Melody with F note & 2-beat rests

Music Lesson: Introduction of the F Note on the D String

Moving on to Example Three, we've got the introduction of an F note on the D string.

We can think of this the same way as E to F on the E string, where we're one fret apart.

• E to F:
  • E is on the second fret of the D string
  • F is on the third fret

Let's just practice those four notes:

• E, F, E, F.

We've got the octave apart. We've also got the use of two-beat rests.

Bar Analysis

• In bars one, three, and four, we have the traditional two-beat rest as we've seen in the previous example.
• In bar two, you'll see we have two quarter notes.

It's labeled like this so we can see where the middle of the bar is. Otherwise, it might be a bit confusing with just that one rest.

• Therefore, we've got two quarter note rests which still add up to two beats of silence.

Playing Instructions

• We're starting off with the E on the D string (the second fret), playing it for two beats.
• Then, we have a two-beat silence.
• Next, we have F, which is our new note (the third fret on the D string) for one beat.
• On beats two and three we have a rest, so we're going to be quiet, finishing off with an F at the end again on beat four.

So that will sound like this: 1, 2, 3, 4.

That might take some time to get down. So, I suggest working on that bar just a couple of times around to get comfortable with it.

Bar Three

In bar three, we have the open D string going to B on the A string (the second fret). We want to leave our finger on the second fret so we can get there nice and quickly. You can see that move there.

• Rather than having our fingers or hand away from the guitar neck with the two-beat rest to follow, we're finishing up on C (the third fret on the A string) for two beats.
• Then we've got the half note rest (two-beat rest).

Complete Line Practice

Here's the whole line: 1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.

Again, as we're progressing through these styles and examples, it's getting progressively harder and harder.

So take some time to go back through what we've done already. Maybe build yourself back up to this point and make sure we're tapping and counting along with every example as it's only going to get trickier.