Leod Guifor

Level I
Toble of Contents
Lesson I

I
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I

Sfoff
Treble Clef
Nofes
Quorfer Nofe
Time Signofure

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Bor
Pitch

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Quoier Note
"Sfringing AlongHolf Nofe

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2
2
2
3
3
3

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Resfs

4
4
4
5
5
6
6
6
6

Nofes on Open Strings

Lesson 2

,Naibi,an t*eZna*fiing
"2 Slring Speciol"
"Ode fo Joy"
"ALtro Lee"
Lesson 3
Whole Nofe

Nbtes,o.i,the

t.st

Sfriig ,

"Moryenne"

"Riffsfer"
Lesson 4

B
B

Chord Reoding ond Music

Notofion
"Thrumn"
Eighth Nofe
"Down for the Count"
Fomily Tree of Nofe Volues
Down-Up Picking
"Top of fhe Hill"
Lesson 5
12 Bor Blues
"Blue Jeons"
"When I Need You"
Lesson 6
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Repeaf Sign
"Diesel"
More Chord Reoding
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Third Hond Music

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Lesson 7
'Naitbi; *ii:",EgE:t;5t7, :::$,l g;,,,:
"The Long Wolk"
C Mojor Scale
"C Mojor Scole Study"
Lesson

14
14
14

t5
15

l6
t6
t6

Doffed Quorter Note

"Lef if Be"
F# Nofe
G Mojor Scole
"G Major Scole Study"

17
17

17
1B

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t9
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Lesson 9

,Notes:ai tne drn Sfring

"E-B-G-g"
"Under fhe Boordwolk"
Lesson I0

Sixteenfh Nofes
"Quorter Deck"
Nofurol Nofes on the Guitor
3/4 Time
"Wild ColoniolBoy"

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Nofes on The Aufhor

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Third Hond Music

20
20
20
21
21

22
22
23
24

Leod Guifor Level I

Lesson I

The stoffconsists of 5 lines ond 4 spoces.

Music notes ore written on these lines ond spoces to indicote the pitch
of the note.

Trebte

Clef

Ihe treble clef oppeors of the beginning of oll guitor music,

Notesd

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The shope of o note represents 2 concepts

order to reod music.

thot must be grosped

in

1. When to ploy the note.

2. How long to let the note ring.
The Quorter

Note ,

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The quorler note is o note thot is given 1 countin most time signotures.

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Thhd Hond Music

Leod Guitor Level I

A symbolthot oppeors of the beginning of

how mony beots there ore in each bor.
4/4 time meons 4 beots in each bor.

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piece of music ond teils

Bor
A bor is the spclce between 2bar lines. The bor lines ore drown crcross
the stoff to seporote the music into visuol. (ond ourol) sections.
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Pitch
The position of the note on the stoff tells us whot ihe pifch of the note
is.

The pitch of the note is olwoys given os o lelfer nome.

There areT letter nomes used in music: A B C D E F G,
The lines ond spoces on the stoff correspond to these letfer nomes.

The diogrom below shows the position of 2 notes on the 3rd string.
The stoff on the right shows how these notes ore written in music

nototion.

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Thhd Hond Music

Leod Guilor Level I

I*r rJ I beot or I count. There ore 4 of these in I bor

The quorter note

of music (in 414 time).

"Sfringing AlonQ"
"Stringing Along" is o short piece of music thot uses the G ond A notes
on the 3rd string.
Eoch note is o quorter note.
Follow the counting corefully os you ploy.
Moke the note chonges smooth ond occurote.
When you feel confident with the note reoding ond ploying. try the
chord ploying by following the chords thot ore writlen obove,
Pick oll notes with downstrokes of the pick.

"$rin$ing

Holf

Note I
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Alon9"ArVl

A holf nole losts for 2 beots. There ore 2 of them in o bor of 414 time.

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@A Hobler 1998
Third Hond Music

Lead Guitar Level I

Lesson 2

The notes on the 2nd string ore B. C, ond D.

These ore shown on the following diogrom ond stoff.

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"2 String

Speciol"

"2 String Speciol" is o shorl piece thot uses notes on the 2nd ond 3rd
strings together.
Notice olso the holf note ond quorler note combinotions.
Count the piece corefully before you begin to get on ideo of the
rhythm. Ploy the chords olso.

"2 String Special"

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Third Hand Music

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Leod Guifor Level

"Ode

Ta

Joy"

well-known tune is the melody to Beefhoven's gth symphony.

We will use the notes ond rhyfhms studied so for.
This

"Ode to Joy"
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A useful strum potfern "Ode To Joy" shown on the stoff below.

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"Auro Lee"
"Auro Lee" olso uses the notes ond rhyfhms studied so for.
count os you ploy to ensure occurote rhythm. You moy need to work
on bcrrs 2 ond 6 to ensure the fingering remoins occurote <ls this will oid
the flow of the music.

p\"Auta Lee"

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Review oll musicolterm ond nomes,

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Third Hond Music

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Leod Guifor Level I

Lesson 3

WhOb,Na;te
The whole note receives 4 counts ond tokes up the whole bar in 414

time.

