The Recreational Guitarist

Everyone should read “Guitar Zero”

May 14th, 2012

The other day I was at Indigo books looking over the usual assortment of monthly guitar magazines when on the way out a hardcover book caught my eye. It was called “Guitar Zero” by Gary Marcus and featured a Gibson Les Paul on the cover. After a few minutes of reading I was sold! The author wanted to learn to play guitar after the age of 40 but had failed rather miserably in earlier attempts. Fortunately for all of us his day job is that of an evolutionary psychologist at Harvard University and so he set out to answer some very interesting questions including “is there a critical window in which a person must learn or can anyone learn to make music at any age”. The book chronicles his progress on the guitar (the triumphs and tribulations) as well as showing us with great clarity how the brain learns music. I would recommend this book to any guitar player, would be player or music teacher.

Guitar Zero

Bach Invention

July 27th, 2011

MP3 and PDF Included

Johann Sebastian Bach

Dm Invention PDF

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Here is an excerpt from a Bach Invention arranged for guitar.  It begins in the 2nd position and then moves to the 5th position for the remainder of the piece. J.S.Bach is famous for his improvisations and they sound great on guitar. – Michael

Spanish Melody

July 26th, 2011

PDF and MP3 Included

Spanish Melody PDF

Dire Straits Courtesy of Paul Natkin

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Here is a beautiful melody based on a very common chord progression, D minor, C major, B flat and A seventh. This familiar set of chords is used in many styles of  music and is the chord pattern for Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing”, of course you need to speed it up and play with the rhythm! Take your time and try to let each note ring it’s full length. – Michael

Manuscript Paper with Tablature and Chord Windows

July 25th, 2011

PDF Included

Tablature and Chord Window Sheet PDF

If you are teaching guitar or learning how to write guitar arrangements there is nothing more useful than a good pencil and some well designed manuscript sheets.  Over the years I have created (through necessity) many different sheets using different combinations of standard notation, tablature staves and chord windows.  The one I am posting today is one of the most useful, let me know if you want more. – Michael

The Sailor’s Hornpipe

July 21st, 2011

Audio Example and PDF Included

The Sailor’s Hornpipe is most often remembered as the theme from Popeye the Sailor. It is fun to play as well as a little challenging. The first part is played in the first position and poses no real problem except for down and up picking for the eight notes.  The second part moves to the second position and is a little more challenging.  Let me know what you think. Do you pick up and down?  – Michael

Sailors Hornpipe PDF

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Hall of the Mountain King

July 20th, 2011

Audio Example and PDF Included

Edvard Grieg

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s masterpiece “The Peer Gynt Suite” is his most famous composition and contains the rather spooky “In the Hall of the Mountain King”.  This extremely recognizable melody has been used in countless movies, cartoons and TV shows and has been covered by high school bands and heavy metal groups alike.  For us recreational guitarists it offers a great way to practice up and down picking, palm muting and finger stretches.  The PDF sheet music is attached along with an audio example.  Be careful to pick up and down on the eighth notes (the notes joined by a beam) and to use the little finger for the fourth fret.  A slight palm mute works very well. Enjoy –  Michael

Hall of the Mountain King PDF

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New “Classic” Guitar Songs?

July 19th, 2011

David Grohl, beatcrave.com

Every week students still ask to learn great “classic” pieces like Sweet Home Alabama, Crazy Train, Stairway to Heaven and Purple Haze but those songs were written 30 and 40 years ago. So I ask you, who are the new “classic” guitarists and what are their signature tunes?  “Pretender” by the Foo Fighters is requested a lot and has a very nice opening riff  but that’s just one song.  So I am asking two questions 1) who is the best “new” guitarist (still writing and playing) and 2) which songs are destined to become “Classics” – Michael

How Much Practice is Enough?

July 17th, 2011

Everyone has a different idea of how long you should practice on a daily basis. Usually we are told that 30 minutes is good for beginners and 60 minutes is good for more advanced players but I think that any fixed time period misses the point. When I sit down to practice I start with a quick warmup consisting of a chromatic scale followed by some chord scales.  Once my mind is focused more on the music and less on the day’s events I begin to practice.  And whatever I am working on I practice until I am making more mistakes than when I started.  …

2 Octave C Major Scale

June 28th, 2011

Video Included

Here is a simple but important scale that you can practice for speed, ear training and technique.  The most important thing to watch for (after you learn the notes) is that when you move from the 2nd position to the 5th position you do so seamlessly so your audience cannot hear you change.  This takes a fair amount of practice and attention to the fingering.  I have not included a tab sheet to allow you to hone your musical ears and eyes! – Michael

Musician’s Joke

May 26th, 2011

A little boy  said to his  father “dad, when I grow up I want to be a musician”.His father quickly replied “son, you can’t do both” !