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Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 4 2009, 06:14 PM

Hi Matt!

This is place where I will give you assignments and upload videos. You will do the same starting tonight. Bookmark it, subscribe to it as it will be easier to follow when I post new things in!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 11:01 AM

Bookmarked and subscribed.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 12:13 PM

Lets get started Matt!

In your guitar CV you mentioned your main goal is for me to teach you how to play Jazz and Fusion music. With this main goal, there were numerous minor goals that will eventually lead to major one. I also like that you stated which technique area needs work (alternate picking).

For your 1st assignment I have some alternate picking exercises (5 of them) as well as theory reading assignment.

Here is your 1st assignment :

- Record each lick in 3 different tempos! Make sure tempos are at least 15-20 bpm difference.
- Try to show me your maximum tempo for these licks, I want you to push yourself here!
- Feel free to ask for more exercises if these are too easy for you!
- Upload your takes in this thread. Ideally I would like you to do videos, put them on Youtube and embed them here.

Regarding practice schedule, I think you should do this an hour every day if you want to move tempos faster. Even better, do it 45-50 minutes with brake of 10 - 15 minutes. If you do it 50 minutes that gives you 10 minutes per exercise! Plenty of time to learn them all in slow, regular and fast tempo before recording it all.

Time limit for 1st assignment would be a week from now. If you manage to do all the exercises before that, I will put more exercises here for you!

Theory reading :

- I would like you to read my posts from links provided below.
- Once you read it all, memorize 3 and 4 part harmony in C major scale.
- Learn to apply scale degrees rather then numbers ( I in C major is C, IV in C is F etc).
- Write out in this thread all notes for 3 and 4 part harmony in C major scale.

This is an extra assignment so I won't put any time limit on this one yet. I want you to first do your alternate picking assignment but you can in the meanwhile read these posts and learn a lot from them.

Here are the links :

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=30193

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=30271


Let me know if you have any question Matt. Don't hesitate to ask, I am here to help man!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 12:28 PM

Ok Pedja, thanks for your quick response. I have a few questions though.

First, in the first exercise, there is a pattern that uses the 3rd, 5th, and 7th frets. In the tab you say, I should use index on the 3rd, ring on the 5th, and pinky on the 7th. I find it much easier to play the 5th fret with my middle finger though. Can I just do that, or should I try to play it the way the tab says?

Second, my access to a camera is quite limited, so is it better that I post my assignments later with video, or sooner with just audio?

Third, what sort of speed should I practice the exercises at. The fastest speed I can play them cleanly or a slower speed or what?

Matt

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 12:34 PM

Great to get your response so quick! I am glad to see you are already working on things
To answer your questions...

1) Use fingerings that you are most comfortable with to play faster tempos! My fingerings was just suggestions but you can change that no problem.
2) If you can't record video at the moment, go ahead and post audio. Remember you have one week for this assignment. That should give you plenty of time to practice those exercises and get them up to tempo before doing video.
3) You should do 3 tempos. First tempo should be very slow and its basically warm up tempo. Second tempo should be in somewhere between a warm up and good effort. Last tempo should be your highest possible tempo where you can play clean without mistakes!

I want you to record these exercises with the metronome click in the background!

I will post my takes for all 5 exercises soon and it should help you a lot when doing yours.

Let me know if you have any more questions Matt!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 12:37 PM

Ok just to clarify about the tempo question, are you saying if I practice like you said I should, that I should split the 10 minutes for each exercise into 3 tempos, so 3 and a bit minutes for each tempo?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 12:53 PM

Actually that was 10 minutes for each exercises. 5 exercise x 10 minutes each = 50 minutes. So you finish the routine in less then hour with 10 minutes spare to do some theory reading !

This is my suggestion as I can't tell you practice 3 hours this! If you have extra time, do more then 50 minutes. If you have 3 hours, do 3 sets of 50 minutes with 10 minute brakes in between each set.

I can give you suggestions for tempos. For example 40bpm, 80bpm and 100 bpm! Or 60 bpm, 90 bpm and 120 bpm!

See what you can do

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 02:19 PM

3 Part Harmony:

C Ionian - C, E, G
D Dorian - D, F, A
E Phrygian - E, G, B
F Lydian - F, A, C
G Mixolydian - G, B, D
A Aeolian - A, C, E
B Locrian - B, D, F

4 Part Harmony:

C Ionian - C, E, G, B
D Dorian - D, F, A, C
E Phrygian - E, G, B, D
F Lydian - F, A, C, E
G Mixolydian - G, B, D, F
A Aeolian - A, C, E, G
B Locrian - B, D, F, A

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 02:21 PM

Awesome Matt!
Now just add scale degrees before notes (I C major or C maj7 = C Ionian etc).
You can then do another key, G major for example! Try to figure out if G major has sharps or flats

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 02:54 PM

3 Part Harmony:

I G Ionian - G, B, D (G)
II A Dorian - A, C, E (Am)
III B Phrygian - B, D, F# (Bm)
IV C Lydian - C, E, G ©
V D Mixolydian - D, F#, A (D)
VI E Aeolian - E, G, B (Em)
VII F# Locrian - F#, A, C (F#dim)

4 Part Harmony:

I G Ionian - G, B, D, F# (Gmaj7)
II A Dorian - A, C, E, G (Amin7)
III B Phrygian - B, D, F#, A (Bmin7)
IV C Lydian - C, E, G, B (Cmaj7)
V D Mixolydian - D, F#, A, C (D7)
VI E Aeolian - E, G, B, D (Emin7)
VII F# Locrian - F#, A, C, E (F#min7b5)

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 03:01 PM

Great stuff Matt very well done!

