Well whatever it is you have been trying to play I would like you to put it aside for a moment and try this simple tune.
First of all try the melody notes only and when you have got that down try the chord sequence.? If you have a friend handy then you can play together.? One on melody and one on chords.
Although not mentioned you can see that this is three four time or waltz time so make sure you have your 123/123/123 counting right.? Take it slowly at first.? If you have downloaded your 'Finale' example of 3/4 time you can set that up at a suitable tempo and play along with it.
HOME SWEET HOME WITH CHORDS.?
A familiar tune with some modifications.? We have done away with the bass stave altogether so that all you have to read is the treble melody and the chord symbols which are the letters indicated above the stave.?
The capital letter C is the chord symbol for C major.? Hold this chord until you come to the next chord symbol which is F for F Major.? Hold this for just 2 beats as indicated and when you come to the 3rd beat the? symbol is NC which means 'no chord' so remove your hand for this 3rd count ready to play C major again on the first count of bar 3.? Hold this chord until you come to the next chord symbol which is G for G major.?
If you have memorized your chords you will find this much easier than trying to read two stave music.? Simply look at the treble stave and chord symbol in any music you care to try.? It is really that simple.?
You can use chord notes to add to your melody as well, as indicated in the last bar.? This really does add a richness to your playing that is not possible with just one note.?
Tab for Home Sweet Home
????????? C???????? F??? NC?????? C????????????????????????? G????? NC????? G????????????????? C???????????????????????? NC???????????????????
e |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
b |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
g |--------------0----0--------0--------------------------------------------
d |----2----3-------------2--------3----2----3----0----2----2-------0-----
a |----------------------------------------------------------------3---------
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------
?
???????? C???????? F????????????????? C????????????????????????? G????? NC????? G????????????????? C???????????????????????? NC???????????????????
e |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
b |----------------------------------------------------------------------1---
g |--------------2----0--------0-----------------------------------0----0---
d |----2----3-------------2--------3----2----3----0---------2---------2--
a |-------------------------------------------------------3--------------3---
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------
?
You can also access the "Finale" sample by clicking on?hsh1.MUS If you haven't got friend handy you can play the melody on your computer and play the chord accompaniment yourself.
If you give some time to practice you will quickly get the hang of playing from chord symbols and as you do, try looking less at your fingers and more at the music.? You can do it - but you might have to make a special effort.? It's not much more different than learning to drive, or type or any number of any other things we do every day.? At first it might be necessary to look at everything until you get used to where everything is but soon you don't need to look and the sooner you can play without looking at your fingers the sooner your playing will improve.
Ok! So I hear you saying how tough it is to change from one chord to another but just look where you fingers are for each chord.? The change from C to F and back again requires very little movement as you are doing no more than dropping your fingers down a string.? The change from C to G is a bit more tricky but as I've said before, if you don't like it - CHEAT.? Just move your 2nd and 3rd fingers up a string and forget about the 1st string altogether.? The 5 string chord you now have is still a legitimate G chord and allows for a very smooth finger movement.? After a very short space of time you will find that you can progress from one chord to another with little effort.? Oh! don't forget to try the full G chord later as your ability improves.
