Happy Birthday

Over the years I have played HAPPY BIRTHDAY in all kinds of styles and whatever key was needed at the time. I always had a hankering to work it out finger style with a walking bass line. So here it is! It’s one time through so very short- 10 measures in all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY is usually in 3/4 but I like it in 4/4. I just think it swings a little better. I feel this is certainly a good one to get under your belt. It can certainly be useful on the special days of our loved ones.

So below you will find the link to the PDF of the notation and tab as well as the YouTube video.

Happy Birthday finger style PDF

Open String Licks – Key of C

Using open strings combined with fretted notes is a “guitar move” often associated with Telecasters and country guitar. It’s also a staple of classical guitar. “Leyenda” comes to mind with that statement. This isn’t about playing open strings while in open or first position but while fretting notes in higher positions.

These are meant to be played fingerstyle or using pick and fingers. I imagine you could use a cross picking technique if you just use a flat pick. Tough though! There are 4 phrases worked out here. They can be used over any C major chord (maj7, maj9, 6th, etc.) or G dominant chord (G7,9,11,13) that resolve to C. The suggested left and right hand fingering is also indicated.

Below is link to the notation/tab PDF. Check out the video below for further explanation and to give it a listen, if you like.

Open String Lick PDF

Bridge Over Troubled Water Intro

I did a fingerstyle guitar arrangement of the piano intro to “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. The original is in Eb. I used a dropped D tuning (low E tuned a whole step down) and arranged it in D. If you want to do the record key just put a capo on the first fret and play everything up one fret.

This is basically a just a chord melody. Depending on how long you’ve been playing, some of the chord shapes along with melody notes may or may not be challenging to you. Squeezing piano parts out of the guitar is a great way to expand your musical thinking and fretboard vocabulary. As always, take your time and follow notion/tab closely. Click below for downloadable PDF. Scroll down for video.

Bridge Over Troubled Water Intro

Simple Acoustic Blues #4 Bass and Melody – 2 against 1

In this 12 bar blues there is an eighth note lead/melody line against a steady quarter note bass line. It also has a traditional blues intro/turnaround and some walking bass lines. As always, play slow at first until you are comfortable with the individual bass and melody line. Then you can gradually pick up speed. PDF link and video below.

Blues #4 PDF

Simple Acoustic Blues Solo #3 Bass and Melody

This 12 bar blues solo will have a very basic separate bass and melody line. It’s just a straight quarter note bass line (sometimes referred to as “dead thumb”) with a two note, repetitious, quarter note lead line. The purpose of this solo is to get a feel for for playing independent lines with thumb and fingers. This might be too easy for some folks and challenging for others. Download the PDF below and follow the notation and/or tab slowly. Check out the video for a little extra insight.

Acoustic Blues Solo #3

Passive tone controls

Unless your guitar uses batteries you have ‘passive’ tone controls.

These will be found on your basic tele, strats, Les Pauls, etc. This means that when the tone knob is on 10 it’s not boosting or adding anything. When the knob is turned down the treble frequencies are subtracted or cut.

Many players leave their tone on 10 and that’s it. I almost always find myself working the tone controls to get that desired sound. I use a tele and that is a guitar with an extremely bright sound. Cutting back on the tone mellows it out enough for playing jazz or finger style arrangements.

Whatever guitar or style of music you are playing, learn to work your tone knob. Turning it down different degrees can give you more variety in your sound.