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Free Guitar Lesson 1

We will start by getting you set up on your guitar. If you've already covered holding your guitar, sitting and standing positions and holding a pick then feel free to more on to part 2 of this lesson.

Part 1 - Getting into position

Sitting Positions

There are two sitting positions for holding the guitar; classical and casual.

1. Pick up the guitar and make sure that the guitar body is supported by your leg.
2. Position yourself at the edge of your chair.
3. Ensure that your back is relaxed but straight.
4. Lean the guitar back towards you slightly.

Casual Position

Classical Position

Standing Position

1. Pick up the guitar and place the strap over your shoulder. Adjust the strap so that the guitar is positioned mid-body.
2. Use your left hand to support the neck of the guitar.
3. Rest your right hand over the bridge of the guitar.

Hand Positions

It is important that you relax your wrists and hands. Straining them can cause injury.

Front view

Rear view

Fretting

When you play the guitar, you use your left hand fingers to press down the strings on the fret board of the guitar and use your right hand to pluck or strum the stings at the bridge end of the guitar. Using your left hand to press the strings on the fret board is called fretting. Here are some tips you will need to know:

1. Short fingernails are essential.
2. Use only the tips of your fingers to press the strings.
3. When making a chord, be sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. We will cover chords in lesson one.
4. Check each string that it rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. As a beginner guitarist, it may hurt your fingers to play. This is normal. Every guitarist starts this way for the first couple of weeks. With practice, you will develop guitar fingers (hard skin on your fingertips).

Holding the Pick

Position the pick between thumb and index fingers like in the diagram below:

Time to take a break

Well done, you've just completed the first part of this newsletter. Take a few minutes to reinforce what you've just learnt.

Coming Up

• Learn about chords
• Start using the A and D Major chords

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Part 2 - Chords

Now you are ready to start your first theoretical lesson. Your aim in this lesson is to learn the A and D major chords and to introduce yourself to reading guitar tablature. This lesson is very important, so I want you to really focus.

Remember! It is more beneficial for you to practice several times during a week than to practice for one long session. This is because your brain processes information in chunks at a time and it can only hold a certain amount in short term storage.
For example, with phone numbers, it is very difficult to remember any more than 7 digits at a time. Yet if you give yourself time between practicing, even if it is just 10 minutes, you’ll find that your brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge.

Ok, let’s get started on the lesson. To start with, I want you to have a look at the guitar neck diagram below and make note of all the relevant pieces of information.

Frets

The guitar neck is divided into what we call frets, making a fret board. Most guitars have around 20 frets. In this first book, we will focus on the first four, also known as the first position. In book 2, we will move beyond that. Notice that we number each fret starting at 1 at the head of the guitar.
Note: Each string on the guitar is numbered. When you hold your guitar as you would when using the casual playing position, the 1st string is at the bottom and the 6th string is at the top.
Notice also the term, ‘Tuning’ at the bottom of the above diagram. Tuning refers to the notes that the guitar strings are tuned to. In the above diagram, I have given a very common tuning called standard E tuning that consists of the notes E, A, D, G and B. Strings 1 and 6 are both tuned to the note E. The open 6th string is called low E. The open 1st string is called high E as it is two octaves higher than the 6th string open E. I will explain notes and octaves to you in a later newsletter, but for now, you only need to know the names of the notes in standard open E tuning.

Now make sure that your guitar is tuned to standard E tuning (the most common tuning). If you don't know how to tune your guitar, then download my free guide to tuning your guitar from here. Or if you are already a member of Jamorama.com, you can use our guitar tuning software to help you tune your guitar.
Note: To open the above tuning.pdf file you'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy here.
We will stick to standard E tuning throughout this newsletter.

Introduction to Chords

Now we are going to look at guitar chords. Guitarists use many different chords to make progressions or riffs that can then be used to create songs. If you are not familiar with some of these terms, it’s ok. We will cover everything that I am talking about in good time.
A chord is defined as a combination of 3 or more notes played together. To examine this, I want to take a look at chord diagrams. Chord diagrams are used to illustrate how a chord is played. They are very easy to use because they look very much like the neck of the guitar, in fact, the Jamorama chord diagram is a guitar neck.
As I said above the Jamorama chord diagrams are going to be pictures of an ‘actual’ guitar neck so it’s easy to make the connection between strings and fingering. There is also a picture of the type of chord diagram that appears in most other Guitar learning guides. I want you to be aware of that form of ‘standard’ chord diagram because you may want to use it when writing up chords on paper at home.
So, now that you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it matches with the neck of your guitar, it’s time to come back to what I said earlier about a chord being a combination of 3 or more notes played together. Finger placing symbols are added to the chord diagram so we know which notes to play. To start with, let’s look at your fingers.
We give each playing finger a number that we can then match up on the chord diagram (see below).
And now, let’s look at a full chord diagram. We will use the example of the A major chord:

