Have you ever wondered how you can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the guitar? You may have thought about playing this song on the guitar to sing your little one to sleep, or you may have heard about it in a kiddie show on TV or on the web. But do you know that this song is one of the easiest to play on guitar?
You can learn how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in different ways using your guitar. You can play this in different keys, and you can also learn to play only the melody or together with the chords.
Guitar chords basics
If you’re new to playing the guitar, then you’ll surely find it easier to learn guitar chords using horizontal lines. These lines will be your strings while the numbers on the lines will represent the fret (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) that you will play. This is called guitar tablature, and this helps beginners to pick songs as well as their melodies.
With a tablature, the strings will be positioned upside down, which means that the high E is the topmost line on the tab. The number zero or 0 means that the string will be open, or there should be no fingers on any of the frets. And now that these are clear, you may now start to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using guitar tablature.
Start by playing the song’s melody
A guitar tab is commonly used in expressing the melody of any song. And in the case of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, you can use your guitar to play the melody by following a few time-tested techniques.
Playing the song using only one string
Probably the simplest way to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in your guitar is by using a single string. This is done by playing notes and on the open G-string.
It does not matter what finger you want to use to play using only one string because you’re merely moving up and down the G-string to play the melody for the song. This is one advantage of using guitar tabs; you can easily understand how the melody moves in pitch.
In the tab, the higher the note is, the closer your hand will be to the guitar’s soundhole. Some players call this type of guitar playing as playing by ear. Just select the first note then to move up or down the neck to get to the next one.
Playing the song using all the strings
The best way to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in a guitar is by looking for the same melodic notes from the different strings. A version of this technique, with the same notes, is featured in this picture:
With this technique, you don’t need to move your fingers up and down the neck to find the note. However, this kind of guitar tab technique will not tell you the finger to use but only the number of fret that you must play. And to play this tab, you must use the finger that corresponds to the fret number. Take note that not all tabs move on the initial three, four frets.
Playing the song up to the neck
In this technique, the guitar tab has the same kind of notes as with the two techniques. This guitar tab technique requires you to move your fingers across the strings but don’t play open strings. This is because open strings will resonate from the guitar in a different manner compared to fretted strings. This option also avoids playing open strings, which is similar to regular guitar tab playing.
By using this kind of guitar tab, you can move the song melody on any area on the same string but keep the distance between frets and just play a similar melody.
How to sing and play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
To play and sing the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star at the same time, use the key of G using the chords (320003). This number represents the chord in the vertical form with the 3 as the third fret, 2 as the second fret, and the final number 3 as the third fret. There are three open notes in this chord.
Playing in C is X32010, where number X is a muted string, 3 as the third fret, two as the second fret and 1 as the first fret, The are two open notes in this chord.
Meanwhile, D is XX0232, where the first two XXs as two muted strings, 2 as the second fret, 3 is the third fret, and the final 2 on the second fret. There is an open string between X and 2.
Now that you have a clear idea of how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using chord chard, you can start playing it. Here is a very easy chord for the song and is recommended for amateur players.
G G C G
Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are
D DD D
Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky
G C G
Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are.
Now play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star faster using a different set of chords. The sound of the chords is also better and a lot faster. Use the following guide:
G I CG I CG I DG I
Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are
I G C I G D I G C I G D I
Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.
G I C G I CG I D G I
Twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder what you are.
It does not matter whether you’re using a chord with complex progression or a simple progression; you can memorize the song with a few repetitions. This is what kids love to sing and play.
But if you’re thinking of how to strum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, you can begin by strumming every chord only once or strumming every chord only once for every syllable that you sing. And when you’re okay with the changes in the chord, you can improve the pattern of strumming by using a constant movement (down and up).
Accompaniment for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star tab
After you have learned how to play the melody, it’s time to focus on the accompaniment for the song. This is a classic tab used as an accompaniment for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
For great accompaniment, use your thumb to pick on all the strings (D, A, and Low E). The G string must be picked by the index finger, the second finger to pick the B stings, and the third finger to pick the high E.
Playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on other keys
All the previous lessons focused on playing the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on a guitar tab using only the key of G as well as the G, C, and D chords. But do you know that you can play this song on other keys of your guitar?
To sing the song on the key of G, using the first word of the song “Twinkle” on G or play the Open string to locate the start of your note. If you’re not satisfied, locate another starting note. Once you find it, this is your key. Take note that this may work well with a simple song like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but this may not be true for all songs.
Other songs start on a particular note, and you can’t locate another beginning note. Another way to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on any key is to use a device known as a capo.
A capo is a tool that applies soft pressure on the strings. This helps musicians transpose and reduce the length of the strings. A capo also raises the pitch of a note. With a capo, you can play any song on a higher pitch.
There are more versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in other keys. This song is perfect for experimenting on different pitches and keys because it’s very easy to play. You can go online and look for ways to play this classic song using your guitar.
Creative ways to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a classic folk song, lullaby, and children’s song. To make your own original version, you can look for different keys and pitches to play the song. You may also mix and match different versions of the song. You can sing once then play through using the melody as you strum and sing to a different time. You may also switch from one technique to another, moving across different versions to make a one-minute or two-minute song. You’ll surely have fun singing with your kids or with the whole family.
