I’ll introduce the G major pentatonic scale, demonstrating how it is the same pattern as Em pentatonic and how they’re closely related.
LESSON 13
To compliment the Black Keys song from last lesson I’ll teach the opening riff to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana, ideal for practising moving power chords from 6th to 5th strings. I’ll then introduce the 4th finger (pinky) onto the chord to create a 3 string power chord and show how much bolder this makes the sound for those confident enough to attempt it.
We’ll then learn the all important minor pentatonic scale at the 5th fret in the key of A (starting and finishing point, or root note). I explain how it is exactly the same as the open Em shape just moved up the fretboard with the 1st finger taking care of the open notes.
We’ll also learn a new set of chords, the Dominant 7th chord.
LESSON 14
We’ll work more this lesson on the Nirvana riff. I’ll demonstrate the importance of strumming control on the correct strings.
We’ll also add the ‘blues’ notes into the Am pentatonic we learnt last lesson. I shall emphasise the step up in difficulty from the open scales and stress the importance of thumb position round the back of the neck to create a good finger span.
I’ll put the Dominant 7th chords in a sequence to practise in readiness for next lesson’s new song.
LESSON 15
Today we’ll learn the 12 bar boogie prevalent in many rock and pop songs across multiple genres.
I’ll also show how this relates to the E ride we learned at the start of the course. We’ll learn the basic note sequence firstly, becoming familiar with how it sounds most importantly, in readiness to learn more detailed rhythms and picking patterns in the coming lessons. I’ll demonstrate how it can be progressed into quite complex and exciting variations.
Re-emphasising new scales, I’ll show how these can be moved into different keys whilst maintaining same shape.
To compliment the above we’ll begin “I Saw Her Standing There” by The Beatles using the Dominant 7th chords.
LESSON 16
This lesson deals with the new technique of alternate picking. We’ll work on this using the original finger exercise from lesson 1, and then transfer this technique onto the easiest scale we’ve learnt, the minor pentatonic scale.
I’ll then give an introduction to swing time, explaining the theory behind this, and then the technique to go with it both in a picking format and strumming.
We’ll also work some more on the Beatles song that we began last lesson.
LESSON 17
We’ll work some more on the alternate picking technique, and I’ll demonstrate timing using the metronome, and introduce with the blues scale. We’ll then work on this technique with the 12 bar boogie we learnt in lesson 15, explaining the importance of strictly adhering to the up and down motion.
I’ll then give an introduction to our next song ‘The Importance Of Being Idle’ by Oasis, beginning to strum the chords in a generic swing pattern.
LESSON 18
Here I’ll teach the song we began last lesson, and demonstrate the actual strumming pattern which is the same throughout.
We’ll also look at the technique of string bending and how to accurately change the pitch of a note. I’ll demonstrate this within the context of the Am pentatonic scale and the rules which apply to string bending.
We’ll do some more scale work here working more on the alternate picking technique to the blues scale and then a new G major scale pattern, but just keeping to down picks for the time being.
LESSON 19
Today, we will look at the natural minor scale.
We will then look at the first half of the solo from ‘The Importance Of Being Idle’ and look at how this solo has been written using the notes of this scale.
I will also explain how to use a new technique called vibrato to your single notes.
LESSON 20
Here we finish ‘The Importance Of Being Idle’ solo working on those string bends and showing the change of position on the guitar neck. I will also adapt the solo for acoustic players, focussing on sliding rather than bending the notes.
I’ll then provide an introduction to finger picking.
LESSON 21
Barre chords! Ouch!! I’ll give an explanation of the E shape Barre chord, both major and minor shape, showing how they’re an extension of the power chord and are rooted in the same way along the guitar neck. We’ll practise both B major and minor chords at the 7th fret as it’s easier to play at this part of the neck. Once at ease with the shapes we’ll then try them in different positions on the neck in preparation for next lesson’s exercise.
We’ll introduce the metronome to the latest scales, alternate picking in quavers and again emphasising the need to build up speed.
LESSON 22
In this lesson I’ll give an introduction to improvising. Potentially the most fun one can have on a guitar. I’ll demonstrate using the now familiar Am pentatonic scale and we’ll begin by simply running up and down the scale along to a backing track, then you’ll cast off on your own to try some licks and melodies for yourself. We’ll aim to include some string bends learnt in previous lessons.
I’ll give a barre chord exercise here moving the chords into different positions and changing between major and minor.
LESSON 23
We’ll develop some more improvising skills here and introduce the hammer on and pull off technique. I will show you a new extended pentatonic scale which is really useful for improvisation.
I’ll also introduce some finger picking techniques, particularly for the acoustic players but which can also be enjoyed on electric. I’ll explain once again the importance of timing with these techniques and how to count the picks as we do when strumming.
We’ll continue practice with the barre chords in preparation for next lesson’s new song.
LESSON 24
Teenage Kicks, by The Undertones is today’s lesson and uses the E shape major
and minor barre chords throughout. We’ll work on the timing of the changes firstly keeping to simple down strums, working on the chord arrangement and changes as a whole.
I’ll also give an explanation of barre chords rooted on the A string and show once again the major and minor shape.
As a well deserved breather and some light relief from all the barre chord work I’ll also teach the finger picking tune ‘We’re Going To Be Friends’ by the White Stripes. It’s a bit of a bonus lesson but you’ll need a break particularly if you’re playing acoustic. Take your time with this lesson, no rush!
LESSON 25
We’ll finish Teenage Kicks and develop the strumming pattern. I’ll explain the significance and importance of the ghost strum prevalent throughout the song. A bit like a tough old gym work-out this but if you can get all the way through the 3 minutes of the song without dropping out, then your barre chord strength is bang on.
We’ll learn the solo too in this lesson and I’ll demonstrate how it’s taken from the standard Chuck Berry lick. I’ll also show how much it has been used and developed over time within solos and improvised rock and blues playing.
Again, as the solo is exclusive to electric players I’ll give our acoustic players an introduction to Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T’s.
LESSON 26
In our final lesson, I’ll give a comprehensive all round masterclass on lead playing, rhythm playing and how to switch between the two techniques using a medium tempo 12 bar blues track in the key of E. We’ll work on improvising using the blues scales in the positions we’ve learnt them, i.e. open E blues and the blues scale at the 12 fret.
We’ll work on rhythms using both open chords and barre chords.
For our acoustic players I’ll complete Hey There Delilah by adding the passing bass notes that are common in this song, and conclude that everything is now covered and in place to go forward as a player.