Your First Song Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (1:41) Introduction Welcome to Lesson 4 of Brad Henecke’s Classic Rock series. Brad starts the lesson off with a great Minor Blues jam. Chapter 2: (0:50) Lesson Information The chord voicings Brad plays in this brief jam are the topic of the current lesson. The previous lesson gave you a brief introduction to barre chord shapes. In this lesson, Brad takes the barre chord concept to the next level. First, you will learn some basic minor chord shapes. Brad then delves into more advanced chord shapes such as the Minor 7 barre chords as well as Dominant 7 barre chords. Once these chords are mastered, they can be applied to the rock and roll classic “Hotel California.” Chapter 3: (3:53) E Minor Barre Chord Shape Before moving ahead to the minor chord shapes, take some time to review some of the concepts from the previous lesson. When Brad refers to a chord’s “shape” he is referring to the visual pattern that the left-hand fingers form. Take a close look at the E chord for example. This shape is used for a major barre chord with the root on the 6th string. To form a barre chord shape from the open E chord shape, the open strings must be fretted by the barre. Look at the A barre chord on Brad’s dry-erase board. Do you notice how the shape of the open E chord fits into this new shape?

Learning the minor barre chords is a relatively easy process once you have learned the major barre chord shapes. The easiest minor barre chord to start with is the Am shape, because it is performed in roughly the center of the neck. You may have noticed that barre chords are easier to play in this area of the fretboard. This is due to the fact that the frets are not too far apart or too close together.

Start with the A Major barre chord shape. (Brad reviews this chord at about 2:30). To play A Minor, simply lift up your second finger. The first finger is now fretting the fifth fret with the barre. Lowering this scale degree (the third of the chord) forms a minor chord. Notice how this barre chord shape resembles the open Em chord shape.

Note: Chord theory is discussed in greater detail in Classic Rock Lesson 5.

Many beginners have trouble getting the third string to ring clearly when playing this chord shape. For this reason, experienced players often press their second finger down on top of their first finger. This added pressure is sufficient enough to properly fret the third string. Once you feel comfortable with playing this Am shape, move the barre chord shape to other areas of the neck and proceed to practice it there.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for fretboard diagrams of all the chords discussed in this lesson. Chapter 4: (1:38) E7 Barre Chord Shape/A7 chord Brad demonstrates how to play an A7 barre chord in this scene. He refers to this shape as the “E7 Barre Chord Shape,” because the shape of the chord closely resembles the open E7 chord.

Once again, start with the fingering for the A Major barre chord. Now, instead of lifting up your second finger, lift up your pinky. The first finger is now fretting the D string with the barre. The resulting note is a G. This forms an A7 barre chord. This chord shape is used quite frequently in the blues and rock genres. Chapter 5: (2:36) Em7 Shape / Am7 Chord To form the Am7 barre chord, start with the Am barre chord you learned in Scene 3. Then, lift up the pinky finger. The resulting notes in the chord are A, C, E, and G. These notes spell an Am7 chord. Once you have mastered this chord shape, you can play all of the barre chords with roots on the 6th string. In the following scene, Brad will demonstrate the barre chords with 5th string roots. Learning these shapes will enhance your chord vocabulary as well as your overall knowledge of the fretboard. Chapter 6: (3:49) The A Shape and Tips Remember the basic open A chord shape from Phase 1 Lessons? This same chord can also be played by barring the fretted notes with the first finger. Brad will demonstrate how to form barre chords from this shape in this scene and the scenes that follow. The D Major barre chord is the first of these chords to master.

Start by laying a barre across the 5th fret with your first finger. The low string is not strummed in this chord, so the first finger doesn’t need to barre it. Then, your third finger will perform another barre across the D, G, and B strings at the fifth fret. Play each string individually to ensure that no string is accidentally muted.

Although the note on the first string is part of this chord, most guitarists omit this note from the shape. This is due to the fact that it is quite difficult to avoid muting the first string with the third finger.

Note: On his dry-erase board, Brad indicates that the barre on the D, G, and B strings should be played with the second finger. However, performing the barre with the third finger is much easier. Chapter 7: (2:20) Am Barre Chord Shape Pause the lesson and take some time to review the basic open Am chord. Brad will use this shape to form a new barre chord: Dm.

