Better Guitar

Second String Notes

Now that you know the notes on the first string, it’s time to learn three notes on the second string.

The B note is an open string note. You don’t use any fingers, you just pick the 2nd string. For the C note, you use your 1st finger at the 1st fret. The D note is played using your 3rd finger at the 3rd fret. Try to use the tips of your fingers and make sure the notes ring cleanly as you pick them. Also make sure you are not touching the 1st string when you play notes on the 2nd string.

Now let’s play these new notes using the counting we learned earlier. Here are the 2nd string notes played using whole notes. Remember to pick the note and count to 4 before picking the next note.

Here are the 2nd string notes played using half notes. Remember to pick the note and count to 2 before picking the next note.

Here are the 2nd string notes played using quarter notes. Each note gets one count (or beat.)

Practice these examples until you can play them evenly (correctly matching the count.) They don’t have to be fast, but try to keep an even tempo.

Pickup Measures And Notes

Some songs start with incomplete measures. Notice that the first measure of the next song only has two beats (and notes.) These measures are called “pickup measures”, and the notes are called “pickup notes.” The missing beats from the pickup measure can usually be found in the last measure of the song.

• Audio Files

• 2nd String Whole Notes
• 2nd String Half Notes
• 2nd String Quarter Notes
• Aura Lee
• Aura Lee - chords only
• Wonderful Day
• Wonderful Day - chords only

• Printable Music Notation Files

• Aura Lee
• Wonderful Day

• Music Notation 4

• Eighth Notes

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• This lesson was adapted from my book: Better Guitar Method Book 1, which is available at:
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Copyright ©1998-2009 Mark Starlin