Guitar Playing Manual

Guitar Playing Manual Version 2.0 by Tony Ventura 720 Creek Road Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348-2667 610.444.5838 tcvsoar@comcast.net

Š 1999 Anthony Vemtira 720 Creek Road Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348-2667 All rights reserved. The information contained herein is proprietary information of Anthony Ventura and is not to be disclosed or used, in whole or in part, for any reason other than for the training of students registered to receive such materials from Anthony Ventura. Any other use is a violation of the proprietary rights of Anthony Ventura and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Contents

Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Right and Left Hands ......................................................................... 5

How to Position the Right Hand ........................................... 7 How to Position the Left Hand ............................................. 8

Chapter 2 - Finger Exercises ................................................................................. 9

Finger Exercises ................................................................. 10 Chapter 3 - Scale Studies .................................................................................... 11

C Major Scales - Two Octaves (Start on Fifth String) ........ 13 C Major Scales - Two Octaves (Start on Sixth String)........ 14

Chapter 4 - Chord Studies ................................................................................... 15

The Basic Major Chords ......................................................

The Basic Minor Chords ......................................................

Chord Study - (Gmin7 C7 FMaj7 FMaj6) .........................

Gmin7 - C7 - FMaj7 - FMaj6 ...............................................

17 18 19 20

Chapter 5 - Playing a Song.................................................................................. 21

Playing a Song....................................................................

Playing Through the Chord Changes ..................................

Student’s Construct-an-Etude ............................................

Selected “Real Book” Tunes ...............................................

23 24 27 28

Chapter 6 - Reading Studies ............................................................................... 45 Chapter 7 - Extras ............................................................................................... 69

iii 3

Contents

iv 4

Right and Left Hands

n Chapter 1 - Right and Left Hands

5

Right and Left Hands

6

Right and Left Hands

How to Position the Right Hand

Introduction

Right hand

Follow the steps in the table below to correctly position the right hand.

St e p 1

A ct ion Let yo ur ri ght arm hang at i ts si de.

N o te: Yo ur fi ngers have assum ed a sem i -curl ed po si ti o n.

2

Rest the ri ght upper arm o n the bo dy o f the gui tar.

N o te:

3

T he po si ti o n vari es wi th the l ength o f arm .

Pl ace a regul ar si ze hard pi ck o n the 1st fi nger (to p o f pi ck paral l el to 2 nd j o i ng o f 1st fi nger.

Perso nal no te: pi ck (1.2 1MM)

4

Pl ace thum b fl at acro ss pi ck.

C auti o n:

5

T he autho r's cho i ce i s an extra heavy

Do no t sti ffen o r bend thum b.

Pul l back 1st fi nger sufi ci entl y to avo i d to uchi ng the stri ngs.

N o te:

Pi ck pro trudi ng sl i ghtl y m o re than 1st fi nger.

C auti o n: Do no t grasp pi ck to o fi rm l y (j ust suffi ci ent to avo i d dro ppi ng pi ck. (A n i nverted "V " i s fo rm ed) N o te: A s 1st fi nger i s pul l ed back sl i ghtl y to the ri ght o f the pi ck, the bo tto m ti p o f the pi ck and ti p o f the fi nger pro trudeds benearth thum b.

6

A s 1st fi nger i s pul l ed back sl i ghtl y to the ri ght o f the pi ck, the bo tto m ti p o f the pi ck and to p o f fi nrer pro trudes benearth thum b.

7

Pi ck fro m el bo w wi th fi ngers and thum b bl ended i nto o ne uni t.

N o te:

A l l m o vem ent i s fro m the el bo w.

8

A s the ri ght hand gl i des acro ss pi ck guard, fi ngers retai n sem i -curl ed natural po si ti o n.

