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Welcome to Lesson 1 of the Jamorama Free Course.
Today we'll get you set up properly on your guitar and teach you how to play your first real
chord!
Make sure you check out our exclusive discount special on our Full Beginner to Advanced
Course at the bottom of this page!
Part 1 - Getting Started
This mini-course gives you a taste of what's covered in Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar
Learning Kit!
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.
Getting into position
Sitting Positions
There are two sitting positions for holding the guitar; classical and casual.
Pick up the guitar and make sure that the guitar body is supported by your leg. Position yourself at the edge of your chair. Ensure that your back is relaxed but straight. Lean the guitar back towards you slightly.
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Casual Position
Classical Position
Standing Position
Pick up the guitar and place the strap over your shoulder. Adjust the strap so that theguitar is positioned mid-body.
Use your left hand to support the neck of the guitar. Rest your right hand over the bridge of the guitar.
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Hand Positions
It is important that you relax your wrists and hands. Straining them can cause injury.
Front view
Rear view
Fretting
On a typical right handed guitar, your left hand will form the chords and your right hand will
strike the strings. Fretting is the act of pressing the strings down on the fret board. Here are
some tips you will need to know:
Short fingernails are essential. Use only the tips of your fingers to press the strings. When making a chord, be sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. We
will cover chords in lesson one.
Check each string that it rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. As a beginnerguitarist, 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:
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Time to take a break
Well done, you've just completed the first part of this lesson. Take a few minutes to reinforce
what you've just learned.
Coming Up
Learn about chords Start using the A and D Major chords
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 you'll need to stay focused.
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.
If you take a break between practice sessions, even if it is just 10 minutes, youll find that your
brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge.
Ok, lets continue with the lesson. Have a look at the diagram below and familiarize yourself
with the neck of the guitar.
Frets
The guitar neck is divided into what we call frets, making a fret board. Most guitars have around
20 frets. We will focus on the first four frets, also known as the first position.
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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, we have given a very common tuning calledstandard 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. We explain notes and octaves in the JamoramaBeginners Course, 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 our free guide to tuning your guitar fromhere.
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 mini-course.
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 ofthese terms, its 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 wantto 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.
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You may like to use 'standard' chord diagram when writing up chords on when you practice.
So, now that you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it matches with the neck ofyour guitar, its time to come back to what we mentioned earlier about a chord being a
combination of 3 or more notes played together. Numbered finger symbols are added to the
chord diagram so we know which notes to play. To start with, lets look at your fingers.
Each playing finger is numbered so we can then match it on the chord diagram (see below).
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And now, lets 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 tellsyou 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 lesson 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 weve looked at chord diagrams, I want to move on to strumming.
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Introduction to Strumming
In a strum there are two types of guitar stroke. They are up stroke and down stroke.
With either an up strum or down strum, brush the strings with your pick, mid way between thebridge (where the strings are pinned) and the end of the neck of the guitar. When strumming achord make sure you play all the required strings and take note of the strum indication - up or
down.
Exercise: Strumming the A Major Chord
Carefully position each finger according to the A major chord diagram above. Place each fingertip behind the fret. Pluck the strings 1 by 1 with your strumming hand. Check that each string rings clear and is not muted or buzzing. Practice strumming the A chord with single down strum as indicated below:
Try counting an even 4 count as you strum as this will get you used to playing 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, doesntsound bad if you accidentally hit the top string, although if you want your music to sound
professional, youll 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, lets take a look at strumming anotherchord...
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:
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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 doesnt sound bad ifyou 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.
End of Lesson
Congratulations on taking your first step! In lesson 2 we will review the 'A' and 'D' chords, and
you'll learn the very important skill of how to read TAB.
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Welcome back to the Jamorama Free Course.
Today you'll learn how to read guitar TAB; a skill that will enable you to learn thousands of
songs online for FREE!
Make sure you check out our exclusive discount special on our Full Beginner to Advanced
Course at the bottom of this page!
How to Read Tablature
Let's Get Started!
