Getting something under your fingers nutshell. 'Chops' for us music makers, usually means technique, the 'pushing of the buttons' we do that brings the sounds of our music into the present. The 'push button philosophy' here is to play melodies of songs. Have fun with music. Performance leaning readers will little by little we add in more of the 12 pitches. Start by finding a melody you already love and learn it by ear.

gospel chord basics
a common tone lick

'What to practice' is more about 'how to practice what' throughout this entire e-book puzzle. For once you've an idea of the musics you dig, and want to recreate, to recreate, to make it all happen, it'll all fall naturally for ya. Style can set the pathway of what to learn.

Some chops necessities are obvious too, are right there under our noses. Ever want to play a bit faster, cleaner ? In making music, and being serious about it and wanting to get better, is a true and noble thing to do to help develop our own characters through the discipline necessary and thus the world we inhabit. And for those so inclined, with having 'chops' comes a chance to play in better bands. And through collaborative performance is a proven way to grow as a musical artist.

We all get to be newby's and thus, just got to start and then to keep on keepin' on. We've a love of music so that helps energize our way forward and once we begin to have fun, our journey has begun. The only advice here is once underway, learn enough to always remember that you have something under your fingers, and try to keep an instrument nearby all through your days to bring you back to your music and the joys and community with other artists it will always bring. Following our core philosophy here of # of pitches and style, once you pick a style that suits your artistic direction, pick and click and off ya go :)

"I didn't get my fingering from anyone.

I created my own chord constructions."

wiki ~ James Taylor

~ suggestions for practice ~

tricky lick ? slow it down to ease learning it
motor hand / start with thinner pic
fret hand techniques / whatever works for ya
moving chord to chord / one strum each back and forth
leave a finger in place if you can to anchor up :)
consider pick 'travel' and string diameter to go faster

play it 100 times if needed to get it right, right ?

Keys of 'E' and 'G' are built right in :) Thinking plain ol' six string gitfiddles here, the guitars we play today are for the majority part built and tuned in the paired relative keys of 'E' minor / G major.' Not a perfect fit mind you, but super way close enough for we theorists to realize there's already a ton of coolness built in, and with the adding and subtracting of a couple of pitches, and a fancy lick / trick or two, the core of the Americana blues and folksy vibes jump right out. All that's left to do if we so choose to do ... is jazz it up :)

For emerging players here, these first chops ideas place these two essential musical elements into a four bar phrase, that when looped / repeated, emulate an old fashioned 'roll' from the days when Banjo ruled through all the realm of Americana lands and styles. Here with a guitar's six pitches, we get two loops for free that provide a true basis to explore our whole spectrum of styles.

The motor hand. How we each go about setting these next riffs into motion making music is something we each have to figure out for ourselves. For not only is there no 'right or wrong', there's a stack of biographies telling true stories of artists that have overcome and endless array of physical challenges. For us jazz leaning cats, "Django's" story should be enough to illustrate the power to overcome and achieve whatever our goals.

wiki ~ Django Reinhardt

So with patience and experimentation, those that keep at it will find their way of making the motor magic, of physically setting the strings in motion, and sure don't be surprised if you're technique evolves. Having now been around for awhile, I've seen lots of ways artists bring the magic, so know that 'all' techniques can work to create memorable musics of every style and genre.

wiki ~ Django Reinhardt

Everything from thumping the strings with just a thumb, to two fingers, three fingers, four, flat pick, finger picks, reverse metal finger picks, finger nail strumming on and on ... endless combinations plus tapping fretboards and spa / popping bass strings; beyond crazy. One cat even used a violin bow brought the house down. Another cat stood in front of a full stack Marshal dimed to 11 with a white Strat then banged it and bent the wood of the neck to get a sonic roar that no one had ever heard before, let alone make it into art (and for good measure ended up burning up the Strat a bit on the same gig :) Moral here? Don't quit and your chops will find a way to express.

wiki ~ Eddie Van Halen

Two guitar chords, first 'riff lick ditty' in 'E.' For emerging players here, these first chops ideas place two essential Americana musical elements into four bar phrases, that when looped create an old fashioned 'roll' and rhythm of the six pitches. The first is a blues, with a root position open 'E' 7th chord. In standard tuning the six string guitar gives us a big chunk of 'E' minor ( two 'E's, 'G' and 'B').

