Henderson, Lewis and Young - Five Foot Two (fingerstyle) Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:44) Lesson Introduction Steve kicks off lesson 9 with his fingerstyle arrangement of the Tin Pan Alley song "Five Foot Two." In the scenes that follow, Steve will demonstrate how to play this arrangement.
Chapter 2: (09:55) Five Foot Two Fingerstyle Review Time

Steve has already taught a flatpicking arrangement of this song in his Phase 3 set of lessons. This lesson exemplifies a typical circle of fifths progression. Steve teaches the current lesson under the assumption that you have already learned this version of the song. You must already know the chord changes and how to play them with an alternating bass line. It is strongly suggested that you master the flat pick version of the song before continuing with the current lesson. The materials presented in the Phase 3 lesson are the basis for the new material presented in this lesson.

New Chord Shapes

Within the fingerstyle arrangement of this song, Steve utilizes some chord shapes that you may not be familiar with.

Note:Fretboard diagrams to all of these chords can be found under the "Supplemental Content" tab.

E7

The first shape Steve demonstrates is an E7 chord. This chord features the b7 note of the chord, D, played on the third fret of the second string.

A7

This voicing for A7 features a barre performed by the first finger across the fourth, third, and second strings. Then, the third finger frets the b7 of the chord, G, at the 3rd fret of the first string.

D7

This chord utilizes the shape of the "open" C7 chord that you have already learned. Simply omit the first string and slide the entire C7 shape up two frets to form this voicing for D7. If you add the open E string to this voicing, this D7 chord becomes D9. To apply an alternating bass line to this chord shape, simply shift the third finger back and forth between the root note on the fifth string and the fifth of the chord on the low string. The fifth of the chord is the note A, which is played at the 5th fret of the sixth string.

G7

This voicing adds an extra b7 note. The pinkie finger frets this F note at the third fret of the D string.

Barre Chord Practice

This song features a few difficult barre chords. The F major and F minor barre chords played in first position are two of the most difficult chords to play in the entire guitar vocabulary. Barre chords can be very frustrating to learn at first. However, with patience and persistence, you will master them in a matter of weeks. Do not neglect learning these chord shapes. They are absolutely essential. If you are experiencing difficulties with playing these chords, check out some of the following lessons available on JamPlay: Matt Brown's 11th Rock Lesson, Brad Henecke's 3rd Rock Lesson, and Steve Eulberg's 9th Phase 1 Lesson.

G7 Barre Chord

The shape of this chord is based on the grip of the "open" E7 chord. This particular voicing creates a smooth voice leading transition from the D7 chord discussed earlier. Also, it is relatively easy to switch back and forth between these two chord voicings.

G7 (High Voicing)

This voicing features the leading tone B as the highest note in the chord. This high leading tone creates a very strong transition back to the beginning of the form. This chord shape is based on the open D7 chord. This D7 chord is translated into a barre chord shape and moved to fifth position to form a G7 chord.

Before you attempt the fingerstyle pattern of the song, you must master these chord shapes. When learning anything new, you must isolate and practice each of the individual components before attempting to put them all together. If you attempt to master two new skills such as new chords and a new fingerstyle pattern at the same time, you will quickly become frustrated. If you have already mastered the left-hand component, you will have a much easier time learning the right hand component of this song. Chapter 3: (07:12) Picking Patterns Two separate picking patterns are used throughout this song. The picking pattern used is determined by the location of the lowest root note within the chord. However, both picking patterns are played with the exact same rhythm pattern. This rhythm consists of a quarter note followed by four eighth notes. A final quarter note closes out one measure of 4/4 time.

1st Right Hand Pattern

This pattern uses the thumb, middle, and third fingers. Typically, when playing a basic arpeggio figure, the thumb plucks any note that occurs on the three bass strings. The index finger plucks notes on the third string. The middle and ring fingers play notes on the second and first strings respectively. The right hand fingering that Steve has chosen adheres to these guidelines. As you advance your fingerstyle skills, you will learn countless examples in which these rules are broken. For now, do not deviate from the fingerings that Steve demonstrates in this lesson.

The first picking pattern that Steve teaches is used with the C, A7, and D7 chords in the song. This is due to the fact that the bass note of each of these chords is played on the fifth string.

Note: A diagram of the proper right hand fingering used for this pattern can be found under the "Supplemental Content" tab. This diagram is a video capture of Steve's marker board.

If you are inexperienced in playing these types of arpeggio patterns, they can feel quite awkward at first. Play them as slowly as you can stand it at first. Focus all of your attention on accuracy and creating a clear tone. Speed will come with time. Practice this right-hand pattern until it becomes second nature to you. Chapter 4: (08:14) Second Pattern The second right-hand pattern is used for the E7, G7, and F chord shapes. This pattern works with these chords, because they each feature a low root note on the sixth string. Remember that the rhythm for this pattern is exactly the same as the rhythm applied to the first right-hand pattern. One quarter note is followed by four eighth notes. Then, a final quarter note is played on beat 4 of the measure. Notice how the first finger is now used in this pattern. The first finger plucks all of the notes played on the third string.

When performing this piece, do not worry if you accidentally bump the wrong string with a right-hand finger. All of the strings are notes within the chord, so your mistake will probably go by unnoticed.

Alternating Variations of this Pattern

On Steve's marker board, he has indicated that either the second string or the first string can be plucked within the pattern. Alternate between these options every other measure. For example, the first time around, pluck the first string with the ring finger. For the second measure, pluck the second string with the middle finger. Steve demonstrates this idea at 03:40 in the lesson video. You can also pluck the first and second strings simultaneously as a viable third option. This variation on the pattern is demonstrated at 06:50.

Metronome Practice

The best way to master these patterns is by practicing them along with a metronome. Start the metronome at a very slow speed such as 60 beats per minute. Once you feel that you have mastered the pattern at this tempo, move the metronome up to about 62 beats per minute and repeat the process. Continue to climb up setting by setting until you can comfortably play each picking pattern at the tempo that Steve demonstrates in the lesson video (about 160 beats per minute). You will most likely have to spread this process out over several days' time. If this is the case, write down the metronome marking that you left off at, so you know where to set the metronome the next time that you sit down to practice. Chapter 5: (03:48) Playing the Song In this scene, Steve applies the picking patterns to the chords in the order in which they occur in the song. The song begins with a C major chord. Apply the first picking pattern to this chord. The next chord in the A section is E7. You will need to use the second picking pattern for this chord. Remember that all of the chords with roots on the fifth string must be played with the first pattern. All chords with chords on the sixth string are played with the second pattern. As you will notice, you will frequently switch back and forth between these patterns throughout the chord progression. Once again, the best way to master this process is through slow practice along with a metronome.

Over the rapid chord changes in bars 11 and 12, Steve plays each chord as a blocked chord. He plucks the root of each chord along with the three treble strings simultaneously, C, A7, D7, and G7 chords in these measures.

Bass Walk-ups

In the Phase 3 version of this song, Steve demonstrated several bass walk-ups that can be played between chords. Once again, these same walks can be applied to the fingerstyle arrangement of this song. These walks are indicated in the tablature / notation listed under the "Supplemental Content" tab.

Member Comments about this Lesson

Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.