Recado Bossa Nova is a jazz standard from the 60’s. Probably the most widely known performance of this composition is the one by Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan. Also, many other prominent artists like Roy Eldrige, Zoot Sims and Eydie Gorme shared their impression and gave a special mark to this son...
2022-08-06 13:30:20 +0000 UTC View PostIn this episode of the monthly bonus TABs, I want to start discovering and getting familiar with the chords that I most frequently use in my arrangements.
First we will get to know minor chords, more precisely minor, minor maj7, minor 7, minor 6 and minor 9. Literally every arrangement cont...
2022-07-30 05:02:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Grand ballad from Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" is yet another composition which needs no introduction.
It felt like this cover was a nice ground to make a blend of bossa nova and casual fingerstyle.
Enjoy ;)
2022-07-24 16:46:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Pretend You Don't See Her is a beautiful ¾ ballad, sang in 1961 by the legendary Jerry Vale accompanied by Percy Faith orchestra. Many years later, this recording appeared in Martin Scorsese’s movie Goodfellas (1990) where Jerry Vale’s character sings for the hotshots.
This composition...
2022-07-10 18:06:15 +0000 UTC View PostThis month’s bonus tab is another fingerstyle exercise. This is something that I often play when I practice and I think that you will enjoy the benefits of this exercise both in terms of technique and rhythm.
The whole material is in 6/8 and it is divided into two main exercises with two ...
2022-06-27 18:05:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is another beautiful jazz standard from the 30s. It has been recorded by many famous jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Carly Simon, Les, Brown, June Christy, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and even Rod Stewart!
It's a regular AABA jazz tune with the pro...
2022-06-20 17:07:50 +0000 UTC View Post
“I Put a Spell on You”, a composition written and recorded by Screamin ’Jay Hawkins, was a huge commercial success from the start.
It was listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s record...
2022-06-07 18:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostFor this month's bonus tab we have a composition "Django" composed by John Lewis and first recorded with his Modern Jazz Quartet in 1954. This composition was dedicated to the guitarist Django Reinhardt who died at that time. Miles Davis described "Django" as one of the best compositions ever. 2022-05-26 19:08:56 +0000 UTC View Post
This piece is a renowned jazz ballad from the 40’s. Lover Man is a composition originally written for Billie Holiday, who later recorded it, but many other musicians such as Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Barbra Streisand, Blossom Dearie, Yusef Lateef gave their contribution to i...
2022-05-22 20:05:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is an adaptation for fans of electric retro sound. Baby Elephant Walk by the legendary Henry Mancini is the composition that won him one of his 20 Grammy Awards! This cheerful song was composed in 1961 for the film Hatari.
The form of this composition is 12 bar blues in the key of F. T...
2022-05-05 18:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostFor the April edition of the bonus tabs, we have the famous Bach suite written for cello in G major.
This composition has been transcribed countless times for guitar and, as it turns out, the best key for guitar is D major. The most usual transcription is played in drop D tuning.
My p...
2022-04-25 19:53:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is a lovely classical piece composed by Edvard Grieg. It's called "Morning Mood" and this is the first movement of four of Edvard Grieg's larger composition Peer Gynt, Op. 23. which he composed for Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name.
The original context of this piece was intended to...
2022-04-15 18:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
This is another cover done by my friend and colleague Nikola. The popular Sting composition "Englishman in New York" needs no introduction. This simple arrangement in the key of B minor is done in a classical guitar style. Enjoy :)
2022-04-03 16:17:18 +0000 UTC View PostThe Brazilian tango is a rhythm variation which originated from the maxixe dance rhythm. It developed at the end of 19th century in Brazil about the same time the tango was developing in Argentina and Uruguay. Pianist Ernesto Nazareth composed many Brazilian tangos which creatively combine divers...
2022-03-26 13:40:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Miles Davis’s composition All Blues is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential pieces in jazz. It belongs to the modal type of songs.
A strong, simple bass line opens the song, the horns and the piano join in, slowly setting the scene for the theme played by Miles which immedia...
