The Third and Fourth Strings Guitar Lesson

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The Third and Fourth Strings

Jim covers the third and fourth strings in this lesson. He explains where the natural notes are located on the fretboard and how they appear on the staff.

Taught by Jim Deeming in Music Reading seriesLength: 11:43Difficulty: 1.5 of 5

Chapter 1: (08:59) The Third and Fourth Strings In lesson 3, you learned where the notes on the first and second strings are written on the musical staff. You also played through a basic exercise that served as an introduction to reading sheet music. This time around, Jim Deeming repeats this same process with the third and fourth strings. In this lesson, you will learn where the open position notes on these two strings are written on the staff. Jim has also included some exercises designed to enhance your reading abilities.

The Third String

When the third string is played open, it produces the pitch G. Do not confuse this note with the G note that you learned in the previous lesson. This G note is simply one octave lower than the G note located at the third fret of the high E string. The open G string note is written on the second line of the musical staff.

There is only one other first position note on this string to learn. This note, A, is played at the second fret of the G string with the second finger. (Remember to always use the proper left-hand fingering when practicing the reading exercises and scales presented in this series.) In relation to the musical staff, this note is written in the second space from the bottom.

The Fourth String

When the fourth string is played open, it produces the note D. On the musical staff, this particular D note is written just below the lowest line. This note is one octave lower than the D note that you have already learned on the second string.

The next note to learn on this string is E. E is located at the second fret on this string. This pitch is one octave lower than the open high E string. In relation to the staff, this pitch is written on the lowest line. Always remember the saying "every good boy does fine" to identify the names of the lines on the musical staff.

If you depress the fourth string at the third fret, the note F is produced. F is written in the first space on the staff. Remember that the spaces on the staff spell out the word "face" from bottom to top.

Review

At this point, play through all of the notes that you have learned so far. Remember to say each note name aloud as you play it. This process will solidify this information in your brain in the most efficient manner.

Rests

When playing through the exercises written on Jim's marker board as well as the exercises presented in the "Supplemental Content" section, you will encounter some rests. You must always give rests their full written value. Many students that are first beginning to read music have a tendency to cut rests short. To ensure that this does not happen to you, always practice with a metronome.

At this point in the series, Jim has presented three types of rests. These rests are the quarter rest, half rest, and whole rests.

Quarter Rest-the quarter note rest indicates that the performer should remain silent for the duration of one quarter note. This rest resembles an ear or the number three written backwards.

Half Rest-this rest indicates that the performer should remain silent for the duration of a half note. The half rest resembles a hat. Remember that "half" and "hat" sound similar when identifying this rest.

Whole Rest- this rest indicates that the performer should remain silent for the duration of a whole note. The whole note looks just like the half note, except it is flipped upside down.

Chapter 2: (02:43) Third and Fourth String Exercise The best way to solidify the information that you learned in the previous lesson is by reading some notation that involves these notes and rests. Jim has provided a few exercises that will accomplish this goal. The first exercise involves notes from the third and fourth strings. The second exercise includes all of the notes that you have learned so far.

Follow these guidelines when playing through these exercises:

1. Say each note name out loud as you play it.

2. After practicing through the exercises in this manner several times, count the rhythm of each measure aloud as you play through the exercise.

3. Play both exercises along with a metronome set to a slow tempo. For now, ignore the tempo indicated on the score. Begin these exercises at approximately sixty beats per minute.

4. Play as musically as possible at all times.

Third and Fourth String Notes

Third and Fourth String Notes

Supplemental Learning Material

Member Comments about this Lesson

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

buffy71 replied on February 25th, 2012

loved the lesson!!!!

thrasher101 replied on September 16th, 2011

u r a good teacher

shadowblue replied on April 4th, 2011

Hammering the rests into my brain.

brno32 replied on January 24th, 2009

the tabs should not be underneath the notation in the supplemental content. I keep looking at them on accident.

ronross replied on August 29th, 2008

Jim, Just above the first measue you have listed the first three notes E F G. I think that it should be D E F. Geat lessons, great teacher Thanks, looking forward for more great lessons Ron

Sylvia replied on August 29th, 2008

You are right it should be D, E, F

Music Reading

Found in our Beginner Lesson Sets

Reading music and rhythm is the foundation for anyone serious about music. In order to understand the theory necessary to progress as a player, a basic understanding of how to read music and how to read rhythms is necessary.

