Oh when the Saints.       www.playguitarsbynumbers.com

32 22   23  10 - -  32 22 23    10 - -

Oh when the saints, go marching in,

32 22   23  10      22 32 22    20 - -

Oh when the saints, go marching in,

22 22  20 32 - 22 10   10 23 - -

I want to be - in that number,

22   23  10      22 32  20   32 - -

when the saints, go marching in.

Your finger tip should be placed just behind the fret. If you stray on top of the fret the sound will be dull and if you are too far away from the fret the string will buzz. 

 Chords

Chords are a group of notes which are held down at the same time. Three of these are shown below.

A = 42 32 22     E = 31 52 42     D = 32 12 23

In each of these chords only the strings you need to hold are shown but they also include some open strings which should be plucked but which do not need to be held. The 6th string on a guitar is a bit of a luxury and is only used in the chords of E, Eminor (Em) and G. Other chords are played from the 5th string down to the 1st.

To remember this think, "If it's in the word Egg then use the 6th."

Try playing these chords. The aim is to have all three fingers land on the strings at the same time, not one after the other. If you find the notes are dull then you will probably be touching the string with the underside of another finger. Try to arch your hand and make sure you are not touching the string with sleeve of your right hand.

If you still cannot play the chord clearly then try moving your whole arm from the shoulder and not just your fingers. I am fairly slim and when I play a A my elbow is about 4 inches from my waist. If I play E the gap has closed to 2 inches and if I play F the gap has vanished and my elbow is now in the front of my tummy while I have swung the guitar forward slightly. Be flexible, try different chair heights and keep your posture good.

Your hand will tire quickly at first so try practicing in small frequent doses.

Look at the song again and this time try to play a chord just once where it appears above a word. You are not trying to strum but simply to add in a single chord to bolster the melody.

            A                   E

32 22   23  10      22 32 22    20 - -

Oh when the saints, go marching in,

          A              D

22 22  20 32 - 22 10   10 23 - -

I want to be- in that number,

         A          E        A

22   23  10      22 32  20   32 - -

when the saints, go marching in.

We do not always need to complete the chord. In this tune the first three chords are played from the 5th to the 1st string because the melody note associated with them is 10. The 4th chord is E but at this point in the tune it is a 20 which is required so we stop our strum at the 2nd string playing from the 6th to the 2nd.

The reason for this is that the human ear focuses on the highest pitch that it hears. If we play a note that is higher than the melody then the tune tends to get lost in the chords. The secret is to have good brakes.

In the third line we meet the same thing where we play the A chord but stop at the third string to emphasise the 32. In the D chord we stop at the second string to emphasise the 23.

Lastly we come to the E chord in line four and here we come across a suspended note. The 32 does not live in the E chord, it usually has a 31. However songwriters use a lot of these suspended notes which we players have to add in to the basic chord. Fortuneately the Good Lord has supplied us with a spare finger, the pinkie for just this purpose. Well what else can you use it for? 

You will find this last stage tricky but if you perseve you will have achievd something rather special. Do not get bogged down at this stage though. Play the melodies from the next lessons and buy the book which has loads of melodies and new chords to try.