Week 30: finish the third, and join them up

Week thirty of a 32-week guitar practice path: an ending for the third piece, then the transitions that nobody rehearses and everybody hears.

Week
30 of 32
Days
7
Played as
blues or rock

The third piece gets its solo phrase and its ending here, which is what makes it a piece rather than a head and a chord chart. It is the simplest of the three by design, which is why it takes two weeks rather than four.

Then the set falls apart in the silences rather than in the music. Past about five seconds a room starts wondering whether something has gone wrong, and the length of that silence is entirely within your control — so spend it finding the next piece's root. Rehearse only the seams: the last four bars of one piece and the first four of the next, twice per join. Eight bars each, two joins, and it is the cheapest improvement available to a set.

Blues treatment

Finish the third piece, then rehearse the seconds between all three

Your choice of keysShuffle · ♩=92Finish it, then join it

Finish the third piece first: one phrase lifted from its solo, and a decision about how it ends. Endings are the least-practised bars anybody owns and the ones everyone hears, and an ending that trails off tells a room you were not sure how it finished. Decide, then rehearse the decision.

Then time the silence between two pieces. Past about five seconds a room starts to wonder whether something has gone wrong, and that length is entirely yours to choose — so spend it finding the next piece's root rather than hunting for it on the downbeat. Rehearse only the seams: the last four bars of one and the first four of the next, twice per join. Eight bars each, two joins, and it is the cheapest improvement available to a set.

The daily session · ~26 min

  1. Warm upHands, the new head, two endings4 min
  2. Finish the thirdA solo phrase, an ending, one pass6 min
  3. Count the gap, and use itUnder five seconds, and in the next key5 min
  4. Rehearse the joins onlyLast four bars, first four bars6 min
  5. Jam, three openings and two joinsThe skeleton5 min

Check yourself

Reference

Rock treatment

Finish the third song, then rehearse the seconds between all three

Your choice of keysStraight · ♩=108Finish it, then join it

Finish the third song first: one phrase lifted from its lead break, and a decision about how it ends. Endings are the least rehearsed bars anybody owns and the ones everyone hears, and an ending that trails off tells a room you were not sure how it finished. Decide, then rehearse the decision.

Then time the silence between two songs — past about five seconds a room starts wondering whether something has gone wrong. Spend it finding the next song's root, and make any tone or tuning change part of the transition rather than after it: a pedal switched after the first bar is heard by everybody, and switched during the gap is heard by nobody. Rehearse only the seams, twice per join.

The daily session · ~26 min

  1. Warm upHands, the new riff, two endings4 min
  2. Finish the thirdA solo phrase, an ending, one pass6 min
  3. Count the gap, and use itUnder five seconds, key and tone5 min
  4. Rehearse the joins onlyLast four bars, first four bars6 min
  5. Jam, three riffs and two joinsThe skeleton5 min

Check yourself

Reference

How the week runs

Whichever accent you pick, the material stays the same for all 7 days and the tempo and intent move. Day one takes it slowly, day two chases clean notes, day three brings it to target tempo and into the jam, day four pushes past comfortable, and day five drops back to tempo to record and listen. Days six and seven are yours.

You can switch accent any day without losing your place — it is the same week either way, so week 30 means the same thing in both.

Start today's sessionSee the whole path