Month 5, Lesson 4: Home Sweet Home Lead
Source: Guitar Lessons
Home Sweet Home Lead
Home Sweet Home is a really old time song, but a very popular. Not only does just about everyone recognize it, there are a lot of different versions that can be played of this song.
About This Lesson:
In this break of Home Sweet Home, we are going to concentrate on double notes for almost the entire song. Please be sure to refresh your memory by reading up on the Double Notes page on this site.
Learning Points:
Double Notes:
Double notes are played on 2 strings that are next to each other. Just look closely at the tab and you will see what I mean. The lead or the melody, which is what you would sing is always the top note of each double note in this song. This is not a strict rule as the lead note is sometimes on the bottom to achieve a different sound – but for this lesson the lead is the top note.
When you look at the song closely you will see that many of the double notes are repeated, and therefore this will be an easy song to memorize.
Alternate Ending Song:
This song is divided into 2 parts. You will see a lot of songs divided this way. It is a verse and a chorus or “Part A” and Part “B”, which is how I prefer to refer to them.
Note that there is a 1st and 2nd ending at the end of “Part A” and at the end of “Part B”. This cuts down on the apparent length of the song and makes it look much simpler (because it is).
Double Notes on the Bass Strings:
When double notes are played on the bass strings, they are a bit more difficult to finger because the strings are larger and harder to press down. Just try to place your fingers directly behind the fret in front of the notes.
Also double notes are harder to read in sheet music. Try to read the TAB at first before you revert to the notation staff. Soon you will recognize the appearance of the double notes on the bass strings as well.
Rhythm Chords:
Play the rhythm chords as part of this lesson. The chords are located on track 2 of the Guitar Pro file. The rhythm is using an alternating bass, which means that you pick a bass note, strum the chord, pick a different (or alternating) bass note and strum again.
About the Tab Notes:
The Tab Notes will show you how to play the alternate endings for this song. Also look carefully at how the double notes are formed and pay close attention to the correct left hand fingers that are to be used.
Articles You Should Read:
Pickup Notes.
Chords in the Key of C Major and A Minor
Dotted Notes.
Double Notes: Know how they are formed and how to play them.
Music Theory You Should Know:
Time Signature
Rest
TAB
C Scale
TAB Staff
Dotted Notes
Goals:
Goal #1:
You should work on changing between each double note smoothly. Do not loose any timing doing so. Keep pace with the Guitar Pro song. Play it very slowly if needed.
Goal #2:
By the end of this lesson you should know how to play alternate endings. You will see these in music quite a bit. They are used to conserve space and to make notation simpler to read.
Goal #3:
Play the rhythm chords along with the lead in the Guitar Pro file. Turn off the rhythm track and try to play the chords along with the Track 1 file. Slow it down as much as you need to.
Goal #4:
Memorize this song. You will notice that many of the double notes repeat themself, so that will make memorizing it a bit easier. There will be no doubt about it though. This will be a hard song for you to play perfectly. Just play slowly and gradually build speed. Even the pros do this!
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.
Guitar Pro File – Home Sweet Home Lead
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PDF File – Home Sweet Home Lead
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Go to Home Sweet Home, Lesson 5.4 Score
Tags: free kids guitar lessons, free online guitar lessons, home sweet home, how to play the guitar, lead guitar
