MODULE 2
Major Chords & Song 1
In this module you will explore 2 MAJOR chords, a basic strumming pattern, your first song and a fun finger gym exercise that will help develop strength and flexibility in your fretting fingers whilst discovering what fingers to pluck each string with.
CHORD SHAPES
Major chords are made up of 3 notes, the 1st, 3rd & 5th of the MAJOR SCALE.
- C major = C + E + G
- G major = G + B + D
During this course you will explore three different kind of chords including:
Download the CHORD SHAPES PDF by clicking on the button above to see all of the chords you will be learning throughout this course. Instead of bombarding you with all chord shapes in one go, you will explore a few chords per module that you can put into song practice to help ease you into them and assist with chord changing. The first two chords you will explore are both major chords: G & C.
- Major Chords (Represented by just the capital letter of the chord)
- Minor Chords (Represented by the capital letter of the chord followed by a small 'm' for minor)
- Dominant 7th Chords (Represented by the capital letter of the chord followed by the number 7)
Download the CHORD SHAPES PDF by clicking on the button above to see all of the chords you will be learning throughout this course. Instead of bombarding you with all chord shapes in one go, you will explore a few chords per module that you can put into song practice to help ease you into them and assist with chord changing. The first two chords you will explore are both major chords: G & C.
|
|
The G Major chord is probably one of the most challenging when starting out, but it is much better to get used to it earlier on.... then everything else will seem a little easier. The C Major chord is nice and easy and just requires one fretting finger.
|
The first strumming pattern that you will explore is a basic Down, Down, Up, Down, Down up motion and is illustrated like this:
Each number above the arrows represents a beat. In this case, there are 4 beats to each bar. A bar is a divisional measure of music that breaks down each section of a song. All of the down strums fall on each of the beats, whilst the up strums fall in between the beats.
EXERCISE: Watch the video below to practice fretting positions for each chord along with the strumming pattern. Take your time and remember, you are training your fingers to do things they have never done before, so have a little patience and you will get there. Also don't worry about moving on if you haven't quite grasped it as it is all about muscle memory and takes a bit of practice to familiarise your self with each of the chord positions.
EXERCISE: Watch the video below to practice fretting positions for each chord along with the strumming pattern. Take your time and remember, you are training your fingers to do things they have never done before, so have a little patience and you will get there. Also don't worry about moving on if you haven't quite grasped it as it is all about muscle memory and takes a bit of practice to familiarise your self with each of the chord positions.
CHORD SHAPES - G & C Major
EXERCISE: Now try practicing the chord changes at varying speeds starting at 80BPM and gradually getting up to the full speed of 115BPM, at which speed the song is played. The first two tracks have spoken instruction included to help you with those chord changes, after that, you're on your own.
BPM = Beats Per Minute.
Most popular music is generally played between 60BPM (E.G: My Girl by Otis Redding) to around 180BPM (EG: I Would Die 4 U by Prince). Many pop songs average between 100 - 150BPM and for your peace of mind, 150BPM is the fastest speed you will hit during this course. Also note that different styles of strumming or 'rhythm' will make playing at speed a little easier, which you will find out in a later module.
Most popular music is generally played between 60BPM (E.G: My Girl by Otis Redding) to around 180BPM (EG: I Would Die 4 U by Prince). Many pop songs average between 100 - 150BPM and for your peace of mind, 150BPM is the fastest speed you will hit during this course. Also note that different styles of strumming or 'rhythm' will make playing at speed a little easier, which you will find out in a later module.
SONG 1 - ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU
The first song you will work on is called 'Anyone Else But You', written by the Moldy Peaches and starring in the film, Juno. We have, however reduced the number of verses as to not overwhelm you.
Don't worry too much about singing along with your strumming just yet, that will come later, however if you want to give it a go, then go for it!
Each section of this song contains 8 bars. Practice along with the audio tracks
Don't worry too much about singing along with your strumming just yet, that will come later, however if you want to give it a go, then go for it!
Each section of this song contains 8 bars. Practice along with the audio tracks
ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU: With click track - Uke & Vocals only
ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU: Full Arrangement - No click
Click the button below to download the track to your device so that you can practice along offline.
16 FRET STRETCH
FINGER GYM EXERCISE: This is a Finger Gym exercise to help strengthen and develop finger placement whilst discovering what fingers pluck which string. This exercise takes a little getting used too, so go easy on yourself if you don't grasp is right away.
Ideally you should practice this exercise around 1 - 3 times per day, for no less than 4 consecutive days before attempting to play along to the play along audio below as you will first need to get used to the fretting and plucking fingers positions, so watch the tutorial and download the PDF for further instruction.
Ideally you should practice this exercise around 1 - 3 times per day, for no less than 4 consecutive days before attempting to play along to the play along audio below as you will first need to get used to the fretting and plucking fingers positions, so watch the tutorial and download the PDF for further instruction.
Once you feel confident to give it a go (even if for one finger at a time), click the audio below to practice along at 60BPM:
You can watch one of our full Zoom video sessions for extra support here: https://youtu.be/titJ-WrQWss
Otherwise if you are happy to move on to the next module, click the button below.
Otherwise if you are happy to move on to the next module, click the button below.