Home on the Range free guitar tabs will open up a new world of chords to your student.
Have you been stuck on the "three main chords?" Branch out to some secondary and "borrowed" chords, major and minor!
First, a look at the "basic" Home On the Range" chord progression:
This is a SIMPLE arrangement, with the I, IV, and V chords. Just G, C, and D7.
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
The primary chords in the key of G are easy for a beginner (they can even use "baby" chords such as are found on this page, Guitar Chords Chart for Beginners if necessary).
Not only that, but the melody is not too hard to figure out with the guitar tabs. The only tricky element is that finger 4; nobody is fond of it, but using it is necessary to nip that "curled pinky finger" habit in the bud!
Okay, now we're going to look at an arrangement that uses SECONDARY chords. These are chords other than the I, IV, and V (1, 4, & 5).
These chords could be the ii, iii, or vi chords (2, 3, or 6 chords), or they could be borrowed from another key entirely.
Please scroll down the page for the free downloadable printable PDFs.
Am I speaking a foreign language to you? If so, please look at the page "Guitar Song Chords" to gain a feeling for the chord "families" - which chords naturally tend to go together.
Wow. Just look at all the chords used. This arrangement is VERY BEAUTIFUL. Chords G, G7, C, Cm, A7, D, D7, B, and Em.
However, to my amazement, a couple of my students COMPLAINED that the chords were really hard.
Well, isn't that the point of guitar lessons? To learn new things?
I didn't feel sorry for them.
Please scroll down the page for the free downloadable printable PDFs.
Notice that I have altered the melody just a bit in measure 21, in the second arrangement.
This "A" note in the melody also works just fine in the first arrangement, but it seems to suit the melancholy flavor of the B chord nicely, as it moves into the E minor chord.
For your students who persevere with this song, I suggest using it as finger-picking practice. Here's what I like:
Pinch Thumb & Middle finger, then Index, Ring, Index, Middle, Index. T&M, I, R, I, M, I. A total of 6 beats.
This pattern seems to suit the sentimentality of this sweet old song very well!
The guitar download links:
Download Home On the Range free guitar tabs, easy chords
Download Home On the Range with fancy secondary chords
All the first-year material I give my beginner students.
Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!
This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.
This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!
This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
Matt:
THIS SITE IS AMAZING!!
I've been teaching guitar for about 5 years now, and I've only just found your website! (I could really have used it 5 years ago) :-)
I teach at primary schools every week day for about 4 hours, so the beginner tabs you have are ideal. Thank you so much for your hard work getting these on the web, you have made many children very happy!!
Cheryl:
AMAZING site!
Helps me a lot as a music teacher too. I'm a violin and piano teacher, and I think this is an incredible site!
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.