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C scale in the first position


Regular Folks Playing Guitar: C scale in the first position

This is usually the first scale we learn because it’s easy to spell- no sharps or flats! And we can play it with open string notes. Follow the pdf carefully and remember to use the correct finger on the correct fret. First finger, first fret, second finger, second fret, third finger, third fret, fourth finger, fourth fret.

The video above shows not just one octave but all the C scale notes in the first position. You’ll notice that I name the notes in a few different ways- by their name, by their fret position and by their scale degree. You can also name the notes by their intervals! It is useful to think of scale notes in a few different ways. Believe it or not, all notes are related in some way and knowing a couple of different ways to think about them helps us understand the relationships better. c scale open strings

A downloadable chart of t

2026-11-01T10:15:27-05:00
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How to play “When I Paint My Masterpiece”

Tabs, chords notation and lyrics:

When_I_Paint_My_Masterpiece

Dylan himself first recorded the song at New York’s Blue Rock Studio when he was backed by Leon Russell and session musicians, including Jesse Ed Davis on lead guitar. The recording sessions lasted from March 16 to 19, 1971, and also saw the recording of the 45 RPM single “Watching the River Flow”, released by CBS Records on June 3, 1971. Both songs appeared on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II, released November 17, 1971, with Russell credited as the producer of the two songs.

During the March 1971 sessions at Blue Rock Studio, Dylan also recorded a solo version with slightly different lyrics, accompanying himself on piano. This version was released in 2013 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971).

Dylan and The Band performed the song together live, in the early hours of January 1, 1972, at a New Year’s Eve concert by The Band; a recording was released as a bonus track on the 2001 CD reissue of The Band’s live album Rock of Ages.

Douglas Brinkley, while interviewing Dylan for the New York Times in 2020, noted that “When I Paint My Masterpiece” was a song that had grown on him over the years and asked Dylan why he had brought it “back to the […]

2026-11-02T10:51:05-05:00
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Blues Guitar lesson


Regular Folks Playing Guitar: Blues Guitar

Blues guitar is great fun and pretty simple once you understand the scale numbers! The video above is an example of following a backing track and playing blues scale notes over the top as a melody line. You can hear how the chord tones and blues notes work with passing notes to create a cool bluesy-sounding melody. Once you understand the numbers and the target chords, it’s almost impossible to make a mistake! Click the chart to download a printable PDF instruction sheet For E major, minor pentatonic and blues in the first position. And there’s a Zeppelin lick for you there too. E-penta-major-and-blues

Lovers have come and gone, but only my mistress stays. She is beautiful and gentle. She is a swinger. She has grace. To hear her speak, you can’t believe your ears. She is ten thousand years old. She is as modern as tomorrow, a brand new woman every day. Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to no one.   –  Duke Ellington

2026-11-02T08:28:44-05:00
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Building chords from the 5 string


Building chords from the 5 string

It’s handy to be able to build chords from the 5th string! Let’s talk about C in the first position as an example.

When you make a C chord – usually this is the first way we learn how to play it- the notes that make up the chord, just using the 4 inside strings are C, E,G and C again. “CEG” spells C major because those are the 1st 3rd and 5th notes of the C scale. We can play those notes in combination in lots of places on the neck of the guitar and another way to do it allows the shape to be “portable” – that is, we can use the same chord shape anywhere up and down the neck.

Start with your first finger on the 3rd fret of the A string – That’s your C. now 2nd finger on the 5th fret of D gives you a G, the 5th note of the C scale. 3rd finger on the G string gives you a C again, and pinkie on the 5th fret of B gives you and E note now you have four fingers, one each on the 4 inside […]

2026-10-31T14:09:26-04:00
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Tuning your guitar


Tuning Your Guitar: first things first

There are plenty of ways to tune your guitar but most guitar players start with what is called “standard” tuning. That means the strings are tuned from the 6th or fattest string to the 1st or skinniest string with the notes like this:

E (6). A(5). D(4). G(3). B(2). E(1)

One magical thing about guitar standard tuning is the way the strings relate to one another, being a 4th apart (except for the B2 string). That means once we know the string names it is super easy to know all the notes at the 5th fret on each string.

