
The acoustic guitar is one of the most beloved instruments in the world. Eve Goldberg will guide you on your guitar playing journey.
Lesson 1
In this lesson, Eve Goldberg introduces the acoustic guitar. She talks about the parts of the guitar, the string names, and tuning.
Length: 27:16 Difficulty: 0.5 Members OnlyLesson 2
In this lesson, Eve Goldberg introduces the first chord in this series, the A chord. She also shows how this chord can be used to play a simple song.
Length: 22:54 Difficulty: 0.5 Members OnlyLesson 3
Eve Goldberg introduces the E chord. She explains how it is played and provides some exercises designed to improve your chord changing abilities.
Length: 21:54 Difficulty: 0.5 Members OnlyLesson 4
Eve Goldberg returns to the song "Swing Low" and talks about playing it with two chords instead of one.
Length: 16:20 Difficulty: 1.0 Members OnlyLesson 5
Eve talks about the boom-chuck strum pattern. This strum pattern will completely change the sound of your playing.
Length: 15:56 Difficulty: 1.0 FREELesson 6
Eve Goldberg teaches how the boom-chuck strum can be applied to the song "Swing Low."
Length: 8:16 Difficulty: 1.0 Members OnlyLesson 7
In this lesson, Eve introduces the D chord. You will also learn how to switch from the D chord to the A chord while applying the boom-chuck strum.
Length: 16:59 Difficulty: 1.5 Members OnlyLesson 8
Eve teaches the song "Little Birdy," which is a great tune to practice changing from the D chord to the A chord with your boom-chuck strum.
Length: 23:54 Difficulty: 1.5 Members OnlyLesson 9
You will learn the The Carter Family song "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" in this lesson.
Length: 32:58 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 10
Eve talks about 3 chord songs and demonstrates a few as an example. She also introduces the capo.
Length: 10:36 Difficulty: 1.0 Members OnlyLesson 11
Eve continues her discussion on capos. She explains how to find a key by using a piano keyboard drawing.
Length: 12:28 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 12
Eve introduces the flatpick. She explains the proper way to hold it and strum.
Length: 10:00 Difficulty: 1.5 Members OnlyLesson 13
Eve shows you how to to compliment your boom-chuck strum by adding an A to D bass run.
Length: 14:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 14
In this lesson, Eve furthers your knowledge of bass runs by teaching the E to A bass run.
Length: 22:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 15
Eve continues her discussion of bass runs and also covers some great practicing techniques.
Length: 22:46 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 16
Eve introduces the G chord and practices changing to and from other chords you have learned. This is important for the next song you will learn.
Length: 14:06 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 17
Eve teaches the song "Gold Watch and Chain" using the G chord you learned in the last lesson.
Length: 19:02 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 18
Eve shows you how to add a little spice to your standard boom-chuck strum in this lesson.
Length: 10:54 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 19
You've learned the Boom-Chuck strum. You've learned the Boom-Chucka strum. Now you will learn the Boom-a-Chucka strum. Have fun!
Length: 13:16 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 20
Eve shows how to incorporate the A to D bass run into the song "Gold Watch and Chain."
Length: 18:10 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 21
Get ready for a new run! Eve teaches the D to A bass run in this lesson.
Length: 30:35 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 22
Learn how to add even more flavor to "Gold Watch and Chain" by including a bass run from D to G.
Length: 20:02 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 23
Learn the G to D bass run and incorporate it into the song "Gold Watch and Chain."
Length: 29:10 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 24
Eve encourages you to take all of the tools you've learned thus far and apply them to the song "Gold Watch and Chain."
Length: 16:07 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 25
Eve introduces a new song called "Hobo's Lullaby."
Length: 15:26 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 26
Eve introduces fingerpicking in this lesson by using the song "Hobo's Lullaby" as an example.
Length: 24:19 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 27
Eve adds a D to G bass run into the song "Hobo's Lullaby."
Length: 19:27 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 28
Eve adds the bass run from A to D into the song "Hobo's Lullaby."
Length: 16:45 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 29
Eve adds the bass run from G to A into the song "Hobo's Lullaby."
Length: 19:55 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 30
Eve Goldberg finishes up her lessons on "Hobo's Lullaby" by adding one final technique: The D Doodad.
Length: 30:49 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 31
Eve Goldberg continues her beginner series with another amazing song called "Careless Love."
Length: 12:34 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 32
Eve Goldberg continues her discussion on "Careless Love" with a lesson about the pattern and chord changes of the song.
Length: 16:09 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 33
Eve Goldberg takes a look at the G chord fingerpicking pattern for the song "Careless Love."
Length: 14:45 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 34
Eve Goldberg continues "Careless Love" with a lesson about the fingerpicking pattern for the D chord.
