Building Cognitive Reserve

Play a movable one-octave major scale from an E- or A-string root and name each note by scale degree.

Locate and play 1, ♭3, 3, 5, ♭7, and 7 from a given E- or A-string root using their fret distances.

Count and perform one-bar patterns built from sixteenth-note subdivisions and rests at a controlled tempo.

Distinguish and produce the four Mandarin lexical tones in the core Pinyin syllables introduced previously.

Interpret common major and minor triad symbols by identifying each chord's root and quality.

Derive the notes of a major or minor triad from the formulas 1–3–5 and 1–♭3–5.

Play movable major and minor triad arpeggios rooted on the E and A strings.

Recognize, write, and pronounce the simplified Chinese numerals 一 through 十 from memory.

Interpret dominant-seventh and minor-seventh chord symbols and derive their chord tones from 1–3–5–♭7 and 1–♭3–5–♭7.

Play movable dominant-seventh and minor-seventh arpeggios rooted on the E and A strings.

Connect a two-chord seventh-chord progression by moving to the nearest available chord tone at each change.

Read aloud and write basic identity statements with 我, 你, 他, 她, 是, and 不 using a learned noun set.

Count and perform syncopated sixteenth-note funk rhythms containing rests and ties.

Produce consistent slap-thumb notes while controlling unused-string noise with both hands.

Produce clean popped notes while muting unused strings and maintaining an even pulse.

Form and read aloud yes-or-no questions with 吗, then answer with 是 or 不是 while applying the tone change in 不是.

Derive and play a movable minor pentatonic scale from the formula 1–♭3–4–5–♭7.

Improvise two-bar phrases over a minor-seventh vamp and finish each phrase on a chord tone.

Insert ghost notes into a sixteenth-note groove without displacing its principal accents.

Read aloud and write statements expressing possession or absence with 有 and 没有 using learned pronouns and concrete nouns.

Perform alternating thumb through-strokes and upstrokes on one string as even sixteenth notes.

Combine double-thumb strokes and popped notes in a repeating two-beat pattern at a controlled tempo.

Adapt a two-beat rhythmic motif across a four-chord chart by choosing nearest available chord tones while preserving the motif's rhythm.

Read, write, and say quantity phrases built from a Chinese numeral, 个, and a learned noun, applying the tone change of 一 before 个.

Create an eight-bar funk bass line from a chord chart using a recurring rhythmic motif, smooth chord-tone targets, and at least one controlled slap-pop and double-thumb figure.

Create two variations of the eight-bar line by changing fills while preserving its pulse, form, and harmonic targets.

Improvise one full chorus over a funk progression while maintaining the form and following each chord change.

Write and read aloud a four-line introductory Mandarin dialogue using learned identity, 吗, 有 or 没有, and numeral-plus-个 patterns, with only names permitted as new vocabulary.