This is totally unrelated to guitar… Every Christmas I send my family members on a trail of clues that leads them to their Christmas gift. I had so much fun making the first couple clues this year that I decided to post them on my website and see if anyone else would like to give them a shot. They’re based …
Gargantuan Chord Chart Update
A plethora of pretty pieces, pensive poems, and plectrum-pumping pile drivers. Take your pick! Allman Brothers – Melissa Aly and AJ – Greatest Time of Year Beatles – Revolution Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps Beatles – Let it Be in key of G (revised) Ben Folds – The Luckiest Michael Buble – Everything Colbie Caillat – Bubbly Hank …
The Heartwood Beat, Issue 9: Where To Put That Capo
Happy Thanksgiving, musicians! I’ll be spending the holiday with my family in California. I’m excited to try a bluegrass song with them this trip, called “Devil’s Dream.” We never played music together when I was a kid, but as my sisters and I have gotten older the family’s been able to find some common ground in our skills and tastes. …
John Vanderslice Peals Out on Fremont Bridge
Here’s a great video of John Vanderslice performing on Seattle’s Fremont Bridge. He starts his song as the bridge’s bell starts clanging, notifying boats and cars that the drawbridge is about to go up. Fremont was my first home when I moved to Seattle, and that bridge is a central character in many of my memories of those first few …
The Heartwood Beat, Issue 8: Capo Land
Hi Musicians, First of all, I’d like to welcome all the people who signed up for the newsletter recently. We’re coming up on one thousand subscribers! Holy cow! I’ve been traveling a lot this past month, and The Heartwood Beat went into cardiac arrest as a result. Thanks for your patience. To my amazement, several readers have been clamoring for …
Stranger Plug
The Stranger, one of Seattle’s “Alternative Weeklies,” plugged my blog the other day, as “One of Seattle’s Best Blogs You Might Not Know.” I wouldn’t be one to judge, but The Stranger has a reputation of being Cool. If they only knew I spent my weekends mowing my lawn in shorts, loafers, and knee-high black socks…
The Heartwood Beat, Issue 7: Camp Update and A Few Good Websites
Hi Musicians, Last week I spent six days making music under the trees at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, and I’m still floating. What a great intellectual, social, and dare I say…spiritual experience. If you like traditional acoustic music (folk, country, blues, western swing), or if you’re a rocker who’s interested in broadening horizons, I highly recommend this camp. More …
The Heartwood Beat, Issue 6: Campfire Courtesies
One of the great rewards for becoming a skillful guitar player is being able to sit down with a total stranger at a campfire, bus stop, wherever—and make music. I recently had an experience like this leading a singalong up at Diablo Lake, Washington. The other guitarist in our group, who I’d never met until that night, just sat down …
The Heartwood Beat, Issue 5: Chord Families, Part 3
In the last newsletter, I showed you how you can play a I – IV – V song in five different keys. Today I’d like to introduce you to the four other members of a chord family. At the end of this lesson, you should be ready to transpose a simple song into a different key. But first, a song …
Blues for Food
Some friends of mine at the Interbay P-Patch are organizing a fund-raiser. Check it out! When: Saturday, September 1, 11am-7pm Where: Magnuson Park Amphitheater Why: To raise money for the P-Patch Trust, a non-profit organization that works to prevent hunger by promoting community gardening and by supporting programs that distribute food to needy. Who: Five local blues and zydeco bands, …
