I waited a bit after seeing this lesson to try it because it is a bit intimidating. After seeing another GG member post a video I decided to give it a shot. This lesson has you limit your notes, create lots of space, and nail your timing. It really got me to focus on the notes I was wanting to hit. I guess it had me practicing with more intention than usual. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and would love to see more like it. Thanks Michael!

Working through these Secondary dominant arpeggios.

Songwriting at its best! A gripping song anyone can relate to that is well written and performed. Love his energy and that he plays a beat up acoustic nylon.

Here’s my attempt at a 3 part loop. The chord progression I used was Bm, A, G, Fm so I think that is the key of D. I pretty much just followed the chords for a simple bass line then added some dyads. Once the loop was going I mostly focused on triads and pentatonic shapes trying to create a melody and not just playing harmonies. Any advice on playing more melodic is welcome. :)

Just trying to focus on hitting those chord tones. I love the sound of having non diatonic chords in the progression although it was really challenging not to get lost. Great lesson Jack!

Targeting the notes of the upper triad of Amin7 which is C major… and feelin pretty floaty.

A Texas Country band with an Americana singer songwriter vibe. The singers tone is enough to immediately love them but they’ve got a fiddle player and telecaster guitarist throwing down some serious talent as well. Great stuff Michael! This is an OurVinyl sessions version so the quality is fantastic.

I went with a 1,4,5 progression in the key of E and tried to connect triads with the linear pentatonic runs. This helps me move in and out of chord shapes and it gives a smooth sound. It also keeps me from getting lost when I use the shapes as reference points. You can just launch into the linear scale from the triad…especially the A shape. Loving these lessons Micheal!!!

I went with the key of G and used all dominant chords for the rhythm. I tried to make it sound as country as I could by using alternating base notes. I’ve been working out triads and blending them with the pentatonic scale and it has helped out tremendously. I also tried to throw some hybrid picking in the mix. Just flowed with it and had fun! :)

Here is the country blues scale in G and D. I have been working on this one running up and down the scale with a hybrid picking approach. I’m alternating my pick and middle finger and trying to move even and smooth. The attack on the strings can sound quite different between the two and I’m hoping to get comfortable enough with it so I can control sounds.

Slow blues in E. I’ve been really working on not getting lost in the pentatonic patterns and knowing where I’m at in the chord changes. As I’m getting more comfortable with this I feel I’m a little more inclined to let my ear guide me. I plan on experimenting more with chord tones and the melody. Lots of sounds and phrasings to explore here… loads of fun too!

I’ve been practicing hybrid picking for about a year now. Getting that pinky of mine to cooperate has been challenging. I pieced together some triads to run up and down the neck practicing different exercises and patterns. I run through those here for few minutes and then try to be a little more melodic towards the end. I’m hoping to find myself playing some country style picking with some snap at some point. Looking forward to the upcoming course!

The blues scale in A and E.

1,4,5 chord progression in key of A with lead and double stops . I felt things start to flow a bit with this which was really cool. I made some connections with the layout of the chord shapes along the fretboard which really opened things up to move around on the neck.

Trying to find the feel and the right notes while mixing major and minor pentatonics in the key of D. I found that sliding from the b3 to the major 3rd or chromatically walking up to the major 3rd sounded bluesy. Also found myself always wanting to come back and tie in the root note D frequently. Practicing this is really helping me with visualizing the b3, 3, and 1. Think its helping recognize the sound of the major and minor pentatonic in some of the music I listen to as well.

1625 7th chords in key of A. I’m working on intervals and chord tones.

Sean McConnell is one of my favorite singer songwriters. Great song, great lyrics, and great vocals!

For the end of the level 3 video, I decided I would record what I've been putting most of my practice time into. I've been working out different sounds, effects, and volumes for looping. Had a lot of fun recording this with my acoustic. I'm using a couple of pedals and other effects created using the boss katana amp and software. Overall i am pretty happy with how this came out but i could have tightened up the improvising with a little more practice... but i think I'm ready to move on to a different progression for now. Looking forward to level 4.

1625 in A.

I practiced the minor scale in a couple of different keys and recorded this video in the key of Bm. I was messing around with different rhythms for the loop and wound up with this. I really like the sound of the minor scale and though i didn't catch any on video i found a couple of notes outside of the scale that sounded really good. I was focusing on hitting the chord tones and switching notes appropriately with the chord changes. I'm learning my gear as well and trying to hone in on tones that sound good for recording.

Minor scales Em and Am.