Chord Diagram - A Major Chord

In the chord diagram below you can see that the A major chord uses fingers 1, 2, and 3. Take note of how this chord diagram looks - we will use this style from now on.
The A major chord is constructed of the notes A, C# and E. We will cover notes a little later.
Note that there is a red dot marking the 6th string on the above chord diagram. The red dot tells you that you are not to play that string. The sixth string of the A major chord is not played, but you play the rest.
Throughout this newsletter series, every chord diagram will be accompanied by a picture of the chord being held on the fret board and video of the chord being played for you to check with. Pictured below is the A major chord being played and you will find the video further down the page.

Exercise: Playing the A Major Chord

Position each finger with care, according to the above diagram. Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing.
Now that we’ve looked at chord diagrams, I want to move on to strumming.

Introduction to Strumming

In a strum there are two types of guitar stroke. They are up stroke and down stroke. Throughout this book these strokes will be notated as follows:
When you play a stroke, you strum across the strings just in front of the bridge of the guitar with the pick in your strumming hand. When strumming a chord, make sure that you play all of the necessary strings in the chord. The stroke direction will depend on which stroke is indicated; up or down as shown above.

Exercise: Strumming the A Major Chord

Position each finger with care, according to the A Major chord diagram (above). Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Once you are sure that you are holding the A major chord correctly, practice strumming the chord in single downward strokes as indicated below:
While you play this, see if you can say out loud an even 4 count. Another option if you are a Jamorama.com member is to use the jamorama metronome - it will help you to stay in time.
Tip: You can watch a video example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself.

Try your best to start your strum from the fifth string each time you strum. A major, doesn’t sound bad if you accidentally hit the top string, although if you want your music to sound professional, you’ll want to play this chord properly. Remember to stay relaxed. Your fingers may hurt a little but they will get stronger.
Now that you are playing the A major chord properly, let’s take a look at strumming another chord...
The D Major Chord The D Major Chord is constructed of the notes D, F# (F sharp) and A and is played using fingers 1, 2 and 3:
As with the A major chord: try strumming the D major chord in downward strokes with your right hand.
Video - D major chord

Note: The top two, or fifth and sixth, strings are not played in the D major chord. Make sure that you start your stroke from the forth string each time you strum D major, it doesn’t sound bad if you accidentally hit the fifth string, although as with A major above, if you want your music to sound professional, you need to play this chord properly.

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End of Lesson

Congratulations on getting through your first lesson. Before you go, I want to mention one last thing. You have the power to transform your guitar playing, even if you don't think it. That's because learning guitar is easy when you are in the right frame of mind and have the right materials. If you transform your attitude towards learning and motivation, you can achieve an amazing level of skill. Guitar fluency begins with you!
In lesson 2 we will review the 'A' and 'D' chords, we will also be learning how to read TAB. TAB is a special kind of guitar music. The lesson will be no problems because TAB is easy to read and easy to use.
Each lesson will follow on from the last and build skill upon skill to constantly lift your ability.
In between lessons it's important that you practice what you have learnt for at least 15 minutes a day to reinforce it and make sure you are ready for the next lesson.


Before we finish for today let me ask you a question, where do you see your guitar skills a year from now? Are you going to be the guitarist you really want to be?



