Chords for First Autoharp Lesson, with Evo Bluestein
Tempo:
61.15 bpm
Chords used:
G
Ab
B
D
E
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[Ab] the left hand chord position to play in the key of G first.
So, on a 12 and 15 bar harp,
you want to put your middle finger of your left hand on the G major button,
which is all the way at the bottom of the auto harp.
And then, with your pointer finger, next one in the same row, that's the C major button.
And your ring finger behind and in between on the back row.
This is home base when we're in the key of G.
So you want to memorize that, so you don't have to look down.
Right now, let's practice in our mind without looking.
Middle on the G, press it.
Keep these fingers touching all three buttons at all times when we're in the key of G.
Middle on the G, press it.
[D] Press the C button with your pointer.
[E] Press the D7 with your [N] ring.
Go back to the G with your middle.
Go the other way.
D7 with your ring.
Pointer on the C.
Back to G.
[Ab] Keep these fingers there as long as we're playing in the key of G.
And, if you're playing a 21 bar harp,
I recommend a different fingering.
I believe it's going to [B] be middle on the G,
and thumb [Ab] on the C,
and pointer on the D7.
Give that a try if you're playing a 21 bar harp.
Now let's talk about the right hand.
Let's take the pointer finger,
and, pressing a G button with your left hand,
let's take the pointer finger of the right hand
all the way to the highest strings.
[G] Press the G major button with your left hand
and come all the way to the bass strings, these fat ones.
See if you can get a good sound like that a few times.
If it sounds like [B] this,
[G] you're probably not pressing hard enough with your G chord,
or maybe your auto harp needs to be tuned.
That's the direction we'll be using the pointer finger.
From the highest to the lowest [Ab] strings.
Now let's take our thumb pick,
and start with the bass strings, these fat ones down here,
and go all the way to the high strings, or treble strings,
the skinny ones.
On the same G button with your left hand,
press [G] the strums from the low to the high.
[B] If it doesn't sound pretty close to that,
better have your harp tuned or checked out.
That's the direction we'll be using the thumb pick.
The thumb, from low to high.
So, we're now ready to learn our first rhythm.
And it's just a pinch in the bass strings
with your thumb and your pointer finger like this.
Remember, all the felt pads underneath the chord bars
are dampening out the bad strings.
So, all you've got to do is a sweeping pinch [G] like this.
You're not really concerned about which strings you hit,
because they'll all be good strings.
Just like that.
On the G chord with your left hand,
you're pressing a G chord, a pinch in the low strings like this.
[A] And now you take your thumb for the next part of the beat,
and you do a [G] strum like this.
Up in the high strings.
So, it's pinch in the low,
strum with your thumb in the high strings.
Pinch, strum.
Pinch, strum with your thumb.
Pinch, strum.
We're playing a G chord with our left hand.
And this rhythm, you can tap your foot to it, nice and even.
One, two, three, four.
Now, [C] we're ready to learn our first song
using the pinch strum.
[N]
So, on a 12 and 15 bar harp,
you want to put your middle finger of your left hand on the G major button,
which is all the way at the bottom of the auto harp.
And then, with your pointer finger, next one in the same row, that's the C major button.
And your ring finger behind and in between on the back row.
This is home base when we're in the key of G.
So you want to memorize that, so you don't have to look down.
Right now, let's practice in our mind without looking.
Middle on the G, press it.
Keep these fingers touching all three buttons at all times when we're in the key of G.
Middle on the G, press it.
[D] Press the C button with your pointer.
[E] Press the D7 with your [N] ring.
Go back to the G with your middle.
Go the other way.
D7 with your ring.
Pointer on the C.
Back to G.
[Ab] Keep these fingers there as long as we're playing in the key of G.
And, if you're playing a 21 bar harp,
I recommend a different fingering.
I believe it's going to [B] be middle on the G,
and thumb [Ab] on the C,
and pointer on the D7.
Give that a try if you're playing a 21 bar harp.
Now let's talk about the right hand.
Let's take the pointer finger,
and, pressing a G button with your left hand,
let's take the pointer finger of the right hand
all the way to the highest strings.
[G] Press the G major button with your left hand
and come all the way to the bass strings, these fat ones.
See if you can get a good sound like that a few times.
If it sounds like [B] this,
[G] you're probably not pressing hard enough with your G chord,
or maybe your auto harp needs to be tuned.
That's the direction we'll be using the pointer finger.
From the highest to the lowest [Ab] strings.
Now let's take our thumb pick,
and start with the bass strings, these fat ones down here,
and go all the way to the high strings, or treble strings,
the skinny ones.
On the same G button with your left hand,
press [G] the strums from the low to the high.
[B] If it doesn't sound pretty close to that,
better have your harp tuned or checked out.
That's the direction we'll be using the thumb pick.
The thumb, from low to high.
So, we're now ready to learn our first rhythm.
And it's just a pinch in the bass strings
with your thumb and your pointer finger like this.
Remember, all the felt pads underneath the chord bars
are dampening out the bad strings.
So, all you've got to do is a sweeping pinch [G] like this.
You're not really concerned about which strings you hit,
because they'll all be good strings.
Just like that.
On the G chord with your left hand,
you're pressing a G chord, a pinch in the low strings like this.
[A] And now you take your thumb for the next part of the beat,
and you do a [G] strum like this.
Up in the high strings.
So, it's pinch in the low,
strum with your thumb in the high strings.
Pinch, strum.
Pinch, strum with your thumb.
Pinch, strum.
We're playing a G chord with our left hand.
And this rhythm, you can tap your foot to it, nice and even.
One, two, three, four.
Now, [C] we're ready to learn our first song
using the pinch strum.
