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A couple of people have reported that the PDFs are not showing up correctly.
I have recreated them.
Please try downloading them from this site and let me know if they work for you. If so, I will update the individual blog posts.

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Thank you!

A story about guitar setups for new players…

Recently, a guitar playing friend commented to me that my “main” guitar’s action was a little high. I have been thinking this myself… so on his advice, I took the guitar to a local luthier to have it professionally set up. But, mainly… I went in wanting to know if it needed the setup in the first place… I needed a professionals opinion.

As it turns out… the action was high. Very high. It ended up costing $125. That included strings, string change, nut replacement (a previous owner filed it down too much and it was way too low), major saddle adjustment, neck adjustment, total cleaning (fretboard/bridge de-greasing and oiling, fret polishing, tax.

In my two years of learning to play the guitar I have spent a lot of money… books, accessories, lessons, etc. All I can say is that this setup is the best money I have ever spent on my guitar playing quest.

Since getting it back, I have been playing songs that I haven’t been able to play properly, songs that I could play I can play much better. My fingers hurt a lot less and overall the experience is much more enjoyable.

There are many analogies in life where you go to an expert for advice and repair because you know nothing about it (car, plumbing, electrician, etc.) This applies totally to guitar – especially when you are a beginner. You don’t know what a good guitar is supposed to feel like and you could be making your life a lot more difficult if you are trying to learn on an improperly setup guitar.

Trust me, find a good, honest tech and find out if your guitar is setup correctly, and if not, get it fixed… you will not believe the difference.

Thank you to John LaCroix for your advice and hard work on the guitar.
http://www.lacroixguitars.ca

Arrangement – Redemption Song – Solo Fingerstyle Version (Bob Marley)

(UPDATED! I updated this arrangement – I think it is now much easier to pay and sounds just as good)

This is another song that I have arranged pretty much from scratch from beginning to end.  I am interested to hear what people think about it.

As far as I can find, there are no other solo fingerstyle arrangements on the net – if there is, I couldn’t find one – if you know of one, I would really appreciate hearing about it.

Give it a listen (in Guitar pro)… or better yet… try it out and let me know what you think.

PDF: Redemption Song – updated
Guitar Pro 5: Redemption Song Guitar Pro 5

A chord chart / cheat sheet for you

In my journey learning to play fingerstyle, I have learned that it is very important to learn the chord fingerings, and not focus on the individual notes you are playing. Even though I enjoy fingerstyle so much, and want to spend all my time playing in that style, I set aside a bit of time during my practice sessions to learn “rhythm guitar”… playing basic chords, movable barre chords, and practicing strumming patterns.

I made this set of chord charts for my reference and thought I would post it here for anyone that may want it.

PDF: Chord Charts

Arrangement – Hey Joe – Solo Fingerstyle Version (Hendrix)

This is the first song that I have arranged from beginning to end.  I am interested to hear what people think about it.

As far as I can find, there are no other solo fingerstyle arrangements on the net that incorporate the melody and solo – if there is, I couldn’t find one – if you know of one, I would really appreciate hearing about it.

I had difficulty finding a way to simulate Hendrix’s wailing solo while maintaining the (chord) rhythm… but I think it ended up okay.

Give it a listen (in Guitar pro)… or better yet… try it out and let me know what you think.

PDF: Hey Joe
Guitar Pro 5: Hey Joe Guitar Pro 5

Artist Spotlight – Phil Macrakken

Every once in a while you come across a guitar player that blows you away.  Someone that isn’t mainstream, or a reconizable ‘YouTube’ name like Andy Mckee (but should be!)

Phil is one of those artists.   His arrangements are amazing, and he has covered many classic songs that no one else has.

Spend some time going through his videos and you’ll be as big a fan as I am!

Phil’s Youtube Channel
Phil’s Homepage

Unfortunately, he does not tab out any of his arrangements. Here he is playing one of my favorite songs, off my favorite album, by my favorite band:

Arrangement – Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits)

PDF: Brothers In Arms

I have always loved this song and have been looking for a fingerstyle arrangement for a while. The YouTube user “bluespresso” was nice enough to send me this arrangement.

Great performance of this arrangement by YouTube User “bluespresso”

Hello!

I notice I have been getting a few hits on the blog.

I welcome any visitor to make comments, suggestions, and requests. Tell me what you like, if anything and I will keep updating this blog.

I originally just threw this together for fun and will continue to add to it if people are interested.

So, let me know!

Arrangement – Every Breath You Take (Sting/Police)

This is a great and relatively simple arrangement of this classic song.

PDF: Every Breath You Take

Great performance of this song by YouTube User “Losshack”
You can see his YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/losshack

Web Site Review – Acoustic Power

Acoustic Power is a lesser known site that had a great collection of acoustic (mostly fingerstyle) tabs. I have found many tabs on this site that I could not find anywhere else.

The tabs are in Powertab format. You can download the free PowerTab Editor here: Powertab Homepage

Link: Acoustic Power