AC/DC - Bluegrass Melody Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (0:37) Introduction to the Lesson Now that you have had sufficient time to practice right hand techniques such as double picking and left hand techniques such as slurring, it is time to learn the melody of “She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain.” Steve demonstrates specific techniques that will enable you to play this melody appropriately in the bluegrass style. Chapter 2: (2:53) Refresher on Double Picking Before you practice songs and other repertoire each day, technical practice must be addressed. Practicing technique and scales prepares your fingers for the music that they are about to play. Slow, technical practice is a great way to warm up the muscles in the hands. Also, working out specific playing issues within a scale will enable you to perform your current repertoire at a much higher level.

Before you proceed to the next scene, practice all of the exercises demonstrated in the “Double Picking/ Scales” lesson. Devote some extra time to the exercise that combines a Major scale with 4 “Mississippi’s” on each individual note.

In addition to practicing the exercises from Lesson 5, take this time to work on the second octave of the G Major scale. (Steve demonstrates how to play the second octave to the scale at 2:00.) Slowly practice this octave of the scale until you have it memorized. Then, put both octaves together. Start at the low G on the low E string and continue the scale to the G on the high E string. Then, descend the pattern back to the low tonic note. Be sure that you adhere to the proper left-hand fingerings. The F# on the D string should be played with the pinky finger.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for fretboard diagrams of both octaves in the G Major scale. Chapter 3: (7:01) All About the Melody Like Steve mentions, the most important step in playing any melody doesn’t even involve playing the guitar. In order to play or sing any melody line properly, you must first be able to sing it in your head. This musical process is referred to as “audiation.” It is a proven fact that some people are born with better audiation skills than others are. However, anyone can sufficiently develop audiation skills over time. Most people can accurately audiate a melody in their head. However, it is much more difficult to match the pitches in one’s head to the note names on the neck of the guitar. In this scene Steve gives some great tips that will get you started on this life-long musical process.

All melodies consist of units called phrases. Phrases are often described as the musical equivalent to the spoken sentence. A phrase represents a logical, complete thought. A phrase is typically punctuated by rests or sustained note at the end. These rests serve the same function as punctuation in speaking or writing. They act as a pause between two logical thoughts. When you begin to learn any new melody, break the melody down into its individual phrases. The melody to “She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” consists of three phrases. The first two phrases are short phrases. The third, final phrase is twice as long. Almost everyone (maybe not our friends overseas) is familiar with the lyrics to this tune. Here is a breakdown of the phrases according to their lyrics:

Phrase 1: She’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain when she comes.

(Pause)

Phrase 2: She’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain when she comes.

(Pause)

Phrase3: She’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain, she’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain, she’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain when she comes.

Once a tune is broken down into its individual phrases, some features of each phrases must be observed.

1. Beginning with the first note, does the melody line go up, down, or stay on the same?

2. Does the melody move in step-wise motion? A melody that moves from G-A-B-A moves in stepwise motion. Or, does the melody contain any intervallic leaps. Any interval larger than a major second is referred to as a leap. Playing G to B is one such example.

Take a look at the first three notes of the melody. The first note is D. The next note played is an E. D to E is an example of step-wise motion. The melody then moves from E up to G. Since the F# in the G scale was skipped over, this movement is an example of a leap in the melody.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for tablature to each of the three phrases to the song. Due to its length, the third and final phrase is broken up into two parts.

Steve has written the names of the notes above each corresponding tablature number. Use these note names to identify where any leaps occur in the melody. Chapter 4: (12:28) The Bluegrass Melody A. Phrase 1

Open the “Supplemental Content” tab while learning each phrase. This way, you’ll be able to reference the music while Steve discusses it.

As you learned in the last lesson, when a bluegrass melody is played on guitar, the melody is typically combined with rhythmic guitar playing. For this reason, the fingering Steve uses to play the melody is all relative to the chord being played at the moment. For example, he leaves his third finger planted on the third fret of the E string. He also leaves his second finger planted on the low E string. When Steve switches from playing the melody to strumming chords, his fingers are already in position to play the G chord. This technique is an absolute necessity since the tempo most bluegrass tunes is quite fast.

At 3:05 Steve gives you an opportunity to play this phrase while he plays the accompanying rhythm.

B. Phrases 2

Repeat the same process to learn the second phrase. The chord progression remains on G for the second phrase. However, the chord progression changes to D at the last note of this phrase (A). This section of the melody requires that you lift all of your fingers from the G chord grip.

Once you become comfortable with the second phrase, put the first and second phrases together. Finally, add the final phrase to complete the tune.

Chapter 5: (7:53) The End of the Melody Due to the length of this phrase, Steve has broken it down into two smaller sections. Once again, repeat the same process from letter A to learn this portion of the melody. Make sure you are playing the F# at the end of the tune with your pinky finger. Carefully observe when Steve chooses to strum chords and when he is playing single note lines. What do you notice?

In this scene, Steve gives you an opportunity to play the melody in a “call and response” fashion. This practice is highly recommended in order to improve your timing and memory of the melody. Chapter 6: (2:06) Double Picking the Melody The following double picking rules can be applied to any melody in any genre. Practice each phrase of the melody using the following guidelines:

1. A consecutive series of eighth notes, triplets, sixteenth notes, sextuplets, or thirty-second notes must always be played with double picking.

2. A quarter note is always played with a downstroke.

3. When a rhythm is comprised of a combination of eighths and sixteenths, the eighth notes are played with downstrokes, and the sixteenths are played with upstrokes. The rhythm that features a sixteenth-eighth-sixteenth note is one exception to this rule. This rhythm is played with a downstroke followed by two upstrokes.

Note: There are a few additional exceptions to these rules. Economy picking as well as sweep picking are two of such examples. Check out Brad’s Phase 2 “Speed and Technique” lessons for details regarding these techniques.

Each phrase of the melody is comprised of a continuous stream of eighth notes. The only exceptions are the last note of each phrase. Consequently, the entire melody should be performed with double picking. Every other note should be played with an upstroke. Chapter 7: (4:07) Spicing Up the Song At this point, you have mastered all the musical components necessary to play “She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain.” In this scene, Steve will demonstrate his interpretation of the melody. These simple additions are frequently made to basic melodies to give them more stylistic flair.

Steve begins with an alternate version of the second phrase. Instead of playing the B as an open string, Steve slides from the A on the third string up to the B at the 4th fret on the same string. The slide is performed with the second finger. Notice the difference in sound between the original phrase and its alternate version.

Also, Steve frequently hammers onto the A note quickly from the open G string. This type of hammer-on is referred to as a “grace note.” A grace note is notated with a miniature note.

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