Music
Hi there and welcome once again to String Along.
How's the practicing been coming along?
Today as I promised you we're going to learn a single string country rock solo.
So I hope you've been woodshedding on those scales.
Let's check our tuning first.
Here's the first.
Second.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
And the sixth.
E, B, G, D, A and low E.
Okay, so let's look at our G scales first.
Do you remember how to hold the pick?
You bend your index finger, lay the pick on it and hold it with the thumb.
Okay, so here we go from the high C right the way down to the low C on the sixth string.
And.
Okay, let's go back the other way.
Okay, that pinky stretch should be getting a little easier by now.
So that's a scale in G.
Now what would happen if I placed a capo behind the first fret and played the scale?
In what key would I then be playing?
A flat, that's good.
And if I put the capo on behind the second fret and played the scale, I'd be playing in A, right.
So by using the capo I can play in A flat, A, B flat, B, C, C sharp, D, E flat and E.
It would actually be rather awkward to move it higher.
But you can see that just one scale fingering can let you play in up to nine different keys just by moving the capo.
So what actually does a capo do?
It frets strings on the fingerboard just like a finger would.
Just like a finger. But if it's just like a finger, why don't we just use a finger?
That way we don't need a capo and we can use the whole fingerboard, even the piece right up by the sound hole.
So all we have to do is this.
Everywhere your scale shows an open string, in other words everywhere a note would be played by the capo, we must use a finger.
It's simple, isn't it? Just look at this.
It's a G scale, but it's written out one fret higher, making it an A flat scale.
So everywhere I had an open string before, I now have a fretted string.
And the finger that I'd use is the first.
So here's how I play the scale now.
As you can see, I'm using my pinky a lot more.
I try to keep my first finger on the fret where the capo would normally be, and my second finger the next fret up,
and my third finger the next fret up, and the pinky yet another fret higher.
Now some players use just the first three fingers.
Now it is somewhat easier at first. In fact, I use three fingers a lot, but it's not really a very good habit to get into.
To really get your solos smooth, use a four finger approach.
So do try it with the pinky.
A flat, here we come, and...
And up...
So how are you getting on? This fingering is a really good workout for your pinky.
You might just have to have that pinky ring resized to accommodate all your new muscles.
Now, look at this. It's the same scale fingering, but it's at a different position on the fingerboard.
Let's try it. You start with your pinky on the first string behind the eighth fret, like this, and slowly now...
Good. What key was that, by the way? Well, your dough is always a key note, so...
G, A flat, A, B flat, B, C. That was a scale of C major.
Now we already know a scale of C major.
And in fact, we borrowed three notes from the scale we just played...
To complete a scale last time. So now you have two ways in which you can play a scale or a melody in the key of C.
Using a G scale fingering, like so...
Or as I showed you last time, using a C scale fingering.
So let's try a C scale fingering. We'll start on the high dough at the eighth fret.
Let's come up.
Good. You can even combine the scales.
So try it with me, slowly now.
Okay, now rest your fingers. In the same way that we can play our G scale anywhere on the fingerboard to give us a wide range of keys,
we can also move the C scale. Now if we played it as if we had a capo on at the first fret, the scale would actually be a C sharp scale, wouldn't it?
At the second fret, we'd be in the key of D. By the way, everything that I'm showing you is written out fully in the book and record kit that accompanies these programs.
So don't think that you have to grasp all of this right now. If you're not sure about something, just open your book and switch on the record and it's all there.
Now if you don't yet have the kit, we'll put up the address at the end of the program.
Now, how about if we put our imaginary capo on behind the seventh fret? What key would our scale be in?
Well, let's have a look. C, C sharp, D, E flat, E, F, F sharp, and G. We'd have a G scale, like this.
Let's just check that. Right. Okay, so let's try it together.
First of all, our normal G scale fingering, and then our C scale fingering up the neck.
So try it first, our normal G scale fingering, then our C scale fingering up the neck. Here goes.
And again, here we go.
