|
learn guitar
| play guitar | Beatles
|
Learn Guitar: Play Beatles Songs On Guitar
|
At some point of your guitar playing career, you will discover
The Beatles, in fact some players never recover from this
intoxicating musical experience.
It's hard to imagine the musical world without this famous group.
Whether you are an ardent Beatles fan or a working musician in a
cover's band it's important to able to authentically play some
tunes.
There has been hundreds of articles, books etc written about The
Beatles telling the reader "what" the Beatles did, I'm going to
approach The Beatles music from a different perspective and look
at "why" they did it.
By understanding "why" a particular group chose certain musical
resources the guitarist/musician moves from merely imitating a
sound to being able to create his or her own sound based on
proven time tested musical examples and formulas... and as we all
know The Beatles formula certainly works!
As most guitarists own an acoustic guitar the following tips are
offered primarily in mind, however these ideas can be applied to
electric guitar as well.
Tip 1. Blues progressions
Often guitarists underestimate the importance of learning
recognizing blues chord progressions by ear, in fact the term
'Blues' often conjures up images of smokey jazz clubs etc.,
something that the rock or pop guitarist may have no particular
interest in at present.
It's important to keep in mind how groups like the Beatles learnt
their craft. Countless hours of jamming with a good dose of blues
chord progressions resulting in songs such as:
Boys/ Chains/ Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Money (That's What I Want)
In addition to these blues based original compositions The
Beatles or individual members of The Beatles often recorded
cover versions of well known blues based tunes such as Kansas
City and Be Bop A Lula (By Paul McCartney -Unplugged Album).
Tip 2. Harmonized scale
The Beatles are a very interesting group to study because of
their mixture of blues styled songs blended with traditional
classical music principals.
Whereas the blues scale is one of the most unique and frequently
used scale in pop/ rock music because of it's flexibility and
feeling The Beatles were aware of the benefit of using
contrasting musical material that stem from European musical
culture i.e., the European diatonic scales.
Listen to the final set of chords in "Let It Be" and you will
hear a good example of how Paul McCartney harmonized scale in the
descending chord progression.
"Let It Be" is in the key of C Major which produces the following
chords: C major / D minor/ E minor/ F major/ G major/ A minor/ B
diminished
As example of how Paul applies the harmonized scale would be if
the basic chord progression is F major to C major, Paul would
often play: F major to E minor then D minor and finally arrive at
C major.
As you can see he simply played the two minor chords that exist
in between the F major chord and the C major.
Tip 3. Slash chords
This is a favorite of the Beatles, a slash chord is written in
the following manner: A/B
In this example the chord is represented by the first letter
whilst the second letter identifies the specific bass note the
composer wants to hear.
Therefore our chord would be an "A" major chord with a "B" note
in the bass.
Have a listen to "The Long And Winding Road" for a classic
example of this ambiguous sounding chord.
After the lyrics ... "The Long And Winding Road", you will hear
two chords, that's our slash chords.
There's a wealth of rich chord progressions and musical ideas in
the music of The Beatles waiting to be discovered by the
guitarist with an inquiring mind. Persistent, patient study will
reveal many new sounds that can be applied to all styles of
music.
|
Express
Guitar Home:
Learn
How to Play Guitar
Rave Reviews for Express Guitar:
| As
a student of Mike Hayes since 1999, I have found his teaching methods
and products to be first class. Whatever style or area of music I have
been interested in, he has provided me with useful information, advice
and study materials. His style of teaching and teaching products
enabled me to progress through his guitar course far quicker than I
ever imagined. He also helps in teaching yourself to find and develop
your own style of music. Mike’s teaching gives his
student’s the ability to become useful musicians, not just
guitarists.
Stephen J Reid
Guitarist & Musician
Australia
This
course teaches us how to learn, how to retain, and how to recall
information quickly. This entire program is built around "connected
learning" with key phrases, picture words ( yes there is such a thing )
and the most dynamic personal motivator I have ever had the pleasure of
knowing.
Ken C Simpson
Business Owner & Guitarist
Queensland, Australia
The
course is varied, in-depth and well-structured, making learning and
comprehension fast, thorough and enjoyable. It’s a great way of
learning, as you can pace yourself and move onto the next stage when
you feel competent. I find this course both innovative and
inspirational. I find myself leaving Mike’s lessons with the
determination to reach my new goals.
Karl J Ricker
Sales Manager
Sunshine Coast, Australia
|
|
