Berklee 1

This book has been specifically designed to accomplish two things... #1. To teach the student to READ music. Reading "crutches" have been eliminated as much as possible. Fingering and counting indications have been kept at what I consider a sensible minimum. #2. For the gradual development of dexterity in BOTH hands. This is the physical part of learning to play the guitar and as such cannot berushed. Practice all material slowly enough to maintain an even tempo. Do not skip or "slight" anything, and also do not attempt to "completely perfect" any one lesson before going on. Playing technique is an accumulative process and you will find each time you review material already studied it will seem easier to play. (Slow, steady practice and constant review will eventually lead to speed andaccuracy.) I should like to mention at this point that all music presented for study on these pages is original and has been created especially for the guitar. EACH composition has been designed to advance the student's musical knowledge and playing ability, and yet be as musical as possible. There is no studentteacher division in the duets. Both guitar parts are written to be studied by thepupil and almost all parts will musically stand alone. I have not included any "old favorites" as guitar arrangements of these songs are available in many existing publications. (Also, you do not learn to R E A D music by playing melodies that are familiar to you.) I have not tried to make this book into a music dictionary by cramming it with pages filled with nothing but musical terms and markings asit is considerably more important to give the student as much music to play as possible. (The most common and necessary terms and markings are, of course, used and explained... If further information is desired, some very excellent music dictionaries in soft cover editions can be obtained at a small cost.) I do feel, however, that with this method, (as with all others) you must search outadditional material to practice as your ultimate ability depends entirely on how much reading and playing you do. So good luck, and have fun. ...

y)

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TIME SIGNATURES: Next to the clef sign (at the beginning of a composition) are found two numbers (like a fraction) or a symbol which represents these numbers. The top number tells how many beats (or counts) in a measure,and the bottom number indicates what kind of note gets one beat.

"READ" the notes, NOT the fingering, as these numbers will eventually be omitted. . . .

. . . . . . . . . Starting on C one OCTAVE higher than C found on the 5th string, we complete the UPPER REGISTER of the 1st position

Note And Chord Review
(Regular review of all material is a must!)

"LEDGER" lines are addedbelow or above the staff for notes too low or too high to appear on the staff. . . . . .

Rhythm Accompaniment
BASS NOTES AND CHORDS All chord symbols (names) appearing as only a letter are assumed to be MAJORchords. A letter followed by the numeral "7" represents DOMINANT 7th chords. A letter followed by a small "m" are MINOR

(Do not skip or "slight" any lesson material)

(Review of allmaterial is a must)

( EIGHTH NOTES. . . counting and picking )

First Solo
Solo arrangement. . . with melody AND accompaniment.
BE SURE TO HOLD ALL NOTES FOR THEIR FULL TIME VALUES

There are two ways to pick consecutive sets of Triplets. Practice the entire exercise thoroughly, using first the picking marked TYPE 1. . . then practice using TYPE 2. .

REVIEW ALLMATERIAL

(Relative to C Major)
The sixth "degree" or note of any major scale is the "tonic" or 1st note, of its "RELATIVE MINOR KEY". The major and relative minor key signatures are the same. There are 3 different scales in each minor key. . . A - N A T U R A L MINOR (All notes exactly the same as its relative, C M a j o r )

- We now begin to observe that many chords have more than one...