Playing a song

INTRODUCTION

A song will be used to practice the concepts learned so far. The song will be played five different ways:

MELODY IN TWO OCTAVES

It is important to play the melody in two different octaves because of the following:

The guitar sounds 1 octave lower than written; therefore, to achieve the actual written note, you must play 1 octave higher than written.
Playing "in the wrong octave" (not playing one octave higher) usually has a warmer sound.

PLAY THE CHORDS

Playing the melody in octaves will help develop the student’s dexterity and offer an additional texture.

CHORD MELODY

Chord melody involves playing the melody and chords at the same time. Usually, the melody note is the top note on the chord.

IMPROVISATION

A common practice in song playing is to improvise after the melody has been played. More on this in the IMPROVISATION section.