The notes on the 1st string ore E. F. ond G.

These ore shown on the diogrom below,

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Rests

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The rest is o period of silence in music ond eoch note type (whole.
quorfer, holf etc.) hove corresponding rest symbols.

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Third Hond Music

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Leod Guitor Level I

Nomes of fhe Open Sfrings

Eoch open string is given o letter nome.
Eoch of these notes. (of course). hos o position where it is written on the
stoff.
It is importont to keep in mind thot these ore the nomes of single notes
and ore nofchords.
The following diogroms show the position of the notes on the stoff ond
their relotive positions on the stoff.

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"Meryonnb*
cotchy liftle song uses the notes on the lst. 2nd ond 3rd strings.
Also note the use of the rest symbol. This is o whole rest so counf
corefully to ensure you begin ploying ogoin of the right time.
This

t'Maryanne"

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Third Hand Music

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Leod Guitor Level I

"f?iffifeia :

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"Riffster' uses the notes ond rhyfhms studied so for. Agoin count the
rhythm of the music so thot you know whot the music will sound like
before you begin. Strum the chords olso.

"Riffster"

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Lesson 4

Chord Reoding in Music Nofotion

When two or more notes ore written on the some stem it is soid to be o
chord. These ore ployed by ensuring that only the notes thot ore
wilfen ore ployed.
It is o more specific woy of ensuring thot the ployer ploys on exoct
chord sound rother thon on opproximote one.
The opplicotion of this is to ollow the guitorist to incorporote chords ond
melodies of the some time.
Look of the notes on the stoff below ond visuolize the positions of eoch
chord before trying to ploy it.
Remember to ploy only the notes thot ore written. This moy require
some odjustment of usuol picking technique in order to ploy them

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occurotely.

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@A Hobler 1998
Third Hond Music

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Leod Guilor Level I

"'Thrimn))

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The tune "Thrumn- uses o combinotion of the notes studied so for ond
olso incorporotes chords. This style is generolly known os chord melody
ond for mony ployers is the pinnocle of the guitorists' croft.

0 -"Thrumn"

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,EiQhth',Nofei'

The eighth nofe receives 112 of o count. There ore B of these in

of music, (in 414 time),
These notes ollow for the writing of more complex rhylhms.

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They ore best counted 1 &2& 3 & 4 &.

"Down for the Counf"will give on indicotion os to how these ore

counted ond ployed.
Note olso thot the eighth notes ore often joined by beoms.
This proctice ollows the musicion to see the rhythm of o glonce.

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Third Hond Music

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Leod Guifor Level I

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"Femily Tree" of Nofe Volues

At this point we will look of the relotive volues of the notes. Your tutor
will exploin this in more detoil. if required.

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Down-Up Picking

Now thot we ore deoling with foster rhythm groups, it is importont to

leorn o technique thot should be used for most eight note picking.
The bosic concepf of this is thot o downstrokewith the pick is ployed
on ony notes thot ore on o numbercount.
ln other word, o note thot folls on beot 1,2,3 or 4 should be ployed
down.

Downstrokesore given this symbol.

Upstrokesore given this symbol,

The upstroke is used on notes thot foll on the * ond' of the beot.
The following excrmple will help clorify this.
Be sure to follow oll picking morkings corefully to ensure smooth
execution of the music.

'Top of the Hill"

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"Top of the Hill"

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Thhd Hond Music

Leod Guitor Level I

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Lesson 5

12 Bor Blues

The I2bar blues sequence is one of the most common in music.

Music bosed on l2 bor blues generolly follows o set chord pottern.
Work on both the melody ond the chords in the following song.

"Blue Jeens"
-Blue Jeons" is o blues in the key
of G. The chords should be quite
fomilior to you.
As you ploy the melody ottempt to ploy with the correct down-up
stroke combinotions.

"Blue Jeans"

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"When I Need You"

populor song of the 70's provides o little extro proctice in ploying
the notes. rhythms ond chords studied so for.
Ensure thot you reod oll notes ond chords corefully.
The notes in the chords must be ployed only up fothe top notes.
Stroke the chords ond ollow the pick to rest on the next highest string
ofter the melody note.
This

@A Hobler 1998

fhird Hond Music

Leod Guifor Level I

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"When I Need You"

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Lesson 6

The notes on the 4th string qre D, E ond F,

These 3 notes ore used quite extensively os porl of chords ond os the
middle ronge of the guitor for single note ploying,
The following diogroms show the exoct position of these notes on the
guitor ond on the music stoff.
Toke speciol core with the F note os it is eosy to confuse it with the D
note,
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Thhd Hond Music

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The repeot sign is simply o woy of telling the musicion to repeot certoin
porfs of the music without hoving to rewrite thot section or writing o
wordy description of whot is required.
Simply repeot the music in between the repeot signs.

"Diese|t',

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The tune "Diesel" hos notes studied so for ond o repeof sign.
Toke note of where it occurs ond look through the * roodmopmusic to ensure you ploy it conectly.

