Lesson Three – Course Introduction
Course Objectives:
1. Learn Basic Theory
2. Learn Chords
3. Learn Notes and Music Notation
4. Learn Praise and Worship Songs
Lesson Three Instruction
Warming Up
As Uncle Vic taught us in Lesson Two, a brief warm up can really help your fingers make the necessary chord stretches, plus, it can prevent cramps and other left-hand nastiness. Let’s run through Vic’s four finger, six string exercise. Vic employs a chromatic scale, meaning all possible notes (all possible colors).
The image below shows the “TAB” for Vic’s exercise. The TAB notation shows the six horizontal strings and the numeric fret positions to play. The number 0 means to play the open string. The number 1 means to play the 1st fret of the designated string. The top string is the high E. The bottom string is the Low E. Vic will start us playing the high E string.
Chord Review
Vic will lead us through a review strumming the Lesson Two chords: C, F, and G. Strum along. If you need help, raise your hand and Jack or Elvis will come to your rescue.
What is a Chord?
Simply put, a chord is two more notes played together. The majority of guitarists play chords. Since the standard guitar has six strings, you can play up to six notes at one time.
We label chords based on the root note of the scale associated with the chord. The root of the C major scale is “C”. Thus the “C” chord is derived from the root of the C major scale.
When a composer such as Bach or Mozart composed a musical score they did not think in chord names such C, G, D, or D7. But they still composed music containing those chords. You see, when you compose a score for an orchestra, you assign single notes to various instruments to be played at the same time. In the following score, each beat consists of four or five notes. But notice at the far left, there is an instrument is assigned to each staff, starting with violin 1 playing the highest note, then violin 2, followed by a Viola, Violin-Cello, and Double bass (contrabass), Double bass playing the lowest note. each instrument plays one note at a time, but together, they are playing chords! What is the first chord being played? _______
The piano is considered an “orchestra in a box” since it can play the highest and lowest notes of the other orchestra instruments and can play multiple notes at one time. Thus, you could play the above score using one piano rather than five instruments.
The guitar does not have the full range of the piano, but it also can play a relatively full harmonic structure like the music score above. The range of the guitar is approximately three octaves (Frets 0 to 12). In standard tuning the guitar note range is as follows (Frets 0 to 12):
Lesson Three Chords
C Major Scale (C D E F G A B)
I Chord: C (C E G)
IV Chord: F (F A C)
V Chord: G7 (G B D F) or G (G B D)
Click Here for the chord diagrams and more.
Lesson Three Song
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