|
Fall 2009 |
Hometown Fair 2009
What a beautiful Labor Day weekend it was! I want to thank everyone who dropped by our booth. It was so nice to see so much interest in playing guitar. We had 153 entries in our drawing for 5 free lessons. The winner was a young lady named Lindsey. Congratulations to Lindsey who took her first free lesson last week!
If you would like to try a first lesson free, please email paul@paulrobertsguitar.com or call 720-479-9697. More information can be found on my website: www.paulrobertsguitar.com
Summer Camp 2009
It was a great summer for playing guitar! This year we held four camps, covering a number of musical styles - rock, alt rock, blues and jazz. We performed songs written by students, to a thrilled family audience!
In our final camp of the summer, Max and Walter performed The Clash's "London Calling" and Daughtry's "What I Want." Walter did a great job on the bass part. Both guys said that it "rocked to play in a band format!" Can't wait for Summer 2010!
PracticeTips-
Using seventh chords to help improvisation
One of the most valuable skills of a good guitar player is the ability to improvise. This is important because it strengthens all-around playing skills and prepares one for playing together with others in a band. Typically, guitar players stick to major and minor chords when improvising. But one creative way to build improvisational skills in a chordal context is using other kinds of chord progressions.
Commonly used in the blues and jazz, a dominant seventh is the fifth chord in the harmonized chord scale. By starting in the key of C major which has G7 as its fifth, we can ascend or descend in fifths. As an additional idea, try playing each dominant seventh, while a practice buddy plays the corresponding minor pentatonic scale (A7-a minor pentatonic scale, G7 -g minor pentatonic,etc.) and then switch. This will improve both chordal and scale theory improvisation on the fretboard! See some examples of these progressions in our Spotlight section!
This Time in Music History
In 1979, two seminal albums were released that changed attitudes about musical style and content for years to come. In August of that year Talking Heads released their album "Fear of Music." Highlights included the idiosyncratic lyrics of David Byrne, the use of African rythyms and a different - "new wave" style of guitar. Check out "I Zimbra" and "Life During Wartime."
In October of that year, The Police released "Regatta de Blanc." This album was an infusion of jazz, rock, punk, and reggae. It showcased the great layered guitar of Andy Summers, as well as Stewart Copeland's energetic, unique drumming and Sting's evolving songwriting in great songs such as "Walking on the Moon" and "Message in a Bottle," both number one hits in that year.
These groundbreaking albums are still influencing musicians even thirty years after their release.
Keep on playin'! Paul Paul Roberts Guitar Lessons, Workshops, Entertainment Kids and Beginners Especially Welcome! Phone: 720-479-9697 paul@paulrobertsguitar.com http://www.paulrobertsguitar.com |
Welcome to the I hope you find it a fun and useful resource for learning guitar. Students and parents will also find information on my lessons, teaching philosophies,
upcoming and recent events.
  Spotlight on chord progressions using dominant seventh C7-G7-D7-A7-E7-D7
A7-D7-E7-F7-G7-A7
C7-F7-B7-E7-D7-A7-E7
|
Fall issue of my newsletter!
