by Mike Lindyn
www.GuitarKnowledgenet.com ©2004
This lesson is designed for those of you that are a bit more advanced or at least can read sheet music. But if you can't read sheet music don't run off just yet because there is still something to be learned through this lesson.
Today we will be looking at a piece by one of our century's top composers.... me. Just kidding, but really this is a piece I created that is not that hard but it does use some interesting chord forms. What less advanced players can learn from this example is how it was created. You see, this piece of music was written as an attempt to use theories I learned in a four-voice harmony class and create a song with them. I know I broke a lot of the rules but that didn't really matter to me, it's the attempt and process that mattered. You should also try and write songs from any new musical or theoretical idea you learn. This will help you learn the idea or theory better and faster and will increase the amount of song you have too.
This piece is also a great
exercise for both finger and flat-picking. You will find example of both
methods below. The picked example is slower and may help you learn the
song better the plucked example is more like what the piece should sound
like. Niether of these audio examples are perfect (I just can't spend
the time to record two perfect versions) and the recording isn't that
great (its hard for me to record acoustic guitars right now). And besides,
I only put the audio examples up so you know what the piece should sound
like anyway. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when you try
and play this.
1) If you use a pick
with this song make sure you use alternate picking throughout the piece.
2) If you are using your fingers to pick this out use Pattern A for most of the song, for any sections that this pattern does not work for (there will be two) use the standard finger picking form shown in Pattern B.
3) No matter how you
play the piece (pick / no pick) try and make it smooth and in time. Some
of the chord changes might be a bit tough (Minor add 9s and Major add
9s) but you can get through it.
Maybe TAB for
this lesson at a later date.
T = Thumb
I = Index Finger
M = Middle Finger
R = Ring Finger
Pattern A Pattern B E --------------------|---------------------R-----|
B ------------R-------|-----------------M---------|
G ----------M---------|-------------I-------------| D -------I------------|---------T-----------------|
A ----T---------------|-----T---------------------|
E --------------------|--T------------------------|
Picked Example (996Kb) Fingerstyle Example (786Kb)
You can also use the lesson as a background track in the key of G Major in pratice soloing over.
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