First Melodies
Putting notes together into music
From Notes to Music
You can play individual notes. Now it's time to put them in order to make something musical. A melody is simply a sequence of notes played one after another that creates a recognisable tune.
The key to sounding musical (rather than just pressing random frets) is timing — playing notes at regular intervals, with a steady beat.
Counting & Keeping Time
Most music is in 4/4 time — meaning 4 beats per measure (or bar). Count "1, 2, 3, 4" at a steady pace and you've got one measure.
Tap your foot along as you count. This foot tap should become second nature — it's your internal metronome. When you play a note on the beat, it's called playing "on the beat." When you play between beats, that's "off the beat" or syncopation (we'll get to that later).
For now, play one note per beat. Slow and steady.
Two-String Melodies
Moving between strings is the next challenge. The trick is to keep your pick hand steady — the motion to switch strings should come from a small wrist adjustment, not your whole arm.
Try the melodies below. They use strings 1 and 2 with frets you already know. Go slowly enough that every note rings cleanly before moving to the next.
Tab Examples
Twinkle Twinkle (first phrase, 2 strings)
e--0--0--7--7--8--8--7-----5--5--3--3--1--1--0----- B-------------------------------------------------- G-------------------------------------------------- D-------------------------------------------------- A-------------------------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------
Simple two-string exercise
e--0-----3-----0-----3----- B-----1-----1-----1-----1-- G--------------------------- D--------------------------- A--------------------------- E---------------------------
Walking down exercise
e--3--1--0----------- B-----------3--1--0-- G-------------------- D-------------------- A-------------------- E--------------------
Tips
- Use a metronome app set to 60 BPM (one beat per second) — this is slow enough to think
- If you can't play it slowly, you can't play it fast. Start slow.
- Tap your foot on every beat while playing
- Silence between notes is as important as the notes themselves
Practice Exercises
- Play Twinkle Twinkle with a metronome at 60 BPM — one note per click
- Create your own 8-note melody using frets 0, 1, 3 on strings 1 and 2
- Play the walking down exercise, then reverse it (walk back up)
- Try humming a simple tune and then finding the notes on string 1