So we use a 'hammer on' for the 'G to G#' in measure one to bring in the blues hue, it's the diamond in the 'E' 7 chord shape pictured. This hammer-on is probably the top 'blues bringer' of all the tricks in the book. Simply wobble the minor 3rd into the major 3rd, and vice versa. Here's the basic idea with some jazz it up once the rhythm has kicked in. Example 1.

Cool ? "Got me a goat and his name is Billy" ... or some such nonsense :) Anyway, do turn these four bars into a modal blues by simply repeating the phrase over and over and over till the story is told. Then tell another.

Second 'riff lick ditty in 'G.' The flip side of 'E' bluesy open 'E7' chord is the open 'G' major triad. In standard tuning, three of the open strings create the notes of a 'G' major triad, 'G B D.' On the guitar, these triad notes are voiced in second inversion; 'D G B.' Makes it all sound more banjo, from whence it came.

Starting off with a fistfull of 'G', we can then lift off to free up pinky and index to work in the magic of additional 'G' major pitches. Right hand creates the fingers roll of the mostly open strings, with index and pinky fingers exploring the neighborhood. Example 1a

Cool ? Look at all the black dots ! And super jazz Hollywood style chord color / shape to close the line.

A 'G' major triad brings huge organic to our Americana songbook in all of the above styles and genres; the traditional folk, blues, rock, country, old timey, bluegrass, novelty songs, disco, glam, punk, funk, hip hop and pop. Do learn of the chord and its color here and now if need be, start up ur claw motor to work out on these pitches :)

Noodlin' blues. Learn this chop shop first blue lick here if need be and run it up and down the blues elevator best you can. It simply rubs a minor 3rd and major 3rd together before resolving. Oldest Americana lick in the book ... ? Could be, learn it here if need be. Surely a 'core of it all' that keeps on giving pure Americana lick, in 'A' at the 5th fret. Example 1c.

And furthermore ... :) That guitars of today are built and tuned in the paired relative keys of 'E' minor / G major.' This gives us cool ways to begin jamming with the open strings setting the mood.

Goes like this; sound the low open 'E' note and let it keep on ringing. Then run this scale shape slowly from top to bottom, so high notes to low notes. This puts us deep in 'E major' and we're jamming with the guitars' built in' key. Example 1.

Same idea now but working the 'E' minor / blue colors. Just sound the low open 'E' note and let it keep on ringing. Then run this scale shape. This puts us deep in 'E minor' and we're jamming with the guitars' built in' ancient minor magics. Open 'E' minor pentatonic group gets a lot of miles on Americana trails. Example 1a.

Move the shape up one full octave and super bada bing arrives in all four suits, diamonds, spades, clubs and of course ... hearts. Tho at the 12th in 'E' there might be some mending of the heart to do, home of the pure electric blues and just part of life. Example 1b.

Cool ? Man ... and all built right in !!! So the same sorts of magics can easily happen with the open 'A' string. Whomp it and let it ring and find this same pentatonic scale shape to round up the pitches. Play top to bottom, high notes to low. For that is the ancient way so it seems.

'A' major
'A' minor

Cool ? Yea amazing for certain. The relative 'flip' of most anything in 'E' minor goes right on into 'G' major. And in 'G' is where the jazz guitar puzzle begins to appear so it seems. And back in 'E' we're at the ground floor for getting on the blues elevator ... going up ? :)

Chop shop first lick for melody notes. Here in the relatives 'C' major and 'A' minor, fully movable in 'soto.' Example 1.

Five pitches with octave closure, easy. Need more melody chops ?

Chop shop first lick for folk / bluegrass chords. These chord shapes cover 6/7th's of the diatonic chords in 'G' major. Three major and three minor, these six get woven together into many a song. We also get our basic 'three chords and the truth' in both major and minor from the one key center. Through in a capo and fingerpicking skills with these essential shapes and voila ... we got's us a palette. Example 3.

Rhythm guitar with chords in 'G and E.' The guitars we mostly today are built and tuned in the paired relative keys of 'E' minor / G major.' This gives us a cool way to begin jamming with the open strings setting the mood.

Just turns out that we get the same inner strings for both standard and open "G' tunings. With the open strings, ye'ole 'D, G, B making a 'G' major triad. Three shapes to get us up an octave through the diatonic seven steps. Chord shapes look like this, do play right on along :) Example 1.

