Practice Routine & Songs for Level 7

Here is my recommended Practice Routine and Songs for Level 7!

Core learning points:

• Key of C major

• C major scale

• Sus embellishments including the numbers that mostly come from the major scale (Dominant 7th the exception)

• 4 different F chord options!

Things to be WARY of when choosing songs

• Bpms: easy chords in faster songs will still be challenging, consider keeping the tempo slow, rather than trying to join into the song at full speed for every song

• My older videos especially promote jaming along to the original recordings. When you do this, consider slowing down the tempo on youtube using the settings so you can keep time without making mistakes

• Songs with more structure are harder, even the “easy” ones! Songs with an intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus & bridge with different progressions/ riffs throughout can be like learning 3 or 4 songs in one, all played one after the other!

• Visual jam tracks will help, e-chords a great option for many people

Key practice (5 mins each)

• Warmup with a strumming song from your repertoire!

• C major scale

• F barre chord (revisit at end to see your improvement!)

Jam tracks

Jam tracks from levels 1 - 4 are mainly gateway tracks. Once these skills are acquired, they can be left behind.

Jam tracks from levels 5-8 all use skills that will be relied upon at intermediate level to some extent, no matter what your goals are. These can also be replaced with real songs, but commercial songs will often feature harder parts where learners ask “should I be able to do that yet?” That’s where the jam tracks come in.

If you can play along in time to the jam tracks and it sounds good, but you can only play the real songs super slow in a basic way, you CAN still move up a level!

Perfection comes later, the devil is in the detail as they say. Don’t hold yourself back! Aquire more skills, then consolidate your song repertoire towards the end of the course.

Essential songs

• Happy birthday in C

• Let It Be and/ or No Woman No Cry

Key of G with more rhythm

• Won’t Back Down

• Hallelujah,

• Ed Sheeran - Perfect

• Taylor Swift- Lover

• I’m With You By Avril Lavigne

  All in 6:8 aka 12:8 - learn at least one!

Songs with C, F, G and Am,

Learn some of these now but perfect later

• Dakota, easy acoustic version Capo 4th fret

• Love Will Tear Us Apart

• Hungry Heart (does have BIG key change, but you can play most of it)

• Wherever You Will Go - Slash Chords & strumming (picking will be hard, come back to this at intermediate)

Sus chords

• Brass In Pocket

• Ticket To Ride

• Free Fallin’ - Potential here to add more advanced strumming?

As you can see or have experienced, this level has been a big one. We want to take our time as the progress is really picking up at this late stage!