The Blues Guitar

  In this video I want to share with you a short bluesy version of the famous song Ode to Joy. Ode to Joy was originally written as a poem in 1785 by Friedrich Schiller. In 1824 the poem (or at least the majority of it) was put to music to create a song when it was married up to Beethoven's 4th Movement from his 9th Symphony. This created the song we know today. However, it is probably the music, rather than the lyrics, that people now recognise as it is one of the most famous and well known pieces of music there is. And the music (not the lyrics) has been adopted as the anthem of the European Union.  I have heard people derisively call some of Beethoven's music classical pop tunes, and although such criticism is largely unfounded, this piece could certainly fall within that category. It is a simple and striaghtforward piece using a chord sequence which is now commonly found in modern pop music. But this gives it is a light, joyous tone and makes it a catchy, acces

  In this video I want to play through a John Fahey instrumental piece called Calvert Street Blues. The only place I can find this piece of music is on the John Fahey album ' Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You' and it sounds more like a demo track. It is titled 'Dorothy / Calvert Street Blues [Brenda's Blues]' and there are two recordings of it on the album. I have just decided to title it Calvert Street Blues to make it easier. I can't find any similar piece of music with a similar title anywhere, so these two short demo recordings are all there is. Anyway, it is a nice short, catchy piece of music so I thought I would tab out a version of it and upload it.  The music is in the Key of C and is played on a guitar in Open C tuning. It is in 4/4 time and is a standard fingerstyle piece with a travis picking bass pattern. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. I Saw The Light Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   The

  In this video I want to have a look at the classic country gospel song I Saw The Light. This is a catchy, upbeat song and I have done my own fingerstyle guitar version of it. The song is quite basic with a repeating 8 bar structure throughout it. In the video I will play through the verse and the chorus sections, then have a look at the music structure and give some tips on playing it. Lastly, I will play through it again slower and put the tab on screen. The music is mostly in standard 4/4 time and is in the Key of D. It is played on a guitar in Open D Tuning and employs a travis picking pattern when playing. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. I Saw The Light Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   The 2/4 Bar - At the end of each of the eight bar sequences, whether that be the chorus or the verse, I have added a 2/4 bar in to bridge into the next section. Now, when I listen through the music, I could hear this 2/4 bar, but

  In this video I want to have a look at the blues song Queen Bee by Taj Mahal. This is a nice, mellow fingerstyle blues piece and comprises a 24 bar guitar section which is repeated through the song. In the video I will play through this 24 bar section, then have a look at the music structure and give some tips on playing it. Lastly, I will play through it again slower and put the tab on screen. The music is in standard 4/4 time and is in the Key of Bb. However, it is played in the G position but is taken up to Bb with a capo on fret 3 of the guitar. It employs a travis picking pattern when playing. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Queen Bee Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   Nailing the Slides - In the first eight bars of the music, there is a small slide played from fret 3 to 4 on the third string of the guitar. Although this may not seem too tricky, it can be problematic because you have to maintain the underlying ch

  In this video I want to look at the classic Robert Johnson song Stop Breakin' Down Blues. This is one of Johnson's best known songs and it has been covered by many famous artists such as The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and The White Stripes. It is a catchy 12 bar blues in the Key of G. It is played on a guitar in Open G Tuning and is in 4/4 time. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Stop Breakin' Down Blues Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   Palm Muting - In Johnson's original recording he makes extensive use of palm muting on the bass strings. In the version I have done, I use palm muting when playing lower based strings, but when the chords change so that the bass strings are higher up, on the 3rd or 4th string of the guitar, I stop using palm muting. The reason I don't use it is because very little sound is coming out of the guitar when I do this. in Johnson's original recording, it still sounds li

  This is my fingerstyle blues version of the classic Xmas song Blue Christmas. The song was made famous by Elvis Presley and eventhough it's title might suggest otherwise, it is not a piece of blues music but a piece of country music. In the video, I will play through the music, then have a look at the structure of the music. I will also give some playing tips on some of the trickier sections of music which might trip you up when playing. Lastly, I will play through the music slower and put the tab on screen. The music is in 4/4 time, it is in the Key of D and is played on a guitar in Dropped D tuning. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Blue Christmas Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   Early Chord Changes - To make this piece of music have more of a blues feel, I have taken some of the melody notes off the beat of the bar and played them early. Because of this, it is beneficial if you make the chord changes at these po