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This lesson presents a fingerstyle guitar arrangement of the Otis Redding hit song "Sittin' On
The Dock Of The Bay" arranged by jazz guitarist Bill Piburn. This
arrangement is from his book
and CD called "Groovy Guitar - Classic 60s Songs" which is fully described below. It is an
excellent example of how a melody can be harmonized with 3, 4, and 5 note
chord voicings. You will also notice it is written in standard notation (for
those of you who can read music) and tab notation for those of you who can't.
In tab notation, the
highest line of the staff towards the top of the page represents the 1st string
or the highest pitched string of the guitar, while the lowest line of the staff
represents the 6th string or the lowest pitched string of the guitar. The
numbers on the various lines tell you what fret to press down on that particular
string. So if you have the number "2" on the highest line of the staff, it
is telling you to press down the 2nd fret on the first string of your guitar.
Also, I am including a
sound clip from the CD that comes with this book - so that you can hear
exactly how the song should be played. You will also notice that due to
copyright restrictions, I am only presenting the first page of the song.
Here is the book description from our website:
Bill Piburn - Groovy Guitar:
Classic 60s Songs
- Book and CD
Includes 15 classic songs arranged for solo guitar by
Bill Piburn: "What A Day For a Daydream,
Downtown, Happy Together, A Hard Days Night, I'll Never Fall In Love Again, The
Last Train To Clarksville, Mellow Yellow, Scarborough Fair, Sittin' On The Dock
Of The Bay, Spooky, Sunny, Up On The Roof, Walk On By, What Becomes Of The
Broken Hearted, What The World Needs Now Is Love".
Notation and
tab.........................................................................Price - $24.95
You will notice that the traditional classical
guitar notation for the right hand is indicated throughout the piece. P is
the thumb, I is the index finger, M is the middle finger, and A is the ring
finger. Be sure to follow the right hand fingerings I have written in throughout
the entire piece very carefully and do them exactly as I indicate. This
arrangement is a good example of classical guitar fingerings. Hopefully
you have studied the lesson I sent to you earlier that talked about analyzing a
piece of music one measure at a time by visualizing the left and right hand
fingerings in your "mind's eye".
"Sittin" On The Dock Of The Bay" is played in 4/4 time, which
means that there are 4 beats per measure and a quarter note gets 1 beat, a
half note gets 2 beats, a whole note gets 4 beats, while an eighth note gets 1/2 a beat. This piece
is in the key of E major which means that all of the F, C, G and D notes are sharp unless otherwise indicated. Wouldn't it be nice to actually be able to read music
like a professional musician? Well here's your chance to start.
I play this piece "free
stroke", which means that after one of my right hand fingers strikes a string, it
clears the other strings and follows through into the back of the palm of my hand. This
whole technique idea of "follow through" is critical to getting the maximum
amount of volume and projection from each note that you play. It will also enable
you to get a fuller tone out of your notes. Try to keep your right hand wrist slightly
arched and elevated so there are 3-4 inches of clearance between the face of the guitar
and your wrist.
Keep your right hand wrist straight at all times. This alone will
probably help you avoid tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Strive to keep your right
hand fingers as straight as possible so that you are moving them mainly from the knuckle
joint instead of the middle joint, like most guitarists do. This way you're using the
muscles of your entire finger instead of just half of your finger.
Some other critical right hand tips are: play on the left side of your
fingertips where the flesh and the nail meet each other. There's only one spot where this
happens and it will feel like there's very little resistance at that point. Your tone will
also be as good as possible at that point of impact. Also, you want to keep your fingertip
segments relaxed and flexible so that they give or bend backwards as they strike the
string, thereby absorbing the impact of hitting a stationary object without hooking or
snagging.
This whole idea of relaxation is trained as it is definitely people's natural
tendency to tense up their entire body when they are trying to play guitar. The only way
you will ever become as proficient as you can personally be, is to eliminate all tension
from your hands and fingers as well as your arms and shoulders or for that matter, your
entire body. According to the theory of muscular interaction, if there is tension anywhere
in your body, it will affect your hands and fingers to a certain extent.
