Just like athletes, guitar players need to build muscles.
The muscles we need to build are in our hands and fingers.
Move your left hand down the string, closer to your right hand.
The muscles we need to build are in our hands and fingers.
Move your left hand down the string, closer to your right hand.
- Find where there are 2 dots on the fret board.
- Put your ring (3rd) finger down on the G string in the fret with two dots.
- Put your middle (2nd) and pointer (1st) fingers in the frets behind your ring finger.
- Now pluck the string three times with all three fingers down. (3-3-3)
- Then lift the ring (3rd) finger, leaving the other two fingers down, and pluck three times. (2-2-2)
- Next lift the middle (2nd) finger so that only the pointer (1st) finger remains. (1-1-1)
- Play it again without stopping between the finger changes.
(3-3-3, 2-2-2, 1-1-1)
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This exercise addresses a number of issues common to beginning players. It helps build finger strength, promotes flexibility, and helps students learn to coordinate their right and left hands. This exercise starts by moving your hand down the neck because the frets are closer together, so there is less stretching involved.
As your student moves their hand down the neck of the guitar, count down the frets Your guitar should have some sort of special marking at the 12th fret (usually two dots as opposed to one). The student should place their ring (third) finger in the 12th fret, with the middle finger (second) in the 11th fret, and the pointer (first) finger in the 10th fret.
As a general rule, the fingers above the finger placed lowest on the guitar stay down. So if the third finger is down, so are the second and first. The student plays the 12th fret note three times. Then they lift their third finger clear of the string while keeping the other two fingers down and play this note three times: 2-2-2. Then they lift their second finger clear of the string while holding the first finger down, playing three notes again: 1-1-1.
Once the student can do this smoothly, you may add the fingers back, so that eventually the exercise is as follows:
3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-3
Once this is mastered, you can start using fewer repeated notes.
3-3-2-2-1-1-2-2-3-3 and eventually 3-2-1-2-3.
Things to watch for while doing this exercise:
As your student moves their hand down the neck of the guitar, count down the frets Your guitar should have some sort of special marking at the 12th fret (usually two dots as opposed to one). The student should place their ring (third) finger in the 12th fret, with the middle finger (second) in the 11th fret, and the pointer (first) finger in the 10th fret.
As a general rule, the fingers above the finger placed lowest on the guitar stay down. So if the third finger is down, so are the second and first. The student plays the 12th fret note three times. Then they lift their third finger clear of the string while keeping the other two fingers down and play this note three times: 2-2-2. Then they lift their second finger clear of the string while holding the first finger down, playing three notes again: 1-1-1.
Once the student can do this smoothly, you may add the fingers back, so that eventually the exercise is as follows:
3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-3
Once this is mastered, you can start using fewer repeated notes.
3-3-2-2-1-1-2-2-3-3 and eventually 3-2-1-2-3.
Things to watch for while doing this exercise:
- The thumb is still behind the neck of the guitar, aligned with the second finger.
- The tips of the fingers are used to press the string down in the left hand.
- The fingers in the left hand are close to the fret, leaving no gap between the string and the fret that is being used.
- The right hand thumb stays anchored.
- The right hand fingers are producing sound by moving across the tops the strings, not snapping them from underneath.
Encourage the student to keep consistent left hand pressure on the string, so that the notes smoothly blend from one into another.
Guess what?! The highest sound on the guitar is played on the lowest string!
- Play the string below the B string.
- This is the E string.
- Even though it is at the bottom of the guitar, it is the highest sounding open string.
- Now play a pattern using the three open strings you know—G,B,E.
- Play a pattern G B E B ⦙ G B E B, etc.
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Now make up your own four note pattern.
As you practice, try to not look at the strings.
As you practice, try to not look at the strings.
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There are two E strings on the guitar: the top string and the bottom string. We are working with the bottom E string, which is higher sounding and thinner than the top E string. If you need help identifying the E string, you can check online to confirm. This exercise is designed to get the student used to moving between strings. It is very beneficial to be able to move between strings without having to look at your right hand.
As the student practices the given pattern and the patterns they create, have them work on not looking at the guitar. If the right hand thumb is anchored, they will eventually learn to feel which string they are on. One suggestion to give them to keep from looking at the guitar is to maintain eye contact with someone while they play.
Students start by playing the pattern G, B, E, B. Then they create their own four note pattern. The pattern itself is not that important, just that they are deciding an order to pluck the strings and sticking to it.
Finally, we add the peanut butter with this new song!
All the notes are on the B string.
All the notes are on the B string.
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Try to play the song—then give your partner a turn.
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This new song uses only the B string. It starts on D (3rd fret on the B). The goal for this week is to learn the pitches, so don’t worry too much if the student isn’t playing it in time. As they practice, pay attention to their left hand. The aim should be to have as little motion as possible. To get an idea of how the song sounds, check out the recording on www.awesomeguitarforkids.com.
You can use all of the same strategies you used to learn “Jelly” to learn “Peanut Butter.”
Sections
Play one group of notes at a time e.g. D C B, then B C D, finally C C D C B.
Echo
Using the three sections take turns echoing each other, you play then they play.
Leap Frog
Using the three sections, take turns exchanging sections e.g. one plays D C B the other B C D, then one plays C C D C B.
Remember Jelly??
Play it a few times.
If you have it memorized, maybe you should record it, or play it for a friend or a family member.
Play it a few times.
If you have it memorized, maybe you should record it, or play it for a friend or a family member.
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Once the student can play Jelly by memory, you should give them the chance to share it with others.
Recording or performing for others will also encourage the student to spend a little extra time practicing.
Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect right now. Be sure to celebrate their independence and how much they have grown over these first few lessons.
We added audio for accompaniment below. Try having your student play the melody along with the recording of the accompaniment. They'll be thrilled to sound like a recording artist!
Recording or performing for others will also encourage the student to spend a little extra time practicing.
Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect right now. Be sure to celebrate their independence and how much they have grown over these first few lessons.
We added audio for accompaniment below. Try having your student play the melody along with the recording of the accompaniment. They'll be thrilled to sound like a recording artist!
Music is written on a five-line staff. The staff shows notes going higher and lower.
The clef shows where notes are on the staff. The guitar plays in the treble clef.
The treble clef looks like a fancy G. 𝄞It tells you that the line that is going through the G in the symbol (the second line) is Open G.
The clef shows where notes are on the staff. The guitar plays in the treble clef.
The treble clef looks like a fancy G. 𝄞It tells you that the line that is going through the G in the symbol (the second line) is Open G.
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Note: The notes can be written with the lines going through them or they can be written in between the lines.
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Let’s practice writing and playing notes on the staff!
Look at the notes on the staff below.
Look at the notes on the staff below.
We've written the first two notes on the steps below. Can you draw the next two?
Now, look at these steps.
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Try writing the notes on the staff below.
Now practice playing the lines above and reading the staff.
Well done!
Well done!
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The musical staff is a five line graph used to represent the motion and duration of musical sounds. Notes are written as ovals on the staff. Notes may be written either in between the lines of the staff (as in the case of A & C) or between the spaces, with the line running through the middle of the note (as in the case of G & B). As explained in Lesson 3, the musical alphabet runs from A to G in a repeated cycle, going up from G. The order of pitches is G, A, B, C, etc.
In this exercise we relate the step diagrams that we have been using to the staff. The second line in the treble clef is the note G. If you move up the staff, the notes go higher, so the space above G is A (remember the musical alphabet).
In this exercise we relate the step diagrams that we have been using to the staff. The second line in the treble clef is the note G. If you move up the staff, the notes go higher, so the space above G is A (remember the musical alphabet).