Play Today with Pick the Plec

Transcription

1 Play Today with Pick the Plec A Guitar Book For Everyone Nick McNulty

2 First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Kevin Mayhew Ltd. Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW Tel: +44 (0) Copyright 2016 Kevin Mayhew Ltd. The music and text in this book is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any way for sale or private use without the consent of the copyright owner. Reproduction of any part of this book for commercial purposes is subject to the usual copyright restrictions ISBN ISMN M Catalogue No Cover design and layout: Rob Mortonson. Images used under licence from Shutterstock Inc. Music editor: Donald Thomson Printed and bound in Great Britain

3 Contents CD track listing 4 Acknowledgements 6 About Nick 7 Introduction 8 Chapter 1 Just a few items before we start 10 Chapter 2 Chords and how to start playing your first chord sequence 14 Chapter 3 Strumming the guitar to play rhythm 19 Chapter 4 Playing a lead part to In the Style of Snow Patrol 22 Chapter 5 Scarborough Fair on one string with one finger 24 Chapter 6 Two more important chords 29 Chapter 7 Power chords 32 Chapter 8 Playing a 12-bar blues 36 Chapter 9 Chord banks part Chapter 1 0 Chord types 43 Chapter 1 1 The all-important pentatonic scale 47 Chapter 1 2 Great ways to express yourself while playing 50 Chapter 1 3 Playing two notes at a time 54 Chapter 1 4 Finger picking playing multiple notes at a time 58 Chapter 1 5 Chord banks part 2 68 Chapter 1 6 Chord bank substitutions 70 Chapter 1 7 Putting it all together 72 Chapter 1 8 To sum up 76 Chapter 1 9 Chord charts for left-handed guitar players 77 Glossary 78

4 CD track listing 1 Tuning notes 2 D chord 3 A chord 4 E chord 5 A D E A: four single strums down 6 Song In the Style of Snow Patrol with backing track 7 D chord DDUUD x4 8 Scarborough Fair single lead line 9 Em chord 10 G chord 11 Scarborough Fair chord sequence 12 C chord 13 Am chord 14 G Em Am D DDUUD 15 G D Em C DDUUD 16 Song In the Style of Deep Purple with backing track bar blues in A rhythm chords bar blues in A simple bar blues in A complete bar blues in A power chords simple bar blues in A power chords full 22 G Em C D DDUUD 23 G D Em C DDUUD medium speed 24 G D Em C DDUUD slow speed 25 Em C G D DDUUD medium speed 26 D major chord 27 D minor chord 28 D 7 chord 29 Dmaj 7 chord 30 Dm 7 chord 31 Dsus 2 chord 32 Dsus 4 chord 33 A 7 sus 4 chord 4

5 34 Cadd 9 chord 35 D 6 chord 36 Dm 6 chord 37 Cmaj 7 Am 7 Fmaj 7 G6 DDUUD Slow 38 Em 7 Cadd 9 G Dsus 4 DDUUD Medium 39 E open pentatonic scale ascending 40 E open pentatonic scale ascending and descending 41 A fretted pentatonic scale ascending and descending 42 Full tone bend up 43 Hammer-on 44 Pull-off 45 Slur 46 Slide 47 Slide with Overdrive and Echo. 48 Song In the Style of James Bay and The Shadows with backing track 49 Song In the Style of Extreme 50 Song In the Style of Plain White T s 5 1 Song In the Style of Simon and Garfunkel, with backing track 52 Song In the Style of Ed Sheeran b 53 F Dm B C chord bank 54 C Am F G chord bank 55 G Em C D chord bank 56 D Bm G A chord bank 57 A F # m D E chord bank 58 E C # m A B chord bank 59 B A b m E F # chord bank 60 C Em F G chord bank substitution 61 C Am Dm G chord bank substitution 62 Cmaj 7 Am 7 F G 7 chord bank substitution 63 Cadd 9 Em Fmaj 7 G 6 chord bank substitution 64 C 7 Asus 2 Dm 7 Gsus 4 chord bank substitution 65 Putting it all together with lead guitar 66 Putting it all together backing track 5

