TOWN FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL MUSIC CLUB 2015 INTRODUCTION TO THE GUITAR

Transcription

1 TOWN FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL MUSIC CLUB 2015 INTRODUCTION TO THE GUITAR

2 Choosing the right guitar At Town Farm Primary, we help children choose the right instrument. Guitars come in all shapes and sizes and it can be quite bewildering to someone choosing their first guitar. If you decide you want to buy your own instrument, don t spend too much. It s worth remembering that if you enjoy the guitar, you are almost certainly going to want to upgrade after a year anyway, by which time, by using the Town Farm instruments, you will have a far better idea of exactly which instrument suits you best. The single most important criteria are: Is the guitar comfortable to hold? Is it easy to play notes and chords on? Here at Town Farm, we also consider half and three-quarter size guitars and have both steel and nylon string guitars. Learning to make friends with your guitar Start by making friends with your guitar. Rather than a reverential one-step-at-a-time-let s-learn-to-play-correctly approach, at Town Farm we invite experimentation and freedom of expression from day one. For example, we get children to lightly tap a rhythm on the sound box of the guitar. We also encourage them to copy the

3 teacher to accompany him or her on percussion guitar. We do this by lightly tying a sock round the neck of the guitar to mute the strings, then encourage children to experiment with their right hand playing different natural strumming patterns. Very quickly, the children learn to vary dynamics, tempo and complexity of rhythm. Tuning your guitar At Town Farm Primary, we don t usually attempt to actually teach you to tune their guitars early on, but we make sure our guitars are well in tune for the lesson and, where you have their own guitars at home, we are happy to can help you keep it in tune. Learning to tune a guitar is actually quite tricky for most people. Ultimately of course, it s very beneficial to learn to tune by ear but, initially it is far more important to make tuning easy

4 Getting to know all about your guitar Guide to the Parts of an Acoustic Guitar Before learning how to play an acoustic guitar, it is beneficial for a beginner acoustic guitar player to learn the part of a guitar. In the event that you ever take lessons or talk to other players, you will be able to communicate and learn more appropriately.

5 The Acoustic Guitar, 3 Regions, Many Parts! The Acoustic guitar anatomy or layout is essentially the same for the beginner and the advanced player alike. It s true that a more advanced player may use more of the fretboard, but the parts that comprise a guitar are universal. The Head of the Acoustic Guitar: The Head Region or Headstock is where the tuning of the strings takes place. One end of each of the 6 strings (on a 6 string guitar) is wound about the machine head which in turn is geared by the tuning keys or tuners. If you tighten the string, it will increase the pitch or frequency of the string (making the note higher), and if you loosen the string with the tuners, it will decrease the pitch or frequency when the string is strummed, picked or plucked. At the bottom of the head (and arguably the top of the neck) is a block of plastic or other hard material called the nut. The nut keeps the strings equally spaced at the head / neck end and allows the strings to vibrate freely when open or not chorded. The Neck of the Acoustic Guitar: The Neck Region is where a lot of the action takes place. For many players, this is where the fingers of the chording hand press the strings into the frets to shorten the nut end of the string, thereby giving the string a different pitch. For the right handed

6 player, the left hand fingers are used for chording and for the lefthanded player, the right hand is the chording hand. There are two ways to change the pitch of a string essentially: by changing the tension (tightening or loosening ~ or in more advanced studies, by bending it) or by changing the length of the string. The purpose of the fretboard (and the bars between the frets) is to create a temporary endpoint other than the nut, thereby changing the length of the string and increasing it s pitch or frequency. On top of the neck surface is the actual fretboard as discussed in the previous paragraph. Chording can take place virtually anywhere on this fretboard, but must follow some specifics to get an actual musical chord. The fretboard extends to the body, beyond the neck and heel of the guitar, ending at the sound hole. On the fretboard are several dots that are specifically placed there as references. Those dots mark specific frets for quick reference for the beginner or advanced guitar player. They are not as important for a brand new player, but will prove more helpful when one learns to play bar chords and more advanced scales and improvisations.

