Similar to chunking, this tactic is a very powerful way to help you learn songs on the guitar.
The point of “Links on the Chain” is to help you memorize “chunks” (for more on the “chunking” tactic, see this blog post) that are particularly difficult to learn.
Certain features in melodies — when you play one note at a time in sequence — can be really difficult to memorize correctly. Sometimes working toward a smaller chunk can help, but if a section of music is twisty enough, it will often require more extreme measures.
Let’s say you’re wanting to learn the melody to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” Like a good guitar student, you’ve recognized that you need to spend some time on just a chunk of it.
The opening of the melody that goes with the words “somewhere over the rainbow” is what we have our sight set on. Each syllable corresponds to one note (some-where o-ver the rain-bow), which makes for 7 notes in all.
To use the “Links on the Chain” method, play the first note, and then add one note at a time until the entire “chain” of notes is complete. Make sure that every step in the process can be played flawlessly multiple times.
Let me illustrate as best I can over a blog post. (Feel free to sign up for a lesson with me to go over this in more detail!)
Some
(Note 1)
where
(2)
Somewhere
(1) (2)
o-
(3)
Somewhere o-
(1) (2) (3)
-ver
(4)
Somewhere over
(1) (2) (3) (4)
the
(5)
Somewhere over the
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
rain
(6)
Somewhere over the rain-
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
-bow
(7)
Somewhere over the rainbow
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
This may seem kind of extreme when you’re not used to it. If you cringe a little bit at the thought of doing this, I suggest you pick something small and go for it. It gets easier the more you do it — it is thorough and effective. I can guarantee that if you spend 10 minutes a day doing this, you’ll see results!
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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.
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