Chop shop second lick for rocker chords. These two chord shapes yield a ton of coolness. Rocker leaning artists should master these cold. Master these and the root note letter names on the low 6th and 5th strings. Derived from the open 'E' and 'A' chords, our index barre finger becomes a multiple capo. These are keepers. Example 3a.

This just in ! Barre chord shapes + open strings = cool ! Super cool and easy way to jazz up this critter and create a very very big 'open guitar tuning' sound is to give each of the left hand fingers its own pitch, and let the other open strings ring out open. Might be tricky at first, but as soon as ya get it the lick, you'll hear it and hopefully dig it :) Start at the 5th fret and explore from there. "Dock Of The Bay' has this sort of harmonic framework; moving the major triad to five different positions / root pitch / bass line story.

Chop shop first chord lick for blues. This idea is the essential turnaround lick that often opens up and ends blues songs. Totally predictable in its direction towards a resolution note, thus endless variations become possible. Here's a solid way into the blues, in 'A.' Example 4a.

Cool huh? Yea this is a first pathway into the blues that we can find in all of its various styles and grooves. Learn it here if need be and master it with variations as the years pass by.

Chop shop first lick for jazz. This idea is total movable, perfect 'Hollywood lick' with all the colors, a Dr. Miller chop shop staple, so sourced back to Charlie Christian first hand. Thinking from the root in 'G', Two / Five / One. Arpeggio, then some color tones and resolution. Author's note. From here on out for EMG jazz guitar studies, we're sounding fretboard notes with the tips of the fingers. 'Get some daylight under the finger' as Doc often advised. Jazzy notes and their musics often just wants to go faster, to create excitement and bigger challenges for the artists, for guitar, tips of the fingers can help. Consider mastering this next lick. Example 4.

wiki ~ Charlie Christian

Cool huh? And totally movable as a 'shape?' Yep, 'Db' in first position all the way to the 12th, and back to 'C' major. And yea, jazz guitar loves moving up and down the neck, it's just a whole 'nother world. If necessary, begin to study and eventually rote master the pitches on the neck, sooner the better it'll make all the difference in your studies, promise. Print this next pic for reference.

Chop shop first 1/8 note lick. Eighth notes are the basic subdivision for many styles of melodic lines in Americana. Try to keep them going in a steady stream moving through time. This next idea is in 4/4 time, we split up our four quarter notes into their pairs of eighths. Here beamed up together, they scoot right along at 100. Slow it down and rote learn the lick, first at 60, then 80, then work it back up to tempo at 100. Again in 'G', from Five on down. Example 5.

Have the physical chops to keep these notes a flowing? Almost like a calisthenic, we're workin' it to build up muscle strength for making music. Just strengthen and dexterity up and you'll own it forever :)

"I'm very much a rhythm player. Rhythm is where I live and what I love to do."

Rhythm guitar. That we can all learn about our own sense of rhythm is a given, that doing it brings the smiles, for we all the love grooves, that make a body move and bring forth the motion through time to fill the dancefloors.

The following examples, in standard tuning, are a start point played with a light, thin pick, so very flexible pick, so much easier when starting with full strumming a six string guitar. They 'theory go' in order from top to bottom, so one time through these examples creates a basic perspective of the common rhythms we need for motoring all sorts of Americana styles and grooves.

And do explore a few of the wiki rhythm stars included for a startpoint into a vast universe of musical exploration. Their presented order is 'ladies first.'

wiki ~ Woody Gutherie
wiki ~ Pete Seeger
wiki ~ Hubert Sumlin
wiki ~ John Lee Hooker
wiki ~ Bob Dylan
wiki ~ John Lennon
wiki ~ Tom Petty
wiki ~ Mick Ronson
wiki ~ Eddie Van Halen

16th' note accents

wish I could ... :)

Walkup 'E' lick. Whomp the low open 'E' and run these shapes up the neck, and catch each of the diatonic seven chords along the way. Example 7.

Walkdown 'D' lick. This next motion is in a lot of great songs and there's some variations through the genres. Here in 'D', just creating a descending melody of sorts with the lower notes, walking our way through from One on through to Five, finding Four along the way. Ex 8.

Change keys with a capo. Need a different key for the vocals ? Try a capo maybe as these shapes, and bass line, gets easier as the frets get smaller, moving up the neck :) There' a famous song from the 70's about Solar power, capo 7th fret, with some of these chords.

