Paul | Guitar Lessons and Performance - Paul Elwood

Hello Dolly

download the lead sheet for “hello dolly”

“Hello, Dolly!” is the title song of the popular musical of the same name, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.

A recording by Louis Armstrong released in 1964 was a widely popular success, winning the Song of the Year and Male Vocal Performance awards at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards. Armstrong’s rendition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

At the behest of his manager, Louis Armstrong made a demonstration recording of “Hello, Dolly!” in December 1963, for the song’s publisher to use to promote the Broadway show.

In January 1964, the same month Hello, Dolly! opened in New York City, Kapp Records released Armstrong’s publishing demo as a commercial single. His version reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ending the Beatles’ streak of 3 chart-topping hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks.

Never being able to master the guitar is both the worst thing and the best thing about guitar.

Paul2026-05-04T12:12:59-04:00

How High The Moon

how high the moon lead sheet

“How High the Moon” is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock.

The earliest recorded hit version was by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, featuring vocalist Helen Forrest. It was recorded on February 7, 1940, and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 35391, with the flip side “Fable of the Rose”. The Les Paul Trio recorded a version released as V-Disc 540B with a spoken introduction which was issued in November 1945 by the U.S. War Department. In 1948, bandleader Stan Kenton enjoyed some success with his version of the tune. The recording, with a vocal by June Christy, was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 911 (with the flip side “Willow, Weep for Me”) and 15117 (with the flip side “Interlude”). It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 9, 1948, its only week on the chart, at #27.

A recording of the song by Les Paul and Mary Ford was made on January 4, 1951, in their apartment’s home studio in Jackson Heights, Queens. This version featured Paul on all […]

Paul2026-04-16T14:05:24-04:00

Dream Lover

download a pdf chord and lyric sheet here
“Dream Lover” is a song written by American musician Bobby Darin. Darin recorded his composition on March 5, 1959 and released it as a single the following month. It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd.

In addition to Darin’s vocal, the song features Neil Sedaka on piano. While recording it Darin decided to stretch out some chord changes he found on the piano and add strings and voices. A picture sleeve, featuring a portrait of Darin, was also issued for this record in the U.S.

“Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering.” – Haruki Murakami

Paul2026-04-15T07:50:14-04:00

Beyond The Sea

Beyond the Sea

“Beyond the Sea” has been recorded by many artists, but Bobby Darin‘s version released in late 1959 is the best known, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 15 on the US R&B Chart, No. 7 in Canada (co-charted with “That’s The Way Love Is”), and No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1960.

Before Bobby Darin’s version, two instrumental recordings reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Benny Goodman‘s version charted in 1948, and was featured in the Cary Grant/Betsy Drake romantic comedy Every Girl Should Be Married. Roger Williams’ recording reached No. 37 in 1955.

The first recording of “Beyond the Sea” was by Harry James and His Orchestra on December 22, 1947, and the first recording of “La Mer” was by French musician Roland Gerbeau in December 1945 (the song’s author, Charles Trenet, did not record it until the following year).

American R&B singer George Benson recorded an R&B version of the song under the title “Beyond the Sea (La Mer)”. It was released on Warner Bros. This version entered the UK Singles Chart on 20 April 1985. It peaked at No. 60 and remained on the chart for three weeks.

“The only love affair I have ever had was with music.” – Maurice Ravel

Paul2026-04-13T11:57:05-04:00

Moon River

Moon river

“Moon River” is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song has been recorded by many other artists. It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1962 (and performed it at the Academy Awards ceremony that year). He sang the first eight bars of the song at the beginning of each episode of his eponymous television show and named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri, after it; his autobiography is called “Moon River” and Me. Williams’ version was included in a LP that he recorded for Columbia on a hit album of 1962, Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes. In 2022, Williams’ rendition of the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress.

The song’s success was responsible for relaunching Mercer’s career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because rock and roll had replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time. The […]

Paul2026-04-20T15:36:56-04:00

Why Don’t You Do Right?

Lead sheet for “Why dont you do right?”

“Why Don’t You Do Right?” (originally recorded as “Weed Smoker’s Dream” in 1936) is an American blues and jazz-influenced pop song usually credited to Kansas Joe McCoy. A minor key twelve-bar blues with a few chord substitutions, it is considered a classic “woman’s blues” song and has become a standard. Singer Lil Green recorded a popular rendition in 1941, which Peggy Lee recorded the next year – accompanied by Benny Goodman – and made one of her signature songs.

