Strings

6 5 4 3 2 1
“Bottom” ---------------------------------------“Top”
E A DGBE

Low E (6) = “Fat E”

I (‘fat’ and ‘low’ both have 3 letters)

High E (1) = “Thin One”
II
(‘thin’ and ‘high’ both have 4 letters)
III
IV “Elvis Ate Donuts God Bless Elvis”
“Ed Ate Dynamite Good Bye Ed”
V
VI
VII
Frets
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
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Picking Hand Only:

Practice picking each string, one at a time, with the following counts.

8 picks per string

Flat pick: down-up down-up down-up down-up

Fingers 1: index-middle index-middle index-middle index-middle
Fingers 2: thumb-index thumb-index thumb-index thumb-index

6 picks per string

Flat pick: down-up down-up down-up

Fingers 1: index-middle index-middle index-middle
Fingers 2: thumb-index thumb-index thumb-index

4 picks per string

Flat pick: down-up down-up

Fingers 1: index-middle index-middle
Fingers 2: thumb-index thumb-index

Start on the low E, then move to the A, and continue to the high E. Then reverse the order,
starting with the high E, then to B, etc., all the way back to the low E. Say the names of the
strings as you play them.

Chords
“A chord is a group of notes
that sound good played together.”

The E Minor Chord The E Major Chord

= play open string
I I 1

II 23 II 23
III III

Minor chords sound sad, major chords sound happy.

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 Strings 1234 Exercise
6 5 4 3 2 1
E A DGBE in Vth Position
Place thumb in the middle of the
back of the neck pointing up
I (thumbs up!)
Put the tip of the 1st finger on the
II Low E string at the Vth (5th) fret.
III Pick two times (i-m, t-i, v ^ )
ADD the 2nd finger at the VI fret.
IV (keep 1st finger in position)
Pick two times (i-m, t-i, v ^ )
V 1 1 1 1 1 1 ADD the 3rd finger, pick 2 times.
ADD the 4th finger, pick 2 times.
VI 2 2 2 2 2 2
--REPEAT ON ALL 6 STRINGS--
VII 3 3 3 3 3 3
VIII 4 4 4 4 4 4 Up: 1234 Low E to High E
Down: 4321 High E to Low E
IX
X POSITION =
The fret number
XI
under your 1st
XII (index) finger

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 The Three Principal
Chords in C Major
C F G7
X X X
“Bar”
I 1 I 1 1 I 1

II 2 II 2 II 2

III 3 III 3 III 3

IV IV IV

V V V

Note: An “X” over a string means it is not played.

Basic Strum Patterns

1) Strum once every four beats (strum on 1).
E.g., Strum 2 3 4
2) Strum once every other beat (strum on 1 & 3).
E.g., Strum 2 Strum 4
3) Strum once per beat (strum on 1, 2, 3, & 4).
E.g., Strum Strum Strum Strum

-IMPORTANT-
Tap your foot in time with the beat!
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 Chord Studies
-Key of C Major-

C G7 C G7 C G7 C G7
1) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

C G7 C F C G7 C F
2) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

C F C F C F G7 C
3) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

Amazing Grace

C C F C C C G7 G7
3 /// /// /// /// /// /// /// ///
4
C C F C C G7 C C
/// /// /// /// /// /// /// ///

12-Bar Blues in C

C F
//// //// //// //// //// ////

C G7 F C
//// //// //// //// //// ////

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 Spanish Scale 1

I 1

II 2 2
III 3 3 3

IV

= play open string

Bottom three strings. Pick one note at a time.

Low E: Open, 1st finger, 3rd finger (E: 0-1-3)

A String: Open, 2nd finger, 3rd finger (A: 0-2-3)
D String: Open, 2nd finger, 3rd finger (D: 0-2-3)

Then Reverse: D: 3-2-0 A: 3-2-0 E: 3-1-0

Combine with the E Major chord for a Spanish flavor.

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 The Three Principal
Chords in A Minor
Am Dm E7
X X X

I 1 I 1 I 1

II 2 3 II 2 II 2

III III III

3

IV IV IV

V V V

Note: An “X” over a string means it is not played.

How To Use a Metronome (TCP)

1) Turn it ON! (it only works if you use it)

2) TAP your foot

3) COUNT the beat (2, 3, 4, 6, etc.)

4) PLAY

-IMPORTANT-
☺ Tap your foot in time with the beat! ☺
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 Chord Studies
-Key of A Minor-

Am E7 Am E7 Am Dm Am E7
1) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

Am Dm Am E7 Am Dm E7 Am
2) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

The Cat Came Back

Am E7 Am E7 Am E7 Am E7
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Am Dm Am E7 Am E7 Am E7
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Am Dm Am E7 Am Dm Am E7
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Am Dm Am E7 Am Dm Am E7
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

12-Bar Blues in Am

Am Dm
//// //// //// //// //// ////

Am E7 Dm Am
//// //// //// //// //// ////

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 Spanish Scale 2

I 1 1

II 2
III 3 3

IV

V 3 Move to IIIrd position*

to play this note.