Tabulature, or TAB for short, is the most common method of writing 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 communicate and read guitar music. You can easily see where you put your
fingers because TAB relates directly to the fret board of your guitar
Because TAB is very easy to read we will use it exclusively through these lessons. You
should have no problems learning TAB in a few short minutes of reading.
TAB does have a weak point; and that is that you can't easily notate rhythm with it. This
shouldn't pose a problem though, as the rhythm for each exercise will be notated using the strum
indicators that were introduced in lesson 1.
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To start, have a look at your guitar and you will clearly see that it has six strings going from
thinnest to thickest. On a TAB diagram, the thinnest string, (or 1st string as it's most commonly
called) is at the top - the thickest (or 6th string) is at the bottom.
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 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.
TAB score
The lines indicate each string on a guitar. The top line of the TAB is the thinnest string and
the bottom line indicates the thickest string of the guitar. TAB uses numbers, placed on each
line (or string) to indicate fret to press down the string(s).
Exercise 1
The tab diagram below shows the 1st string (thinnest string) being played. The number refersto the fret that you should press down. In this case a zero is displayed which means you
DON'T need to press the string down. This is known as playing the string 'open'.
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Play the audio for this exercise.
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 start pushing down some strings. Look at the next example below have a god at
playing the note the TAB chart indicates.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
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 playing it right, refer to the video below.
Video - Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Let's try another one. Play the following piece of TAB:
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Play the audio for this exercise above.
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 already outlined still apply. The only difference is that you will be required to
hold down more strings and strum more strings with your fingers/pick. Let's look at the the A
chord looks like on a TAB diagram.
A Major Chord
Play the audio for this exercise above.
The 1st and 5th strings are played open while the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings are played at the
2nd fret. The 6th string is NOT played in the A Major Chord. This is often indicated by an
empty space on the line or by an 'X'.
If you have read the TAB correctly your fingers should look like the image below or how it is
shown in the video (below a bit further!). The A major chord can be played a number of different
ways, all of which are correct.
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Video - A Major Chord
The Repeat Sign
Below is 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 you are playing and play it over again.
Exercise 4
Just to make sure that you are getting the TAB concept, have a go at the following (Watch for the
repeat sign).
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Play the audio for this exercise above.
If 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'.
End of Lesson
Great Work!
In the next lesson we learn:
The 'G' chord Some new techniques How to change between chords A few exercises for you to get down
Until next time!
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Welcome back to the Jamorama Free Course.
Today you'll learn a new chord and start practicing your chord changes. Plus, we go over how to
'warm up' before you play.
Make sure you check out our exclusive discount special on our Full Beginner to Advanced
Course at the bottom of this page!
Chord Changes
This lesson continues on from lessons 1 and 2. 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. In this
lesson we will introduce you to the chord G. Once you have mastered G, we will practicechanging between the three chords we have learnt; D, A, and G.
Let's take a look at the G major chord:
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Exercise 1
With this exercise, let's strum down and up. To help you with your playing, try counting out
loud during the next exercie. 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 anachievable skill. On the down strum count 1 2 3 4 and on the up strum say and. So you
should be saying 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 as you strum. Most guitar musicis 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
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Play the audio for this exercise above.
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 bystrumming 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, continue using the down
and up strum pattern counting out loud 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. It will help make the next
exercise a lot easier.
Exercise 2
Now let's practice changing from G to D. This should feel like a relatively 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 down AND up while you perform this exercise andcounting out aloud, "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 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.
Video - Exercise 2
Keep working away at the above exercise until you can play along comfortably with the audiotrack provided. It may take a little longer to get this change with the added down AND up strum,
but don't fret, you will get there.
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Exercise 3
Now we will move onto the next exercise. This one starts in G and then goes to A. Once again
continue with the down AND up strum pattern counting out loud as in the previous exercises
in this lesson.
A few things to notice: You will notice that in the video for this lesson the A chord is played
using a different method you learnt in lesson 1. You can play most chords in a variety of ways
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 it is played in the video and see if it works for you.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Exercise 3
Exercise 4
You're doing great here! For the final exercise we will play all three chords we have learned. Justas 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 and finis with the
A. You will notice in this exercise that the A is played twice as long as both the D and the G.
This is to get you counting in 4s as you have done in previous exercises.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
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Video - Exercise 4
Warm Up Exercises
You probably never thought you would read this but; being a guitarist is a lot like being a boxer.
