Song 9 - The Nutcracker Suite

Welcome to this lesson where we'll be learning how to play Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the third movement of The Nutcracker Suite.

Here, we'll be looking at beginner level picking in this song, with changes across three strings. This song is essentially in the key of E minor, where we are single note picking the melody. This is a great introduction to what can be expected in Vol. 2 of this Christmas song series.

The Nutcracker Suite - interactive tab

Key learning points

• Learn the whole piece in stages and put together for a full play through

• Basic picking skills and technique

For single note melodies such as this, we are utilising flat picking technique. This means to strike the string cleanly with a pick on a single string. We also have the opportunity here to work on a slightly more advanced technique in 'right hand muting' whilst picking between two strings; this creates a moment of smooth silence between each note, as seen in the lesson video at 2:45 - 2:57.

Check out this lesson for the Harry Potter theme for more picking action!

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