Week 4 - Melody

All songs have one thing in common - they have a melody of some sort. If they don't then they're not really a song.

Here is a good documentary on Melody from Howard Goodall. I used to show this video when I was a music teacher at a Christian School in New York.

Last week we talked about Rhythm, and Howard Goodall has a cool video about this as well here:

And for some of you who want more info about sheet music, he has another documentary here:

Finally, here are a few new songs for you to study and learn:

The Death of Queen Jane - from the Movie Inside Llewlyn Davis
This was a cool old folk song from England from the movie "Inside Llewlyn Davis," based loosely on the life of folk-singer Dave Van Ronk. This song is about a C-Section gone bad! The video is posted below.

INTRO : 0 5 0 5

0                                         7
Queen Jane lay in labor full nine days or more
         0             0                 5  7      5
'Til her women grew so tired, they could no longer there
           0   7      0
They could no longer there

"Good women, good women, good women as you be
Will you open my right side 

And find my baby
And find my baby"

"Oh no," cried the women, "That's a thing that can never be
We will call on King Henry 

And hear what he may say
And hear what he may say"


King Henry was sent for, King Henry did come
Saying, "What does ail you, my lady?
Your eyes, they look so dim
Your eyes, they look so dim"

"King Henry, King Henry, will you do one thing for me?
Will you open my right side 

And find my baby
And find my baby"

"Oh no," cried King Henry, "That's a thing that I can never do
If I lose the flower of England,  

I shall lose the branch too
I shall lose the branch too

There was fiddling and dancing on the day the babe was born
But poor Queen Jane beloved, 

She lay cold as a stone
Lay cold as a stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KnlEuOqF0o

Bad Moon Rising - Credence Clearwater Revival
You all know it, you all love it, one of those wonderful summertime sing along songs from that make us all think of Vietnam war movies! :)

[0]I see A [7]bad [5]moon [0]rising
[0]I see [7]trouble[5]on the [0]way
[0]I see [7]earth[5]quakes and [0]lightning
[0]I see [7]bad [5]times [0]today

(chorus)
[5]Don't go around tonight
Its [0]bound to take your life
[7]There's a [5]bad moon on the [0]rise

I hear hurricanes A-blowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers overflowing
I hear the voice of rage and ruin

(chorus)

Hope you got your things together
Hope you are quite prepared to die
Looks like we're in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye

(chorus)

(chorus)

Rhythm - Drumming Lesson

Here's a drumming lesson that might be helpful too.

Violin Techniques

So for the fiddle players in the class, here are a couple videos for rhythm techniques on the violin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_KiXziPfkg

Song 2 Week 3 - Cross Road Blues Robert Johnson

Song 2

Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson

Here's a lesson in rhythm if there ever was one! Robert Johnson was an amazing guitar player, playing both slide and without a slide, and he was able to create intricate rhythms on his guitar. Here's one that you can try.

CROSSROADS 

  0                              5       0
  I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
  5                                                  0
  I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
  7                               5                   0
  Ask the lord up above for mercy, take me if you please.


  I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
  I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
  Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by.


  Well I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
  Well I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
  You can still barrel-house baby, on the riverside.


  You can run, you can run, tell my friend poor Willie Brown
  Run, you can run, tell my friend poor Willie Brown
  Well I'm standing at the crossroads, believe I'm sinking down.

Here's Eric Clapton talking about Robert Johnson, and doing another Johnson song, 

"Stones in my Pathway."

Here's Johnson doing Crossroad Blues:

And of course here is the version everyone knows by Cream:

 I hope at this point you're getting the idea that just about any song can be arranged 

many different ways. Play it the way you feel it, and enjoy!

Week III - Song 1 10,000 Reasons

Here are a couple new songs that we will be learning this week!

The first is a song we've done at church several times called "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman, I'm including a link to the video and the chord chart!

Here is the Chord Chart in D for your tuning:

10,000 REASONS

Matt Redman

Chorus

0               5                0

Bless the Lord O my soul

7        Bm

O my soul

0                    5       7

Worship His Holy name

7               5        Bm

Sing like never before

5      7      Bm

O     my    soul

       5                    7        0

I’ll worship Your Holy name

Verse 1

5                       0

The sun comes up

          7            Bm

It’s a new day dawning

0                  5              7      Bm

It’s time to sing Your song again

  0    5               0

Whatever may pass

         5                    Bm              (3 beats rest)

And whatever lies before me

 0

Let me be singing 

0                5   7       0

When the evening comes

Chorus

Verse 2

You’re rich in love

And You’re slow to anger

Your name is great and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness

I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons

For my heart to find

Chorus

Verse 3

And on that day

When my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years

And then forevermore

Week III Lesson Materials!

Hey Can you believe it!?! You made it to week 3!

Last week was a tough lesson, but this week we're going to take it a little easier and play a game! The game will be the Rhythm Game. The Rhythm Game is kind of like  “Around the World” in basketball. You play a rhythm and then the next person has to play the same rhythm. Start by clapping. Then move on to the instrument. If they can’t play it they are out.

We will also be learning about 4/4 time and 3/4 time and beats per measure and time signatures.

