The Guitar Noise Podcast

The Guitar Noise Podcast http://www.guitarnoise.com Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:56:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 The Guitar Noise Podcast is a thirty-minute, one-on-one lesson with our managing editor David Hodge. Since there is always a lot of ground for beginners to cover we begin our lessons with a series on strumming, followed by topics like fingerstyle and singing and playing at the same time. Lesson notes and examples are available on our site at www.guitarnoise.com http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/podcast-image-large.jpgThe Guitar Noise Podcasthttp://www.guitarnoise.com guitar, lesson, music, instruction, acoustic, guitars, strumming, singing, fingerstyle no Paul Hackett contact2009@guitarnoise.com Sailing to Philadelphia – Songs for Intermediates #28 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/sailing-to-philadelphia/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/sailing-to-philadelphia/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:59:57 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=2785 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/sailing-to-philadelphia/feed/ 0 Good songs, like any works of art, are multi-dimensional. They have layers that don’t reveal themselves on a first listen. It’s only after repeated exposure that you even begin to glimpse a hint of the various parts and start to hear how they all work together. This is one reason why coming up with single guitar arrangements for songs is both frustrating and also immensely satisfying. Sailing to Philadelphia, from the 2000 album of the same name by <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/artist/mark-knopfler/">Mark Knopler</a>, could be a poster child for this philosophy. At a casual first listen, it’s a wonderful fingerstyle acoustic guitar song punctuated with some typically tasteful (and tasty) electric guitar fills and solos that Knopfler makes sound so easy. But, as you’ll see and hear, even the relatively straightforward sounding acoustic guitar part is an adventure in itself! So let’s get started, shall we? These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. If you’ve never heard this song before, you should go look it up on YouTube and give it a listen. It’s a narrative between two people, Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason, surveyors from England who mapped out the Pennsylvania / Maryland border in the 1700’s. The original recording is done as a duet between Mark Knopfler (singing Dixon’s part) and James Taylor (who gets Mason’s lines). Structurally speaking, Sailing to Philadelphia is a fairly standard song format. There’s a very short introduction of eight measures and then there’s a verse. Or two verses, if you prefer to think of it that way, since each vocalist gets an identical amount of time and space. Then there’s a chorus and a short solo over a repeat of the introduction chord progression. Then a second verse (or two verses) and chorus, although this second chorus is slightly elongated, and then the song fades out over an extended guitar solo played over repeated cycling of the introduction chord progression. On the original recording, this song is in the key of A. And you’ll find this verified in that most of the Internet tabs you’ll find for it are like this one: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2785/1.gif" alt="Internet Chord Sheet Example 1" width="390" height="400" /> Some have taken the liberty of working it up in the key of G, putting a capo on the second fret in order to bring the chords back up to the original key of A: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2785/2.gif" alt="Internet Chord Sheet Example 2" width="398" height="431" /> And these chords whether in A or G work fine. But listening to the acoustic guitar you can hear that something is not quite spot on. There are additional notes added to these chords, slightly embellishing them. Listening carefully, I could hear that the highest strings never changed notes, creating a ringing and mesmerizing repeated use of B and C# (the B note played at the fourth fret of the G string because the B string was fretted at the second fret to produce C#) while the high E string rang open. So the actual notes and the chords, using the first four measures of the introduction as an example, were more like this: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2785/3.gif" alt="INTRO - Actual Notes and Chords 1" width="572" height="264" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2785/4.gif" alt="INTRO - Actual Notes and Chords 1 [...] Sometimes a simple sounding fingerstyle acoustic guitar part takes a bit of thought and tinkering to create. David looks at how to go beyond the chords offered up on a typical Internet tab sheet in order to get more of the flavor of the original [...] Hush Little Baby http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/hush-little-baby/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/hush-little-baby/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:28:04 +0000 Special to Guitar Noise http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=2699 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/hush-little-baby/feed/ 0 I was originally drawn to chord melody arrangements in general because I can’t sing (and don’t care to learn either!). I grew tired of simply strumming chord progressions, so this ‘multi-voice’ style, where the guitar plays the melody, harmony, and bass line pretty much all at once, fascinated me and seemed like a good way for me to progress as a guitarist. Because I had a hard time finding many solo guitar arrangements for the songs I would actually want to play, I decided to learn how to create my own. For my first attempt, I chose an easy song, with a well known melody – but one that I didn’t see many others arranging. And so I began this journey… My basic approach to creating this arrangement was to develop the following sequence of layers: Melody, Bass Line, Harmonization, and then fine tune it to my liking. I began by searching the internet for sheet music with tabs. I also found it useful to search Google “Images” to find sheet music. I transposed the melody to a new key so that I would be able to play in the open position on the first and second strings mostly, while making sure that the chords would be open chords, and easy to fret. <img class="alignnone" title="Example 1 - Melody only" src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2699/1.jpg" alt="" width="552" height="232" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2699/Example_1_Melody_Only.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) I then added the bass notes on the first and third beat of each measure. I chose these beats because they are the common accented beats in 4/4 time. Since the arrangement still sounded a little dull, I added a harmonizing note for most of the notes played. I simply chose the note on the string above the melody note. I also noticed that there were several pauses that could use some kind of fill, so I played arpeggios, using notes on the strings that were not being played. As I played the piece for a few days, I found that I usually never played the bass note on the third beat and, to my ears, this sounds just fine, if not better. However, I left the extra bass notes in the notation just in case you want to play them. <img class="alignnone" title="Example 2 - Final arrangement" src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2699/2.jpg" alt="" width="547" height="292" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2699/Example_2_Final_Arrangement.