November 13
Happy birthday, Shea.
Your present is too big for this card (and for the overhead bin). So it’s locked inside a song.
There are four locks. Each one is a little bit of music. Play your way through them and you’ll find out what it is.
🔊 Turn your sound on, and flip your phone off silent.
Lock 1 of 4 · The tuning
Meet your mystery instrument.
Its main strings are tuned D · G · B · D, low to high. Strum them without fretting anything and listen.
What chord rings out?
Lock 2 of 4 · The IV chord
Build a C.
The open strings gave you G, your I chord. Now build the IV: C major. Tap a fret on each string to press it down, then strum. Tap it again to let go.
Lock 3 of 4 · The V chord
Now a D.
One more chord and you’ve got a whole song’s worth. Build the V: D major.
Lock 4 of 4 · The song
Play it home.
The last lock opens with the most famous chord progression there is. Play I – IV – V – I.
Unlocked
It’s a banjo!
Your very own banjo, Shea. It’s waiting for you at home, and here’s a first look.
🎬 The video goes here.
Your first three chords
Five strings, tuned g D G B D. The short 5th string just rings open. You already know these three from the locks.
Happy birthday, Shea. ♥