Week 13 of 27
Goal: You play C and accompany songs in G with G, C and D7.
Review
Last week: G and D7. Warm up with Hänschen klein in G.
Step by step
- C is a little staircase: ring finger A string 3rd fret, middle finger D string 2nd fret, index finger B string 1st fret.
- The G string and the high e string stay open and must ring freely. Don’t play the low E string.
- Switching G – C: the ring finger travels from the high e string to the A string. Practise the move slowly, without strumming.
- With G, C and D7 you have the three most important chords in G. Alle meine Entchen in G fits perfectly.
Time to make music: your piece
Alle meine Entchen in G with G, C and D7. Then Jingle Bells in G with down-up – bright and bouncy!
Homework for next time
Five days, about ten minutes each:
- Tune first every day.
- Day 1: play C – do the G and e strings ring freely?
- Days 2–3: switch G – C ten times, then chord game “G and C”.
- Days 4–5: Alle meine Entchen and Jingle Bells in G.
- Fun: play Jingle Bells for someone – whatever the season!
Done when …
- five strings ring clearly when you play C
- you switch G, C and D7 within a song
If you get stuck
- The high e string doesn’t ring with C? Your index finger is too flat. Put the tip steeply on the B string so there’s room underneath.
- G – C feels like too big a stretch? Place the ring finger first, the others follow. The ring finger leads.
For teachers: lesson plan
- ≈ 10 min Warm-up: show the C “staircase” – the fingers step down one fret at a time from the A to the B string.
- ≈ 15 min Practice: chord game “G and C” through a speaker – the whole group counts the hits together.
- ≈ 20 min Together: Jingle Bells in G – with little bells or claps on “Jingle bells”.
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/13/