LESSON PLAN: Soloing in G
Objective
Students will be able to use a “box shape” on guitar to take a solo. This will help them learn to change strings as well.
Resources
Guitars, Picks.
Procedures
- Demonstrate for students by playing the 4 note “box shape” that extends the open position G pentatonic scale. This box shape is easy to use for smaller hands and gives more note choices to students learning to solo. Use the 1st and 3rd fingers on frets 3 and 5 on the 1st and 2nd strings. Spend a few moments playing the notes on each string over and over to make sure everyone has seen you do this.
- Have students place their hand on the 1st string in 3rd position (index finger on the 3rd fret). Play the 1st finger on the 3rd fret four times, “alternate” picking if possible). Switch to the 3rd finger on the 5th fret, playing it 4 times as well. Go back and forth between these two notes until they’re learned and easy to find. Check with students making sure the thumb is straight up and down behind the guitar neck so that it can support what the fingers are doing.
- Play these same two frets on the 2nd string using the same two fingers. This will be a little more difficult because the pick now has to play on a string that is in between two other strings. Remind students not to
Extension
To play the ‘slide’ note, pluck first and then right away slide the 3 finger to the 7th fret.
National Core Arts Standards (Music)
Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Example: General Music MU:Cr1.1.2b Generate musical patterns and ideas within the context of a given tonality (such as major and minor) and meter (such as duple and triple). Common Core Correlation: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.G.A.2 Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of hte coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.