Gospel chord basics in 'C.' With there being both a hymn book and keyboard on the Mayflower, the Euro precision tuned harmony meets the earthy pentatonic melody notes s the basis of our gospel musics. These next few movable shapes can work every time to bring some gospel; diatonic stepwise motion with some jazz it up too. Example 9.

Movable chords. That all these root position chords are movable shapes gives them all bingo status, as they'll work everywhere our hands and frets allow. Simply by knowing the low note letter names opens up the whole tamale of potentials.

Find your mojo lick / lead guitar. At the way way bottom of the chops shop ideas for up and coming players and all of us really (so super foundational for each of us to find at least one mojo to start, begin to glue things all together for ya) is pulling in your own mojo lick (s) from the local universe of licks.

This is just a riff that you can runoff like butter, anytime, anywhere and whenever, on any guitar, rain or shine. We gotta have one. If ur leaning towards anything old Americana to the rockin' ... then first mojo's are usually blues hue'd, so leaning minor. That mojo licks combine timing and pitches and feel and emotion and with singing too sums up all of the above and more in bringing your own thing into musical focus for ya. Here's one way to conjure up some mojo.

Slow tempo count 1 2 3 4 and keep the beat a going.

One a beat 1, whomp the low 'E string and let it ring.

Pluck the high 'E' string and find a lick like one of these.

Anything shake loose ? Keep the beat going and try again. .

With most electric guitars. Run the same lick up at the 12th fret, using the low open 'E' pedal tone.

Cool ? Something shake loose ? As it combines all the skills we need to make music and bring it nice in one exercise, if u b a newbee to all this, just try it a few times each day when you pick up your git, keep trying and u'll find yours, once ya do, new doors will open, promise.

Warm up. Wherever you might be in your development with music and wehere you're trying to get to, like any physical / mental tasking we enjoy, a brief warmup to the taks at hand can help. Fifteen minutes of scales shapes, arpeggios, motion between chords running tricky licks all contribute to a better performance. Playing conecutive choruses of 12 bar blues, with whatever changes in any key, is a sure way to get the creative juices flowing. You choose and jnow that over the years it'll change, as your musical endeavors change. Down the road, just the physicality of warming up our chops makes a real difference under the lights.

Review. Here's a few additional ideas to get things rolling. If your music is for your own fun, consider going to an open tuning, like on a yuke, just an easier way into making any guitar into a motor. Performance leaning ? learn songs, for when we perform, that's what we'll probably be playing. Cool ?

'moving in time and don't stop ... !
'tricky lick ? slow it down ...'
'still tricky lick ? break it down ...'
'letter names of pitches ...'
 

wiki ~ Stan Getz

 

 

'... and play by ear ... :)

References. References for this page's information comes from school, books and the bandstand and made way easier by the folks along the way.

Find a mentor / e-book / academia Alaska. Always good to have a mentor when learning about things new to us. And with music and its magics, nice to have a friend or two ask questions and collaborate with. Seek and ye shall find. Local high schools, libraries, friends and family, musicians in your home town ... just ask around, someone will know someone who knows someone about music and can help you with your studies in the musical arts.

go to a public library and ask the librarian

Always keep in mind that all along life's journey there will be folks to help us and also folks we can help ... for we are not in this endeavor alone :) The now ancient natural truth is that we each are responsible for our own education. Positive answer this always 'to live by' question; 'who is responsible for your education ... ?

Intensive tutoring. Luckily for musical artists like us, the learning dip of the 'covid years' can vanish quickly with intensive tutoring. For all disciplines; including all the sciences and the 'hands on' trade schools, that with tutoring, learning blossoms to 'catch us up.' In music ? The 'theory' of making musical art is built with just the 12 unique pitches, so easy to master with mentorship. And in 'practice ?' Luckily old school, the foundation that 'all responsibility for self betterment is ours alone.' Which in music, and same for all the arts, means to do what we really love to do ... to make music :)

 

"These books, and your capacity to understand them, are just the same in all places. Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing."

wiki ~ Abraham Lincoln

Academia references of Alaska. And when you need university level answers to your questions and musings, and especially if you are considering a career in music and looking to continue your formal studies, begin to e-reach out to the Alaska University Music Campus communities and begin a dialogue with some of Alaska's finest resident maestros !

~ comments or questions ... ? ~

~ jacmuse@ak.net ~