7 The Body of the Acoustic Guitar: The Body Region is where a lot of other magic happens. The basis of the body of the guitar is to amplify the sound of the strings in an acoustic guitar, as well as provide a decent amount of placement for holding the guitar and the other end of the strings. Guitars belong to a class of instruments called chordophones (in the same family as banjos, pianos and dulcimers) and their most universal identifying characteristic is that they create sound when a string that is taut between two points is caused to vibrate. The strings are taut over the saddle and are anchored by pins through holes that are housed in the bridge. The saddle is essential such that without it, the vibration of the strings would not transfer to the body very well for amplification. When the strings are strummed on an acoustic guitar, the vibration is focused chiefly to the top (surface) of the guitar body, as the rest of the body causes amplification and projection through the sound hole. The pick guard serves as protection to the finish and the wood top of the body while a player strums over the lifetime of the guitar. The rosette serves as a form of decoration and strength to the sound hole, as the top is usually made from 2 mirrored, jointed pieces of Sitka Spruce or Englemann Spruce wood on most decent acoustic guitars. The

8 bindings also decorate the edges of the guitar, but serve as protection for the corners and are usually made from a synthetic polymer or mother of pearl (and other precious materials) in more ornate guitars. The bottom of the guitar usually has an end pin for a guitar strap end, and in acoustic electric guitars, this end pin serves a dual purpose as a stereo output for amplification. How to Hold and Strum an Acoustic Guitar Earlier in Music Club, we learned all about the makeup or construction of an acoustic guitar. Now we will explore holding and strumming the acoustic guitar. Learning to play the acoustic is very similar in many ways to learning the electric guitar, but there are some difference in the weights, feel and some of the techniques. However, chording and playing scales is essentially the same on both (theoretically). The feel of the two guitars is quite different as well as the tension and string gauges (thickness) usually used, but comparing them, one will see the same basic anatomies. When carrying the guitar around, it is best to support the body first, neck second, instead of wielding it around by simply grabbing the head or neck, as the weight of the acoustic body can put unnecessary tension on the glue joints that

9 keep the guitars shape integrity in place. The acoustic guitar, like the electric can be played seated or standing (with the use of a guitar strap for standing positions). While seated, a classical guitar player will take a markedly different posture with the guitar than perhaps a beginning 6 string steel guitar player. We ll focus on a basic comfortable posture for the 6 string (steel string) guitar for this lesson. For a right handed player, the guitar body should rest comfortably on the right thigh or it should be lightly braced on both legs depending on your personal preference. A guitar player should not slouch but should sit with good upright posture without being too rigid. The back of the guitar should face and touch the players mid-section, and the sound hole should face away from the player (in the same direction that you would walk forward). The right upper arm should rest a bit on the body of the guitar, and the strumming arm should swing freely at the elbow for effective strumming. That pendulum motion from the elbow can act as a metronome for keeping the time and rhythm accurately (see figure 1).

10 The left hand, for a righthanded player, will hold the guitar neck lightly from behind, without too much bend in the wrist. If the wrist is bent too severely, it could cause poor mechanics and unnecessary cramping, also making it more difficult to learn. Next, without trying to make a chord with the left hand, grab the pick (plectrum) and if one is not available, you could cut a simple one out of a thin plastic similar to an expired credit card. It is best to purchase a few different picks with varying gauges to make sure you find the one that suits your strumming style best. Each gauge has a different feel. To hole the pick correctly, curl the index finger of the right hand, place the pick on it as it appears and close the thumb over the pick to trap it between the thumb and curled index finger (see Figure 2). Be sure to hold the pick without putting too much tension in your fingers, hand and arm. Lay the pick on the largest (thickest) E string and tilt the pick toward the floor. Now, strum the pick toward the floor across all 6 strings. Then, complete the up-strum by starting on the thinnest E string and strumming toward the sky. Makes sure the pick is not 90 degrees or perpendicular to the strings, but that it leans in the direction of the strum to make it produce a smoother sound. Use the other hand to gently hold the neck of the guitar steady from behind (without touching the strings).

