Hand Structure Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:29) Performance Please enjoy a short performance from Mark as he opens the lesson. Chapter 2: (08:33) Lesson Introduction and Exercise in A Review

- Warm-up the hands
- 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.
- 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 quantitative and qualitative techniques.
- Review last week's exercise.

So how's everybody doing so far? Are you keeping up? I know that some of the exercises in these lessons can be rather difficult and maybe even aggravating at times, so please relax and take your time with these exercises. One of the beauties of JamPlay is that you can go back and review lessons that we've already covered. As a matter of fact, I encourage this! As I've said before, you all need to be comfortable with the previous material in order to proceed and be proficient at the exercises. That's not to say that you may be able to do some of the more advanced exercises even though you still struggle with barre chords. However, you will definitely benefit in the long run by developing sound fundamentals as soon as possible. So, the lecture is over! Let's jam!

Okay, so last week we were working on an exercise in the key of C, right? This week I'm going to show you something even cooler in A that is a little more difficult. Don't forget to stretch your wrists and warm-up your fingers. You're gonna need it!

Changing the lowest or bass note of the chord, you can change the sound of the chord in a subtle yet effective way. Remember this A chord:

A (9th fret)
E_0_
B_10_
G_9_
D_11_
A_12_
E_x_

This chord is played by placing your first finger on the G-string, 9th fret, your second finger on the B-string, 10th fret, your third finger on the D-string, 11th fret and your pinky finger on the A-string, 12th fret. Give it a strum or two and compare it to the sound of an open A chord (second fret, I know you know this!) just to make sure that you are indeed in the right place. How does your hand feel? Do you feel the stretch of a four fret reach?
Now we're going to make a one note change to this chord:

Amaj7/G# (9th fret)
E_0_
B_10_
G_9_
D_11_
A_11_
E_x_

This chord should be played by placing your first finger on the G-string, 9th fret, your second finger on the B-string, 10th fret, your third finger on the A-string, 11th fret, and your pinky directly beneath your ring finger on the 11th fret. You'll notice that the only change that you made from chord to chord is that you dropped a half step on the A-string and switched your ring finger with your pinky. Get a good feel for this change before you go to the next step. Here's the next chord:

A7(no 3rd)
E_0_
B_10_
G_9_
D_X_
A_10_
E_x_

This chord should be played by placing your first finger on the G string, 9th fret, your middle finger on the A-string, 10th fret, and your third finger on the B-string, 10th fret. Your change from the last chord to this one was a little more difficult this time as you needed to switch positions with the second and third fingers as well as changing frets at the same time. As we did in the last change, go ahead and practice changing positions from the last chord to this one until you feel relatively comfortable with it. You will also notice a new addition to this chord which you may or may not have seen before this. The "X" indicates that the D-string should not be strummed if you can avoid it. You may notice that your second or middle finger can be slanted slightly over the D-string (most of you will do this naturally) and mute the string gently. Some chords truly need to have a string muted in order to produce the proper sound. Chapter 3: (04:49) Exercise in A F#m7
E_0_
B_10_
G_9_
D_X_
A_9_
E_x_

This chord should be played by placing your first finger on the A-string, 9th fret, your middle finger on the G-string, 9th fret, and your third finger on the B-string, 10th fret. Notice how your first and second fingers are again changing positions while changing frets as well. Practice changing from the last chord to this one until you get a feel for this change. This chord progression gives you ample opportunity to practice making different types of chord changes that you may not have made before.

Exercise 1
Using a or "down down-up pattern," play the first two chords in the progression. Remember to relax your wrist and allow the pick to flow over the strings. Play the A major four times and then the A major 7 four times. Pay attention to how your hand needs to change in order to make a smooth transition from chord to chord. Once you're comfortable with the change, play the two chords and alternate between them for each strum pattern.

Exercise 2
Using the same strum pattern explained above, play the second two chords in the progression. Play the Amaj7 four times and then the A7 four times. Again, focus on how you may or may not need to change the positioning of your hand. Once you've become more comfortable with that change, play the two chords and alternate between them. Remember the concept of finger glue that we discussed so long ago in this series? Having a mental picture of the chord and the ability to form the chord away from the neck might help you to master this progression.

Exercise 3
Play the last two chords in the series the same as above. Once you feel more confident about these changes, play all four of the chords together. Take your time and play at a slower tempo if necessary. Make sure that all chord changes are made smoothly and in time. Once you've mastered the progression, you can speed up and play the chords faster. Concentrate on the quality of your sound, not how quickly you can move through the progression.

Exercise 4
If you're feeling particularly energetic and skillful, you can try to play the four chords backwards. Playing progressions backwards can help to get a better feel and a deeper understanding of the chords that you are attempting to master.
Chapter 4: (04:12) Chord Applications and Exercise Applications
This particular technique can be used virtually all over the fretboard of the guitar and can help you to create new progressions in different areas of the neck. For example:

D (2nd fret)
E_2_
B_3_
G_2_
D_4_
A_5_
E_x_

Here is the exact same chord shape played at the second fret. If you play the same changes as we did with the A chords, you will get the same cool progression in a different key.

Exercise 5
Play the progression through using the second fret position. Play all four of the D chords using a strum of your choice. Does your fretting hand feel any different? It should considering that you are playing on a broader area of the fretboard and will have to stretch your hand more than before in order to make the changes correctly.

Exercise 6
Play the A chords first and then play the D chords in succession. Play slowly if you need to and pay attention to how you need to get your hand ready to go back to the initial position when you move from the 2nd to 9th frets. Remember to relax, breathe, and stay in proper form (back upright, strum arm crooked slightly over the body of the guitar). As we get into more difficult material, your form will become increasingly more important. Playing difficult chords and making tougher changes demands more from you physically. Consequently, proper form is essential.

Mental Note
Playing more difficult exercises can be more demanding on your brain as well as your hands. With this fact in mind, don't forget to form a mental picture of the chords that you will be playing. Picture the next chord in your head one or more chords in advance if possible. The clearer your mental picture of what you will be playing is, the better chance you will have of playing it accurately.

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