2022-03-22 18:51:24 +0000 UTC View Post
This Satriani masterpiece has always been one of my favorites. It contains some really beautiful arpeggiated chords in 3/4 time signature. I adapted Satriani's flat-picking style to a fingerstyle and streamlined the melodies as much as I could without losing the essence of this remarkable piece.<...
2022-03-06 21:02:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe goal of this exercise is to build endurance and strength in the left hand. Oftentimes when playing long sequences of bar chords that appear frequently in ones repertoire we experience fatigue - this exercise will help with that issue. I do suggest to rest your hand whenever you feel ten...
2022-02-27 13:48:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is another collaboration with my friend Pile on keys!
I have been exploring the music and style of T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters recently and I started tinkering with their simple yet powerful language on guitar. This inspired me to create a simple blues form and implement some lavish...
2022-02-20 16:07:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey guys, this post is a very, very special one for me because for the first time I'll be introducing some of my own work.
The inspiration for this project came to me when listening to Afro-Caribbean music on the radio. One particular calypso rhythm pattern stood out in my mind and I immed...
For all of you who like to play bossa nova style this monthly bonus song is going to be a real gem! Água de Beber is a bossa nova jazz standard composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim. It's in the key of A minor and involves some really beautiful chord changes!
This score is an easy fingerstyle ...
2022-01-26 17:28:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Here we have another great song, this time from the soul and R&B genre. September by Earth, Wind & Fire repeatedly topped the charts worldwide when it came out, and even now it has infinite covers, remixes, and mashups.
For this fingerstyle cover I remained pretty true to the origin...
2022-01-17 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey happy New Year to all!
The song "Some Day My Prince Will Come" was written by composer Frank Churchill and lyricist Larry Morey for Walt Disney's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This jazz standard is a favorite and has been recorded many, many times. On...
Hello, here is a quick reveal on my next installments:
For the next song cover we will have a guest guitarist from the YouTube channel Acoustica. Nikola is an excellent classical guitar player and his channel is mainly focused on covers that are a blend between classical guitar music and ot...
2021-12-26 17:24:55 +0000 UTC View PostSeason's Greetings!
Hi guys, for this month's bonus tab we have a really nice song from Charlie Chaplin's movie Modern Times (1936). The song "Smile" was composed by Chaplin himself as an instrumental accompaniment for the movie. Years later beautiful lyrics were added based on lines and th...
2021-12-26 17:08:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Cole Porter was one of the most prolific composers and song writers in jazz and theater music. He wrote many, many popular songs such as I love Paris, Begin the Beguine, All of You, Love for Sale, What Is This Thing Called Love?, I Get a Kick out of You, I've Got You Under My Skin, just to name a...
2021-12-17 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Toto's song Africa is so famous that it needs no introduction 🙂
In making this arrangement I stayed true to the original key of B major. The song is composed of three parts - intro, verse, and chorus.
The intro consists of two phrases: one in Amaj7 chord and the other in C#m7 c...
The subject matter of this exercise is odd time signature rhythm.
The inspiration for this post came from fiddling with Ebmaj7 flamenco chord which turned out to be a great foundation for this stimulating fingerstyle workout.
What makes this exercise so mind-bending is a double...
2021-11-27 10:36:28 +0000 UTC View Post
With the song "Ain't Misbehavin'" we continue with the thread of great jazz tunes from the past. This one was composed by Fats Waller, a jazz pianist who was an expert in ragtime and stride style. After the song came out it became so popular amongst musicians that pretty much all the big names ha...
2021-11-18 20:58:23 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a simple flat-picking guitar arrangement of the wonderful Venezuelan classic Caballo Viejo composed by Simon Diaz. Its popularity soon spread outside Latin America and it was performed by many artists: Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, Gipsy Kings, Ray Coniff, Roberto Torres and Plácido Doming...
2021-11-04 19:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone, here is an another sneak peak into some of the new material I am working on.
For the next installments I want to do some Latin music and then more jazz after that. The song I'm currently working on is the well-known Caballo Viejo. This beautiful Venezuelan fo...