How To Play Guitar On The Les Paul Google Doodle (LESSONS)

Google introduced arguably its greatest doodle ever this morning, an interactive electric guitar to honor the 96th birthday of legendary musician and guitar innovator Les Paul.

The doodle is definitely a whole lot of fun, but can also be incredibly addicting. For anyone who hasn't spent the better part of their working day trying to figure out how to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on Google's incredibly awesome doodle, here's a crash course to help you rock out on your desktop.

Lesson 1: Notes
The Google guitar can play 10 notes, starting with a low G and climbing up to a high B. To play, either strum over the doodle with your mouse or use the keyboard icon to play using, you guessed it, the keyboard.

Here's a look at each note and its corresponding numerical key, starting at the low G string:

• 1 = G


• 2 = A


• 3 = B


• 4 = C


• 5 = D


• 6 = E


• 7 = F#


• 8 = G


• 9 = A


• 0 = B

And here is how those notes correspond to the doodle itself.

Remember, the Google guitar includes one F#, so you can play a G major scale.

Note: Google guitar's keyboard function also works using corresponding letter keys down the rows of the keyboard, meaning that low G can be played using the 1, Q, A and Z keys, the low A can be played using the 2, W, S and X keys, and so on.

Lesson 2: Chords
Now that you know your way around the notes, it's time to mix things up with a few chords.

G Major = 1, 3, 5
C Major = 4, 6, 8
D7 Major = 4, 5, 7, 9 (inverted for Google guitar)

With these chords, you can go ahead and practice your 12-bar blues in G:
G G G G
C C G G
D7 D7 G G

Lesson 3: Songs
Let's get this show on the road! Amateur musicians are already posting their greatest Google hits to YouTube, and with a little practice you too will be ready for the big time. This is where you can really make use of the doodle's 30-second record feature, and share your masterpiece with the Web.

Here's one video featuring three songs -- "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "Joy to the World" and "Lullaby" -- which you can try to replicate.

Lesson 4: Stairway to Heaven
Just kidding!

Did you compose a ditty on Google's guitar doodle? Send it to us by clicking "Send Photos/Video" in "Contribute to this story" below! We'll post the best songs.

Here are some of the best submissions so far:

• Tim: "Stand By Me"


• Laura O.: http://goo.gl/doodle/GQ66


• Hannah: "Mary Had A Little Lamb"


• Tatiana: http://goo.gl/doodle/1UQn


• Gavin: http://goo.gl/doodle/Upns

Comments

[Mikemm41]

11:59 AM on 06/17/2011

I cover "We're going to be friends" the Napoleon Dynamite intro song, on the Google Doodle Guitar! I have the tab in the description on the youtube page! Check it out.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b7g2S6zOmQ

[Glenford G]

10:59 AM on 06/14/2011

Quick and fun Google Guitar "lessons" below! How to play specific popular songs like Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Star Wars, La Bamba, Sound of Silence!

http://spaceemperor.blogspot.com

[Lisette Rosalie]

03:39 PM on 06/13/2011

http://goo.gl/doodle/MAedu The First Noel- verse
http://goo.gl/doodle/Vi79N The First Noel- chorus

[doodlicious]

07:11 AM on 06/13/2011

I did one too. actually a few, but I haven't seen "Rock and Roll All Nite" by Kiss, so here it is. I'm gonna try to do one everyday, hopefully more well-known tunes that haven't been done as often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4pWUEE6ZEk

[joyike]

11:23 PM on 06/12/2011

Google Fun! Yes, this one was a hit! I also made one! http://youtu.be/AhecGKKJLnk
But I had alot of trouble with precision and the reaction time of the strings. I'm wondering how others were able to play it so smoothly. I resorted to simple strums instead of "finger picking" b/c I had a hard time with playing the guitar smoothly.

[Mikemm41]

08:41 PM on 06/12/2011

Check it out! I cover "we are going to be friends" by the white stripes on the google guitar. The tab is also in the description. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b7g2S6zOmQ

[gman1234]

10:08 AM on 06/12/2011

You can still play the Google Guitar below, and also see some quick and fun "lessons" like how to play Metallic, Led Zeppelin, and Star Wars! Fun!

http://tinyurl.com/6bjpe2h

[Blu Steel]

09:41 AM on 06/12/2011

heres some google guitar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYGefjc2vPY

[eddiesgf08]

08:58 AM on 06/12/2011

Whoops wrong link: http://goo.gl/doodle/Nt9F5

[eddiesgf08]

08:54 AM on 06/12/2011

Intro to "Stairway to heaven" (it's missing a note in the middle cuz the Google guitar doesn't go that high) http://www.google.com/logos/2011/lespaul.html#tune=MABxCSXFOICAEoJBwElBBSc4YIISAgBGCAkgEARgiOGSMEZlCQHA

[paulh492]

08:16 AM on 06/12/2011

Dueling Banjo's http://goo.gl/doodle/O7n4o.

[Stella Lombaers]

05:42 AM on 06/12/2011

Starwars: http://goo.gl/doodle/ghVww

[Tiffany Renee Hargrove]

03:38 AM on 06/12/2011

http://goo.gl/doodle/8oZm1 Old McDonald Had a Farm

[Sherrilee Charlemagne]

02:47 AM on 06/12/2011

http://goo.gl/doodle/7y6wD - come on eileen.. not perfect though lol.. missing a note..

[Sherrilee Charlemagne]

02:45 AM on 06/12/2011

come on eileen [or as close as i could get it >