Two Songs at Once Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:10) Musical Introduction Welcome back to the Phase 2 Fingerstyle guitar series with Jim Deeming! Sit back and enjoy Jim's performance of the classic fingerstyle arrangement "Yankee Doodle Dixie." Chapter 2: (02:34) Lesson Introduction - Yankee Doodle and Dixie Lesson Objectives

Jim has decided to teach Chet Atkins' arrangement of "Yankee Doodle Dixie" for several specific reasons. First and foremost, the arrangement is incredibly fun to play. Your friends and family will be amazed by the timeless parlor trick of playing two songs at once. Learning the arrangement will also vastly improve your guitar skills - specifically thumb independence. Past fingerstyle lessons have combined a melody with an alternating bass line played by the thumb. This lesson forces you to play two completely independent voices at the same time. The melody to "Dixie" is played as the upper melodic voice. The thumb does not play a repetitive pattern like in previous lessons. Instead, the melody to "Yankee Doodle" is played by the thumb as a bass line. After completing this lesson, you will most likely find that your thumb independence has improved. Consequently, it will be easier to perform alternating bass lines along with a melody or chordal accompaniment. Chapter 3: (03:44) Thumb Notes Arrangement Overview

Bass Line

This arrangement features the melody of "Yankee Doodle" played as a bass line. The bass line is played on the sixth, fifth strings and fourth strings. All bass notes are either played as open strings or at the second and fourth frets. Use the first and third fingers to fret these notes. This fingering must be used in order to accommodate the melody to "Dixie," which Jim will discuss later in the lesson. Use the right hand thumb to pluck all bass notes. Apply some light palm muting so that this voice sounds more like a supporting bass line. As a result, the melody to "Dixie" will stand out as the focal point of the arrangement.

Practicing the Arrangement

Do not attempt to play the arrangement as written at first. You must first isolate each of the independent voices. Begin by working on the "Yankee Doodle" bass line. The bass line is played as the lowest voice in the notated score. Focus on playing this bass line smoothly and in time. Then, work on the melody to "Dixie" on its own. You may find it helpful to write in the appropriate right hand fingering for Dixie as you work through the melody. This will become important down the line when you combine both parts. When both individual individual voices are mastered, begin to combine them. When the voices are combined, they both must sound subordinate to one another yet able to stand strongly on their own. As you perform the arrangement, do not think of it as two songs happening at the same time. Think of it as a single arrangement. Chapter 4: (11:21) Starting the Song Practice Tips

-The melody to "Dixie" begins with some eighth notes played as pickups. Make sure that you are fretting all melody notes at the fretboard locations indicated in "Supplemental Content." Otherwise, you will not be able to play the melody and bass line simultaneously. The first two pickup notes can be played on the second string with a pull-off. The pull-off adds a smooth legato sound to the melody voice.

-Practice the arrangement one measure at a time. Jim breaks down the first measure along with the pickup notes at 04:10 in the lesson video.

-Notes at the second fret can be played by barring them when two notes are played simultaneously on different strings. This fingering requires the least amount of mental and physical coordination. Compare this fingering with the fingering that Jim uses in the lesson video. Use the fingering that is most comfortable for you.

-Practice very slowly! Ensure that you are playing in time and playing all rhythms exactly as written. You may need to start as slow as 40 beats per minute.

-Drill all transitions that you find difficult. Make mini exercises out of all difficult measures. Repetitious practice of each measure will build your muscle memory and coordination between your brain and hands.

-Make mental pictures of the left hand fingerings. This will also help your mental and muscle memory. Chapter 5: (04:10) Moving On Measure 3

Jim begins this scene with an explanation of the third measure. In this measure, he frets the B bass note with the thumb. This note along with the F# "Dixie" melody note can also be played by barring the first finger at the 2nd fret. Keep in mind that Jim has huge hands. The thumb technique may simply not be practical for you in this situation, especially if you have small hands or are playing a classical guitar.

Measures 4-5

A position shift must occur in this measure in order to play the high notes involved in the "Dixie" melody. Shift up to fourth position from second position on beat 2 of measure four. At the beginning of measure five, use the pinkie finger to fret the high C# note on the E string. Shift back to second position on beat 3 of measure five. Chapter 6: (01:00) Rhythm Notes Pay very careful attention to the rhythm of the arrangement. In order to create the illusion of two songs played at once, you must play the rhythms exactly as written. If you play certain eighth note groups with a hammer-on or pull-off, make sure that these slurs remain perfectly even. Play the measures containing slurs slowly along with a metronome. For example, the pickup notes as well as the eighth notes at the end of measure two may be slurred. Make sure that both notes involved in the slur receive the exact same rhythmic value. However, if you play the arrangement with a loose swing feel, the first note must be slightly longer than the second note.

Also, be aware of when two eighth notes in the "Dixie" melody are played with a single quarter note in the "Yankee Doodle" bass line. Chapter 7: (00:33) Slow Demonstration In this scene, Jim provides a demonstration of the arrangement at roughly half the performance tempo. Watch and listen carefully several times. Focus on the rhythm as well as the right and left hand fingering. Then, practice the arrangement on your own with a metronome. Once you can play the arrangement at the tempo demonstrated by Jim, return to the video and play along with him.

Continue to practice the arrangement on your own with a metronome until you can comfortably play the arrangement at around 120 beats per minute. Chapter 8: (00:19) Regular Demonstration Jim plays through the arrangement at a much quicker tempo. However, he's still a long way from the ideal performance tempo. Play along with him in this scene to ensure that you can play the arrangement accurately and in time.

Then, continue to practice the arrangement on your own along with a metronome until you reach the ultimate goal tempo of 175 beats per minute. At this tempo, you may want to set the metronome to about 88 beats per minute and play the piece in cut time. Chapter 9: (02:38) Chords, Thoughts, and Notes No more than two notes are played simultaneously at any given point in the arrangement. Typically, a triad or chord is defined by three different notes. However, specific chords can be implied by the combination of a bass line and a melodic line. The chords implied throughout the arrangement are the I, IV, and V chords in the key of A major. Respectively, these chords are A, D, and E. Analyze each measure to determine which chord is implied. Chapter 10: (03:28) Yankee Doodle and Polly Wolly Doodle Both "Yankee Doodle" and "Polly Wolly Doodle" can be played together in a single arrangement. Once again, the melody to "Yankee Doodle" is played as a bass line while "Polly Wolly Doodle is played as the upper melodic voice.

Take the same approach to learning this arrangement as outlined in scene 3. Learn each voice separately at first. Then, begin to combine them at a very slow tempo.

Phase 3 Lessons

For the full Chet Atkins arrangement of "Yankee Doodle Dixie," visit Jim's Phase 3 lesson series. The full version includes a bridge section.

Questions About the Lesson

If you have any specific questions concerning this lesson, feel free to write in to Jim. Either email him or leave a comment within this lesson. You can also leave questions and comments for him on his JamPlay forum.

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