July 26, 2024

Getting back into lesson production this week, a song was brought to my attention by a student recently that was very interesting: Neil Diamond’s reworking of I’m A Believer. This appeared on his 2010 album Dreams, along with great covers of some of his favorite songs, and had more of a soulful ballad approach than The Monkees’ original, and even his early recording. The progression and melody were quite different as well, he essentially rewrote the music just keeping the lyrics. The lesson goes into how to mix and match arpeggio patterns and let it be a bit different and random every time. Of course there are some passing bass notes and fills that should be learned specifically.

Another project I have been working on is listing some of the songs I consider essential learning for every guitar player. In today’s update I list 10 songs that use a flatpick, and range from beginning easy strumming (Lucky Man) to advanced workouts (From The Beginning). It is just a coincidence that the easiest and most difficult come at the hands of Greg Lake.

Next week I will go into something similar for fingerpicking songs and will start a thread on the TG Forum with expanded recommendations soon.

Neil

Songs referenced:

Lucky Man
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Teach Your Children
Mr. Bojangles
My My Hey Hey
Norwegian Wood
Don’t Fear The Reaper
I’d Love To Change The World
Over The Hills And Far Away
From The Beginning