Beginning Guitar By: Catherine Schmidt-Jones Beginning Guitar By: Catherine Schmidt-Jones Online: < http://cnx.org/content/col10421/1.2/ > C O N N E X I O N S RiceUniversity,Houston,Texas This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Catherine Schmidt-Jones. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Collection structure revised: August 18, 2009 PDF generated: March 27, 2013 For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 336. Table of Contents 1 Lessons 1.1 Guitar Lesson 1: The High E String, and Introduction to Notations ..........................1 1.2 Guitar Lesson 2: The B String, Measures, and Time Signature ...............................5 1.3 Guitar Lesson 3: The G String, Half Notes, and Tablature Numbers ........................10 1.4 Guitar Lesson 4: The D String, Rests, and Right Hand Symbols ............................15 1.5 Guitar Lesson 5: The A String, Eighth Notes, and Pickup Measures ........................22 1.6 Guitar Lesson 6: The Low E String, Sharps, and Left Hand Notation .......................27 1.7 Guitar Lesson 7: Flats, Alternate Fingerings, and Enharmonic Spelling .....................32 1.8 Guitar Lesson 8: Tuning the Guitar, and Dotted Rhythms ..................................39 1.9 Guitar Lesson 9: Key Signatures and Major Scales .........................................44 1.10 Guitar Lesson 10: Repeating Measures and Sections .......................................49 1.11 Guitar Lesson 11: Tied Notes and Barre Chords ...........................................54 1.12 Guitar Lesson 12: Strumming and Reading Common Notation for Compound Meters ......................................................................................60 1.13 Guitar Lesson 13: Changing the Left Hand Position, and Moveable Chord Shapes .....................................................................................67 1.14 GuitarLesson14: AlternativeFingerings,Notation,andAvoidingOpenStrings.............72 1.15 Guitar Lesson 15: Syncopated Rhythms, Improvisation, and Chord Function ..............77 1.16 Guitar Lesson 16: Reading and Playing Plucked Chords and Accompaniments .............84 1.17 Guitar Lesson 17: Swing Rhythm, and the Construction of Major Chords .................89 1.18 GuitarLesson18: MinorKeysandScales,andtheConstructionofMinorChords and Power Chords ..........................................................................94 1.19 Guitar Lesson 19: Sixteenth Notes, and Chord Function in Major and Minor Keys ........................................................................................99 1.20 Guitar Lesson 20: Dynamics, Rhythm Notation in Tablature, and Harmonic Minor .....................................................................................104 1.21 Guitar Lesson 21: High Notes on the E String, and The Blues Scale ......................109 1.22 Guitar Lesson 22: Major Seventh Chords, and the Dotted-Eighth-Sixteenth Rhythm ...................................................................................115 1.23 Guitar Lesson 23: Portamento, Triplets, and Minor Seventh Chords ......................120 1.24 Guitar Lesson 24: Up-Slurs, Bass Note Notation, and Choosing Chords ...................125 1.25 Guitar Lesson 25: Down-Slurs, and Transposition ........................................130 1.26 Guitar Lesson 26: Pitch Bending, Vibrato, and Suspensions ..............................135 1.27 Guitar Lesson 27: Tempo, Accents, and Added-Note Chords ..............................140 1.28 GuitarLesson28: StaccatoandLegato,andDiminishedandAugmentedChords............145 1.29 Guitar Lesson 29: Alternate Tunings, Other Keys, and Moving Chord Shapes ............150 1.30 Guitar Lesson 30: Harmonics, and the Variety of Scales and Modes .......................155 2 Theory for the Beginning Guitarist 2.1 Clef .......................................................................................161 2.2 Time Signature ............................................................................169 2.3 Duration: Note Lengths in Written Music .................................................174 2.4 Duration: Rest Length ....................................................................180 2.5 Pickup Notes and Measures ...............................................................182 2.6 Pitch: Sharp, Flat, and Natural Notes .....................................................184 2.7 Enharmonic Spelling ......................................................................187 2.8 Half Steps and Whole Steps ...............................................................193 2.9 Key Signature .............................................................................197 2.10 Major Keys and Scales ...................................................................200 2.11 Interval ..................................................................................204 iv 2.12 Repeats and Other Musical Road Map Signs .............................................215 2.13 Minor Keys and Scales ...................................................................219 2.14 Triads ...................................................................................225 2.15 Naming Triads ...........................................................................228 2.16 Beyond Triads: Naming Other Chords ...................................................233 2.17 The Circle of Fifths ......................................................................241 2.18 Beginning Harmonic Analysis ............................................................245 2.19 Harmonic Series ..........................................................................253 2.20 Dynamics and Accents in Music ..........................................................262 2.21 Tempo ...................................................................................265 2.22 Scales that are not Major or Minor .......................................................268 Solutions .......................................................................................276 3 Other Useful Information 3.1 Guitars ....................................................................................301 3.2 An Example Beginning Guitar Home Practice Session .....................................309 3.3 Reading Guitar Tablature .................................................................312 