Lesson 3: Hammer On the D String
Do you remember where the G on the E string is?
Let’s play it a different way:
Play open E.
Without plucking the string again, slap your third finger down on the note G.
Pluck once.
This is called a hammer-on.
Now try the same thing with D on the B string.
Pluck once.
How would you do a hammer-on on the G string?
That’s right, you would use the note A.
Practice these three hammer-ons again.Open E to G.
Open B to D.
Open G to A.
Remember to only pluck the string once per string.
Let’s play it a different way:
Play open E.
Without plucking the string again, slap your third finger down on the note G.
Pluck once.
This is called a hammer-on.
Now try the same thing with D on the B string.
Pluck once.
How would you do a hammer-on on the G string?
That’s right, you would use the note A.
Practice these three hammer-ons again.Open E to G.
Open B to D.
Open G to A.
Remember to only pluck the string once per string.
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In addition to being fun, hammer-ons are a great way to practice good left-hand technique. They are also really useful when you start improvising. It is important to have you left hand in the correct position before you start this exercise. Play the open E string, and then press down your 3rd finger behind the 3rd fret quickly with force. Note: You only pluck the string once, so you really need to slap your left hand finger down with force in order to get the note to sound. Also, make sure to keep your left hand thumb in its place behind the neck throughout the exercise. After you do open E to G, then try open B to D. Finally, try open G to A in the same way. (On the G you will be using your second finger, instead of your third.) Check out the video on our website to see how it is done.
Let’s practice Sunrise.This time we are going to do what we call backward practice.This doesn’t mean that you actually play the song backward. It means that you start with the last line and play until the end. Do this three times. Then start in the third line and play until the end of the song. Do this three times.Then start in the second line and play until the end of the song. Practice this two times.Then try playing the whole song once through.The music is on the next page.
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This is one of the most effective practice techniques I have come across. As the songs you are learning have gotten longer, you have probably noticed that you are better at the first two measure than the last two. This is because when most people practice, they start at the beginning, play until they make a mistake, and then start at the beginning again. It is the musical equivalent of banging your head into a wall, in hopes of the wall being a little farther away the next time. Backwards practice turns this method on its head. You start by working on the end—in this case the last line. After playing through the end a few times, you start a little before the end (the third line in this song) and play all the way to the end. Instead of the frustration of going until you fail, you are gaining confidence as you pass through the less familiar material (the third line) into the material you have already practiced (the last line). When you feel like you are constantly succeeding as opposed to failing, it makes practice much more fun.
It does take some time to get into the habit, so just to be clear here is the way you should be practicing:
-Beginning of line 4 to the end (the end of line 4) 3xs
-Beginning of line 3 to the end (the end of line 4) 3xs
-Beginning of line 2 to the end (the end of line 4) 2xs
-Whole song 1 X
As always, it takes time to learn a song, so follow this plan and move on, even if it not perfect yet.
Do you remember your landmark notes in the treble clef?We are going to use them to read music.Look at the lines below.Each line starts on a treble clef landmark.Let’s play them:Make sure to give yourself a four beat count-off before you start (1,2,3,4).
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We are continuing our study of music reading. You will notice that each of these lines starts on a landmark note. If you are not able to identify each landmark note, make some flashcards and study them, there are resources on the website.Don’t forget to do the count off before playing each line. This is an important habit to form now.For your reference the starting note for each line is provided here:1st line C on the B string2nd line open G3rd line open EIn this exercise we are practicing reading, so you should not spent a lot of time practicing these individual lines the way you do other songs and exercises. If you practice these too much, you will no longer be “reading” them.The pitches of each line are given here for your reference. As always, DO NOT write the letter names of the pitches over the music notation.
C B C | D E E | D C B | A B C ||
G A B C | D E | D D C B | A G ||
E E D | C B B | C B C D | C D C ||
C B A | G A | G A B C | D C ||
The D string is the string right above the G string.It is a thicker string than G, and it has a lower sound.Let’s learn the notes on the D string.
Open = D
2nd fret = E
3rd fret = F
Open = D
2nd fret = E
3rd fret = F
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Here is a song you can play on the D string.
D D E E F F D E D
Open 2nd 3rd
Open 2nd Open
D D E E F F D E D
Open 2nd 3rd
Open 2nd Open
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The D string is the string located above the G string. The fingering on the D string is different from the other strings that you have learned. The note E is located at the 2nd fret, while F is located at the 3rd fret. You might notice that these notes are the lowest sounding notes you have learned. Just like the high G and the open G string are two different versions of the same pitch., the D, E, & F that on the D string are different (lower) versions of the notes you already know. As we begin learning notes on these lower sounding strings, be sure to keep reinforcing our basic principles of left-hand technique. Often when students start playing on these lower strings they will get a little sloppy with their thumb and finger placement.
