For now, we are going to fret with the tip of the middle finger of the left hand, covering both of the two melody (unison) strings. Unlike the position used in playing guitar or banjo, your left hand should come over the top of the instrument, not up onto the strings from the bottom. If the middle finger is too hard at first, try using the forefinger for now.

As we go along, you will find that certain notes in our scale link into patterns. The first pattern is a four-note sequence: Octave (open), third note of scale, fifth note of scale and then the repeat of the octave-- eight musical steps above where you started. Another other way to describe this is: open strum, second fret, fourth fret, seventh fret.

To make things even easier, let's number the the notes of the first octave on the fretboard. The open note will be one, the first fretted note will be two, the third note, three and so on up to eight.

Your first, very major sounding scale pattern you will be playing is: 1 - 3 - 5 - 8. Try it.

What we identify as sounding "major" is caused by the harmonious relationship found by a root (starting tone) combining with that tone's third and fifth notes of the scale. (There are three notes in the sequence of 1 to 3, hence the term, "third"; and five notes in the sequence of 1 to 5, hence the term, "fifth"). These three tones, when played together, form the basic building structure of chords-- which, as we said, we will get into later. For now, it is enough to know that when you play this 1 - 3 - 5 - 8 sequence you are voicing the note elements of a major chord.

The next series of linked notes to play are on frets 2 - 4 - 6. Find these. Now try playing them, remembering to use just the tip of your middle finger.

Now put both sequences together and try playing this pattern: When fretting, try to slide your middle finger from fret to fret without lifting it off the fretboard except to voice the open note. Practice this with various combinations of up and downstrokes. If you can't find a rhythmic pattern that lends itself to down/up strumming, start by using all downstrokes.

1 - 3 - 5 - 8
1 - 3 - 5 - 8
2 - 4 - 6 - pause
2 - 4 - 6 - pause
1 - 3 - 5 - 8
1 - 3 - 5 - 8

 

By exercising these patterns up and down the scale, you will learn where the notes are on the fretboard. Later, when we get into the other modes, this same kind of sequential exercise will help you familiarize yourself with the tonal relationships unique to each mode.

Most likely you have been playing a four-beat sequence with a rest instead of a played beat during the 2--4--6 measure. Instead of resting there, why not add another 6? So this part now reads 2--4--6--6 ...and so on.

Now we'll add the seventh tone. In the Mixolydian mode it sounds rather minor or mournful in relation to the other notes. Generally, the sound of a minor note dictates a change in your rhythmic pattern; the Mixolydian's slightly dissonant seventh tone blends differently and demands such a change. Each of the other notes is getting just one beat per measure (except for the two sixes) but the seventh demands several. Even when you give the seventh more beats, it still sounds too "weak" to stand alone.

It needs something --another note-- to "complete" it. It's dissonance must be resolved to consonance. So try this:

1 - 3 - 5 - 8
1 - 3 - 5 - 8
2 - 4 - 6 - 6
2 - 4 - 6 - 6
1 - 3 - 5 - 8
1 - 3 - 5 - 8
7 - 7 - 7 - 8

Now the seventh sounds completed. The entire sequence has been resolved and here, in part, lies the essence of a phrase-- a musical segment or statement that is completed upon reaching the resolve.

We have been giving each of these notes a whole beat every time we play it. As you get faster and more proficient in your coordination, you may want to begin splitting the value of your beats. You can split them in half, then again into quarters, into eighths, sixteenths, thirty-seconds, sixty-fourths... The master violinist Paginini did some truly incredible things beyond that.

A simple notation for dividing beats is a slash mark (/). This notation means that you play the note on either side of the line twice as fast as a whole beat. So try this sequence:

1 - 3 - 5/5 - 8
1 - 3 - 5/5 - 8
2 - 4 - 6/6 - 6
2 - 4 - 6/6 - 6
1 - 3 - 5/5 - 8
1 - 3 - 5/5 - 8
7 - 7 - 7/7 - 7 - 8

A variety of strumming strokes can be used with this sequence. One with which it might be good to start is a series of all downstrokes (or upstrokes) except for the half-time notation where a down/up strum stroke cuts the beat in half.

If you find sliding one finger through all these changes to be a little awkward, you are no doubt more than ready for the two-finger technique which utilizes both the middle and index fingers. Place your middle finger at the octave fret and slide down the scale playing each note as you go, then come back up the scale by using your index finger to depress each note.

Thus, for moving around the fretboard use the middle finger to move downward, and the index finger for upward movement. Additionally, the middle finger is easily used to hold down a note as a "base" while the index finger reaches out to play other notes in rapid succession.

Try this: first strum the open note, and while it is still sounding, quickly put your middle finger down at the first fret. Strum this note, and while it is still sounding depress the next fret with your index finger. Then, lifting your index finger up off the note, slide the middle finger to the fret your index finger just got off of, and sound that note. Repeat this depress-and-slide technique all the way up the scale. By reversing the process, do it all the way back to the open note.

Work with the elements and techniques we have talked about. Get into the habit of depressing the unison strings firmly, maximizing the tone you produce. Practice using both fingers. Experiment with the notes, note sequences, beats and fingerings. Make up your own melodies, and remember that the sequence of upstrokes, downstrokes, and down/up strokes depends on the formation of the melody you are playing-- where the notes occur in the melody in relation to the rhythm.

And songs? Well, some fine, basic songs to work with and improvise around are songs of your childhood like "Frere Jacques," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "This Old Man, He Played One," "London Bridge Is Falling Down," "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain," "Go Tell Aunt Rhody," "Oh Susanna!" "You Are My Sunshine," "Down in the Valley," "Old Joe Clark" (which is unique to the Mixolydian mode), "Cripple Creek," "Wildwood Flower," "Banks of the Ohio," and one of our favorites, "Boil Them Cabbage Down, Boys!"

Play what you know. If you don't know any songs at all, make some up. That's the point of all this anyway. A good exercise game consists of playing children's songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Frere Jacques," "This Old Man," and "London Bridge" all together.

As you get to a point in one song that has the same beginning note as a phrase you recognize in another song, switch songs and maybe even rhythms. Doing this will show you not only how songs are put together but also how they come apart. It will make you think ahead to what you are going to do next, and how that relates to what you are doing at the moment and what you have already done.

Here's an example-- and it may help a little if you sing this through a couple of times to get into what's happening:

This technique for taking songs apart is a valuable exercise. It teaches you to think on your musical feet, so to speak. It can also be a fun game to do with other players. You'll be surprised how many simple songs fit into similar phrasing patterns.

This same system can be used with increasingly difficult songs; but, then again, by the time you are playing more difficult songs, you probably won't need games.

The Mixolydian mode is the easiest and most straightforward mode to learn with because it forgives much more readily than its fellows-- you can always fall back upon the open strum to gain the "breather" you might need from time to time while playing.

So we'll stay with the Mixolydian for one more section and take a look at different techniques for embellishing the melody line.