I will give you couple of extra assignments for major scale harmony but remember you have alternate picking as your primary assignment still to do!

Here are extra keys :

1) Key of Ab major (3 and 4 part harmony with modes and scale degrees)
2) Key of B major (same as above)
3) Key of Gb major (same as above)

Let me know if you have any questions Matt

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 03:40 PM

Ok I've done 50 minutes of practice on the exercises, so I'm posting them here, with 3 speeds like you said.

Also if you don't mind reading it, I'm going to say how I did the practice, just to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

First I found the maximum speeds I could play each exercises cleanly. I then went down 20bpm and 20bpm again to get the speeds I would practice each exercise at. For exercise's 1, 2 and 3, the speeds were 60, 80 and 100. For exercise four the speeds were 80, 100 and 120. For exercise 5 the speeds were, 50, 70 and 90.

For each exercise, I played the first speed for 3 minutes, the second speed for the next three minutes, then the third speed for the remaining 4 minutes. After the third exercise I had a ten minute break were I read about cadences and wrote the 3 and 4 part harmonies of C major. I then went back and did the last two exercises.

So if you could tell me if that's a good way to practice that'd be great. And thanks for all the time and effort you're putting in to mentor me.

Just finished reading both the posts you assigned, and I've got a few questions.

First could you give me a clear definition of what a Cadence is, because I always thought it was the last two chords of a phrase. I.e. Perfect cadence: V-I Plagal Cadence: IV-I Interrupted Cadence: V-VI etc. In your post though I got the impression that they were chord progressions.

Second, I understood everything in the Chord Substitution post (I think), but I don't quite get why you would use it. I mean if you substitute the tonic I, for VI, then surely you've changed the tonic to the relative minor. So if you could give me an example of how to use chord substituion I think that would help me.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 03:46 PM

Matt I read everything, downloaded and hear all the exercises.

Let me first say that I want you to play same 3 tempos for all 5 exercises.

In the takes you submitted you are not playing with a click. Only Example 4 is fairly accurate and has tight phrasing. All the other takes are very loose which show that you need to work with playing with metronome more.

Since these are all 16th note based exercises, make sure that your every 4th note falls on the click! So you play 1st note, 3 more after that and 4th has to be on straight with the click boom !

I will post my takes with these examples and it will be much easier. Keep working on it, this is good first draft, you got them in your fingers already!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 04:09 PM

Ok, I'll play them all at 60, 80 and 100.

I am playing with a click in all of them, but yeh my rhythm placement definitely needs work. I'll try and make every fourth note fall on the click when I'm practicing these with a metronome, thanks for the advice.

Thanks for listening Pedja. Should I repost these after I've practiced them a bit more. And if so when?


Ab Major

3 Part Harmony:

I Ab Ionian - Ab, C, Eb (Ab)
II Bb Dorian - Bb, Db, F (Bbm)
III C Phrygian - C, Eb, G (Cm)
IV Db Lydian - Db, F, Ab (Db)
V Eb Mixolydian - Eb, G, Ab (Eb)
VI F Aeolian - F, Ab, C (Fm)
VII G Locrian - G, Bb, Db (Gdim)

4 Part Harmony:

I Ab Ionian - Ab, C, Eb, G (Abmaj7)
II Bb Dorian - Bb, Db, F, Ab (Bbmin7)
III C Phrygian - C, Eb, G, Bb (Cmin7)
IV Db Lydian - Db, F, Ab, C (Dbmaj7)
V Eb Mixolydian - Eb, G, Ab, Db (Eb7)
VI F Aeolian - F, Ab, C, Eb (Fmin7)
VII G Locrian - G, Bb, Db, F (Gmin7b5)

B Major

3 Part Harmony:

I B Ionian - B, D#, F# (
II C# Dorian - C#, E, G# (C#m)
III D# Phrygian - D#, F#, A# (D#m)
IV E Lydian - E, G#, B (E)
V F# Mixolydian - F#, A#, C# (F#)
VI G# Aeolian - G#, B, D# (G#min)
VII A# Locrian - A#, C#, E (A#dim)

4 Part Harmony:

I B Ionian - B, D#, F#, A# (Bmaj7)
II C# Dorian - C#, E, G#, B (C#min7)
III D# Phrygian - D#, F#, A#, C# (D#min7)
IV E Lydian - E, G#, B, D# (Emaj7)
V F# Mixolydian - F#, A#, C#, E (F#7)
VI G# Aeolian - G#, B, D#, F# (G#min7)
VII A# Locrian - A#, C#, E, G# (A#min7b5)

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 04:14 PM

Great stuff Matt!

Re-post those exercises every day if you want and can. That way we can monitor progress more closely. Ideally I would like to hear within one week no mistakes in all 3 takes and video of it all

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 04:16 PM

Gb Major

3 Part Harmony:

I Gb Ionian - Gb, Bb, Db (Gb)
II Ab Dorian - Ab, Cb Eb (Abm)
III Bb Phrygian - Bb, Db, F (Bbm)
IV Cb Lydian - Cb, Eb, Gb (Cb)
V Db Mixolydian - Db, F, Ab (Db)
VI Eb Aeolian - Eb, Gb, Bb (Ebmin)
VII F Locrian - F, Ab, Cb (A#dim)

4 Part Harmony:

I Gb Ionian - Gb, Bb, Db, F (Gbmaj7)
II Ab Dorian - Ab, Cb Eb, Gb (Abmin7)
III Bb Phrygian - Bb, Db, F, Ab (Bbmin7)
IV Cb Lydian - Cb, Eb, Gb, Bb (Cbmaj7)
V Db Mixolydian - Db, F, Ab, Cb (Db7)
VI Eb Aeolian - Eb, Gb, Bb, Db (Ebmin7)
VII F Locrian - F, Ab, Cb, Gb (Fmin7b5)

Ok I should be able to record the exercises every day, and I should be able to get a video by the end of the week.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 04:19 PM

Great stuff Matt!
Check your chord labeling for F Locryian in Gb Major

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 04:58 PM

If you haven't got the time to reply atm that's fine, there's no rush, but I just wondered if you saw what I wrote earlier about the theory articles.

"Just finished reading both the posts you assigned, and I've got a few questions.

First could you give me a clear definition of what a Cadence is, because I always thought it was the last two chords of a phrase. I.e. Perfect cadence: V-I Plagal Cadence: IV-I Interrupted Cadence: V-VI etc. In your post though I got the impression that they were chord progressions.

Second, I understood everything in the Chord Substitution post (I think), but I don't quite get why you would use it. I mean if you substitute the tonic I, for VI, then surely you've changed the tonic to the relative minor. So if you could give me an example of how to use chord substituion I think that would help me."

p.s. Normally I would just wait for a reply, but you seem to reply so promptly to everything I thought you might have missed it.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 05:27 PM

Hey Matt,

I was not near computer for the last hour or so.

Don't get confused with the cadence. In classical music its like you sad Plagal, Interrupted and all the rest. Since we are studying contemporary music harmony, cadence can be best described as group of chords that describe given scale or mode! I hope that makes things clear now.

Regarding chord substitution, we apply it to enrich and reharmonize harmony. In a way, we expand things that way and have much more possibilities when we have some given melody to work with. Chord substitution also opens up more possibilities for us to change keys and modulate.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 5 2009, 07:50 PM

Ok I understand now about cadences, thanks , but I'm still not sure about chord substitution. Is chord substitution just a way of taking a chord progression, but substituting some of the chords for similar ones to make a similar but different progression?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 5 2009, 10:39 PM

Thats exactly what it is!
If you read that post more you will see why substitution works and what type of chord functions we have (Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant).

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 6 2009, 10:20 AM

Ok I'll read it again now I understand more what the post is about.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 6 2009, 10:23 AM

Excellent Matt. I am very happy with your theory and harmony responses so far. We have to work on technique part of assignment now. If you get a chance today, post some audio of exercises.
I have just a quick question for you... How did you manage in the same track to have different metronome clicks come through the actual recording?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 6 2009, 10:26 AM

Ok Pedja, I should be able to post some audio clips this evening. And to your question about the metronome. I have Acoustica Beatcraft, so I made a metronome beat and copied it the number of times I needed it (66), then I went through adding tempo flags, and setting the track to the right tempo at the right times.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 6 2009, 10:28 AM

Sounds great Matt.
I will try to do something similar when recording my examples today

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 7 2009, 03:44 PM

I'm afraid I have some bad news Pedja. Today I hurt the little finger on my left hand, so I can't play the guitar, not even with the other fingers. Hopefully it will be good enough to play guitar with soon though.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 7 2009, 03:47 PM

That is really some bad news Matt!
I really hope your little finger gets back to normal soon. Are you putting some ice on it? How did you hurt it ?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 7 2009, 03:56 PM

It was at school when we were doing PE. I was playing dodgeball, and I tried to catch a really hard throw and it bent my finger back. I might put some ice on it but I don't think it helps so much if you don't do it straight after you hurt something. I think it will recover quite quick though cos when I hurt it I couldn't bend it at all, and now there's about 45 degrees of bend in it, so it should be useable in a couple of days even if it's a bit painful.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 7 2009, 04:05 PM

That is terrible Matt. Relax your hand and try to avoid dodge ball next time. Similar thing happened to me when I was playing basketball in my primary school. After that incident I basically gave up on that sport because music is my life long career, didn't want something like that to repeat...

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 7 2009, 04:07 PM

It's not anything serious just a bit annoying.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 7 2009, 04:19 PM

Cool Matt, relax and when you are ready record those AP exercises for me.
Would you like more theory related assignments in the meanwhile?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 7 2009, 04:21 PM

Sure.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 7 2009, 04:22 PM

Ok Matt, I will post some more questions later tonight!

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 7 2009, 10:52 PM

Here we go with more theory Matt !

- Read my theory and harmony posts regarding Cadences.
- Once you have read everything, write out cadences for following tonal centers
1) Db Ionian
2) F# Dorian
3) C Phrygian
4) G Lydian
5) F Mixolydian
6) F# Aeolian

Extra assignment , write down notes of the mode above!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 8 2009, 04:24 PM

Db Ionian

Db (I), Gb (IV), Ab (V), Db (I) or
Ebm (II), Ab (V), Db (I)

Db Ionian: Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C

F# Dorian

F#m (I), B (IV) or
F#m (I), G#m (II)

F# Dorian: F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E

C Phrygian

Cm (I), Db (II) or
Cm (I), Bbm (VII)

C Phrygian: C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb

G Lydian

G (I), A (II) or
G (I), F#m (VII)

G Lydian: G, A, B, C#, D, E, F#

F Mixolydian

F (I), Eb (VII) or
F (I), Cm (V)

F Mixolydian: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb

F# Aeolian:

F#m (I), Bm (IV), C#m (V), F#m (I) or
F#m (I), D (VI), E (VII), F#m (I)

F# Aeolian: F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 8 2009, 09:47 PM

Perfect Matt!
More theory and harmony tomorrow stay tuned

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 10 2009, 10:09 PM

Ok Matt, we continue with more theory and harmony now. I hope your finger is getting better I haven't forgoten about alternate picking, hope you haven't either

Here we go with new assignment

Questions :

1) What is cycle 4 and cycle 5 in harmony?
2) How many keys with sharps do we have in music? What about keys with flats?
3) How many notes do we have in chromatic scale?
4) What is the shortcut we use to move through cycle 4? What about cycle 5?

Let me know if you need any help with these, this is just to get you going!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 05:46 PM

I'll have a go at these but I'm not too sure about the cycle 4 and 5 questions. Is there an article or a post you could maybe link me to about them? And about my finger, I can play fine with 3 fingers now, and very gently with four, so I should be able to make a start on those exercises soon.

1) Is cycle 4 a chord progression where you go through chords in 4th intervals, in a cycle until you get back to the starting chord. I.e. In the key of C major: C, F, B, E, A, D, G, C. And is cycle 5 then the same in 5th intervals. I.e. In C major: C, G, D, A, E, B, F, C.

2) 5 keys with sharps, 5 keys with flats, and Gb/F#, which can have sharps or flats.

3) 12

4) No idea

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 07:38 PM

Matt you did very good to certain extent on your own. I am proud of you man

Here are some things that will help you for future.

Cycle 5 is used to determine keys with sharps. We start on C and always go up a perfect 5th. Thats our next key with one extra sharp. So C (no accidentals) up a perfect 5th gives us G major that has one accidental. Now regarding question 4, here is your answer : Trick is, we always have to alter 7th from minor to major so that we could get half step between it and the root. In practical terms, what is 7th of G ? F right? What do we have to do ? Make it sharper, so we do F to F#, F# is our sharp, and F# to G is half step away!!! Let me know if this explanation makes sense?

Here are the keys with sharps for you Matt:

C = no accidentals
G = F#, 1 sharp
D = F# and C#, 2 sharps
A = F#, C# and G# = 3 sharps
E = F#, C#, G#, D# = 4 sharps
B = F#,C#, G#, D#, A# = 5 sharps
F#= F#,C#,G#,D#,A#,E# = 6 sharps
C#= F#,C#,G#,D#,A#,E#,B# = 7 sharps (all notes are sharp!).

So that is your Cycle 5 or keys with sharps.

Cycle 4 is used to determine keys with flats. We start on C and always go up a perfect 4th. That is our next key with one extra flat. So C (no accidentals) up a perfect 4th gives us F major that has one accidental (one flat). Now regarding question 4, here is your answer : Trick is, once we find the root, we go up another perfect 4th from it and since that interval is augmented 4th, we lower it and that is our original flat!!!

Let me put this into use so it is more clear to you.

We start on C , go up a perfect 4th , now we are in F! We know by now that F has one flat, problem is we don't know which one! Now as I said, go up a perfect 4th from F, there is your flat! F going up augmented 4th is B, so we have to make B into Bb for it to be perfect 4th from F. So F has 1 flat and it is Bb!

The beauty about this trick is once you found your first flat, every next key is based on the flat you found!
So from F major that has Bb, our next key becomes Bb with Eb flat, and our next key is then Eb with Ab flat etc.

Here is the Cycle 4 for you Matt:

C (no accidentals)
F = Bb = 1 flat
Bb = Bb and Eb = 2 flats
Eb = Bb, Eb, Ab= 3 flats
Ab= Bb, Eb, Ab,Dd, = 4 flats
Dd= Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb= 5 flats
Gb= Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,Cb= 6 flats
Cb= Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,Cb,Fb = 7 flats (all flats!)

Here is another tip for you Matt - Both cycle 4 and cycle 5 have 7 keys each! We have to take all 7 letter names and alter them, this is why we have to go through the cycle 7 times.


Hope this post was useful to you. I will post it also on my Theory and Harmony board for future reference.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 07:49 PM

Thanks for that detailed reply Pedja , I think I understand it, but I have a question. Should Cb not be B, to avoid 7 flats, and should C# not be Db to avoid 7 sharps?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 08:01 PM

Good questions!
Shouldn't Gb be F#?
It is what it is... I actually had the same question going in my head years ago when I was starting with this (probably 12 years ago to be exact . It popped to my mind the same thing, why call it Cb instead of B or C# instead of Db etc... I heard 3 things that I accepted today and teach my students that should help you as well.

1) In classical music pieces, key of the piece is very important as it sets the mood. Classical composers would argue with you all day that F# doesn't sound the same as Gb or C# doesn't sound the same as Db. To us it may just seem as enharmonic spelling, to them its much more. So I learned to deal with it. Also, classical music uses more sharp oriented keys because of orchestration purposes!

