Melody using G note

Country Part 2 Music Lesson

We've made it to Country Part 2. Here we're going to learn how to:

• Play a G and an A note an octave up
• Understand what dotted notes are
• Play three-beat rests

Introduction

Let's get started!

Example One

In Example One, we see the new note G again, just like D. We've played this before. It's going to be our open G string.

Mnemonic:
Eddie ate donuts. Good boy, Eddie.
It's going to be the good string.

Notes to Remember:

• Eddie
• A
• Donuts

That's the fourth one from the top. We're mixing again half notes and quarter notes, as well as some half note rests and quarter note rests. So, we're kind of using everything we've learned so far and putting it into one section here.

This is a section to really take slowly and work out, especially focusing on the rhythms.

Bar Breakdown

• First Bar:

  • Half note followed by two quarter notes.
  • Notes: C, D, E going to F.

• Second Bar:

  • This lasts for two beats.
  • Practice Tip: Like you to work on those four notes, blending them together.
  • Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Tip: Trying to get those transitions as smooth as possible. This might take a few minutes, so feel free to pause and give this a go for a second.

Importance of Technique

This is a great example of why it's so useful to use the one finger per fret method. We're playing so quickly, as opposed to me trying to play like that, all messed up, or especially using just one finger.

This doesn't help us in any way. While we may play the notes, when it comes to more challenging things at speed, we won't be able to play efficiently.

There's no way you can play at that speed with one finger. So, that's why we're establishing those good habits: One finger per fret.

Continuing with Bars Three and Four

Moving on to Bars Three and Four, we start with the G string. This is our new note.

• Open G: This lasts for two beats, followed by another pluck of the string as a quarter note (1, 2, 3).
• Going to an F, which we said was the third fret on the D string.

Final Bar:

• Mixing some things we looked at in pop, which includes a quarter note followed by a quarter note rest.
• Here we're playing an E with a quarter note rest on beat two and finishing on a C with a quarter note rest on four.

Sounding It Out

Those last two bars would sound like this:

Listen closely to the last bar, especially those silences on beats two and four.

Practice Together

So, let's try it together from start to finish at a really steady pace, getting all those rhythms in as well as the new G string:

1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 3, 4.

That last bar does feel quite odd. So, listen back to this video.

Reminder: Make sure you're counting the rhythms accurately. It's quite easy to think, I played that wrong, but it's not. It's just about getting those rhythms in there, ensuring we have the rests nice and quiet on beats two and four.

Let's Give It a Go!

Now, let's give it a go with the backing track!