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) I believe that my first attempt created an easily playable, and enjoyable sounding finger style lullaby arrangement. I hope you have enjoyed it, and that you will play it. Remember that it is a lullaby, and should be played softly at a moderate tempo. There are two articles here on Guitar Noise, that really that helped me get to this point: “<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/introduction-to-song-arrangement/">Arranging Things – An Introduction to Song Arrangement – Part 1</a>” by David Hodge, and “<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/birth-of-a-chord-melody/">Birth Of A Chord Melody</a>” by Graham Merry. If you’ve not read them, you should take a minute and do so. They might inspire you to come up with a chord melody arrangement of your own! <h3>Some Final Thoughts on Using PowerTab</h3> I used PowerTab – a free software package – to arrange, review, and create the sheet music/TAB for this piece. One feature that I had not learned how to [...] Creating chord melody arrangements can be addictive! And you can start out as easy or as complicated as you'd like. Brandon Carrasco takes us step by step through his first time out, turning this timeless lullaby into a wonderful single guitar piece. What A Wonderful World http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/what-a-wonderful-world/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/what-a-wonderful-world/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:38:28 +0000 Hank Stupi http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=2692 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/what-a-wonderful-world/feed/ 0 So, why did I choose “What a Wonderful World”? Well, I’m scheduled to give a talk later this month at my church Sunday service. The talk will be quite personal, the title being “Cancer: A Blessing or a Curse?” I was diagnosed with a rare cancer almost five years ago. It’s incurable but slow-growing and treatable, and thanks to a great oncologist, I’m currently enjoying a good quality of life. For me, my cancer has been a wake up call and has given me an appreciation for life unlike I’d ever known in the past. I am choosing the hymns for that Sunday service and I will be providing the accompaniment on my guitar… so what better song and message could I find but “What A Wonderful World” for one of my chosen hymns. It’s likely that many of you know this song, but in case you don’t, go to YouTube and search for “What a Wonderful World Louis Armstrong” and you’ll be in for a real treat. So if you’re ready, then let’s get to it… These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. Like my first arrangement, the process started by searching the Internet for the chords and lyrics. “What A Wonderful World” was performed by Louis Armstrong in the key of F, and that’s what I found on the Internet websites. I prefer the sound of chords with open strings, and in F, a few of the chords were not my favorites such as Bb and Db. They’re doable, but I really wanted a friendlier key. After a while of some experimentation and transposing, I settled into the key of C. I decided that, as far as this lesson goes, I’d put my Capo on the fifth fret and my arrangement in C would actually be in Louis Armstrong’s F for those wanting to play along with his recording. So, here is the Internet arrangement of “What a Wonderful World” transposed to the key of C: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2692/1.gif" alt="Internet Arrangement part 1" width="401" height="339" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2692/2.gif" alt="Internet Arrangement part 2" width="364" height="381" /> In case you’re not familiar with the tune, here’s the entire melody, written after closely listening to Louis Armstrong’s performance; and, giving credit where credit is due, playing that melody several times for my wife, Nancy, who has a great ear and the ability to say things to me like, “Hank, that note right there didn’t sound right”, or “I think you added an extra beat in there someplace”. <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2692/3.gif" alt="Melody - verses 1 and 2" width="596" height="248" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2692/4.gif" alt="Melody - chorus" width="596" height="193" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2692/5.gif" alt="Melody - verse 3" width="596" height="208" /> And, here’s how this melody sounds: <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2692/Melody.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) “What A Wonderful World” consists of a verse played a total of three times and a chorus. The first verse ends with a “turnaround” that gets it back to the beginning for the second verse. Following the second verse, the chorus is played once. The third and final verse has four additional measures when compared to the first two verses. Those four measures serve as the [...] Here is Hank's second Guitar Noise lesson, an accompaniment to "What a Wonderful World" as performed by Louis Armstrong. He draws on some of the ideas used in his first arrangement, "Smile", and provides some nice movement [...] Smile by Charlie Chaplin http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/smile/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/smile/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:58:07 +0000 Hank Stupi http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=2617 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/smile/feed/ 0 Before getting started, since this is my Guitar Noise debut, let me share my musical journey. It’s been a long one, so it might be hard to be brief, but I’ll give it my best shot. In high school I bought my best friend’s Kay hollow bodied electric guitar and amp when he upgraded to a Fender. Part of the deal was that he would teach me enough to get started – a couple of basic barre chord forms – pretty much C, Am, F, and G, which later in life I learned to recognize as a I, vi, IV, V chord progression – if I dropped the Am I had a I, IV, V chord progression. Using barre chords I found that I could play these chord progressions in many different keys just by moving up or down the neck of the guitar. Well that was the 60’s and I could strum the chords and sing along to just about any pop song I heard. By the time I graduated from college, I hadn’t learned anything else, was pretty bored with my playing, and sold my guitar to a pawnshop. Fast forward to the 80’s… I got into playing harmonica, pretty much by ear, copying licks from every blues album I purchased. I practiced a lot and got real good. So happens I landed a job as an accounting professor at a community college (great job – stayed at it until retiring in 2006) and among the many perks were free classes. So I took an “Introduction to Music Theory” class to help me figure out what the heck I was doing on my harmonica. That class changed my path drastically. Within a few years, I’d taken three theory classes, two ear-training/sight reading classes, two piano classes, and a jazz-improvisation class. I then became dedicated to becoming a pianist and spent the next five years rigorously practicing, but then came face to face with the hard reality that I had no talent for the piano. A bit dejected at my failure as a pianist in 2001, I decided to revisit the guitar, but this time trying to integrate the musical knowledge I’d picked up along the way. So for about seven years I went through dozens of video lessons and almost as many instructional books. I practiced a lot, but somehow it never all came together. Then early in 2009 I discovered Guitar Noise, a major milestone on my journey. David’s style of teaching and playing fit me like a glove. I started at the beginning and went through every podcast – all of a sudden I really understood and could play rhythm. I could even add simple bass lines and frills here and there to make things more interesting. As the months went by, I went through all of the easy songs for beginners and most of the songs for intermediates. All those years of practice soon seemed to pay off as everything started to fall in place and my confidence increased. In mid-July 2009 the pianist who does the accompaniment at my church told me that she’d be out of town the following week and asked if I could put on some CD’s for the hymns. Somewhere the courage came for within to suggest that I provide the accompaniment on my guitar. I wasn’t wild about most of the songs in the hymnal, so I chose “<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/imagine/">Imagine</a>” by John Lennon, knowing that Guitar Noise has a nice arrangement of that, and the old spiritual “Down By The Riverside” from the hymnal. I even decided to play during our quiet time of reflection, a soft arpeggio arrangement of “If” by Bread which I learned years ago. I practiced hard and everything went well. In all honesty, what mostly gave me the courage to do this is what David has said time and time again, something like… “Don’t get hung up on making mistakes. You will make mistakes – the only way not to make them is not to play, and that’s not an option. The important thing is to maintain the tempo.” Anyway, I’ll be filling in for her for three months this winter when she heads south. So, why did I choose “Smile” as [...] Here is my very first arrangement, a finger style chord melody of the beautiful Charlie Chaplin tune "Smile." Walking through the process step by step, you'll see how an initial "busy" arrangement consisting mainly of [...] Dusty Roads Two Step – A Fingerstyle Song by Peter Simms http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/dusty-roads-two-step/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/dusty-roads-two-step/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 06:25:22 +0000 Peter Simms http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=2000 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/dusty-roads-two-step/feed/ 0 Hello Guitar Noise fingerpickers! I wrote this little ditty for those of you who are looking to expand beyond “background finger-picking.” The idea is to get you playing your single guitar like a small combo band, complete