Hi, how're you doing Justin here.
Welcome to IM-118, for those of you a bit concerned
117 is a text only lesson,
suggesting songs that you might like to play and some transcribing to do,
so you might want to go and check that out,
that's a text lesson on the web site and it doesn't have a video.
So: no, you haven't missed anything.
What we're doing in this lesson is continuing on a thing I call the Justin Method,
which is just use sound to improve now, which is basically me encouraging you
to transcribe and learn to make music with your ears,
or rather learn music with your ears, not just making it, but learning about music
being that music is about sound, it kind of makes sense that we learn it by listening,
not just by thinking.
So what we're going to be doing in this intermediate foundation stage
is starting off with some transcribing of chords and we're going to be
transcribing little chord progressions that we're learning as we go through the course.
So kind of training up your ears to hear these new barre chords and that sort of thing,
We're also going to be looking at some very basic lead guitar,
teaching you how to transcribe lead guitar solos and we're also going to be doing some
really important rhythmic dictation, so that if you transcribe solos or rhythms,
or rhythm guitar or chord progressions or whatever
you understand how to write down basic rhythms.
Now, all of these things are expanded a lot more on the website,
but what I want to do in this video lesson
is just basically explain what's gonna happen
on the web page. Now it's an audio lesson.
The actual... so, I'm gonna be teaching you some stuff in this video,
but the main lesson part of it is audio,
so there's gonna be some MP3 files on the website for you to download,
that you have to transcribe or listen to and learn by using sound.
The first thing we're gonna do, kinda part A if you like,
is transcribing chord progressions.
Now the chord progressions are going to be four bars long
and to start off with, we're just going to have one chord in each bar.
So, basically I'm going to play something like this... Now,
I'm gonna cover up the guitar now so you can't see the guitar neck.
Well, I'm gonna edit it so you can't see the guitar neck
and basically what I'll be doing is something like this
♪
Probably, I'll do it twice or three times on the recording
and you have to figure out what it is. I only give you some hints.
So I'm gonna say, you know, it's probably using these chords or it's this technique,
giving you, if you like, a little step ladder up onto transcribing by yourself.
I'll be keeping the rhythms really simple.
What the thing is to listen for when you're doing this skill
is first of all to make sure you can find the root note,
Now in this first week we're only going to be using E shape barre chords
either major or minor. So,
the first thing you want to do is try and find the root note.
So -- you know -- basically going: (♪). Find the root note first, you know.
You might have to jump around a little bit, try and listen:
does the chord go up or does it go down? That's really basic level.
Listen to the one note try and find it.
♪
Oh, there it is and then listen: is the next chord higher or lower?
And then try and move your finger up: Is it a lot higher or a lot lower?
Is's a few frets or just one or two frets?
And it's a little bit of experimentation at this stage for you
unless you've done quite a lot of transcribing before,
you're just kind of feeling you way around
and getting used to the idea of transcribing.
Now once you've got the root note and you know that it's going:
♪
and you've kinda figured this and that I'm just using the example I did before
♪
Once you've got that then you go: "OK, is the first one...?"
♪
"Oh,is it major or minor ... though minor doesn't sound right."
Now, you've only got to choose between major and minor, right?
So you'll probably find that -- well, hopefully find --
that one sounds really right and one sounds really wrong.
Yeah, it's important that you kinda suss that out,
that you can hear the difference between major and minor right away
and if you've got the root note sorted out,
then playing one and then playing the other,
it should be obvious: is it that one or is it this one?
So, that's where you start to learn the kind of a path, if you like,
for transcribing chord sequences
is finding the root note and then hearing whether it's major or minor.
As you get better, you'll just hear it straight away. You'll hear it and go oh that's a minor chord.
Straight away. Especially, if you've been doing much aural training.
You'll just hear minor chords kinda become really obvious.
So you hear: "Oh, that's major, that's minor,"
then it's finding the root note, job done.
Now with transcribing it's the last thing you hear stays in your ear.
Stupid little motto, but it's really easy to remember
and it will help you remember to stop the music.
The thing's that where you pause is the last thing you're gonna hear.
So if I'm doing a chord sequence that goes:
♪
For example,
♪
and you're trying to hear that first chord,
after you've just been listening to that whole thing,
it's going to be very difficult because the last thing you heard was (♪). That.
and that's going to be the thing lingering about in your ear.
So make sure you learn to stop the recording.
I recommend a program called "Transcribe."
I think it's a really good one. There's a couple around that do it.
I think there's another called "Audacity" which works,
which is a free one, and another one called "Capo."
There's a few different programs around. The one I like is called "Transcribe"
But the really important thing here is the stopping it at the right point.
So you load up the track, you press play, the first chords going and then you stop.
And you try and find that chord, don't wait until the end of the chord sequence,
just have a go, (♪). Stop. And then go:
♪
Oh there it is, there's the G, ok it's a G. Yay! You've got it!
And you write down G on your pad there. Writing it down as you go is a very good idea.
If you've got a sketchy memory like me, the writing-it-down thing is a good idea.
If you've got a great memory don't worry about it, just play it right through, BUT
what happens is, when you get to the second chord you might go:
♪
Stop.
As soon as it gets to the second chord. Stop it and (♪). Oh, there it is.
Is it major? No. Or minor? OK, so it goes G, A minor, and do it that way.
Just do it one chord at a time.
Pause on the chord that you want and write down when you figure out what the chord is.
I know that all sounds... might sound really complicated,
but this is a really important skill.
This is how you learn to work out songs by yourself,
because people have been playing guitar a lot longer
than tabs have been available free on the internet.