3.4 Tuning Your Guitar .......................................................................314 3.5 Reading a Chord Diagram .................................................................321 3.6 A Parents’ Guide to Music Lessons ........................................................325 Index ...............................................................................................331 Attributions ........................................................................................336 AvailableforfreeatConnexions<http://cnx.org/content/col10421/1.2> Chapter 1 Lessons 1.1 Guitar Lesson 1: The High E String, and Introduction to Notations1 1.1.1 Notes on Using This Course note: Thisisthe"latest"versionofthiscourse. Itincludessomemajorchangesfromtheoriginal. Ifyoupreferanyoftheoldexercisesorsongs,seethe"versionhistory"atthebottomofanylesson. Guitar is an unusual instrument, in that there are a number of very di(cid:27)erent, widely-accepted styles of playing. (Thinkofthedi(cid:27)erenceintechniquebetween, say,aclassicalguitarist,arockguitarist, andablues guitarist). There are also several common, but very di(cid:27)erent, ways of notating music for guitar, including common notation, tablature, and chord symbols. The purpose of these lessons is to acquaint the beginning guitarist with the basics needed for most guitar styles and genres. Many beginners are not certain what style ofplaying, andwhat typeof notation, suits them; thisgeneral introductionnot only givesthem a little time to decide such things, but also gives them some basic music theory and background in other styles and other kinds of notation, so that they become more well-rounded musicians, capable of making forays into new genres and styles. The exercises are my own. The music on the song sheets and ensemble sheets are my arrangements of 2 publicdomain tunes. AllexercisesandarrangementsarepublishedundertheCreativeCommonsattribution license that covers all material in Connexions. Basically any use is allowed, as long as the author and source (Catherine Schmidt-Jones, and Connexions, http://cnx.org) are properly attributed. (Keep in mind that other arrangements of these same tunes may be under stricter copyright licenses!) In order to make the requirement easy for you to ful(cid:28)ll, the attribution information has been added at the bottom of each lesson and practice page. Author Recommendations for Students • The lessons are designed to be done with a knowledgeable teacher. • If regular lessons are not feasible, it is strongly recommended that self-teaching students consider joiningabeginningguitarclass,gettingafewbeginninglessons,orgettingoccasionallessonstoanswer questions, correct bad habits, and get some guidance. • If even that is not feasible, the student should try to study guitar-method videos for the information that cannot be conveyed on paper. Watching performances of favorite guitarists can also be useful. • Self-teaching students should alsoseriously consider tapingpractice sessions regularly, and listening to and/or watching the tape carefully. This exercise is also very useful, even for those students who have 1Thiscontentisavailableonlineat<http://cnx.org/content/m12663/1.7/>. 2"PublicDomainMusicinConnexionsMusicActivities"<http://cnx.org/content/m22967/latest/> AvailableforfreeatConnexions<http://cnx.org/content/col10421/1.2> 1 2 CHAPTER 1. LESSONS a teacher. Like all good criticism, self-criticism should be as speci(cid:28)c as possible, and focus on what needs to be done to improve. Author Recommendations for Teachers • Highly-motivated students, adult beginners, and students who have already studied other instruments maybeabletodotheselessonsattherateofoneperweek. Youngormusically-inexperiencedstudents may need more time on some, or all, of the lessons. As long as students practice well and regularly, they should be encouraged to move at a comfortable pace. • Students should not go to the next lesson until they can successfully play the music on the practice page. Some students will need extra practice at some point in the lessons. If this is the case, an extra lesson book, song book, or etude book, in a style of music that the student enjoys, can be studied alongside these lessons. • Lesson pages focus on giving information, including suggestions for understanding music theory. Some students will be more interested than others in this information. A guitarist who understands theoryisamorewell-rounded,capablemusician,butaslongastheycanplaytheexercisesadequately, students do not have to understand everything on the lesson page in order to move to the next lesson. They can refer back to it later, as things begin to make sense and questions arise. • The "(cid:28)nd out more" links are to on-line theory lessons, which often include exercises. If theory is an important part of your program, you may wish to include theory exercises as part of the lesson assignment. Otherwise, simply point them out as extra easily-available information. • Beginning at Lesson 3, Song Sheets and Ensemble pages are included. These can be used for extra practice,forbeginners’recitals,and/orfordevelopinganearly"repertoire". Thetunesarefromawide variety of traditions and genres, to help young students decide what type of music they like. Songs that are already widely available in many other guitar method books are avoided. A student can start working on a song or ensemble any time after completing the lesson indicated near the song title. • When the student indicates an interest in learning speci(cid:28)c songs or types of music, simple versions of those pieces should be included alongside the lesson music as soon as possible. 1.1.2 Lesson Pages 3 4 HerearePDF(cid:28)lesoftheLessonpage andHomepracticepage . Ifyoucan’tgetthePDF(cid:28)les, youcanuse 5 the (cid:28)gures below. The suggested theory assignment for this lesson are The Sta(cid:27) and Clef (Section 2.1). 3Seethe(cid:28)leat<http://cnx.org/content/m12663/latest/1GuitarLesson.pdf> 4Seethe(cid:28)leat<http://cnx.org/content/m12663/latest/1GuitarPractice.pdf> 5"TheSta(cid:27)"<http://cnx.org/content/m10880/latest/> AvailableforfreeatConnexions<http://cnx.org/content/col10421/1.2> 3 Figure 1.1 AvailableforfreeatConnexions<http://cnx.org/content/col10421/1.2> 4 CHAPTER 1. LESSONS Figure 1.2 AvailableforfreeatConnexions<http://cnx.org/content/col10421/1.2>