Putting Your Lines in the Pocket

Learning to better play single note lines in time.

Excerpts are from my book "Expanded Blues Guitar" and "Foundations for Guitar"

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When we want to communicate a musical idea on paper, we can use both Standard Notation and Guitar Tabulature or “Tab”. We will talk about Standard Notation first. Standard Notation is the system of writing music that all instruments have in common, and I think that it is the most important to learn early since it is the most difficult for Guitar players to master and it most completely communicates musical concepts to the player. We write Standard Notation on a Staff, which is composed of five lines and four spaces (numbered bottom to top).

Single Notes Strum Rhythms Slash Notation Rests ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Å Å ] §§§§ À ¶¶

Final Bar Line Time Signature One Measure Bar Line Treble Clef

Definitions:

Treble Clef: This indicates that we are playing higher pitches or sounds.

Time Signature: Defines how we count and feel time.

Bar Line: Divides the staff up into Measures.

Final Bar Line: The end of a piece of music...stop when you see this!

Measure: The space between two Bar lines...this will be one grouping of our Meter (more on that later!)

Notes: These tell you what "Pitch" or musical tone to play. What they look like will tell you how long to play the tone, and where it is on the staff will tell you what tone or note to play.

Strum Rhythms: We use these to tell you what rhythm you will use to strum a chord...they will not tell you what notes to play! The chord will be written above the staff.

Slash Notation: Freedom! Play whatever rhythm and chord voicing you feel works for the music (the chord will still be written above the staff).

Rests: The "anti-note"! These tell you how long not to play for.

10 Tablature is another type of notation for guitar. In this book we will not use it very much, but it is a very useful tool. If you look below you will see both a staff in standard notation and a staff in Tablature (or more commonly “Tab”). The staff in Tab has six lines instead of 5, with each line representing a string on the guitar. The top line is the first string (or the thinnest string), and each line going down on the staff is another string going up physically on the Guitar. The numbers that you see on each line tell you what fret to put your finger on for that string. If the numbers are stacked in a row vertically the notes are played together as a chord.

¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ This is the top line - it represents the thinnest string, or the string closest to your feet

1 0 2 3

This is the bottom line - it represents the thickest string, or the string closest to your head

Ì ¡ ¡ Ì Ì Ì Ì ¡ ¡ Ì Ì 1st string Ì Ì no finger 0 53 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 3 2 0 5 0 6th string When the notes are stacked vertically no finger like this they are played at the same time 1st string 1st string 5th fret 3rd fret

Repeat Signs Repeat Sign - go back to the beginning and play the section again

¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡

Repeat a section of music between repeat signs ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡

11 Quiz #1 Basic Music Reading

1. What are the two ways we can write guitar music on paper?

______

2. What is Standard Notation written on?______

How many lines and spaces does this have?______

What direction are the numbered?______

3. Definitions:

Treble Clef:______

Time Signature:______

Bar Line:______

Final Bar Line:______

Measure:______

Note:______

Rest:______

Strum Rhythms:______

Slash Notation:______

4. Explain how Tablature works:

______

12 Time and Rhythm

Rhythm is the second component of music that we have to understand in order to play the guitar. I like to think of Rhythm as how pitches relate to each other in time. The most basic element of Rhythm is what we call the “Pulse” of the music. It is a steady stream of beats that runs through every piece of music. The pulse is supposed to be an unwavering stream of beats that does not slow down, speed up or pause during a song, unless the music is specifically written to have "speeding up" (Accelerando), "slowing down" (Decelerando) or any other rhythmic irregularity. Otherwise, your music should be consistent in time.

The word “Tempo” refers to the speed of these beats and it is measured in the number of beats per minute or “BPM”. Throughout this book we will be using a metronome to practice with. The metronome is a device that will play this steady stream of beats at whatever tempo we need. Using this metronome to practice with is vitally important because the average person does not have a naturaly steady sense of time. Practicing with the metronome over the long term will teach your body how to feel this pulse evenly, allowing you to play music with other people without speeding up or slowing down or losing the pulse.

If you listen to any song, it will not sound just like the metronome clicking away. We have a concept called “Meter” that determines how the music will feel. The basic idea is that we will group beats into patterns of three and fours (or other numbers, but we won't get into that right now!) to create the basic rhythmic feel that we need. Most of the music that we will be playing will have four beat groupings. Turn your metronome on and count to four in time with the click. The first and third beats are the strong beats and should be slightly accented or counted louder:

ONE two three four ONE two three four ONE two three four

Now try the same idea but only count in groups of three:

ONE two three ONE two three ONE two three

You should feel a difference between the two patterns. The group of three will have an almost “rolling” feel. A group of four will feel more even.

