
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 OnlyLesson 50
Eve Goldberg returns to JamPlay with another exciting addition to her beginner series! Here you will take a look at "Drunken Sailor". Eve builds on this song in lessons to come.
Length: 16:44 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 51
Eve Goldberg returns to the song "Drunken Sailor" with some great tips on strumming patterns and more.
Length: 21:14 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 52
Eve Goldberg finishes up "Drunken Sailor" with some new strumming exercises.
Length: 13:45 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 53
Eve Goldberg dives into "Haul Away Joe," another fun sea shanty.
Length: 25:29 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 54
Eve Goldberg takes another look at "Haul Away Joe" with a brand new strumming pattern.
Length: 17:32 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 55
Eve Goldberg starts on a new folk song called "The John B. Sails". This particular song was later made famous by The Beach Boys under the title of "Sloop John B".
Length: 21:42 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 56
Eve Goldberg continues with "The John B. Sails". This time she introduces a brand new strumming pattern.
Length: 17:47 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 57
Eve Goldberg finishes up "The John B. Sails" lessons with a couple of brand new chords and a new strum.
Length: 24:16 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 58
Eve Goldberg dives into some basic, practical theory to expand your knowledge of the guitar. In this lesson, she talks about the I-IV-V progression and explains the circle of fifths.
Length: 13:30 Difficulty: 1.5 Members OnlyLesson 59
Eve Goldberg continues her practical theory discussion, this time with an emphasis on minor chords and how they fit in.
Length: 13:52 Difficulty: 2.0 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.Status Quo did a good version of this
Forgot to mention that it would be great if the supplemental section, with the song words, had the cords shown, to make the change locations easier.
Great teaching style Eve. I started with you on Phase 2 lessons (with some fingerpickin) but decided I best come back and do your beginner lesson set. I struggle with getting my fingers to repeat the fingerpickin patterns, and when I try to add the words of the song, I usually lose the pattern completely. I know, you says this gets better with practice! Keep up the great lessons.
your lesson is a bit confusing.....You say the sone begins on the words "Oh I'm thinking ............ BUT, in the song lyrics.....you start with different words.... I assume your lesson is correct, if true were does that 1st verse belong in the song?
Looking under Lesson Exercises (1) the E TAB I see 0012 isn't there supposed to be another 2 ...? as in 00122 ....or am I just confusing myself? Thank youso much for the soft and caring leasons.
I'm loving the lessons, but I'm a little confused on the notation in the supplemental content. I'm seeing that the D cord as the first line? I also see at the 5th bar it shows the A cord for the intro, but that doesn't look like four boom chucks to me, so I'm having a little trouble following. Where am I going wrong?
Hi maedi, it's been a while since I actually watched this particular lesson, so I don't remember what I do in the lesson. But, it looks like the first four bars are just practicing the boom-chuck on the D chord. Then, where it says "intro," there are two bars of A with TWO boom-chucks each. And where it says "vocals enter" is where the words to the song would start. Does that make any sense?
Great lessons Eve! Is it possible to put the chord above the word it changes on, in the supplemental content. Thanks again for the great lessons.
I didn't realize the chords weren't with the words. I'll try to see if I can get a lyric sheet with the chords notated added to the content here.
Thank you Eve, I am really enjoying your lessons. Can't wait to start on the next one each time. I am compiling your songs in my songbook. I am coding your chord patterns at the top. Any chance you could include them at the top of each song. For example. A (4 beats) D (4 beats) E (4 beats) A (2beats) F (2 beats) D (4 beats) t
I don't tend to notate the chords that way, and many people have different ways of reminding themselves of the pattern of the song, so I will leave it up to you to use your own system of notation, and other people can use their own system. Over time you will probably start to "feel" it rather than having to write it all down...
I'm really enjoying your lessons and have learned so much already. Is it possible in the Comments maybe you could print out the primary and alternate bass strings for the A, D & E chords? I keep getting them mixed up. Thanks Eve.
Hi mturner, if you look at the supplemental content you will see the bass notes are notated -- I hope that helps!
