Progress Report – Week 1

We are excited to keep the Rock rolling and like the last session, in Rock 501. Your rocker is now over half way through the program – we salute your dedication to rock!

Please remember, whenever possible, to have your rocker at HQ 20 minutes after the hour, this gives us 10 minutes to get everyone settled in and tuned before starting on the half hour, thanks!

This is what is Rockin’ this week:

Throughout the 501 session we will be concentrating on developing greater right hand precision and we will also begin to jump over a major hurdle – the barre chord.  This week we are looking at You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi.  The intro is a great review in power chords; both 6th and 5th string root shapes.  They will be moving quickly but nothing they can’t handle.  

The monster riff that is found throughout the verse is going to require a great deal of right hand precision and synchronization between the two hands.  This is not easy and it will be necessary for everyone to begin slowly and try to be patient while jamming the verse.  But wait, there’s more!  There is also the opportunity to play the face melting solo found in the intro.  This uses the C minor pentatonic scale exclusively.  It is best to always begin by concentrating on a short phrase and then slowly add up several short phrases until the whole section feels comfortable.  

Are there are any Harry Potter fans in the house?   We are using the Quiddtich World Cup Theme tab to continue working on the picking hand.  Again, this is a very tricky piece of music that will take patience to master.  If they only have time to practice either the songs or the tabs, it is best to work with the songs first and if there is extra time left over to Rock then jam the tabs.   

We recommend a weekly Rock routine of 10-20 minutes, 3 to 5 times per week.  This will allow for a noticeable rate of improvement.