Selecting Yur Guitar... 5 Steel Strings and Nyln Strings Acustic Guitars and Electric Guitars... 7 aring fr Yur Guitar Tuning Yur Guitar... 9 Tuning with the Ds Tuning withut the Ds Hw t Hld Yur Guitar... 11 Strumming the Strings... 13 Strumming with a Pick Strumming with Yur Fingers Time t Strum! Strumming Ntatin... 15 Beats The Staff and Treble lef Bar Lines, Measures, and Time Signatures Mre Time t Strum Using Yur Left Hand... 17 Hand Psitin Placing a Finger n a String Hw t Read hrd Diagrams The Three-String hrd... 19 My First hrd The Quarter Rest... 21 Three Blind Mice The Three-String G7 hrd... 23 My Secnd hrd Trubadur Sng... 25 Skip t My Lu... 27 Lndn Bridge... 29 The Three-String G hrd... 31 My Third hrd Three hrds in One Sng... 33 Rain mes Dwn The Repeat Sign... 35 Merrily We Rll Alng Lve Smebdy... 37 The Three-String D7 hrd... 39 My Furth hrd Using D7 with Other hrds... 41 When the Saints G Marching In... 43 Yankee Ddle... 45 Getting Acquainted with Music Ntatin... 47 Ntes The Staff The Music Alphabet lefs lap and unt ut Lud... 49 Ntes n the First String: Intrducing E... 51 Elizabeth, the Elephant The Nte E with hrds... 53 Nte and Strum Ntes n the First String: Intrducing F... 55 Up-Dwn-Up The Ntes E and F with hrds... 57 Ntes n the First String: Intrducing G... 59 The Muntain limber The Ntes E, F, and G with hrds... 61 Brave in the ave Single Ntes, Then hrd! hrd! hrd!... 63 Pumpkin Sng... 65 Ntes n the Secnd String: Intrducing B... 67 Tw Open Strings Tw-String Meldy Jumping Arund... 69 Ntes n the Secnd String: Intrducing... 71 Ping Png Sng Sccer Game The Half Rest... 73 When I Feel Best Ntes n the Secnd String: Intrducing D... 75 A-h! The Half Nte... 77 Ode t Jy Jingle Bells... 79 Mary Had a Little Lamb... 81 Ntes n the Third String: Intrducing G... 83 Three Open Strings Little Steps and Big Leaps Aluette... 85 Ntes n the Third String: Intrducing A... 87 A Is Easy! Taking a Walk Aura Lee... 89 She ll Be min Rund the Muntain... 91 Review: Music Matching Games... 93 ertificate f mpletin... 95 Frequently Asked Questins... 96 3
Using Yur Left Hand The jb f a left-hand finger is t shrten the vibrating string length by pressing the string int a fret. The shrter the vibrating string, the higher the pitch (pitch is the highness r lwness f the sund). Nte that we d nt press the string int the wd f the fretbard. It is by pressing the string securely int the fret wire that we change the vibrating length f the string, s the mst efficient left-hand technique is ne that accmplishes this using as little strength as necessary. Be sure t review Hw t Read hrd Diagrams with yur child. Intrducing the Left-Hand Fingers Numbers are given t the left-hand fingers fr easy identificatin. The fingers are numbered cnsecutively, with the index finger being 1 and the pinky, 4. 1. Have yur child hld up their left hand. Pint t each finger and say the crrespnding finger number. 2. Repeat, but this time, ask yur child t say the finger number as yu pint. Practice Suggestins 1. Have yur child trace their left hand n a separate piece f paper. Then, number each finger. 2. Have yur child hld up their left hand. As yu call ut finger numbers, have them wiggle the crrect finger. Hand Psitin and Placing a Finger n a String Fingers are naturally strnger and will prvide the best leverage in a curled psitin, like gently hlding a ball. The left thumb shuld be in the middle f the back f the guitar neck, between fingers 1 and 2. Keeping the elbw lsely in and the fingers curled, use the very tips f the fingers t press the strings, placing them directly next t the fret wire, but nt actually ON the fret. Practice Suggestin Butterfly Finger Exercise 1. Using the phts n page 17 as a guide, have yur child lightly place finger 1, withut pressing dwn, n the 2nd string, right next t the 1st fret. Yu can say the finger shuld be like a butterfly landing n the string. 2. Ask him r her t pluck the 2nd string with the pick r right-hand finger. Yu will hear a clicking, unpitched sund. N nte will be heard. 3. Have yur child slwly begin t add pressure with the finger as they pluck the string. The instant the string sings ut a clear nte, the student shuld stp adding pressure. That is as hard as he r she needs t press t play. Subsequent Lessns Yur child may experience a little discmfrt at first. It takes a while t develp calluses at the tips f the left-hand fingers. Keep practice sessins shrt t minimize assciating discmfrt with playing guitar, and always remind him r her that their fingers shuld nt press hard r squeeze the neck. Repeat the butterfly finger exercise described abve ften. 16