Lesson 1

Basic Notes and Theory

Understanding notes, intervals, and scales is key to music reading. Jim proves a beginner crash course on these subjects.

Length: 18:53 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only

Lesson 2

Basic Music Reading

Jim covers basic music concepts such as the staff, time signatures, clefs, measures, note duration, and note representation.

Length: 16:25 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only

Lesson 3

The First Two Strings

Jim covers the first two strings in this lesson. He explains where the natural notes are located on the fretboard and how they appear on the staff.

Length: 17:12 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only

Lesson 4

The Third and Fourth Strings

Jim covers the third and fourth strings. He explains where the natural notes are located on the fretboard and how they appear on the staff.

Length: 11:43 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only

Lesson 5

The Fifth and Sixth Strings

Jim covers the fifth and sixth strings. He explains where the natural notes are located on the fretboard and how they appear on the staff.

Length: 11:34 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only

Lesson 6

Symbols, Timing, and Notes

Jim Deeming explains more music symbols in this lesson. He also introduces 3/4 time and eighth notes.

Length: 10:25 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only

Lesson 7

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

In this lesson Jim Deeming uses the classic song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as a music reading exercise.

Length: 11:06 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only

Lesson 8

The Low Strings

In this lesson Jim takes the song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and plays it on the lower strings. This is an excellent exercise for reading and memorizing these notes.

Length: 5:39 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only

Lesson 9

Echo

Jim Deeming teaches a music reading exercise entitled "Echo." This fun, play-along lesson is a perfect way to hone your reading and counting skills.

Length: 18:03 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only

About Jim Deeming View Full Biography Jim Deeming got his first guitar when he was only six years old. His Dad was taking fingerpicking lessons, and Jim wanted to be just like him. The Mel Bay books didn't last very long before he strapped on a thumb pick and added the Chet part to Red River Valley so it sounded better.

Most of Jim's early learning was by ear. With unlimited access to his Dad's collection of Chet Atkins albums, he spent countless hours decoding his favorite songs. They were never "right" until they sounded just like Chet. Around the age of 12, Jim heard Jerry Reed for the first time and just knew he had to be able to make that "Alabama Wild Man" sound. The styles of Chet & Jerry always have been a big influence on his playing.

More recently he has pursued arrangements by Tommy Emmanuel and Doyle Dykes, in addition to creating some of his own and writing originals.

Jim has performed in front of a variety of audiences, including concerts, competitions, weddings and the like, but playing at church has always been a mainstay. Whether playing in worship bands or guitar solos, gospel music is deep in his roots and is also the driving theme behind his debut CD release, titled "First Fruits".

Jim has been playing for about 38 years. He also has taught private lessons in the past but believes JamPlay.com is an exciting and better venue with many advantages over the traditional method of weekly 30 minute sessions.

Jim lives in Berthoud, Colorado with his wife, Linda, and their four children. Although he still has a "day job", he is actively performing and is already back in the studio working on the next CD. If you wonder how he finds time, look no further than the back seat of his truck where he keeps a "travel guitar" to take advantage of any practice or song-writing opportunities he can get.

The opening song you hear in Jim's introductory JamPlay video is called, "A Pick In My Pocket". It's an original tune, written in memory of Jim's father who told him early on he should always keep a pick in his pocket in case he ever met Chet Atkins and got the chance to play for him. That song is slated to be the title track for his next CD, which will feature several more originals plus some of his favorite covers of Chet and Jerry arrangements.

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The Third and Fourth Strings Guitar Lesson

The Third and Fourth Strings

Supplemental Learning Material

Member Comments about this Lesson

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