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A Fun Little Guitar Challenge to Measure Your Guitar Skills

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Here’s a little test I want you to do.

It’s something I like to do with new students and also with current students every now and then.

It has some great benefits in that it will show you where your strong and weak areas are and let’s face it, unlike science, foreign language or dare I say it, maths, a test on the guitar is fun!

Here we go…

Grab your guitar

  • Play the chord progression of G D Am C– strum each chord once, ensuring they are clean and tidy (put a capo on where you like if they are a struggle)
  • Now, choose an exact strumming pattern and play it for each chord ensuring the chord changes are smooth
  • Turn the above chords into their 7th versions– which are the chords GMaj7, D7, Am7 and Cmaj7
  • Choose a different strumming pattern you know and play the above
  • Play the chords G D Am C with a fingerpicking pattern


You get two points for completing each of the above as long as each item on the list sounds tidy.

 

 

Going for the A-star grade…

  • Play the G D Am C chords as barre chords
  • Record yourself playing the chords G D Am C (using one of the above strumming or fingerpicking patterns) and jam a melody or solo over the top using the G Major scale
  • Play the equivalent chords of G D Am C which are the I V II IV chords in the key of G Major, but this time, change the key and play them in the key of C Major

You get three points for completing any of the above.

You don’t have to nail each item the first time but give yourself no more than three attempts on each.

Add up your score.

How did you do?

Be honest and don’t cheat yourself.

Pass Mark

16/19 for a distinction
14/19 for a merit
12/19 for a pass

I want all of you to get a pass at least.

If you can’t do the above, don’t worry, there’s a lot going on, BUT once you can do the above, you will be a rounded player with some really good skills.

These skills will transfer to playing real songs, jamming with others, and you will get some nice rock-solid confidence from being able to do some very cool things on the guitar.

If you have never been tested on your skills, this may be hard, it may be a little bit of a shock to the system but it’s a great thing to do as it will help you spot what needs improving and then you can get to work on improving it.

 

Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination

 

P.S. If you want to learn more about how to improve on the above exercise in a structured and methodical way, you can, in my Elite Guitarist Inner Circle.

Check out the In-Focus lesson, titled “The True Musicianship Exercise”.

Elite Guitarist Inner Circle


Good luck!

 

 

This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming and learning guitar more enjoyable, (especially if you are over 40) then join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE

11 Guitar Tips For Beginners

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Today, I want to give you 11 tips to help improve your guitar playing.

Most guitarists follow none of these tips and some follow only a small handful at best.

Take a look below and let me know how many of these you follow.

  1. Use a click or drum beat daily (poor rhythm holds everyone back, practice playing to a click in a really simple way each day, it benefits all guitarists)
  2. Make a list of ten songs you want to learn start to finish and make sure they have some variety (e.g. a few fingerpicking, a few strumming, a few riff-based songs, etc.)
  3. Record yourself playing via video (this will help you hear how you sound and help you spot technical errors)
  4. Tap your foot when you play (if you have never done this, start by trying it with just one really simple piece)
  5. Jam with other musicians (it’s scary but try to get there and aim for it, at least one day soon)
  6. Improve your technique (nearly all guitarists I see who struggle have sloppy technique which causes pain, messy playing and holds back improvements, often for years, unless fixed)
  7. Be clear in your head on exactly what your fingers should be doing (don’t just play, visualise and see what you want to play before you do it)
  8. Practice in short bursts
  9. Do some focused pinkie work (this is the weakest finger, yet it gets the least amount of practice, hmm)
  10. Learn 3 sets of strumming and 3 sets of fingerpicking patterns (essential for everyone, yet about 1 in 10 have it – enough said)
  11. Actually use the chords and scales you know each and every day (if you don’t use them in songs, jam them, play about with them, at least refresh them, it’s good for the memory and finger dexterity)

Don’t try to incorporate all of these in one day, but these are the things you have to learn and include in your playing over time.

For example, don’t try to learn 3 strumming and fingerpicking patterns in one day, do it over a week or two. Don’t record yourself playing each day, do it once or twice a week. Same goes for jamming with others.

The idea here is that you bring these tips into your playing steadily, and as I say, most guitarists hardly follow any of the above.

With my private students, if they have played before coming to me for lessons, they usually follow none of these but once I get them doing some of the above, (after some gentle nagging!) they see some steady, solid and progressive improvements in their playing.

You can do so too.

I hope you find these tips useful and more importantly, I hope you follow them!

Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination

This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming and learning guitar more enjoyable, (especially if you are over 40) then join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE 

7 Myths That Are Holding Back Your Playing as an Older Guitarist

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guitar lessons for older adults

 

As you know this blog is made for the older student looking to learn and improve their guitar skills. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths involved with this amazing instrument of ours and many of these myths are so ingrained into students who are learning later on in life, that it is detrimental to their playing. This is a very important guitar lesson for older adults.

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Use the “5 x Rule” To Make Your Guitar Practice More Enjoyable, More Productive And Far Less Frustrating

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Today, I want to share with you a really quick but incredibly powerful practice tip that will make learning anything on the guitar faster, more enjoyable, and far less frustrating for you. This is something I call the “5 X Rule” and it is something every single one of my students knows inside out. You should too.

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The Importance Of A Good Guitar Warm Up

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When someone talks about a warm-up for playing guitar, the temptation for many is to roll their eyes, turn away, and to just go on playing their favourite tunes instead.

The trouble is, many beginner guitarists struggle to actually play these tunes well and struggle with the physical aspects of playing them, so not only do the songs sound a bit rough but they also feel uncomfortable to play. In this post, I’ll explain why, if you don’t warm up, you should!
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Guitar Calluses – How to Toughen Up Your Fingertips The Smart Way

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One of the biggest misconceptions about learning and improving your guitar skills is the myth about sore fingers. Many guitarists are told or taught that sore fingers equals progress and that it is, in fact, a sign you are doing things correctly. In this post, I’ll explain why that is nonsense — and what you should do instead.  [Read more…]

The 10 Song Challenge Every Beginner Guitarist Should Complete

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It’s now 2018, and this is a great time for all guitarists and those learning to get re-motivated and really make this year a year to remember. In this post, I will go through one simple guitar challenge that will help you make massive progress this year, especially if you feel your playing has hit a plateau or not really gone anywhere.

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