The song appeared in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, performed by actress Amy Irving as the singing voice of Jessica Rabbit.

Composition and lyrics

In 1936, the Harlem Hamfats jazz band recorded “The Weed Smoker’s Dream”. The original Decca Records release listed the songwriters as “McCoy-Moran” (Kansas Joe McCoy and Herb Morand were members of the band). McCoy later rewrote the song, refining the composition and lyrics. The new tune, titled “Why Don’t You Do Right?”, was recorded by Lil Green in 1941, with guitar by William “Big Bill” Broonzy. The recording was an early jazz and blues hit.

The song has its roots in blues music and originally dealt with a marijuana smoker reminiscing about lost financial opportunities. As it was rewritten, it takes […]

Paul2026-05-03T13:44:04-04:00

Practicing with a metronome

Practicing with a metronome: timing is everything! Using a metronome to help you get a handle on tempo is just smart.

If there is a piece you are working on but you can’t play it accurately at speed, it just takes some practice to get “up to speed” with the correct notes and the correct timing. Use a metronome to slow the piece down. Slow down till you can find your one beat consistently. The metronome helps you play the correct notes in the correct order and slowly bring the work up to speed as you increase the tempo.

Start as slowly as you need to in order to play the work correctly! That is, play the part exactly the same way you will when you do it at speed; it should sound just how it’s supposed to, but slower (if that makes any sense).

Perhaps start at half speed. If a song is supposed to be played at 160 bpm then start your metronome at 80 bpm. If that speed is still too fast, slow down a bit more. Once you get the song under your hand at the speed of the metronome, speed up by 5-10 bpm. Then, practice at that speed. If you can play that, continue speeding up. If not, go back down and practice until you […]

Paul2026-04-15T07:58:47-04:00

Diminished Chords

Diminished Chords for Guitar Players

Ah, diminished chords. I knew this question was going to come up eventually. Have a seat.

You see, after a major chord has flourished for a while, it begins to lose its luster. It’s just not as shiny as it was when it was new! And it starts to get a little soft, particularly around the 3 and 5. Eventually of course, the 3 and 5 each slip completely down a half step, and we shake our heads and say the chord is half diminished.

It is still strong though, never doubt it! Its character has just changed. It moves with more nuance, has greater gravitas and I believe, a greater appreciation for the chords and notes around it, generally speaking.

Eventually it’s 7 also flattens out, and we say that it is completely diminished. It certainly looks and sounds different than it did when it was a sprightly young major chord, but it has attained a more profound way of communicating its essence that it ever would have been able to, had it not reached this certain level of maturity.

Respect your diminished chords!
They have been around the block, and can show you a thing or two.

Diminished chords need a place to […]

Paul2026-03-17T17:34:27-04:00

Pentatonic exercise: 1 and b3 over 1/4/5 in Gm

Pentatonic exercise. Download the attached PDf and follow along with the video exercise. This will be helpful for practicing the idea of “position”, that is having your first finger on the fret that 1 note is available on.

penta exercise

The best thing about learning guitar is that nobody can take it away from you

Paul2026-04-08T18:19:26-04:00

Turn The Page

Download the PDF

“Turn the Page” is a song by American singer Bob Seger written in 1972 and included on his Back in ’72 album in 1973. It was not released as a single until Seger’s live version of the song on the 1976 Live Bullet album got released in Germany and the UK. The song became a mainstay of album-oriented rock radio stations, and still gets significant airplay on classic rock stations.

“Turn the Page” is about the emotional and social ups and downs of a rock musician’s life on the road. Seger wrote it in 1972 while touring with Teegarden & Van Winkle. Drummer David Teegarden (of Teegarden & Van Winkle and later the Silver Bullet Band) recalls:

We had been playing somewhere in the Midwest, or the northern reaches, on our way to North or South Dakota. [Guitarist] Mike Bruce was with us. We’d been traveling all night from the Detroit area to make this gig, driving in this blinding snowstorm. It was probably 3 in the morning. Mike decided it was time to get gas. He was slowing down to exit the interstate and spied a truck stop. We all had very long hair back then – it was the hippie era – but Skip, Mike […]

Paul2026-04-13T14:15:34-04:00

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Composition and lyrics

Diminished Chords for Guitar Players