April 16, 2021

One of the subjects that popped up this week, particularly in a chat with Vanessa, but also referred to on the Forum this week, is how hard it can sometimes be for us teachers to estimate how complicated a lesson will become. Over the last couple weeks I tried to not get carried away with over complicating things and that it is OK to keep things simpler sometimes. Vanessa’s recent Bruce Springsteen lesson and my couple on Unforgettable might be examples. I feel like I was able to counter that with things like Back Home Again and Slip Slidin’ Away, which I started a little solo version at the top of today’s video. There were a few other impromptu stabs at recent items, like You Ain’t Going Nowhere and a Kris Kristofferson tune under consideration. At the end I tackled some ancient works that are now back in progress, thanks to digging up my George Gershwin book. There may be solo arrangement of those in the near future (but remember my opening warning…).

I shared a bit (maybe a bit too much?) of upcoming family events, including that I prefer not to be addressed as Reverend Hogan just yet, but it will come in handy as I officiate my third wedding in a May. But back to the important stuff. Oh wait, back to the less important stuff I mean-

New stuff this week included My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen, Slip Slidin’ Away by Paul Simon, and Doug Young’s DADGAD arrangement of Still Crazy After All These Years. And next week we should see a new band for TG- Live, and a Rush classic.

Ah, and by the way, the Gershwin songs that are not polished up yet were Love Is Here To Stay and They Can’t Take That Away From Me.

See you next week,

Neil