with a soloist for the melody, a bass for the bass lines (of course!) and someone to fill in the middle with chords and/or harmonies. To be able to master this, you should already be familiar with your basic chords and comfortable to move fingers around to accommodate changes in their fingerings. Take a look at the complete arrangement and listen to it on the midi file. <ul> <li><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2000/DustyRoadComplete.pdf">Download pdf </a>(Right-click and “Save as”)<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2000/DustyRoadMidi.mid"></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2000/DustyRoadMidi.mid">Download midi </a>(Right-click and “Save as”)</li> </ul> This song incorporates a mini melody, a basic bass line, and little harmony within it. I wrote it to only have one chord function per measure. This makes it easier to understand how it’s put together. It also helps that this is basically in a twelve-bar blues format (you can find out more about that by reading the Guitar Noise lesson on <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/before-you-accuse-me/">Before You Accuse Me</a>). So you can see that you’ll be using these chords in these measures: Measures 1 through 4 – G Measures 5 and 6 – C Measures 7 and 8 – G Measure 9 – D Measure 10 – C Measures 11 and 12 – G A few notes on the Picking Hand: The thumb handles the bass line. On any measures with “G” – you’ll pluck Strings 6 and 4. Measures 5 and 6 (with “C”) – you’ll pluck Strings 5, 4, 6 and then 4 again. The measure of D will be just the fourth string and Measure 10 (C again) will be just String 5. Take a listen to the example without the melody and harmony. <ul> <li><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/2000/BassLine.pdf">Download pdf </a>(Right-click and “Save as”)<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2000/BassLineMidi.mid"></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/2000/BassLineMidi.mid">Download midi </a>(Right-click and “Save as”)</li> </ul> View the pdf file of just the Bass part and then compare it to the arrangement. By using your index and middle fingers, decide which ones will be most comfortable to pluck the notes for the harmony and melody. I would approach a measure at a time. I wrote it in this fashion. As you can tell with the midi file, there is a bit of a shuffle in the rhythmic structure. Add that after you are comfortable with each measure. E-mail me and let me know if you would like a video of me playing this song. My e-mail: petersimms.guitar@gmail.com Have Fun! … Peter Peter Simms has written a little ditty that shows us how to make your single guitar sound like a small combo band. We're going to focus on fingerstyle with a melody, bassline and chords. While My Guitar Gently Weeps – A Finger Style / Chord Melody Arrangement http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/while-my-guitar-gently-weeps/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/while-my-guitar-gently-weeps/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:58:40 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1925 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/while-my-guitar-gently-weeps/feed/ 0 As mentioned many times, we get a lot of requests from our readers at Guitar Noise. One section of our website that seems to generate a lot of email is our “Song Arrangement” lessons, where we come up with arrangements of songs where the single guitar handles everything – melody line, bass and chords. While a number of our regular song lessons, both on the “<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/easy/">Easy Songs for Beginners</a>” and the “<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/intermediate/">Songs for Intermediates</a>” pages tend to incorporate aspects of chord melody into their arrangements, those lessons are meant to be accompaniment to someone singing the song. Here, we try to cater to those who have no desire to sing but still want to have a song as opposed to an accompaniment. So I’m going to make a concerted effort to put together more of these arrangements, if for no other reason than I enjoy them immensely, too! To kick off this new set of song lessons, we’ll fall back on our extensive Beatles’ catalogue of material and dust of the <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/artist/george-harrison/">George Harrison</a> gem, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, originally released on what folks like to call “The White Album.” So let’s get on with the disclaimer and get to work, shall we? These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. In terms of structure, our lesson song essentially has two parts – a “verse” section that also serves as the backdrop for the introduction and a “bridge” section. One of my (many) reasons for choosing this particular song as a lesson is that both sections involve a descending walking bass line and, in an interesting juxtaposition, the verses are in A minor while the bridge is in A major. Like many songs, the descending walking bass line of While My Guitar Gently Weeps provides a solid hook, so it’s no surprise that it shows up right at the start of things. On the original recording, there is a short and simple piano riff that we’ll play on the guitar: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1925/1.gif" alt="Example 1 part 1" width="545" height="304" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1925/2.gif" alt="Example 1 part 2" width="544" height="259" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1925/3.gif" alt="Example 1 part 3" width="545" height="235" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1925/4.gif" alt="Example 1 part 4" width="543" height="260" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1925/GGENTLY1.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) Because there’s not much room between the A note of the piano line and the note of the open A string that we’re using to start our descending bass line, I take the liberty of “thickening” the sound a little by using the E note (second fret of the D string) along with the A note of the piano part. You can do this by using two fingers (usually the index and middle fingers) on those notes while hitting the open A string and following bass notes with your thumb. Another option is to “sweep” the two strings in an upstroke with one finger (usually the index). That’s what I’m doing in the MP3 example, in case you’re wondering. And because you’re going to be working [...] Here's a song arrangement that no one has to sing! Take aspects of "chord melody" arranging and mix them in with fingerstyle playing and you've got yourself a version of one of George Harrison's terrific songs to perform. [...] Lynyrd Meets DADGAD – A Celtic Arrangement of “All I Can Do Is Write About It” http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/lynyrd-meets-dadgad/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/lynyrd-meets-dadgad/#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:07:03 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1831 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/lynyrd-meets-dadgad/feed/ 0 As you might imagine, we get a lot of requests from our readers at Guitar Noise. Sometimes they come through emails, sometimes through PMs (private messages on the <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/">Guitar Noise Forum</a> pages) and sometimes it’s just a post on the Forum pages itself. This one came a little while back via email: <blockquote>Dear David, I love your site – and your lessons and your arrangements and ideas for changing the keys of songs and different rhythms to try. I was inspired to buy a twelve string by your article “<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/double-your-pleasure/">Double Your Pleasure</a>” and I listen to your great podcasts. As experimentation is something that seems to inspire you as it does me, I wondered if I could ask for your input with something I am working on and not many people seem to be able to help me with… I love the rather simple song “All I Can Do Is Write About It” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. But as I’m Scottish and now living in America, I thought I’d change a few of the words to make the song about Scotland rather than the American south. Then I also thought to make it sound a bit more Celtic, it might be worth putting into DADGAD… The chord progression is really simple: G D C; G D Em C, G D C C. Do you think I can just play those chords in DADGAD or if I retune to DADGAD is there an equally good sounding progression or a transposed set of chords that you have experience with that would sound better in that tuning – while obviously keeping the same rhythm and feel as the original…just with a Celtic twang, if you will… Your thoughts would be gratefully recieved…</blockquote> Now it’s been ages since I’ve heard this song, which if