The Recreational Guitarist http://www.recreationalguitarist.com Learn guitar the easy way with instructional DVDs Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en New book by David Sinclair David Sinclair is one of Vancouver’s finest guitarists and has released a new book titled “Playing Guitar in Jazz Band”.  While David is best know for his years with Sarah McLachlan he is also renowned as an educator, writer and soloist. The book is published by Alfred Music Publishing and will be of great help to guitarists everywhere wanting to play in “Jazz Band”. Check it out!

]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/new-book-by-david-sinclair/ Bach Invention Johann Sebastian Bach

Dm Invention PDF

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

]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/bach-invention/ Spanish Melody Spanish Melody PDF

Dire Straits Courtesy of Paul Natkin

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 [...]]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/spanish-melody/ Manuscript Paper with Tablature and Chord Windows 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

]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/manuscript-paper-with-tablature-and-chord-windows/ Classic Rock Progression This example of a “classic” rock progression is taken from volume 2 of the “Recreational Guitarist” DVD set and sounds great.  It uses a 3 chord progression (A, C, & D) with the A played with one finger and the C and D using the standard 3 note power chord.  Start slowly and try to get all the notes sounding clearly without hitting any unwanted strings. – Michael

Classic Rock PDF

]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/classic-rock-progression/ The Sailor’s Hornpipe 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?  – [...]]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/the-sailors-hornpipe/ Hall of the Mountain King 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 [...]]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/hall-of-the-mountain-king/ New “Classic” Guitar Songs? 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 [...]]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/new-classic-guitar-songs/ Single String Study This is one of my favorite studies for right and left hand development.  For the right hand be sure to alternate your pick up and down, if you are a fingerstyle player alternate the thumb and first finger or any combination of the just the first, second or third fingers. For the left hand use only your first and fourth fingers (index and little finger).  I hope you enjoy this little study – Michael

Single String Study

]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/single-string-study/ How Much Practice is Enough? 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 [...]]]> http://www.recreationalguitarist.com/how-much-practice-is-enough/