Virtual Star Guitar Lesson 3
You have now learned the G Major scale on both the 6th and 5th strings. We are now going to continue our G Major scale on the 4th string.
The finger positions that make up the G Major scale on the 4th string are slightly different than the finger positions on the 5th and 6th strings. Here is the guitar neck diagram for the notes on the 4th string.
See how the note positions are slightly different than those on the 5th string?
G Major Scale – The 7th Note
You may also notice that only the 1st note position has changed. The 2nd and 3rd notes look the same as on the 5th and 6th string. Let’s start with the 1st note on the 4th string. Here is the tab.
From the diagram we can see that we play this note by putting our 1st finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string. We will then pick and hold the note for 4 beats.
Let’s try it now with a drum beat. We will play the note a few times as depicted with this tab.
(Click to enlarge)
Give it a try along with me. As in the previous chapter, there will be a 4 beat intro before we actually start playing. Ready?
Audio Example C3_1:
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Here is a video of me playing along with the track so you can get an idea of what it should look like when you are playing it properly. Give it a try with me if you like.
Video Example C3_1:
That sounds pretty good. Are you ready to try it by yourself? Here is the same drum track without my guitar. Try it now.
Audio Example C3_2:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
G Major Scale – The 8th Note
How did you do? Is it getting easier to understand? Let’s try the next note of our G Major scale on the 4th string. This note is played similar to the 2nd note on the 5th and 6th strings except that it is played on the 4th string. The tab for this note looks like this.
As you can see from the diagram, this note is played by placing your 2nd finger on the 5th fret on the 5th string and then picking and holding the note for 4 beats. Look at the 2nd note in the guitar neck diagram which corresponds to this tab.
Ready to give it a try? We are going to play this note just like in the previous chapters, but on the 4th string.
Ready to try it with a drum beat? We will play the note a few times as depicted with this tab.
(Click to enlarge)
Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C3_3:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here is a video of me playing along with the track so you can get an idea of what it should look like when you are playing it properly. Give it a try with me if you like.
Video Example C3_3:
Ok, good. Go ahead and give it a try by yourself. Are you getting the hang of it?
Audio Example C3_4:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
G Major Scale – The 9th Note
There is one more note to learn on the 4th string for our G Major scale. It is played like this.
You will put your 4th finger on the 7th fret on the 4th string and then pick and hold the note for 4 beats. Take a look at the 3rd note in this guitar neck diagram that corresponds to the tab diagram above.
Here is a picture of me playing the note on my guitar.
Let’s try it now with a drum beat. We will play the note a few times as depicted with this tab.
(Click to enlarge)
Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C3_5:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here is a video of me playing along with the track so you can get an idea of what it should look like when you are playing it properly. Give it a try with me if you like.
Video Example C3_5:
That sounds pretty good. Are you ready to try it by yourself? Here is the same drum track without my guitar. Try it now.
Audio Example C3_6:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Excellent. I think we are ready to try an example using each of the three notes we have learned on the 4th string. Study the diagram for a minute until you think you understand what to play.
(Click to enlarge)
Got it? Ok, give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C3_7:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here is a video of me playing along with the track so you can get an idea of what it should look like when you are playing it properly. Give it a try with me if you like.
Video Example C3_7:
How did you do? Were you able to get an idea in your head of what the tab was telling you to play before you actually heard the example? I don’t expect you to actually hear in you head exactly what the music sounds like just from looking at the tab, but you can get a basic idea of what it is going to sound like.
When I look at the tab diagram above, I know that starting with the first note, each note after that is going to sound higher and higher until I reach the 3rd note. After I reach the 3rd note, the notes will sound lower and lower until I am back where I started. I can tell this visually from the tab because visually the notes appear to go up on the tab diagram and then appear to go down. Make sense? Are you ready to try it by yourself?
Here is the same drum track we just played without my guitar. Try it now.
Audio Example C3_8:
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Excellent! We have just finished learning the notes that make up the G Major scale on the 4th string. Here is the guitar neck diagram of our G Major scale example so far on the 6th, 5th and 4th strings.
Are you ready to put together all of the notes that we have learned so far? Here is a tab example utilizing everything we have learned so far. Give it a quick look and try to visualize what it may sound like.
(Click to enlarge)
This example may seem a bit overwhelming at first due to all of the notes, but actually it is not that difficult. We are going to start with the 1st note we learned on the 6th string and continue in order playing the three notes we learned on the 6th string followed by the three notes we learned on the 5th string. We will then play backwards until we get back to the 1st note on the 6th string that we started with. Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C3_9:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here is a video of me playing along with the track so you can get an idea of what it should look like when you are playing it properly. Give it a try with me if you like.
Video Example C3_9:
That sounds pretty good. Are you ready to try it by yourself? Here is the same drum track without my guitar.
Audio Example C3_10:
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Are you ready yo try another solo? Let’s try one that uses all three strings. Here is the tablature. Study it for a moment and see if you can hear in your head what it might sound like. I don’t expect that you will be able to sing the part out loud, but you should be able to get a rough idea of how you are going to play it.
(Click to enlarge)
Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C3_11:
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Got it? Let’s add some chords to play the solo over. You will just play the solo for now. We will be learning some chords for you to play in a few more lessons. Try it along with me.
Audio Example C3_12:
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Alright. Do you think you got it down? Ok. This time you get to play the solo by yourself. I will play the rhythm guitar part. Let’s give it a try.
Audio Example C3_13:
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Excellent. You now have two solos under your belt. Is all of this starting to make more sense now? That’s it for the 4th string. We are making good progress. Let’s move on to the 3rd string.
Continue on to Lesson 4…
View the Virtual Star Guitar lesson index…
Do you have any questions or comments on this lesson? If so send me an email and I will respond shortly. rbrewer@myguitaruniversity.com