I remember correctly is the closing number off Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gimme Back My Bullets album, and the idea not only intrigued me but it seemed like a cool thing to do for Saint Patrick’s Day (although I’m not sure I’m going to make it by then!). So I sat down and worked up some ideas and here is a quick lesson that came out of that bit of brainstorming. Of course, we’ve got to go through the usual formalities: These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. First things first, as mentioned in the email, the song is indeed very simple in terms of structure and chords. Not counting the solo between the second and third verse, there are two different sets of two-measure chord progressions. The first, which we’ll call “Progression A” is two beats each of G, D, Em and C. The second set, “Progression B” if you will, is two beats each of G and D, followed by four beats of C. Pairing one “Progression A” with one “Progression B” will give you two lines of the first verse, as you can see here: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1831/1.gif" alt="First Half of First Verse" width="406" height="250" /> The introduction of All I Can Do is Write About It is also made up of one pair of these two progressions. Immediately following the first half of the first verse, “Progression B” is then played by itself, serving as a short interlude between the two halves of the first verse (you could technically call these two separate verses – that’s up to you). The chorus of the song, as well as all the subsequent verses follows a different structure. First you play “Progression B” twice, then “Progression A” and then you tack on one last “Progression B” to [...] In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here's a Celtic arrangement of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "All I Can Do Is Write About It" done in DADGAD tuning. A wonderful way to remember your home, whether home is in Alabama or Caledonia. Funky Monkey Blues http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/funky-monkey-blues/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/funky-monkey-blues/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:49:56 +0000 Peter Simms http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1710 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/funky-monkey-blues/feed/ 0 Hi Guitar Noise Players! Let’s get funky! It’s always fun writing a little ditty for the Guitar Noise readers and conversing over these songs. Here is an intermediate fingerstyle song that incorporates a basic rhythmic bass line and a “click” sound (those are the x’s on the guitar Notation+TAB). Some folks call it “string muting” and some “choking,” but whatever your take on it, this combination of bass and clicking will help you create a quasi-blues feel. Take a listen to the audio on this page and you will know what I’m talking about. <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1710/funky_monkey.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) There are only three chords in this tune. I personally feel that you will be able to figure out the fingering to the chord forms. The click sound is made by tapping your fingers onto the strings (which slap a little against the fretboard). The tap is on beat four. This helps to create a percussive “back beat” for your song. <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1710/Funky_Monkey_Blues.pdf">Download pdf </a>(Right-click and “Save as”) The riffs are based off the A minor blues scale and need to be played within the rhythmic framework. In other words – you should keep the tempo and/or feel of the song consistent. I slowed down the last riff to bring the song to an end. You’ve certainly heard this popular technique used in many songs you know. You can keep the rhythm and substitute your own riffs …this is lots of fun! With all this said, take a listen to the recording, give it a try, and see what happens! If you would like a video of me playing this song – just e-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com Here's a catchy little number written for you especially by Peter Simms, integrating a funky rhythm with some tasty blues lines. Enjoy! Behind Blue Eyes – The Who – Songs for Intermediates # 25 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/behind-blue-eyes/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/behind-blue-eyes/#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:27:51 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1616 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/behind-blue-eyes/feed/ 0 One of the (many) recurring themes throughout Guitar Noise, whether you’re working through the various song lessons, reading the Guitar Columns, playing along with the Podcasts or even chatting with folks on the Forum pages, is that we truly want you to know it’s okay to not play a song exactly the way it is on the original recording. Yes, there are all sorts of good reasons to be able to make a musical carbon copy of a song, just as there are numerous compelling reasons not to. My own philosophy is that I’d like to hear someone create music more than I’d like to hear someone copy music. Personal tastes, I’m sure, and you’re more than welcome to your own thoughts on this matter. But there’s also a matter of what’s important in playing a song. If you’re going to be performing a song in a single-guitar arrangement, that means you have to be comfortable singing and playing. Do you really want to add “playing it exactly like the recording” to that agenda? While it may be vital for some songs (although nowhere near as vital as one might think), for the most part you can more than get by simply playing a song in the general style or “flavor” as the original. More on that in a moment… One additional short note before we get going, and it’s the same one I gave at the start of the last lesson (<a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/feelin-groovy/">Feelin’ Groovy</a>): while we’ve put this lesson in with the “Songs for Intermediates,” it is certainly within the capabilities of a beginner who’s not shy of a bit of practice. If anything, it will hopefully encourage some of you not to be skittish when it comes to just ad-libbing a rhythm part. These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. To assist us in this examination of “how much of the original song do we really need” is the classic Who song, Behind Blue Eyes. And we have to deal with this question right from the very first note, so before we get into the structure and chords and everything else, let’s use the introduction as a way to all get on the same page. Think about this: the first two measures of Behind Blue Eyes are an Esus4 (022200) arpeggio in sixteenth notes. That’s thirty-two sixteenth notes strung together. Even if we all agree on nailing the first note, the E of the open low E (sixth) string, that gives us thirty-one chances to screw up the beginning of the song! More important – Do you think that Pete Townsend sat down and deliberately wrote out exactly what note should be played first, second, third, etc.,? Not very likely! He probably turned on the recorder and then “got up his guitar and played.” The second take he played he may have kept certain notes here and there but, in all probability, didn’t get it exactly the same. He might have – artists all have their own individual footprints, little stylistic touches that come from their own personal experiences in playing. If you think of the sheer number of variations possible, just playing two measures of sixteenth notes, it’s kind of mind boggling. And that’s not even taking into account that you don’t have to play nothing but sixteenth notes. Notice in the following “Example 1B” the cool effect by tying together one pair of sixteenth notes into an eighth note. That gives the music a little breathing space and makes it sound even more natural. So here, just to give you a concrete, audible idea of what we’ve been talking about, are three examples: first, the “note for note” recording, and then two variations that were simply put together in the same basic style, or [...] Don't be put off by the "Intermediate" tag as beginners should have little problems putting this classic Who song into their repertoires. This is a great lesson on why playing strictly "by the record" can tie you up in [...] Auld Lang Syne http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/auld-lang-syne/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/auld-lang-syne/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:26:48 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1572 Auld Lang Syne.]]