So, if you think about how all of the great guitar players that you like learned guitar,
you can guarantee they weren't going to a tab site
and downloading how to play their favorite Bo Didley lick.
They listened to the record and figured out
and that's kind of what I'm trying to encourage you to do here
This first part is finding the chords to the songs
and you should... this is a really, really important skill
I can't stress the importance of this skilL enough, right? The figuring out the chords.
Now, I've given you a run down:
go onto the website now, download the little MP3 audio file and have a go.
There should be three chord progressions on there for you to work out.
They should be fairly simple. They're just using the E-shape barre chords. Off you go.
Now part B, as I mentioned, is some transcribing of lead lines.
Now, to start off with again,
were're just gonna keep it really simple and I'm gonna tell you that the examples
from this foundation one are all using only the notes from the A minor pentatonic scale,
which you would have learnt in you beginner's course.
♪
And it'll be simple,
Right? I'm not gonna be trying to do anything really difficult
because I want to encourage you to able to play these things
and to work them out, so I might play something along like this,
you will hear probably a four click metronome beat in the beginning so...
(click-click-click-click) and then you'll start:
♪
or something like that, right? And again what you wanna do is get
download the file and the use one of these transcribing programs
or you could just use quicktime, or iTunes or whatever you want, I don't mind
But make sure that you stop it after each note, so when the 1st note goes... Stop!
And then: (♪). You've only got...
I told you already that it's using the A minor pentatonic scale.
Right?. So they are the only notes you've got to choose from.
I'm not gonna try and trick you and throw some other stuff in, right?
So just using those notes from the A minor pentatonic scale,
see if you can figure out the order of the notes that I've played
and write them down, write them in tab.
If you don't know how to write tab down yourself yet
there's blank tab paper available on the website and go back to the beginners course
-- I can't remember the number off the top of my head --
but there will be link to it on this lessons web page.
Go and revise how to write your tab down and, and write it
as you figure out what the notes are write it down.
And this is, of course, gonna help you when you come to learn proper lead guitar
either solos or riffs or whatever.
Really good for your ear, really good for your knowledge.
And again: a really, really important skill.
Now, part three of this is rhythmic dictation.
What you will hear is the metronome counting off 1, 2, 3 and 4
and then I'll be clapping a rhythm and you have to write that rhythm down.
Now, these first ones are just using crotchets, or quarter notes
and quavers, or eighth notes.
So you'll probably hear the metronome, I'm gonna use my foot now,
but you'll hear the metronome go 1, 2, 3 and then you'll hear something like this:
(claps hands)
Something like that. A little two bar sequence.
And what the idea is, as soon as you hear those claps at the beginning
the metronome count, rather,
you want to start counting along so you go like: 1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3 and 4. 1 and 2 and 3, 4.
Thats trying to figure out exactly what rhythm pattern it is
that I've played and then trying to figure out how to write it down.
Now, this is again important for lots of reasons.
One: transcribing strumming patterns and rhythms,
when you listen if you've got used to the idea
of listening to rhythms when you hear somebody playing
a rhythm pattern you'll hear it and you'll go
oh sounds like this,you know. It's it's a really good skill.
When you write out a tab for a lead guitar you can write down the rhythm,
because the rhythm is obviously as important as the notes
That's the big problem with tabs that you get like on the internet. There's never any rhythms there,
so you don't really know what the rhythm is, how to play it.
You know that's difficult.
If you buy printed tab, you normally get the notes
and the tab, so it kind of gives you a bit more of a clue,
but it's also a really good skill to be able to do it yourself, to listen to it.
You know, if you've downloaded a tab,
you can listen to the record and write in your own rhythms. That's a good thing.
Even better: you transcribe the solo yourself and then you add the rhythms to it.
It's really... You know, that's important.
It's also important just to be able to learn how to count bars properly.
So, when you're working out the rhythm progressions,
the strumming sequences, you know how long, how many bars
to stay on each chord, you know. You can work out when the chords change.
If they change a bit funny, if they don't change at the beginning of every bar.
If you've done your rhythmic dictation, you've got used to learning to listen to rhythms closely.
You'll be able to figure out when it's changing
on the "and" of four and it's got a little push, or
you know, other little kind of rhythmic tricks.
So, that's the idea of rhythmic dictation.
Now, the most important thing with rhythmic dictation
is counting along, it's being able to count along with this
as soon as you hear that first click
that's one, two, three, four,
and then having as soon as you hear the clap, or the count or the strum or whatever,
if you can keep yourself counting along nice, and try and count the rhythm that they're doing.
Write it down even if you write down like 1, 2, 3 and 4
and you don't actually write down like the proper
rhythmic writing, if you like, the notation. If you just write down,
you know, literally "1 2 3 & 4", that kind of thing, that's fine.
You know, better to learn the proper notation really,
but you know really the most important thing here is
the listening and being able to play it back,
being able to clap it, being able to communicate a rhythm
from somebody else to you or from you to someone else.
You know, I'm going on a bit, this is really important this sort of...
This development of your ear
and your learning music by listening. Music is about hearing
you don't look at your favourite CD and go "Oh wow, what a great CD."
You listen to it and that's what you like about it.
So, make sure you learn music this way, I can't go on about it enough.
Well, I probably can, you probably think I can,
you're probably like: "Oh yeah I got it now ,can we just get on with it?"
OK, I'll finish up now, but that's the idea.
So, make sure you get over to the web site, download those MP3 files,
and really have a good go.
The answers are on the page as well normally right down the bottom there, so
have a go at doing that. I promise you it'll make you a lot better musician
if you learn to use your ears.
Have fun with that and I'll see you for another lesson, real soon. Bye-bye