Month 4, Lesson 1: Frere Jacques
Source: Guitar Lessons
Frere Jacques
Let’s have some fun with this old time song that is always popular and makes for a good sing-along song. This lessons quite shore, but very important. Int this lesson we will be playing the last half of the song in the 3rd postion.
You may find this song quite a challenge because you are not used to playing in a postion other than the 1st position.
Also great news!! This is our first lesson with Guitar Pro 6. I have giving this a thorough try and I love it. Many great new features and much easier to use. Download a free trial version of it. Guitar Pro 6.
About This Lesson:
First of all this lesson in played in the key of G major. Notice the F# key signature at the beginning of the first measure. This means ALL F notes will be played sharp, even though they aren’t marked.
It is very popular to play this song in a round. A round is where one instrument starts playing the song and after a few measures, a second instrument joins in and harmonizes with the first instrument. This is a very beautiful effect and you should work hard to accomplish it.
Learning Points:
Play The Song In The Key of G Major:
Remember the F’s all are played sharp. That means play the F# on the 2nd fret 1st string, and play the F# on the 4th fret 4th string. The sharp moves the note up by only one fret.
Play the 2nd Half of the Song in the 3rd Position:
Shift your left hand higher by 2 whole frets or (2) 1/2 steps. This means you play the 3rd fret notes with the 1st finger, the 4th fret notes with the 2nd finger, the 5th fret notes with the 3rd finger and the 6th fret notes with the 4th finger. I will have a video on this to demonstrate how to do this too. Watch for that.
Play as a Round:
Start out playing the Guitar Pro version of this song. Set the tempo very slowly. Let the guitar pro lead get to the beginning of the 3rd fret before you begin to play at the first fret.
Carefully play along with the Guitar Pro and watch your tab. This will be difficult at first and it is easy to get mixed up. Hang in there you will get it with lots of practice.
Watch Your Repeats:
This song is played through 2 times. The reason you should know this is the repeat signature at the beginning and end of the song (this is the symbol with the light and dark bar with a double dot in front of or in back of the double bar. It means “go back to the other repeat symbol and play to this point once more”.
About the Tab Notes:
The most important part of this lesson is playing in the 3rd postion. The easiest way to do this is to anchor your first finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string and leave it there until you have finished the entire passage.
You can see this in the Tab Notes at the beginning of the 5th fret. Simply hold this first finger into postion until you have played all the remaining notes until the end of the song. This is called to “Anchor” your finger.
Articles You Should Read:
How to Play in the Third Position:Read this article over and try to under stand the 3rd postion and how it applies to this song, Frere Jacques.
Notes in the Key of G Major: Know these notes for memory and be able to play the F# notes..
Down Up Strokes of the Pick: This is really important for the fill-in notes. Using down ups is the only way to play them fast enough.
Chords in the Key of G Major and E Minor
Music Theory You Should Know:
Time Signature
Repeats
TAB
Treble Clef
G Scale
TAB Staff
Goals:
Play this song slowly, but with the correct timing, lead chords and down-up strokes.
Goal #1:
Anchor your first finger at the beginning of the 5th fret of the 2nd string to begin the notes in the 3rd postion. Keep this finger at this location until the end of the song. Note that you do not need to keep the finger pressed down hard to sound this note. It is just a “resting place” for your first finger so you can easily place your fingers for the other 3rd postion notes.
Goal #2:
Get your down-up strokes correct. Remember to look at the little down-up symbols at all the notes beneath the TAB staff. Remember all the eighth notes and played with a down and up stroke – follow the symbols carefully
Goal #3:
Play your repeats carefully. Before you play a song, give it a good look. Discover where the repeats are and know what and where you are to go prior to playing the song. A surprise is not a good thing when you are performing a song.
Goal #4:
Finally, try to play this song as a Round. If you find this too difficult, do not worry about it. It is not the most important thing about this lesson – the 3rd position is the most important lesson point here.
What You Should Practice This Week:
Again, do not play this song too fast. Start out with the Guitar Pro going at a slow pace and gradually work up your speed.
Make your transition to the 3rd position very smoothly without a break in the song. Do this by knowing exactly where to place your anchor finger to start playing. Practice this move over and over until you can do ist quickly and smoothly.
See our How To Practice article:
If you are having trouble with your practice techniques, or can’t seem to get “in the groove”, review the article on How to Practice and this will help you develop a consistent practice method.
Help Us Out:
Lastly and most importantly, give us feedback, either good or bad. We want to improve this site and we want kids to learn how to play the guitar. If you have suggestions for us, leave a comment. If you appreciate these lessons, leave a comment on that too.
Songs in Downloadable Format:
If you have difficulty reading this score information, we have this score information available free of charge for you with an instant electronic download. Just click on the song title below and you will be taken to our secure server site. You will get a PDF file of the above score complete with the Tab Notes. Be sure to download Adobe Acrobat Reader v6.0 or above. This version will allow you to turn the Tab Layer on or off.
Also you will get the Guitar Pro file. You can download Guitar Pro and get a free trial so you can play along with this song in real time on your computer. If you upgrade to the full version of the song you will have a lot more features available to you, such as the RSE modules which give you realistic guitar files – they sound just like an Acoustic Guitar.
Frere Jacques – Guitar Pro File (Free Download)
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Frere Jacques – PDF File (Free Download)
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Go to Lesson 4.1 Score Lesson
Go to Lesson 4.1 Video Lesson
Tags: flatpick guitar lessons, free guitar lessons, frere jacques, guitar third position, how to play a round, Kids Guitar Lessons
