Playing Songs….
Okay! Now here comes the fun part! Hopefully you have been practicing the CAGED technique and are able to switch between the chords as smoothly as possible? Great! Let’s begin:
We are going to be teaching you the basics of reading a music diagram. Note: I said a diagram. We will not be teaching you how to read music. So, take a deep breath and relax.
The first technique we need to approach is rhythm. If you don’t have rhythm? You’re not going to sound that good. Let’s take a look at a diagram we’ve put together for you to learn how rhythm is approached and noted on a music stave (diagram used to write music and tablature).
Down would indicate a down stroke with your pick hand and a Down+up would indicate strumming down and then immediately strumming the strings upward from the down stroke.
- From the previous lesson on playing the chords, start by playing the G chord in measure(strumming patterns between the bar lines) one and count…… Down, Down+up,Down.
- Continue with the C Chord Down, Down+up,Down and so on………….
Note: The chord is always played at the exact point it is located within the measure.
This is basically how rhythm is noted on a stave. We will be putting together practicing diagrams & schedules in a later lesson. Practice it over and over again trying different strumming patterns. Now that you know a little bit about basic rhythm…… Let’s dive into a song!
Song: Blowin’ in the wind
Artist: Bob Dylan (1963)
Tab by: Naminator
———————Verse————————-
G C G
How many roads must a man walk down
C D
Before you call him a man?
G C G
Yes, n how many seas must a white dove sail
C D
Before she sleeps in the sand?
G C G
Yes, n how many times must the cannon balls fly
C D
Before theyre forever banned?
———————Verse————————-
———————-Chorus———————–
C D G Em
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
C D G
The answer is blowin in the wind.
———————-Chorus———————–
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, n how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, n how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before its washed to the sea?
Yes, n how many years can some people exist
Before theyre allowed to be free?
Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesnt see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
The song to the left is one of the best universal songs that most people know and is easy to learn. You can also see these beginner guitar songs on our site, or you can find many of your favorite songs at ultimate-guitar that are put into this format if you’d prefer. However, I’d encourage you to stay with more simpler songs to not move too quickly and risk giving up due to difficulty.
When playing songs, the chord name is always located above the word where the chord change needs to be made. Also, you want to constantly be keeping a smooth rhythm (unless the song has strumming breaks). This is done by continuing to strum when making chord changes. If you pause to change chords it will sound broken up and un-smooth.
Many songs also have minor chords in them. You will need to practice the same technique as CAGED. However, you will practice it as C,Am,G,Em,Dm. I purposely left out Cm and Gm due to the fact they’re barre chords. Barre chords are a more advanced chord that take more finger strength. Click here to learn more about barre chords.
Keep practicing different songs to get this technique down. Since you won’t be playing songs note for note and just playing chords….. it would help to practice singing along with the song.
If you’ve made it to this point? You’re well on your way to becoming a guitarist.
