April 2016

I’ve Got the Blues

Adapted guitar is another area in which I’ve had to expand my bag of tricks. Clients constantly inspire me to create new resources that help them learn and grow. As a result, I have developed this resource for teaching the blues in an adapted guitar lesson. The song includes melodic cues as to when and where to switch chords, and is accompanied by a colored chord chart. In some cases, I have used matching stickers on a guitar to show where to play each chord, with colors that correspond to the ones used on the song sheet. The blues are a fun and adaptable way to teach beginning guitar! The student only needs to learn two chord shapes, then they are moved between the frets to make various chords. You can see from the picture below how the shape for A7 and B7 is constant.

The chord and lyric sheet is attached below. In true blues fashion, verses could be added by you or the student to prolong the song.

-Becca

All Aboard the Adapted Lesson Train!

I have started teaching adapted ukulele lessons, and over the past couple of months have developed some materials for teaching young children. This song uses the percussive elements of the instrument to imitate the sounds of a train. The rest of the song is used to practice transitioning between chords and can be altered to do some songwriting with your clients.

The song begins by muting the strings of the ukulele (of guitar) and making the “chugga, chugga” in 16th notes for four measures of 4 to imitate the sound of a train. The “choo, choo” sound is made by playing the strings above the fret board but below the tuning pegs.

The rest of the song uses three chords. It is a fun and easy way for children to start to learn an instrument! The lyrics can also be changed to accommodate different interests (i.e. the princess train or the animal train). Below is a chart for the ukulele chords. The ukulele is an easy way to learn the basics of guitar. It has only four strings and so requires the use of less fingers at a time. It is a wonderful introductory instrument and great for all ages!

Railroad Song
Becca Paoni

(Percussion break – 2x)

Verse 1:

C
Train is starting down the track

C
There’s no turning back

F
Going down the railroad

C                        G G F F
Nice and slow

C
Here we go!

Verse 2:

C
Train is coming down the line

C
Getting there by nine

F
Going down the railroad

C                        G (slide to) F
Pretty fast

C
Just like that!

Bridge:

F
When we get

C
To our stop

F
We won’t walk

C
We will bop

G
As we rock

G
To the tune of a song!