Rob Schumann: In this third segment, we are going to start getting into eighth notes, and that's where we really start subdividing the beat. That's dividing the beat into sections and having multiple attacks per beat. With eighth notes, we have got two attacks per beat. So if I have this set on, let's go ahead and set it at about 80, and I am playing eighth notes, I am really thinking one and two and three and four and -- so two attacks, and before you even start applying this to the scale, you probably want to just play it on a single note to get used to it and get it really locked in.
I want to make sure that both halves of that beat are equal, one and two and, it's going to be like clock work. It's kind of the point. So as we get used to doing this, we can start applying it to our scale. Probably I want to start just sort of get the left hand playing at that speed. I might want to slow it down a little bit. Let's take this down to about 70 instead of 80, and now we are going to play it an eighth notes, two notes per beat, one and two and ready, go.
Once we have got that down, then we can start working in our alternate picking. This is very important as we get into beat subdivisions. So with eighth notes, we want our pick to be going down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up. If your pick does that automatically, it's one last thing for you to have to worry about in the future when you play things that have some faster notes in them.
So for each eighth note, down, up, down, up, down, up, regardless of whether I am changing strings or not, I just want it straight down, up, down, up. So with the beat of the metronome, I am going to be plucking down and on that off beat, when I am picking between the beats, I want to pick up.
So applying that to the scale, one and two and ready, go. So when I am first doing that, the point is to get evenness and to get right with the beat rather than getting it fast. However, once I have got that moved down, I have got it to where I am going to be able to play with a huge amount of concentration. I am then ready to start bumping up the tempo a little bit, and this will help me get it going in other tempos, and also just get my hands sped up and work on my muscle memory.
So if I bump that up about eight, let's take it up -- just about to 80. Let's try it at that speed, two and, ready, go. One and two and three and four and --.
So in our next segment, we will be looking at the rest of our beat subdivisions and continuing with some more practice tips.
Sharon Isbin: I am Sharon Isbin and I am about to walk you through how to play Batucada by Isaias Savio. In the style of this Samba by all kind of mixture, put the accent on the first note, and then play out the base, so it becomes --
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