If you got rhythm you have a song. Think of “We will rock you” by Queen. The song starts with a simple rhythm. Most rock and roll tunes have that beat pattern on the drums. When Freddy Mercury sings, that’s you melody. A melody is just a sequence of notes. All melodies have a rhythm. Lastly, we have harmony. Harmony is the a group of notes played at the same time. When you play chords you are playing harmony and whoever is singing is doing the melody. Those are the 3 pillars of music in plain English. Try to tap your feet or hand when listening to a song. Pretend you are the drummer! This will help you develop rhythm and give you a great understanding of timing. If you want to practice melody, think of a song that you know well, like “Happy Birthday” and try to find the notes of the song on the guitar. Lastly, if you want to create harmony, start playing 2 notes at the same time, if they sound good to you, you might be doing things right! If they don’t sound good move one note to the next fret and try again. 1, 2, 3, GO!
