Monday, November 28, 2005
Ariella and I got a lot accomplished in her lesson tonight. We started with the warm ups, then we worked on playing rhythms. I taught Ariella a new strumming pattern last class and tonight she was playing it perfectly (well pretty close, anyways!). We practiced the C major scale and we played "Ode to Joy" together, which was sounding very good. We practiced all the chord progressions with the new strumming pattern. Then we worked on songs. We played "Good Riddance" and "Wake me Up When Septembers Ends", which are both improving. We started work on power chords with three new songs: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day, "I Guess This Is Growing Up" by Blink 182 and, at Ariella's request, "Photograph" by Nickelback. Yes, we fit all that into one hour!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Karen is a singer/songwriter who wants to improve her guitar playing. This was our third lesson. We are working on all the basics: warm up exercises, scales, chords and rhythm. We concentrated on chords today and played a lot of two bar progressions. Then we worked on the chords and the rhythm for the Patsy Cline song "Why Can't He Be You". Karen played me a recording of one of her original songs today. It sounded really good. She told me that she is working on songs for a children's album. We are going to work on playing some of her songs starting next lesson.
The Montreal Musician's Database
Are you a musician looking for a band? Are you a band looking for a particular musician? Here is a tool to help. I have set up these messageboards to help musicians in the Montreal area connect. All you have to do is post your information under the appropriate topic. The more people that use the database, the more it will help everyone, so tell all your musician friends about it! I have put a permanent link to the database in the links section of this site but you can also check it out here.
Humble Beginnings...
I was around 8 when I discovered an acoustic guitar in my uncle's basement. I opened the case and simply moved my hand across the open strings. I was captivated by the sound. That was the spark for me. My uncle eventually lent me this guitar and that was the instrument I began to learn with. What or who inspired you to play guitar? I would love to hear your stories...
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
Today, Amanda and I concentrated on strumming patterns. Last week, she learned a new pattern for a song I taught her. When she arrived today, she said she was having trouble with it. We worked on the pattern and by the end of the class, she was playing it perfectly. In general, Amanda's chords and rhythms sound really good. Her scales were sounding great today as well. It was a really good lesson and also it didn't rain!
Monday, November 7, 2005
I've been teaching Ryan "Eruption". We've also been working on blues soloing. Today, we went over some songs that Ryan will be playing at his next show. He's in a band called Cosmic Roots. They are playing this Thursday, November 10th at Reggie's Pub, which is located at 1455 de Maisonneuve W. The show starts at 8:30 PM and it's $7 at the door. It should be a cool show.
The Saturday Crew...
There's some serious rockin' going down on Saturdays, and I mean serious!
Blues Instrumental #2
I recorded another blues instrumental. This one is in the key of A. I also added some drums and bass to this one. If anyone would like a copy of it to play along with, you can email me and I will email it back to you. To play along with this instrumental, use the chords for the 12 bar blues in A and the A blues scale for soloing. Enjoy!
© Jon 2005 - Powered for Blogger by Blogger Templates
