Month 1 Guitar Plan: Stabilize
Anchor song: Sweet Home Chicago / Early Blues 12-Bar Laboratory
Guitar role this month: Make simple acoustic support feel alive.
Primary key: E major blues (open position) or A major blues (movable shape at the 5th fret using E-shape).
Chord voicings for Month 1:
In E:
- I7 (E7): 020100 — root position, open strings create natural resonance
- IV7 (A7): x02020 — clean two-finger grip
- V7 (B7): x21202 — manageable three-finger grip
In A:
- I7 (A7): x02020
- IV7 (D7): xx0212
- V7 (E7): 020100
Month 1 guitar study versions:
| Version | What to play |
|---|---|
| A | Muted pulse only through 12 bars — time and form only |
| B | One chord texture only — quarter-note downstrokes or thumb pulses |
| C | Add one fill after a natural pause — two to four notes, silence before and after |
| D | Add one high spread triad or 027 color moment once in the chorus |
Spread triad on guitar (TPS — Month 1 color):
A spread triad separates the notes of a triad across a wider interval range. On guitar, the simplest spread triad is a three-string voicing across non-adjacent strings. Example in E: bottom string E, skip middle strings, top note B or G# on the high strings. This creates an open, floating sound.
027 on guitar (Week 3 color object):
Built from a root, a whole step up, and a fifth up. Example from A: A (open 5th string), B (2nd fret 5th string), E (open 1st string). Play it as a simple three-note sound in a gap — once per chorus.
Month 1 week-by-week guitar focus:
Week 1 — Guitar: Open the AMF semester workflow. Set up recording. Play the 12-bar form in E or A with muted strings only. Record a baseline: pulse and form, nothing else. Establish the habit.
Week 2 — Guitar: Add the Charleston cell (beats 1 and the-and-of-2). Play it muted first, then with chord. Leave deliberate silence in every four-bar phrase. Aim for at least one clearly felt call-and-response space per chorus.
Week 3 — Guitar: Introduce triad support — single triad shape, arpeggiated or placed as a chord. Add one 027 sound in one natural gap. Do not force it into every measure. One moment is enough.
Week 4 — Guitar: Full Month 1 integration. Play a complete chorus that includes: consistent time, the 12-bar form, one triad texture, one fill, and one clear Aim-Route-Complete arc. Record it. Write three sentences about what you heard.