Advanced Guitar MUS 119 Spring 2016 TR 12:35PM-1:50PM CE 220 Instructor: Jon Wood Phone Number: (952)-240-9471 Email: jdwood4@ilstu.edu Email: jon.wood.guitar@gmail.com Office Hours: by appointment. Required Textbooks: Hall Leonard: Guitar Method Complete Edition, books 1, 2, 3 by Will Schmid and Greg Koch. Suggested Textbooks: Teaching Rhythm By Joel Rothman. Pumping Nylon by Scott Tennant. Hall Leonard: The Real Rock Book. Berklee Press: Reading Studies and Advanced Reading Studies for Guitar by William Levitt. Required Materials: an acoustic guitar, capo, tuner, metronome, picks, thumb picks. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE The goal of this course is to introduce students to advanced guitar technique. In addition, students will explore multiple genres of music to develop a proficiency on the instrument. Performance Of: -Arrangements of songs and improvisations of accompaniments with pick and/or finger-style as well as improvised solos in a variety of styles (Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, Folk, Jazz, Reggae, Funk, Latin/Afro-Cuban, Blue Grass, Waltz, Flamenco, Bossa Nova, Church Music, R & B, Funk, etc.). -Melodies and accompaniments of songs from notation and tablature. -The following moveable scales in all keys with root on E and A strings: Major Scale, Minor Scale, Pentatonic Blues Scale. -Improvised solo on chord progressions using the moveable major, minor, and blues scales. -A solo guitar arrangement of Happy Birthday in the key of C in 1st position. -Accompanying oneself on vocals to a pop tune and finding the right key for the student s voice using a capo (vocal quality is not graded, singing is required). -Performing on guitar both by yourself and with others in all contexts mentioned above. Performances should be in tune and in time. -Travis Picking, Carter Style Solos, and Bass Runs. -Drop D tuning. Harmony: -Identify guitar chords by doing the following tasks: a. Demonstrate knowledge of chord symbols (chord diagrams, chord symbols, tablature, slash chord notation).
b. Perform I[i]-IV-V-I chord progression in the following keys using open chords: F, C, G, D, A E, a-, e-, and d-. c. Demonstrate knowledge of major, minor, and dominant triad and 7th bar chords with roots on E, A, and D strings and their use in higher positions of the fingerboard. f. Transpose chords of accompaniments with and without capo using bar chords and open chords. Technique: -Holding the guitar and proper body posture: guitar is upright and perpendicular to body, neck is perpendicular or slightly elevated. Sitting Flamenco style or two feet on ground. -Left Hand Posture: fingers are curved and perpendicular to strings. Notes are played on fingertips. Thump is centered in back of neck and aligned between middle and pointer fingers. -Right Hand Posture: Pick is pinched with pointer finger and thumb. Wrist and top of hand, particularly for finger style, are straight and level with arm. Fingers are curved for finger-style. -Knowing the following arpeggios: pima, pami, pamima, pimami, pima with planting technique. -The ability to keep consistent and accurate time while performing. -Left hand finger independence and synchronization with right hand. -Slurs: slide, hammer on, pull off, string bending. -Left hand guide fingers. -Clapping steady quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes in time with the whole note or dotted half note as the metronome pulse. -Palm Muting -The Claw -Notes in the first 12 positions. Literature: -Familiarity with the following resources, knowing what they are most useful for, whats in them, and how to use them: -http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ -YouTube demonstration videos of techniques and songs -Popular song books such as Taylor Swift s Red Album song book and The Real Book of Rock -Hall Leonard Guitar Method Song List: This list of songs will be learned over the course of the semester to expose students to multiple genres of style and to apply techniques developed throughout the course Week 1 Christian/Church Music: Traditional, Amazing Grace. Week 2 Pop: The Beatles, Can t Buy Me Love and Eight Days a Week. Week 3 Rock: The Eagles, Hotel California. Week 4 Folk: Bob Dylan (The Byrds Cover), You Ain t Going Nowhere. Week 5 R & B: Temptations, My Girl.
Week 6 Latin/Afro-Cuban: Oye Como Va. Week 7 Reggae: Bob Marley, Three Little Birds. Week 8 Funk/Disco: Michael Jackson, Off The Wall, (Billie Jean). Week 10 Blues: B. B. King, Rock Me Baby. Week 11 Country: Merle Travis, Nine Pound Hammer. Week 12 Jazz: John Coltrane, Impressions. (Duke Ellington, Take the A Train). Week 13 Blue Grass: Redwing (Ashokan Farewell). Week 14 Bossa Nova: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Girl From Ipanema. (Blue Bossa). Week 15 Waltz: Some Day My Prince Will Come. Week 16 Happy Birthday If Time: Classical: Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani Flamenco: Solea, Tangos, and Rumba. Grading Concert Attendance 10% Participation/Homework 10% Songs 5% Quizes 25% Midterm 25% Final 25% Scale A 90-100% B 80-89.999% C 70-79.999% D 60-69.999% F 59.999% and below Midterm Examination -Be able to play I IV V I in CAGEDF Em Am Dm from memory. -Have the A type and E type bar chords memorized. -Have the A type and E type pentatonic, major, and minor scales memorized. -Students must transpose the accompaniment to a simple song from Hal Leonard using a capo and open chords. -Students must be able to clap quarter notes, 8th notes, and 16th notes to the double whole note in 4/4 time and to the dotted half note in 3/4 time. Final Examination -Perform two (2) prepared pieces, chosen by the instructor: Using a strumming pattern. Using an arpeggio/finger-style pattern.
