Instructor: Bill Leake

Time: Thursdays 7:15-8:15 pm beginning April 9th

Location: The downtown Meeker Music store, 624 N. Tejon St. Park in back of store off the alley in the Meeker lot (not the loading dock) and wait for the 6:00 class to let out at 7:00 and enter as others are leaving before the door closes and locks. If arriving after 7:00 and the door is shut, please ring the doorbell - if you ring it before 7:00 you will disturb the previous class.

Description: Are you one of those people who show up at jams with your face buried in a 3-ring binder filled with printed music, only to find you are playing the same 3 chords over and over? Are you envious of that person who has no written music, has never heard the song, yet is playing along after hearing a verse just once? Then this course is for you.

This is largely a course in music theory, but applied to the process of training your ears to hear and identify common chord sequences so that you can “name that chord!” A lot of time will be spent on the chords of the major scale, then minor scales, and finally commonly used chords outside the framework of the scales. Other topics covered are music history, terminology, chord construction, circle-of-fifths, and intervals. I will be teaching using piano and guitar, but the material applies universally to all instruments and most songs in the western genres of folk, country, gospel, bluegrass, pop, blues, and rock. No need to bring an instrument.

Prerequisites: Some experience playing any musical instrument at any level, beginner to advanced

What to Bring: Pen and paper, but there will be a handout you may use to write your notes on