Six String Alliance: 10-Week Beginners Guitar Course

Lesson 1

• E major strum patter practice, whole note, half note, quarter note and eighth note rhythms

Lesson 2

• Learn A major chord and practice different rhythmic strum patterns
• Learn D major, practice with different rhythmic strum patterns
• Further E major practice
• Practice chord changes with A, D and E major

Lesson 3

• Further chord and rhythm practice with the chords of A, D and E major with a mixture of rhythms
• Alternate picking introductions. How to arpeggiate a chord
• Practice chord arpeggio patterns based around E major

Lesson 4

• Learn a 12 bar blues in the key of A. Perform with a backing track

Lesson 5

• Learn a 12 bar blues in the key of A. Perform with a swing/shuffle rhythm

Lesson 1

• Learn the C major chord
• Learn the D major chord
• Practice new chords with different rhythms and strum patterns
• Practice chord changes using all the major chords learnt so far
• Practice C and G major with chord arpeggios

Lesson 2

• Learn E minor chord, practice with different rhythms and strum patterns
• Learn A minor chord, practice with different rhythms and strum patterns
• Learn D minor chord, practice with different rhythms and strum patterns
• Practice changing between minor chords with progression exercises
• Practice minor chords with chord arpeggios
• Practice chord progression combining major and minor chords

Lesson 3

• Finger exercises and alternate picking
• Triplet rhythm exercises
• Triplet chord arpeggio practice

Lesson 4

• Learn a Rock style chord study piece. Perform with a backing track

Week Recap

• Revise over key lesson points studied in the previous lessons

Lesson 1

• Learn tied rhythms with practice progressions
• Learn rhythmic mutes with practice progressions

Lesson 2

• Learn open position A5 power chord
• Learn open position D5 power chord
• Learn open position E5 power chord
• Practice power chords with eighth note down stroke rhythms
• Practice palm muting with power chord progressions

Lesson 3

• Practice the 5 open position CAGED major chords
• Learn the open CAGED 7th chords
• Practice major and 7th chords with chord progressions
• Add 7th chords to a 12 bar blues in A

Lesson 4

• Extend open position power chords with 6th and 7th chords on two strings
• Practice 5th, 6th and 7th two string chord progressions
• Learn a quick change 12 bar blues with 5th, 6th and 7th chord two string shapes

Lesson 5

• Learn a 12 bar blues combining chords strumming, major and 7th chords, two string chord riffs and single note riffs. Perform with a backing track.

Lesson 1

• Basic of a partial barre. Introduce the F major and F minor chord to demonstrate. Conclude this lesson with open position Cm and Gm. Discuss practise ideas using picking arpeggios, to make sure the chords are clean.

Lesson 2

• More technique; alternate picking 3 note per string chromatic. Use strict alternate picking, crossing every other string with an up pick.

Lesson 3

• Radiohead/Manic Street Preachers style technique practice using chord arpeggios. A short practise etude using just the C shape, moving around the neck with a simple yet harmonically interesting picking pattern to focus on alternate picking.

Lesson 4

• Oasis/Brit Pop indie style practise track using major, minor and dominant 7th chords. Include tied Rhythms, chord arpeggios maybe a riff

Lesson 1

• Learn movable 6th string root power chord shape, practice in different keys and positions
• Practice movable 6th string power chord shapes using different rhythms
• Examples of famous riff using power chords

Lesson 2

• Learn the 5th string movable power chord shape
• Compare the same power chord using the two different shapes in different positions, 6th and 5th string root shapes
• Practice moving the 5th string power chord shape into different keys/positions on the neck. Practice with different rhythms
• Conclude practice ascending and descending the neck using both 5th and 6th string power chord shapes

Lesson 3

• Practice moving power chords in 5ths using both 5th and 6th string root power chord shapes
• More practice exercises combining rhythms and the concept of utilising two power chord shapes with root notes on different strings
• Riff and practice examples using both power chord stripes and rhythmic variations

Lesson 4

• Learn the A minor pentatonic shape 1
• Practice the minor pentatonic scale with picking patterns using different rhythmic subdivisions

Lesson 5

• Learn a Classic Rock style study piece using power chord, single note riffs plus including the A minor pentatonic shape 1. Perform with a backing track

