Lesson Length: 3:16

Instructor: George Goodman

Concepts:
* Sixteenth notes
* Downstrokes and Upstrokes
* Chords in the key of C major

George Goodman's Guitar and Harmonica Method

Takamine EG541SC
I am playing my black tak in this one.

This is a Takamine G Series EG541SC bought in North Carolina when I was playing in a band called Double Take.
Specs:
Top - Solid Spruce
Back - Nato
Sides - Nato
Finger Board - Rosewood
Electronics - TK40
Finish - Gloss Black
Check out more Takamine G Series Guitars

Rhythm

4 sixteenth notes will sound in a single beat, 16 will occur in a measure of common or 4/4 time.

The normal counting method for each sixteenth goes like this

1 e & a

Notes that land on the downbeat and '&' are downstrokes while notes that land on 'e' and 'a' are upstrokes.

Keep the strum going. Only use as much movement as required - a little from the wrist and a little from the elbow.

Paint the string with the pick.

Chord Progression

The chord progression used in this exercise:
C | C | Dm | Dm | Em | Em | F | F | G | G | Am | Am |

Building On The Last Exercise
Playing an eighth note rhythm with all downstrokes leaves room to add the upstroke which will result in the sixteenth rhythm.

Things To Work On
Work on creating clean sounding chords and making the chord changes as quickly as possible.
For the left hand, fret the strings with the finger tips by arching the fingers and place them close to the frets.
For the right hand, strum down (down stroke), and then up (upstroke) with a combination of wrist and elbow movement. Keep your hand close to the strings without using excessive movement.
Stick to the beat.

Ear Training
Practice singing the root notes of each of the chords and listen for the differences between the quality, major or minor, of the different chords.