Music in Two Parts
The following studies are examples of music written in two distinct "parts" or "voices"; an "upper" part with the stem of the note pointing upwards and a "lower" part with the stems pointing downward.
free strokes should be used throughout and where two notes are played together, both should be even in sound. p will play all notes of the lower voice (stems down) and i,m and a will play all notes of the upper voice (stems up).
You must take care to maintain correct position for both hands and be sure to use the fingerings indicated. You will notice with the left hand fingering that the 4th finger is occasionally used for notes on the third fret (e.g. D and G notes on the second and first strings respectively). This practice is quite common and will help avoid awkward left hand finger stretches.
It is also advisable to practice each part separately before attempting both parts together.
The next two studies introduce lead-in notes (also called anacrusis), which are notes found before the first complete bar of music. In both studies the lead-in notes are played on the third beat of a count-in (as indicated). You will notice that the final bar of "The Ash Grove" contains only two counts, which acts as a "balance" to the lead-in note. (This is quite common, but does not always occur: e.g. "Away in a Manger").