Lesson 1

• Pentatonic practice picking sequences

Lesson 2

• Learn the hammer on technique
• Practice pentatonic scale fragments with hammer ons
• Practice ascending and descending the A minor pentatonic scale with hammer ons
• Learn the pull off technique
• Practice pentatonic scale fragments with pull offs
• Combine hammer ons and pull offs
• Learn sliding between notes in the pentatonic scale

Lesson 3

• Learn the string bending technique
• Practice string bending licks using the A minor pentatonic scale
• Combine string bending and pulls off to form licks

Lesson 4

• Learn a basic blues solo using the minor pentatonic scale. Perform with a backing track

Lesson 5

• Learn a blues solo using the minor pentatonic scale including phrasing, sliding, hammer on and pull offs and string bending. Perform to a backing track.

Lesson 1

• Learn the 6 string barre technique
• Learn the movable E barre chord shape
• Practice the barre chord shape using chord arpeggio picking
• Practice ascending and descending the neck chromatically using the E movable barre chord shape.
• Compare open position major chord with the same chords played using the E movable barre chord shape
• Practice a cycle of 5ths using the E barre chord movable shape

Lesson 2

• Learn the E minor movable barre chord shape
• Practice ascending and descending the neck chromatically using the E minor movable barre chord shape
• Practice a cycle of 5ths chord progression with the movable E minor barre chord shape
• Famous song examples using barre shapes

Lesson 3

• Learn the spider exercise, chromatic four finger pattern with alternate picking
• Practice variations on the spider exercise

Lesson 4

• Learn shape 2 of the A minor pentatonic scale
• Practice with quarter note and eighth note rhythms
• Combine shape 1 and 2 of the A minor pentatonic scale. Practice root note to root note
• Learn how to connect shape 1 and shape 2  of the A minor pentatonic with slides, forming an extended shape

Lesson 5

• Learn a John Frusciante style track using major and minor barre chords, plus a solo based around the A minor pentatonic scale. Perform with a backing track

Lesson 1

• Learn the movable A barre chord shape
• Practice ascending and descending the neck chromatically using the movable A barre shape
• Practice a cycle of 5ths progression using the movable A barre shape

Lesson 2

• Learn the movable A minor barre shape
• Practice ascending and descending the neck using the movable A minor barre shape. Compare open position minor chord with the same minor chord paled with both the E and A minor barre shapes

Lesson 3

• Practice cycle of 5th exercises using both major and minor chord using both the E and A major barre shapes and the E and A minor barre shapes. Practice different permutations of this concept.

Lesson 4

• Learn The C major pentatonic scale
• Compare it to the relative minor pentatonic scale, and how the shapes relate to each other
• Practice both major and minor pentatonic exercises
• Learn major open tonic licks combining techniques

Lesson 5

• Learn a Noel Gallagher inspired major and minor pentatonic solo, shifting between the the relative major and minor pentatonic scales of C major and A minor. Perform with a backing track

Lesson 1

• Learn how to subdivide the beat into sixteenth notes, as well as understand the correct picking direction
• Practice the subdivision of time strumming and a major barre chord; whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note rhythm subdivisions
• Combining eighth note and sixteenth note subdivision rhythmic strum patterns
• Eighth note triplet strum patterns
• Triplet combination rhythms, including quarter note and eighth note subdivisions
• Quarter note and eighth note rest studies

Lesson 2

• Learn the A blues scale
• Learn the Hybrid A minor/Blues/major pentatonic combination scale
• Combining the A minor and A major pentatonic scale
• Hybrid major/minor pentatonic licks

Lesson 3

• Learn the major scale formula
• Learn the open position C major scale
• Practice major scale intervals
• Learn the entire open position C shape of the C major scale
• Learn the seven diatonic chords of the C major scale
• Learn the E shape of the C major scale
• Practice major scale sequences

Lesson 4

• Learn the natural minor scale formula
• Learn a one octave A minor scale open position
• Compare the C major and A natural minor scale
• Learn the full open position A natural minor scale based around the open position A minor chord shape
• Practice combining both the C major and A natural minor scales
• Learn the harmonised diatonic minor chord family
• Learn the E movable shape of the A natural minor scale
• Practice both the E movable C major scale shape and E minor movable A minor scale shape
• Practice A natural minor scale sequences

Lesson 5

• Learn a Slash style epic rock study piece, combing chord picking, power chords, riffs, plus soloing with major and minor pentatonic scales and major and natural minor scale. Perform with a backing track