There should be no difference between playing a note on the B string and a note on the D string.
There should be no difference between playing a note on the B string and a note on the D string.
Last lesson we learned three chords.
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Today we are going to practice changing between these chords.
-Start by playing the C chord.
-Then count 1,2,3,4
-While you are counting move to the G chord.
-After you count to 4, play the G chord.
-Then start counting again 1,2,3,4.
-While you are counting, move back to the C chord.
-After you count to 4, play the C chord
So: You can also practice this with a metronome. Set your metronome to 90 beats per minute.Once you can play the chords with 4 counts in between, try doing just 3 counts, then 2, then 1.
-Start by playing the C chord.
-Then count 1,2,3,4
-While you are counting move to the G chord.
-After you count to 4, play the G chord.
-Then start counting again 1,2,3,4.
-While you are counting, move back to the C chord.
-After you count to 4, play the C chord
So: You can also practice this with a metronome. Set your metronome to 90 beats per minute.Once you can play the chords with 4 counts in between, try doing just 3 counts, then 2, then 1.
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Learning to change chords efficiently takes time. A good way to start is to play the chord, count to 4 and move your fingers to the next chord while you are counting.
Play the second chord, then count to 4 while you move back to the original chord. Once you can do this, start lowering your count number. The goal is to be able to switch between chords with only one count in between. It is important to use the time that you are counting to set up the next chord. Sometimes, people will wait until the count of 4 to start moving their fingers, this is not the exercise. You are counting to 4 to give yourself time to make the change. Once you can do this well, you make the time between chords shorter by only going to three counts, then two, and finally one.
A little about metronomes: A metronome is device or app that helps you practice by giving you a consistent beat. There are a number of good options for metronomes. While you can buy one for around $20 at a music store or on online retailers, there are plenty of online metronomes or metronome apps that work great. The speed (tempo) of the metronome is measured in BPM’s (beats per minute). For this exercise, 90BPM’s is a good tempo. Most metronomes also allow you to set the meter.
They do this by giving you two different sounds (the first beat will be louder or higher than the following beats). For this exercise, you are going to start with 4/4 or four beats per measure. When you switch to doing 3 beats between chords, you can switch to 3 beats per measure and so on. If that is confusing, just ignore the meter function and count the beats yourself.
Play the second chord, then count to 4 while you move back to the original chord. Once you can do this, start lowering your count number. The goal is to be able to switch between chords with only one count in between. It is important to use the time that you are counting to set up the next chord. Sometimes, people will wait until the count of 4 to start moving their fingers, this is not the exercise. You are counting to 4 to give yourself time to make the change. Once you can do this well, you make the time between chords shorter by only going to three counts, then two, and finally one.
A little about metronomes: A metronome is device or app that helps you practice by giving you a consistent beat. There are a number of good options for metronomes. While you can buy one for around $20 at a music store or on online retailers, there are plenty of online metronomes or metronome apps that work great. The speed (tempo) of the metronome is measured in BPM’s (beats per minute). For this exercise, 90BPM’s is a good tempo. Most metronomes also allow you to set the meter.
They do this by giving you two different sounds (the first beat will be louder or higher than the following beats). For this exercise, you are going to start with 4/4 or four beats per measure. When you switch to doing 3 beats between chords, you can switch to 3 beats per measure and so on. If that is confusing, just ignore the meter function and count the beats yourself.
Play these notes:
Open E D Open B A Open G
Now reverse the order:
Open G A Open B D Open E This is the called the pentatonic scale.
You can use this scale to make up your own songs.Use your name or a favorite food to play the scale.
For example:G - G A - A B - B D - D E - EIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-cream
And going down:E - E D - D B - B A - A G - GIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-cream
Open E D Open B A Open G
Now reverse the order:
Open G A Open B D Open E This is the called the pentatonic scale.
You can use this scale to make up your own songs.Use your name or a favorite food to play the scale.
For example:G - G A - A B - B D - D E - EIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-cream
And going down:E - E D - D B - B A - A G - GIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-creamIce-cream
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From Amazing Grace to the latest viral hit, the pentatonic scale is the basis for a lot of music. A scale is a collection of pitches that sound good together. A pentatonic scale has five (penta-) pitches/tones (tonic). You can think of these five notes like the colors on a painter’s pallette. They can be arranged in different patterns to create different sounds. The goal in this lesson is to get you used to where the scale is on the guitar. Next lesson, we will start moving around. After you play up (starting on open G and going to open E) and then down (starting on open E ending on open G) the scale, pick a word to use as a repeated rhythm. This helps you internalize the scale, while working on your rhythm. There is a video of this lesson on the website.