Tag: solo guitar

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

Billy Joel’s Don’t Ask Me Why piano break

Don’t Ask Me Why is a tune I never paid that much attention to. A student requested this a while back just for the basic chords and the chordy intro. So while listening I could not help thinking how well the piano solo would work on the guitar. It uses a lot of double stops that are thirds. It also uses arpeggios and a chromatic run. So double stops, arpeggios and chromatics- all great learning takeaways.

Below is the link to the notation/tab PDF and the YouTube video.

Don’t Ask Me Why Piano Solo

Simple Acoustic Blues Solo #2

This is another acoustic blues post showing how to make some music when it’s just you and your guitar. This is a lot like the first one with some added concepts. The first one we followed the 12 bar blues progression, played a chord and answered with a riff. This is the same idea only instead of using only the E minor pentatonic scale I’ve made use of the chord tones for each chord. There is also a basic blues intro and the ending is a little fancier. PDF link and video below. Enjoy!

Solo Blues Guitar PDF