Carols in three: we learn the waltz

In the previous lesson we played “Wśród nocnej ciszy” in four. Now we will try counting differently, because many carols, including “Cicha Noc” and “Lulajże Jezuniu”, are in three. If you play the same strum as before, the guitar will start to drift away from the singing.

Easy does it: C and G will still help 😄. For now, though, leave the chord changes and look after the right hand on its own. Take the guitar, hold C and try it with us.

One, two, three… and one again

Count out loud “one, two, three, one, two, three”. One count to three is one bar. Watch the move from “three” to the next “one”: do not leave an extra gap there.

Now strike the strings down on every number. Play “one” a little stronger, and “two” and “three” more gently. That makes it easier to hear the start of each bar. You do not have to yank the strings; a small difference is enough.

If you still want to add “four”, put the guitar down for a moment and tap the rhythm with your hand. You can turn on the Metronome, choose 3/4 on the screen and count with the clicks. When that starts to work, go back to playing.

We add the upstroke

Now add “and” to the count: “one and two and three and”. The numbers fall in exactly the same places as a moment ago, and “and” sits in the middle, between them. Do not speed up only because you have more to say.

Strike down on every number, and up on every “and”. For a while play all six strokes. The point is for the hand to get used to an even movement both ways.

In the waltz we are learning, we skip only one of those strokes: the upstroke right after “one”. The hand still comes back up, but it misses the strings. The other strokes stay, so you play: “down, down-up, down-up”.

That dot in the drawing does not mean stopping the hand or damping the chord. You simply do not strike the strings again. If the movement goes wrong, try it first without touching the strings, still counting out loud.

Then play it on C with the example below. In the app you will find this pattern under the name “Waltz down down-up (3/4)”.

And when do you change chord?

The time signature itself does not say when to change grip. In one song a chord may last a whole bar, in another two bars, and sometimes it changes in the middle of the bar. That is why we look at the notation of the specific song.

As a trial, play one whole waltz on C and the next on G. Change grip on “one”, when you start the pattern again. If you need more time, play two bars on each chord. That is a change exercise, not a ready chord order for every carol.

You can also practise with Wlazł kotek na płotek. It is not a carol, but in our version it has only C and G, and each chord takes a whole bar. That makes it easy to join grips you already know with the new strum.

Try singing something too

When the hand starts to play reasonably freely, hum the melody, then add the words. If you lose the strum again while singing, go back for a while to three simple downstrokes. You can add the waltz once you have joined the chords to the singing.

In the next lesson we will play “Cicha Noc”. It will be in three, like today’s exercise. The F chord will arrive, but we will also show a capo version in which G, C and D are enough.