We’ll also continue learning how to read music. In today’s Guitar Tips section the focus will be centered around learning to read notes on the second string. An exercise is provided that incorporates the notes from last-month’s lesson on the first string, along with the notes in today’s lesson on the second string. So, with that said, let’s get started!
FEATURED THIS MONTH:
GUITAR POWER
Guitar Power is an interactive guitar program that will teach anyone how to play chords, scales and arpeggios. Designed for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced students of any style. You will learn over 3000 chord voicings, 500 scales, 550 arpeggios, plus triads, notes on the fretboard, how to name your own chords and which scale to use when soloing. It’s very affordable and comes with a 60-day money back guarantee, plus free bonus gifts.
FREE RESOURCES:
NEW! Learn to Read Music & More!
This is a new link that will take you to a private page where you will have access to my pdf files. I will be updating the resources on this page as I go along. Be sure to check it out periodically so you don’t miss anything!
You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read my pdf files. It’s a free download.
MUSIC TRIVIA:
In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Eric Clapton 4th in their list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. On this same list, he is further distinguished as the second greatest living guitarist; preceded only by B.B. King who is ranked first.
Eric Clapton has a very colorful music history. As a teen-ager he had an intense interest in blues guitar. In 1963 he joined a “blues influenced rock-band” known as the Yardbirds. Eric left the band in 1965 to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers because he felt the Yardbirds had betrayed their original blues roots to obtain a more “Pop” sound.
In 1966 Clapton left the Bluesbreakers and formed his own band known as Cream (my personal favorite). This super-group cranked out such great hits as: “Sunshine of Your Love”, “Crossroads” and “White Room”. Other groups he joined later include: Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie, and Derek & the Dominos from which came the popular song Layla. In addition to these bands, he has also enjoyed a very successful solo career.
Amazingly, Eric Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 3 times, and is considered “one of the most highly respected and influential guitarist of the 21 century.”
TOPIC OF THE DAY:
What Is Concert Pitch?
Each string of the guitar is tuned to a specific pitch that will relate to one or more of the tones found in the musical alphabet, ABCDEFG. Pitch refers to how high or low a particular tone sounds, and is determined by how fast or slow the string vibrates. The tone A, vibrating at 440Hz, is commonly used to establish concert pitch. Once this is done, we can tune the guitar strings to the tones EADGBE and be in standard tuning.
Tuning the guitar to the concert pitch of A can be accomplished by using a standard A tuning fork. The general proceedure is to strike the fork against your knee. Then place the base of the fork on the face of the guitar near the bridge. Next, play the tone A found on the first string at the fifth fret. They should match. Now you have a starting point for tuning the rest of the strings on your guitar to this standard concert pitch.
At this point you may be wondering why concert pitch is so important. What difference does it make anyway? Well, if you’re a solo artist, it really doesn’t matter at all. You could tune your guitar to a pitch that is comfortable for you to sing in and not worry about it. However, concert pitch is the standard setting used by most musicians and therefore it will enable you to play along with other instruments.
Fortunately, nowadays, many electronic and digital tuners are made to indicate 440Hz for you automatically. So, if you were to strike any string on the guitar and set it to the correct tone, you would be in concert pitch. I use the Korg TM-40 digital tuner which is set at 442HZ. Perhaps this is because it’s a digital tuner and thus, a little more accurate than a piano’s concert pitch. I highly recommend the Korg TM-40 if you’re looking for a digital tuner because it also includes a built in metronome. This is a great tool to have for improving rhythm & timing, which is something we all need help with occasionally!
GUITAR TIPS:
Learn how to read: NOTES ON THE 2nd STRING
Remember that the lines used in TAB represent your guitar strings and the numbers represent the fret. If you need more help with this, please refer to my online guitar lesson: How to Read Guitar Tab.
FOR MORE INSPIRATION:
ERIC CLAPTON – May His Tribe Increase!
How to Tune Your Guitar
UNTIL NEXT TIME:
Thanks for subscribing to the ABC Learn Guitar Newsletter, offering free tips and ideas for guitar players and indie musicians. See you next month!
Musically yours,
Kathy Unruh
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