Beginner Guitar Lesson #6 - Eighth Note Rhythm

Hi there! Till this lesson, we have used rhythms that follow a quarter note pulse. It is counted 1 2 3 4.

The quarter note becomes an eighth when halved.

Eighth Note

In terms of time, a quarter note is the equivalent of two eighth notes.

By halving the quarter note pulse we can make an eighth note pulse. It is countered like this: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Today, you will also learn to play the F major chord. The F major chord requires you to hold down the first and second strings with your first finger. You will need to play these strings with the flat of your finger rather than the tip.

E||------1-------|
B||------1-------|
G||------2-------|
D||------3-------|
A||------x-------|
E||------x-------|

You have great exercises for the F major chord on Jamorama. They have great video lessons where you can learn to play the F major chord in a standard quarter note strum, and in an eighth note strum pattern.

Try also to play the F major chord in a turnaround progression. At first it will be hard, but don't worry! A little practice each day will improve your new skill.

The Chromatic Scale

The Chromatic Scale is based around the seven notes of the musical alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F and G), however, it contains a few extra musical notes.

The chromatic scale

As you see, some of the notes in the chromatic scale have two note names. These notes are called accidentals. They can either be sharp notes, in which case we use the symbol #, or flat notes, in which case we use the symbol b.

Keep rockin',
Mike

Beginner Guitar Lesson #2 - Guitar Tablature

Happy New Year! This is the year of your guitar success, so lets do some work here. I'm glad that you're still reading my blog. It's gonna worth it for sure. Today I'm gonna learn you about the thing called tablature. Ok, lets do it!
Guitar tablature consists of a series of a horizontal lines forming a staff (or stave) similar to standard notation. Each line represents one of the instrument's strings. Therefore standard guitar tab has six-line staff. Top line of the tablature represents the highest-pitched string (e) of the guitar. You can find many guitar tab notation on internet for any song that you want to learn to play. Tablature is much easier way to figure what should you play, because it indicates where your fingers should be placed. Traditional music notation is much harder to learn. Even if its easier to learn guitar tab, it still has its sticky points. For example, you can't easily indicate rhythm on tablature. You have to learn strum from the song itself.
Here is guitar tab example for 2 chords.

E||----0---------2----|
B||----2---------3----|
G||----2---------2----|
D||----2---------0----|
A||----0---------x----|
E||----x---------x----|

First row is A major, and second is D major chord.

You need to practice strumming the A major and the D major chords to the following down stroke pattern. Strum 4 down strokes over the A major chord, and then 4 down strokes over the D major chord. Then you have to repeat it all over again. This exercise should make you getting a smooth change between the 2 chords, so that whole piece flows and is in time.
I recommend you to check out Jamorama. They have great jam tracks for exercise.

Chord  A       D       A       D
Stroke ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Count  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

Remember it will not sound so good at the first time, that is why you need to practice and to be patient. Always have that on your mind, P&P (Practice & Patience). :)

Keep rockin',
Mike