Here are some similarities:
In both disciplines your hands are your principal tools Both guitarists and boxers must put their hands in difficult and potentially injurious
positions 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 havecaused some moderate pain. Most of this pain will be in your fretting hand (left hand for right
handed players, right hand for left 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. Below are 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 down and upstrokes. 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 warm up exercise we will get used to using particular fingers. If you look at the diagram
below you will see that each finger is numbered:
Index finger
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Middle finger Ring finger and Your pinky.
The following exercise is excellent for warming up, improving hand strength and increasingco-ordination. You will notice that single notes have been tabbed out for you to play. The
numbers written above the TAB indicate the fingers to use when doing the exercise.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Warm Up 1
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As you can see, this is just a simple ascending and descending pattern on the 1st string (thinneststring). 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 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 ofusing 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.
Video - Warm Up 2
The two exercises shown above are excellent for warming up your hands and increasing yourdexterity. If you are having severe pain when you are playing. STOP! It is much better to restyour hands and forearms for the next day's practise than to risk an injury. Work hard on the
exercises shown in this lesson.
End of 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
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song 'The Midnight Special'. If you followed the lessons carefully you should find theseexercises a logical and easy progression from what you have previously done. It's great to have
you with us.
Until next time!
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Welcome back to the Jamorama Free Course.
Today you'll learn some exciting new strumming patterns that will make your playing sound
great.
Make sure you check out our exclusive discount special on our Full Beginner to Advanced
Course at the bottom of this page!
Strumming Patterns
We have a lot to cover in today's lesson . We will be playing all of the chords that you have
learned: A, D and G, and we will be trying new strumming patterns with these chords. By
now you should be able to play and change between these three chords. If you followed thelessons 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.
In today's lesson we will be playing a specific rhythmical strum on the guitar. The first three
lessons have challenged your fretting hand. This lesson is going to challenge your strumminghand. Being able to play particular strums and rhythms is an important and often underpracticed 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 ofrhythm 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
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This following warm up exercise involves the 6th, 5th and 4th strings (three thickest strings). Do
use correct fingering when you are playing this. Remember:
Index finger is 1 Middle finger is 2
Ring finger is 3 and Pinky is 4 Play in down strokes and Take your time
Try and make each note ring clear. It is always better to play slowly and accurately than tosound muddy and unclear.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Now that you're warmed up it's time to move onto the main part of the lesson - strumming. We
will also explain some simple music theory to you. Dont be intimidated by this as you will pick
it up quickly.
You may have noticed that all of the exercises you have been playing have been in groups of 4sor numbers divisible by 4. When you are next listening to the radio, try counting in 4s and see
how many songs you can do that for.
Previously when you were strumming down AND up you were playing HALF beats. Hence
counting: "1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4 AND", to split each beat in half and strum in eights. Just torecap, 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, count out, "1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4 AND", with your
strumming.
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Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Ok, let's push those boundries a little...
Basically, we will skip a couple of beats. In terms of what you have been counting let's tryskipping the 2 and 4 counts. Watch the video to see what you need to strum or give it a go
and check if you counted correctly.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Exercise 3
Note: The hollow strumming symbols below the tab chart indicate the strums NOT to play.Listen to the count on the JAM track play along. This will feel a little awkward at first, but likeeverything, it is achievable. Keep working at it and you will be able to do it. The Jam Track is
quite slow, to help you concentrate on getting the strum sounding great.
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Exercise 4
Let's now use the same strum but work with the chord A.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Exercise 4
Exercise 5
By now you should be having no trouble keeping up with the video. Now we will try it onemore 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 you're 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")
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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
Let's try varying your strum a little. Using the strum that we have been practicing, this time we
are going to open it out a little.
Play the audio for this exercise above.
Video - Exercise 6
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This is the longest exercise you have been asked to play. It involves two different types ofstrums and for this reason spend a little longer on this exercise. If you can master this piece you
are a long way toward become a complete guitar player.
End of Lesson
You are doing really well.
In the next lesson we will learn the 1st part of the song 'Midnight Special'. There are only 2 more
lessons to go before you will be playing the whole song with the Jamorama Band.
Until next time!
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Welcome back to the Jamorama Free Course.
Today we look at the song 'Midnight Special'. By the end of this lesson you'll be playing your
first song. Rock on!
Make sure you check out our exclusive discount special on our Full Beginner to Advanced
Course at the bottom of this page!
The Midnight Special
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 strumthat we practiced in lesson 4.
Not only that, we have practiced using these chords and this strum with changes. So you can seehow we have systematically built you up, so that playing this song is just another simple step in
developing your playing.
While this song might not be in a style you would choose, it is a good song to get you started
using the chords 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 too worried if this song is not your
thing. It's just there to get you up and rolling, and stringing those chords together.
Let's look at a new warm up pattern. This one will be a touch more difficult than the last few.This pattern starts on the 1st fret and the 6th string (thickest string). You will play all 6 strings
and use all your fingers. As always with these exercises, be sure to use the correct fingering (as
indicated).
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Warm Up
Play the audio for this exercise above.
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 playingthat, 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 towork on today with this lesson is getting you to remember the changes and getting into the feelof the song. The 1st part of The Midnight Special is the chord G followed by the chord D. The
chord progression is the same during the verse and the chorus. In tomorrows lesson we will play
along with other instruments, but today we will just work with a singer and your guitar.
You will have noticed by now that each lessons is given to you in small, manageable steps.Nothing is going to change for this lesson. There are 4 parts to this lesson:
Listen to the song Play it by yourself Play it with another guitar Play it with a singer
Let's have a listen to the song. You will hear that there are only 2 instruments playing Note; it iscommon 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.
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This is the longest piece of TAB you have had to read and play along with, but you have done
all the parts before. For this 1st time, just play it through in your own time. Think of this a
piece as Section 1. Play Section 1 until you feel you are getting it together before you move on.
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
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Play the audio for this exercise above.
Once you feel like you have mastered this piece, practice it some more, and then some more. In
essence this same section is repeated over and over throughout the entire song! The song
structure is simple and easy to follow. Below are the sections and how many times you need to
play the chord progression :
The Midnight Special Structure
Chorus) Play section 1 - x 2
Verse 1) Play section 1 - x 2
Chorus) Play section 1 - x 2
Verse 2) Play section 1 - x 2
Chorus) Play section 1 - x 2
Chorus) Play section 1 - x 2
At this point practice the structure with all the changes at your own pace, until you feel
confident with the piece. The whole song is quite long, and without someone singing can feel
very repetitive, try singing along (if you can) as you practice.
Play Along With The Track
Now that you have had a chance to play the song by yourself, you should be getting used to the
chord changes. Let's play along with the guitar track and the vocal tracks. This will feel a littleharder as you will have to keep time with the guitar track. 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.
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End of Lesson
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. You won't be learning anything new, instead you will be
putting together all the elements you have learned so far and playing through an entire song!
Also included is a track without the singing so you can try singing the song yourselfwhileyou play the guitar part.
Until next time!
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Welcome to the last lesson in the Jamorama Free Course.
Today we look at the song 'Midnight Special'. By the end of this lesson you'll be playing your
first song. Rock on!
Make sure you check out our exclusive discount special on our Full Beginner to Advanced
Course at the bottom of this page!
Intro and Warm Up
Welcome to the final lesson in this 6 part mini course. There will be 3 parts to this lesson:
Warm up pattern The Song's Lyrics 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 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 allyour fingers and all the strings. The following pattern is similar to those you have already
seen, so you should have no problem playing it. As always work hard to use the indicated
fingering, which written out below the TAB.
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Don't forget, when you see a zero, you don't need to press the string down. It is played 'open'.
Keep working with this pattern until you are playing it smoothly.
Play With The Full Band
Now that we're warmed up 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.
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. The Track
below has had the 'Lead Vocalist' taken out so you can repalce him. we have left the 'backing
singers' in the choruses 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.
If you need a copy of the words, here they are.
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.
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Verse 3:If youre 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! youre 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.