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how to read guitar tabs

Lesson 2

How to Read Guitar Tablature

TAB or tablature is the most common method of writing out music for the guitar. It is different from classical music notation in that; TAB uses ordinary numbers and keyboard characters as opposed to standard musical notation which uses symbols. Because of this format, anyone with a computer can write or read TAB making it the most user friendly way to read and communicate guitar music. Also TAB relates directly to the fret board of your guitar meaning that you may easily see where you put your fingers.
In the full version of Jamorama, both standard musical notation and TAB are used. But for this six day course we will only use TAB. The reason for this is that TAB is very easy to read and you should have no problems learning TAB in a few short minutes of reading.
TAB has some weak points, the worst of which is that rhythm can't be easily indicated. This shouldn't pose a problem though, as I will indicate the rhythm for each exercise using the strum indicators that were introduced in lesson one.
OK. To start I want you to look at your guitar and you will clearly see that it has six strings going from thickest to thinniest. On a TAB diagram, the thinnest string, (or 1st string as its most commonly called) is at the top - The thickest (or 6th string) is at the bottom. This is clearly demonstrated in the 1st example below.
The following diagram shows you how TAB relates to the guitar fret board:

Fret number

Some of you may notice that this guitar seems upside down in relation to how you play. This is simply the way that guitar music is generally written. Now if you transfer this same model to a written format you will get TAB, which can be seen below.

Tablature score

So the lines above indicate the strings on a guitar. The top line of the TAB being the thinnest string of the guitar, and the bottom line on the TAB chart indicating the thickest string of the guitar. Now if you look at your guitar you will see metal bars that raise up from the neck of the guitar called frets. TAB uses numbers to show you which one of these frets to press down and play.

Exercise 1

Look at the tab diagram below and you can see that the 1st string (thinnest string) is being played. The number refers to the fret that you should press down. In this case the number zero is displayed. This means that you shouldn’t press down anything.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 1
(right click on the link and select "save as")
So if you were to play the above piece of TAB on your guitar, you would pick the thinnest string once with your plucking hand and do nothing with your fret hand.
Tip: If you are having trouble with this concept, you can watch a video or listen to an audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself.

Video - Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Now let's see if we can start pushing down some strings. Look at the next example below and try and play the note that the TAB chart displays.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 2
(right click on the link and select "save as")
If you pressed down the thickest string at the 3rd fret then you played the exercise correctly. If you are still unsure whether you are doing the right thing or not, refer to the video below.

Video - Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Let's try another one. Play the following piece of TAB:

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 3
(right click on the link and select "save as")
This TAB diagram above indicates the 2nd string (second thinnest) and you should be pressing down on the first fret.
Tip: Once again, there is video available for this example

Video - Exercise 3

Things become a little more complicated when you are required to play chords, however the basic principles I have already outlined still apply. The only difference is that you will be required to play more strings and hold down more strings with your fingers. In this next example I will show you how to play the chord ‘A’.

A Major Chord

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - A Major Chord
(right click on the link and select "save as")
The first and fifth strings are played open while the second, third and forth strings are played at the second fret. The sixth string is not played in the A Major Chord and this is often indicated by an empty space on the stave or sometimes by an 'X'.
If you have read the TAB correctly your fingers should look like this:

 

Video - A Major Chord

Before we move on, I would like to introduce to you a musical symbol that we will be using from now on:
The symbol above is called a repeat sign. When you see this symbol, you go back to the start of the piece of music you are playing and play it over again.

Exercise 4

Just to make sure that you are getting the TAB concept, I want you to play the following. Take note of the repeat sign:

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 4
(right click on the link and select "save as")
f you were playing the D chord, you were correct. Check with the video below:

Video - Exercise 4

So now you know how to use basic TAB as it applies to notes and full chords. In this introductory set of lessons you will use TAB to learn different chords and by lesson six you will be able to play the full song, 'The Midnight Special'.

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If you've made it this far in my course, you realize that getting to where you want to be with guitar requires quite a lot of quality time and quality information. To help you, I've included some fantastic time saving tools and software to accompany my lessons in the Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit!
In the next lesson we learn a new chord (the 'G' chord) and some new techniques. Once you have mastered G, we will try and practice changing between the three chords we have learned - D, A, and G. We also have a few exercises for you to get down.
Until next time!
The Jamorama Team!

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Lesson 3

This lesson continues on from lessons one and two. In lesson one you learnt how to start playing and how to play the chords A and D. In the second lesson you were shown how to read tab. This lesson will be similar to the second part of lesson two, however I plan to introduce you to the chord G. Once you have mastered G, we will try and practice changing between the three chords we have learnt; D, A, and G.
Let's take a look at the G major chord:

Exercise 1

With this exercise, I want to get you strumming up and down. I would like to introduce to you a new technique to help with your playing. When you are practicing the lesson above I would like you to count out loud. This sounds easier than it is, but it is something you need to learn and it is an achievable skill. It works like this; on your down strum I want you to count “1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4” and on the up strum I would like you to say “and”. So you should be saying “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4”. Most guitar music is broken down into beats of four. This is not something you need to worry about at this stage, but it is something you should be aware of. Try the exercise below and remember to take a look at the video if you have any problems:

G major chord

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 1
(right click on the link and select "save as")
Tip: You can watch a video or listen to an audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself.

Video - Exercise 1

As you can see the difference between practicing this chord and the previous chords you have learned is that you are doubling up on the strum. The way I would like you to do this is by strumming up when you bring your hand back up. Take your time with this. Watch the video provided and try and play along. Your strum should be constant and in time. The track provided is slow and with a little pratice you should be able to play G with up and down strum.
Now we are going to work on changing between G, D and A. As above, I would like you to continue using an up and down strum and counting out loud. So if you continue with your, “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”, it will help make the next lesson a lot easier.

Exercise 2

Next I want you to practice going from G to D. This should feel like a realitively smooth and easy chord change. It also sounds good and should with a bit of practice feel very natural. Just to remind you, you should be strumming up AND down while you perform this exercise and counting out aloud, "one and two and three and four and", in time with your strum. Note that each 'and' is written as '+' in the following exercise... This is just so that it fits properly under the TAB.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 2
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 2

Adding the up and down strum may mean that this will take a little longer to master than the previous chord changing exercises in lesson 2. Don't worry though, just keep working away at it until you can play along comfortably with the audio track provided.

Exercise 3

Now we will move onto the next exercise. This one starts in G and then goes to A. Once again I would like you continue with the up and down strum and the counting aloud as in the previous exercises in this lesson.
Before you do however, I just want to mention a couple of things. You will notice that in the video for this lesson, I play the A chord using a different method than the one that I taught you in lesson 1. I just want to make the point that there are many fingering variations to many chords and none of them are wrong. If you find a way to play a chord that is easier for you, then use it. That said, try playing the A chord the way I play it on the video and see if it works for you.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 3
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 3

Exercise 4

You're doing great here! For the final exercise we will play all three chords we have learned. Just as a quick note, when you play a group of chords in order it is called a ‘chord progression’ or a ‘progression’. In this progression we will start with a G then change to the D before finally finishing with the A. You will notice in this exercise that the A is played for twice as long as both the D and the G. I have done this so you can count out in fours as you have done in the previous exercises.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 4
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 4

I bet you never thought you would read this but; being a guitarist is a lot like being a boxer. In both disciplines your hands are your principal tools. Both guitarists and boxers must put their hands in a difficult and potentially injurious situation to perform their art.
By now you will have come across some of the difficulties and pain that come with learning the guitar. For most of you, just pressing down the strings and trying to play chords will have caused some moderate pain. Most of this pain will be in your fretting hand ( left hand for right handed players). This pain is normally felt in a few places; pain in your fingertips, sore wrists, stiff forearms and pain between your thumb and your fingers. Most of this pain is inevitable and will pass with time.
If you have serious continued pain in your hands then you should contact a health care professional. Repetitive Strain Injuries (R.S.I) and carpal tunnel syndrome are the most common serious problems that guitarists encounter. However for the vast majority of players these problems are not an issue.
The best way to avoid pain when you are playing the guitar is to dedicate some time to warming up. There are many ways you can warm up and every guitar player has a different method. In this lesson I will show you some basic warm up techniques. These techniques will also help you build hand strength and a little bit of speed.
Unlike the previous exercises in this lesson there is no need to continue with the up and down strokes. All the strokes in these two exercises will be single notes using down strokes. It is important to note that in these warm up exercises you will be playing single notes as opposed to chords which you have been practising in this lesson and in lessons 1 and 2.

Warm Up 1

In this first warm up exercise I want you to get used to using particular fingers. If you look at the diagram below you will see that each finger is numbered. Your index finger is 1, your middle finger is 2, your ring finger is 3 and your pinky is 4.
This following exercise is excellent for warming up, improving hand strength and increasing co-ordination. You will notice that I have tabbed out some single notes for you to play. Above the TAB I have written some numbers. These numbers indicate the fingers I would like you to use when doing the exercise.
Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Warm Up 1
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Warm Up 1

As you can see, this is just a simple ascending and descending pattern on the 1st string (thinnest string). First, you use your index finger, then your middle finger, then your ring finger and finally your pinky. The second part is just the same thing but in reverse

Warm Up 2

This second exercise I want to show you involves three strings; the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. It is important to notice the fingering used. This may feel a little awkward and frustrating at first but this is the correct way to play the guitar. Getting in the habit of using correct fingering will pay massive dividends as you progress with your guitar playing. Once again, play this exercise with down strokes only...

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Warm Up 2
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Warm Up 1

The two exercises shown above are excellent for warming up your hands and increasing your dexterity. If you are having severe pain when you are playing. STOP! It is much better to rest your hands and forearms for the next day's practice than to force yourself to injury. Work hard on the exercises shown in this lesson.
In tomorrows lesson we have a lot to cover. We will be playing all of the chords that you have learned; A, D and G, and you will be introduced to the strumming you will need to play the song 'The Midnight Special'. If you followed the lessons carefully you should find these exercises a logical and easy progression from what you have previously done. It's great to have you with us.

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learning to play guitar chords with tab

Lesson 4

In today's lesson we have a lot to cover. We will be playing all of the chords that you have learned: A, D and G, and we will be trying a new strum with these chords. By now you should be able to play and change between these three chords. If you followed the lessons carefully you should find these exercises a logical and easy progression from what you have previously done. It's great to have you with us...
Today's lesson is based around trying to play a specific rhythmical strum on the guitar. The first three lessons have challenged your fretting hand. This lesson is going to challenge your strumming hand. Being able to play particular strums and rhythms is an important and often under practised part of playing the guitar. Many musicians get caught up in learning crazy chords or playing speedy scales. This can often lead to the neglect of rhythm which is the basis for all music.
Remember in the last lesson we talked about warming up and using the correct fingering. Before you start this lesson, just try another one of these warm up fingering drills.

Exercise 1

This following warm up exercise involves the 6th, 5th and 4th strings (three thickest strings). Once again I would like you to use correct fingering when you are playing this. Remember your index finger is number 1, you middle finger is number 2, your ring finger is number 3 and your pinky is number 4. Play in down strokes and take your time. Try and make each note ring clear. Remember it is better to play slowly and accurately than to sound muddy and unclear.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 1(Warm Up)
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Now that you have finished that warm up pattern it's time to move onto the main part of the lesson which is some work on strumming. Before you start on this I am going to explain some simple music theory to you. Don’t get intimidated by this as it is pretty simple.
You may or may not have noticed that most of the things you have played previously have been in groups of fours or numbers that are divisible by four. Most music is like this and if you don’t believe me turn on your radio. Try and count out in fours while listening to the playing. I am confident that you will be able to count out in fours to most pieces of music you will hear.
So previously when you were strumming up and down you were playing HALF beats. That is why I had you count out, "one AND two AND three AND four AND", to split each beat in half and strum in eights. Just to recap, let's just try one of our previous exercises again.
Once again we are working with the G chord. Strum up and down in a constant rhythm. Keep it slow and accurate. As in lesson 3, I would like you to count out, "one AND two AND three AND four AND", with your strumming.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 2
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Ok, let's push those boundries a little...
Basically, what I want you to do I skip a couple of beats. In terms of what you have been counting I want you to skip the ‘two’ and the ‘four’ when you are strumming. Watch the video to see what you need to strum or give it a go and see what I mean...

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 3
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 3

Note that I have put hollow strumming symbols below the tab chart. This is because I want you to make the strum but I don’t want you to hit the strings. When you see the hollow strum symbol, that's what that means. Listen to the count on the JAM track and try and play along. This will feel a little awkward at first, but like everything we have asked you to do, it is achievable. Keep working at it and you will be able to do it. You may notice that the JAM track provided is quite slow. This is because I want you be able to play this perfectly and in time.

Exercise 4

Now I would like you continue the same strum but work with the chord A.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 4
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Cool. By now you should be having no trouble keeping up with the video. Now we will try it one more time slowly with the chord D. If you are still having trouble, try doing the measure then stopping. After stopping, wait, reset yourself, and think about what your doing and try again.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 5
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 5

Now we are going to do the exact same exercises in the same order but at a quicker pace. Learning to play a song slowly and then learning it again quickly is an excellent method of learning music. You will find that increasing the speed in small increments will allow to play more complex songs than you would otherwise be able to do.
Exercise:
Go back through the last three exercises and complete them at 72 bpm (beats per minute). Try the online metronome at www.metronomeonline.com

Exercise 6

Now I want you to vary your strum a little. What I want you to do is use the strum that we have been practicing this lesson and this time we are going to open it out a little.