11 Continue practicing down-strums and upward strums daily until you obtain a smooth sound. You can tap your foot at a consistent meter (or tempo) or you can use a metronome to help you keep a consistent strumming pace. How to play 3 of the most common chords, G, C and D Learning to play acoustic guitar chords can be frustrating at first. The learning curve seems to be ramping up slowly, the sounds are usually not very clean or consistent, and the fingertips and hands can get sore quickly at the beginning. It may take several weeks to a few months to really begin getting a sense of comfort with chording the acoustic guitar, so make it a goal to persist and consistently practice each day until you get a smooth sound and you can transition between chords quickly and without reference to chord charts. Continue daily to become the best player you can be. For the right handed player, you will create the chord forms with the left hand and fingertips. For the left handed player, the opposite will be true. At first, strumming is not necessary to learn the chord forms and to practice switching rapidly while building dexterity and strength in the chording hand. Remember what you learned about holding the guitar and the anatomy of the guitar if you run into trouble with some of the acoustic guitar vocabulary. Continue practicing consistently to overcome the hurdles so that you can be the best beginner acoustic guitar player possible. As long as you stick with the fundamentals and practice consistently (without overdoing it) you will have the

12 best foundation for becoming a good guitar player. Refer to the pictures / figures for visual references while learning the basic guitar chord charts and methods. Every guitar cord chart is universal. The chord charts contain horizontal lines representing the fret bars (the metal bars on your fretboard that divide the open wood areas called frets). The charts contain vertical lines (6 representing the 6 strings of the guitar) that run perpendicular to the fret bar lines. Chords may contain an X or an O at the top of particular strings. The X represents do not strum and the O represents open ~ strum the string while leaving it open or untouched. The left hand fingers and thumb are numbered as in the picture. The thumb is represented with a T, while the index finger to the small finger (pinky) are numbered from 1 to 4 consecutively. Whenever you see a chord chart, you will notice that each chord has numbered circles on specific strings and specific frets. The thumb is used in most cases on the back of the neck, opposite of the strings and fingers to allow the player to put enough pressure on the strings to create good chords. Most chord charts will not include the T for placement on the strings, except for some variations on different chords where a different base note is played as in the chord D/F# (D over F#). In this variation, the thumb can be used to chord the F# on the large E string while 3 other fingers chord the standard D chord.

13 Before attempting your first chord, take your left hand and curl the thumb and fingers as though you were holding a racquetball. Keeping the wrist fairly straight, grab the guitar neck near the head or nut and place the thumb on the polished underside of the neck while placing the fingertips on the appropriate string and fret locations, keeping the curl of the hand intact. You will have to place enough pressure on the strings to make for a decent sounding chord. At first, this will prove to be a challenge but should get better as you persist. More advanced chords In previous lessons we learned how to hold, strum and chord a few commonly used chords and chord forms for the beginner acoustic guitar player. Now we will build upon that foundation in order to help make more advanced lessons on barring and working up the fretboard easier when the time comes. We will focus on two chords, alternate forms of fingerings of these chords, and their minor counterparts as these forms will be used to play many other chords (for different keys) in upcoming lessons about bar chords. Continue to be patient and

14 learn these foundations, as future lessons will come easier if you master these first. As always, it is best to learn to play each chord to mastery while focusing on tone our sound quality over speed. Speed will come as accuracy is practiced over and over through the ensuing weeks. These fundamental chords not only represent other commonly used guitar chords, but are fundamental finger formations that will be used often while playing songs in different keys. Practice learning alternate fingerings represented here, and you will be well on your way to more advanced learning and songs. Additionally, this will allow you to play and blend in with more musicians as it will open more possibilities for different styles and keys of songs. A key in layman s terms is simply the related chords in which a song is written. Understanding the key of a song is not as important in basic guitar lessons, but it will become more important with more advanced playing, scales, improvisation and learning to understand transposing (playing the same song in a different key).

15 Chord forms for later use including A, Am, E, Em A and E are very simple chords to play. As in all chord charts, recognize that an X means don t strum for a particular string and O means open or strum it without fingering this particular string. The X and O in guitar chord charts are placed at the nut in the diagram. In these next 4 chords, the variations will be used later for bar chords. Practice and get proficient with both forms as both alternate forms of each chord will prove to be easier while playing different songs (depending on the style of the song as well as other chords that you will be switching to throughout the song).

