Coffee Break

This exercise isn't exactly what I'd call a coffee break. It's tedious, frustrating, and difficult to master. But once I did... waaaah I couldn't stop playing it! The melody is very chill, relaxed. Perfect for practice and leisure time.

Ok, ok. I know it's corny. Even I could only take so much cheesiness in song lyrics (don't even get me started with this song's official music video! ugh!). But the tabs are crazy! Tabs for Landon Pigg's Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop can be found here.

The most difficult part about the tabs to this song is the heavy bass line. It's like a metronome, so the melody is played together with the bass. If you can switch your thumb to on during the whole song that would super help. The PIMA can be practiced too, so try to stick with it. Use number 4 (pinkie, left hand) to reach the 4th and 5th frets to practice stretching.


Ok, tips:
1. Break it down. Play the melody (the 4th-6th string notes) as is first, put it to heart. Afterwards, play the bass notes (1st string notes) and get the timing right.
2. Slow down!
3. Listen to the song and pay close attention to the timing, especially the bass notes. It's easy to get lost in all the confusion (misplaced thumb, uncooperative fingers!).
4. Don't mind the lyrics. Seriously, sing after mastering the chords.


Right now I'm having difficulty playing the refrain

|-------------------------4-----------4----------------------------------------------------------|
|-2-----------2-----------------------------------4-----------4-----------5-----------5----------|
|-------2-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2----|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-0--0-----0--0--0-----0--0--0-----0--0--0-----0--0--0-----0--0--0-----0--0--0-----0--0--0-----0-|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

because of the bass line switch from the 1st string to the 2nd string. I dunno. I think it's just my thumb. I tend to hit the other strings when I make the switch. Wild thumb playing.


Chords:

If you like this song, but find that you just can't master this notation right now, here's some sort of good news: I've set up a very easy tab over at Ultimate Guitar. I assure you, it's better than the rest of the versions available in the site. Enjoy!

PS: This! I couldn't find the tabs for melody during the chorus (for now). I dislike playing the power chords. It ruins the mood, haha!

The Big G

The first classical guitar piece I learned was Minuet in G by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The sheet I used covered the basic melody of the piece, sans the bass notes (rhythm). I worked from the 5th fret onward. Very easy to memorize and great for practice: the notes span up to 5 frets, so the pinkie and all the left fingers are stretched. All six strings are also covered, so the PIMA right hand can be practiced.

Minuet in G is my stretching slash warm-up piece. I play it every day, every time I pick up my guitar. I like speeding it up for better flexibility and accuracy. I used to play it non-stop, and until now I haven't tired of listening to it.

I moved on to the more complicated melody + rhythm version about a month after burning the first version. I immediately fell in love with the sound of the bass notes along with the melody. This version takes up til the 9th fret, so I can practice moving through the fingerboard. The addition of the bass notes complicates the left hand positions, but they're manageable. The sheet I linked does not have a notation for 1234 and PAMI (except the 0s there), but I use all of them... figure it out :)

My crux is always on the 19th bar. My index finger tends to look sooo out of place and awkwardly apart, and the rest of my fingers (2 and 4 especially) go crazy when I press the strings. I tend to slow down at this portion. I can swing it when I position my left hand closer to the fingerboard, but that index just shoots up sometimes I couldn't control it! Oh well, time and practice.

This piece was also my (re)introduction to sheet reading. The two sheets don't have tabs, so I was really forced to read notes. Both versions are very basic though.

I eat Big G for breakfast, lunch, merienda and dinner. Lemme know how this piece figures in your repertoire. If you use other warm-up pieces, feel free to share.

Mar 11, 2013. Just uploaded this video. Sorry for the poor audio -- I didn't use a mic when I recorded. Didn't have one. Anyway, my messy fingering clearly says this rendition sucks. As usual, I had a difficult time through the crux. My left hand fingers are also still awkwardly apart. Wild vibrato action there too. Hmmm, when in doubt record your practice sessions. Any specific pointers on improvement?