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Mony of the chords studied in previous lessons con be filled out through
the <rddition of notes on the 4th string.
The use of these chords in chord melody ploying enhonces the depth
of the sound of the chords.
Reod ond ploy fhe exomples thot follow ond ploy the chords corefully.
@A Hobler l99B
Third Hand Music

Leod Guifor Level I

14

You moy stort to notice the similority between these chords ond the full
5 or 6 string chords you hove olreody leorned.

"Main Street"

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Lesson 7

The notes on the Sth string ore A, B ond C.

These ore written on speciol lines thot ore continuotions of the stoff
colled ledger lines,
Toke core os you reod these for the first time os the notes ore quite
similor looking ond it is eosy to confuse them.
The diogroms below show the positions of these notes.
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@A Hobler /998
Third Hand Music

Leod Guitor Level I

"The

15

Loig Welk"

The tune "the Long wolk" contoins the low notes on the Sth string.
visuolize the first bor before ottempting to ploy it. Follow the some
procedure for the rest of the music.

"The Long lUalk'

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C Mojor Scole
The c Mojor scole is one of the building blocks of music <rnd once the
note positions ore leorned. it should be ployed eoch doy os o wormup.
The note nomes for the C Mojor scole ore

CDEFGABC

There ore mony pieces of music thot hove been writfen using the notes
in this scole.
Through consistent proctice. mony of the potferns thot exist in music will
become reflex octions.

"C Maior Scale"

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Third Hand Music

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Leod Guitar Level I

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The "c Mojor Doily scole study"is on interesting woy to incorporote the
scole in some of the woys it is used.
visuolize the low notes before beginning to proy it ond ottempt to
moke the finger movements reflex octions os you become fomilior with
the sequence of notes.

"C Maior Daily Scale Study"

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Lesson B

Dotted Quorter Note

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rhe doffed quarfer note is worth one ond o holf beots ond
followed by on eighth note.

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"Lef...1
it Be"

tune

"Let if Be"uses
studied so for.

The

the dotted quorter note ond some of the notes

Top or clop the rhyfhms out corefully before you begin.

Remember to use olternote, (Down-Up) picking,
@A Hobler 1998
Third Hand Music

Leod Guitor Level I

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"Let it Be"
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Notice the F# note in the scole. This note is olwoys ployed I fret higher
thon F note.
The diogroms thot follow show the F# notes within the first s frets.

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G',MoJqSC1le'

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The G mojor scole, (like the c Mojor scole). is onother of the 'building
blocks' of music.
Mony pieces of music ore writfen using the notes in the G Mojor scole,
These pieces of music ore soid to be in the Key of G Major,
@A Hobler l99B
Third Hand Music

Leod Guilor Level I

18

The notes in the G Mojor Scole ore:

GABCDEF#G
Follow the fingerings corefully especiolly using 2nd finger on the 2nd
fret 'lst string.
The scole below is over 1 octove(B notes) but moy continue further
both oscending ond descending.

"G Maior Scale"

piece uses the notes in the G scole in some of the common

potlerns ond sequences seen in music.

This

"G Maior Scale Study"

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Lesson 9

The notes on the 6fh string ore E, F ond G.

These letter nomes correspond to the notes on the 1st string since both
open strings ore E.

Even More Chord l?eoding

The low nofes on the 6th string provide o woy of filling out the bass ot
the chords. The oddition of these notes will moke for o richer sound.
Ploy "E-B-G-9" ond be sure to reod the low notes corefully.

..E.B.G.B'

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20

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The tune " Under The Boardwoll( gives extro proctice of note ond
rhythm re<rding, Aim for occurote fingering throughout ond clop the

rhythm out before you begin,

"Under the Boardwalk"

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Lesson

'Sixieehfh',Notes

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This lesson we will cover some sixteenth note rhythms.

The sixteenth note receives 114 of o beot.

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Theyore generolly counted I e & o 2e & o 3 e & o 4 e & o

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'",Qu.oidi,DeCk.
The

tune ^Quofier Deck-gives on opportunity to ploy some sixteenth

note rhythms. Count them ccrrefully ond ensure thot the rhythms ore
ployed correctly.

"Quarter Deck"

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The noturol notes on the guitor ore:

ABCDEFG
The following diogroms show these notes.

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Thhd Hond Music

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Lead Guitor Level I

22

3/4 Time
3/4 time signoture meons 3 beots in the bor.

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"llYild Coloniol Boy"
"The Wild Coloniol Boy"isin 3/4 time. Count the rhythm corefully.
There is o pick-upnote of the beginning of the piece. Simply ploy the

note on beot 3.

"Wild Colonial Boy"

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This concludes Level I of the leod guitor course.

It is not expected thot the student will be oble to sight-reod fluently

ot

this stoge but will hove o solid grounding in music reoding,

Purchose some of the suggested supplements ond toke speciol note of

the rhythm of the music before you begin.

Proctice the pieces in smoll chunks so thot it will flow smoothly.
The Chord Guide following will be useful for ploying the
occomponiments in this book.
@A Hobler l99B
Thhd Hond Music

Leod Guitor Level I

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