March 16, 2012

This week our Target members were treated to a wide range of guitar
lessons- slack key, rockabilly, Beatles, piano classics, and even a
little Tom Petty. We had Student Reviews on Blackbird and the solo
arrangement of Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine, as well as sitting in
on a live lesson going over Tom Petty’s Wildflowers.

Our slack key songs included a version of Grandfather’s Clock, as
inspired by Leonard Kwan, and a Fly On The Wall lesson with Sandy
working on Kimo’s Slack Key, a piece by legendary Hawaiian musician
Sonny Chillingworth.

Our other Target releases included Everyday by Buddy Holly and a solo
guitar arrangement of Colour My World by Chicago. The Colour My World
lesson is particularly interesting as there are a few different
approaches to playing it. One tries to exactly transcribe the original
piano part, making for something nearly impossible to play. The second
approach lowers the bass notes one octave, making it fairly easy to
play. The third, and best in my opinion, adds the original bass part
to create a very interesting and challenging arrangement. This is the
one I recommend working on to most student, although it is a bit more
difficult than the Octave Bass version.

We also brought out an interesting item for our members who like to
learn their songs from Artist Packs- a 10-Pack of Damien Rice tunes.
These packs are a great way to get a focused set of songs by a
favorite artist at a great price.

Next week- a few very special requests, unless I get sidetracked into
traditional Irish tunes.

Stay Tuned & In Touch,

Neil