There are only 2 tendons in your right hand
that control all of your fingers. Your index finger and your thumb are connected
to one of them, while your middle, ring, and little fingers are connected to the
other. Keeping this in mind, let's work on a finger alternation exercise. I want
you to alternate your index and middle fingers back and forth on the 1st string
of your guitar, making sure that each finger follows through into the back of
the palm of your hand after it strikes the string.
Since your thumb and
your index finger are connected to the same tendon, you'll probably find that
your thumb tenses up and moves around when your index finger strikes the string.
You'll just have to practice this enough so that you can get the two of them
independent and separated from each other. Since your middle, ring, and little
fingers are connected to the same tendon, when your middle finger strikes the
string you would want all three of them to move together in the same direction -
almost as if they were tied together with a string. If they are relaxed their
natural tendency would be to move as one group.
Also, when
you are alternating your index and middle fingers you want to get them to "directly
alternate". This means as 1 finger is going back into the palm of your hand, the
other finger is coming out of the palm of your hand and moving into position to strike the
next note. This way you are always lined up ahead of time for the next note.
"Direct alternation" is the only way you will ever be able to play single note
passages fast and fluently.
Train your fingers to be about 1/8th of an inch above and
1/8th of an inch in front of the string they are about to play. This will not only help
your accuracy, but will also improve the tone of each note. In other words, you are
always striving to keep your fingers so close to the string, prior to striking the string,
that they almost touch the string before they strike it.
Your left hand wrist should be straight and slightly arched with
the wrist itself being directly underneath the guitar neck. Your thumb should stay in the
middle of the back of the guitar neck, opposite the first (index) finger of your left
hand. Keep your thumb perfectly straight - bending your thumb is just another
tension habit that should be avoided at all costs.
Your thumb will contact the back of the
neck slightly on it's left side. Keep your left hand fingers arched and play on your
fingertips, close to the fingernails so that you are directly on top of the string. All of
these technique pointers usually take months of focused thought to get them to be habits.
So be patient and read all of these pointers at the beginning of each practice
session.
I strongly urge you to work
your way through a good series of classical guitar method books such as the ones by
Aaron Shearer, who was my teacher when I went
to Peabody Conservatory of Music, or the series by
Frederick Noad. Both are excellent,
graded methods that will help you become a more confident, knowledgeable
classical/fingerstyle guitarist. I also enthusiastically recommend the book/DVD
by Scott Tennant called "Pumping Nylon".
There's a lot to be said for being able
to watch someone demonstrate all of the subtle nuances involved with playing
good classical or fingerstyle
guitar. You will never be sorry if you
take the time to learn how to read music (standard notation), which is much more
descriptive, as far as subtle nuances are concerned, than tab notation is. This
skill will enable you to not just be a guitarist, but a musician as well.
Jazz Guitar Chords & Arpeggio
Patterns - Stacy McKee
-
This unique book includes 300 jazz
guitar chord
formations and matching single note arpeggio patterns in a quick reference format
that no one has ever done before!
Cross indexing makes
this manual
extremely easy to use and regardless of what style of music you play, we know
you
will find this
to be a
valuable, "must have" addition to your library. Stacy McKee was the
featured guitarist with "Les
Brown and The Band Of Renown" and for a limited
time only, we will include an exclusive copy of his book
FREE with
your first
order!
==> Click here to see the
Stacy McKee Chord Melody Solo Collection
<==
Never B#, Never Bb, Just B Natural,
Steven Herron
Peabody Conservatory trained guitarist,
performer and teacher
P.P.S. It has always surprised me
that your average guitarist will readily spend a lot of money buying an
expensive guitar and then spend very little educating himself so that he can
play it! That's probably why he is just that - an average guitarist. Whether you
choose to study privately with a teacher or to educate yourself purchasing
material from a company like us or both, if you set aside a certain amount each
month to invest in your education as a guitarist you will eventually find
yourself becoming an above average or even an exceptional guitarist! Benjamin
Franklin is quoted as saying "He who puts his money into his head will never go
broke".