> http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/auld-lang-syne/feed/ 0 Learning the guitar, learning anything, tends to be done in stages. And one of the stages that often gets left out is the “trying something a bit beyond you” part. Greg Nease, a regular at the <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/">Guitar Noise Forum</a> pages, recently posted this bit of advice on a different topic, but it certainly applies here: <blockquote>Taking a person outside of the comfort zone is an excellent way to grow in skills. That’s a basic principle in teaching that often is overlooked. We tend to focus on the practice-until-proficient part. But at the same time one is becoming proficient at one skill, new skills are introduced to continue progress. Otherwise, one hits that dreaded plateau. One of the main functions of a teacher is to keep moving the student past the point of comfort by presenting new challenges.</blockquote> The whole concept of chord melody as a playing style has been around for ages. And, like most aspects of both music in general and the guitar in specific, there is no end to the variations you can come up with playing in this particular manner. You can have full chords, such as in our recent lesson on Christmas carol <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/joy-to-the-world/">Joy to the World</a>, you can use one extra note to accompany your melody, as in <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/o-tannenbaum/">O Tannenbaum</a>, or almost anything in between. The variations multiply even more when you factor in the use of alternate tunings, even one as common place as Drop D. And that’s where we’ll be spending this particular lesson, on a Drop D arrangement of the perennial New Year’s Eve standard, Auld Lang Syne. GN Moderator and Contributor Graham Merry has already written a wonderful piece on this song, not to mention on the whole concept of chord melody in general, in his lesson entitled, <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/birth-of-a-chord-melody/">Birth of a Chord Melody</a> – you might want to give that one a read before we proceed. In the meantime, I’ll deal with the pesky “disclaimer” part: These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. Of course, the first thing we’ll want to do is to get our guitars in Drop D tuning. As you undoubtedly know from reading an old (but timeless!) Guitar Column called <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/on-the-tuning-awry/">On the Tuning Awry</a>, or from any number of song lessons such as the classic Neil Young tune, <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/harvest-moon/">Harvest Moon</a>, all we have to do is to tune our low E (sixth) string down a full step to D. While you’re doing that, I’ll put together the melody and chords of our lesson for you: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1572/1.gif" alt="Example 1 part 1" width="461" height="250" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1572/2.gif" alt="Example 1 part 2" width="478" height="208" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1572/3.gif" alt="Example 1 part 3" width="458" height="202" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1572/4.gif" alt="Example 1 part 4" width="454" height="206" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1572/5.gif" [...] In this this lesson we'll learn a Drop D tuning arrangement of the perennial New Year's Eve standard, Auld Lang Syne. Joy To The World http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/joy-to-the-world/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/joy-to-the-world/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:26:42 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1570 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/joy-to-the-world/feed/ 0 So I was playing around in Double Drop D tuning one day and for no reason whatsoever played a descending G major scale: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/1.gif" alt="Descending G Major Scale" width="409" height="229" /> And I had to laugh. I’m sure that some of you have read one of my old Guitar Columns called <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/christmas-in-june/">Christmas in June</a>, or if you’ve ever heard me teach a beginners’ class on the importance of timing, you know that it takes the simplest changes to turn any descending major scale into the first line of a very, very popular Christmas carol: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/2.gif" alt="First line of Joy to the World" width="454" height="212" /> Well, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, I thought why not come up with an arrangement for Joy to the World in this tuning? After all, it would certainly give me something new to work out and it never hurts to explore a familiar tune in a new setting. Anyway, before we get into this lesson, I do want to say that this arrangement may not be for everyone. I can’t tell you how many different ways I know to play this particular song – how many different tunings and how many different keys. I think it’s one of the reasons it’s so popular. But I do hope you like this take on an old favorite. One advantage to it is that you can play this arrangement with a pick, and I know that appeals to quite a few of our readers here at Guitar Noise. Using just your fingers is perfectly okay, too. These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. Okay, first things first! In case you don’t know about Double Drop D tuning which, by the way, you can read about in our Guitar Column called <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/on-the-tuning-awry/">On the Tuning Awry</a> or in the Songs for Intermediates lesson on <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/cinnamon-girl/">Cinnamon Girl</a>, we should take a moment to get you and your guitar in tune. Assuming you’re in standard tuning to begin with, all you have to do is to tune both of your E strings – the high (first) and low (sixth) ones – down a full step from E to D. You can obviously do this with a tuner or simply match the two new D strings to the regular D (fourth) string by comparing octaves. Whichever, you will now be tuned, from lowest to highest strings, to the following notes: DADGBD. And now that you’re set, here’s the melody and accompanying chords, written out, as all our examples for this lesson are, in Double Drop D tuning: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/3.gif" alt="Example 1 part 1" width="414" height="291" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/4.gif" alt="Example 1 part 2" width="401" height="212" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/5.gif" alt="Example 1 part 3" width="477" height="213" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/6.gif" alt="Example 1 part 4" width="481" height="217" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1570/7.gif" alt="Example 1 part 5" width="486" [...] It all started with being in Double Drop D tuning! Here's a very easy chord melody arrangement of this popular Christmas carol. Angels We Have Heard On High http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/angels-we-have-heard-on-high/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/angels-we-have-heard-on-high/#comments Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:20:11 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1393 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/angels-we-have-heard-on-high/feed/ 0 It never hurts to review things. That’s a bit of an understatement, no? And, strange as it may sound, one of the best ways to review things is to try them out on something new. No, I’m not trying to pull you leg here. Way too often, and for some reason it seem especially more true nowadays than when I was learning guitar way back in the primordial ooze, people learn a song without realizing that the techniques they’ve picked up in learning this one piece can easily be applied to many, many other tunes. Good musicians are constantly expanding on what they’ve learned, using those skills as the groundwork on which to build new ones. Since we’ve covered a lot of ground in both bass lines and Travis-style finger picking in the past two years here at Guitar Noise, it makes a lot of sense to try to incorporate these ideas and techniques in our exploration of chord melody arrangements of holiday songs, no? So let’s get to it! These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. Today we’ll work up an arrangement of Angels We Have Heard on High, a traditional French carol. And since we’re basically concerned about playing a chord melody version, how about we start out with the melody and chords? <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/1.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 1" width="463" height="291" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/2.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 2" width="460" height="233" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/3.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 3" width="454" height="215" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/4.