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 6
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 6

This is the longest thing that you have been asked to play. It involves two different types of strums and for this reason I would like you spend a little longer on this exercise than the previous lessons. If you can master this piece you are a long way toward become a complete guitar player.

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You are doing really well, I just want you to know that.
In the next lesson I will teach you the first part of the song you are learning to play. If you have been completing the lessons in full then you are doing well and I think you are committed to becoming a good guitarist. Keep going! There are only two more lessons to go before you can play the whole song with the Jamorama Band.
Until next time!
The Jamorama Team!

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We have been helping people all over the globe to play the guitar. We have received and replied to a lot of support emails In fact this year alone we have already answered 11,345 unique support requests.
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Easy Guitar Lessons

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- No Kid Stuff -

Play Guitar in the

Next Few Minutes!

learn simple guitar songs

Lesson 5

The song 'The Midnight Special' uses the chords A, D and G. You will notice that these are chords that you have already learned, so you should have no problems playing and changing between them. Also you will notice the strum used in the song is exactly the same as the strum that we practiced in lesson 4.
Now, I realise that this song might not be in the style that you are specifically into, but it is a good song to just get you started at playing something and using the chords that you have learned. In the full Jamorama course, we cover many more styles including pop, rock, jazz, blues, metal and funk. So don't be worried if this song is not your thing. It's just there to get you up and rolling, and stringing some chords together.
Today we will be using chords that you already know and using a strum that you have already practiced. Not only that, we have practiced using both these chords and this strum with changes. So you can see how we have systematically built you up, so that playing this song is just another simple step in developing your playing.
Today, like yesterday, I am going to teach you a new warm up pattern. This one will be a touch more difficult than the last few. This pattern starts on the first fret and the sixth string (thickest string). You will play all six strings and use all your fingers. As always with these exercises, I would like you to use the correct fingering.

Warm Up

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - Exercise 1 (Warm Up)
(right click on the link and select "save as")

Video - Exercise 1 (Warm Up)

In the above warmup, you will have noticed that the frets you play have the same numbers as the fingers you use. This should make it easy to remember what to play. So now after playing that, your fingers should be warmed up and ready to play.
Let's move onto learning 'The Midnight Special'...
As you already know how to play the chords and the strum for the song, all we really need to work on today with this lesson is getting you to remember the changes and getting into the feel of the song. The first part of ‘The Midnight Special’ is the chord G followed by the chord D. The chord progression is the same during the vers and the chorus. In tomorrows lesson I will also give you a chance to play along with other instruments, but today we will try and work with a singer and your guitar.
You will have noticed by now that I like to break things down and give them to you in small, manageable steps. Nothing is going to change for this lesson. There are going to be four parts to this lesson. Firstly I want you to listen to the song, then I want you to try and play it by yourself, thirdly I would like you to play it with another guitar, and finally we will get you playing it with a singer. I have broken it down into parts like this so that you should have no problems taking each step forward.
Now I would like you to just listen to the song. You will hear that there are only two instruments playing (note; it is common to hear the ‘voice’ being called an instrument). Listen carefully to the guitar part, you will be able to hear that it holds the song together and maintains its rhythm.

The Midnight Special

Audio for 'The Midnight Special':
Play the audio for this exercise above or download 'The Midnight Special' Backing Band mp3
(right click on the link and select "save as")
This is the longest piece of TAB I have asked you to read and play along with, but like I said you have done all the parts of it before. Now is the time to put it all together and play. This time I would like you to just try and play in your own time. I would like you to consider this a piece Section. Play this piece of music until you feel you are getting it together. Make sure that it is tight and sweet sounding before you move on to the next. One last thing... all the tracks in this lesson have a click in period of 2 measures (8 clicks) before you start playing. So, when you play the following exercise, wait for 8 clicks before starting.

The Midnight Special Section 1

Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - The Midnight Special (Section1)
(right click on the link and select "save as")
Once you feel like you have mastered that piece I want you to practice it some more, and then some more as in essence that same section repeated over and over is the entire song! The song structure is simple and easy to follow. I have written out how many times you play the chord progression section below:

The Midnight Special Structure

Chorus) Play section 1 twice
Verse 1) Play section 1 twice
Chorus) Play section 1 twice
Verse 2) Play section 1 twice
Chorus) Play section 1 twice
Chorus) Play section 1 twice

At this point, I would like you to practice the structure with all the changes in your own time until you feel confident with the piece. Note that the whole song is quite long, and without someone singing and can feel very repetitive, try singing along (if you can) as you practice.

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Now that you have had a chance to play the song by yourself, you should be getting used to the chord changes. Now I would like for you to play along with my guitar track and the vocal tracks. This will feel a little harder as you will have to keep time with my guitar. Focus on playing in time and if you make any mistakes, just restart. Listen to the count on the track for your cue in.
In this part of the lesson you will be playing the exact same TAB that you have played in the last exercise. If you can do this then you have mastered this piece and you really are developing as a player.

The Midnight Special with Vocals

Play along with the following guitar and vocal track:
Play the audio for this exercise above or download Audio mp3 - The Midnight Special (With Vocals)
(right click on the link and select "save as")
So now you know how to play the song (with the guitar and vocal). In tomorrow's lesson we will be playing with the whole band. I won’t ask you to learn anything new. It will just be a matter of putting together all the elements that we have already learned in the previous lessons. There will be no new chord changes or strums for you to learn. You can just play with the band and enjoy the skills you have learnt. I have also included a track without the singing so you can try singing the song yourself while you are playing the guitar part.
Until next time!
The Jamorama Team!

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free guitar lesson 6 learn a song

Lesson 6

There will be three parts to this lesson. First, I will show you another warm up pattern, then show you the song's lyrics and finally we will get you playing along with the band. This final part should be fun and easy as you have already mastered the song and it should be a matter of just doing what you have already done but with accompanyment of instruments.


Ok. Let's get into another one of our warm up techniques. This one will once again use all your fingers and all the strings. The following pattern is similar to those that I have already shown you, so you should have no problem playing it. Now, as always I would like you to use correct fingering. The correct finger will be written out below the TAB.






You will have noticed that when there is a zero on the above tab there is no fingering indicated. That is because a zero indicates an open fret, therefore you don't need to use a finger to push down on the string. Keep working with this pattern until you feel that you are playing it smoothly.
Ok. Now we can get into the more exciting part of the lesson - playing with the band. This should be a lot of fun. Play along with the band in the following JAM track:
Backing Band for 'The Midnight Special':
Play the audio for The Midnight Special Backing Band above or download 'The Midnight Special' mp3
(right click on the link and select "save as")
Did you do it? If you feel like you are not quite getting it completly right, try again. Remember you can always refer back to lesson 5 and the TAB if you forget. Keep working at it and you will get it down.
A lot of people who want to learn to play the guitar, learn so they can sing and play. For this reason we have added a track with the band but no singer. If you want to you can sing along with the band. The Track below has had the 'Lead Vocalist' taken out so you can repalce him. I have left in the 'backing singers' in the choruses however to make it feel more like you're a part of the band!
Backing Band without vocals for 'The Midnight Special':


Play the audio for The Midnight Special Backing Band without
Vocals above or download
'The Midnight Special' Backing Band without Vocals mp3








(right click on the link and select "save as")
If you need a copy of the words, I have written them out for you below.



Chorus:
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.




Verse 2:
Yonder come miss rosie, how in the world did you know?
By the way she wears her apron, and the clothes she wore.
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand;
She come to see the govnor, she wants to free her man.

Chorus:
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.




Verse 3:
If you’re ever in Houston, well, you better do the right;
You better not gamble, there, you better not fight, at all
Or the sheriff will grab ya and the boys will bring you down.
The next thing you know, boy, oh! You’re prison bound.



Chorus:
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.

Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.

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Awesome! You have now come to the end of our six part mini-course.
If you want to continue learning how to play the guitar you should click on the link below and begin using Jamorama – the Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit. Jamorama comes in two books and includes 84 step-by-step guitar lessons, 54 high-quality video lessons and 16 exclusive Jam Tracks so you can jam along the band. Jamorama takes you on a journey from where you now to advanced in your guitar playing.
Until next time!
The Jamorama Team!

Are you ready to take the next Step?

Hopefully you have enjoyed working through this series of free guitar lessons and are hungry to see further improvements in your playing.

Check Out Jamorama For more...







Easy Guitar Lessons

for Active Adults!

- No Kid Stuff -

Play Guitar in the

Next Few Minutes!