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Teaching Fingerstyle to Young Students
Fingerstyle playing isn't always easy for young students when the first start out. However, here's an approach that will make the transition from single-note melodies to playing fingerstyle solos as smooth as possible:
1) Start by using a pick, and just playing the melody. Leave out the bass notes for now.
2) Next, play the melody alone with the right hand fingers - no pick.
3) Finally, use your thumb to add bass notes and complete the solo.
#3 Mary Had A Litttle Lamb.pdfVisible boxes around images or only visible on the screen. They'll be gone once you print.
Song #3 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
This song is very accessible to kids and new players since it only uses notes in the 2nd and 3rd fret, and the bass notes are all open strings.
#7 Jingle Bells.pdfSong #7 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
This song is also very easy since it only uses notes in the 2nd and 3rd fret, and the bass notes are all open strings. There are some 8th notes in the rhythm, so younger students may need to be reminded to play those notes faster.
#16 Kumbaya.pdfSong #16 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
This song has fingerings written above the notes at the beginning of each phrase, so just do your best to follow those in order to sound as good as you can.
#19 When the Saints go Marching In.pdfWhen the Saints Go Marching In
Song #19 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
This song, similar to Kumbaya, also has many instances where the first finger will need to move to the 2nd fret. So just keep an eye on those fingerings.
22. Korobeiniki.pdfSong #22 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
This song plays up to the 5th fret, so it gives students a chance to shift outside of first position.
26. Silent Night.pdfSong #26 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
This song is played in a few different positions, so it gives students a chance to practice switching from one position to another on the fretboard mid-song.
28. Drunken Sailor.pdfVisible boxes around images or only visible on the screen. They'll be gone once you print.
Song #28 in "Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook For Kids".
All songs up to this point have used exclusively open strings for the accompanying bass notes. In this song, there is one instance in which the player must play a fretted note as a bass note.
Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook for Kids
Once as student has successfully learned to read basic tablature, the next step is for them to be able to play multiple notes at a time. This can be accomplished by learning to play chords and by learning to play fingerstyle music.
"Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Songbook for Kids" is a collection of 30 simple fingerstyle solos designed to help young players transition from playing melodies to playing beautiful, standalone guitar music.
Some more songs included in this book that aren't listed above are:
London Bridge
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Pop Goes the Weasel
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Brahms' Lullabye
In the Hall of the Mountain King
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