Hand Psitin Learning t use yur left-hand fingers easily starts with a gd hand psitin. Place yur hand s yur thumb rests cmfrtably in the middle f the back f the neck. Psitin yur fingers n the frnt f the neck as if yu are gently squeezing a ball between them and yur thumb. Keep yur elbw in and yur fingers curved. 4 3 2 1 Keep elbw in and fingers curved Like gently squeezing a ball between yur fingertips and thumb Placing a Finger n a String When yu press a string with a left-hand finger, make sure yu press firmly with the tip f yur finger and as clse t the fret wire as yu can withut actually being right n it. Shrt fingernails are imprtant! This will create a clean, bright tne. RIGHT Finger presses the string dwn near the fret withut actually being n it. WRONG Finger is t far frm fret wire; tne is buzzy and indefinite. WRONG Finger is n tp f fret wire; tne is muffled and unclear. Hw t Read hrd Diagrams hrd diagrams shw where t place yur fingers. The example t the right shws finger 1 n the first string at the first fret. The Xs abve the sixth, fifth and furth strings tell yu nt t play them and nly strum the third, secnd and first strings. Strings that are nt played in a chrd als lk like dashed lines. The s abve the secnd and third strings tell yu these strings are t be played pen, meaning withut pressing dwn n them with a left-hand finger. Dn t play these strings x x x Open strings Finger 1 n the first string at the first fret 17
Lve Smebdy Learning t play Lve Smebdy is anther pprtunity fr yur child t use all three chrds, G 7, and G the rest psitin, and the repeat sign. Intrducing the Page 1. Pint ut that in this sng there are actually tw different verses! The verse is the main part f a sng, and ften tells a stry. When tw r mre sectins f a sng have essentially the same music but different lyrics, each f these sectins is cnsidered ne verse. The first time thrugh the sng, we sing the tp line f lyrics shwn under the music. When we repeat and play it a secnd time, we sing the secnd line f lyrics. 2. Lk the sng ver with yur child, and have them say everything they bserve abut the music. D they mentin the repeat sign? The three different chrds? The rest in measure 8? Make sure they have bserved everything befre cntinuing. Practice Suggestins 1. Slwly and evenly pint at each quarter-nte slash and say the name f the chrd, saying rest at the quarter rests. 2. Repeat this activity with yur child. 3. As yu slwly and evenly pint at the quarter-nte slashes and rests, say the lyrics t the sng, demnstrating hw the wrds fall against the beats, and keep a steady beat as yu return t the beginning fr the repeat. 4. Repeat this activity with yur child. 5. As yu tap the beats n yur lap, speak the lyrics t the sng in rhythm, saying the tp line the first time thrugh and the bttm line n the repeat. 6. Repeat this activity with yur child. 7. Nw, yu sing the lyrics as yur child strums the chrds. Subsequent Lessns 1. It s imprtant fr yur child t develp the habit f lking ver a piece f music befre beginning t practice. What is the time signature? What chrds are used? Are there rests? Is there a repeat sign? The mre we knw abut a piece befre we play, the easier and mre fun it is t learn! 2. Tgether, play alng with Track 18. Ntes: 36
Lve Smebdy G G 7 Track 18 G G 7 &4 4 Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û 1. Lve 2. Lve sme-bd - sme-bd - y, y, yes want I t d! hear? Lve Let sme-bme whis - - y, per wn t in say yur wh. ear. G G 7 & Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Œ. Lve Lve sme-bd - sme-bd - y, y, can nw yu yu ve guess? guessed Wh s the Yu re the ne ne that that I I lve lve best? best! 37
Aluette The first thing yu ll ntice abut Aluette is that it s 24 measures lng! It s easy t learn, thugh, because there is a lt f repetitin. This French flk sng is abut a bird called a skylark, and plucking the feathers befre cking it fr dinner. The wrds are translated as: Little skylark, lvely little skylark, little lark, I ll pluck yur feathers ff. Intrducing the Page 1. The last eight measures are exactly the same as the first eight measures. Within thse eight measures, measures 5, 6, and 7 are the same as measures 1, 2, and 3. Likewise, measures 21, 22, and 23 are the same as measures 17, 18, and 19. 2. Think f Aluette as having three sectins: The A sectin is measures 1 8; the B sectin measures 9 16; and then the A sectin returns in measures 17 24. This is an A-B-A frm. The wrds f the sng (the lyrics) make this frm easy t detect. 3. This sng cmbines a single-nte meldy with strummed three-nte chrds. Ntice, hwever, that every time yu strum a chrd, the single nte just befre it is part f the chrd. Just leave the finger dwn and strum. Easy! 4. unt alud as yu clap the rhythms in Aluette. Be sure t spread yur hands apart during the rests. 5. D this tgether with yur child. 6. Make measures 15 and 16 an exercise t repeat many times; they include lts f string skipping with the pick. See if yur child can learn t play these measures withut lking at the right hand. It s kay, thugh, if they needs t sneak a peek every nw and then. Switching attentin frm ne hand t anther and frm the hands t the written music is a gd skill fr yur child t develp. Practice Suggestins D these activities tgether with yur child: 1. Pint at the ntes and say their names. 2. Pint at the ntes and say which string they re n. 3. Pint at the ntes and say the finger numbers, saying O fr pen strings. Say O-1-O fr the chrd and O-O-3 fr the G chrd. 4. Use additive practice, mastering tw measures at a time befre adding them t measures previusly mastered. Subsequent Lessns Practice Aluette fr as many days as necessary, until it is smth, secure, and cnfident. Sing the sng tgether as yur child plays. When yur child can play alng with Track 63 withut errr, it is mastered. 84
Aluette Track 63 &4 4 ȯ 1 Û Û 3 3 1 3 1 A - lu - gen - tille A - lu - & 1 Û Û 3 ȯ 3 1 3 1 Û Û Û A - lu - je te plu -mer - ai. G & 1 3 1 3 Û 3 1 3 1 Û Je te plu -mer - ai la tête, Je te plu -mer - ai la tête. & 3 Œ Œ 3 1 3 Et la tête, et la tête, Ah! & 1 Û Û 3 ȯ 3 1 3 1 A - lu - gen - tille A - lu - & 1 Û Û 3 ȯ 3 1 3 1 Û Û Œ A - lu - je te plu -mer - ai. 85
She ll Be min Rund the Muntain This sng cmbines all the single ntes yu knw n the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings, strumming the G 7 and chrds, and rests. Intrducing the Page 1. Lk ver the music tgether with yur child and lcate all f the rests. Remember t use the rest psitin t silence the strings fr these rests. 2. Nw lk thrugh the music again, and pint ut all f the chrd strums. 3. unt alud as yu clap the rhythms in She ll Be min Rund the Muntain. Be sure t spread yur hands apart during the rests. 4. D this tgether with yur child. Practice Suggestins D these activities tgether with yur child: 1. Pint at the ntes and say their names. 2. Pint at the ntes and say which string they re n. 3. Pint at the ntes and say the finger numbers: O fr pen strings, O-1-O fr the chrd, and O-O-1 fr the G 7 chrd. 4. Use additive practice, mastering tw measures at a time befre adding them t measures previusly mastered. Subsequent Lessns Practice She ll Be min Rund the Muntain fr as many days as necessary, until it is smth, secure, and cnfident. Sing the sng tgether as yur child plays. When yur child can play alng with Track 70 withut errr, it is mastered. Ntes: 90
She ll Be min Rund the Muntain Track 70 G 7 &4 4 Hld dwn 2 1 1 1 3 Û Œ Û Û Û Û Œ 2 2 1st finger She ll be cm - in rund the mun - tain when she cmes. She ll be 3 1 3 & 3 Û Û Û Û G 7 Œ 3 1 cm - in rund the mun - tain when she cmes. She ll be & 3 1 2 3 1 2 cm - in rund the mun - tain, she ll be cm - in rund the mun - tain, she ll be Hld dwn & 1st finger 3 2 1 Û Û Û Û Œ Û Œ cm - in rund the mun - tain when she cmes! 91