16 The Common A Chord and Variations: The common A Chord: On the acoustic 6 sting guitar, the A is a very common chord and is played in this form on the second fret. Placing the fingertips of fingers of the left hand for a right-handed player on strings consecutively will create the common A chord. Be sure while strumming this A, that you do not strum the 6th or largest E string (unless you are specifically playing an A/E chord which translates as an A over E bass or root). The Variation of the A Chord: Learn the variation of the A chord on this chart for later barring techniques. Variations also come handy during long repetitive playing when fingers might get a little tired. Using alternates can give a player a bit more stamina in the hands as it can help incorporate different muscles allowing others to rest a bit. For this A chord variation, instead of using fingers 1-2-3, use fingers in place of consecutively. In other words, on the second fret, place fingers on strings consecutively. Remember that the strings are numbered from 1-6 starting with the smallest E string as string # 1.

17 The Common E Chord and Variations: The common E Chord: Next, look at the E chord. This is a very common chord for many guitar songs played universally. The E chord is also a great chord to strum when comparing or reviewing different guitars to hear their sound profile differences as all strings are strummed and are close to the nut. For the common E chord, fingertips 2-3 are placed on strings 5-4 of the second fret. Fingertip 1 is placed on the first fret, third string. Notice the O s above the nut of the chart. Again, this means to strum this string while leaving it Open. The common E chord variation: There are certainly more variations of the E chord, as you will learn. However, in this lesson, this particular E form variation will be used extensively for learning bar or barre chords later. For this variation on the common E chord, the same strings and frets are included as the common E chord as described above, however, instead of using fingers 1-2-3, you use fingers Fingertips 3-4 are places on the 5th and 4th strings consecutively of the second fret, while the second finger is placed on the 3rd string of the first fret.

18 Now that you have been introduced to A and E and their variations, continue practicing all variations until you can play them cleanly, comfortably and can alternate quickly without compromising sound quality or accuracy. Challenge: Without a detailed explanation, look at the chart with Am and Em with their variations. Learn these chords as well and practice accuracy then speed. These chords, Am and Em with their variations will prove as helpful as the E and A for future bar chord techniques.

19 Using the D chord to learn more bar chords D form barred chord At an earlier Town Farm Music Club practice we learned many of the open chord forms, C,A,G,E,D and now we will learn the D form variants to learn how to move this form up and down the fret as a bar form chord. Becoming a better intermediate or advanced player requires that you master the fundamentals of chording, strumming, and perhaps picking while being able to switch comfortably and effortlessly between chords. In order to become really good, be sure to

20 acoustic guitar and musical skill sets. stick with the challenges until they become your strengths. Playing what comes easily to you might be more fun at first, but you may soon plateau and get discouraged that you are no longer growing in your What can the D chord do for me in the future? The D form bar chord is a great resource for future electric or lead guitar playing on acoustic, as many arpeggios and riffs can be understood and easily played from this form to accompany other guitarists or to play a unique lead or melody improvisation line. Recall the common D chord. Recall the D chord we learned earlier in lesson 3. You can refer back to that lesson to see the video or read about it. Please refer to the chart on this page as we move through D learning a few variations necessary to play D up the fretboard. Remember that the standard D chord starts with fingers 1 and 2 on strings 3 and 1 on the

21 second fret. Then the 3rd fingertip is added to the second string, 3rd fret. This is the common D chord, which forms a triangle with these 3 fingers. Alternative D chord forms to build the D form bar chord barred, D chord. Next, practice the 2 alternate forms of the common D chord with the alternate fingering and the bard fingering. Instead of using fingers 1, 2 and 3, you will used fingers 2, 3, and 4 respectively. For the barred D chord, start with this alternate D chord and replace fingers 2 and 3 on the second fret by barring strings 1, 2, and 3 of the second fret. This is a Next, you can play Eb (E flat) by sliding this barred D chord up 1 fret (toward the body of the guitar) and using your index finger or finger # 1 to bar strings 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the first fret. Congratulations, you just played a barred D chord form to create the Eb chord on your acoustic guitar. If you slide this form up one more fret toward the guitar body, you will have an

