003 Essential Songs, Zen Guitar

DEC GUITAR NEWSLETTER, issue no. 3

2008 Dec 18
Welcome to another DEC guitar email! 
In this issue...
1.  10 NEW teaching papers!
2.  listing the ESSENTIAL guitar songs that we should all know! 

3.  Zen Guitar wisdom

4.  ...and much more!

Dave's Latest Papers

Guitar:
-Arpeggios - major and minor from power chords.  In this quick study, I show where the major third and a minor third appear in the context of a power chord.
-Guitar Patterns That Fit The Fingers - here we have some scale passages that you can rip through after you get a handle on them.  Always a work in progress, so I may send after I update it more.
-Chromatic Scale - The proper order of all 12 of the chromatic notes in the open position
-Scale Positions - this is your bible of scales.  Remember, you can find ALL of the modes if you know these scale positions!
-Scale Patterns - So, you think you know a scale?  Not until you've mastered these patterns.
-Diminished Seventh Arpeggio - Another fun one to sweep pick!  I've also included the theory behind the chord.
-Intervals / Find Notes on the fretboard - Self explanatory.
-Warmups - Get your fingers and mind into the right mindset before you practice.

Theory:
-All Major and Minor Keys - Excerpted from Music Theory for Anyone - Understanding all of the notes and triads (chords) in a key
-->Music Theory for Anyone is a book that I'm writing for people who want to have a basic understanding of music theory, and you don't  have to know how to read music!  I will be releasing excerpts as I write this book, which will hopefully be done in early 2009. 

ESSENTIAL SONGS - I'm always open to suggestions!
1.  Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven, Tangerine
2.  Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze, Hey Joe
3.  Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come as you are
4.  AC/DC - Back in Black
5.  The Beatles - Day Tripper
6.  Pink Floyd - Wish you were here
7.  Metallica - One
8.  Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
9.  Kansas - Dust in the wind
10.  Guns & Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
11.  Black Sabbath - Iron Man
12.  Yes - Roundabout
13.  Emerson Lake and Palmer - From the beginning

Snippets of Wisdom: From Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo
Stages and Plateaus
Over the long haul, the path of development consists of stages and plateaus.  The dedicated beginner will see rapid improvement in the early going, but after a while the rate of improvement will taper off.  We can work and work and work and not see any progress.  Then suddenly, we move up to a new stage of ability, as though arriving in a meadow clearing out of a jungle.
Be aware that the farther on the path you go, the longer the plateaus get.  During these times, you may feel like you're in a rut.  The way out is to stay focused on your training - what you are doing right now.  Don't look ahead to where you want to be, and don't look back thinking "I've only come this far."  If you put in an honest effort, you will break through to the next level.  You can't make long-term progress conform to your timetable.  It has to happen naturally.  A flower blooms when it is ready to bloom.  Let it be. 

Songs that are being worked on in lessons:
Tool - Schizm
RHCP - They're Red Hot
Allman Brothers - Stormy Monday
Black Label Society - Stillborn, Phony Smiles
Megadeth - Black Friday
Dream Theater - Panic Attack
Time - Tom Waits
Chicago - Beginnings, Saturday in the park, Make Me Smile
Jimi Hendrix - South Saturn Delta