2) Jazz music is written by cycle 4, classical is in cycle 5!

3) Enharmonic spelling. Accept it as that, deal with it and its all good

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 08:07 PM

Ok, fair enough, I'm prepared to accept it, but does noone really do the way I'm suggesting, because it seems more logical to have less sharps/flats in a key signature.

Also to "Shouldn't Gb be F#?", I didn't think so because changing Gb to F# and vice versa would have the same number (6) of sharps/flats in the key signature.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 08:10 PM

Well here is a simple explanation for you in that case. Major scale has 7 different notes right? C D E F G A B , correct?
In order for systems and cycles to work, we have to eventually use all the sharps (for all 7 notes) as well as all the flats (for all 7 notes). Only then this system makes sense - in my head at least. Why would go to 3,4,5,6 but not 7 sharps?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 08:12 PM

Because it is easier to read music with less sharps/flats in the key signature.

I agree that with the cycles and everything it makes more sense with 7 sharps/flats, but surely in actual music that's not the easiest thing to play.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 08:21 PM

I see your point but as guitar player, you just look at accidentals in the first line and you are done! You use same exact fingering for all 12 keys of major scale so nothing changes. It is of course another thing if you had to sight read a piece that goes outside of key using accidentals that don't belong in original key. That is when things get messy But that's because all people who read music have really strong sight reading skills. It is very useful ability to have when reading music

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 08:23 PM

Ok, I'll have another go at answering those questions now.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 08:31 PM

Ok Matt, I am in chat right now, you can join me there if you want.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 08:38 PM

1) What is cycle 4 and cycle 5 in harmony?

Answer: Cycle 4 is a way of finding key signatures that contain flats by going up in perfect fourths. If you started at C (no flats), then up a fourth would be F. A fourth from F is a B, but to make that a perfect fourth, it must be dimished, so the key signature for F is Bb. At Bb up a fourth is E, which again you need to diminish to make a perfect fourth from Bb, so the key signature for Bb is Bb and Eb. You keep doing this until you reach C again, so all the key signatures that contain flats are:

C:
F: Bb
Bb: Bb, Eb
Eb: Bb, Eb, Ab
Ab: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
Db: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
Gb: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
Cb: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb

Cycle 5 is the same, but you go up in perfect fifths, to find all the key signatures with sharps. So if you start at C, then up a 5th is G. To make G major you have to augment the 7th so the key signature is F#. You carry on doing this back to C.

C:
G: F#
D: F#, C#
A: F#, C#, G#
E: F#, C#, G#, D#
B: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#
F#: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
C#: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#

2) How many keys with sharps do we have in music? What about keys with flats?
Answer: 7 with flats, 6 with sharps.

4) What is the shortcut we use to move through cycle 4? What about cycle 5?
Answer: I think I answered this in my first question. That you always keep the sharp/flat from the key before, and augment the 7th (cycle 5), or diminish the 4th (cycle 4).

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 08:49 PM

All great Matt, you got it. Just small correction, 7 keys with flats and sharps!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 11 2009, 08:50 PM

Oh yeh. Must have forgotten how to count for a second then.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 11 2009, 09:08 PM

No big deal, by now I am positive you have learned all the assignments. When your finger fully recovers please record alternate picking examples. I will in the meanwhile post you some useful links in this thread (from chat tonight).

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 15 2009, 08:37 PM

Here's a take of the 5th exercise at 60, 80 and 100bpm.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 16 2009, 02:33 PM

This is sounding very good Matt, well done. At some points you seem to be ahead of tempo but you will fix that by playing this one more and more. When can I expect other examples?

Later today I will post some listening examples for you here (Youtube videos).

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 16 2009, 06:09 PM

I am quite busy atm but I should be able to get some more up today.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 16 2009, 06:55 PM

Excellent Matt!

I will check the thread later tonight (after 11pm).

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 16 2009, 08:01 PM

Here's another recording of the exercises. I had a go at the first 4 very slowly (50bpm), and again I did the last one at 60, 80 and 100bpm.
 AP_Exercises_160909.mp3 ( 1.89MB ) : 93

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 16 2009, 09:46 PM

It is going well Matt. Your 3rd example, you are playing wrong notes in that one. Whole example is in key of G major or D mixolydian !

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 17 2009, 11:55 AM

Matt,

I will be gone today from my town, back tomorrow. In the meanwhile I want you to keep working on 5 alternate picking examples and record them. I hope your hand is getting back to normal. I expect 3 tempos (60 80 100 bpm for example) for all 5 exercises. Record them and upload them all in this thread. If you finish that I will give you more examples for alternate picking.
As extra assignment, read through all my theory and harmony posts on my board. I will give you short tests with very specific questions in couple of days.

Let me know if you need any help,

Pedja

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 17 2009, 03:52 PM

Ok.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 17 2009, 05:34 PM

Here's all of the exercises at 60, 80 and 100bpm.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 18 2009, 07:01 PM

Matt here are more comments for your exercises!

Ex 1 - 1st tempo catching a tempo and rushing slightly towards the end, 2nd tempo awesome work, rushing and not on click on 3rd tempo.

Ex 2 - 1st tempo quick start rushed a bit, all the rest awesome!

Ex 3 - excellent work !

Ex 4 - started on up beat 1st tempo, 2nd tempo awesome, 3rd tempo slight problems with playing on click.

