The Guitarist Blog

Here is the main melody to the song "Pipeline" arranged for two acoustic guitars. Guitar One is playing the melody.  The melody comes in after guitar two plays the main riff four times. Guitar Two is playing the main riff to the song.

Here is a very simple version to the folk song "Scarborough Fair."   Guitar One is playing the melody.  Most of the notes are played at the first three frets.  Use finger one, two and three on frets one, two and three respectively.  Use the third finger on the notes played at the fifth fret as well.  Just slide between the third and fifth frets with your third finger. Guitar Two is strumming the chords.  The chords used for the accompaniment are Am, Em, D and G. the strumming pattern goes like this - Bass - Strum - Strum.  The Bass note is the lowest note for each chord.

Here is a simple duet version to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."  Guitar one is playing the main melody.  It is only using the notes on the first two strings.  In fact, the only notes are C, D, E, F and G.  Notice how the first finger plays the notes on the first fret and the third finger plays the notes on the third fret. Guitar two is playing the harmony part.  It is a little more involved.  It starts by playing notes very close to the melody and then moves to playing a bass line on the second half of the song. Have a friend play along!

Here is an acoustic version of the solo to Tom Petty's "Breakdown." The first two measures of the solo repeats the main riff to the song.  You will hear this intro, here in the solo, and again at the end of song as the song fades. The riff is followed by two guitar licks.  The first lick is played in the A minor pentatonic scale at the fifth fret.  I am playing a quick slide from fret 7 to 8, and then back to fret 8 instead of playing a bend like you hear in the Tom Petty recording.  The slide is a little easier than bending on the acoustic. The final climactic lick is played starting with a slide from fret three to five.  I am playing double stops (two strings at a time).  The rhythm is all triplets.  This lick ends with a few slides along the second string alternating with the open first string.

Here is an acoustic cover of the main parts to "Socha Hai"  from the Bollywood Movie 'Rock On!" This song is played on electric guitar, but I decided to play the parts on an acoustic.  The chord progression is D - G - Bm - A.  I am playing simple two string power chords.   The progression is the same throughout the video. For the lead parts, I am first playing the opening riff, then going to the main intro melody (which comes back at the end of the guitar solo), and then I am playing the guitar solo. At the beginning of the video I forgot to put the song title.  Oh well, you know what song it is!

Here is a finger style solo of "Michelle" by The Beatles.  It is a classical style solo, which means I am basically playing all the bass notes with my thumb and string one with my ring finger, string two with the middle, and string three with the index.  There are a few exceptions.  On the intro I like to play the note that is moving on the third string with my thumb, and the other two strings with my index and middle.  Hope you enjoy working on this one! Feel free to post your questions or comments.

At the beginning of Aye Mere Humsafa there is a short guitar solo, just before the verse.  It is played in the key of G minor over the chords Gm, F, Eb, D7.  Better yet, put a capo on if you're strumming the chords and strum Em, D, C and B7.  Hope that makes it a little easier. I do not have a capo on as I play this solo, slowly.  It is in the 10th position, meaning I play the 10th fret with my 1st finger, the 11th fret with my 2nd, the 12th fret with my 3rd finger, got it?  Notice the quick slide from fret 8 to 10 on the first string to start the solo off.  The solo ends with a Gm triad.  Give it a quick strum and slide it down the neck.  I am using alternate picking on some of the fast notes.

Here's another Bollywood student request, this beautiful song Soch Na Sake.  I have three separate videos highlighting the intro, strumming pattern and the mandolin solo.  In all the videos I have the capo at the second fret.  The song is in the key of A, but I am playing it like it is in the key of G (Capo 2nd fret).  The opening chords are G, Em, C add9, G. INTRO Notice the hammer-on from the first to second note.  Play the first note and then hammer your next finger onto the next fret.  The intro is made up of mostly sixteenth notes, you might want to alternate pick (down and up) through the notes so that you can eventually play this up to speed. STRUMMING PATTERN The basic strumming pattern to this song is D - U - U - D - U.  This is a good "campfire" strum for the entire song.  There is a second guitar/mandolin part that is played along with the chords.  I thought I would try to put both parts together.  It make the chor...

Here is a beautiful Spanish-Style Classical piece that is not too difficult.  It is made up of three parts, so I would work on the individual parts before playing through the entire piece.  It is, or course, played in the classical style, so be aware of the melody and bring it out.  Also alternate your fingers when playing parts that are more scale like (alternating i and m will do most of the time).  If you have any questions, just post them in the comments and I'll post my answers.

Here's the intro to "Nobody Knows" by The Lumineers.  Here are few tips that might help you learn this great intro. You can't see it in the video, but I have my capo at the 2nd fret. I start with a slide on the third string, second fret, with my second finger. Slide to the fourth fret. I am using my thumb on strings 3, 4, 5 and 6.  My index is playing strings 1 and 2. Happy to answer any questions, just post your comments and questions. 

The intro to Save Me San Francisco is sort of a shuffle groove with an old time rock-n-roll feel.  Here are a few playing tips. Start with a D chord, and strum D to Dsus to D back to Dsus.  You can play this with all downstrokes, but it doesn't really matter. The next chord is the power chord version of a G.  First finger string 6 on the third fret.  Third finger string five on the fifth fret.  Get ready to stretch, though.  You will need to reach your pinky over to fret seven of string five.  I play with only down strokes. Next chord is an A power chord.  Fifth string is open and first finger on fourth string second fret.  Continue with the shuffle groove by reaching to fret four on the fourth string.  I use my third finger Finish up by returning to the D and Dsus chords. Strumming Pattern I like to use a basic "campfire" style strum for the rest of the song.  My pattern goes like this: D     ...