Lesson 5 – Tulsa Time

Lesson 5 - Tulsa Time

Lesson Goals:

♦ Review the E and B7 chords
♦ Become familiar with the music staff and notation
♦ Play the song “Tulsa Time

The first song we will play is “Tulsa Time”, written by Don Williams and made popular by Eric Clapton.

This is a great first song because it consists of only 2 chords, the E chord and the B7 chord that we just learned.

Let’s begin by reviewing the chord positions for the E and the B7. Practice transistioning between the two chords.

Now refer to the music staff below. Notice that, in this song the E is played for 3 full measures before changing to B7.

In each measure there are 4 beats but 8 strokes so the strumming will be like you did in Lesson 2 with a combination of down strokes and up strokes.

Play the song slowly and in tempo to begin with, gradually increasing the speed with each playing.

Lesson 5 Summary

Congratulations! You have just completed your first song on guitar. You may, at this point, be experiencing some discomfort on your fingertips. That is normal and not to worry. Just take plenty of breaks and eventually your fingers will toughen up.

Jam Tip!

Feel free to experiment with some different rhythm patterns on this one. One thing you can do is to accent your strumming on the 2nd and 4th beat of every measure. This way you add a rhythmic feel to the chord progression. Most of all, don’t feel stuck doing it just one way, have fun with it!

Also note that the whole song just repeats the same thing over and over. By playing the progression on the staff below you have actually played the complete song!

E Chord

B7 Chord