Length: 16:48 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 35
Eve teaches a Travis style picking pattern for the C chord. She also explains how to make the change from the C to the G pattern.
Length: 10:02 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 36
Eve wraps up "Careless Love" with a lesson about putting the whole song together.
Length: 16:12 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 37
Eve Goldberg introduces a new song called "Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad."
Length: 11:06 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 38
Eve Goldberg reviews the chord structure for the song "Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad."
Length: 13:21 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 39
Eve Goldberg returns to "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad" with a lesson all about the hammer-on.
Length: 9:40 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 40
Eve Goldberg continues her discussion of the hammer-on. She explains how a hammer-on can be used within a C major chord and the importance of timing.
Length: 13:18 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 41
Eve adds the G chord hammer-on to the song "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad."
Length: 15:15 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 42
Eve gives a quick review of what you have learned so far in "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad." Then, she dives into some bass runs that can be added to the chord progression.
Length: 13:54 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 43
Eve plays the G to C run in the song "Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad." Then, she breaks it down for practice.
Length: 16:42 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 44
Eve taught the G to C bass run in the last lesson. In this lesson, she teaches you how to go from C back to G.
Length: 16:42 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 45
Eve Goldberg covers a transitional chord between G and Em that functions like a bass run.
Length: 16:42 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 46
Eve Goldberg wraps up "Goin' Down this Road Feelin' Bad" with a lesson that combines all the techniques you have learned in the song.
Length: 17:12 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 47
Eve Goldberg introduces a new song called "Stewball" in this lesson. Get started with a little history and some basic concepts.
Length: 10:11 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 48
Eve Goldberg talks about the chord structure for the song "Stewball" in this lesson.
Length: 11:48 Difficulty: 0.0 Members OnlyLesson 49
Eve Goldberg wraps up the song "Stewball" with some strum pattern variations.
Length: 15:08 Difficulty: 0.0 Members Only
About Eve Goldberg
View Full Biography
Imagine a kitchen party where Mother Maybelle Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Mississippi John Hurt, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Patsy Cline show up, and you begin to get a sense of what it feels like inside songwriter Eve Goldberg's head. Never one to restrict herself to one genre of music, Eve has performed her trademark mixture of folk, blues, country, bluegrass, old time, and jazz in venues ranging from small house concerts to the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington DC since 1990.
Eve was born in the Boston area but has called Toronto, Ontario home since 1981. As a child, she was dragged to folk concerts by the likes of The Weavers, Doc Watson, Arlo Guthrie, the Watersons, and countless others. Eventually it sank in, and as a teenager she began to devour all kinds of contemporary and traditional roots music. She began performing in 1990, and hasn't looked back since. Along the way she's earned the respect of legendary musicians like Peggy Seeger, Geoff Muldaur, and Penny Lang.
Her watercolour voice and solid guitar style has become a favourite at festivals, folk clubs, and concert series across Canada and the US. With an equal passion for traditional music, and for the art of songwriting and interpretation, Eve's performances are intimate and relaxed, moving effortlessly from folk classics to original gems, all wrapped up in her clear, pure voice and dynamic guitar playing. She has released two albums to widespread acclaim -- 1998's "Ever Brightening Day" released on her own Sweet Patootie Music label, and 2003's "Crossing the Water," released by The Borealis Recording Company. Her instrumental tune "Watermelon Sorbet" was used for years as the opening theme to the popular CBC national radio show "Richardson's Roundup."
Her latest album "A Kinder Season" was released in September 2007 on Borealis Records (US Release: Jan 9, 2007). Recorded in the months after her mother's death, the album is a remarkable personal testament to the joy and hope that lurks somewhere beyond the heartache, and the sweetness that can be found even in the bitterest seasons of life. Produced by Ken Whiteley, "A Kinder Season" features twelve new originals that firmly establish Eve as a compelling and thoughtful writer whose songs draw honey from the rock of human experience. As legendary blues musician Geoff Muldaur put it, "As far as I'm concerned, Eve Goldberg is on the verge of riches. Big name folks would want to get hold of this stuff."
In January 2008, Eve released "The Streets of Burma," a song inspired by the peaceful demonstrations of monks and nuns in Burma in September 2007. Since then, Amnesty International Canada has used the song as part of its campaign to free U Gambira, one of the monks arrested following his participation in the protests. Visitors to www.amnesty.ca/streetsofburma/ can listen to a preview of the song, find out more about the situation in Burma, sign an e-postcard to help free U Gambira, and if they want, download the song in exchange for a donation to Amnesty International Canada.
"A pure and pleasing voice and a performance style that know no bounds."
