*Began using red nylon Jazz III picks, Eric Johnson model. Tried XL nylon and XL ultex, do not like XL jazz iiis. But I love the red nylons!
*Lots of mindless picking, finger coordination to the metronome, pushing speed and also gaining strength.
*Working on hybrid picking.

*Began working through Berklee Modern Method for Guitar, volumes 1, 2, 3 superbook. Some good work on reading music higher on the neck, definitely helps drilling the meaning of these notes without having to think.

*Chord of the day, augmented

*hybrid picking, the pick is slipping because the angle of the pick between the thumb in index finger is shifting. Keep that angle and see if it doesn't slip.
*keep the left hand as LIGHT as possible. cannot emphasize this enough. DO NOT PRESS or it will HURT and MANGLE and BRUISE and the INJURY will mean STOPPING for a while again.

*Breaking stuff down into smaller sections. E.g., into smaller pieces.
*When playing C chord, find how it turns into C7
*Motor learning, one little bit at a time.

Playing it shitty. Over and over again. Means it will STAY shitty.

It takes THREE TIMES LONGER to UNLEARN something that's WRONG than to do it RIGHT the first time.

DO IT SLOW FIRST TIME. DO NOT DO IT FAST AND DUMB AND THEN PLAY BAD FOREVER.

1. Notebook (this blog)
2. Tools. E.g., spare strings? Picks? Metronome handy? String winder? Straps? Capos?
3. Make it easy. E.g. easy to grab, easy to go.

Novelty and surprise! Means MEMORY. Throw twists, do things differently.

1. Right wrong right.
Play it right a few times, then wrong a few times. E.g., play lightly, then use too much left hand pressure.

2. Do it like you will do it.
E.g., playing using a strap, at stage volume, etc.

3. Super slow mo.
E.g., 5 times slower than you normally do it. For the purpose of analyzing everything that's happening. Painfully slow. Subtle changes you can't see otherwise.

4. Play it backwards.

5. Play in the dark.
Eliminating one sense makes others more acute.

6. Play pretend.
Create mental imagery when you play, imagine various scenarios. Notice how this creates different feelings.

7. Make a game.

8. Five times perfect.
Game, do it 5 times perfectly before you can move on.

9. Do it NOT like you will do it.
Change tempo, change style, play it weird.

10. Bump the ceiling.
We advance fastest when we play at edge of ability. E.g., playing at 130 is too fast, but 120 is hard but just possible. So stay there.

*Record. At least one thing.

*Review. Get outside self. Get over the "it sucks."

*Refine. Hone in on what can be changed.

*Repeat

*how to set amps to play amplified / loud.
*set of songs
*how to set up gigs
*how to create original solos

*how to not strain fingertips and left hand with too much pressure
*how to hybrid pick
*how to write lyrics
*how to keep time with a metronome
*how to gain control in time
*how to reduce accidentals using left muting and right hand precision
*how to consistently play through a difficult fingerpicking song without stopping with minimal mistakes
*how to be comfortable playing in front of people regularly

*how to tune, string, and setup
*ways to sit and stand with the guitar
*how to read music
*the names of the notes everyone on the neck
*free stroke and rest stroke
*many fingerstyle patterns PMIA, etc
*Bach prelude 999
*tangerine jazz solo
*various FF songs (3)
*how to read many chords
*how to construct many different chords
*plectrum use, scalpel style, wrist, serod
*CAGED scales
*major and minor scales in several patterns across the neck
*several whole tone, whole half tone, and augmented scales
*pentatonic scales in boxes and across the neck
*major and minor triads

IV:
1 = 5
b3 = b7
4 = 1
5 = 2
b7 = 4

V:
1 = 4
b3 = b6
4 = b7
5 = 1
b7 = b3

I Chord: 1 = stable, b3 = tense, 4 = tense, 5 = stable, b7 = stable. Three chord tones (1, 5, b7).

IV Chord: 1 = stable, b3 = stable, 4 = stable, 5 = tense, b7 = tense. Three chord tones (4, 1, b3).

V Chord: 1 = tense, b3 = tense, 4 = stable, 5 = stable, b7 = tense. Two chord tones (4, 5).

From CD's guitar blog: cdsguitarblog.wordpress.com

cdsguitarblog.wordpress.com/

youtube.com/watch?v=Sic3xFkZfQU

Testing 2