Ex 5 - rushed 1st tempo slightly , 2nd and 3rd tempo awesome!

Here are 6 more examples for you to keep you busy with alternate picking! After you finish these we will lay low on alternate and work on some other techniques. I will also give you short tests on posts I mentioned before. I hope you have been reading those

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 20 2009, 12:53 PM

Here's the exercises at 50, 70 and 90bpm.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 21 2009, 08:17 PM

Matt these are coming together. I think you still need to work on them a bit. Especially last example, you are not doing 8th note triplets on the click well. In other examples you are mostly having problem with very first tempo. You have a tendency to push the tempo ( to rush). So try to correct that. See if you could record these again and correct those mistakes!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 21 2009, 08:57 PM

Ok I'll try practice them and try and get another take up tomorrow night.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 21 2009, 09:00 PM

Great Matt!

Have you started working on Alternate picking etude at 160bpm?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 23 2009, 06:16 PM

I've RECed it.

Here's a second take on all the exercises at 50, 70 and 90bpm.

Also, my finger is nearly fully healed, so I'm starting to get my practice back on track, and I will start spending more time on your assignments, and theory questions.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 24 2009, 06:59 PM

I tried practicing them again today at 60, 80 and 100, but I couldn't get the third one clean at 100 so here's a third take of them at 50, 70 and 90.

Also, when I practice these should I concentrate on not lifting my fingers and using small pick movements, or any other aspect of technique?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 24 2009, 07:11 PM

Very good work so far Matt !
I think you can do better with exercise 8 with those triplets especially at faster tempos. Also practice not to lift to much fingers of guitar strings as it will slow down your technique . This is especially true when you do faster tempos !

Example 10 was good only last tempo, you have problem playing triplets in slow tempo- work on that as well ! (subdivide in your mind always 1 2 3 1 23 ... )

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 24 2009, 07:16 PM

Yeh exercise 8 is really hard and for some reason I can't stay in time with exercise 10 well. Do you think I should just concentrate on those 2 or should I keep practicing all of them equally?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 24 2009, 07:17 PM

All of them equally Matt but the ones that you notice problems you should definitely do more repetitions. It is all in the mind, if you subdivide melody right and sing it with click, you can play it no problem.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 24 2009, 07:21 PM

Ok, I'll upload another take of them tomorrow. I think my problem with the slower tempos is that I'm less certain when the click is going to come so I think maybe when I record the exercise I'll try giving myself a longer count before I start playing, unless you think I should be able to do it with just 4 clicks.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 24 2009, 07:32 PM

Great Matt, do that!
I think 4 clicks is more than enough of count of. It is also industry standard. When you play in orchestra or in a band you get 4 clicks count in before starting a piece.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 24 2009, 07:41 PM

Ok.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 25 2009, 07:58 PM

I managed to get a video together this time. I think it's getting better but I still have trouble with the 8th exercise at higher speeds.



P.S. I will be out all day tomorrow so I won't be able to post any new audio/video.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 25 2009, 08:33 PM

Good work Matt! I am very happy to see and hear these are coming together. Exercise 10 was great as you manged to do triplets in time for all tempos. You are already aware of parts that need work in all the exercises. I am glad to hear the improvement in these 10 days or so. I would like you to keep working on them and push tempos further but remember to have them all sound clean no unwanted noise or mistakes.
So far great work!
We will soon move onto Alternate picking etude at 160bpm, I am expecting one more video like this one but with faster tempos and no mistakes in all examples!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 25 2009, 08:46 PM

Ok, I'll try and get the exercises up to 60, 80 and 100.

Also I know you said we'll move onto "Alternate Etude at 160bpm" after these exercises, but I was wondering if you have seen this video I made about a week back. Obviously if you would like me to perfect it etc, then this is irrelevant, but if you thought I hadn't learned it, I thought you might like to see this, in case it changes your plans.



Also, is there any more theory reading you could suggest me?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 25 2009, 09:04 PM

Great Matt!
I haven't seen this video. Well done. There is two things that I would point out - muting and ending. You are muting really hard during the whole etude so I would advise you let the notes ring out more. Regarding ending, it is not in time rhythmically. Play it with my slow videos and guitar pro file it will help you get it 100% down.
Other then this it was very good cover I like it. You used good fingering and it didn't sound like you were getting stuck at all. Good work Matt!

This definitely changes my plans with you as we won't need to dedicate time to that one but rather spend it on some other area.

I will post a theory and harmony quiz for you tomorrow!
In the meanwhile work on new tempos for exercises. Good job Matt!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 27 2009, 07:47 PM

Here's my first attempt at 60, 80 and 100bpm.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 27 2009, 07:52 PM

Haha this is hilarious ! How did you manage to make it sound this insane?
Only last example sounds musical somewhat and doable of course

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 27 2009, 10:10 PM

What???

Oh, I put the speed up to quickly check I'd played them all cos I had a bit of metronome click left at the end, and I must of forgot to put it down again before I rendered. I'll re-upload those I think.

Ok, second attempt. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 01:30 PM

Yes, the first upload you did was very funny. I don't know how you used that speed up feature but I really hope you are not cheating with those audio tools!

On the bright side, these last examples sound very good. I am very happy with triplets and your alternate technique is really kicking in great man. We will soon move onto new things, I would like another final tempos before we do that. Try to increase all tempos by 10-20 bpm.

