Week 11 of 27
Goal: You accompany a minor song with Em and D and feel how minor sounds.
Review
Last week: the island strum. Play Michael, Row the Boat Ashore with it.
Step by step
- Remember Em from lesson 1 and D from lesson 8. Today they come together.
- Switching Em – D: all fingers lift off. Look at the G string as you change – that’s where the index finger of D lands first.
- With Em you strum all six strings, with D only four. Your hand just starts a bit lower down.
- What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor in Em is an old sea shanty. Play it strong and steady – like sailors hauling a rope.
Time to make music: your piece
Drunken Sailor in Em – only Em and D, strong with down-up. In the chorus “Way hay and up she rises” you can play loud!
Homework for next time
Five days, about ten minutes each:
- Tune first every day.
- Days 1–2: switch Em – D ten times, slowly.
- Days 3–4: play along with Drunken Sailor in Em.
- Day 5: the song with down-up, a little faster.
- Fun: stamp your foot to the beat while you play!
Done when …
- you switch Em – D in time
- you play Drunken Sailor all the way through once
If you get stuck
- D comes too late? Lift your Em fingers on the last beat already – a quick open strum is allowed.
- It sounds muddy? Leave out the low strings on D and make your strum shorter.
For teachers: lesson plan
- ≈ 10 min Warm-up: briefly explain what a shanty is: sailors sang in rhythm so they could pull together.
- ≈ 15 min Practice: Em – D round and round, stamping on beat 1 – who changes on time?
- ≈ 20 min Together: Drunken Sailor – group A plays the verse, group B the chorus, everyone sings “Way hay”.
Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.
For the board: openstring.de/gitarre/en/lesson/11/