Back in the day, guitarists would use that string relationship to tune their guitar… with an actual tuning fork, if you can believe that, tuned to an A. Once that string was tuned, the other strings would be tuned from it. Happily for us, we have technology now and can use a digital tuner for that. Here’s a video on using a clip on snark tuner (my preferred tuner and method)

Sting: “If you play music with passion and love and honesty, then it will nourish your soul, heal your wounds and make your life worth living. Music is its own reward.”

[…]

2026-11-02T21:00:35-05:00
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Practice

Practice

Practice Regimen

A “regimen” is a behavior that’s organized according to a system. A practice regimen is exactly that, but for us, it’s a way to formalize our guitar practice; it can help get the maximum benefit from the time spent practicing. Your own practice regimen can be whatever you decide it should be but at minimum I would suggest practicing 3 times a week, 20 minutes at a time. If you can do that you’ll see your guitar playing improve measurably.

I’m also a big fan of the 80/20 rule which says that 20% of the effort produces 80% of the results. With regard to practice, I think 80% of the time should be spent having fun- playing the things that make you happy. 20% of the time however you might focus like a laser beam on things that are hard to do or more challenging. Remember this is supposed to be fun! We can work hard just a little bit and see ourselves moving forward as guitarists… and this is very satisfying!!

Of course the more you practice the faster you will get better! Just remember to have fun while you are doing it, and carve out some time to focus on difficult […]

2026-10-28T17:10:15-04:00
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Common musical terms for guitarists

Some common Musical terms for guitar players

One of the things David Newsam at the Berklee school taught me was the advantage of having some common way to describe your musical ideas. When you’re talking to another musician, it saves a lot of time and frustration if you’re speaking the same language! Some of the ideas we’ll be starting out with and some simple definitions:

  • Arpeggio:
    • the notes of a chord played ascending or descending.
  • Interval:
    • The distance in pitch between two tones. Intervals are labeled by numerical value (degree) which indicates the number of pitches they include, their order in the octave and the name of their note. So, first degree C, a whole step from second degree D and so on.
  • Muting:
    • A common technique in guitar playing. “Muting” a guitar means stopping the strings from vibrating. We can mute with either the left or right hand. With the fretting hand, lift the fingers slightly so that the string stops contacting the fret wire. With the strumming hand. Lay the hand across the strings.
  • Motifs:
    • A motif is a short musical idea that occurs often in a piece of music. A short melodic idea may also be called […]
2026-10-29T08:24:17-04:00
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How to play “Hey soul sista”

Hey Soul Sister ukulele

Hey, Soul Sister” is a song by American rock band Train. It was written by lead singer Pat Monahan, Amund Bjørklund, and Espen Lind. It was released as the lead single from the band’s fifth studio album, Save Me, San Francisco (2009).

The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and is Train’s highest-charting song to date. It was the top-selling song on the iTunes Store in 2010, and the second overall best-selling song in the US in 2010. It is also the band’s most commercially successful single to date, reaching number one in 16 countries. The single received a 11× platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 5, 2022, signifying sales of over eleven million copies. It was also certified 15× Platinum in Australia and Diamond in Canada. The live iTunes version of “Hey, Soul Sister” garnered a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The song was not eligible for any Grammy Award in the General Field.

2026-10-28T19:07:54-04:00
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How to play lets stay together

How to play lets stay together. “Let’s Stay Together” is a song by American singer Al Green from his 1972 album of the same name. It was produced and recorded by Willie Mitchell, and mixed by Mitchell and Terry Manning. Released as a single in 1971, “Let’s Stay Together” reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained on the chart for 16 weeks and also topped Billboard’s R&B chart for nine weeks. Billboard ranked it as the number 11 song of 1972.

It was ranked the 60th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine on their 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and has been covered by numerous other performers, most notably Tina Turner.

It was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. The song went on to claim the number 1 position on the Billboard Year-End chart as an R&B song for 1972.

2026-10-31T10:56:50-04:00
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