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 4" width="458" height="220" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/5.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 5" width="462" height="219" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/6.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 6" width="469" height="214" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/7.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 7" width="466" height="214" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/8.gif" alt="Example 1 - part 8" width="455" height="228" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1393/ANGELS01.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) The verse of our carol is laid out in the first two lines, which are repeated. To make matters very simple, all of our melody notes are either on the open high E (first) string, or on the first or third fret of the high E (first) and B strings. As far as the chords go, it also helps to see that we only use C or G for this section, even though we’ll be changing that in just a moment! Why? Well, the purpose of this lesson is to work on bass lines, and what better place to start? Let’s take the first two measures of the melody and add a very simple moving bass line: <img class="alignnone" title="Example 2" src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1393/9.gif" alt="" width="455" height="245" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1393/ANGELS02.mp3">Download [...] This is a traditional French carol, arranged so we can review some of our recent lessons on bass lines and Travis style finger picking. He Is Born (Il est né) http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/he-is-born/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/he-is-born/#comments Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:31:59 +0000 Doug Sparling http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1381 Il Est Né, which translates to He Is Born. ]]> http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/he-is-born/feed/ 0 Hello, I’m back again! I’ve really missed writing for Guitar Noise, so I’ve put together a few lessons for Christmas. This first lesson is a simple DADGAD arrangement of a very well-known, traditional French Christmas Carol titled “Il Est Né,” which translates to “He Is Born” in English. David tells me this is one of his favorites. <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/1.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 1" width="600" height="222" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/2.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 2" width="600" height="161" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/3.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 3" width="600" height="154" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/4.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 4" width="600" height="157" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/5.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 5" width="600" height="155" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/6.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 6" width="600" height="164" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/7.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 7" width="600" height="158" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/8.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 8" width="600" height="162" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/9.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 9" width="600" height="153" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/10.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 10" width="600" height="161" /> <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1381/11.gif" alt="He Is Born - part 11" width="600" height="18" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1381/HeIsBorn.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) A few quick performance notes: You’ll notice that throughout the arrangement I’ve used a few Celtic-style ornaments, particularly the quick pull off (also known as a “cut”) on the top open D (first) string. This is a beautiful tune and it begs to be played slowly, so I’ve suggest a BPM of a quarter note at 118, but you may want to set your metronome to 59 or 60 for the tempo on the half note. Note the double stops in the B Section; the slow, easy tempo will make this section easier to play. Once again, I hope you’ve enjoyed playing this tune as much as I have. I hope to get at least one more lesson out before Christmas, so stay tuned! This lesson is a simple DADGAD arrangement of a very well-known, traditional French Christmas Carol titled Il Est Né, which translates to He Is Born. Silver Bells http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/silver-bells/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/silver-bells/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:56:13 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1522 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/silver-bells/feed/ 0 It’s been a while since our last chord melody arrangement, not to mention since our last holiday song, let’s start out the new holiday season with something relatively easy. How about Silver Bells? That should fit the bill nicely. It centers around G, C and D chords, yet still has some interesting touches that will give you a bit (but not too much) of a challenge. These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. Fool that I am, I’ll assume that we’re all on the same page when we’re talking about chord melody arrangements. If you’re kind of not sure about that, just pop over to the lessons on the <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/tag/song-arrangement/">Song Arrangements</a> page or any of our other <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/christmas-songs/">Christmas song lessons</a>. For this lesson, I want to try to keep things as relatively simple as possible. You should be able to play our arrangement of Silver Bells with either a pick or your fingers. In fact, I’m using a pick in all of the MP3 examples. Let’s see, other things you might want to know – the song is in 3 / 4 timing, and we’ll be playing this in the key of G and will pretty much be using versions of simple G, Am, C and D chords you already know. We’ll also toss in a few interesting voicings to help us out in playing the melody. Like many songs, the chords and melody of Silver Bells involves a number of repeated patterns and phrases. That makes it a little easier to learn. Let’s begin with the very first line, actually just the first part of it: <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1522/1.gif" alt="Example 1" width="423" height="290" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1522/SILVERB1.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) If you’ve never tried a chord melody before, this is as close to as easy as it gets. Silver Bells begins with two eighth notes played on beat three. This, as we’ve learned in other lessons, is called a “pickup.” So, for instance, if we were counting aloud for our bandmates, we’d call out “one, two, three, one, two” and start in on “City sidewalks…” Here in the first half of the first line, we strum an open G chord and then remove whatever finger you usually use on the third fret of the high E (first) string and strike that now open string. We’ll then place a finger (most likely the one you took off the first string) on the third fret of the B string and strum down only to the B string. Then take that finger off the B string and strum the G chord once more, this time again only going as far as the B string, which is now an open string. So far, so good? Okay, then. We’re good to move to the rest of this line (the “…dressed in holiday style…” part): <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1522/2.gif" alt="Example 2" width="432" height="286" /> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1522/SILVERB2.