12 String Techniques Guitar Lesson

As mentioned in the previous lesson, fretting the 12-string is more difficult and may require some additional work to get yourself to the comfort level you have with a 6-string. Since it has twice as many strings, the 12-string naturally requires almost twice the strength to fret compared to a 6-string guitar. Also, a 12-string demands as much or more accuracy in the process. Please review the last lesson if you feel you need to brush up on some of that material and/or get some additional practice fretting barre and open chords. We'll begin this week with some more strength building exercises.

We'll use the following chords in the first few exercises. They should be played in the order listed:

Dm

E_____1____|
B_____3____|
G_____2____|
D_____0____|
A_____x____|
E_____x____|


Fmaj7

E____0_____|
B____1_____|
G____2_____|
D____3_____|
A____x_____|
E____x_____|


C

E____0_____|
B____1_____|
G____0_____|
D____2_____|
A____3_____|
E____x_____|


G

E_____3____| B_____0____| G_____0____| D_____0____| A_____2____| E_____3____|

Please play the four chords diagramed above on your 12-string until you feel comfortable with them and are able to fret them cleanly without muting strings or creating fret buzz.

Exercise 1
Play along - play the four chords with me using the strum "down down-up-down." Focus on producing a smooth and quality sound out of the guitar. Watch me in the video, and strum the chords in the same rhythm and timing as me.

Crashing
Some of you may find yourselves making a grating sound on the 'up' portion of the strum. Or, the pick may be getting caught on the strings. This is what I like to call "crashing" and can be remedied in part by how you're holding your pick. Many guitar players are unsure of how to hold their picks when they're strumming, and more specifically, how much area of the pick should be exposed while strumming. This factor can determine how smooth your strum is and whether or not you may be more prone to crash, especially on the upstroke of the rhythm.

When I'm only strumming (as compared to strumming in addition to picking notes and/or playing arpeggios) I tend to play with the side of the pick or one of the longest smooth curved sides of the pick. Holding it in this manner causes a softer surface to contact the strings. This will be evident the first time you try it. In addition, I tend to leave about 1/3 of the pick area exposed so that on the way back 'up' the strings come into contact with the exposed surface area of the pick, or the flat area instead of the edge. Watch me in the video for a clear demonstration.

Exercise 2
Eyes Wide Shut - please play Exercise 1 again, only with your eyes closed this time. Make sure to adjust the manner in which you hold your pick if you're finding that you're crashing, especially on the 'up'. Remember to pay close attention to the distances between the frets as well as the distance between each mini-set of two strings, as these are likely to have a different feel from what you are used to on the 6-string. Be sure to play each set of two strings as if it were one string. This can be new and unusual for many people going from the 6 to the 12 string and often requires some time to get used to.

Tuning
You've likely noticed at this point that your 12-string needs to be tuned more frequently than your 6-string. This is an unfortunate and sometimes unpleasant consequence of playing the 12-string guitar that many find unpalatable. Over time though, you'll start to get in the habit of just tuning it between songs or exercises and making minor adjustments as you go. Like anything else, you'll find yourself getting adjusted to its quirks and sensitive nature just as you would with any other instrument, or person.

But enough chatter! Let's do some more exercises shall we? In this next set, we'll be using barre chords and give your chord hand a nice thorough workout. We'll be using the chords:

C#m
E____4____|
B____5____|
G____6____|
D____6____|
A____4____|
E____X____|


A
E____5____|
B____5____|
G____6____|
D____7____|
A____7____|
E____5____|


E
E____7____|
B____9____|
G____9____|
D____9____|
A____7____|
E____X____|


B
E____7____|
B____7____|
G____8____|
D____9____|
A____9____|
E____7____|

Please play the four chords over and over again until you become comfortable with playing them on your 12er. As usual, make sure you're not getting any muting or fret buzzing, if you can avoid it.

Exercise 3
Play along - Play the chords along with me in the video using the alternating rhythm (if you need a reminder of what an alternating pattern is you can go back to the previous lesson and review) pattern - "down down-up down down up-down down-up-down." So, your strum pattern is "down down-up-down" on the first and third chords and "down up-down down-up-down" on the second and fourth chords. As usual, go for quality sound even if it means slowing down and playing the chords at a more comfortable tempo for you. Ideally, you should try to play the high E-string in the E chord on the 7th fret if you can. If not, don't worry about it too much as the root of this chord is on the A-string, 7th fret.

Exercise 4
Shut...your...eyes! - yes, try the exercise above again with your eyes closed. Don't be afraid to look at what you're doing, the placement of your fingers, the distances between the frets and so forth. Then, shut your eyes. Try to get an “innate” feel for what you're playing and how each chord feels to your hand. The shaping of each chord is similar but slightly different from what you're used to on the 6-string, so get used to it!

Finger Glue
Yes folks, it's back! The super-fantastic glue you've come to love and use on all of your household guitar needs! Now, for a short period of time, finger glue is available in the double sized, two-for-one tube made especially for all you 12-string guitar players!

Okay, enough of that! I'm hoping that you all remember the concept of finger glue. For any players out there new to the concept, finger glue is not glue at all but rather the idea that when you form chords, your fingers tend to sort of, stick together. Some people refer to this phenomenon as muscle memory and the idea is the same whereby your hand, in a sense, learns to move into a certain form automatically. The more you can develop this tendency, the quicker and easier it will become for you to form chords on the fly with precision.

