Lesson 7 - Your First Songs

Ok, the moment of truth.  It’s been a really short time since you started (providing you practiced every day).  So here we go. 

Depending on your age, you might know “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” from Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Guns ‘N Roses, or Wyclef Jean.  The song is easy… if you count 1, 2, 3, 4 slightly faster than one number per second then you have about the right speed.  Counting “1, 2, 3, 4” puts you in 4/4 time.  That means a quarter note gets a beat and there are four beats per measure. 

What we are going to do is strum G Major when you say “1, 2,” then switch and strum D Major when you say “3, 4,” and then finally C Major when you count the next “1, 2, 3, 4”.  You repeat that over and over and there you go!  Bob Dylan’s version changes the C major to A minor every other cycle, but you can rock out to G’n’R’s version by sticking to the three chords.

Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” is 4 strums of each chord for C Major, G Major, D Major, G Major over and over.

There are hundreds if not thousands of songs that use a combination of these chords.  Some, like “What I Got” by Sublime only uses two! (G Major and D Major)

Here’s a small list to get you started, besides those listed above try these out:

Undone (the Sweater Song) – Weezer

Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash/Social Distortion

You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Leaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver

All Apologies – Nirvana

Can’t You See – Marshall Tucker Band

All Together Now – The Beatles

Bye Bye Love – The Everly Brothers

Great Balls of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis

La Bamba – Richie Valens/Los Lobos

I Fought the Law – Bobby Fuller Band

Lay Down Sally – Eric Clapton

Lively Up Yourself – Bob Marley

Mellow Yellow – Donovan

Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon

Rock This Town – Stray Cats

Stir It Up – Bob Marley

Surfin’ USA – The Beach Boys

That should get you started.  If you want, continue on.  We will have a members section up here shortly to continue on with your lessons.  We will get into more chords, more chord theory, beginning out with some scales and learning how to solo and improvise.  We will also go through different types of music.  Even if there are some categories of music you aren’t particularly fond of, you will find that some of their techniques are really cool to use in different genres.  Listen, learn and experiment!

Lesson 6 - Forming Chords in a Major Key

When the difference between two notes of a chord are built with Whole Step + Whole Step we say the difference is Major.  When the distance is Whole Step + Half Step (or vice versa), we say the difference is Minor.  So more math, a major chord is built with Major 3^rd + Minor 3^rd.

If the chord is built on Minor 3^rd + Major 3^rd, it is a minor chord.  It is the 3^rd note of a scale that gives the note a major or minor quality. 

As a side zen note, major chords sound happier and minors sound sadder.

If you stack up three chord notes throughout the scale, you end up with something that looks like this:

You can run all the math if you like, but I’ll make this easy.  When we talk about the positions of the scale, we use roman numerals.  Capital letters are Major chords, lower case are minor chords, and chords with lower case and with a small “o” are diminished.  The chords built on a scale are said to be in that scale’s “KEY”.  So, here we are dealing with the Key of C.  The first chord is Major (I), the second is minor (ii), the third is minor (iii), the fourth is Major (IV), the fifth is Major (V), the sixth is minor (vi) and the seventh is minor diminished (vii o).  Diminished chords we will visit later.  They are far less common.

So in the key of C, the C, F and G chords are Major.  If we look at the key of G… G, C and D are major.  Remember those chords?  Those are the ones you have been learning!  So if we play those three chords in any combination, we will be playing in the key of G.

Lesson 5 - Making a Scale and Basic Chords

Ok, while you are practicing your chord changes, I want to fill your head with a little knowledge to help you so you can eventually start building your own chord progressions and making your own songs.

In your note practice, you see that you keep cycling from A to G#, then starting the alphabet over again.  Every A you play is the same note, some sound higher, some lower.  The distance from one letter to another is called an OCTAVE.  There are 12 different tones (A, A#, B, C, C#... etc.) in an octave.

Below are (in tablature and standard notation) examples for this lesson.

