<r>Here is a method to write rhythm, so we can talk about it:<br/>
<br/>
The basics - <br/>
W - whole note <br/>
H - half note <br/>
Q - quarter note <br/>
E - eighth note <br/>
S - sixteenth note <br/>
32 - 32nd note, etc. <br/>
<br/>
Wr - whole note rest <br/>
Hr - half note rest <br/>
Qr ...

<t>You have to know three patterns; A, B, and C <br/>
<br/>
|-0-|----|-0-|----|-0-| = A pattern <br/>
|-0-|-0-|----|-0-|----| = B pattern <br/>
|-0-|----|-0-|-0-|----| = C pattern <br/>
<br/>
So what does this mean? If you want to play an A pattern on the e string (in G!!) you play third fret, fifth ...

<t>B E and #Fm.<br/>
The #Fm is the V (fifth chord) of B. It should be a #F (seven or major). <br/>
What you have here is a v (minor fifth) which is just telling you that you are in B mixolydian. Not to worry, just use the B mixolydian scale over the whole song.<br/>
Why B mixo?<br/>
Because the ...

<t>Just learn the names of the notes on the first two strings (the fattest two) up to the 7th, then 12 frets. The chords you will learn to start will all have the lowest note (the note on the fattest string) on one of these notes. Looking down while you are playing, left is flat and right is sharp ...

<t>Here’s my second part to getting started doing lessons, continuing from the first:<br/>
<br/>
More dos and don’ts:<br/>
<br/>
- Do let your students watch you play. Students like to see how things are played, it helps immensely in learning technique. So don’t be afraid to doodle around and jam ...

<r>So, you've got a student, and you are a bit nervous. Relax, you'll get over it quickly. Do's and don'ts for starting off:<br/>
<br/>
- Don't over-prepare<br/>
- Do have TAB, treble clef paper, empty chord diagrams and blank paper<br/>
- Don't go too fast, relax<br/>
- Don't dump too much info on ...

Usually it's music (or harmony) first, but doing lyrics first will force you to do some new things to make them fit, so it is a good idea, and may help you to be more creative.

<t>Well, since no one has asked anything, I'll tell you one of the good questions:<br/>
"Why can you play a minor pentatonic (or the blues scale) over a major chord? (The minor pent is a minor scale (it has the minor 3, the b3), and so it should go with a minor chord, right?)<br/>
If anyone wants to ...

<t>Wow, that was very succint, a case of hitting the nail on the head. <br/>
I'll tell what stuck out for me:<br/>
"Be able to sing it." This is 100% right and you put it way before "Learn the scales ... " Right again. <br/>
I'd add a bit to this part:<br/>
<br/>
"Listen carefully to the bass line ...

<t>There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. Lots of things in music are relative, and take a while to understand.<br/>
The best way to understand these thing is to ask. If I tell you C major is the same as G mixolydian, you might get it. But if you ask the same question my explanation ...

<t>"How difficult is it for a fingerstyle player to learn electric guitars and be able to play Blues Solo?"<br/>
<br/>
They are very different styles. Like learning to play flamenco style, it's a big jump. I dont want to discourage you, but I do want to give you an idea of what you are dealing with ...

<t>Here's a few typical ones:<br/>
||E|D|A|E||<br/>
||C|D|E|E||<br/>
||G|F|C|C||<br/>
||E|G|A|C||<br/>
<br/>
Those ae sort of standard ones. Then there's the 12 barre blues:<br/>
||C7 F7 C7 C7| F7 F7 C7 C7| G7 F7 C7 G7||<br/>
and variations:<br/>
||C7 C7 C7 C7| F7 F7 C7 C7| G7 F7 C7 G7||<br/>
||C7 ...

The circle of fifths looks like this:
||bFbCbGbDbAbEbB||FCGDAEB||#F#C#G#D#A#E#B||
I can't make a circle here, but #C is the same note as bD, and #G is the same note as bA. So if you could take my line up there, and pull the ends down so they matched up, you'd have a circle.

<t>If you want to learn the notes, read sheet music, and by that I mean jazz cheat sheets (or pop, whatever, doesn't have to jazz), not classical stuff. Tabs don't help much because you just see the number of the fret, and you don't have to ask yourself what note it is.<br/>
Guitarists usually know ...

<t>I'll take a stab at it:<br/>
If you take this progression:<br/>
||C | Dm | Am | G || - we are in C major<br/>
You can play the 5th (dominant) chord of any of these chords before the chord.<br/>
The fifth chord of Dm is A7. Dominants are always 7 chords (I hate to say always ... but I have never ...

<t>Another good post, olly. Sorry if I seem to be nitpicking your posts, and this is a pretty nitpicky point:<br/>
<br/>
The sixth note of G minor is bE, not #D. They are the same note. Or to use the fancy terminology, they are enharmonic.<br/>
<br/>
"If we take the Minor Pentatonic - which is most ...

<t>A good explanation, olly. I did see something though that I thought wasn't right:<br/>
<br/>
"I - II - III - IV - V - VI - V11 - I" (this is what olly put in the post)<br/>
<br/>
is usually:<br/>
I ii iii IV V vi viiº I<br/>
<br/>
The caps are for major chords, the small letters for minor chords ...