The Guitarist Blog

Here is a great finger style Bollywood song.  Keep the following in mind as you practice this song: 1.  Place a capo on fret two. 2.  The intro and first four measures of the verse are on a D chord.  Notice that there is a hammer-on and pull-off on the first string.  Pluck the first string open, then hammer your second finger on the second fret followed by a pull-off.   You will also want to make sure that your third finger is not interfering with the first string, keep it out of the way. 3.  I am playing all the bass notes (strings 4, 5 and 6) with my thumb.  String one is played with the ring finger (a), string two with the middle finger (m), and string three with the index finger (i). 4.  Listen closely to the rhythm, it swings! Feel free to post questions or comments.

This song is from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean."  Below is a video of just the main theme.  I am playing it slowly so that you can pick up on the rhythm and perhaps you will play along.  I am playing the melody in the fifth position.  This means, my first finger is at the fifth fret, second at the sixth fret, and so on.

I really love this classical guitar piece by Napoleon Coste.  A barcarolle is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers.  Enjoy!

This piece is found in the additional music section in the guitar method book, "I've Always Wanted To Play Guitar." This first line is the intro. Lines 2, 3 and 4 make up what is called a 12 bar blues (12 measure blues).  This section would normally be repeated throughout an entire blues song. At the end of the video there is a variation to the intro.  This will be given as a handout in class.

The intro to this song is so cool!  Be sure to tune your sixth string down to D.  The opening riff starts with a slide down from the 12th fret.  From there it's some pretty fast sixteenth notes.

Here are a couple of videos demonstarting various parts to the popular Bollywood song Jeena Jeena. First up, the intro.  My strumming pattern goes down - up - hit - down - hit.  The hits are down strums on beats two and four.  Notice the chord change after the first hit. I liked the flute solo so much that I thought I would arrange it for the guitar.  I hope I'm playing it slow enough for everyone to follow along. Finally, the guitar solo.  Short and sweet!

Here is what I hope will be a fairly simple exercise that you can play, finger style.  The melody is in the bass and should be played with the thumb.  Follow the thumb with index, middle and ring fingers playing strings three, two and one respectively.  Be sure to emphasize the melody!

I have been recommending to all my students to read the book "First, Learn To Practice." As a teacher and student myself, I often find that when I have difficulty learning a passage in a song it boils down to how I have been practicing.  If I  practice correctly, I can learn to play just about anything.  I have found this book to be a simple read, and a motivation to practice my guitar.  I hope you benefit from reading this book as well.

I love New Year Resolutions!  However, I would rather think of them as goals.  I have been encouraging all my students to set musical goals for 2016.  Here is what I received from one of my students.  Thanks for sharing, Gilbert! My Guitar Resolutions Gilbert 14 January 2016 1. Dedicate more time and effort into guitar practice. Practice     more systematically and with more focus. 2. Complete “A Modern Guitar Method for Guitar” Volume #1 by     the end of 2016 and be able to play everything at any time. 3. Incorporate classical guitar technique into my acoustic guitar     work. Get more comfortable with my nylon string and     Telecaster. 4. Master chord changing and rhythm guitar as well as learning     new chords. 5. Lay a strong foundation in music theory and progressions for     playing jazz and writing songs. 6. Learn new Music; jazz standards, Latin jazz, blues songs, ...