Finally, the last part of the lesson will be the importance of working with a solid rhythm track, or a drummer.


Here are some videos for the week:

This first video is about the basics of rhythm.

This second video is also about rhythm, but a little bit more advanced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvGW2Pkko1M

Here's a really cool video on really advanced rhythms: African Rhythms!

And here is a really cool frame drum video that might inspire you:

 Now that you've had some rhythm inspiration, here's a video that links it to a stringed instrument:

And one more about basic strumming and how to improve your own strumming!

Here's a video about finger picking style:

Have Fun!!! :)

Week II - Transposing using a Capo and I, IV, V concept

Here's a good video on using a capo for beginners:

Here's a good video on the I, IV, V concept in case you didn't get it. It's a little advanced, and he covers using minor chords as well, but it might give you some more info that you didn't have before:

Here's another interesting video on the fretboard, and though it is in standard tuning, and doesn't cover everything we're going over in this course, it gives some more in depth coverage that you might enjoy!

Week II Technique - Palm Muting

Here is a technique used in the song "With or Without You" by U2 that you might be interested in using in your own playing. It is called palm muting, and it is achieved by placing your the palm of your picking hand lightly on the strings of the guitar near the bridge. Here is a video tutorial about how to do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yTxf3vHYEM

Here's another video using an acoustic guitar:

Week II Material Part 2

Here are the chord Charts for the two songs we're looking at this week:

I Feel Like Traveling On
0               
My heavenly home is bright and fair
                                7
I feel like traveling on
          0                  
Nor pain nor death can enter there
                  7            0
I feel like traveling on

Chorus:
          0                          
Yes I feel like traveling on
                                 7
I feel like traveling on
           0                              
My heavenly home is bright and fair
                 7              0            
I feel like traveling on

Its glitt’ring tow’rs the sun outshine,

I feel like traveling on;

That heav’nly mansion shall be mine,

I feel like traveling on.

Let others seek a home below,

I feel like traveling on;

Which flames devour, or waves o’erflow,

I feel like traveling on.

The Lord has been so good to me,

I feel like traveling on;

Until that blessed home I see,

I feel like traveling on. 

With Or Without You - U2

D(0)      A(7)               Bm
See the stone set in your eyes
        G(5)                  D(0)
See the thorn twist in your side
       A(7)              Bm              G(5)
I’ll wait for you

Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I’ll wait without you

With or without you
With or without you

Through the storm we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I’m waiting for you

With or without you
With or without you
I can’t live with or without you

Hoo o ooo
Hoo o ooo
Hoo o ooo
Ooo
With or without you
With or without you

Week II Material

Hey everyone!

So you made it to week 2! Hope you've been practicing.

Raffle Update: We've had some neat things donated to make the raffle a little bit more exciting! Don't forget to buy your tickets!

Here is an interesting article about chord progressions that you might enjoy! http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/for_beginners/learn_thousands_of_songs_by_knowing_these_top_4_chord_progressions.html

Videos for the Week:
     Here are a couple videos of the songs for this week. The chord charts are in a separate post. My version of the first song, I feel like traveling on, is in the mp3 player on the main page of www.willyminnix.com.
I Feel Like Traveling On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOjCoLUuaeo

With Or Without You - U2

Videos for Week 1 Part 3 - Amazing Grace

So the second song we're working on is Amazing Grace. I am posting several different versions so you can see that this song can be arranged in many different ways. Enjoy!

Who would have thought you'd find Steven Tyler at church!?!

And here's one more:

Here's an upbeat version:

And a banjo version:

And finally, I teach it on the mandolin here:

Videos for the first week part 2 - Froggie Went A-Courtin'

One of the songs we're working on this week is the classic folk children's tune "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" Here are a couple different versions of the song for you to check out!

My favorite is Bob Dylan's Version:

Here's Bob Dylan's Mentor, Woody Guthrie's Version:

Here's a banjo version by the lead singer of the Avett Brothers, Scott Avett:

And here's a kids version!

Videos for first week - Tuning your instruments

Here's a cool video for you guitar players on how to tune your guitar to the tuning we will be using for this course. This Australian guy does a great job explaining how to get in tune!

Here's a video for all of you Mandolin or Fiddle players on how to tune to "Split Dead Man's Tuning." This is very similar to A D A D tuning but the bottom course of strings are split with one tuned to D and the other tuned to A. Just another option for tuning your mandolin.

Here is a very thorough violin tuning method for standard tuning. Keep in mind that if you want to tune to Dead Man's Tuning, you can do that as well, just use the video above, and not this one.

And for you banjo players, here is a video on how to tune your banjo to Open D tuning.

 And finally, here is a video on how to tune your bass to standard tuning. You don't need to tune to an alternate tuning at this point.

Week 1 Song 2 - Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace

*Note R.m = relative minor

0                                       5                0

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

            0                                7

That saved a wretch like me.

      0                             5             0

I once was lost but now am found,

         0 (or R.m.) 7       0

Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.

And Grace, my fears relieved.

How precious did that Grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares

I have already come;

'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far

and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.

His word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.Amazing Grace