Lesson 1 of 43GuitarBeginner

Welcome to the online course

1:33

James Barratt welcomes you to the course, and explains how to use it to get the best result for your playing.

Part of the courseRockschool Guitar Grade 343 lessons (3h 11m)

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What's in the course

43 lessons (3h 11m) · 1 free

- 01. Welcome to the online course
  You are here
  1:33
- 02. Meet Charlie Griffiths
  1:23
- 03. Meet Rob Luft
  3:02
- 04. Meet Stuart Ryan
  1:52
- 01. Overrated
  2:03
- 02. Old Bones Blues
  1:56
- 03. Indecisive
  1:55
- 04. Maiden Voyage
  2:03
- 05. Reggae Island
  Free lesson
  1:56
- 06. Fallout
  1:59
- 01. Overrated
  11:37
- 02. Old Bones Blues
  15:12
- 03. Indecisive
  9:55
- 04. Maiden Voyage
  12:22
- 05. Reggae Island
  10:50
- 06. Fallout
  12:10
- 01. Intro to technical exercises
  2:44
- 02. Tech advice (early grades)
  3:10
- 03. Rob Luft on how to practice exercises
  3:28
- 04. Group A: Scales
  2:45
- 05. Group B: Arpeggios
  0:47
- 06. Group C: Chords
  3:08
- 01. How to hold guitar and pick
  3:47
- 02. Picking hand position
  2:22
- 03. Fretting hand position
  2:44
- 04. Alternate picking
  3:08
- 05. Legato (hammer-ons & pull-offs)
  5:29
- 06. Barre chords
  6:15
- 07. Vibrato
  7:37
- 01. Intro to Approaches to improvisation
  1:00
- 02. Getting started with improvisation
  9:22
- 03. Improvising over chord tones
  10:18
- 04. Assignment: Finding chord tones
  4:05
- 05. Adding rhythmic interest to your solos
  4:11
- 06. Assignment: Improvising over a chord change
  2:52
- 07. Challenge: Submit your improv
  0:24
- 08. Embelleshing a melody
  5:36
- 09. Challenge: Submit your melody
  0:26
- 10. Rhythmic improv & comping
  9:55
- 01. Sight reading tips
  1:51
- 01. Course outro
  0:32
- 02. About Rockschool exams
  0:30
- 03. Preparing for your Rockschool exam
  1:28

Lesson transcript

Welcome to the Course!

Hey guys, welcome to the course! You've made a great choice.

Important Information

Before you get started, I want to make sure you get the most out of this course. Here are a few key points to consider:

Rock School Book:
- There's a lot of information you can gain from this course without owning a Rock School book.
- It's not essential. However, I would recommend getting hold of a book if you're looking to dive deep into the performance pieces.
- You'll have access to all the transcriptions.
- If you're interested in booking yourself in for a graded exam, having your own book will be absolutely essential.

Course Structure

The course is divided into a few sections:

Performance of Each Piece:
- Each piece will be performed for you.
Analysis of the Piece:
- This covers:
  - Technique
  - Structure
  - Ways we can develop and improvise in designated sections
Technical Exercises:
- A run-through of all the technical exercises at your grade.
Improvisation and Creativity:
- An approach to improvisation that includes:
  - Melodic and rhythmic comping
  - Improvisation methods that are useful for both the Rock School syllabus and in creating solos within the pieces.

Additional Resources

Downloadable Materials:
- There are lots of additional downloadable materials, PDFs, and other resources where you will find examples to help you progress further.