6 The right hand either uses all digits to finger-pick or just the thumb and first finger to hold a plectrum (as in Pick). The left hand uses four fingers to press the strings to the frets and the thumb behind the neck to support the hand. Now back to the strings. The lowest note is E on the sixth string, then we have A on the fifth string, D on the fourth string, G on the third string, B on the second string and finally E on the first string. From hereon I will refer to the strings as their numbers in most instances. Tips and & Tricks Make sure the nails on your left hand are cut short and neat. E = Sixth String (lowest note) A = Fifth String D = Fourth String G = Third String B = Second String E = First String 12

7 The fret is a metal bar against which the string is pressed to change the pitch of the note. As with the left hand and the strings, the is navigated with numbers. The nut which locates the strings at one end of the guitar neck is the zero fret. The notes become ndthe first fret is higher the further away you move from the Tnut. ips aso ks frets are called & Trsoicthe closest to the nut, then the second then the third, 1, 2, 3 and so on as they progress up the neck towards the guitar body. The next step is to learn some basic chords and you can then play some songs straight away. Make sure the guitar is in tune tuning notes can be found on the CD (and on the internet) quite easily, or you can use a guitar tuner. Fretboard Tips ands & Trick Be comfortable when holding your guitar; sit on a stool or a chair. Play Tuning Notes track 1 What these mean in the introduction and chapter 1 Rock and roll: This term seems to cover all musical genres in modern pop: blues, rock, progressive, pop, country. A rock and roller is able to play all these types of music. Plectrum: A special flat or shaped piece of plastic for playing the guitar strings. Plectrums come in many shapes and sizes but Pick the Plec s shape and design is the most common. Carry one everywhere with you: who knows when Pick the Plec will be needed? Very collectable, too. Pick-up: An electro-magnetic device that converts the vibrations of strings through an amplifier into an electrified sound. Body: A hollow, acoustic or a solid wood body shows instantly which guitar type it is. Neck: The part of the guitar which changes the pitch of any of the six strings to create chords or melodies. The neck is considered to be the most important part of any guitar. Bridge: Attached to the guitar body to anchor the strings. Nut: At the end of the neck, the nut separates the strings and anchors them for correct tuning. Tuning pegs: These rotating knobs set the tension of each string to obtain the correct pitch. Frets: When the strings are pressed against them, these metal bars shorten or lengthen each string to create different notes. Fretboard: The front of the guitar neck which carries all the frets; all the notes you play are here. w w w. p i c k t h e p l e c. c o. u k 13

8 Chapter 2 Chords and how to start playing your First chord sequence Chords are combinations of notes played together to make a full sound in harmony in a certain key. Here are the first three major chords you need to know. Take this next section as slowly as you wish: quality is more important than speed... and take notice of Pick s clever tips. Tips and & Tricks Have me (Pick the Plec) in your right hand ready to strum the string. 14

9 Tips and & Tricks XX D From now on, chords will be written this way: D is Fgr1-Frt2-Str3 Fgr2-Frt2-Str1 Fgr3-Frt3-Str2 Tips and & Tricks When making chords, make sure your fingers are bent and the tip of the finger is on the string (as below). 15

10 How to play a D chord: put your first finger on the second fret of the third string. Next, add your second finger on the second fret on the first string. Lastly, add your third finger on the third fret of the second string. This would be written: Fgr1-Frt2-Str3 Fgr2-Frt2-Str1 Fgr3-Frt3-Str2 XX D Play track 2 Check that every string rings, but don t play the sixth string. Strum from Str5 to Str1 with a downward stroke. The chord has a dynamic and happy sound (CD TRACK 2). Count in rhythm, a simple four-count, strumming each beat downwards. (Listen to the track on the CD. Pick the Plec will tell you from now on.) Next, how to play an A chord: Fgr1-Frt2-Str4 Fgr2-Frt2-Str3 Fgr3-Frt2-Str2 X A