22 E major chord. Also, be sure that you are only strumming or picking strings 1 through 4 as strings 5 and 6 are not a part of this chord form. Continue practicing this form all over the fretboard and try to figure out which chords are located at different spots. One way to determine this is to play the root string (the 4th string) and then find out which note that represents. The root of this bar chord form will reveal the name of the chord. Also, continue previous lessons and learn to switch between all of the chords we have learned, including bar chords until you become very comfortable with playing them on demand. Entry level acoustic guitar practices and scales Time to use those fingers on the guitar Beginning scales on the acoustic or electric guitar for dexterity and foundation. Before going further, it is a good time to note that your guitar should be set properly to give you the best and optimal string height for chording and playing easily without getting fret buzz or without it being too difficult on the fingertips. If the action is too high or

23 too low, you will become frustrated and should have your guitar checked by a professional technician, or by your teacher. Just where can I go with good acoustic guitar scale practice? Many young guitar students look to see their heroes do phenomenal scales, lead guitar riffs, and other amazing tricks on the acoustic or electric guitar. For many kids and beginner players, it is a dream to play fancy, lead guitar lines that intensify and magnify the beauty and elegance of a well-played guitar, as well as create incredible lead riffs. However, remember that some of the great guitarists of all times started with their first pluck, and perhaps didn t sound all too dazzling, yet they kept going and continue to improve with practice and performance. You can do this too if you work on mechanics and put forth good, consistent practice efforts without sacrificing quality. This introduction to guitar scales can be practiced on acoustic or electric, and to get a better, more well-rounded set of skills, it does not hurt to practice on both kinds of guitars. Use this introductory

24 scale practice on the acoustic or electric guitar as a warm up and foundation to build upon daily. Let s get to scaling! First, practice picking 1 string. You can start with any string on the guitar, but just pick 1. As you progress, you can begin to jump around to other strings to get a better feel for your personal guitar. In the diagram / examples, we will denote the first string. Take your pick, and pick that 1 string up and down without hitting other strings. The focus here is for accuracy and timing. Start out slowly and build accuracy so that with time, you will be able to do this quickly without losing quality of sound. While you pick this 1 string on the guitar, count to 4 evenly and slowly while picking the string downward on counts

25 1 and 3, and upward on counts 2 and 4 so that your picking hand is going, down, up, down, and up repeatedly. Once you feel confident, begin to introduce your chording fingers on the string. Following the diagram, place your first finger on string 1, fret 1 (or whatever string you choose), coupled with the first downward pluck. Next, place your second finger of the chording hand on the second fret, same string, while plucking up on that string with the right hand and pick simultaneously. And for the third step... you guessed it...repeat the downward pluck while placing the third finger on the third fret of the same first string. Finally, pluck upward while placing the 4th finger on the 4th fret of the same string. You did it! Congratulations! You just completed 1

26 cycle of the exercise. Be sure to place adequate pressure with each finger, and that you are only plucking that 1 string to produce accuracy in both the chording hand and the plucking, picking or strumming hand. Repeat this exercise on different strings, and different fret locations while working strictly on accuracy. As those guitar heroes out there are doing incredible scales and lead playing, they all started with their first pluck, but kept at it. You can get better too as long as you work at it and don t give up.

27 It's A Small World The guitar chord chart for 'It's A Small World' This is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. The guitar chords and lyrics for 'It's A Small World': A E7 It's a world of laughter, a world of tears A It's a world of hopes and a world of fears A7 D Bm7 There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware E7 A It's a small world after all A E7 It's a small world after all A It's a small world after all A7 Bm7 It's a small world after all E7 A It's a small, small world A E7 There is just one moon and one golden sun A And a smile means friendship to everyone A7 D Bm7 Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide E7 A It's a small world after all A E7 It's a small world after all A It's a small world after all, A7 D Bm7 It's a small world after all E7 A It's a small, small world

28 Kookabura C F C Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. C G7 C Merry, merry king of the bush is he. F C Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra! C Gay your life must be. C F C Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. C G7 C Eating all the gumdrops he can see. F C Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra! C Leave some there for me!