Theory
Yesterday the E→G two-measure groove gave your groove the shape of a song. Today is the rehearsal where you repeat that song without stopping. It's the final tempering before tomorrow's recording — the goal isn't a new skill but an unbroken flow. More than a perfect performance, making one take that runs from start to finish without a stop is all of today.
The heart of a rehearsal is one thing: don't stop even when you slip. In practice, when we make a mistake we reflexively stop and replay that spot, but in a recording or on stage that stop collapses the whole piece. So today we change the rule — let the mistake pass and protect the flow. Miss one note but keep the beat, and listeners barely notice. Keeping the beat comes before hitting the exact note.
The method is a loop that circles several times in a row. See E→G, two measures as one block, and when it ends, come right back to measure 1's E without resting. BPM 80 — this week's target tempo. Circle it 4 times, 8 times in a row, and while it circles just remember where it wobbles, then fix only that spot separately later. Don't fix during the rehearsal; think only of flowing to the end. This "don't-stop feel" is the real key that decides tomorrow's recording.
On a 5-string, the flow and the move are the same as on a 4-string. Keep the low B deadened with the thumb, and once comfortable, run the same take on a heavier low string too. Complete one non-stop take today, and tomorrow you just press record.
See it
Today you learn the E→G move map at a glance, then run the full run-through without stopping. Each example comes in both a 4-string and a 5-string version.
First, the move map. The lower two blues are the E spot (thumb root · pop octave), the upper two blues are the G spot. Carve into your eyes the path the hand travels three frets.
▶ 4-string. The E spot below, the G spot above. Slide three frets between the two octave forms.
▶ 5-string. The spots and the move are the same as on a 4-string. Keep the low B deadened with the thumb.
Now the full run-through. At BPM 80, keep circling E→G two measures without stopping. Let mistakes pass.
▶ BPM 80, 4-string. Two measures as one block; when it ends, come back to measure 1's E without resting.
▶ BPM 80, 5-string. The flow and the move are the same as on a 4-string. Keep the low B deadened with the thumb.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up Run the E groove and the G groove each lightly at BPM 60 to wake the hand. Today the theme is joining the two without a break.
10–20 min · Brain training Watching the move map, shuttle E↔G very slowly. Just remember where it wobbles.
20–40 min · Real play Circle the full run-through at BPM 80, 4 times, 8 times in a row. Don't stop even if you slip; protect the flow. Learn it on the 4-string, then confirm the same flow on the 5-string.
40–50 min · Record/feedback Record 30 seconds of a non-stop take and listen for whether the flow held from start to finish. Note down only the spots that wobbled.
Done when: you can circle the E→G two-measure groove several times in a row at BPM 80 without stopping.
- You stop when you slip. Your hand freezes reflexively. Just today, drop the wrong note and move on to the next beat.
- Gaps between loops. You catch a breath at the end of two measures and lose the beat. Join the end and start with not one beat of gap.
- Rushing at 80. Your hand races ahead of the target tempo. If it wobbles, drop back to Day 2's 78 for a moment.
- Neglecting low B (5-string). The longer the repeats, the more B leaks. Always keep B covered with the thumb.