Thanks Matt!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 03:44 PM

It's the slider in the red circle that changes the speed, but if you put it up then the pitch goes up so it's impossible to cheat with.



I'll try and get a video made tonight, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I'll definitely be able to get one made by tomorrow night though. What are we working on after alternate picking?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 04:09 PM

Ok Matt, sounds good. Try to record video tonight or tomorrow and then we will move onto new material.

Tell me how are you doing with arpeggios?
Can you play Maj7 Min7 Dom7 in 3 octaves any inversion? Can you solo with them?

Since you mentioned your intention is to learn to play Jazz and Fusion, we will need to work on arpeggios, tensions, approach patterns, time feel soloing, motive development, sequence and things like that. I think we should start with arpeggios as they are very strong foundation for everything else that will follow. I hope you got your answer

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 04:15 PM

I'm not too good with knowing arpeggios or chord shapes. I know triads in quite a few places and inversions, and I know what Maj7, Min7 and Dom7 are, and I could work the shapes out in a few seconds but I don't know many of the shapes by memory, so no I can't really solo with them.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 04:35 PM

Perfect!
This is very logical next step. You can't play jazz music without knowing arpeggios, it is impossible. Every single Jazz player uses arpeggios either as chord tones or tensions, so we will definitely spend time on this. First, lets wrap up the alternate picking work out we did so far with your final video.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 05:08 PM

Ok, I'll try and get that up tonight.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 05:09 PM

Great Matt. I look forward to it man. Try to do all the alternate picking examples in that one big video!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 05:12 PM

You mean 1-5 as well?

Also what speeds would you like them at for the final video?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 05:19 PM

Yes Matt 1-5 and also all the others we covered. It would be ideal if you could use same 3 tempos for all examples! If you are not able to do that right now, then do 2 tempos same and let the last one (extreme) vary from example to example.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 05:20 PM

Will be 60-100 be alright for all of them, or should I push 100 up for the ones I can play faster?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 05:21 PM

60,80 100 is okay but remember you got 16th note triplets at 100bpm, can you do that ? Just kidding, go ahead and do them all at 60 80 and 100. If it all turns out perfect, in your free time and practice routine, you will try to bring this up to 100,120 140 ideally.

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 05:24 PM

Ok, I think I might manage them all at 70, 90 and 110 but if that fails I'll do it at 60-100.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 05:25 PM

Great Matt. I am very excited to see you play all 11 examples from start to finish. It will require a lot of concentration if you do them all in one go, otherwise you can edit video and do step record if you wish

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 28 2009, 09:32 PM

Here's my video of all the exercises. I decided to do them at 70, 90 and 110bpm. There are a few mistakes since I tried to do them all in the same video so if you would like me to have another go then just say and I'll make another video tomorrow.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 28 2009, 11:42 PM

Mostly very good work Matt. I would just add that your guitar intonation needs adjustment on top E string for sure. I suggest you get that checked out as it doesn't produce clear notes all over the neck.
Overall this is very good work. It shows that you have worked with all exercises and improved. Of course, you can take this to whole other level but for time being this is going well Matt. We will move to chord tones very soon. In the meanwhile you can do another video if you want with all examples, but aim for perfection in that one!

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 29 2009, 03:44 PM

Ok

Are we not going to move onto chord tones until I have made a better video, or could I practice the exercises outside the MTP, and post another video in a few weeks time?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 29 2009, 09:16 PM

Also Pedja, before we move away from alternate picking, do you know any exercise that would increase the speed of my picking hand, because I feel that's one of my main weaknesses with AP, or will the ones we've been doing do that?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Sep 30 2009, 05:32 PM

Matt, since you covered all 11 exercises and did alternate picking etude, I would say for time being this is enough. Keep in mind that I want you to keep working through the tempos. We will come back eventually to this where I will request you to upload video with tempos faster by 20 bpm from your last upload. As you know it will be much harder to get to 140,150,160bpm from 120,130,140bpm. The faster the tempo the harder it is for the hands to do
Feel free to work on other things besides MTP. I will give you some other alternate picking assignments (lessons from other GMC instructors) but this will be as side assignment. We will shift our focus on chord tones and arpeggios now.

Any questions?

Posted by: Matt23 Sep 30 2009, 05:53 PM

Ok, looking forward to chord tones/arpeggios.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 3 2009, 12:54 PM

Ok Matt, now its time to move to new area. You already have 11 alternate picking exercises that you will continually work on in your daily practice schedule. Now we will work on chord tones and arpeggios as this is essential in order to play any form of Jazz music.

Your assignment will be to record a solo using standard II V I chord progression in D major. I would like at least 4 choruses from you where you will solo using strictly chord tones.

Chord progression is E min7 A7 Dmaj7 Dmaj7. This is total of 4 bars so 4 choruses of solo would be 16 bars total. I think you can do that. Remember I just want you to use chord tones (1 3 5 7 or any one from the mentioned) in your solo.

Here is a backing track for you. Make sure you check out Frederik's MTP thread as I assigned him this a week ago and he is working on it as well.

Tempo for backing track is 155bpm and it is looped. Taken from my Jazz licks II-V-I in D major lesson http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/jazz_licks_ii_v_i_in_d_major/

Let me know if you have any questions Matt

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 3 2009, 01:32 PM

Here's my first attempt.

