School of Rock Lesson 2: Creating Music With the Guitar |
The School of Rock
Lesson 2 of 3
Creating Music With The Guitar
"... music is an immediate art; it's always happening right now ..." Sam Andrew
This lesson will briefly cover the following:
Creating Music With the Guitar
By the end of the lesson you will better understand what your practicing should focus on if you want to learn songs. You will also be prepared to shred with me in lesson 3: "Screamin' Solos!"
And will focus mainly on:
Learning Outcomes
Don't Forget to Tune!
Before we progress any further, we need to make sure that you understand the importance of tuning your guitar. Nobody really likes to do it, but it is very important to your success as a guitarist.
Can't tune on your own? Check out this cool "robotic tuner."
"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance." Confucius
The Pick...
Can you imagine King Arthur Galloping onto the field of battle and then dropping his weapon just before his enemy approaches?? How embarrassing! Let's make sure you know how to hold the pick before we go any further!
Chords and Tablature
By now, hopefully you've been practicing different chords on your own. If you don't want to go out and buy a "chord book" of your own, just Google "chord progressions" and you'll get a number of charts that you can use.
These charts will show you how to position your fingers to create different chords--and there are literally hundreds of variations. Start with the basics and test yourself often.
Here's an example of what a "chord chart" looks like. Notice that the six strings are represented. The number below the string represents what fret your finger is pressing down.
This system of representation and numbers is called "tablature." If you learn to read "tabs" (tablature shortened), then you can learn any song, because the internet has nearly every song ever written in tablature form. The only difference you'll find is that tabs will read left to right. Try reading these "Sweet Home Alabama Tabs" and see how you do...
check out this chart on http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/basic-guitar-chord-charts.html
Chord Progressions
Once you have the basics down, it's time to practice transitioning between chords, because a chord by itself won't do you any good; songs are made up of chord progressions, or a series of chords played in order. Watch the video to learn a bit more about chord progressions.
Want to know the power of a few chords??? How many songs can you think of that use only these three chords: D-A-G?? Here's a few that I can think of and there are probably hundreds more!
The Barre Chord
If your mother or wife or friend tells you that you're being lazy because all you do is "sit around and play guitar," you should tell them to try playing a few "barre chords." If you didn't think the guitar took physical stamina before, you need to try this.
As I explain in the video clip, you'll need to practice this a lot. It's best to practice barring on an acoustic guitar, because it's generally much harder to get a "clean" sound out of a bar on an acoustic (the strings are farther off the fretboard). That way, when you switch to an electric, you'll be stronger!
Don't get frustrated! These things take time! Just keep on practicing. Because once you get the barre chord, you've unlocked the key to the fretboard. You can literally play any chord, anywhere, if you understand the barre and its variations.
No! We're not talking about those kinds of bars!
Illustration of Barre with Different Chord Formations
This video is only a taste of what you'll be doing soon! Imagine if you can do this much on one fret, what you can do with 20 frets and numerous more chord formations!!!
You make get sick of me saying this, but there's no way around learning the barre chord! Just put in the time and become a master of it!!!
Power Chords
Because learning barre chords and formations can be so time consuming, it's easy to become discouraged. I know that I was. But while I was practicing my barre chords I was taught a special trick that gave me a lot of confidence and changed my playing. That trick was "power chords."
The term power chord probably comes from the fact that these chords are what make up a number of rock songs. If you have an electric guitar, you need to get a pedal or amplifier that has a "distortion" effect--because power chords sound awesome only when you have distortion (you'll see in the clip.)
Basically, you're going to take the first three notes of your barre chord (starting with the lowest string--either string 1 'low E' or string 2 'A') and just play those three, muting the others. That way, you don't have to worry about barring and you can get the same sort of sound! Watch!
Power chords pack a punch, and will be like "lightning" to your playing!
Think about it...
“Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best.” Henry Van Dyke
Thanks for pollinating this brainhoney lesson! Please give some "buzz" and comment and/or rate this lesson.
Don't forget to finish your rock'n'roll education in Lesson 3!
(You can rate in the top right of the window and comment below)
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Description: This lesson is the second in my 3-part series on the guitar. It will briefly cover a few basic things, such as tuning your guitar and using a pick, and will quickly move onto the more interesting topics of chords, progressions, songs, and the secret to your rock'n'roll future: POWER CHORDS! You will hear/see examples of each of these and will be prepared to shred some "Screamin' Solos" in Lesson 3.
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