Music Lessons with Berklee College of Music Educator - Composition, Production

Student and Tutor reviewed previously learned songs, confirming the student's progress. The main focus of the session was an introduction to a new note (A on the first string, fifth fret) and a detailed breakdown of a new piece, "Tarantella," covering its time signature, fingerings, and two-voice structure. The Tutor provided a copy of the score for the student to practice, along with a new finger exercise.

The Tutor and Student practiced two guitar pieces: the solo for "Seven Nation Army" focusing on slide technique, and the main riff for "When the Levee Breaks" in standard tuning. They discussed the specific fretwork and slide movements for the first song, and the finger positions for the second. The Tutor outlined plans to learn "When the Levee Breaks" in its proper open G tuning next week.

Student and Tutor covered guitar note identification, reviewed the student's practice of "In the Hall of the Mountain King," and introduced two new songs, "Heim" and "Studio," focusing on plucking three strings simultaneously and complex chord progressions. They also addressed the identification of sharps on the fretboard. The Student is assigned to practice the two new songs, and the next session will focus on the A note on the fifth fret.

Student and Tutor began by reviewing the Student's progress on the "Spanish Waltz," then introduced and thoroughly broke down the new piece, "Hall of the Mountain King." They covered the song's structure, detailed fingerings, and plucking techniques for its initial sections, with the Tutor advising the Student to practice one section at a time for the upcoming week.

The Student and Tutor worked on learning the main guitar riff and chorus chords for the song "Four Out Of Five" by Arctic Monkeys, focusing on proper finger placement, rhythmic execution, and chord variations. They also began exploring fundamental slide guitar techniques, practicing the A minor pentatonic scale and discussing how to mimic bends with a slide, with a recommendation to practice with backing tracks.

The Student and Tutor practiced slide guitar techniques using the intro to a Led Zeppelin song, focusing on specific fret placements and movement patterns in standard tuning. They also discussed different guitar tunings and plan to explore more modern examples of slide guitar in upcoming sessions.