- Greg Quill, Toronto Star
"...one of the most promising young singers in the Canadian folk scene"
- Alistair Brown, Greenman Review
"Wow! Ever Brightening Day is one of the best albums I've heard this year!"
- Back Porch Music Distribution
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Hi Eve I'm one of your newest students :D I'm from Mexico so this song is completely new to me, I have no problem playing the parts you show, but the rest is just impossible, I have no idea how the song goes as for the singing part, could you please tell me what's the name of the artist that plays the particular style of the song you teach us? cause I've searched over youtube and found way too many versions, perhaps it would be a nice adittion that for each song you would record the entire song and at least disttribute it in a mp3. By the way I think you're the greatest teacher I've seen so far :)
Hi Eve, In the notation - the D string which is being played alternately with the A bass note- it is not written in the music- or is that something to add later?
Hi Eve, how long should a person practice in general before moving on to the next lesson?
Ms. Eve, u have a sweet voice
Eve, Thanks for your slow, precise instructions. This is really the first time I have ever been able to actually "play" something. You are a really thorough teacher and make things understandable, too. Thanks!
hi Eve, I am a true beginner and I am really enjoying your lessons. I feel like I am making progress..Thanks! babs
iwas wondering if you hav a nme for a strum where you would pluck twice and then strum or wuld that be under boom- chuck?
Hi Tyler, I don't know if there's a name for that, but you could make one up!
I'm getting somewhere, thank you SO much!
Nice to hear mlapia, keep it up!
Thanks Eve You are a delightful teacher! Although I am not a beginner, I have worked through your lessons and picked up some new ideas and I really love your calm and supportive approach. regards from London UK Jackie
Thanks Jackie! Nice to meet strummers from across the pond.
Will you be posting a new lesson weekly?
I don't know if there is a regular schedule. I think it just depends on when the hardworking Jamplay staff can get to editing lessons - they are adding lessons for lots of teachers all the time, so they have to spread their efforts around a little bit!
Hi Eve, sorry, every time I watch it I have a new question. I'm curious if it is important to do the strum with your fingers uncurling-can I just strum with my thumb? The reason is I don't like the way my nails (or a pick) sound on the strings. But I wonder if strumming with my thumb will cause problems later on as I start getting faster?
The reason for using your fingers instead of your thumb is that it keeps your thumb close to where it needs to be to play the bass notes. You will find if you use your thumb you will spend a lot of energy bringing your hand back and looking for the bass notes.
I get confused when a strum pattern is longer (not this song, but some my boyfriend is trying to teach me) if I am supposed to start the strum pattern over when I change chords if I wasn't at the end of the pattern, or if I'm supposed to just change and keep going from wheree ver I was in the pattern...he just shrugs and say, "Do what sounds good..." It all sounds good when he does it! Thanks for giving slow clear lessons by the way...
Hi Kitty, It's a little hard to answer your question without knowing the pattern you are playing and the song. Sometimes if the chords change very quickly in a song, you only get to play half the pattern before you change to the next chord. If that's the case, you probably want to start the strumming pattern again when you change chords. But practice your strumming pattern and try to make sure you are playing the rhythm correctly -- it could also be that you are getting off rhythm which might be why you don't have time to finish the pattern before you change chords. Good luck!
Assuming a person is playing the rhythm correctly, is there a general rule about this? I mean, in general if there are quick chord changes and you are on rhythm, should you start over the pattern or play through the pattern? It looks like my boyfriend plays through...but starting over feels more natural to me. Is there a general rule? Thank you!
I think I would have to hear the song in order to answer the question definitively, because it depends on how long you are staying on all the chords, the structure of the song overall, and how long the strumming pattern is. But here is an example of how it might work. Say your strumming pattern lasts for four beats, and in most of the song you stay on chords for some multiple of four beats -- four beats, eight beats, etc. But in one part of the song, you play A major for two beats, then E major for two beats, and then back to A for four beats. You have a couple of choices for how to strum that section. You could play the beginning of the pattern on the A, the end of the pattern on the E, and then start the pattern again when you return to the A chord. Or you could play the beginning of the pattern on the A, begin the pattern again on the E, and then begin the pattern again when you return to the A. As long as you keep the rhythm, and are able to return to the regular strum pattern when you return to the A, you are fine to do either one. At that point it's more a question of what you want to hear rather than what is right. I hope that makes some sense. Good luck!
It does help, yes! Thank you. My boyfriend is trying to teach me but he's never had any formal training so he's having a hard time describing what he means. I think he probably intuitively knows what you are describing but he can't put words to it. It sounds like just like there are multiple ways to play a chord there are multiple ways to make a strum pattern fit into a song. Thanks Eve!
Great so far Eve, looking forward to more. Hopefully someone will update twitter and let me know!