To form Dm, begin by barring your first finger across the 5th fret. Now, the third and fourth fingers will fret the D and G strings at the 7th fret respectively. Finally, the second finger frets the B string at the 6th fret. This shape lowers the third scale degree one half step from the Major barre chord. This changes the quality of the chord from major to minor.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for fretboard diagrams of all the chords discussed in this lesson. Chapter 8: (1:43) A7 Barre Chord Shape / D7 Barre Chord Brad uses the shape of the open A7 chord to form the D7 barre chord. Once again, play a barre with the first finger at the 5th fret. The third finger then frets the note A at the 7th fret of the D string. Finally, the pinky frets the note F# at the 7th fret of the B string. Chapter 9: (1:43) Am7 Barre Chord Shape / Dm7 Barre Chord The open Am7 chord shape lays the foundation for the m7 barre chord with its root on the fifth string. To play a Dm7 chord, start with the Dm barre chord from Scene 7. Then, simply lift up the pinky finger. This forms Dm7. Chapter 10: (1:04) E and A Shape Review Pause the video and review all the chord shapes discussed in the lesson thus far. Be sure that you can play each chord shape with minimal left-hand set-up time. These shapes are utilized in the song “Hotel California,” which Brad demonstrates in the following scenes. You may find it helpful to separate these chords into two categories: chords with 6th string roots and chords with 5th string roots. Chapter 11: (1:56) Introduction to Hotel California Steve plays through the intro and verse sections of “Hotel California.” This provides you with a great model to strive toward when practicing. Before you dive into playing the song, study the song’s chord shapes in the following scene. Chapter 12: (1:40) The Chords in “Hotel California” Take a moment to look over the chords that appear in the verse to the song. At this point, you have a few different options for each chord. For example, the first Bm chord could either be played as 6th string root barre chord or a 5th string root barre chord. In the following scene, Brad will explain the proper chord shape to use for each individual chord in the song. Chapter 13: (7:40) Half of “Hotel California” and Backpicking Before you begin to work on any new song, make note of the key and time signatures. “Hotel California” is typically played in the key of B Minor. The entirety of the song is in 4/4 or “common” time.

For now, strum a whole note for each chord. Later, Brad will demonstrate how to play the verse with a technique referred to as “backpicking.”

Here is a measure-by-measure breakdown of all the chord shapes used in the verse:

Measures 1 and 2: Bm-Use the 6th string root barre chord.

3 and 4: F#-Use C shape barre chord with root on 5th string.

5 and 6: A-Use 6th string root barre chord.

7 and 8: E-Use C shape barre chord with root on 5th string.

9 and 10: G-Use 6th string root barre chord.

11 and 12: D- Use C shape barre chord with root on 5th string.

13 and 14: Em-Use open Em shape.

15 and 16: F#-Use the 6th string root barre chord.

Pause the video and slowly practice through the progression on your own. Once you have mastered it, attempt to play it along with Brad at 5:25. This will greatly improve your rhythm and hopefully iron out any chord change issues you may be experiencing.

Backpicking

“Backpicking” refers to a descending arpeggiation of a chord. Brad demonstrates this technique with the first chord of the song, Bm. Brad plays this technique using his right hand fingers. However, when performing this technique with a pick, all backpicked notes should be played with an upstroke. Drag the pick across each string in this direction.

Each chord is played for a full two measures. The downbeat of the first measure always features a downstrum of the chord. Then, the backpicking is applied. The high E string is struck on the “and” of beat 2. The rest of the arpeggio pattern occurs on beats + 4 +. The following measure begins with the root note of the chord. Then, the backpicking pattern repeats.

Watch Brad carefully while he demonstrates the backpicking arpeggio pattern. Play along with him to master the rhythm.

Chapter 14: (4:38) Second Half of Hotel California The verse portion of this song features numerous barre chords and only one open chord shape. However, the chorus part consists of mainly open chords and just a few barre chords. This is quite common among popular rock songs. Open chord voicings are typically chosen for chorus parts, because they generate more volume and sustain than their barre chord counterparts. Here’s a quick explanation of how the chorus barre chords should be played:

Bm is played as a barre chord with its root on the 5th string.

The F# chord is played as barre chord with its root on the 6th string.

Instead of continuing with backpicking, the chorus shifts to a standard strumming pattern. Strum the following rhythm throughout the chorus: 1 2+ +4+. The direction of the strumming should be played as down, down, up, up, down, up. Remember that the “and” beats are always played with an upstrum. Chapter 15: (2:32) The Entire Song Practice the verse and chorus parts individually until you can comfortably play along with Brad. In this scene, he connects the verse and chorus parts together and plays the bulk of the song. This provides you with an effective practice model to imitate. We also recommend that you acquire a recording of the Eagles playing the song. In this lesson, Brad has only taught the basic rhythm guitar parts to the song. What other guitar parts are added to the original Eagles recording? Chapter 16: (2:03) Final Thoughts on the Lesson Like Brad mentions, learn this song slowly by practicing a segment at a time. Drill all difficult chord changes until you can play them in your sleep. As always, remain patient! Depending on your ability level, this song should take a few weeks of diligent practice to master.

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