9

Pl ease pay speci al attenti o n to the fo l l o wi ng: Do no t cl o se o r o pen fi ngers fro m natural sei m curl ed po si ti o n Do no t ancho r ri th hand o n pi ck guard o r bri dge El i m i nate unnecessary m o vem ent o f ri ght hand pi cki ng pro cedure Ho l d pi ck fl at and paral l el to stri ngs, use ti p o f stri ngs In pi cki ng fro m el bo w, the di stance o f pi ck enteri ng between the stri ngs i s redered co nstant.

7

Right and Left Hands

How to Position the Left Hand Introduction Right hand

Follow the steps in the table below to correctly position the lefthand.

Step 1

A ction U se the first finger to bar 6 strings across the first fret.

Note: T he left thum b is in the center of the fingerboard.

Caution: Do not press the left palm l against the fingerboard.

2

U se the thum b as a support for the left hand.

Note: You should be able to hold the guitar suspended in the air with only the thum b and the first finger.

8

Finger Exercises

o Chapter 2 - Finger Exercises

9

Finger Exercises

Finger Exercises

Introduction

This section will introduce a set of finger exercises that focus on the following for the left hand • Finger independance • Correct left hand positioning • Full sound production

Finger exercises

10

1234

2134

3124

1324

2341

3214

1423

2413

3412

1432

2431

3421

4123 4231 4312 4321

Scale Studies

p Chapter 3 - Scale Studies

11

Scale Studies

12

Scale Studies

C Major Scales - Two Octaves (Start on Fifth String)

    4 

3

    3 

3

    2 

3

    1 

3

 0

0

 0

0

 4

5

 2

5

 3

2

 2

2

 1

2

 4

7















4

0

3

0

2

4

0

3

 3

3

 2

3

 1

3

0

2

0

1

3





1

3

1

3

4

1

3

0



4

1

3

4

1

5

 2

5

2

4

5

0

1

3

5

7

8









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

3

4

1

1

3

4

7

8











2

4

1

3

4

6







4

1

2

4

1

5

5

5



4

3

3



7

4



4



3



2



1



0



4

8





2

7



4



5



2



3



0



1



3



0



1



7

5

6

8

5

7

8

13

Scale Studies

C Major Scales - Two Octaves (Start on Sixth String)

   4 

14

3











4

1

3

4

1

3

 1

7

 2

7

7

9

5

7













1

2

4

1

3

4

5

7

8









3

1

2

4

5

6

8





4

1

8

 3

8











1

2

4

1

2

5

7

5

7

8









2

4

1

4

6

8





3

4

9

5

7

9

 1

8

 4

 1

 2









4

1

3

4

8

8

   1 

5

5

   2 

1



5 8

   3 





10

 2

7

 4

8

 1

8 8

10

12

10

 2

10

7

9

10

7

9





2

4











4

1

2

4

1

12

9

10

12

9

7

8







1

3

4

10

10

10

12

10

12

13

Chord Studies

q Chapter 4 - Chord Studies

15

Chord Studies

16

Chord Studies

The Basic Major Chords Introduction

This section will show the student the basic Major chords which consist of A, B, C, D, E, F, G

A

D

E

ade C

F

G

cfg E

A

B

eab 17

Chord Studies

The Basic Minor Chords Introduction This section will show the student the basic Minor chords which consist

of A, B, C, D, E, F, G

A m in D m in E m in

A DE C m in F m in G m in

C FG E m in A m in B m in

E AB 18

Chord Studies

Chord Study - (Gmin7 C7 FMaj7 FMaj6)

Introduction

This section will embark on the chord study beginning with the Gmin7 C7 FMaj7, Fmaj6 chord progression. The chord study will start by playing the previously mentioned chord progression on the different, “4” string combinations. The “4” string combinations that will be explored are as follows.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

1-2-3-4 2-3-4-6 2-3-4-5 1-2-3-5 3-4-5-6

Gm7

C7

Fmaj7

FMaj6

F D Bb G

Bb G E C

E C A F

D C A F

19

Chord Studies

20

Playing A Song

r Chapter 5 - Playing a Song

21

Playing A Song

22

Playing A Song

Playing a Song Introduction

A song will be used to practice the concepts learned so far. The song will be played five different ways: • Play the melody in 2 different octaves • Play the melody in octaves • Play the Chords • Chord Melody • Improvisation

Melody in 2 octaves

It is important to play the melody in 2 differenct octaves because of the following: • The guitar sounds 1 octave lower than written, therefore, to achieve the actual written note, you must play 1 octave higher than written.

