The Guitarist Blog

That's right, you don't have to practice everything.  Pick something that you want to get good at.  It doesn't need to be an entire song.  It could be as simple as learning to hold a chord and getting all the notes to ring without buzzing (a D chord for those of you just starting.  Bar Chords for all the advance players). When you keep it small, you will neglect practicing other things.  However, as a result you will master a specific thing rather than just being familiar with everything, but not able to perform it.  When you master that one thing you have had a success!  Little things add up over time.

You need to learn the D7 chord to play through this song. This song is in 4/4 time. Keep it simple at first.  Strum once in each measure and count to four (whole note).  If a measure doesn't have a chord in it, strum the chord you're holding again. Now, strum down on all four beats (quarter notes).  Don't stop your hand from strumming.   Finally, try one of the 4/4 patterns given at the beginning of this lesson.

I hope you enjoy playing this great melody.  Here are a few practice tips: Amazing Grace has an incomplete measure.  Notice the first measure has only a quarter note.  This is called a pick-up note and should be played on beat three. Watch out for notes that are "tied" together.  You can read about ties in Lesson Five. All the notes for Amazing Grace can be found in the fifth position. Strive to connect the notes and play smoothly - legato.

This piece is found in the "Additional Music" section at the back of your book.  Please keep in mind the following when practicing this song: Use the suggested right hand fingering throughout the entire song - p i m i Use a metronome and work on evenly spacing four notes for every beat (sixteenth notes) Accent the note that is played with the thumb.  It is the melody of the song. Watch the video below for a demonstration of the song "Study in A Minor".

Keep in mind the following as you play through the exercises and songs in this lesson: The notes E, F, and G can be found on the first, second, and third string.  For this book you only need to find them on strings one and two. Try playing the songs Jazz Odyssey and One String Etude in the open, third and fifth positions. Be sure to use the correct fingers.  In some positions you will need to use your pinky.  Be sure to use it.  It needs a lot of practice.

This lessons will teach you how to find the natural notes on the guitar.  On the piano, the natural notes are all the white keys.  Be sure to read this lesson and then fill in the neck diagram with all the natural notes up to the 12th fret.  You can check your work by looking at the completed neck diagram at the end of the lesson.  No peeking!  Do your homework first!

This is a great lesson to read especially if you have no background in reading music.  This lesson will teach you about standard notation.  This is the "industry standard" for notating music. Basically, this lesson has nothing to do with the guitar.  It's more about music than it is about the guitar. Be sure to do the note quiz at the end of the lesson.