Note Values - this is how long a note will last or sustain for.

Whole Note Half Notes Quarter Notes Eighth Notes 4 beats 2 beats each 1 beat each 1/2 beat each E ] ] ] Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å Å

Counting 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

14 Rest Values - a "rest" tells you how long not to play for

Whole Rest Half Rests Quarter Rests Eighth Rests 4 beats 2 beats each 1 beat each 1/2 beat each À À ¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶

Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

Time Signatures - a definition of our Meter Below are four measures with different Time Signatures. The top number of each Time Signature tells us how many beats are in each measure. This is also the definition of our Meter. The bottom number tells us what kind of note is counted as one beat. In the third measure below, the bottom number is an "8", so the eighth note gets one count, the quarter note gets two beats and so on. The fourth measure has a "2" for a bottom number, so the half note gets one beat, the quarter note gets a half of a beat, the whole note gets 2 beats.

ÅÅÅ Å Å ÅÅÅ ÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å Å Å ] Å Å

1 2 and 3 1 2 3 and 4 1 2 3 and 4 5and 6 1 2 and

As we get further along in the book, we will explore different time signatures more completely. Most of what we will be playing will have 4 as the bottom number, and the major difference will be the top number telling us if we have 3 or 4 beats per measure.

15 Quiz #2 Time and Rhythm

1. What is the definition of Pulse?______

2. What is Tempo?______

How is it measured?______

3. Why do we practice with a Metronome?

______

4. What is Meter?______

5. Write how many beats each note or rest gets

Whole Note ______

Half Note______

Quarter Note______

Eighth Note______

Whole Rest ______

Half Rest______

Quarter Rest______

Eighth Rest______

6. Time Signatures

What does the top number tell us?______

What does the bottom number tell us?______

16 Basic Rhythm Exercises

On this page we are going to work on our ability to feel time, read rhythms and develop our rhythmic coordination. Each of these exercises are to be done with the metronome set to 60bpm. You are going to clap each of these rhythms, making sure that you are tapping your foot on the pulse in time with the metronome and counting OUT LOUD. It is important for you to tap your foot because we are teaching you to feel the pulse consistently with your own body (what we call “Internalizing the Time”) and you need to count out loud because it will help you catch any mistakes that you might make. Many students think they are counting mentally when they are just looking at the rhythm and feeling their way through. Later on as a more experienced player you will be able to play rhythms by recognizing groups of notes but in the beginning the only way to make sure that you are playing and feeling the rhythms right is to count.

We are learning your chords and rhythm separately from each other. Once we can feel these rhythms in time away from the guitar, we can apply them to your chords easier.

Ex.1 Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Ex.2 ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Ex.3 ]]]]

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Ex.4 Å Å Å Å ] ]] ] Å Å

Ex.5 Å Å ] ] Å Å Å ] Å ]

Å Å Å Å Å Å ] ] ] Å Å ]

17 Eighth Notes

Our first division of the beat is the Eighth Note. An Eighth note is half of a Quarter note, and for what we are doing right now that means that it is worth half of a beat. The first half of every beat is called the “Downbeat”. It is the part where you are counting with the metronome (at the same time as the click) and tapping your foot down. The second half is called the “Upbeat”. The upbeat is directly between downbeats. Your foot is coming up between downbeats and you will count this as “and”. One measure of eighth notes will count like this:

Counting: One and Two and Three and Four and

Be sure that your foot (and your count on the downbeat) is in sync with the metronome and that every “and” is between metronome clicks. It is incredibly important that you feel eighth notes this way. We are developing your feeling for what we call “Subdivision” (the dividing of each beat into smaller but equal parts) and these physical motions will insure that you internalize this idea correctly.

Counting and tapping your foot, I now want you to clap each of the rhythms below. For the first few I will put in the counting, but after that you are on your own!

Ex.1 Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å Å

1 2 3 4 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 2 3 4 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and Ex.2 ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ Å Å ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ Å

1 2 and 3 4 and 1 2 and 3 4 and 1 and 2 3 and 4 1 and 2 3 and 4 Ex.3 ] ÅÅÅ Å ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ Å Å ] Å Å Å Å ]

1 2 3 4 and 1 2 3 and 4 1 and 2 and 3 4 1 and 2 and 3 4 Ex.4 ] Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å ] Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

Ex.5 Å Å ÅÅ ÅÅ ÅÅ ÅÅ ÅÅ Å Å Å Å

22 Be careful when playing the exercises with rests in them. You need to keep counting (and tapping your foot) through the rest. Many students stop counting when they get to a rest because they are not playing anything, and that is the worst thing you can do. You need to keep the feel of the pulse going through the rest so that when you get to the next rhythm you know exactly where the time is. When you don’t count through a rest, usually the next rhythm is a little ragged as you try to find the time again.