• Playing “in the wrong octave” (not playing one octave higher) usually has a warmer sound.

Play the chords Playing the melody in octaves will help develop the student’s

Chord melody

Improvise

Chord melody involves playing the melody and chords at the same time.

Usually the melody note is the top note on the chord.

A common practice in song playing is to imiprovise after the melody has been played. More on this in a later section.

23

Playing A Song

Playing Through the Chord Changes

Introduction

This section will focus on the beginning concepts of “playing through chord changes”. A 12 Bar Blues Etude (study) will be used for this exercise.

Playing through chord changes simply mean the notes that are played are Definition: Playing though implying the harmonic structure of the chord. As the chords change, the chord changes improvisor is playing the “correct notes” that follow the chords.

F Blues Etude

The following study, “F Blues Etude”, will set out to accomplish these items.

• Teach the ear how to hear the chord changes • Gain better knowledge of the guitar in the middle of the fingerboard • Provide the groundwork for the student to compose the next etude.

24

Playing A Song

25

Playing A Song

26

Playing A Song

Student’s Construct-an-Etude

Student F Blues Etude Template q = 120

F13

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27

Playing A Song

Selected “Real Book” Tunes

28

Playing A Song

29

Playing A Song

30

Playing A Song

31

Playing A Song

32

Playing A Song

33

Playing A Song

34

Playing A Song

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Playing A Song

36

Playing A Song

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Playing A Song

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Playing A Song

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Playing A Song

40

Playing A Song

41

Playing A Song

42

Playing A Song

43

Playing A Song

44

Reading Studies

s Chapter 6 - Reading Studies

45

Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

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Reading Studies

t Chapter 7 - Extras

69

Reading Studies

70

Instant Wes

Reading Studies

By Adam Levy The great Wes Montgomery often harmonized his solos with "block chords." Where most guitarists would play one note at a time, Montgomery shadowed his single-note lines with three- or four-voice chords. And not just on ballads -- he could let the chords fly at breakneck tempos just as easily.

To do what Montgomery did takes an encyclopedic knowledge of harmony and lots of practice -- start now and you might have a grip on it by the new millennium. In the meantime, here's an easy trick to get you started. It works great over one-chord vamps in minor keys. The formula goes like this: Start with a strong, definitive melody, such as Ex. 1, a jazzy line over Gm7. Notice that the entire phrase is rendered on the first string. That will keep all of our chord shapes on the top four strings.

Use block-chord voicings to harmonize chord tones. In this case, use Gm7 voicings -as shown in Ex. 2 -- to harmonize the melody notes G, B, D and F. (There doesn't happen to be an F in Ex. 1, but there might be one in lines that you come up with.)

Use diminished 7s to harmonize the non-Gm7 tones A, C, E, and F. Ex. 3 shows the voicings we'll use. (Some of the tones are written enharmonically to make the chords easier to read.)

Ex. 4 brings all the pieces together. The final chord, Gm6/9, is a Montgomery-approved substitute for Gm7.

This block-chord concept also works with major chords. Use major-6th voicings to harmonize the root, 3, 5, and 6 (on a C6, for example, that's C, E, G, and A). As with minor chords, use diminished 7s for non-chord tones (Ex. 5).

Once you get the hang of this, experiment with lines and voicings on the middle four strings. Remember to start with a strong melody first -- all the harmony in the world can't make a weak melody sound good.

For inspiration, check out Montgomery's Smokin' at the Half Note.

71

Reading Studies

72