Your First Week Challenge Is Here!

[Jak Angelescu]

This is in part of what I’m trying to do to help get the students engaged in more of like a “class-like” structure. The best part of it is, is if you can’t participate for whatever reason, not a problem! Hop on the weeks that you can
This week is over Lesson 7-The major scale.
One of the good things about this, is that I will issue challenges for both beginning and advanced players! Next Sunday, you can go live with me on Instagram and “perform” your homework for me (and probably others) to not only ebb your fears of performing in front of other people, but also get feedback.
So here’s your homework for the week over lesson 7!
Beginners: By memorizing the pattern of “whole whole half, whole whole whole half”, find at least THREE other major scales and their notes and be able to play them and name the notes as you play them. For example, if you decide to try and find an E major scale, you’ll start on E and you can use that formula to figure out the rest of the notes.
Intermediate: Choose a backing track on YouTube of a major key of your choice and compose a 30 second solo utilizing at least two scale positions of that major scale. Also, you must include a favorite lick of yours from another guitarist in a solo and transcribe it to your chosen key signature and use it in that solo.
Advanced: Compose a 45 second backing track in your chosen key signature and compose a 45 second solo using at least three scale positions, one of which has to be the relative minor scale of the major key you chose. You also have to incorporate at least two whole step bends and one arpeggio of either scale you choose. You can simply record your backing track on your phone if you don’t have fancy software and play it back playing over it live.
***NOTE*** Please also post your videos of your homework here so Syn, Papa Gates and everyone else can see them!!
See you guys next Sunday!

 

[idssdi]

Oeh I like this!
Now here is the thing I have no clue in which category I would be

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Take your pick, Ids!

 

[Calvin Phillips]

You can always try all 3. May not be in on this 1 but I’ll do what I can. Pretty big lesson to start on. Lots of patterns to pick up for later techniques.

 

[Dominik Gräber]

Awesome! I really need to push myself to fullfill those tasks! I’ll see if I find the time to participate in this one.

 

[Rod Azeite]

I’ll shoot for the intermediate and if I finish and still have time I’ll do the beginner as well. I really like the idea Jak, if you need help thinking of the next challenges let me know!

 

[Matt Wildman]

Same here I’ll do my best to try and participate. Awesome ideas

 

[Jak Angelescu]

I absolutely love all these responses! I chose this lesson to start with because like PG says, it’s literally the building block for all your future music work. And it’s CRUCIAL to truly be able to understand it. I really am eager to see everyone’s work!
@rod Thank you for the offer! I will probably take you up on that sometime in the future for sure, because I’ll eventually start running out of ideas :/

 

[Rod Azeite]

No problem, glad to help!

 

[AGA]

These are awesome ideas! And so much fun!

 

[idssdi]

I know I’m a bit early but here’s mine

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Omfg!!! IDS!!! I’m not gonna lie I think that was the most beautiful thing I have ever f******* heard you play since I have known you! Those bends totally captured my heart! The melody was beautiful and stunning, the harmonies were glorious! This literally moved me to tears and I squeezed my chest with my hand because I loved it so much! Please keep working on this so that you remember it to perform it for everyone on Sunday! What key signature did you choose?

 

[idssdi]

Thanks Jak! Weirdly enough I have a skill in writing melancholic chord progressions which usually, when I solo over it, results in solos like this. I just don’t really always record and share them here.
It’s in G major!

 

[Calvin Phillips]

If you post your stuff.. I have a bit of an idea. Try and describe the set up of the video. For example.. what techniques did you try.. did you mix anything together? I have some ideas myself for mine but imma keep it a secret for how.

 

[Dominik Róg]

@jak & everyone else interested… my attempt is already on my riffs page

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Way to go Dominik! I watched it at already and I really liked a lot of the stuff that you did! The only question I have is that you said that it was an improv and I asked for the solo to be composed, as in written out and pre-planned. The reason why I am trying to steer people away from improvisation is that it’s a big habit here on the school and it’s a hell of a lot harder to focus and write something then it is to just wing it. I’m trying to encourage people to compose things so that they can play it live on Sunday and have something underneath their own belt forever that is theirs. If you did compose this, Then keep working on it so that you feel comfortable playing it live on Sunday if you can mad props for you playing standing up! If it was something that you improvised, and you like it a lot, re learn it so that you have it as a solo under your belt.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

@calvin That’s a great idea! If people forget to do it in their video, if they show up on Sunday I will call them out on it

 

[Dominik Róg]

@jak , it says “improv” in the title, because I didn’t spend more than half a day on it, although there were muuultiple versions of it… it’s written only in my head for now, so I better go and write it down it doesn’t say anywhere but it has “lick from another and ” as you wanted it’s from Whispers In The Dark by Skillet, but a bit slower than original and changed up so suits key/tuning oh, and thanks for kind review

 

[Jak Angelescu]

OK thank you so much for the clarification! I always take improvisations as meaning they just learned the chord progression and immediately played something. I’m glad this is something that you worked on because there are a lot of things in it I liked!

 

[idssdi]

Tbh My solo was made up from improvisation in like 5 minutes and then play it over and over again for an hour to get all the details in the way I wanted it to be.