Hi Hudson!

Nice meeting you yesterday! Here is what to do this week.

Memorize the string names

EADGBE

This link has all the string names. I’ll quiz you on which one’s which next week.

  • “Eat A Darn Good Breakfast Everyday.” — This is the acronym that can help you memorize it
  • “High E string” really means the one closer to the floor when holding the guitar. We speak upside-down in guitar because by higher, we mean higher pitched

Em (E minor) chord

This diagram represents the fretboard and the fingerings for this chord. LH (Left Hand) finger numbers:

  • 1 = index
  • 2 = middle
  • 3 = ring
  • 4 = pinky

The horizontal lines represent the frets.

^ This legend applies to the following chords I would also like you to play.

  • SP (Strumming Pattern) to try on all the chords: D UD UDU
  • D = Down, U = Up

E chord

C chord

  • The X means that’s the string you don’t play
  • This chord will be the most challenging due to the stretchy fingering and the string to avoid playing

Em pentatonic scale

The black dots on this diagram represent where to put your LH fingers down as you play this scale. The frets are vertical in this diagram — Sorry, I wasn’t able to access uniform direction diagrams this week.

  • The grey dot is what most guitars have to label the frets 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12. They label these ones because these are very commonly used in scales on guitar
  • The letters are the note names — You’ll start to memorize these as you progress on the guitar
  • The E string that’s on the top of this diagram is the High E string — Again, it’s the one closest to the floor

Em pentatonic jam

Try playing any notes in any order from the scale above with this backing track. I know it will be quite challenging but the idea here is to start to acquaint yourself with the instrument more and more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSm2EhPZHFo

  • Do not feel like you have to go as fast as this track. You can go twice as slow as it’s going. Or slower. You should get creative with what to play within the limits of what you have on your hands, here. That is, the notes you see in the scale above
  • So: The only rule is to use the same notes as what you see in the scale above

Thanks Hudson. I’ll see you next week!