Foundation 4 Practice Schedule | JustinGuitar.com

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Foundation 4 Practice Schedule

A Shape Dom7 & Min7 Chords05:51
Using The Blues Hybrid Scale07:22
Technique: Bending Strings15:26
Intermediate Rhythm Guitar 409:38
12 Bar Blues Bass Lines06:20
Songs for Intermediate Foundation 4
Foundation 4 Practice Schedule05:47
One Minute Changes (F4)04:01
Ear Training Exercises (F4)03:42

We're still up to a 60 minute routine, you can break it into two 30 minutes sessions on alternate days too! Don't forget:

  • Use a timer (see PC-104 • Using A Practice Timer if you forgot it's importance)
  • Break it into the two 30 minute sessions if you don't have time to do 60 minutes a day, or you find it too much at one sitting.
  • Focus your practice on things you can't do, not what you can! Always practice most the things you are worst at!

Foundation 4 Practice Schedule (60 minutes or 2 x 30 minutes)

Description

Time

Barre Chord Grip (focus on all A Shape Grips) 5 mins
One Minute Changes 5 x 1 min
Major Scale With Metronome 5 mins
Major Scale Improv. Practice (with backing track) 5 mins
JUSTIN Method / Transcribing 10 mins
   
Building and Practice Of Melodic Patterns 5 mins
String Bending 5 mins
Rhythm Guitar (Patterns and application) 5 mins
Experimenting with The Blues Scales (with backing track) 5 mins
Songs and Repertoire 10 mins

Things To Remember

Barre Chord Grip
Now you should be working on all your A Shape Barre grips, the major, minor, 7 and minor 7. Work most on the ones you find the hardest of course!!

One Minute Changes
Lots of changes to be getting stuck into now. You know the drill - just get stuck in!

Major Scale With Metronome
You should still be working on playing your Major Scale in time with the metronome. I'm hoping you have it clean and even now and am working on bumping the speed up a bit if you can.

Major Scale Improvisation Practice
Now just play - use one finger if you like (any one at any time) maybe use some of the melodic patterns if you can and just experiment. Try out some new things. Don't be scared, just try things out. Try using only your little finger. Try only playing one note on each string. Try playing as few notes as you can, or as many, or... you get the idea!

JUSTIN Method / Transcribing
Either do the exercises as described in the video and or work on transcribing the songs shown in the Songs For Foundation 3 page.

Building and Practice Of Melodic Patterns
Continue your work making up Melodic Patterns and then try and apply them. Lots of fun, may well give you a migraine, but will doing your playing loads of good.

String Bending
Working on doing the bends perfectly in tune. It's a simple exercise but it needs lots of practice so you bend in tune without having to think about it. It must become instinct!

Rhythm Guitar
Start by making sure you can get your muted hit good and strong, and then try and work it into some patterns - they can whatever ones you like really, and as soon as you can try sticking it in some songs so you are using it for real!

Blues Scale Experiments
Just have fun, play about with these new notes on a 12 Bar Blues In A backing track. See if you can make up some cool solos using the new notes. This is hear just to free up your ears and get you back doing a bit of blues. You could record yourself playing the Blues Bass Lines and solo over that - would be cool!

Songs And Repertoire
There are some suggestions here, but feel free to use time to play songs you know already - especially songs that use the all the different Barre Grips (1564, Axis Of Awesome anyone?) - there are lots to choose from now, so get stuck in there son!

Goals

List of things that you should be able to do before you move on.

  • Be confident with all the 4 and A E Shape grips we've looked at. Not expecting perfection, but they should be well solid now with good clear notes.
  • Get your one minute changes between E and A Shape Barre chords to about 20 change cycles a minute.
  • Play the Major Scale Position 1 from memory with a metronome at least one note per click at 140 beats per minute.
  • Play an improvised solo using the Major Scale 5 minutes without hitting ANY wrong notes. Use one finger, or all, whatever you like, but no wrong notes!
  • Have made up at least 6 of your own Melodic Patterns and be able to play them with the Major Scale.
  • Be able to play the the string skipping exercise accurately at about 60 bpm (prefer with a metronome!)
  • Play the muted backbeat rhythm click in at least 4 rhythm patterns and be able to apply it to at least 4 songs.
  • Play the Blues Scale and Blues Hybrid Scale from memory.
  • Have learned at least one new song that contains an E and A Shape Major Barre Chords.

Moving On...

You there? Then time for Intermediate Foundation 5 :)

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