
Back to 4 Skills Course Outline
Lesson 1: Overview of 4 Skills
Lesson 2: How Frets Work, Fingering Notes
Lesson 3: Picking Simple Melodies and Scales
Lesson 5: Strumming Technique - Songs in C and G
Lesson 6: More Chords - Am, E, Em, B7
Lesson 3: Playing Simple Melodies
In this lesson we work on picking technique
As we briefly explained in Lesson 1, effective picking requires that you master a few basic techniques.
First, hold the pick with the tip protruding only about 1/4".
Second, curl the fingers of your hand into a fist.
Third, this "fist" should hover closely over the strings. Pick the strings without a lot of movement.
Fourth, keep back and forth movement of your picking hand to a minimum.
Fifth, work on "alternate picking" wherever possible.
Practicing these picking techniques...
Now we're going to practice these techniquse: first by striking open strings (without fingering any particular notes), and then by working on some scales and simple songs.
Exercise 1: Striking open strings
Start at string 1 (high E), pick down/up, down/up. Move to string 2, and so on. Focus on making nice clean, consistent strikes.
Exercise 2: Playing G Major Scale
This serves multiple purposes. You work on your picking technique at the same time as learning the location of the notes in the G Major Scale. Remember that the G Scale has one sharp, namely, F#. As you can see from the graphic, F# is at E2 (on both E strings), and D4. Concentrate on using rhe One-Finger-per-Fret technique. F# is the only note in this scale where finger 4 (your pinky) is required.
Exercise 3: Playing Simple Songs
Here you're given the music for three easy, familiar melodies: Ode to Joy, Twinkle Twinkle, and Three Blind Mice. You can probably figure these out without the music, but knowing how to read music is a very useful skill. If you do know "how to read" you're all set. But if you don't, this would be a good time to start learning. It's a lot easier (at least at this level) than you probably think.
Ode to Joy
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Three Blind Mice
Next Lesson (4): Your First Chords