Good. Now what I'd like you to do when you're practicing is take a little time to experiment with these scales.
Try starting a scale in one fingering, for instance, and complete it in another, like this.
Have fun with them. They're not boring. They're the building bricks of melody playing, and every good guitar player that I know of spends a part of each rehearsal session running these two scale fingerings all over the board.
They call it noodling. Just think of a simple tune and see in how many places you can play it. Don't make it work. Make it fun.
Okay, how about a tune? Here's one in a country rock style that came to me some time back when I was just sitting around noodling on a new guitar that a buddy of mine back in England had just sent me.
In fact, this guitar, it was made by Tony Zometis.
Tony's a great guy when he's not making guitars like this for players like Keith Richardson, George Harrison. He builds full size airplanes in his back garden.
Anyway, he just sent me this beauty and I plugged it in and this tune came out. I call it Take Your Pick.
One, two, three.
Now, of course, you can play it on acoustic guitar, but I like the stinging sound you can get using an electric instrument like this.
So here's the tab. The tune is in the key of C, but I tabbed the first part using a G fingering up at the fifth position.
And I've also marked some suggested pick directions for you, but they're just a guide. Feel free to vary them if you like. The one bad habit to avoid is playing everything with just down picks.
So let's try the intro bar. First off, what's the rhythm? One, two, three, four and with the first three counts silent. One, two, three, four and.
So try it with me. Fourth string at the fifth. Use your first finger. Then at the seventh, use your third.
Whoops, here we go.
OK, so let's try the first bar. The rhythm is what? One, two, three and four. OK, so take your pick and.
Try it. First finger on the third string held down behind the fifth fret. That's count one.
Repeat it.
That's count two. Now the fourth string behind the seventh fret and use your third finger.
That's count three. Fourth held down behind the fifth fret.
Use your first finger again. That's the and count. And finally, the fourth held down behind the seventh fret again. That's count four.
Let's try it. Here we go.
And again. One, two, three and four.
Once more.
If you like, you can slide up from one fret below.
Now, with the intro bar we have.
OK, so let's move on to bar two. The rhythm is one and two and three and four and.
And again, the whole bar is played out of a G scale fingering based at the fifth fret.
Now, do you remember how positions get their names? Right, they take their names from the fret on which the first finger is based.
Now, here the first finger is based at the fifth fret. So fifth position.
So the first finger holds down the third string behind the fifth fret. That's count one.
And count the third finger holds down the third string behind the seventh fret.
Now count two. The first finger holds the second string behind the fifth fret.
How are you doing so far? OK.
Now the and count. First fret's the third string at the fifth fret.
OK. Count three. The third finger holds the third string behind the seventh fret.
Now the and count coming up. First fret's the third string at the fifth fret.
Count four. Third finger frets the fourth string behind the seventh fret.
Here's another and count. First fret's the fourth string behind the fifth fret.
So the whole bar sounds like this.
One and two and three and four and. Try it with me.
One and two and three and four and.
And again.
One and two and three and four and. And again.
Good. Now bar three is the same except that it drops the last note making the rhythm.
One and two and three and four. So it sounds like this.
So let's play the tune so far.
And again.
Now bar four is very straightforward. The rhythm is one, two, three, four and.
Two, three, four and.
OK. Now count one. The first finger holds down the fourth string behind the fifth fret.
Counts two and three are silent and count four is played by moving to eighth position.
So your first finger holds down the second string behind the eighth fret.
And the and count, your third finger, holds the second string down behind the tenth fret.
So the whole bar is one, two, three, four and.
OK, let's move on. What's the rhythm of this next bar? Right.
It's one, two, three and four.
Count one. The first finger holds down the first string behind the eighth fret.
You know, I'd probably lay my finger across both strings, the first and the second.
You also make both this bar and the one we just played really easy to finger.
So count two, the same note again.
So count three, still with your first finger holding the first and second strings of the eighth.
Pick your second string and count.
Third finger holds the second string behind the tenth fret.
Count four, still with your first finger covering the first and second of the eighth.
