Hi, how you doing, Justin continuing the
lesson on with a look at the E chord.
Now, a lot of people find the E chord a
little easier than A and D. And the reason
I pop it into lesson two is cause
if you've done your homework and you've
practiced your A and D and you've got those
changes up, when we add in the E it feels a little bit easier
and the repertoire choices that we've got with those chords
becomes huge all of the sudden. So it's a lot of fun.
So this is what an E chord looks like. It is actually a cool one
because we don't have to worry about not to strum any strings.
We are gonna strum all six strings for this chord.
Now, as usual we are gonna start with the first finger.
First finges is gonna go down right next to the fret
in the first fret on the third string.
So one, two three. in the first fret.
Then we are gonna put second finger down
right up next to the fret again
but not right on it for reasons you are gonna see in a second.
But a tiny little bit back
and that's the second fret of the fifth string.
The second thickest string and then third finger
is gonna go right next to the fret there on the forth string.
So the second and third fingers are on the same fret.
That's why I said to you if you put your second finger
down there right next to the fret,
you are trying to get your third finger in
is gonna be pretty difficult.
So, second finger will sit a little bit back from the fret
third finger will be right next to the fret.
So first and third fingers right next to the fret
second finger will go just a little bit further back.
Now the key thing here again when you are learning
your new chord is the strum, pick out, strum.
So we start off by giving it a strum
then we pick up the notes one at a time.
And then we strum it again.
Now, when I was learning this stuff
I found it really difficult to use a pick
for picking the notes up one at a time
so don't be upset if
you are gonna use your thumb.
Just go through and pick out
the notes like that.
That's totally cool as well.
Like I said, you do the best you can here
you try and push yourself a little bit
that's ok. But don't feel upset if you find
using the pick really difficult, cause
I certainly did when I was learning this stuff.
Now, a couple of things about the and possition
and the things we are going to be aware of.
Now, I've got the thumb there hooking
over the top. And that's kind of the normal
thing for me when I play naturally
these days after having played
for thirty years.
At this point you want to be keeping
the thumb around the back of the neck.
That's really important.
The reason is that we want to build up
this muscle here, between the first finger
and the thumb for when we play these things
for bar chords, when we are going to play
like whole shapes. We are gonna press all
the strings down at once.
So we really want to get that muscle nice
and strong. So, it is much better in the
early stages to be playing with the thumb
around the back of the neck.
Now, exactly were it goes would depend
on your anatomy because everyone has got a
different shape. The thumb sits in a
different place. So it should generally be
sitting behind the fingers in the top half
of the neck of the guitar. OK? Roughly.
It is not exact, so, like I've said
everyone is slightly different. For some
people the thumb kind of points a little
bit more towards the head top , for some people
it points towards to top. Other peopler are straight up.
You gotta find a place where it feels comfortable for you
where you feel like you can get a good
pressure on the fingers. Ok?
So don't be stressed about like where is
my thumb going. It's going to be different
for everyone, just don't worry about it. Ok?
So it is a really important piece of the puzzle
that you need to figure out kind of
on your own, really.
So, first thing. The thickest string.
When you play that one, if it is dead like
this, it's the second finger is up too far
and it is touching that string. So just
bring it back down, so you've got that open
string ringing nice and clear.
When we are testing the fifth string
if that one is feeling a bit dead it is
probably you are not pressing hard enough.
Because it is not much else that can go
too wrong with that one. If you are really
far back you probably get this sort of sound
so you want to bring it up as far and
forward as you can and just don't press
too hard. Ok? We are not into pressing
really hard all the time. We want to press
as lightly as we can while still getting
a good note. OK? There is still getting
a good note as lightly as you can.
Really, really important.
The note under your third finger on the
forth string, probably not going to have
too many problems with that one as long
as you've positioned it right next to the
fret you will be fine. I you've gone over
you get this sort of slightly dead sound.
So, just behind the fret is where you
want it. Now, the third string. This is
the most common problem note for beginners.
That's usually the third finger leans over
too far. so just like underneath here,
underneath that third finger, it's just
gonna be touching that string underneath.
So you really got to just make sure you get
your third finger nicely on the tip, ok?
Don't let it be flat like this. It wants
to be right on the tip of that third finger.
As long as you've done that you should
find that note is OK, because the first
finger note is not too many other
obstructions there other than that third
finger ringing down.
When we go to test the second string
if that's not ringing out it is almost
certainly gonna be first finger. So the
first finger is lying a little bit too
flat. Again you just want to get it
right up on the tip.
And if the thinest string is ringing out
it is probably this part of your hand,
the underneath of your second or first
finger is gonna be touching there.
So you just need to bring this part, like
kind of your knuckle is forward a little bit.
You generally want to have a little bit
of space in it. Not like, I kind of quite
get my finger right the way through there.
It's just a little space. Basically, this
part of your hand shouldn't be touching
on the fretboard. It should just be a
little gap there. Not like right on it,
not like right far away. You just try
a few millimeters. You know? Doesn't have
to be much, just so it is not touching.
So when you practicing your chord, now
for your chord practice. You are gonna
strum, you are gonna pick the notes out
one at a time, and strum again.
For most people when they start it will
probably sound like this.
And then you've got to go and, third
finger out. And then when you've got that
sounding good, then you give it a strum
again and you tell yourself "this is how
I want you to go fingers, remember
this position". It is a really important
part of the journey. That final strum and
just telling yourself "this is how I want
you to go fingers". And try to memorize
where they are at. Memorizing the chord
shape is of course really important.
You shouldn't be moving on to the next
lesson until you've memorized your chords.
You shouldn't be having to look at the
page beyond like the first couple of days
of your practice. Ok? So, memorizing
the shape of the chord, really, really
important as well.