one must be duple meter (4/4) and one triple meter (3/4). Perform melodies of above two (2) songs. One must use bar chords, one must use open chords Transpose chords from above, with and without capo -Prepare and perform a song accompaniment using open chords, a strumming pattern, with a pick on pop song of your choice while singing to the accompaniment. -Be able to play happy birthday solo guitar style in key of C in 1st position. -Improvise a blues and a pop (2 total) guitar solos on a three-chord progression using the E and A type moveable major, minor, and pentatonic blues scale. Preparation/Participation: -You re ready to play assigned material at the next class. EXPECTATION IS THAT YOU PRACTICE 30-45 MINUTES, 5 DAYS PER WEEK. -You are willing and able to perform course material in front of your instructor and/or classmates during class. At the end of each week you will demonstrate skills learned throughout the week. Be able to show those skills. -You do not play your guitar when I ask you not to be playing. Attendance: If you can t attend class, communicate with me about the reason why. Documentation may be required. Your grade is based primarily on the Midterm and Final exam. YOUR EXAMS ARE THE PRIMARY DETERMINANT OF YOUR FINAL GRADE Concert Attendance: Students will be required to attend two concerts. One will be an ISU student or faculty solo or ensemble performance selected by your instructor and announced during the semester (there may be multiple opportunities). Another must be a performance featuring guitar at a venue off campus in the Bloomington/Normal area such as Jazz UpFront or a band/performer at another local venue. Ask your instructor if the performance you are considering is applicable (most will be). A photo or other documentation such as a ticket stub proving your attendance is required. A one page report for each concert detailing your observations at both concerts will be due within two weeks of the date you attended the performance. The goal of this paper is to see how the guitar is used in real world performance contexts and how the guitar is enjoyed by audiences. The report should answer the following 6 questions: -What style(s) of music where performed? Country, pop, jazz, etc? -What artists where featured? Originals? covers? If it was a cover band, who was featured (Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Duke Ellington, etc.)? -Who was in the audience and how where they engaging with the music (young people, older people, families, single people, couples?) Where they dancing? Singing along? Listening attentively? Eating? Drinking? Talking? Etc. -How did the artist engage with the crowd? Did they talk to the crowd at all during or after the show or between sets? If they did, what types of things did they say? If they did not interact with the crowd, what did they do in between sets or during and after performances? -Techniques used? Finger style, picks, capo, bar chords, open chords? In what context (slow songs vs. fast songs, or different styles such as finger style in country and pick in rock. Open chords in pop music and power chords in rock?
-Electronics/equipment used? Amps, PA system, effect pedals, acoustic vs electric guitar, cart to carry gear, back pack, books such as the real book, etc. How did this equipment effect the performance? Did they use a lot of effects pedals? How did that effect your experience? Was their a foot stool? Did they have a lot to cary to the car before or after the gig, or was their set up compact? This paper is graded on your demonstration of effort and thoughtfulness. There is no word count and the length requirement is not to be taken too literally (and please don t ask for either). Show in the paper that you payed attention at these performances to the things I am asking you to think about, that you care about this course and your grade, and show why you chose to study guitar. 5 observations for each question should be sufficient. Tentative Schedule JANUARY Week 1: Notes in 1st position, body tension, posture, keeping time with the whole note or dotted half note. Fundamentals of rhythm. Open chords CAGEDF Em Am Dm (HL 49). Week 2: TIME KEEPING/RHYTHM QUIZ (Quarter Notes). I IV V I chord progressions in CAGEDF Em Am Dm with open chords. Week 3: E type and A type movable bar chords (HL 108-114). Movable power chords (HL 90-88). Transposing with a capo. FEBRUARY Week 4: Synchronization, movable pentatonic (HL 86-88), major (HL 96), and minor scales with roots on E and A strings (HL 118). Rhythmic study of 8th note and 16th notes. Week 5: TIME KEEPING/RHYTHM QUIZ (8th and 16th notes). Arpeggios, planting, and the claw (HL 72). Week 6: finger picking (ip, mi, ai, ami, thumb pick). Week 7: MIDTERM. Continued study of arpeggios and finger picking (Giuliani arpeggio studies, application of finger picking to scales, melodies, and songs). MARCH Week 8: QUIZ ON FINGER STYLE. Drop D Tuning (HL 117). Week 9: SPRING BRAKE Week 10: Notes in 5th position (HL 122). Carter style solos (HL 78). Travis picking (HL 114). Bass Runs (HL 80). Left Hand Guide Fingers. Week 11: Improvising (HL 89). The Blues (HL 68). Further study movable scales around fifth position. Shuffle feel. slurs (HL 126-129): hammer on, pull off, slide, string bending, palm muting (HL 93). Week 12: SLURS QUIZ. Jamming in multiple styles (HL 90-92, 111-113, 130-131). Further study of bar chords. Continued study of slurs. APRIL Week 13: Notes in 8th position. Continued Application of movable major and minor scales between the eighth and twelfth position. I IV V I using bar chords. Week 14: Bar Chords in the fifth through tenth positions. D type bar chords. Week 15: QUIZ ON 5TH AND 8TH POSITIONS, TEST ON D TYPE BAR CHORDS. Beginning classical guitar and Fernando Sor. Week 16: CLASSICAL GUITAR QUIZZ. Fernando Sor Etudes and Studies. Preparation for Final Exam. MAY Week 17: FINAL EXAM WEEK