Warm-up and Practice Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (01:16) Voice and Performance Lesson 14 Welcome back to the Performance series with Mark Lincoln! In this lesson, Mark covers vocal warm-ups and exercises in greater detail.

Review and Warm-up
As always, here is the review and warm-up section:

1. Warm up the body
2. Single note hum
3. Three note hum
4. Hum "me-me-me-me" to "mah-mah-mah mah" to "me-ma-me-ma-me"
5. Wake up the breath with "sah-sah-sah" etc. long and sustained then five times staccato.
6. "Sah" in five note descending scales, then five note ascending scales 7. Work these scales faster and faster, then louder and louder

Practice singing along with rhythms that we’ve been working on in the last few lessons. Practice singing single note hums first. Then, sing/make up a melody line that you think might match the chords that you are playing.

Since I want to make sure that all of you are taking full advantage of the review section, I‘m throwing in some good exercises that can help you utilize the review material to its full extent. If you need to review any material from my Intro to Guitar series, do so whenever necessary. Here we go! Chapter 2: (02:53) Exercise 1 Exercise 1
Play through all of the "natural" major chords: A,B,C,D,E,F and G. Do single note hums on each chord. Take your time to warm up your voice gradually. Then, do three note hums through each of the major chords as you feel your voice getting “slippery” or warm. Chapter 3: (03:15) Exercise 2 Exercise 2
Play through all of the major chords using barre chords (either Type 1 or Type 2 depending on your preference) and do the “me-me-me to mah-mah-mah” exercises listed above. Make sure that your voice is good and warm before attempting either of the two exercises with any more than pianissimo volume (very quiet). Chapter 4: (01:12) Exercise 3 Exercise 3
Play through all of the major chords. Alternate between open and barre chords and practice the “sah” exercises. Sing five note ascending scales and then five note descending scales. Chapter 5: (02:51) Variety Is the Spice of Life Using derivatives of different chords while playing a particular song is a great way to add variation to the overall effect of the song. Sure, you can play the same form of your favorite chord over and over again, but why? By familiarizing yourself with the various forms of each chord (a lifetime project for me!), you can change things up and make your sound and performance more interesting and pleasing to the ear. Here’s an example of two D chords:

D major
E_2_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_x_
E_x_

D(5th fret)
E_5_
B_7_
G_7_
D_x_
A_x_
E_x_

The second D chord listed here is an example of a mini-barre chord, and if you need to familiarize yourself with this type of chord, take a gander at Lesson 13 in my Intro to Guitar series. Play each chord and get “acquainted” with them.

What do you think of the differences between the chords? Do you like the way the D (5th fret) sounds? Do you think you’d use it in a song if you were to become proficient at playing it?

Exercise 4
Play the two D chords using the strum or "down-up-down up up up-down". Watch me in the video for more insight into this strum. Get a feel for changing between these two chords and how you might be able to facilitate and expedite the change between the two. Hint: your third or ring finger should never leave the fretboard when changing between the two chords. Here’s how you do it! Play the D (5th fret) by placing your first finger on the high E string, 5th fret, your second or middle finger on the G string, 7th fret, and your third or ring finger on the B string, 7th fret. Now when you change to the open D chord slide your ring finger down the B string until you are in position on the third fret where you are supposed to be. Chapter 6: (02:58) Exercise 5 Exercise 5
Play the exact same exercise explained above, but this time, play a hammer-on with your pinky on the 7th fret (with the D 5th fret) and on the 3rd fret with the open D chord. This technique will add an extra bit of variety to the chords that you have chosen and will increase your performance level. Chapter 7: (01:48) Final Exercises and Wrap-Up Okay, so we’ve added a “new” D chord to the progression, so what? Well my friends, little changes in your progression will make your playing much more interesting to listen to and more fun for you to play. Let’s look at another “upgrade.”

For this next series of exercises, we’ll use the chords Bm, A and G:

B minor
E_2_
B_3_
G_4_
D_4_
A_2_
E_x_

A major
E_0_
B_2_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_x_

G major
E_3_
B_0_
G_0_
D_0_
A_2_
E_3_

Get a feel for these chords and get comfortable with changing between them. Don’t forget to relax your wrists and allow the pick to flow gently over the strings. Don’t forget to review my Intro to Guitar series if you need any extra insight into chord structure and technique.

Exercise 6
Play the Bm, A and G chords using the strum or "down down-up" on the Bm and A chords and or "down down down-up-up-down" on the G chord. Remember that strum notations that are hyphenated should be played as continuous and flowing as possible and as “one” rather than as single strums. Watch me in the video for more insight into this.

Exercise 7
Play the two D chords from the previous exercises first and then play the Bm, A, and G chords. What do you know, we have a song! What other techniques that we’ve covered previously do you think might work well with the chords that we have constructed?

Exercise 8
Find other derivatives for the Bm, A, and G chords. Then, play this song again.

Member Comments about this Lesson

Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.