Learn guitar, piano, and voice from a singer-songwriter and Berklee College of Music alumnus!

Student and Tutor began structuring an original song, focusing on initial lyrics and developing guitar chord progressions. They explored various chord qualities like major, minor, add4, and 7th chords, practicing their application and technique on the guitar. The session also included discussions on how musical choices reflect lyrical themes and emotional arcs, with a plan to further refine lyrics and chord structures.

Student and Tutor focused on learning and practicing four basic guitar chords: C major, A minor, D minor, and G major, for the song "Last Christmas." They worked on smooth chord transitions using the concept of "anticipation" and developed a strumming pattern with accents, emphasizing wrist-only movement. The session concluded with a finger placement exercise using a C major scale on the A string, and the Tutor offered to send chord charts and suggested exploring fretboard notes and music theory for future understanding.

The Student and Tutor worked on learning guitar chords and song progressions for two potential songs, "Toxic" and "Stand by Me." They discussed the difficulty of bar chords, practiced E major, Bsus2, A major, D major, E major, F# minor, and C# minor chords, and learned a specific chord progression for "Stand by Me." The Tutor explained the theory behind bar chords and recommended practicing them on the ukulele and considering restringing a classical guitar with nylon strings.

Student and Tutor began the session by tuning the guitar. They then reviewed and practiced D, G, and A major chords, focusing on achieving clear sounds, practicing a specific strumming pattern, and improving chord transitions. The class also introduced a D major scale pattern and the fundamentals of arpeggiation. The Student was encouraged to rest their hand and continue practicing the covered concepts.

The Student and Tutor explored the "Prelude in C major" piano piece, focusing on warm-up scales, sheet music reading, and identifying arpeggios and chords. They practiced various musical concepts including tempo, dynamics, legato playing, and the rules of accidentals. The Student was assigned to practice the piece to improve note correlation and two-stave reading.

Student and Tutor worked on guitar theory, practicing major chord scales in E major and C# major to a metronome. They also explored lead improvisation over an A major chord progression, discussing how to articulate musical emotion and apply specific lead licks and techniques. The Student was assigned to practice chord scales with a metronome for homework.