 Chors_Tone_II_V_I_Solo.mp3 ( 539.26K ) : 85

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 3 2009, 01:38 PM

Nice 1st take Matt. I like that you were thinking of repetition and different endings. However, when working on chord tone soloing I want you to go through whole guitar neck and do some linear sort of playing (play through the guitar neck from lowest to highest point). Does that make sense?
Keep up the good work and do more choruses (do whole backing track in fact!).

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 3 2009, 01:40 PM

Ok I'll try and use more of the neck. One question though, am I supposed to be improvising these solos?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 3 2009, 01:41 PM

Yes Matt. Intention is not to compose but to improvise and do melodies in real time.

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 3 2009, 01:50 PM

Oh ok, I'll improvise my next take.

Ok, here's my first attempt at an improv.

 Chors_Tone_II_V_I_Solo__2_.mp3 ( 538.85K ) : 91

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 3 2009, 07:46 PM

Improvising needs more work. I want you to listen to this take and see how I approached it as easy soloing approach (roots, roots and 3rds, roots 3rds 5ths, roots 3rds 5ths and 7ths).

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 3 2009, 08:05 PM

Could you maybe say how you approached your solo in a few more words, and say why mine wasn't good, so I know exactly what I need to improve about my improvising, and how to do it?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 3 2009, 10:05 PM

Matt my solo was done using simple approach and ideas.

1st chorus - soloing with just Roots
2nd chorus - soloing with Roots and 3rds
3rd chorus - soloing with Roots 3rds and 5ths
4th chorus - soloing with Roots 3rds 5ths and 7ths

I tried to cover as many octaves as possible when doing this type of approach. This makes sure that you really think where the notes are. Also, this approach helps you gradually learn chord tones from any given chord!

So for Emin7 A7 Dmaj7 , roots are E A D, roots and 3rds are E G A C# D F# etc

Your solo could be improved in many ways. For starters I think you need to do this approach first as it will help you see where all the chord tones are, then you can start being creative with it as much as you want

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 3 2009, 10:09 PM

Ok, I'll try that approach. One question though, does "chord tones" mean playing notes of all the chords in the progression at anytime, or does it mean playing just the notes of the chord that you are soloing over at the time. I'm nearly certain it's the second one but I just want to make sure.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 3 2009, 11:22 PM

It applies to the second approach you mentioned Matt, you were right

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 4 2009, 09:54 PM

I had a go at a solo today following your approach, but I just couldn't think fast enough and I kept hitting wrong notes. I'll keep going at it and I'll try and upload something tomorrow, but I wondered if you had anymore tips?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 4 2009, 10:09 PM

Sure thing Matt. Try to figure out the notes first before playing them. So roots are E A and D. Find those notes on the neck and shapes (interval jumps in between them). If you memorize that, then next chorus you will just add some sort of 3rd to these notes, then 5ths etc So you will keep building over and over until you get full 4 note arpeggio sound.
I could send you slower backing track, that could help as well

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 5 2009, 08:35 PM

Ok, i'll try that. And yeh I think a slower backing might help but i can get it on the lesson.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 6 2009, 12:23 AM

I can upload it for you here if you want me to?

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 6 2009, 11:12 AM

Ok. why not.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 6 2009, 11:20 AM

Here you go Matt

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 6 2009, 11:43 AM

Thanks

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 6 2009, 11:47 AM

Sure thing Matt.
Upload improvisations using chord tones and arpeggios by the end of this week (11th of October).

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 6 2009, 12:27 PM

I had a go with the slower backing and it really helped, so here's my first upload at full speed. It's quite simple, so I'll try to make it more interesting, but if you could tell me if I'm on the right track then that'd be great.

 Chord_Tone_II_V_I_Solo__3_.mp3 ( 539.11K ) : 80


Here's a solo I did at the slower speed which is a bit more complex.
 Chord_Tone_II_V_I_Solo___Slow.mp3 ( 606.66K ) : 77

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 6 2009, 01:10 PM

Also Pedja, I was reading this article on Wikipedia about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltrane_changes. I think I understand everything up to the examples of Coltrane Changes, but the examples don't seem to make sense. I was wondering if you could have a go at explaining them to me?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 6 2009, 01:12 PM

Matt you are definitely on the right track. I want you to keep practicing this type of approach with gradual build up of chord tones. You should also work on other positions around guitar neck and different octaves as well as string sets. When you cover a lot of these, you will see a big change in your arpeggio/chord tone soloing approach. All this will also help you see notes on the fretboard much faster then before.
Keep working on this and keep uploading new takes. We will work on it until 11th !

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 6 2009, 01:13 PM

Ok, will do.

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 7 2009, 04:22 PM

Here's two more improv's.
 Chord_Tone_II_V_I_Solo__4_.mp3 ( 528.77K ) : 84

 Chord_Tone_II_V_I_Solo__3_.mp3 ( 539.11K ) : 85

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 9 2009, 06:10 PM

It needs more work no doubt Matt. We will keep covering this no worries!

Posted by: Matt23 Oct 9 2009, 06:18 PM

Just realised those solos I just posted were ones I did when we had just started this assignment. Here are my most recent solos.
 Chord_Tone_Slow_Solo_.mp3 ( 607.57K ) : 86

 Chord_Tone_Solo_.mp3 ( 528.77K ) : 79

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 10 2009, 10:17 AM

It is sounding better, you are definitely starting to be more free with this material. We must keep working on it until you have total freedom with arpeggios.