Here are a few of the
compositions I've written over the years. The tunes have been
captured in MIDI format for you to listen to. The MIDI
files were either recorded directly by me or exported by the TAB package
I used. Sheet music is provided in standard notation and
TAB. I hope you enjoy these tunes as I have over the years.
This music will
sound best when played through a sound card that uses sampled wave
tables. You will need to set your sequencer for General MIDI to get the
appropriate mapping to the sampled acoustic guitar sound.
The Tab notation
is provided in either TablEdit format and/or Adobe Acrobat format.
To view the TablEdit
files, you will need to have a copy of this excellent package. To
view the Acrobat files, you will need to have a copy of the FREE Acrobat
Reader. If you don't have this program yet, just click the
icon to the right to download a copy. It's worth it, believe me.
This tune is played
in Standard tuning in the key of E. It combines alternating bass,
boogie bass and monotonic bass techniques. The
second theme with the boogie bass will require some work to get down,
but it's well worth the effort. My best advice is to take it slow
at first and speed up only after you have the finger movements down
pat. This tune is a great study in some of the great blues
turnarounds possible in key of E.
This tune is played
in Open D. This piece is pretty up-tempo and consists
of around 6 different themes interlaced together (including a lick from
Jefferson Airplane!). I usually don't
play the darn thing the same way twice, but the TAB here represents the
most common embodiment of the tune. The opening theme is
actually a portion of John Fahey's version of John Henry; thus the title
of the tune, since it all started from trying to work out that
piece. But from that point on, it diverges pretty
significantly. It's fun to play and will give your fingers a
workout.
Have a listen to this piece played on
a Larrivee Baritone
This tune is played
in Open G. The melody is built on top of an alternating bass
and it uses harmonics on the 12th fret to provide for a more interesting
tonal color. It also sounds best when played on a 12 string so I
created a 12 string sound in the MIDI version below. Unfortunately, the
Godin can't capture harmonics as well as I'd like, but at least you can
get the basic idea. It should be played rather slowly and
deliberately to allow the notes to ring out as long as they can.
This tune is played
in Open D. It is a bit more challenging in that it uses some
rather unique right hand fingerings to get the correct sound. It
sounds best when played up to full speed as can be heard in the MIDI
example. The melody of this tune travels across 5 strings and
therefore the bass and melody are tightly integrated together.
Although I never seem to play this thing the same way twice, the
notation provides suggested fingerings.
This piece is played
in Open D and uses an alternating bass throughout. Like most
pieces written for open tunings, it takes extensive advantage of the
open strings to get unique soundings that would be difficult to obtain
otherwise. These days I usually play this piece on a baritone
guitar because I like the sound of the tune in that low register
(effectively Open B). Like most open tunings, it's best to start
with the tab notation to figure out the fingerings and chords first.
Have a listen to the piece played on
a Larrivee Baritone
All the music
you find here is copyrighted and protected by law. I permit you to
perform any original composition or to use them in your teaching, but
not to sell copies of them. I ask that you publicly acknowledge my
authorship by name, in writing if you provide program notes with your
performance, and to refer the listener or reader to this Web page. If
you record any original composition and sell your recordings, I ask that
you notify me, and that you agree to negotiate with me (a reasonable
fellow) for a share of the proceeds.
If your interested in the software
used, all Notation was created with TablEdit
Here are a few of the
compositions I've written over the years. The tunes have been
captured in MIDI format for you to listen to. The MIDI
files were either recorded directly by me or exported by the TAB package
I used. Sheet music is provided in standard notation and
TAB. I hope you enjoy these tunes as I have over the years.
"
Midi: 
