Precision Strumming Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (6:00) Review and Strum Precision Review and Practice
Before moving on with the lesson, please review and practice the following:

- Stretch the wrists.
- Play the major and minor open chords.
- Warm up your strumming muscles by relaxing the wrists and letting the pick flow over the strings.
- Play the E major chord in the "new" way and play the type 1 barre chords.
- Play the A major chord in the "new" way and play the type 2 barre chords.
- Practice the "slanting A" technique.
- Practice the type 1 minor barre chords.
- Practice the type 2 minor barre chords.
- Play all of the type 1 mini-barre chords.
- Play all of the type 2 mini-barre chords.
- Review and practice new techniques.

I've been listing the same review section for a while now. It is my hope that you focus your practice time on the areas that you need more work on and less time on the areas that you have a good grasp on. I'm not suggesting that you just forget any of the material obviously. I'm just hoping that you won't stick to certain exercises just because they have become comfortable for you. It's always important to push and test yourself outside of your comfort limits.

I'm hoping that you are beginning to see the myriad of chord possibilities that are available to you when you think in a flexible way. As we discussed last week, positioning your hands in various ways can facilitate playing new chords and exciting new ways to play the "old" chords. We're going to continue our discussion of chords with that same theme.

Simply adding and subtracting one note to and from a chord can help to enhance your playing and create new chords. So far, we've discussed this procedure with the D, C and A chords, but I want to show you some more tricks with some of the other open chords. One thing I should mention though at this point is that when playing chords, you will sometimes need to focus your strumming energy on certain sets of strings. In other words, you can pluck the low strings within a chord and make it sound different from strumming the treble strings. I'll explain this further as we continue with the lesson. Ready? Here is an open A major chord:

A major
E_0_
B_2_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_x_

If you play this chord with just your first finger, barring the D, G, and B strings at the same time, you will create new chording possibilities for yourself. Watch! Chapter 2: (05:27) Precision Strumming and the A Chord Here are other A chords that are available for you when you barre the three strings:

A 5
E_0_
B_5_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_x_

Play this chord by barring the three strings that comprise the A chord and holding down the B-string on the fifth fret with your pinky. Try to avoid touching the high E-string and I know that this can be a challenge! If you are really struggling with this, push your hand forward so your fingers will stay more perpendicular to the fretboard. Focus your pick and/or strum on or around the B string. Watch me in the video for more clues on how to do this effectively. Here's the next chord in the series:

A sus4
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_x_

Play this chord by, again, barring the three strings and then holding down the B-string on the third fret with your second or middle finger. You can play this chord without barring the D, G, and B strings with your first finger, but for this exercise I would like you to stick with the program. You will see why in the end. The next chord in the series is the A major:

A major
E_0_
B_2_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_x_

Followed by:

A add9
E_0_
B_2_
G_4_
D_2_
A_0_
E_x_

This chord should be played by barring the D, G, and B strings and holding down the G-string with your third or ring-finger on the fourth fret. Change the focus of your strum now to the G-string. How are you doing so far? Are you seeing any patterns here? Let's continue!

The next chord is the A major chord again. Pluck the G string and focus your strumming around that area. Have you noticed the pattern? Just like we saw in the D exercise from last week, we are basically just changing one note in the chord, which produces some new A chords. When you focus the point at which you strum, you can focus on a particular note in the chord and alter it at will. I know this may sound complex, but it is actually rather easy to apply.

Exercise 1
Play through all of the A-chords listed above using the same strum that we used last week or . Play each chord four times and then switch to the next while paying attention to which strings you are strumming. I realize that this a whole new are of technique to focus on, so take your time and play slowly if you need to. After you feel more comfortable, play one set of strums with each chord ( ) and then play the next chord in the series. Chapter 3: (03:02) Exercises Exercise 2
Play the above exercises until you feel confident. Then, change over to the D-chords that we went over last week. Focus your strum on the high E-string to highlight the changing notes on this string. Stick with the same strum, but play at a much slower tempo if you need to. Remember the concept of dynamics? See if you can incorporate a dynamic change between the two sets of chords to make the exercise more interesting. There is a lot to remember with these exercises, so refer to the video if you need to.

Exercise 3
Again, pick other chords to change to after you have done the A and the D exercises. Listen for chords that you think might fit well with the A and the D. See if you can come up with a mini-song. Take your time and don't be afraid to bring in minor chords or any other chords that you feel might work. Be creative and don't forget to listen to what you are playing. I know this sounds silly but so many people practice with the t.v. on or try to multi-task in some way. Sharpen your focus and see what happens!

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