I love your lessons. Thank you. Do you have any particular capo that you would recommend.
There are many different kinds -- I use Shubb capos, but I know some people really like Kayser and there is also one called G7 that I used for a while.
Really enjoy Your lessons, You are extremely down to earth and easy to listen to. I have a question? I love your guitar, can you tell me a little about it? Thanks
My guitar was built by my friend Grit Laskin, who is a world-famous guitar maker. You can find out more about him at http://www.williamlaskin.com
Wonderful lesson, I enjoy your teaching and choice of songs. But again, would it be possible to see the melody notes along with the words in standard music notation as well as tablature? I have a hard time remembering melodies after going away and coming back to a song while away from a computer where I can't revuew the video. Thanks! Love the lessons.
Hi bkormobile, I will try to post the words and chords to this one too, but I see what you are asking for is more the melody notes. Since I generally learn melodies by ear, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to help you with notation. My only suggestion is either to keep trying to learn the melodies by ear along with me on the video, or to see if you can find a songbook with the melody in it. This melody is used for a number of songs, including "Great Speckled Bird," The Wild Side of Life," "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," and a few others in addition to "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes." You should be able to find a songbook that has one of those songs. Good luck!
I too am enjoying your lessons. Lots of clarity and support. I appreciate your sideways hitchhiking analogy. It really helped me finally get a good relaxed hand position for the boom-chuck. Love learning the songs too.
Great! Glad some of my crazy metaphors work!
It was hard for me (and my poor fingertips) to get this far, but I did and it's amazing how you learn your third chord and all of a sudden out of nowhere it's like this whole world opens up with what you can do!! I really enjoyed this lesson!
Yeah! I love to hear that!
Hi Eve, Love your lessons I really enjoy them. I am having trouble learning guitar but found your way great. Is it possible for you to play the entire songs & sing so we can play with you. I forget the way the song sounds once I turn off the computer & would love to play the entire song with you to keep me on track. Even if its just listening not a film clip. Thanks
First - am enjoying the lessons. Have played - passably but only just - for years. Want to make the leap forward. Every sign you will get me there. Second, on the melody: Wild Side of Life was recorded by Hank Thompson. The melody was claimed by Bob Massey in 1920. First recording, so far as I can find, was by Vernon Dalhart in 1924 as The Prisoner's Song. "If I had the wings of an angel, etc." Dalhart, trained in opera, also made famous "The Wreck of the Old '97".
Hi tifiso, I think I mention in the lesson that the melody has been used a number of times. I think the melody to the Prisoner's Song was different (at least the one I've learned was different, but there are many versions). But it's one of those melodies that has certainly been around for a long, long time and has had many different sets of words.
Oops, I meant tifoso. Sorry!
Your lessons are great. I really like your method of teaching. thank you.
Thanks sryan!
im a country lead player ,and i desided to start all over.a lot of this stuff i use all the time ,but didnt know why.im on lesson 9 and already learned ,that i should have done this a long time ago.never to old ,for a old dog to learn new tricks.lesson books suck!!! so much you cant figer out by yourself. buffalo
Hey Buffalo, that's amazing! I sometimes find people who can play circles around me in one regard have never learned some other things that I use in my playing all the time. Anything you do to expand your box of tools will help you be a better musician, even if it feels like you are going back to something more basic. Have fun!
I like this song very much. The pattern makes practicing easy! I enjoy your lessons! and I see progress.......
great Boresko!
Still looking for those runs in your lessons
Hi JohnT., The runs are in a subsequent lesson which I'm sure will be posted soon.
Yep! We are powering through them since you expressed the desire to do another film session in the near future :) I believe Nessa is going to work on your lessons nonstop until they are all done (at least this session).
Its is so beautiful!!!
boom chucka lucka...
blue eyes is cryin in the rain somewhere..
Supplemental content gets added to brand new lessons generally a day or two after they have been posted on the site. You will see it up soon. Thanks for your patience!
I enjoyed your lesson but I couldn't find anything in the supplemental content. Is it missing? thank you.