= play open string

This scale uses the top three strings (thin ones):

G string 02
B string 013
E string 0135

Alternate pick. Try it with different chords.

*Position number is determined by the

fret closest to the 1st finger (index)

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 Tablature
Tablature is one of the earliest ways people wrote music on paper.
Each line represents a string, and frets are indicated by numbers. It can
be tricky knowing which fingers to use, but usually the fingering is
determined by the POSITION. Single-picking the 1234 exercise in Vth
position would be tabbed like this:

E
B T
G 5 6 7 8
D A 5 6 7 8
A 5 6 7 8
E B 5 6 7 8

E 5 6 7 8 8 7 6 5
B T 5 6 7 8 8 7 6 5
G
D A
A
E B

E
B T
G 8 7 6 5
D A 8 7 6 5
A 8 7 6 5
E B 8 7 6 5

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 Tab Etude 1

E 01 3 5 0
B T 013 1
G 02 2
D A 023 2
A 023 0
E B 013

E 5 3 1 0 0
B T 3 1 0 0
G 2 0 1
D A 3 2 0 2
A 3 2 0 2
E B 3 1 0

Tab Etude 2

E
B T 1
G 0 2
D A 2 3 0 3 3 2 0
A 0 2 3 2
E B 3 3 3

E 1
B T 1 0
G 0 2 0
D A 2 3 0
A 3 2
E B 3 3

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 12-Bar Blues in A

A A A A
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
D D A A
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
E D A A
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Blues Riff in A
E
B T
G
D A 2 2 2 4 4 4 2 2 2 4 4 4
A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
E B
Blues Riff in D
E
B T
G 2 2 2 4 4 4 2 2 2 4 4 4
D A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A
E B

Blues Riff in E
E
B T
G
D A
A 2 2 2 4 4 4 2 2 2 4 4 4
E B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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 Robert Johnson
“Standing at the Crossroads”
Original Artwork by Neal Harpe, Used with Permission

A minor / C major Pentatonic Scale

V 1 1 1 1 1 1

VII 3 3 3

VIII 4 4 4

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 The Three Principal
Chords in D Major
D G A7
X X X

I I I

II 1 2 II 1 II 1 2

III III III

3 2 3 4

IV IV IV

V V V

Note: An “X” over a string means it is not played.

Chord Studies – Key of D Major

D G D G D G D G
1) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////
D A7 D A7 D A7 D A7
2) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////
D G D A7 D G A7 D
3) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

Tambourine Man
G A7 D G D G A7 A7
//// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////
G A7 D G D G A7 D
//// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

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 The Three Principal
Chords in G Major
G C D7
X X X

I I 1 I 1

II 2 II 2 II 2 3

III III III

3 4 3

IV IV IV

V V V

Note: An “X” over a string means it is not played.

Chord Studies – Key of G Major

G C G C G C D7 G
1) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////
G C G D7 G C G D7
2) //// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

Blowin In the Wind

G C G G G C D D7
//// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////
C Am G Em C D G G
//// //// //// //// //// //// //// ////

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 Get Excellent Doing
Chords Alot!
G E D
X X

I I 1 I

II 1 II II 1 2
2 3
III 2 3 III III 3
IV IV IV

V V V

C A
X X

I 1 I

II 2 II 1 2 3

III 3 III

IV IV

V V

Note: An “X” over a string means it is not played

1) G D C C D
Name / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
That 2) E D A E D A
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Tune!
3) G G C D DC
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
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 Movable Bar Chords
5 Shapes of G Major
G Major

I
E shape
II -Bar-
1

III 2 3 III 1 1 1

IV IV 2 D shape
V V 3 4 V
1
VI
C shape VI

VII VII
1 1 VII 2 3

VIII 2 VIII 4

IX 3 A shape
X 4 1
X G shape
XI
XI
XII 3 3 3
XII 1 1 1
XIII
XIII

XIV XIV

XV 4

All G Major Chords.

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 Pentatonics
5 Shapes of C Major / A minor
“Guideposts, not fence posts…”

II 1 1

III 2 2 2 2

V 4 4 4 4 4 4
V 1 1 1 1 1 1

VII 3 3 3
VII 1 1 1
VIII 4 4 4
VIII 2 2 2
IX 1 IX 3

X 1 1 1 1 1 X
4 4 4 4 4

XII
3 3 3 4 3
XII 1 1 1 1 1
XIII 4
XIII 2

XIV 3 3

XV
4 4 4 4

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