Late Intermediate Learning Pathway

We're with you every step of the way in this Learning Pathway. In every lesson, Karl will break down a new concept and run through guided practice exercises with you so you can lock it into your muscle memory. To cap off each day's work, you'll put what you learned in a musical context with a guided jam session.

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‍Day 1. Get to know the three hats

We'll kick things off with an overview of the three hats you'll wear on your quest to becoming an advanced guitarist: Harmony, rhythm, and melody. Karl will break down a simple approach you can use that'll allow you to navigate any piece of music you encounter.

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‍Day 2. Harmony

Harmony involves the underlying chordal structure of a song. In Day 2, you'll learn how to figure out the chords to a song by ear and determine its form.

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‍Day 3. Melody

When you hear “melody”, you might get ready to throw on some distortion pedal and shred a solo while the rest of the band turns into a backing track. Not so fast! There more to life than soloing. Day 3 is all about how to craft tasteful melodies that serve your song.

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Day 4. Rhythm

Wearing the rhythm hat confidently gives you a lot of influence on the vibe and groove of a song. If you take this one off, the music falls apart, and neither harmony nor melody matter much anymore. In Day 4, you'll practice different ways to lock into a groove.

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Day 5. F to Gm

In Day 5, we have a fresh tune for your ears that'll help you test out your newly-acquired hats: harmony, melody, and rhythm.

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Day 6. F to Gmi (Chord melody)

We'll continue with that song in Day 6 by turning it into a full-blown chord melody.

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Day 7. All the hats

To cap off the Grade 1 lessons, you'll tackle another song and tie together what you learned.

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Performance pieces

Perform songs that incorporate the concepts you just learned in a purely musical context. Here, you'll have the opportunity to jam with a live-recorded band of pro musicians. You can submit your performance to the Pickup Music team for 1:1 personalized video feedback – who said online learning wasn't interactive?!

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Final quiz

Cap off the grade with a quiz to make sure you're comfortable with the core concepts covered.

‍Day 1. Not-so-obvious pentatonic boxes

Think the pentatonic scale is just for beginners? Think again! Pentatonic mastery is crucial to becoming an advanced guitarist. Day 1 has us slicing it up in exciting new ways.

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‍Day 2. The 3:2 system (Maj. pentatonic)

Day 2 provides a Funky G7 backdrop for us to stretch out and string-cross our way through. You’ll get a chance to zoom in on techniques like hammer ons, pull offs, and slides that’ll bring your lines to life.

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‍Day 3. The 3:2 system (Min. pentatonic)

Let's make it moody. In Day 3, you’ll get a feel for the 3:2 approach using the minor pentatonic sound… with a slight workaround.

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Day 4. Intro to the grid

Here on Day 4, you’ll shift your focus away from melody over to rhythm while getting to know the rhythmic grid.

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Day 5. Zoom in on alternate picking

Did you bring your magnifying glass to class? Today, you’ll take an in-depth look at alternate picking.

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Day 6. Intro to major triad inversions

Triads are the building blocks behind all chord progression. Knowing how to create and find them across the fretboard opens every cupboard in the chordal kitchen.

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Day 7. Visualizing chords, scales and arpeggios

Now that you have the trifecta of chords, scales, and arpeggios under your fingers, this last lesson of the grade will test your skills to see how well it’s all stuck.

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Performance pieces

Perform songs that incorporate the concepts you just learned in a purely musical context while jamming with a live-recorded band of pro musicians. Then, submit your performance to the Pickup Music team for 1:1 personalized video feedback on your playing.

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Final quiz

Cap off the grade with a quiz to make sure you've absorbed the core concepts involved.

‍Day 1. The grid (chords)

Guitar teachers like to go on and on about how important it is to practice with a metronome. That’s all good and fair advice, but guess what?! It’s time that you become the metronome! We’ll start our deep dive into rhythm by strumming chords – the nuanced way.

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‍Day 2. 8th-note rests and syncopation

Musicians are storytellers, and it’s crucial to keep your audience engaged. In Day 2, you'll explore exercises inspired by Miles Davis’ playing that teach you how to use rhythm to create memorable phrasing.

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‍Day 3. 16th-note rests and syncopation

We’ve reached the groovy part of the subdivision universe. This is where the pocket reigns supreme. Day 3 will have you locking into the groove, funk style.

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Day 4. How to keep it locked

Remember when we mentioned you becoming the metronome? We weren’t kidding. In Day 4, you’ll hold down the groove while the rest of the band drops out.

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Day 5. Beat placement

Pssst, we’d like to let you in on a lil’ secret: Time is relative. In Day 5, you'll learn how to put your playing on different points of the rhythmic grid for expressive effect.

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Day 6. Dynamic rhythm playing

So often, songs have a simple chord progression while managing to sound anything but boring. Dynamics are a key piece of that puzzle. This lesson will teach you how to breathe life into a simple tune.

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Day 7. Workout

We’re rounding out the rhythm workshop with one last workout. Karl will help you review some of the trickier exercises to make sure you’re ready to move on.

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Performance pieces

Perform songs that incorporate the concepts you just learned in a purely musical context while jamming with a live-recorded band of pro musicians. Then, submit your performance to the Pickup Music team for 1:1 personalized video feedback on your playing.

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Final quiz

Cap off the grade with a quiz to make sure you've absorbed the core concepts involved.