Free Method Lesson: First Left Hand Notes & Five Melodies

Lesson: Five Melodies & Ode to Joy by Beethoven, this comes  from my Free Classical Guitar Method Volume 1. These are the first real melodies for the left hand and are designed so absolute beginners can practice some simple melodies. The main goal is to sit and hold the hands properly and learn to present music from start to finish. Various other skills are also discussed. Ode to Joy by Beethoven is the theme from his 9th Symphony. Feel free to subscribe to my weekly newsletter for pro videos, lessons, and sheet music. Youtube Video Link. The songs covered in this lesson are:

  • The Mountain
  • Theme by Joseph Haydn
  • Lightly Row
  • Go Tell Aunt Rhody
  • The Fox.
  • Ode to Joy (can be played as a solo or duet)

Duet Play Along Video for Ode to Joy

6 Comments

Ask a Question or Leave a Positive Comment

  1. Hello, as a lefthanded beginner I started right handed. It seems best to do. Any thoughts about that? Thank you. Koen

    • I’m not sure, I know many left handed players play in the regular right handed position so that everything is the same and they seem to adjust and do fine. Both hands require significant dexterity in guitar so I imagine the muscle memory you build as a beginner is what counts.

  2. Dear Bradford: Thank you for this. I have corrected bad habits I had already developed and feel much more confident. I am wondering, when a piece has phrasing like Ode to Joy where the first and second lines are very similar, do you keep alternating fingers or do you go back to the order from the first line? In the second line with alternating fingers it would start out with “i” even though the first line started with “m”. I would be grateful for your advice!

    • Either is fine here. After longer notes and ends of phrases, in this case half notes at the end of the phrase, it doesn’t matter as much since you have a bit of time and break. If it were continuous quarter notes I’d recommend to be strict about alternation.

  3. Bradford: Great practice melodies! Quick question: what determines which right hand finger begins the melody? Some melodies start the alternate picking with “i”, others with “m”. Perhaps you cover this later in the beginner lessons? Thank you. Tom