Pick your second string. Whole bar sounds like this.
And again.
Now we get to a fun bar.
It's the second bar in this group, bar six of our tune.
The rhythm is one and two and three and four.
And if you look at the bar before you play it, as I always tell you to do,
you'll see that as in the previous bar it would make playing everything easier
if we could span both the first and second strings with our first finger, what we call barring.
In this case we'll bar the first and the second at the third fret.
Now because our first finger is based at the third fret, right, there's playing sequences in third position.
Good.
Count one with the first finger bar covering the first and second strings at the third fret.
Pick the second string.
And count while the previous note is still sounding.
Hammer down on the second string at the fifth fret to produce a new note.
And I'd use the third finger.
Here are count one and the and count.
One and.
One and.
Now count two still holding the first finger bar, play the first string.
The and count still holding the bar, play the second string.
Count three still holding the bar, hammer on the second string at the fifth fret.
Use your third finger.
Okay, the and count still holding the bar, pull off on the second string from the fifth fret to the bar at the third.
Remember how to do that?
You pull slightly to one side, then let the string slip free to give you the new note.
Count four, third string is held down behind the fourth fret.
And I'd use the second finger.
Now the whole bar is.
Try it with me.
Now the next bar is very similar.
We don't have the same fret notes on neighboring strings, so we can't use a bar.
But otherwise the picking is very much like the bar we just played.
Listen.
One and two and three and four and.
Here are both bars together.
And again.
Okay, nice easy next bar.
The rhythm is just one, two, three, four and with counts one, two and three silent.
And again, listen.
One, two, three, four and.
So let's move on.
The first part of the new sequence is again very easy.
Just one, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
So let's look at the next one.
One and two and three and four and.
It's a lot of notes, but it's very straightforward if you just keep your pick alternating up and down.
Try it.
Good. Now the next bar is very similar.
One and two, three and four.
Try it.
One and two, three and four.
Now the last part of the sequence is again another easy one.
One, two, three, four and.
Okay, listen again.
One, two, three, four and.
And again.
One, two, three, four and.
Good. So here's the whole sequence.
Starting with the last two notes in the second bar that's on the screen.
Are you ready?
Here we go then.
And again, here we go.
If you like, by the way, you can rest the edge of your palm over the bridge and get a good muffled sound.
So let's try it.
Here we go.
Well, the rest of the tune is just made up of repeats of sections that we've already learned.
So let's go back to the top and try the whole tune.
Okay.
Now remember the intro bar is one, two, three, four and with the first three counts silent.
So here goes.
And again.
So how did you get on?
It's not so difficult, is it?
What you should try to do now is to relax into the tune.
Don't you don't have to play it exactly the way that I played, for instance, slide into a note instead of starting out.
Come.
And when you get to the end of a section like.
Don't just end on that.
But slide it down or slide it up.
Like that.
So have fun with the tune.
Let's try it just once more.
So that's take your pick.
I hope you liked it.
Now, remember, you don't have to play it on electric.
It will sound fine on acoustic or even on classical guitar.
What I'd like you to do now is to sit down with it and make it into your tune.
Don't play it just the way that I played it.
As I say every time, learn the tunes the way that I show you first and then turn them into your tunes.
Play with them until they become your tunes.
Well, you work really hard today and you've got some homework that should occupy you for an hour or two.
So to make up for it next time, we'll learn a country flat pick tune that doesn't move out of first position.
Until then, happy playing.
Thank you.
Coming back to more traditional guitar, I'd like to show you another use for a flat pick, the way country players use it.
Let's go.
I'm going away to leave you, love.
I'm going away for a while.
But I'll return to you, my love, though I go ten thousand miles.
Storms are on the ocean.
The heavens may cease to be.
This world may lose its motion, love, should I propose to thee.
So let's get right on to it.
Here are the first bars. Now look at them for a moment and see if you can work out the rhythm.
That's right, it's a waltz. Three counts or beats.
So don't miss the next program in the String Along series with John Pierce.
On Christmas Eve.