Ex. A is an octave from middle C to the C above middle C.  It includes the 12 tones and the C octave (for a total of 13 tones).  Each tone is a half step.  C to C# is a half step, C# to D is a half step, E to F is a half step also.  Remember there are no sharps between B and C, and E and F.

If you skip a half step (follow me with the pre-Algebra here) you get a whole step.  So C to D is a whole step, D to E is a whole step, E to F# is a whole step.

So here is where the magic begins.

To make a major scale (also called Ionian Mode), you have to use the following math:

Whole Step + Whole Step + Half Step + Whole Step + Whole Step + Whole Step + Half Step = major scale

In Ex A and B, each note is a half step, Each note and rest is a whole step.  So, the notes of the C major scale above are  C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and back to C.

Scales we will learn to play soon enough.  For now it is just important how the scales are created.  Because from these, we make chords.  The basic chord, and the ones we have been learning so far, are called “triads.”  They are based on three notes taken in “thirds”.  The first chord of a major scale is the first note, third note, and fifth note of the C Major scale (as seen in Ex C).

Lesson 4 - Changing Chords

Ok great!!! We now know three chords.  If you have been working hard, you can, with some effort, maybe be able to get your fingers on the fretboard and make the chords without hitting any dead notes, letting the notes sing out.  The more you practice these, the easier they will become to make without thinking.

Today we are going to start putting them together.  We are going to start by strumming the C Major chord four times, then quickly moving our fingers to form the G Major chord and strumming four times.  Going back and forth.  Then we are going to try doing the same thing from C Major to D Major and then finally from G Major to D Major.  It will look a little like this:

The key is to try to make the changes as quickly as possible.  Start slow and build faster and faster.  Right now, don’t worry about getting in time, worry about getting your fingers used to moving from one chord shape to the next. 

The only thing harder than first learning chords is learning how to shift from one to the other.  Watch the video lesson to see how I learned to do this.  But basically I hold one chord and visualize what the next chord looks like and see how I can move one finger at a time from the first to the second chord.  I promise, after a little time, you will not be thinking about this again.  It will just be something your fingers do instinctively.

This is more than enough to practice for now.  If and when you start to become frustrated, switch to the string by string note practice of the last lesson.  The next two lessons will be about theory of notes and chords and scales.  While you are learning about how we create chords and scales, keep practicing these chord changes.  As you get better, start working with the metronome.  Start with 4/4 at 60 bpm (beats per measure) and speed up as you can make the changes without missing a beat.

Lesson 3 - D Major and More Fretboard Work

Look how far you have come!  Today we are going to learn the third chord, and the last chord you need before you can start playing songs.  D Major….

If you have been following the instructions.  If you have been aiming for learning to play the chords and notes without buzzing before you move on to the next lesson, you should be finding that each chord gets easier and easier to produce.  If you can play the C Major chord and the G Major chord, then this D Major chord should come with quite a bit more ease than the C Major and a bit more than the G Major.  It is still important we aim for clarity in the notes when playing the D Major chord also.

Added to the D Major chord I want you to add to the note practice we started last lesson.  This time you will go from low to high like last time, but then this time I want you to come back, releasing one finger at a time while still holding the fingers behind the note being played.  Still singing/saying the note you are playing.  In note and tablature, your exercise will look like this:

Keep working on the chords and these notes, aiming for perfection.  Right now rhythm doesn’t matter.  Just get the fretting hand used to making the chords and walking up and down the fretboard and getting used to hearing the notes and knowing their names.

Next lesson we are going to start putting these chords together and making some real music!

Zen and the Art of Music Appreciation

There is a LOT more to being a musician than just knowing chords and notes.  Music is even more about listening than doing.  It is key to accompany your music lessons with music appreciation.  

When I was a kid I started out listening to Metallica, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and the Dead Kennedys.  As I started to learn guitar I got more into the Who, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and Led Zeppelin.  It made sense.  That for me was beginning rock guitar.

I started to listen to everything I could get my hands on.  But not only listening to the music, but I read every interview and news article I could find on the musicians themselves.  That led me to start listening to folk and blues, even some country.  I was discovering what had influenced those early rock musicians.  Then I was led back and back.  Soon I was listening to every form of music I could.  World music, jazz, blues, reggae, rock, pop and then I found classical.

