Tutorials

Tulsa Time

Lesson Goals:

♦ Review the E and B7 chords
♦ Become familiar with the music staff and notation
♦ Play the song "Tulsa Time"

The first song we will play is “Tulsa Time”, written by Don Williams and made popular by Eric Clapton.

This is a great first song because it consists of only 2 chords, the E chord and the B7 chord that we just learned.

Let's begin by reviewing the chord positions for the E and the B7. Practice transistioning between the two chords.

Now refer to the music staff below. Notice that, in this song the E is played for 3 full measures before changing to B7.

In each measure there are 4 beats but 8 strokes so the strumming will be like you did in Lesson 2 with a combination of down strokes and up strokes.

Play the song slowly and in tempo to begin with, gradually increasing the speed with each playing.

5_tulsa time chart

E & B7 Chords

Lesson Goals:

♦ Compare the difference between the E and B7
♦ Smoothly transistion between the E and B7
♦ Play a short passage using the two chords

You may have already noticed how similar the fingering is for the E and the B7 chords.

The only difference is the position of the 1st and 3rd fingers.

We will now work on putting these two chords together in preparation for our first song.

First, slowly practice playing these two chords together. Allow your fingers to get used to the new movement.

Continue alternating between chords until it starts to flow smoothly.

4_e and b7 comparison

E Chord Strumming

Lesson Goals:

♦ Learn the right hand down stroke technique
♦ Learn the right hand up stroke technique
♦ Become familiar with the music staff and notation
♦ Learn alternating down and up stroke pattern

Now that we know how to form the E chord we can begin working on learning strumming techniques.

Start by practicing down strokes as illustrated to the right. For now just work on getting smooth strokes with all 6 strings ringing clearly.

Do this slowly and keep a steady tempo to begin with and then you can gradually speed up.

Next we will work on up strokes. Again, we are not too concerned with speed at this stage. Just play them slow and at a steady tempo until you feel comfortable with the movement.

Now we can put this all together! In the following example we will practice alternating between down strokes and up strokes.

B7 Chord

Lesson Goals:

♦ Learn the proper fingering for the B7 chord
♦ Play the chord clearly
♦ Visualize the chord pattern

We will now move on to the B7 chord. Most teaching programs would not get into 7th chords this early in the process but the B7 chord is closely related to the E chord that you learned previously.

In addition, the B7 happens to be the second chord in the first song we are going to learn.

The B7 chord is formed by placing the 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string, the 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 4th string and the 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string.

Note: The 6th string is not played and should be muted.

Now let’s try playing the B7 chord. Concentrate on getting your left hand fingers in position and making sure each note sounds clearly. Don’t worry too much about right hand technique yet, just strum the chord with your pick or thumb.

E Major Chord

Lesson Goals:

♦ Learn proper fingering for the E major chord
♦ Play the chord clearly
♦ Visualize the chord pattern

The E chord is one of the most important chords you will learn. This chord forms the basis for thousands of songs in rock, blues, country, metal and more.

The E chord is the lowest sounding chord on the guitar. In addition, the guitar itself is typically tuned to an "E" standard tuning and the 1st string and 6th string are both E notes.

All this adds up to making the E chord a great place to start!

The E chord is formed by placing the 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string, the 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string, and the 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 3rd string.

Now let’s try playing the E chord. Concentrate on getting your left hand fingers in position and making sure each note sounds clearly. Don’t worry too much about right hand technique yet, just strum the chord with your pick or thumb.

Keith Dean

keith01 low Keith Dean is founder of AdultGuitarLessons.com and a 30 year veteran of stage and studio. He toured extensively as a road musician throughout the US and Europe, was a former lead guitarist for Jason Aldean, and has shared stages with Little Big Town, Wild Rose, Winger, Confederate Railroad and more. He is a published songwriter, owned and operated a successful music store, and has instructed numerous students in guitar.

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Tutorials

Tulsa Time

E & B7 Chords

E Chord Strumming

B7 Chord

E Major Chord

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Keith Dean

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