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) The melody note at this point moves way up to the B note found on the seventh fret of the high E (first) string, so that means we’re not going to find an open position chord that allows us to easily reach that note. So we’ve got to make an adjustment. Fortunately, the accompanying chord with this part of the [...] Here is another chord melody arrangement of a Christmas classic that most beginners should be able to get a handle on fairly quickly. As a bonus, it's arranged so that you can play it either finger style or with a pick. The First Noel http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/the-first-noel/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/the-first-noel/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:04:13 +0000 Peter Simms http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1497 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/the-first-noel/feed/ 0 Well the Holiday Season is upon us. I now have quite a few students who play finger-style, and some who use a guitar pick. So, I decide to write an easy arrangement that either one can play. It’s a short little arrangement of “The First Noel.” <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1497/the_first_noel.pdf">Download pdf </a>(Right-click and “Save as”) If you master this quick, you could add more and build upon it. Each one of the chords is played as a chord with the melody note being the highest pitch. Whenever you play a chord, the highest pitch is the most distinct. So keep this in mind when you start to try and put melody and chords together. The D6 and F#m chords should have an independent finger per string. The Bm7, Bm, Gmaj7, Dmaj7, D (except for the ending chord), and A7 chords require a barred finger somewhere. This is more of a Christmas Song Arrangement present for you guys other than an actual lesson. Please take a listen to the audio that is available here: <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1497/the_first_noel.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) I do have a quick video that matches the audio. E-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com and ask for it. I will be happy to send it to you. If have questions about this song, please e-mail me and ask. I would also be happy to help you. Enjoy! Not so much a lesson as a nice chord melody arrangement of this beautiful Christmas song, courtesy of Peter. Never too early to get started on your holiday material. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) – Simon and Garfunkel – Songs for Intermediates # 24 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/feelin-groovy/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/feelin-groovy/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:23:24 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1465 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/feelin-groovy/feed/ 0 Okay, one more lesson featuring a descending walking bass line! Oh, and we’ll throw in some Travis picking and pinching), too, so we can keep those skills practiced with some regularity. And how about we also look at the whole idea of picking and chord voicings in general? Sound like fun? One additional short note of introduction: while we’ve labeled this lesson a “Song for Intermediates,” it is certainly within the capabilities of a beginner who’s not shy of a bit of practice. Or of learning a few things! I think that covers it, so let’s get tripping down the cobblestones, if you will… These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. Today’s lesson is The 59th Street Bridge Song, a Paul Simon piece from back in the days of Simon and Garfunkel, probably better know to the general populace as Feelin’ Groovy. The song itself is a repeated pattern of three chords, although I’m sure we can, if you’re so inclined, spend some time arguing that there are four chords. Be that as it may, once you get a handle on it, you’ll find it actually easy and quite fun to play. We’re going to make a quick study of the structure, get the basic picking pattern in hand (and fingers) that will allow us to perform a ‘no-frills” version (which is, again, relatively easy even for beginners to play) and then add a few touches to make things a bit more interesting. And I have to apologize in advance. When I first started preparing this lesson, I really got caught up in the “adding a few touches” stage, so much so that this lesson initially ended up being all over the place! So I’ve pared it down (quite) a bit to make things more manageable. Sorry for both my indulgence and the delay it caused in getting this lesson to you. Let’s also take a moment to go over things we go over all the time. First, this lesson is, as are all the Guitar Noise song lessons, an arrangement of this particular song. It’s not a transcription from the actual recording. If anything, it’s taken from numerous recordings of song, from the original studio recording (off the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album) to the various live versions from albums like Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits and Concert in Central Park. And there are a few touches of my own that have developed from playing this song for a long time. Second, not having a recording lying around the house at the time I’m writing this (all my Simon and Garfunkel CDs currently in the hands of students), you’ll have to rely on my memory a bit in terms of things like the key of the song. If I remember correctly, the original studio version is in Bb. So we’ll get out our trusty capos, put them on the third fret and play like we’re in the key of G. To make our lives easier, I’m going to write out all the notation and guitar tablature as if we’re playing the song in the key of G. But all the MP3 sound files will be played with a capo on the third fret. So, any of you who don’t read this paragraph and write me to say the MP3 files don’t match the tablature examples will end up reading this paragraph at some point as I’m very likely to copy it out of the text and email it back to you. So let’s pretend you did read it the first time and simply forgot, okay? <h3>The Bass Line</h3> At the heart of Feelin’ Groovy is, big surprise coming here, a simple descending walking bass line, running from C down the G major scale to G. <img src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1465/1.gif" alt="Example 1" [...] We're going to combine a very simple walking bass with some of our Travis picking (and "pinching") and create a light, lilting arrangement of this Simon and Garfunkel song. Even beginners can tag along as we'll be using chord [...] Play a Jazz Chord Melody using a Guitar Pick http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/jazz-chord-melody-with-a-pick/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/jazz-chord-melody-with-a-pick/#comments Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:11:05 +0000 Peter Simms http://www.guitarnoise.com/?p=1232 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/jazz-chord-melody-with-a-pick/feed/ 0 This an intermediate level lesson for those of you who use only a guitar pick and would rather not work on finger-style playing, but would still like to play a complete song arrangement on your instrument. These arrangements are also known as chord melodies. You can still create wonderful chord melodies with just a pick. The idea is to add chords to the melody of a song. Jazz guys love to use this term instead of solo guitar playing (which the classical guys like to call it). Either way, the concept is similar and sometimes exactly the same. I’m presenting to you the classic jazz standard Autumn Leaves to demonstrate this technique. I’m assuming that you know what repeat signs and 1st and 2nd ending signs are. If not, please check out Tom Serb’s lesson on these at: <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/standard-notation-part-2/">Standard Notation – Part 2</a>. There are 3 documents and 2 audio samples to this lesson: #1 Lead Sheet (this is just the melody with chord symbols to indicate the harmony to be used with the melody) <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1232/autumn_leaves_lead_sheet.jpg">Download jpg</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) #2 Chord Diagram (these are the fingerings for the chords that I decided to use with the melody) <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1232/autumn-leaves-chord-chart.jpg">Download jpg</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) #3 Chord Melody (this is the arrangement I came up with in order to be able to use just a guitar pick) <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/1232/autumn_leaves_arrangement.jpg">Download jpg</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) #4 Audio Sample – 1 (the chord melody played slowly by me) <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1232/autumn_leaves.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) #5 Audio Sample – 2 (the chord melody played with embellishments by me) <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/1232/autumn_leaves-w-improve.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) * you can e-mail me and ask for the videos to both audio samples (these audio samples were taken directly from the videos). My initial approach is simple. I first learn the melody, I look for chords that can be used to play with the melody, and I make adjustments to those areas that don’t fit easily. Always remember to “think out of the box” when you hit these areas; they always come up. If you don’t panic, try to think of alternative ways to solve the problem, and remember there are times when “just the melody” works, you will get through 99% of you songs. Whatever you try, don’t worry about rules! The only thing you need to know is “if it sounds good – keep it and if it sounds bad – change it”. Your “To Do” List: <ul> <li>Learn the melody I presented.