How are you getting on with your latest piece?? If you know how to play it correctly that is the main thing even though you may make an occasional mistake.? On the other hand, if there are points that you have still not grasped please give more time to them before you proceed.?

It is amazing how one can try a thing several times without success, then leave it for a while, go back and then understand it much better.? If at any time you come to something connected with playing that you cannot improve on after you have given it reasonable practice, leave it temporarily and try again a few days later.? This break will clear the matter up for you so much so that you will wonder why it ever caused you trouble in the first place.?

Don't be disappointed about mistakes made, after all you are still comparatively new to playing and so cannot expect to play without some mistakes.? All players, no matter how good, make mistakes and having made them - learn from them.? You can expect to make your share of mistakes so when it happens correct them as you go along and you will be surprised at your progress.?

Try to overcome any feelings that you don't like it or are a bit bored with it and treat it as a learning tool.? Once you have grasped the basic concepts there will be plenty of time to get into more exciting stuff and you will play new pieces much better because you invested the time learning the basics.?

In learning the basics for one piece you will gain the knowledge necessary to be able to apply this skill to other pieces of your own accord and thus improve you playing tremendously.? It is entirely up to you how you apply the new things you learn.? This process of self improvement can result in you soon having a good repertoire of pieces which you can play in a most pleasing manner.??

If you would like to work on improving your piece "Home Sweet Home"? by adding chord notes and extending the melody, you can get your updated "Finale" copy by opening HomeSweetHome.MUS

Here is a description for playing "Home Sweet Home" with chord notes added:

Bar 1.? The melody note is E.? As the chord for the bar is C, notes of that chord can be added below the melody note.? You select harmony notes from the chord notes, C, E, or G.? E is already the melody note so you are left with C and G.? In this case we have chosen to add C below the melody note and play the 2 note chord E & C.? Use finger 1 on E and 2 on C and play both together.

Bar 2.? Leave fingers 1 and 2 where they are.? The melody note is F, played with 3 and as this is not one of the notes in the G chord, you do not add harmony notes.? The 2nd note is G, open and as it is a crotchet note, chord notes are not added.

Bar 3.? G is the melody note and the chord is C.? The chord notes available to add are E & C.? To make a 2 note chord, E is selected because finger 1 is already on it..? Play?E with finger 1 and G open.

Bar 4.? The chord is still C and the melody is E.? C is selected because your finger 2 is already on it so play C & E together as you count 1 and keep the notes sounding for the 2nd count.? On the 3rd count play G as a single note as it is a crotchet.

Bar 5 & 6.? Chord notes are not added as the melody notes are either crotchets or not part of the G chord. Play F with 3.?? Then open D

Bar 7.? Same as Bar 4 and hold them for the extra beat as you are now playing a dotted minim worth 3 counts.

Bar 8.? For the 1st beat notes E & C are tied over from the previous bar.? Chord notes are not added to the crotchet notes C and D.

Bar 9.? Same as bar 1.? Bar 10.? Same as bar 2.? Bar 11.? Same as bar 3.? Bar 12.? Same as bar 4.? Bar 13.? Same as bar 5.? Bar 14.? Same as bar 6.??

Bar 15.? Chord notes are not added.

Bar 16.? Make sure? you understand the meaning of the tie sign which was explained in a previous lesson.? Note C is kept sounding over from bar 15 for 2 beats then play G on the 3rd Beat.

Bar 17.? 3 note chords are now introduced.? The melody note is C with F chord.? The notes of the chord are FAC.? As C is the melody note you add A & F.? Remember, never add chord notes above the melody note.? The melody note must always be the highest sounding note.? Play the F with 3, the A with 2 and the C melody with 1.? Strum the 3 slowly but within the timing for a nice sound.

Bar 18.? Chord notes are not added because the first melody note B, open, is not a part of the F chord and the 2nd note is a crotchet, A played with 2..

Bar 19.? The melody note is G and the chord is C.? C chord comprises of CEG.? You are already using G as the melody so you add E & C to obtain the 3 note chord.? Using fingers 1 and 2 as you did before. and hold them in position

Bar 20.? E is the melody note and C is the chord.? Note C is added below the melody note to obtain a 2 note chord.? You played these notes as part of the chord in bar 19 so all you have to do is omit the G and make a separate sound of E & C.? The second melody note is G and as it is a crotchet chord notes are not added.

Bar 21.? & 22.? Same as bars 13 & 14.

Bar 23.? Same as bar 7.

Bar 24.? The chord notes from bar 23 are tied over and continued for the 1st and 2nd counts.? On the 3rd count play note G.

Bar 25.? Same as bar 17.

Bar 26. Same as bar 18

Bar 27.? Same as bar 19.? If you wish try a spaced harmony 2 note chord instead.? Simply omit the middle note E.

Bar 28.? Same as bar 20.

Bar 29. & 30.? Same as bars 13 & 14.

Bar 31.? To make the finish more pronounced the usual melody note has been given the same treatment as before.? Play C as you count 1, E as you count 2 and G as you count 3.? Usually the melody note in the bar is C,? a dotted minim.? As it is leading up to the finish the other notes of the C chord have been selected to make up a fill in.? By knowing your chords well and understanding the notes involved you can use fill ins to add improvements to your future pieces.

Bar 32.? Same as you normally play it.

This little tune is excellent for teaching you to keep your fingers out of the way of other strings so as to produce a clear, ringing sound.? It also teaches you how to minimize finger movement.? You will notice how, in some places you do not even have to move your fingers.? Give it some attention and turn it into a delightful tune which is a pleasure to listen to.

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General Rules For Adding Chord Notes.?

It will be helpful to put you in the picture by explaining some general rules that will enable you to improve other pieces on your own.

1.? For the time being you do not add chord notes if the melody note is not one of the notes in the chord.? If the chord was G and the melody note A, Chord notes would not be added because the notes in the G chord are GBD.? Obviously A is not one of these 3 notes so no harmony notes are added.

2.? Until your fingers become more accustomed to playing more than one note at a time in the treble, chord notes should only be added to melody notes that occur as semibreve, dotted minims or minims.? Chord notes can be added to crotchets etc. as you become more proficient.? The thing to remember in this regard is that the adding of chord notes is optional.? You do not have to add them to each and every note in a piece.

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3.? Variety can be obtained by using chords in some sections of a piece and single notes in other sections.? Several alternatives are open to you.? They are
???????????????? a.? Single notes for the 1st 16 bars
????????????????????? Chord notes added to the next 8 bars
????????????????????? Single notes for the final 8 bars.
???????????????? b.? Chord notes added for the 1st 16 bars

????????????????????? Single notes for the next 8 bars

????????????????????? Chord notes added for the final 8 bars

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???????????????? c.? Single notes for the 1st 16 bars

????????????????????? One chord note added for the next 8 bars

????????????????????? 2 chord notes added for the final 8 bars.?

Chord fingering.?

The best fingering to use will become evident to you with playing experience.? No hard and fast rules can be laid down as each individual player has their own preferences.? generally any fingering combination is correct provided it makes for easy movement from one note to the next.? The most important thing is to always make sure you play correct notes.? Here are some hints which might help.?

1.? If the melody notes are going higher in the stave it means your fingers have to travel to the higher notes.? Therefore, if you are playing a 2 note chord, start off using those fingers which will allow allow other fingers to move up the fret board as the melody gets higher

2. If the melody notes are going lower it means your fingers have to move to the lower notes so leave fingers free to get to the lower notes