Subdividing is also a good idea. Try to count ALL of the eighth notes no matter what rhythm you are playing. Feeling and counting the smallest subdivision (in this case the eighth note) going through the music that you are performing will keep all of those smaller rhythms even and feeling more “in the pocket” (more on this later!).

Ex.6 Å ÅÅÅ Å Å À Å ÅÅÅ Å Å À

Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å ÅÅ ÅÅ À Å ÅÀ Å Å

Ex.7 ÅÀ Å Å À ÅÅ À Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å À Å Å À Å Å ÅÅ À Å Å

Ex.8 ] À Å Å Å Å ÅÅ ÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å ÅÅÅ

ÅÅÅ À Å Å Å Å Å Å ÅÅ ] Å Å Å Å À

Ex.9 ÅÅÅ Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å ÅÅ À À ÅÅ

23 Eighth Note Strumming Play each exercise with a G major chord. Repeat with your metronome until you are able to play the rhythm consistently in time!

Playing only Quarter notes we strum down on each beat

Symbol for "Downstrum" Ex.1 Å Å Å Å

We have two approaches to Eighth notes, depending on the style. In Example #2 we are alternating the strum, strumming down on the downbeat and up on the upbeat. The strumming motion never stops. This gives us an even, more open kind of feel. Be sure to tap your foot on the downbeat only.

Symbol for "Upstrum" Ex.2 Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

In Example #3, we are going to strum down on every eighth note. This will give us a very "edgy" kind of feel. This is a good technique for driving rock or blues feels, among other styles. Ex.3 Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

Try to keep the strumming arm from stopping. As long as you have the continuous strumming motion going, it will be easy to play these rhythms in time and with a smooth feel.

Ex.4 Å Å Å Å Å Å

Alternate Strumming in 3/4 time: Ex.5 Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

24 Song Exercise #1

G C D Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å

A m C G E m Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å

A m C D Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å

G D A m C Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å Å ÅÅÅ Å Å

E m G DC E m G DCG ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ÅÅÅ ] ]

25 When we write chord progressions we use Roman Numerals to designate the chord relative to the 1st note or “Tonic”. “I” is one, “IV” is four and “V” is five. We use upper case Roman Numer- als for Major chords and lower case Roman Numerals for the minor chords. One thing any aspiring blues musician should do is start memorizing the I, IV and V chords for as many keys as possible although the first five or six of these will end up being the majority of the keys you will play as a gui- tarist. I’ve highlighted the “important” chords for you in this chart:

I ii iii IV V vi viio C Dm Em F G Am Bo G Am Bm C D Em F#o D Em F#m G A Bm C#o A Bm C#m D E F#m G#o E F#m G#m A B C#m D#o B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#o F Gm Am Bb C Dm Eo Bb Cm Dm Eb F Gm Ao Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm Do Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb Fm Go Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm Co

Rhythmic Feels for Blues

One of the most overlooked elements of music by many guitarists that I run into either as students or at jams is the concept of rhythm. I am assuming that if you are working out of this book that you can already play some guitar and know something of time and rhythm but I want to make sure that we understand the different between straight and shuffled eighth notes.

Straight Eighth Notes are evenly spaced subdivisions of the beat. In this case we are dividing each beat into two halves - the “down beat” which is the first half that we count the number of the beat on and the “up beat” which is the second half of the beat and is counted as the word “and”. Try clapping the rhythm below with a metronome set to 60 beats per minute. Tap your foot on the metronome click, count “one and two and three and four and” out loud and then clap on every eighth note. The “ands” should happen directly between clicks and if you are tapping your foot on the downbeat the foot will be heading up (or at least not tapping again) on the upbeat. The foot tapping is to help you internalize the feeling of consistent time, which is really important for both your lead and rhythm playing.

10 Shuffled Eighth Notes are not as even feeling. The downbeat in a shuffle is actually felt longer than the upbeat. One way to show you how that feels is to demonstrate the triplet feel that the shuffle is based on.

A triplet is a group of three eighth notes crammed into a single beat where only two would normally go. We count them “One-trip-let Two-trip-let Three-trip-let Four-trip-let”. Try just counting that out loud with the metronome before doing the exercise below. Then try clapping the top line of the music while counting out loud and tapping your foot on the beat like we did above.

The trick with this is that once you have the triplets mastered we are going to still count them but just clap on the down beat and the “let”. That is what the bottom line of the example below is showing you. That will give you an actually shuffled (or “swing”) eighth note rhythm.

When we write a shuffled rhythm in this book the music will look like straight eighth notes but will have this symbol at the beginning which will tell you to play the eighth notes shuffled and not straight: