I wrote this little ditty for those of you who are looking to expand beyond “background finger-picking.” The idea is to get you playing your single guitar like a small combo band, complete with a soloist for the melody, a bass for the bass lines (of course!) and someone to fill in the middle with chords and/or harmonies.

To be able to master this, you should already be familiar with your basic chords and comfortable to move fingers around to accommodate changes in their fingerings.

Take a look at the complete arrangement and listen to it on the midi file.

• Download pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)
• Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)

This song incorporates a mini melody, a basic bass line, and little harmony within it. I wrote it to only have one chord function per measure. This makes it easier to understand how it’s put together.

It also helps that this is basically in a twelve-bar blues format (you can find out more about that by reading the Guitar Noise lesson on Before You Accuse Me). So you can see that you’ll be using these chords in these measures:

Measures 1 through 4 – G

Measures 5 and 6 – C

Measures 7 and 8 – G

Measure 9 – D

Measure 10 – C

Measures 11 and 12 – G

A few notes on the Picking Hand:

The thumb handles the bass line. On any measures with “G” – you’ll pluck Strings 6 and 4. Measures 5 and 6 (with “C”) – you’ll pluck Strings 5, 4, 6 and then 4 again. The measure of D will be just the fourth string and Measure 10 (C again) will be just String 5.

Take a listen to the example without the melody and harmony.

• Download pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)
• Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)

View the pdf file of just the Bass part and then compare it to the arrangement.

By using your index and middle fingers, decide which ones will be most comfortable to pluck the notes for the harmony and melody. I would approach a measure at a time. I wrote it in this fashion. As you can tell with the midi file, there is a bit of a shuffle in the rhythmic structure. Add that after you are comfortable with each measure.

E-mail me and let me know if you would like a video of me playing this song.

My e-mail: petersimms.guitar@gmail.com

Have Fun! … Peter

Let’s get funky! It’s always fun writing a little ditty for the Guitar Noise readers and conversing over these songs. Here is an intermediate fingerstyle song that incorporates a basic rhythmic bass line and a “click” sound (those are the x’s on the guitar Notation+TAB). Some folks call it “string muting” and some “choking,” but whatever your take on it, this combination of bass and clicking will help you create a quasi-blues feel. Take a listen to the audio on this page and you will know what I’m talking about.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

There are only three chords in this tune. I personally feel that you will be able to figure out the fingering to the chord forms. The click sound is made by tapping your fingers onto the strings (which slap a little against the fretboard). The tap is on beat four. This helps to create a percussive “back beat” for your song.

Download pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)

The riffs are based off the A minor blues scale and need to be played within the rhythmic framework. In other words – you should keep the tempo and/or feel of the song consistent. I slowed down the last riff to bring the song to an end. You’ve certainly heard this popular technique used in many songs you know.

You can keep the rhythm and substitute your own riffs …this is lots of fun! With all this said, take a listen to the recording, give it a try, and see what happens!

If you would like a video of me playing this song – just e-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com

I now have quite a few students who play finger-style, and some who use a guitar pick. So, I decide to write an easy arrangement that either one can play. It’s a short little arrangement of “The First Noel.”

Download pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)

If you master this quick, you could add more and build upon it. Each one of the chords is played as a chord with the melody note being the highest pitch. Whenever you play a chord, the highest pitch is the most distinct. So keep this in mind when you start to try and put melody and chords together.

The D6 and F#m chords should have an independent finger per string. The Bm7, Bm, Gmaj7, Dmaj7, D (except for the ending chord), and A7 chords require a barred finger somewhere.

This is more of a Christmas Song Arrangement present for you guys other than an actual lesson. Please take a listen to the audio that is available here:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

I do have a quick video that matches the audio. E-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com and ask for it. I will be happy to send it to you. If have questions about this song, please e-mail me and ask. I would also be happy to help you. Enjoy!

These arrangements are also known as chord melodies. You can still create wonderful chord melodies with just a pick. The idea is to add chords to the melody of a song. Jazz guys love to use this term instead of solo guitar playing (which the classical guys like to call it). Either way, the concept is similar and sometimes exactly the same.

I’m presenting to you the classic jazz standard Autumn Leaves to demonstrate this technique. I’m assuming that you know what repeat signs and 1st and 2nd ending signs are. If not, please check out Tom Serb’s lesson on these at: Standard Notation – Part 2.

There are 3 documents and 2 audio samples to this lesson:

#1 Lead Sheet (this is just the melody with chord symbols to indicate the harmony to be used with the melody)

Download jpg (Right-click and “Save as”)

#2 Chord Diagram (these are the fingerings for the chords that I decided to use with the melody)

Download jpg (Right-click and “Save as”)

#3 Chord Melody (this is the arrangement I came up with in order to be able to use just a guitar pick)

Download jpg (Right-click and “Save as”)

#4 Audio Sample – 1 (the chord melody played slowly by me)

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

#5 Audio Sample – 2 (the chord melody played with embellishments by me)

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

* you can e-mail me and ask for the videos to both audio samples (these audio samples were taken directly from the videos).

My initial approach is simple. I first learn the melody, I look for chords that can be used to play with the melody, and I make adjustments to those areas that don’t fit easily. Always remember to “think out of the box” when you hit these areas; they always come up. If you don’t panic, try to think of alternative ways to solve the problem, and remember there are times when “just the melody” works, you will get through 99% of you songs. Whatever you try, don’t worry about rules! The only thing you need to know is “if it sounds good – keep it and if it sounds bad – change it”.

Your “To Do” List:

• Learn the melody I presented.
• Take a look at the chord chart. There are countless chord fingerings. I recommend that you learn how chords are constructed. Eventually it is not that difficult to create and manipulate chord fingerings. It’s by far the best path to creating these nice little arrangements.
• Try playing the arrangement – listen to audio sample -1 on this webpage first.
• Try and examine “how” I put it together. If you try to put a chord melody together, keep it simple. As you create more chord melodies, you will gain new techniques, and the more difficult ones will be attainable.

Ballads are always good to start with. After you have half a dozen or so of them, you will probably want to play something that has a “groove” to it. That is another ball game and I’m not going to cover that in this lesson.

There “is” another step farther you can take the ballads to. After you have a ballad under belt and can play it fairly well, you can add little riffs (motifs -musical lines from scales) to it. When you end a phrase, that’s the time to add you stuff! I did this and added an audio sample -2 for you to listen to. This will give you an idea of what I’m talking about. I will cover improvisation within a chord melody in another lesson, that is, if you guys/gals e-mail and request it.

Ok…. Good Luck and if you would like a video of me playing this arrangement, e-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com . I will be more than happy to send it your way.

Have Fun! … Peter Simms

Nope… I accidentally let my Domain Name www.petersimms.com expire and someone purchased it before I could buy it back. Thus, this person or corporation is using my name and IT’S NOT ME. Please be aware! At this point you can e-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com

Enough said, let’s play!

I wrote a somewhat easy finger-style song for you this time. You will need to lower your 6th string to a “D”. This is called Drop D Tuning. Thus, the Bass strings are D(6)-A(5)-D(4). This makes it easy to create a nifty bass line for the chord “D” without fingering any strings. They can ring together while you’re playing on the treble strings 1-2-3. This song takes full advantage of this opportunity. Be sure to pluck the bass strings with only your thumb. It will sound better.

Download pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Before trying this one, take a listen to the MP3 link on this page. Remember to “right click” on it and use the “save target as” selection. This way you can download the MP3 to your computer and read it while you look at the lesson online.

Most of the finger-picking in Waterfalls is done with your thumb, index, and middle finger. There is a point where you will probably use your ring finger. This is at the end of each of the first three measures on the second line of the song. I’m assuming you know what repeat signs are (the fat/skinny lines with the two dots). If not, be sure to repeat the sections that are between them. When you listen to the MP3 while looking at the music, you will know what I mean.

I think that about covers it. You will need to give it a try! If you would like a Quicktime Video of me playing this song, e-mail me and just ask! I’ll e-mail one your way.

Have Fun!

In this lesson we just add a couple of notes on String 3. Here they are:

We are adding the notes “G” (3rd string – open) and “A” (3rd string – 2nd fret). Be sure to use your middle finger to play the “A” note. As you can see, you will now have a total of 8 notes to work with:

• String #1 = 3 notes (E,F,G)
• String #2 = 3 notes (B,C,D)
• String #3 = 2 notes (G, A)

The first question many of my students ask is: Why are there two “G” notes and why do they sound different? Our musical system (there are different kinds of musical systems) provides us with seven natural notes A,B,C,D,E,F, and G. If one were to play these notes on the piano (white keys), the note to the right of G (next natural note pitch higher and also the next white key) would be called “A” again. Except it would be one “octave” higher. We perceive this with our ears. It is also perceived with an oscilloscope. The waves double, and every other wave matches when it peaks and dips.

For an example, let’s listen to the two “G” notes. Place your ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 1st string (the “G” note on the 1st string). Pluck the 3rd string open (the “G” on string 3) and then pluck the 1st string 3rd fret (the “G” on string 1) and listen to them ring together. You should notice that they have a kind of “unity” sound. Pluck your 3rd string open and match it to other strings or notes. When you match it to another “G” note, you will get that unity kind of sound again. At this point in our series, this is all you need to know. We will be dealing with seven notes and their octaves. Later, we will discus the sharps and flats (the black keys on the piano and the notes in between notes on our guitar [ex: fret 2 on string 1]).

But let’s leave that alone for the moment. Time to PLAY! Download both exercises (from the links). Work on ” Notes on String 3″ first, and be able to play the examples with rhythm. Then work on “Notes on Strings 1-3″ next. There are midi links that will play you the two exercise sheets. Between this latest lesson and the first two, you will now have mastered eight notes! Okay, go practice and have some fun!

• Exercise 1 pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)
• Exercise 2 pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)

• Exercise 1 Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)
• Exercise 2 Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)

If you have questions or would like an extra work out sheet, email me at: peter@petersimms.com.

Also in this Series

• How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar – Part 1
• How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar – Part 2

Nearly every lullaby CD I’ve seen includes Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (though it’s commonly classified as a nursery rhyme), and that’s where I’ll begin. This is one I’ve played many times at bedtime, and it never seems to grow old.

My arrangement is very simple and is played entirely in the first position. For the most part, this tune uses half notes in the bass and quarter notes for the melody. I add harmony notes along with the bass, but you can ignore them if you’d like, making the arrangement even easier to play. One quick performance note: I often play the open G string instead of the C on the first fret of the B string as my harmony note on the C chord (measure two).

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

London Bridge is a well-known nursery rhyme, and I’ve arranged this one in the key of G as well. I like to let notes ring together, and that’s why I start this tune at the third fret. I use my left hand thumb to play the G on the third fret of the low E string in measures one and two. In measure four, I play the G in the bass with my third finger on beat one, and with my thumb on beat three.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

I hope you (and especially any children you may play them for) enjoy these simple tunes.

In part #2 we are going to address String 2 (the B string). Now that you made it through the opening lesson, it should be rather easy to add 3 notes that are on the 2nd String. These notes are B, C, and D. See the chart below:

As you can see above, we have extended the range of the notes. We have our new notes B, C, and D on the 2nd string, and we also have E, F, and G (from the opening lesson) on the 1st string.

Your goals this lesson are:

1. learn how to “play” the notes on the 2nd string – rhythm included.
2. learn how to “play” the notes on the 1st and 2nd string together – rhythm included.

If you can obtain these goals, you’ve doubled your capacity! Now you not only know where 6 notes are on the guitar, but you can “play” them when you see them. Yahoo!

Remember that rhythm is IMPORTANT. You could say it is more important than pitch. If you played the wrong note in the correct rhythmical spot, you made “1” mistake. If you played the correct note in the wrong rhythmical spot, you made “2” mistakes = not playing the correct note in the rhythmical spot where it was supposed to be played, and playing a note where there wasn’t supposed to be a note.

Here are two exercises for you:

• Exercise 1 pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)
• Exercise 2 pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)

The first one is a set of exercises only using the notes B, C, and D. The other one is using the combination of all 6 notes B, C, D, E, F, and G. Below are also midi examples of these various exercises:

• Exercise 1 Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)
• Exercise 2 Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)

Now that you made it through the opening lesson. I’m not going to be using TAB anymore. Yikes! It’s very difficult not to look at the TAB when it is just under the notes. Your goal is to learn how to read music. Therefore, TAB will just mess this up… Yes, you can say it now… OH NO!

This lesson should be very attainable for you to accomplish. I’m trying to make it as easy as possible to learn how to read music. If you’re having problems, email me and, based on your level, I can make some suggestions.

I also have additional practice sheets with midi examples available for your studies. Just email me at peter@petersimms.com and I will be more than happy to send them your way.

Have Fun!

Also in this Series

• How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar – Part 1
• How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar – Part 3

I tell my students: “the only obstacle is that reading music takes a while to learn.” Therefore, if you want it, you need to be patient and have consistent practicing with it.

The “BIG MYTH” is that it’s difficult to do. However you obtained this idea, it’s wrong! There are many study guides and books that approach reading music in multiple ways. I found that the common problem they have is a proper learning curve in their method. Many of the books start out nice and easy. The student becomes confident, but not long after the first couple of lessons the learning curve inclines at an angle to which the student runs into major problems with the lessons. Most of this is due to the fact the student has not had a chance to get comfortable with the material he or she had just learned.

This year I’m taking an extra effort to help my students overcome the fear of learning to read music, plus find out how interesting and doable it is. I also plan on passing some of this information to you in a series rightly called “how to read music on the guitar” on the Guitar Noise website. I will present a step-by-step approach (lesson at a time) from the very beginning to intermediate linear (playing single notes) “PLAYING”. I like to use the word playing, because I have had many new students tell me they already know how to “read” music. Therefore, I write out a very easy composition for them to perform. Afterwards, they tell me that they “know” how to read music, but they can’t “play” it on their instrument. It’s music, so what’s the use of knowing it if you can’t perform it? Therefore, I teach “how” and then help you to “play” it. It’s a lot more fun that way!

For some of you, this course will be moving too slowly (it is suppose to be slow and easy to accomplish). Tom Serb has put together a two-part series (at the moment) that moves over a lot material rather quickly. I suggest you check it out Standard Notation. And you also have David Hodge’s guide Your very own Rosetta Stone.

I’m looking forward to the responses of the Guitar Noise readers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I like teaching it. When we finish this series, maybe we can forge forward in harmonic playing and theory, using the same learning approach. Let’s first learn how to read and PLAY!

This lesson will cover some music basics and “playing 3 notes” on the 1st string. I will be assuming that you can read TAB already. Therefore, I will have TAB underneath the notes as a guide for you. In order to really understand and use music notation, you will need music that doesn’t have TAB underneath the notes. Having the TAB under the notes is similar to having training wheels for a bicycle. Until the training wheels come off, you’re not quite riding on two wheels. I will be offering music without TAB. Including more practice material will make this article too long. You will just need to email me at peter@petersimms.com and I will be happen to send you some with audio.

Let’s start with the diagram below. I try and teach what you will only need to know for the moment. Therefore, there will be things not explained until later. Glance over the diagram now and then let’s move on to the explanations.

As you can see, there are a few things to learn. The staff is are the 5 lines that we write music on. It looks like TAB, but there are only 5 lines and the lines do not represent the strings. They represent “pitch”. The higher the pitch, the closer the note is to the top of the staff. Thus, the note on the top line of the staff sounds a lot higher than the note on the bottom line of the staff. The Measure is basically a representation of a group of beats. When the drummer of a band counts “1-2-3-4″, he is counting a blank measure. You can hear these groups. When you hear a Waltz (similar to the dance), you are counting in groups of “3″. The top number of the Time Signature tells you how many counts are in a measure. Therefore, a waltz is in 3/4;. We will leave the bottom number alone for now. Notes also represent Rhythm. If the note looks like a Whole Note, when you pluck that note, count to 4 and start counting the moment you pluck the note. (Dotted Half Note = 3, Half Note = 2, Quarter Note = 1).

I tend to teach my students to just count the values of each note. They will add up properly in each measure. Some teachers (most) have you count as the notes fall within the beat of the measure. The choice is yours at the beginning. Eventually it will work out anyway in the end. As for now the Time Signature is the symbol we use to indicate the pitch values of the notes, and this is the symbol we use for the guitar (plus many other instruments.

Now that we have enough information to move on, let’s look at the notes we are going to learn today. (see below).

Try and play these notes before attempting to play the exercises below. Listen to the midi examples and pay attention to the rhythm.

Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)

• Notes on the 1st String Part 1
• Notes on the 1st String Part 2

Focus on 1 line at a time (4 measures). The audio example plays from the beginning straight to the end. This is your goal. If you have any questions, please email me. I will be more than happy to answer you. You can also request some extra exercises “without TAB” from me. My email: peter@petersimms.com

Until next time … Have Fun! …

Also in this Series

• How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar – Part 2
• How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar – Part 3

Some of my private students came to their lesson playing my last lesson on Guitar Noise (Break of Day) with a guitar pick. It sounded good! I originally wrote it as a fingerpicking song. After talking with them about it, they had one thing in common: it was difficult to pluck with their fingers and they would rather use a pick. When I offered to write some more songs for pick players, they jumped at the idea. Therefore, for you “guitar pickers” I’m here for you!

Key West is a chord melody (solo guitar arrangement) that is to be played with a guitar pick. I would recommend you listen to the mp3 provided and watch the music before attempting to play this song. I included a chord fingering chart that references to the measures in the song. This should give you an idea of how to finger the chords and be able to play the riffs without getting your fingers tangled up.

Key West pdf (Right-click and “Save as”)

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

When looking at some of the chord melodies that are published out there, you will notice that sometimes there are no chord symbols and just the music. Then again, there are some that have every harmony notated. In my biased opinion over the years, I feel that not having any chord symbols can limit the player into typing out the song as written. At the same time, if every harmony is labeled, the player can become overwhelmed with a barrage of chord symbols. I prefer to label the “basic” chord that the harmonies and melody are playing through. This allows the player to understand what the composer is thinking. General chord labeling not only gives the player a concept of what is happening, but he/she can change parts that don’t fit with that player’s style. These are solo guitar arrangements, thus manipulation of a song is not detrimental to the song.

If you decide to add, remove, or change parts, just remember:

if it sounds good, then keep it

and if it sounds bad, then change it.

I hope you have lots of fun with this song, and if you would like a Free Video of me playing this song, just email me and ask!

Enjoy!

Peter Simms
Email: peter@petersimms.com

I would like to present a couple of hints to make this song a little bit easier to play and sound sweeter. In the “A Section” [lines 1,2,and 4], barre your index finger across strings 1-3 on the 7th fret. Be sure that the 4th string can ring freely. Keep the barre down to let strings ring as you play. Although it is not notated [I wanted it easy to read], it gives the song a chime type effect. You can reach the needed frets 8,9, and 10 with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers. This section is just a little ditty based off a “D” chord.

Line 3 is the “B Section” of the song. We are going to play with a “G”chord. Place your ring finger on the 6th string 3rd fret and leave it there [let it ring each time you pluck it] for the complete line. String 2, fret 3 should be played with your pinky and leave it there [let it ring each time you pluck it] for the complete line. You are basically fingering a Gmaj7 chord (no 3rd) when your index finger is on the 2nd fret, and a G major 6th chord when the 1st string is ringing open.

I liked the harmony at the end of “A Section” more on the 3rd and 2nd strings. Be sure to slide your index finger down the 3rd string and onto the 2nd fret. You can play the 2nd string 3rd fret with your ring or middle finger (I use my ring).

Fingerpicking hand: The thumb plays only the bass strings (4-6). Use your other fingers [index, middle, ring] to play strings 1,2,and 3. Which ones? Use what you want [index, middle, ring] I wanted to make this as easy as possible.

Take a listen to the provided mp3 link (I used a little echo for ambience).

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Also, if you would like a quicktime video of this song, email me at peter@petersimms.com and just ask!

This particular lesson is focusing on a typical jazz blues progression in the key “A”. Most people who are just getting into the blues know that there is a 3 chord combination that is traditional with the blues. It’s called a I – IV-V progression (Roman Numerals are usually used with explaining chord progressions). In the key of “A”, we would use the chords A, D, and E. To figure this out, we would think of an “A” major scale and an A major chord would be the “I” chord. As you build chords in the scale you get: I = A, ii = Bm, iii = C#m, IV = D, V = E7, vi = F#m, vii = G#m7b5. Each one of these chords can be extended, as long as the integrity of the chord remains [example: E = E7]. A typical set of chords for a jazz blues is our set below. As you listen to the mp3 provided below, you will notice that it will “sound” of the blues, but the new chords have put a twist on the texture and feel of the sound.

There are standard classical theoretical rules that can be bent with jazz and blues (such as changing major chords to dominant 7th chords) . Our progression contains: A6 = I , D9 = dominant II, F#7#9 = dominant III chord (notice the #9 is the same as a b3, thus this type of chord is substituted for minor chords and doesn’t ruin the chord progression sound), Bm7 = ii, and E7#9 = V. A lot of this theory is confusing for some of you, so don’t worry about it. Just play the exercise, because it’s fun! For those of you that have some general theory background, I thought this would be interesting. Jazz theory is very insightful, and there are lots of good books and articles available on the subject. I highly recommend it.

Back to playing…The bass line generally will out lines the chords, walk a scale that matches the chord, and sometimes will add a few chromatic passages (1/2 step notes that are not part of any scale or chord) to lead to the next chord. The trick to making this sound good is to “punch” the chords out with your index, middle, and ring fingers, and to focus on making the bass sound smooth. By doing this, you create a feeling of two instruments (bass guitar + rhythm guitar). It takes a while to get it, but it’s somewhat addictive once you got it.

Provided below is the music, tab, and a chord diagram sheet to help out with fingerings. I would recommend taking it a chord at a time, check to see how the bass line relates to the chord, and get the feel of moving from one to the other.

Your Left (picking) Hand:
1. Play the bass line with your thumb.
2. Keep your index, middle, and ring fingers together and pluck in a unison motion (as if they were glued together).

For a quicktime video of me playing it, email me and I will be happy to email you one. Left and Right hands. Sometimes seeing it helps a lot.
Here is an mp3 of me playing the Walking Bass Blues Rhythm – Key of A – (click here)

( I played it a little slow, in order for you to follow the chart)

Have fun with it!
Enjoy! … Peter Simms
My email: peter@petersimms.com

Fingering starts to get a little tricky at this point. The bass is almost always played with the thumb, but deciding which of the other fingers to use somehow always comes up for debate on advanced arrangements. I always go by the “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” method. Therefore, just go for it! If you are stumbling while playing, obviously think about using different fingers. Also, don’t be a two-fingered player – that will keep you from being able to tackle the tough stuff. If you need exercises to develop either hand, there are tons of them on the net. If you’re still stumped, e-mail me and I’ll be more than happy to point you in a direction.

Example #1 is the melody (I just made one up) only.
Example #2 is the bass and the melody
Example #3 is the bass, melody, and rhythmic parts of the chords.

Click Here and hear a mp3 of me playing Examples 1,2, and 3 in order.

When creating a chord melody, the melody is top priority. Also, when creating a chord melody there are many times that the melody needs to be modified because of some kind of reason. If you change the melody around, but it still sounds like the song (or just sounds good), then keep it! I prefer not to change the melody when the parts fit together well. But, if I’m having problems I make adjustments.

Speaking of adjustments, I needed to make them in this lesson. I decided to try and keep the melody true and make my needed changes either to the bass or the rhythm chord parts. For the bass parts in measures 2 and 4, I decided to let the bass ring for two beats (half note) and play the melody only for those four notes. This also means that I “let go of the two note” rhythmic chord parts. Why? It sounded good and I was having trouble inserting the bass rhythm and chord rhythm.

Altering chords can sometimes be necessary if the melody is in conflict with your fingerings. The guitar is a bit limited when trying to put so many things at the same time together. In this case, there is an “E” note in the melody when a Bm7b5 chord is being played. At this point, I changed the “chord” for that moment and inserted the “E” (string 2 fret 5 in measures 2 and 4) and played parts of the chord (fret 7 on strings 3 and 4) while the “B” in the bass (string 6 fret 7) was ringing. It sounded good, so I kept it.

This practice arrangement is to help you to play a tiny chord melody of five measures and get the feel for a Latin chord melody. My main goal is to give you an idea of how they are put together and spark your interest in creating your own! The trick to making this stuff happen is to be able to “Think Out of the Box”. So bend the rules when necessary! If it sounds good, keep it. If it sounds bad, change it. If you have any questions about this lesson, I would be more than happy to answer them.

My e-mail: peter@petersimms.com

Enjoy! … Peter Simms

Also check out… Finding A Latin Groove – Part 1

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

This is not as hard as it sounds, but it does take a while to get. And…. there is an effective process that I use to help my students learn it.

1st. This is a finger style song using your thumb, index, middle, and ring finger to pluck with. Try and make the chords sound decent before trying the rhythm. When playing Am7, thumb=6th string, index=4th string, middle=3rd string, ring=2nd srtring. Thus, pluck strings 6,4,3,2 (not 5 or 1) at the same time. If it sounds good, move to the next: Bm7b5: pluck same strings, but you’re fingering a new chord…. E7: pluck same strings, but you’re fingering a new chord…. Am9 is just a way to end the progression (an extension of Am7).

2nd. Focus on the bass line – the thumb does all the work. This is done on purpose. You will not have to worry about moving your thumb around for this exercise. It is always plucking the 6th string. You can focus on the “groove” (rhythm). When plucking the strings with your index, middle, and ring finger, hold the fingers together as a unit. You should be able to feel the sides of the fingers touching each other. Once you get the hang of this, it makes it a lot easier.

3rd. Now that you have the picking hand working, it’s time to work with the fretboard hand. The idea is to create separation of parts (bass player and chord player). By relaxing your hand just after plucking the small chords with your fingers, a punchy chordal rhythmic pattern can be produced. At the “same time” remember that you want the bass notes to sound relaxed and ringing (especially when the 6th string is open). Take a listen to the MP3, you will hear the feeling of two players.

Your main goal is to create a nice Latin groove with a bass line. If you came up with something different but it accomplished this goal…. you’re there! If you have any questions about this lesson, I would be more than happy to answer them. My e-mail: peter@petersimms.com

Enjoy!

Also check out… Finding A Latin Groove – Part 2

I put together a very easy instrumental for beginning to intermediate students.

This chord melody requires you to use “Drop D Tuning”. All that you need to do is: Lower String 6 from its original “E” pitch to a “D” note (one whole step lower). I did this because it added an extra low bass for this song; I used it to create a dramatic pulsating motion for the song.

Even though easy to play, it turned out very nice sounding. Think about which fingers to use to play your notes. Common sense will guide you. This should be a lot of fun, and not take a long time to learn.

Below are the lead sheet (melody and chords) and the Guitar Arrangement:

Listen to the midi file of the arrangement:

Download midi (Right-click and “Save as”)

Enjoy!

Happy Christmas to all!

This is a bouncy two-step song…very fun! But, it will take a lot of work to get it to groove. It’s worth it! First goal is to play the melody below and get it into your head:

The guitar arrangement is very “straight forward.” Therefore, change it around to fit your playing style. As long as it sounds good…do it.

There are some odd chord fingerings, so I’ve provided a chord chart with references to the measures of the song:

Once you get the song into your head and fingers, experiment with different tempos. You will then find a tempo where the song sounds best with your style.

Remember that chords belong to three main categories: major, minor and dominant. I altered some chords so I could fit the melody and still keep the integrity of the song. Try it…your ears will tell you when you go too far.

Enjoy!

Listen to the midi file or listen to me play it (MP3 of full song with extra goodies!)

Most of us know the “Major Scale“. It is an note sequence of Whole Steps (W=2 fret distance) and Half Steps (H= 1 fret distance). That sequence is WWHWWWH (see example #1). Play a “C chord”, then play example #1 forwards and backwards to get that sound in your head… this is an important thing to do right now. Once you can feel and get used to the sound… come back to this lesson. I set this exercise on 1 string so you can see the whole and half steps.

You can take a listen to it on a midi file: Click Here

EXAMPLE #1

Now that you recognize the sound of Major Scale, I’m going to tell you that it also has another name: The Ionian Mode. The idea with the modes is that if you start with another note of the major scale and end with the same note, you change the “whole step/half step” relationship… and get another sound or “mode”.

The Dorian Mode starts with the 2nd degree. If we were to use our example, you get: D E F G A B C D. Our sequence is then WHWWWHW. Play a “Dm Chord” and play example #2.

You can take a listen to it on a midi file: “Click Here”

EXAMPLE #2

This gives us a new sound, and raises a question…

Is it a new scale or just the same scale starting on the 2nd degree? It is both! One of my students just asked me this (even though I’ve heard this question from dozens of my students over the years). This is what I wrote him:

“The Modes are tricky. It seems you know enough about them to be dangerous. There are two schools of thought on this. One school… says it’s all one scale, therefore just relate it to the Major Scale (Ionian Mode). The other school of thought is that each mode has it’s own unique sound. They both have strong arguments, and I don’t think that argument will ever be settled. I myself tend to lean to the other. If you take chords for instance…. a “C6″ and a “Am7″ …. they share the exact same notes:

C6 = C E G A
Am7 = A C E G

Well.. which one is it? It depends on the function of the chord and which note is being played in the bass. There are several examples, but I will leave you with this one to think about.

The modes in my opinion function like these chords. If the chord progression is leading to a sense of resolve on the C6 chord… you are soloing with C Ionian (major) … and you are leaning your notes in that scale to support that chord. If the chord progression is leading to a sense of resolve on a Am7 chord … you are soloing with A Aeolian… and you are leaning your notes in that scale to support that chord. Does this make any sense to you? …….. The fact remains: you can do a lot with this set of notes! Therefore that is why it is on your list of things to do.”

Each note has its own modal name (I put the chord to play when playing the mode):

Take a listen to the modes played in order (Example 3) Click Here

C – C Ionian (start on the 1 st note)
Dm – D Dorian
Em – E Phrygian
F – F Lydian
G7 – G Mixolydian
Am – A Aeolian
Bm7b5 – B Locrian

EXAMPLE 3

I tend to take advantage of the “it’s one scale” idea, by learning 6 fingerings extremely well (example #3) that cover the complete fretboard. And, be able to switch the “root” which in turn switches the “mode”. Check out the fingering diagrams below.

The only way to really get the effect of a modal scale: is to play the accompanying chord, then play the mode.The Modal Scales and the Pentatonic (blues) Scales are your strongest working scales for soloing. You will hear musicians mixing Pentatonic and Modal Scale extensively: Carlos Santana, Kirk Hammit, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, George Benson, John Scofield, ….. all styles… they cover it! Therefore…. GO FOR IT! They are definitely worth learning.

Enjoy!

A Note About Beginnings (Intros) and Endings (Outros):

Sometimes Intros can be just the beginning of the song and sometimes you can “vamp” (to play a rhythm repeatedly) on a chord sequence before starting. Usually the vamp will be over the first or last four measures of a song. In the case of this song: C – C#dim7 – Dm7 – G7 (this is a two measure Into … play a couple of times = 4 measures, and start the song!)

Sometimes Outros can be the last 2, 4, or 8 measures of the song. In this case just play the last 2 measures of Section A again. There you Go! Give it a try!

If you got any questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Enjoy!

“Bouncy Songs are always fun!”

Midi File for Complete Song: AABA Click Here

Also in this Series

• The Art of Creating Complete Song Arrangements
• I Got Rhythm Part 2
• Chord Construction 101

You must first understand the Major Scale. In example #1, I have written out two octaves of the C major scale and given number degrees for each note (1-15). I’m using the C major scale because there are no sharps or flats in this scale. A major scale consists of a combination of Whole (W) and Half (H) steps. That combination is WWHWWWH. When we start with a C note on your instrument, there will be all natural notes when you play this scale. The system is designed this way. But when you start with any other note, you will need to sharpen or flatten at least one or more notes to create the WWHWWWH combination. I am going to refer to the C major scale throughout this lesson in order to keep it as simple as possible. Let’s get started!

There are 3 types of chords that you can relate all your chords to:

1. Major Chords (bright – pretty sounding)
2. Minor Chords (dark – serious sounding)
3. Dominant Chords (chords with a bite! – bebop guys love this stuff)

There are countless combinations and inversions. If you can understand how they are put together and how they function, you can make chord melodies a whole lot easier.

A chord symbol will describe which notes are being played together out of our scale. There can also be numbers, sharps and flats to indicate if there are any modifications needed to be made.

Our 3 types of chords are as follows:

C major = 1 3 5 = C E G
C minor = 1 b3 5 = C Eb G
C dominant = 1 3 5 b7 = C E G Bb

Here is a little chart with extensions to the chords that I make for my students:

Major Chords: 1 – 3 – 5 – (6) – 7 – 9 – (#11) – 13
Minor Chords: 1 – b3 – 5 (b5) – (6) – b7 – 9 – 11
Dominant Chords: 1 – 3 – (b5) 5 (#5) – b7 – (b9) 9 (#9) -(#11) – (b13) 13
Diminished Chords: 1 – b3 – b5 – bb7 (double flat (bb) = whole step lower)
Suspended Chords: 1 – (2) or (4) – 5 – b7

You can do a lot with only these to work with! A chord symbol will tell you what is in the chord itself. So let’s do a few to see if you have gotten this far.

Major Chords
C (C E G)
C6 (C E G A)
Cmaj7 (C E G B)
Cmaj9 (C E G B D)
Cmaj7#11 (C E G B F#)
Cmaj13#11 ( C E B D F# A)

Minor Chords
Cm ( C Eb G)
Cm7 (C Eb G Bb)
Cm9 (C Eb G Bb D)
Cm11 (C Eb G Bb D F)
Cm6 (C Eb G A)

Dominant Chords
C7 (C E G Bb)
C9 (C E G Bb D)
C13 (C E G Bb D A)
C7b9 (C E G Bb Db)
C7b9b13 (C E G Bb Db Ab)
C7#5 (C E G# Bb)
C7b5 (C E Gb Bb)
C7b9#11b13 (C E G Bb Db F# Ab)
Cdim7 (C Eb Gb Bbb)

Suspended Chords
Csus2 (C D G)
C7sus4 (C F G Bb)

If you use the C major scale with the degrees marked and the chord formulas I presented to you, you should get a good general idea of how C chords are built. You can do the exact same with the other eleven notes of the chromatic scale! The diminished scale has a dominant characteristic, but really sticks out. Therefore it is grouped with the dominant chords, but I separated it in the formulas. The suspended chord belongs to “no one.” The 3rd and the 7th degree are the most important notes to give color (its tonal characteristic) to a chord. When the 3rd degree is removed, it has a floating type of tone. It is not until the other chords in a song or the melody can give away its nature of major, minor or dominant.

Look at the chord symbols and how they describe which degrees in the scale make up the chord. There are other combinations you can come up with. Knowing this system, you can manipulate the chord symbol to describe what notes you want in a chord.

The only other feature I want to talk about is changing the bass note. Just make you chord symbol and use a slash (/) then the bass note.

Example: Cm7/G (this is a Cm7 with a G in the Bass). It’s that simple to write.

That is pretty much it for now. You need to practice it for sure. If you take the time, you will find it easy. Have fun!

There are chords which are enharmonic to each other (chords that share the same notes but have different functions and therefore different names). We will deal with that another time. There are also chord substitutions….they are easy ways to extend the colors of the original chord…. I’ll talk to you about them another time as well.

Tip: When I assemble a chord melody, I want to stay true to a chord, but I will eliminate notes if I need to. “Which notes?” you might ask. Well, it depends on how difficult it is to make it sound good. At that point… I don’t care as long as it sounds good. So bend or break the rules if you need to. The big question is “Does it sound good?” Well, that’s all I’m looking for. I’ll leave the number crunching to the analysts…. ha!

Sooooooo……. are you ready for that aspirin yet? Take some time with this and check out the actual notes with the chords you already play! It always works. When I do that with my students, they always trip out.

Enjoy!

“Sometimes it’s kind of cool to know what you’re playing.”

Also in this Series

• The Art of Creating Complete Song Arrangements
• I Got Rhythm
• It’s Only A Paper Moon

Part 2 is not a hard one. There are only two sections to this song! Play section one (the transcription in Part 1) twice, section two (today’s lesson) once, and then back to section one once again.

Now you have the basic, complete song. We will get into intros, outros, and improvisation in our upcoming lessons. Let’s make a song first. Yeah!

Example 1

Example one shows us our melody and the places where I chose to use it. As you expand your chord fingering and chord construction knowledge, you will be able to choose the premium spots to play your melody. My next lesson will be about chord construction and how you can manipulate what you already know! (Pretty cool huh?)

Example 2

Example two gives you the chord fingerings for the measures and example three gives you the arrangement. Once again, this arrangement is for fingerstyle playing.

Once you get the arrangement working, remember to try and make the melody stick out a little louder than everything else.

Then….. it’s time to groove! If you think you got it, try playing with a metronome. Tick, tock, who’s afraid of the clock? This might prove to be a very humbling experience. Don’t get discouraged. The metronome is an incredible benchmark for determining how well you know a song. The best is a drum machine, or even the drum rhythms in those inexpensive home keyboards… many of you might have one! Set it on a slow swing and give it a try. Then slowly pick up the speed.

E-mail me and let me know how it went. Have a great time and see you for a chord construction lesson next time.

“It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing.”

Have Fun!

Also in this Series

• The Art of Creating Complete Song Arrangements
• Chord Construction 101
• It’s Only A Paper Moon

We will be using a finger style approach. Even though chord melodies can be played with a pick, your picking hand can accomplish a lot more if you play finger style.

Even though chord melodies can be quite complicated, I tend to lean toward a simple approach to making them work. I have a priority system:

• Number #1 is the Melody (this “is” the song)
• Number #2 is the Bass Line (just root notes of the chords and the melody can sound good!)
• Number #3 are the chordal tones (other notes in the chords)
• Number #4 add the kitchen sink (what ever sounds good keep!)

In this lesson, we will assemble Melody, Bass (this time = root notes of the chords), and Chordal Tones to the A section of I Got Rhythm. I could write a series of paragraphs about how this is put together. Instead of writing about every detail… let’s just put it together and I’ll get deeper into why it works in another lesson. This lesson is to whet your appetite.

Example #1 shows where we will play the melody (the choice of where each note is played corresponds with the chord I choose to play it with).

Example # 2

Example #2 shows the chord fingerings to each of the chord changes for every measure.

Example #3 shows the complete arrangement of the A Section of I Got Rhythm.

Use the chord diagrams and the arrangement to put your chord melody together. Measures 1 through 5 are easy… just play the chords. Measure 7 requires you to stretch your pinkie and play the 11th fret (Eb) … and measure 6 requires you to leave the chord and play a couple of notes. In Measure 8 … just play the chord.

Once you have assembled the fingerings and can manage playing Example #3, play Example #1 again. Your melody is #1. Work with you right hand fingers to make it a bit louder than the rest of the chord. This takes a bit of practice. Don¹t worry if the rhythmic value of each note isn¹t exact… if it sounds good keep it! If it sounds bad …. fix it!

The Groove…. well, either it is there or it isn’t. When a listener wants to tap their foot to your song, you got it! This is the “Last Thing” you work on when working on chord melodies. Rhythm can sometimes be the most difficult. It will take time (give yourself a break) to groove through a complete song. Once that happens…. Yeah! It feels good. You will want to do it again and again.

In a series of lessons here on Guitar Noise, I will be focusing on ways to assemble, create, groove, and improvise over your chord melodies. I hope you enjoyed this taste of what is to come! Please e-mail me with any comments, suggestions, or questions at: peter@petersimms.com.

I look forward to showing you something new in the near future.

Have Fun!

Also in this Series

• I Got Rhythm Part 2
• Chord Construction 101
• It’s Only A Paper Moon