Month 2, Lesson 1: It’s A Small World Text
Source: Guitar Lessons – Dotted Notes
It’s a Small World – Dotted Notes
It’s a Small World will bring back memories of Disney World or Disney Land if you are lucky enough to have traveled there. Kids love the ride and they love the song. So we have given it some life here in this next lesson. For this week we will only practice the Chorus of the song. Next week will be the balance of the song or the verses, which are much longer. 
About This Lesson:
Even though this is quite a short song, it is far from simple as we will be dealing with some challenging note timing issues. It is time that we move beyond the Quarter Note, Half Note and Whole note songs and get into something that we are more likely to see in song scores.
We will be working on dotted notes. You should read our article on Dotted Notes to become familiar with the timing issues and what we call syncopation. Ok that really big word means basically uneven timing, or off the rhythm or normal beat. The normal beat in 4/4 timing would be 1 2 3 4. If we vary from that it is called syn-co-pa-tion.
Learning Points:
Dotted Quarter Notes:
There are quite a few Dotted Quarter Notes in this song. These notes receive not only 1 beat for the note, but the dot adds another 1/2 beat for a total of 1-1/2 beats.
Eighth Notes:
In this song the dotted quarter note is almost always followed by an Eighth Note, which received only 1/2 beat. When you ADD the Dotted Quarter Note (1-1/2 beats) and the Eighth Note that follows it (1/2 beat), together you get 2 total beats – this brings you back on rhythm on on the “beat” once again.
C Chord:
Any time you have more than 2 notes written on one note stem, we will refer to it as a chord. Chords can have anywhere from 3 to 6 notes on one stem for the guitar. In the 4th and 8th measures of this song we have a C chord that is played 2 different ways.
The C chord in the 4th measure is played using the first 3 strings and you finger only the 2nd string, 1st fret. The notes on either side of this fretted note are played “Open”.
The C chord in the 8th measure is played using the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings. You finger the C note on the 2nd string, 1st fret and the E note on the 4th string, 2nd fret. The 3nd string is played open. This chord may be a bit difficullt for you so work extra hard on this one.
About the Tab Notes:
With the timing being the big learning point here, the focus has been on the timing of every note in the song. Take a look at the note arithmetic and try to do this yourself to learn how the timing works for all combinations of notes. Just remember in 4/4 timing you alway have 4 full beats per measure.
Articles You Should Read:
Notes on the Treble Strings: Just a quick brush-up if you need it.
Music Terms: Know about syncopation.
Proper Left Hand Position: The best hand position will be required when playing the C chords in this song. You want them sounding loud and clear and no buzzing or dead thuds.
Note and Rest Timing: Brush up on Eighth, Dotted Quarter, Half and Whole Notes. They are all used in this song.
How to Hold a Guitar Pick: You should be working on this in more detail now as well.
Music Theory You Should Know:
Music Staff
Measure
TAB
Dotted Quarter Notes
Half Notes
Whole Notes
Treble Clef
TAB Staff
Syncopation
Goals:
Time is our major goal on this song and that is what we will be working with the whole song.
Goal #1:
Be able to play the song from the TAB staff accurately. This is the basic goal and must be met because you cannot play the song without meeting this goal. Remember when playing your TAB you first say your String, then your Fret. You only need to do this until you know the song.
Goal #2:
Once you are comfortable with the song after playing it for a few days, focus on the timing on each note. Let’s really focus on the dotted quarter notes with the eighth note that follows. Listen and follow along with the Guitar Pro file very carefully – and very slowly at first too.
Goal #3:
Try to get “back on the beat” without rushing yourself. Again follow the Guitar Pro file exactly as the timing is precise in this file.
Goal #4:
Try to play the 2 C chords cleanly without an buzzing. Also try not to take too much time forming them – especially the second on in the 8th fret.
What You Should Practice This Week:
Do NOT be concerned about you speed this week at all. Be totally concerned with the timing, the syncopation and the chords. Try to get them all perfect in timing and you will be a long ways alony in playing a song with heavy syncopation.
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.
Guitar Pro File
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PDF File
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Tags: free guitar lessons, its a small world chorus, Kids Guitar Lessons
