2nd Lesson

After reviewing my goals - which are improved reading skills, accurancy, a set list of chord melody tunes from which to study and an understanding of devices and their use, we got right to the reading and accuracy drills.

I have NEVER thought of being at this level of concentration when approaching a note on the guitar as Jay helped me achieve - and that was done in one session with him. Since practicing using his tips, my accuracy has definately gone up.

This week, I have been locating all the C notes on the guitar and also quickly ''popping'' from one C note to the next C note everywhere they can be found on the neck. At first thought, I wondered how significant it would be to find all the C notes I was sure I knew were there.

Jay asked me to concentrate on the note I was approaching with greater focus, taking as long as I needed. It seemed extremely basic and well......it was. Thanks for taking me back there Jay. What a differance. I can hit those notes almost every time now. Prior to this, I had been ''rushing in'' to the next note - which was not helping my lack of accuracy issue.

Since I had never tried to go from C to C as a drill before meeting Jay, I tested this method of concentration on difficult passages I've been playing and having difficulty with for a long time. I CLEANED UP THE SLOPPINESS! That was a good test because I tried before, through repitition to clean the passages up, but I was just practicing the same ol' sloppiness. I used to think the problem was that my fretting hand could not move fast enough to hit the notes. Not so.

I am practicing aprox 3 hours each day. I work on chord melody, playing the notes I'm reading without looking at the fretboard, concentration for accuracy and speed, and the use of chord substitions and scale application.

Per Jays suggestion, I'm keeping a journal and dividing my practice time into thirds - 1)Reviews, 2)New Material, and 3)Whatevers.

Bob Ferraiuolo