Guitarists

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Study Work

Potato Head

Argh! This exercise is driving me mad. Sounds wow but it is very very hard. So I wrote it & cant play it......argh!

Potato Head technique is grabbing the neck with your right hand whilst tapping only with your left. This gives clarity as it mutes all unplayed strings & wow does it build some strength up. Use a high drive neck humbucker 0 tone & a bit of echo too for that dreamy tubular sound.

Brain Splint Carousel

Nasty hard tapping with fast arpeggios using plectrum. When you get it right, this is a pleasure pain piece. Enjoy.

Whammy bar ballad with super clean bridge pickup strat sound plus echo & reverb. Lots of expression here.

200bpm quaver triplets can be yours costing you only your finger tip skin until they tough up.

12 & 8 Bar Basics

A slash rhythm chart using intervals to explain the construction of the blues in all keys.

Get your scales positions sussed out by practicing these scales. Learn all the licks you will ever need once you can place your fretboard position for the right key. Amaze your friends with your musical dexterity.....oh look! Just suss your scales Ok ;-)

Play virtually any chord in three or more different places at will. Just add enharmonics.

Put your self into this piece because room has been left for you to do so. Work on it :) 

It is so important to understand this. Easily laid out for you to grasp fast.

Beginner Pieces

A brilliant piece developed from a students mistake.

Listen to your mistakes. They can be the start of amazing new music.

Very well done Kieran O. This piece is yours. 

A fine piece accidentally played by one one of my top students. I have ran with her idea & this is the result. All credit to Naomi for those first halting attempts at the D chord.

Da da da da da da da da da Batman

12 bar fun

A first piece. Tell this story to your families with your guitar music at Christmas & create a little Christmas magic yourself. Its all true you know!

A simple but very effective piece of blues with a lazy summers day feel to it. Look for the shapes here.

For the Spanish Guitarists

Spanish Pasacale or Walking music. A great foot stomper in 6/4. This is just the mapping of the piece. You must play it how you feel at the time using these ingredients.

Chord movement creativity. Easy music with a great sound.

KS2 Vocalisation, internalisation & scalic exploration of well known songs as rounds in simple C.

Named because they are used in Everything. Practice these daily to get your all your grade pieces tip top for the exam. They will also make you a better player more quickly.

More soon

Very early piece with a full rock ballad feel. Great fun to play in the classroom.

Taken from the Wider Opportunities Guitar syllabus & pepped up with some tasty 9ths for accompaniment. A class favourite.

Easy blues riff but totally authentic. Lyrics included.

Chords, plus the lead guitar scale.

Intermediate Pieces

By the great Peter Green & Fleetwood Mac. In my arrangement, play all 4 guitar parts & the bass line at the same time. See your teacher for the RH technique.

Bass & guitar duet with a feel good factor.

My cats as told by bass & guitar.

Guitarist fun with a James Bond Feel.

My egotistical take on what the new James Bond theme might be.....played on an acoustic guitar.

The rhythm guitar part. Print this off & play to Full Score in Band Pieces

Woke up this morning, style blues. Finger 3 or slide your choice. With simple bass accompaniment.

Of Kill Bill fame with Nancy Sinatra singing. Vocals & guitar part for duo performance. Pease perform this. 

Guitarists 12 bar blues with the third finger only. You can all do this & it is great fun & very authentic but the finger does get a bit sore. See your teacher on how to use the blues guitar slide or bottle with this piece & save on plasters ;-)

This is the same version available above. Learn these simple chords then allow some freestyle rhythm to come in. Add some cheek to that rhythm line & you will be playing what I have in mind. Enjoy!

Guitarists! Listen to the full score above, then print & practice this piece, open the bass score above & play to it to get the original bass & guitar duet feel while you play

More soon

Through Thick & Thin (Guitar Score & TAB)

Guitarists! Listen to the full score above, then print & practice this piece, open the bass score above & play to it to get the original bass & guitar duet feel while you play.

A typical Spanish classical piece that uses free stroke on  p, i & m repeatedly to create a really dark feel together with the standard Am & E chords. This is just an exert from what I can remember.

 A song of love to the Lady Green Sleeves. Here the love smitten singer has his answer from the lady. Enigmatically, not a yes, but not a no either.

Not written by Henry. C1580. E1 on throne. Italian style song.

Write some lyrics to this & make it into more than just a good ditty, like a song for instance. 

Advanced Pieces

Insanity with Bach & Overdrive. High speed shredding for those who like the Rock in Barock.

This is not yet complete as a piece but I promised it would be published tonight. All the parts are done but the piece format & the bass tab has not been finished. All else is correct. Guitarists, get that semi quaver triplet run if you can. Ha ha ha ;) I am still struggling & I wrote it! :(

Give some advice. Get told where to stick it. Take that as good advice. That's the story line behind this piece.

For students who have been shown in class, add yourself to this basic chart. Finish how you like just be expressive ;-)  

Analyse this all those who have had the lesson. Become a dribbling wretch all those who have not.  Explain the turn around & the final turn around motif. Understand & recreate in your own fashion. 

Quite jazz piece with sad overtones. Can see the party but cant join in sort of thing.

Spanish classical that I always seem to have known but haven't a clue where I got it from. This piece has been a real friend over the years. Sorry, cant TAB classical. See your teacher ;)

This lead guitar part is a devil of simplicity, genius, blistering speed & tonality.

Nuts shredding from the late 50's. Dick Dale & the Del Tones. A total classic you all know. Get shredding.