Cadd9 and Dsus2 Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (02:30) Introduction and Review 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.
- 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 quantitative and qualitative techniques.
- Review last week’s exercises.

Ready?

Hey everybody! You’ve made it to lesson 30, and that’s a remarkable accomplishment! I’m assuming that some of the content is not perfect and polished yet, and probably won’t be for some time. However, we’ve definitely covered a lot of ground. With that in mind, let’s continue on. Don’t forget to do the warm-ups and get yourself in a comfortable place before beginning. Chapter 2: (02:52) Cadd9 and Dsus2 Chords We've talked a lot about the concept of liquid chords and the idea that you can add one or more notes to a chord to make an entirely new chord. This process can help to smooth the transitions between chords and make your playing more beautiful. In addition, you can use hammer-ons and pull-offs to liquify your chords and create new ways to transition from one chord to the next.

The two chords we're going to use in this next exercise are simple enough by themselves:

Cadd9
E_0_
B_3_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_x_

Dsus2
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_x_
E_x_ Chapter 3: (04:40) Exercise You should be familiar with these chords by now, but if you are not, you can always go back and review previous lessons when you need to. Okay, so play the two chords individually and get a good feel for them. It’s important that you are extremely comfortable with this version of the C and D chords as we will be using them throughout the lesson and in future lessons as well. Play the C by placing your first finger on the D-string, second fret and your middle finger on the A-string third fret and your third or ring-finger in the B-string third fret. Play the D chord by placing your first finger on the G-string second fret and your third finger on the B-string third fret. Play the C chord striking the tonic first (the lowest C note in the chord in this case) and using the strum on the C chord portion of the strum. The last two strums in bold face type, or the "up-down" at the end of the phrase, should be considered the transition strum. A single downstroke on the D chord will suffice for now. You will see how this simple rhythm will grow and flower over the span of the exercise.

Remember the concept of time in music and how this concept applies to how many strums you can fit into the span of your rhythm. We’ll discuss how this comes into play later in the lesson.

Exercise 1
Play the C and D chords as I’ve delineated above. Remember to relax your wrist and allow the pick to flow over the strings. Also, I’m hoping you’ve noticed that when playing the two chords above, you will be placing your third finger on the B-string third fret in both chords. This should facilitate smoother and hopefully quicker chord changes. “Planting” or holding one finger on the same string in more than one chord can help simplify chord changes so one can do more complex things within the rhythm. Get a good feel for changing between these two chords.

Okay! So you’ve got a good handle playing the C and D chords, right? Alright, the next step in this process is to throw a couple of hammer-ons into the mix within the C chord. Keeping your third finger planted on the B-string third fret, hammer your second or middle finger onto the A-string at the third fret (where it would normally be placed in this chord) and hammer your first finger onto the D-string second fret. Then, strum . The last strum in bold face type should be on the D chord. In other words, your chord change is going to come in the middle of the strum pattern. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Watch me in the video for help. Chapter 4: (01:58) Time Signature In this scene, Mark discusses time signature and the importance of keeping in time. Chapter 5: (03:30) Exercise: Adding Notes Exercise 2
Break the last steps of this rhythm into manageable pieces and practice the pieces individually. So, play the two chords together first, as you did in the first exercise. Now just do the hammer-ons without playing any rhythm after it. Get a feel for playing each hammer consecutively. This is an important step towards playing the exercise in time. Now, play the whole rhythm as discussed in the last section.

Okay, how are you doing so far? For some this will be a walk in the park. Others may need to break exercises down into smaller pieces and work through them slowly. I realize that some of the exercises in this lesson can be rather difficult, but I know you guys can do it with a little patience and a lot of practice. That having been said, let’s move on!!!

This time we’re going to do a pull-off within the D chord. Playing a Dsus2 leaves the fretboard open for various chording opportunities that can enhance the quality of your rhythms. Play the rhythm as indicated. This time however, go to a regular D major chord and then pull your middle finger off of the high E-string. You should only play one strum (at this point at least), so you’re going to be pulling off at the same time that you are strumming. This is kind of a tricky move, but it can be mastered with a little practice.

Exercise 3
Using the same process as in Exercise #2, break down the components of the rhythm. Play the chord first and make sure that each note is ringing clearly. Then, add the hammer-on into the equation. Next, add in the pull-off. Once you've become proficient at each piece of the puzzle, put the exercise together and play it in a slow and relaxed fashion.

You can substitute notes into chords in any rhythm. This can be a refreshing change from strumming blocked chords. Keeping time may become more difficult in these situations. Beginning guitarists tend to get sloppy with rhythm when trying to juggle two tasks at once. In the next step, we’re going to insert a series of notes into the D chord. Instead of strumming the D chord a single time as we’ve been doing, play the notes F, F#, D B, A and G. Watch me in the video for how to coordinate the chords and the scales together.

Continuum of Difficulty
Obviously, the exercises that we’re progressing through are becoming more challenging and continue to include more and more “bells and whistles.” Please understand that I am merely offering you a range of exercises that you will be able to work on in the coming months and years to come. Don’t beat up on yourself if you aren't nailing portions of the rhythm. You really need to focus on the individual components of an exercise and then add on pieces as you become more comfortable with the fundamentals.

Variability
None of the exercises are set in stone. Feel free to change things up and get creative. Consider what I’m offering you to be the foundation on which to build your own house of creativity.

Exercise 4
Play the rhythm with all of the parts, including the descending scale in place of the D. Again, break the whole exercise down into pieces and then put them all together as you get more comfortable. Are you feeling any flow within the rhythm? Are you “getting into it” or does it still feel very mechanical to you? Play slowly at first. Then, speed up the tempo as you become more comfortable.

Exercise 5
How can you change the rhythm to make it more your own? What other techniques, either those that we’ve discussed or some that you’ve been working on, do you think would work well with these chords? How would you change this rhythm if you were playing with other musicians? With another guitar player? With a singer?

Inevitably, the sky is the limit when it comes to playing any instrument and there are a myriad of choices that any musician makes when playing. You can literally change strums, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and any of a number of techniques from moment to moment and from song to song. It’s important that you personalize your playing and add or subtract parts and pieces that you feel would be appropriate within the rhythm. Don’t forget the creative element when going through these exercise!

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