Solo Guitar - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1295010

By Duke Ellington. By Albany Bigard, Duke Ellington, and Irving Mills. Arranged by Christopher J. Malin. 20th Century,Jazz,R & B,Soul,Standards. Individual part. 1 pages. Christopher J. Malin #885330. Published by Christopher J. Malin (A0.1295010).

Solo jazz guitar chord/melody arrangement with tablature. Seldom heard standard in this style. Beautiful, instantly recognizable melody. One of the Duke's           finer pieces. This piece makes you stand out as a solo jazz guitarist of all idioms. Some chords are played as triads or dyads. I tend to use a minimalist style that keeps the important parts of the music. This piece needs to be swung hard. It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing! Very danceable piece. Legend has it that Ellington's orchestra would play this rhythm as long as the floor was filled with dancers! Another tried and true arrangement. Have fun with it! Sounds great on acoustic and electric guitars.

Solo Guitar - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.940533

Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Arranged by Nick Clow. Concert,Instructional,Spiritual,Standards,Wedding. Individual part. 2 pages. Nick Clow #3379965. Published by Nick Clow (A0.940533).

This famous piece is something of a crowd pleaser. It is often indicated to be an intermediate piece, but some versions are a little awkward for a piece at this level.

This arrangement pays attention to left hand fingerings in order to smooth out some clunky sections. Bass notes are done away with in certain sections (with no loss to the musicality of the piece) to make it easier and more consistent. Hopefully this piece flows a little better than some others.

The piece is set out tidily and logically on one page with one set of repeat bar lines. More fingerings are indicated than strictly necessary.

The main tip for playing this piece relates to the unusual 9/8 tempo. Don't let it run away with you - play it solidly with a slowish pulse. That is the biggest challenge of this piece.

Solo Guitar - Level 2 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1139670

Composed by Brian Streckfus. Instructional,Jazz,Singer/Songwriter. Individual part. 12 pages. Brian Streckfus #739941. Published by Brian Streckfus (A0.1139670).

This is a 12-page PDF showing 7 guitar chords on each page. Rather than selling each PDF seperately (which is a bit overpriced and too much of a hassle), I decided to combine them and offer a great deal! Learn how to compose chord progressions like a pro while having fun and playing!

Objective:
Teach yourself the seven chords that belong to each type of scale. Rather than bombard you with a thousand guitar chords (which is easy to happen when browsing the internet or playing random songs), I'd rather show how a select few chords are working well together in common contexts. The hope is that you would then be able to see this happening in all 12 keys. 

What Scales/Modes are being harmonized?

1. C Major (+jazz version)
2. A (natural) minor (+jazz version)
3. A harmonic minor (+jazz version)
4. B Locrian
5. D Dorian
6. E Phyrigian
7. F Lydian
8. G Mixolydian

Features:

• Slowly increases in physical and theoritcal difficulty at the same time.
• Many music theory books seem abstract and impractical whereas these chord charts show music theory applied to guitar.
• These chord progressions are a great composition aid.
• Guitar chord diagrams
• Traditional notation with letter names on the note heads
• Roman numerals color coded
• Modes included. The Beatles and jazz musicians use modal chord progressions to give their music uniqueness. It's almost as if one note is wrong intentionally. 
• Practicality and flow on guitar is emphasized more then music theory conciseness. Letter names are not in a perfect order (as that is sometimes impossible for the guitar to do). Sometimes a more complex chord is opted for because it's actually easier to play physically. 

Tips:

1. Order = Blue, Yellow, Red, Blue for stereotypical classical style chord progressions.
2. Rock and blues often do more of a chord succession; red going to yellow happens often, even though it is breaking a rule.
3. The professional names for blue, yellow, red: tonic, predominant, dominant respectively. I did not invent this theoretical concept, but I am probably one of the few musician's to color code the categories regularly. The colors explain the situation elegantly; the professional words seem like abstract PhD education, whereas saying blue is relaxing and red is uncomfortable is something a child can understand quickly.
4. One fantastic tip I hardly hear anyone say: it doesn't so much matter that you play the same chord as the other musician in your ensemble (unless you are getting paid to do exactly that). It matters more that you simply play the same color as them. You will have a deeper understanding of how music works if you think like this, and mistakes will no longer be seen as mistakes. What happens when a C Major and A minor chord are played at the same time? Hardly anything! It's just a Am7! Big whoop! It isn't a horrendous sounding mistake.
5. Circle a key on the circle of fifths. Now circle the two keys next to it (-1b, +1#). This leads to six chords that belong diatonically to the first key you circled!
6. Memorizing these will allow you to better predict what composers are about to do, especially if you know ahead of time that the song does not change key.
7. Get away from the echo chamber of common are arugably bad cowboy chords and be able to build your own.