The more I listened, the more I wanted to learn how to do different things I heard.  And what is really fun is when you can take something you heard and apply it in a different music style.

Obviously if you decided to start learning the guitar, you like music.  Keep listening!  But read too.  It’s an interesting journey.  Like Black Sabbath?  It’s amazing when you find out that Ozzy wanted to be in the Beatles.  So go listen to the Beatles, read about their influences.  Soon you will be listening to Phil Spector pop and R&B from the early 60’s, or read that they met Bob Dylan who got them to leave lovey dovey pop and go in a more socially conscious direction.  Follow the influences and you will find yourself listening to Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.  It’s a journey that will open your mind.  If you can leave your preconceived notions of music behind you, you will find a world of amazing possibilities which will allow you to become a real musician rather than just a guitar picker!

Lesson 2 - G Major chord and Fretboard Notes

Today we are going to move on to the next chord, the G Major chord.  We are also going to start with an exercise to work out the fingers and learn the notes at the head end of the neck.

Here’s the chord of this lesson.  Put your middle finger behind the third fret on the low E string, your index finger behind the second fret on the A string, next three strings are open, and then your ring finger behind the third fret on the high e string.  Then strum all six strings.  Just like last lesson work through it until you can make every note sound without buzzing.

The second part of this lesson deals with learning a little of the fretboard.

I’m going to try not to overload you with music theory through this course, but a little basic theory is necessary. So let’s start with the alphabet.  The notes in order from A to A are as follows:

A   A#   B   C   C#   D   D#   E   F   F#   G   G#   A

The “#” in music means sharp.  So we have “A, A sharp, B, C, C sharp, D…. etc”.  Note that there is no sharp between B and C, and between E and F.  Just cuz.

So, now you are going to play all the notes in “open position” (the first four frets and open strings).  Music is made up of ‘half steps’. Each letter above is a half step apart.  A# is a half step above A. C is a half step above B.  And so forth.  Each fret on a guitar is a half step.  If we look at the low E string, if it is plucked without being fretted, we hear an E note.  Put your first finger behind the 1^st fret and pluck – we hear an F.  Put your second finger behind the 2^nd fret and pluck – an F# is produced.

So the exercise for this lesson is below:

Here is how this lesson will work:

Pluck the open Low E string, and out loud say “E”.  If you can sing the “E” note in unison with plucking it, even better.  Then put your 1^st finger down behind the first fret on the low E string and say or sing “F”.  Next, while leaving your first finger behind the first fret, put your second finger down on the low E string behind the second fret and say/sing “F sharp”.   Leave the first two fingers where they are and add your ring finger on the low E string behind the third fret saying and/or singing “G”, then, again leaving all previous fingers holding down the low E string, add the pinky finger down behind the 4^th fret and say/sing “G sharp”.

After G#, you will lift all your fingers and repeat with the open A string, saying/singing the musical alphabet.  All string will be done the same with the exception of the g string, on which you will only use three fingers before going to the b string.  And remember… there are no sharps between B and C, and between E and F.

This exercise does a few things.  First, it ingrains the musical alphabet names in your head, second, if you sing the notes it helps to instill the sound of the notes in your head and helps you to recognize half steps.  Thirdly by leaving your fingers down on the fretboard as you continue, you stretch out your hand.  Only, make sure that each note rings without buzzing before going to the next note.  Finally, this exercise will help build calluses on all your fingers which will help you to quickly stop crying like a little girl every time you go to practice.

The focus now is to aim for perfection.  You need to make sure you can press down and form these chords and do these exercises clearly, without buzzing notes.  Take the time now to learn to do this so that later you can concentrate on having real fun with this.  The good news is we are two lessons from actually playing about a million songs.  Don’t believe me??  Think it’s too soon?? NEVER!!!  Keep working hard and within another two weeks I’ll have you playing songs, not just building calluses and singing weird alphabets!