Now that you're playing the 12-string you may need to reform that muscle memory in lieu of the fact that the fingerboard is wider and the number of strings has changed. Keep this concept in mind as you go through the exercises and try to form the chord you're playing. Then, pull your hand away from the fingerboard while still keeping the chord intact. Watch me in the video for more on this process.

Alright, let's do some more strength-building exercises. This time however, we're going to step it up a little and use some chords in the upper frets of the guitar. Some of you may be familiar with these chords from previous lessons or from some other context, but believe me, playing them on the 12-string is another matter completely. Here are the chords:

Am
E____0____|
B____10___|
G____9____|
D____10___|
A____0____|
E____X____|


C
E____8____|
B____8____|
G____9____|
D____10___|
A____x____|_
E____x____|


G
E____X____|
B____8____|
G____7____|
D____9____|
A____10___|
E____x____|


Bb
E____6____|
B____6____|
G____7____|
D____8____|
A____X____|
E____X____|

Please note that with the Am (9th fret), you can also place a finger on the high E-string on the 8th fret, but it's not necessary. The chord can be played in either way and is slightly easier in the manner I have shown you. Also, when you see strings marked with an 'X,' mute or don't play the indicated string. Please get comfortable with the chords above and play them continually until you're able to fret them without muting or buzzing.

Exercise 5
Play along - Please play the progression along with me using the strum "down down-up-down-up." You can also use the strum pattern more than once with each chord. I'll show you what I mean by this in the video. See if you can keep up with me and avoid rhythmic inconsistencies. I know that the G chord in this series is likely the most difficult. If you want, play it without the pinky on the A-string like this:

G

E____X____|
B____8____|
G____7____|
D____9____|
A____x____|
E____x____|

Just keep in mind that you'll need to mute or avoid the A-string completely if you decide to go this route.

Also, see if you can incorporate the idea of finger glue into this group of chords. Form each chord and then pull your hand away from the fingerboard at least by 3-5 inches. Get a good sense for what each chord feels like to your hand, the relative distances between your fingers, etc. Then, put the chord back into place on the fingerboard. Do this for each chord until you start to develop a sense of what the chord looks and feels like when it's not in place on the guitar.

Exercise 6
Eyes closed this time. You can do the finger glue portion of the exercise with your eyes closed and see (or not, as it were) how the chord feels without the interference of sight. Keep in mind that many people who have been born without sight, or have lost their sight due to trauma or illness have become great players and have developed their other senses more completely without the ability to see.

Hammer-ons
I'm sure that most of you know what this technique entails by this point in your playing experience, but for those of you who might need a refresher, here it is: hammering on the fretboard involves hammering or tapping one or all of your fingers onto the strings as you play, ranging from a single note to all of the notes in a chord. Usually the technique involves coordinating the hammer with the strum so there is some difficulty intrinsic to the process and without a doubt, timing is absolutely essential to make the technique work properly.

Exercise 7
Let's do the last progression again. This time though, we're going to incorporate some hammer-ons into the piece. As stated above, you can hammer-on any of a number of ways, so don't be afraid to experiment while you're playing. Watch me in the video and see if you can follow the way that I'm hammering. Then, use that as a jumping off point for your own invention. Keep in mind that you will be hammering both strings of each pair of two since you're playing a 12-string. So, the hammer process can take a little more finger strength and dexterity.

Arpeggios
An arpeggio can be defined as the picking or plucking of individual notes in a chord, or consecutive notes in any given scale (i.e. a lead). For our purposes today, we'll be looking at picking notes in a chord and more specifically, picking the notes in the last chord progression.

Arpeggios are generally easiest to read in tab form, so let's take a look at what that might look like. If I wanted you to pick the strings of the first chord (the Am chord on the 9th fret) in the last set of chords that we've been using, beginning with the D-string (or fourth string), then following with the G-string (or third string) the B-string (second string) and then finally the E-string (first string), the tab would look like this:

E-------------------------0-
B------------------10------
G-------------9------------
D--------10-----------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------

The numbers indicate the fret at which each note should be struck, and the letter at the far left of the tab tells you which string you should be playing. A zero on the tab line indicates that the string should be open when picked. Easy right? If I wanted you to pick the strings of the second chord in the progression (the C chord at the 8th fret), the tab would look like this:

E-------------------------8-
B-------------------8------
G-------------9------------
D--------10----------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------

With the third chord (the G chord on the 7th fret), notice the note on the A-string:

E--------------------------
B-------------------8------
G-------------7------------
D--------9-----------------
A---10---------------------
E---------------------------


and the fourth (the Bb chord on the 6th fret):

E-------------------------6-
B-------------------6------
G-------------7------------
D--------8-----------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------

Alright, so let's try an actual arpeggio with our current set of chords, shall we?

The actual arpeggio will be similar to the ones above but with a slight twist. It is notated as a continuous riff:

                       Am                           C

    E--------------------0-------------------------------8-------------------------------
    B---------------10------10----------------------8---------8------------------------
    G----------9--------------------9----------9--------------------9-------------------
    D-----10----------------------------10----------------------------------------------
    A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        G                            Bb

    E----------------------------------------------------------6--------------------
    B---------------------8-----------------------------6----------6---------------
    G---------------7-----------7-----------------7-------------------- --7--------
    D----------9-----------------------9-----8-------------------------------------
    A----10-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watch me in the video and see if you can match up what I'm doing with what you are reading in the tablature. This is a simple form of tab and will be the primary method by which I dictate an arpeggio to you, so please familiarize yourselves with it thoroughly.

Exercise 8
Please play the arpeggio above using the last set of chords. You can also play along with me in the video. Remember to pick both strings in each course as if it were one.

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