[N]
Key:
G
Ab
B
D
E
G
Ab
B
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ the left hand chord position to play in the key of G first.
So, on a 12 and 15 bar harp,
you want to put your middle finger of your left hand on the G major button,
which is all the way at the bottom of the auto harp.
And then, with your pointer finger, next one in the same row, that's the C major button.
And your ring finger behind and in between on the back row.
This is home base when we're in the key of G.
So you want to memorize that, so you don't have to look down.
Right now, let's practice in our mind without looking.
Middle on the G, press it.
Keep these fingers touching all three buttons at all times when we're in the key of G.
Middle on the G, press it.
[D] Press the C button with your pointer.
[E] Press the D7 with your [N] ring.
Go back to the G with your middle.
Go the other way.
D7 with your ring.
Pointer on the C.
Back to G.
[Ab] Keep these fingers there as long as we're playing in the key of G.
And, if you're playing a 21 bar harp,
I recommend a different fingering.
I believe it's going to [B] be middle on the G,
and thumb [Ab] on the C,
and pointer on the D7.
Give that a try if you're playing a 21 bar harp.
Now let's talk about the right hand.
Let's take the pointer finger,
and, pressing a G button with your left hand,
let's take the pointer finger of the right hand
all the way to the highest strings.
[G] Press the G major button with your left hand
and come all the way to the bass strings, these fat ones. _
See if you can get a good sound like that a few times.
_ If it sounds like [B] this,
[G] you're probably not pressing hard enough with your G chord,
or maybe your auto harp needs to be tuned. _
_ That's the direction we'll be using the pointer finger.
From the highest to the lowest [Ab] strings.
Now let's take our thumb pick,
and start with the bass strings, these fat ones down here,
and go all the way to the high strings, or treble strings,
the skinny ones.
On the same G button with your left hand,
press [G] the strums from the low to the high. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [B] If it doesn't sound pretty close to that,
better have your harp tuned or checked out.
That's the direction we'll be using the thumb pick.
The thumb, from low to high.
So, we're now ready to learn our first rhythm.
And it's just a pinch in the bass strings
with your thumb and your pointer finger like this.
Remember, all the felt pads underneath the chord bars
are dampening out the bad strings.
So, all you've got to do is a sweeping pinch [G] like this.
You're not really concerned about which strings you hit,
because they'll all be good strings.
Just like that.
On the G chord with your left hand,
you're pressing a G chord, a pinch in the low strings like this.
[A] And now you take your thumb for the next part of the beat,
and you do a [G] strum like this.
Up in the high strings.
So, it's pinch in the low,
strum with your thumb in the high strings.
Pinch, strum.
Pinch, strum with your thumb.
Pinch, strum.
We're playing a G chord with our left hand.
_ And this rhythm, you can tap your foot to it, nice and even.
One, two, three, four.
Now, [C] we're ready to learn our first song
using the pinch strum.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _
So, on a 12 and 15 bar harp,
you want to put your middle finger of your left hand on the G major button,
which is all the way at the bottom of the auto harp.
And then, with your pointer finger, next one in the same row, that's the C major button.
And your ring finger behind and in between on the back row.
This is home base when we're in the key of G.
So you want to memorize that, so you don't have to look down.
Right now, let's practice in our mind without looking.
Middle on the G, press it.
Keep these fingers touching all three buttons at all times when we're in the key of G.
Middle on the G, press it.
[D] Press the C button with your pointer.
[E] Press the D7 with your [N] ring.
Go back to the G with your middle.
Go the other way.
D7 with your ring.
Pointer on the C.
Back to G.
[Ab] Keep these fingers there as long as we're playing in the key of G.
And, if you're playing a 21 bar harp,
I recommend a different fingering.
I believe it's going to [B] be middle on the G,
and thumb [Ab] on the C,
and pointer on the D7.
Give that a try if you're playing a 21 bar harp.
Now let's talk about the right hand.
Let's take the pointer finger,
and, pressing a G button with your left hand,
let's take the pointer finger of the right hand
all the way to the highest strings.
[G] Press the G major button with your left hand
and come all the way to the bass strings, these fat ones. _
See if you can get a good sound like that a few times.
_ If it sounds like [B] this,
[G] you're probably not pressing hard enough with your G chord,
or maybe your auto harp needs to be tuned. _
_ That's the direction we'll be using the pointer finger.
From the highest to the lowest [Ab] strings.
Now let's take our thumb pick,
and start with the bass strings, these fat ones down here,
and go all the way to the high strings, or treble strings,
the skinny ones.
On the same G button with your left hand,
press [G] the strums from the low to the high. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [B] If it doesn't sound pretty close to that,
better have your harp tuned or checked out.
That's the direction we'll be using the thumb pick.
The thumb, from low to high.
So, we're now ready to learn our first rhythm.
And it's just a pinch in the bass strings
with your thumb and your pointer finger like this.
Remember, all the felt pads underneath the chord bars
are dampening out the bad strings.
So, all you've got to do is a sweeping pinch [G] like this.
You're not really concerned about which strings you hit,
because they'll all be good strings.
Just like that.
On the G chord with your left hand,
you're pressing a G chord, a pinch in the low strings like this.
[A] And now you take your thumb for the next part of the beat,
and you do a [G] strum like this.
Up in the high strings.
So, it's pinch in the low,
strum with your thumb in the high strings.
Pinch, strum.
Pinch, strum with your thumb.
Pinch, strum.
We're playing a G chord with our left hand.
_ And this rhythm, you can tap your foot to it, nice and even.
One, two, three, four.
Now, [C] we're ready to learn our first song
using the pinch strum.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _