Luca:
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day everyday
>What to practice: Wheels On The Bus, Bingo: for theses songs practice playing the melody and changing chords after the correct amount of strokes.
>How to practice it most effectively: sing the songs while practicing
>How parents can support practice; help Luca to remember to play in time while giving the correct rhythmic value (length) to each note
Cormack:
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day everyday
>What to practice: changing chords for Yellow Submarine and All Together Now
>How to practice it most effectively: sing the songs while practicing, practice one song and then the other as oppose3d to focusing on just one.
>How parents can support practice; make sure there are the correct number of strokes per bar, if you know the song sing along! Watch to make sure fingers are on the right strings.
Felix:
Recommended minutes to practice: 30 minutes a day everyday
>What to practice: chord substitutions for improvising
>How to practice it most effectively: using your imagination pretend you are soloing over a rhythm section like you do in Rock Band. Use the triad chord substitutions we have discussed in class. Combine these with “blues box” soloing. Explore and find things that sound good to you.
>How parents can support practice; make sure that Felix has a solid time and place to practice and perhaps gently encourage him to do so a little more often.
Kiran:
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day everyday
>What to practice: The Immigrant Song, Back In Black
>How to practice it most effectively: go slowly. The Immigrant song has a rhythm pattern that is technically difficult to play so build up to speed.
>How parents can support practice; make sure that posture and hand position is correct (thumb of left hand up straight and in middle of guitar neck). Use encouraging phrases at this point to calm frustration. Kiran is almost able to do what he wants to do at this stage and only perseverance will get him there, so encouragement is very important right now.
Yaya:
Recommended minutes to practice: 30 minutes a day everyday
>What to practice: Blackbird
>How to practice it most effectively: go slowly, allow yourself time to get comfortable with chord shapes, work towards clarity of tone (get rid of “buzzing”) by adjusting hand position.
>Yaya, part of our conversation last week was about the great Lenny Breau. I often ramble a bit in lessons about great music or musicians in an effort to spark some interest in some music you may not have heard. In addition to checking out Lenny, explore music a little bit and see if you can find something you like but hadn’t heard before.
Josh:
Recommended minutes to practice: 30 minutes a day everyday
>What to practice: Behind Blue Eyes
>How to practice it most effectively: while practicing, either sing song or imagine the song in your head. The area you need the most work on is song form and structure, so try playing along with the actual recording.
>How parents can support practice; make sure that Josh has a solid time and place to practice and maybe even remind him gently that he should go and practice. If you recognize the music he is playing tell him so!