C major chord and scale - Guitar Technique explained.

C major chord and scale

BAR 2: LEFT HAND

In Bar 2 the Left hand remains unchanged from bar 1.
______

________

Tips:

Experiment with the amount of pressure being conveyed by your fingers. See just how little pressure is necessary to let the note sound.

Notes for Teachers.

Look for tensions in the neck, back, legs.

Bar 2 makes a good solfeggio exercise:
___ doh - mi - soh - DOH - mi - soh

6/8 is a useful time signature fior beginners because the swaying rhythm is easier to grasp and less "intellectual" than counting 4/4. The act of swaying with arms over the head or swinging freely, involves large groups of muscles and helps develop the "muscular" memory of rhythm which is the essential basis of good music making.

More Advanced

By memorising the 2nd bar of the C, F and G keys and playing them in sequence, the student has learnt the Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant chords in C Major.

BAR 2: RIGHT HAND

The right hand creates a swaying rhythm, gently rippling up and down the 4 notes of the chord. The pattern is repeated.

Image © Peter Inglis - The Whole Guitarist - www.thewholeguitarist.com.

Aim to evoke the feeling of swaying.

Play softly.

When comfortable, switch to this fingering:

Image © Peter Inglis - The Whole Guitarist - www.thewholeguitarist.com.

The right hand fingers activate the strings in a gentle rippling motion.

Feel the "springiness" of the string

Set the sound in motion with the barest minimum of energy.

When coordination is working well, the fingertips will have a distinctly "live" and tingling feeling.

You will become acutely aware of the resistance of each string, it's quite an enjoyable sensation.

Pay particular attention to the start of each sound.

Right Hand symbols.
SYMBOL______	FINGER
p i m a c	thumb index finger middle finger ring finger little finger

This is an excerpt from "Scales and Arpeggios and How to Play Them - 1998"

This book was superceded in August 2003 by the publication of "Guitar Playing and how it works".

I will leave these pages on-line as they still contain useful information.

'Guitar Playing and how it works' - This is the book you need to GET THE BASICS right for ANY style of guitar playing. Work out the best approaches to mastering any style of music. Open the doors to your own personal style - click here to read excerpts and see videos.