The Guitarist Blog

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, ...

This is the acoustic solo to Fleetwood Mac's Landslide.  It is a Travis Picking style solo.  Be sure to alternate the bass notes with your thumb.  Have fun!

Here is the guitar solo from the Bollywood song Ilaya Nila Pozhigirathe.  I really enjoyed transcribing the solo!  First I will play the solo slowly, and then a little faster.  I hope this video will help you as you practice this solo.

Here is a question that came in from last nights class.  This answer, in a sense, summarizes what was presented in class. The question is, what chords are found in the C major scale (or really any scale, but let’s use C major)?  To do this, you can only build the chords from the notes of the C major scale.  Chords that use notes that are outside the scale (like G# for instance) would not fit,  because they are not part of the scale. So in C major, you would build your first chord starting on the note C, the second chord starting on the note D, the third chord starting on E, and continuing until you built a chord on every note of the c major scale. Every chord will need a root (the starting note), a third (which could be major or minor), and a fifth (which is usually a perfect fifth, but could be a flat 5).  Remember, when you build each chord, you have to use notes that come from C major.  So here is what you end up with: Chord number one: C Major ...

Here's a finger style arrangement of Day Dream by The Lovin' Spoonful  (or by the Loovin ' Spoonful, as I wrote in my video).  I am looking forward to sharing this song with my students. Coming soon to a class near you!

Here is a music theory question from Adrienne. Question: * In chromatic scales, is the pattern of interval names always the same?  For example in C the first half step from C is C# which is the minor second.  In A, would the first half step to Bb also be the minor second?  In B, would the first half step to C also be the minor second?  In C the 5th half step is the perfect fourth - In E would the 5th half step to A also be the perfect fourth? Answer: Yes.  However, remember that C sharp is also D flat.  So, a half step (minor second) above C is C sharp/ D flat (they are the same note).   Five half steps is a perfect fourth.  On the guitar, five frets (five half steps) higher from any note is the Perfect fourth.  Works  every time! Question: * Why is the minor second in C called C# without also listing Db, and the minor third called Eb without also listing D#?  I notice that F# and Gb are both listed, and there are two n...

Aaromale is an Indian film song.  Great tune!  Here's the intro.  The song alternates between two chords E5 and A5.  The chords are slightly palm muted and strummed with a sixteenth note feel.  Each chord is preceded with a short fill (guitar lick).  Have fun!