</li> <li>Take a look at the chord chart. There are countless chord fingerings. I recommend that you learn how chords are constructed. Eventually it is not that difficult to create and manipulate chord fingerings. It’s by far the best path to creating these nice little arrangements.</li> <li>Try playing the arrangement – listen to audio sample -1 on this [...] This an intermediate level lesson for those of you who use only a guitar pick and would rather not work on finger-style playing, but would still like to play a complete song arrangement on your instrument. So here is the classic jazz standard, [...] Guitar Noise Podcast #14 – Putting Things To Practical Use http://www.guitarnoise.com/podcast/podcast-putting-things-to-practical-use/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/podcast/podcast-putting-things-to-practical-use/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:30:21 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/blog/?p=123 http://www.guitarnoise.com/podcast/podcast-putting-things-to-practical-use/feed/ 6 Hello to all! For our fourteenth Guitar Noise Podcast, let’s take stock of the many things we’ve learned so far and, over the course of the next number of GN Podcasts, put them to use in song. After all, that’s why we’re practicing, right? For starters, we’ll use the traditional tune, “Handsome Molly” (also known to many as “I Wish I Was in London”), which has a nice, simple chord progression of G, D and C. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-124" title="handsome-molly" src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/handsome-molly.gif" alt="Hanndsome Molly" /> <div> We’ll start out very basic and then add some embellishments and bass lines taken directly from our previous podcasts. Hopefully, you’ll soon build up a bit of confidence and start in adding your own touches before we’re through! As always, I’ll be walking you step by step through the lesson. And, as always, please let us know what you think.</div> <div>Peace</div> <div> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/podcasts/guitarnoise-podcast-14.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”)</div> Hello to all! For our fourteenth Guitar Noise Podcast, let’s take stock of the many things we’ve learned so far and, over the course of the next number of GN Podcasts, put them to use in song. After all, that’s why we’re practicing, right? [...] Waterfalls – A Sweet Little Finger-style Song http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/waterfalls/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/waterfalls/#comments Mon, 16 Jun 2008 02:14:08 +0000 Peter Simms http://www.guitarnoise.com/delta/?p=1074 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/waterfalls/feed/ 0 Hello Gutrar Noise Friends! I bet you thought I fell off the planet! Nope… I accidentally let my Domain Name www.petersimms.com expire and someone purchased it before I could buy it back. Thus, this person or corporation is using my name and IT’S NOT ME. Please be aware! At this point you can e-mail me at petersimms.guitarman@gmail.com Enough said, let’s play! I wrote a somewhat easy finger-style song for you this time. You will need to lower your 6th string to a “D”. This is called Drop D Tuning. Thus, the Bass strings are D(6)-A(5)-D(4). This makes it easy to create a nifty bass line for the chord “D” without fingering any strings. They can ring together while you’re playing on the treble strings 1-2-3. This song takes full advantage of this opportunity. Be sure to pluck the bass strings with only your thumb. It will sound better. <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/images/articles/640/Waterfalls.pdf">Download pdf </a> (Right-click and “Save as”) <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.us/onstage/audio/640/Waterfalls.mp3">Download mp3</a> (Right-click and “Save as”) Before trying this one, take a listen to the MP3 link on this page. Remember to “right click” on it and use the “save target as” selection. This way you can download the MP3 to your computer and read it while you look at the lesson online. Most of the finger-picking in Waterfalls is done with your thumb, index, and middle finger. There is a point where you will probably use your ring finger. This is at the end of each of the first three measures on the second line of the song. I’m assuming you know what repeat signs are (the fat/skinny lines with the two dots). If not, be sure to repeat the sections that are between them. When you listen to the MP3 while looking at the music, you will know what I mean. I think that about covers it. You will need to give it a try! If you would like a Quicktime Video of me playing this song, e-mail me and just ask! I’ll e-mail one your way. Have Fun! Guitar Noise welcomes the long-awaited return of Peter Simms to our pages! Peter's been very busy with performing and teaching this past year but wanted us to know he's still thinking of the Guitar Noise readers. So much, in fact, that he [...] Help! – The Beatles – Easy Songs for Beginners #35 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/help/ http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/help/#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:08:56 +0000 David Hodge http://www.guitarnoise.com/delta/?p=932 http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/help/feed/ 0 At some point in your guitar life, and pardon the pun, you’re going to have to come to grips with barre chords. If you play acoustic guitar, the thought of barre chords can scare you silly. But they, pretty much like everything concerning the guitar (and music), are just another skill that you’ll develop with time. Like anything, the more you practice them, the more confidence you’ll have. <div id="liner-notes"> <h4>Liner Notes</h4> <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/artist/beatles/"><img style="border:1px solid #000;margin-bottom:12px;" src="http://www.guitarnoise.com/wp-content/themes/hanoi/images/beatles-sm.jpg" alt="The Beatles" width="250" height="170" /></a> It’s very easy to forget that we’re talking thirteen albums, more than half of which were recording in the span of four years. Let’s put the spotlight on The Beatles, as well as on all the various Beatles song lessons available here at Guitar Noise. <h5><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/blackbird/">Blackbird</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/yesterday/">Yesterday</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/julia/">Julia</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/nowhere-man/">Nowhere Man</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/eleanor-rigby/">Eleanor Rigby</a></h5> For a complete list of lessons and articles check out our <a href="http://www.guitarnoise.com/artist/beatles/">Beatles</a> artist page. For more on this song visit <a rel="external" href="http://www.fretbase.com/songs/682-help">Fretbase</a>.</div> I have to admit, though, I personally tend to avoid barre chords for the most part. My first guitar was a twelve-string and I have smallish hands, so I learned a lot of ways of getting around these somewhat dreaded chords. My fear of barre chords is probably one of the major reasons that I know so many different chord voicings and chord substitutions that I do. Not to mention giving me a lot of practice with capoing and transposing in my head! So let’s take a song that uses a few barre chords, maybe two, three tops, and work out a lesson. And, to give you a sporting chance, we’ll use a song where you can cheat around the barre chords while you’re learning them. After all, we want to play, right? These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research. This lesson’s song in question is Help! by the Beatles. In addition to working with barre chords, we’ll also take our usual look at the nuances of single guitar arrangements, as well as learning a nifty little guitar riff. And, just to be a total pain, how about a walking bass line, albeit a very tiny one? Oh yes, we might also learn a thing or two about music and music theory and how it all pertains to the guitar. Some habits die hard, I guess. Anyway, let’s get started, shall we? <h3>Verses, Chords and Strumming (in some order)</h3> Help! is structured in the following manner: it begins with an introduction and then goes into the first verse, followed by the chorus. The chorus, as we’ll see, is simply a variation of the introduction. After the first verse and chorus comes the second verse (with chorus) and then a repetition of the first verse (again, with chorus). Finally, there is a short outro to end the song. The key of [...] Just when you thought we were done with walking bass lines, along comes another song where they play an important musical role! Plus, we’ll take a look at getting started on barre chords (and also look at making substitutions for them to cut us [...]