About Paul

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So far Paul has created 215 blog entries.

What are the first 10 things I should learn on the guitar?

Here are the first thing that comes to mind,
if you’re interested in starting to play guitar:

  1. C Major scale, first position. Everything you need is right there and it’s easy to spell.
  2. C Major scale on the the A string, ditto- and you can start to see how the neck works (incidentally you’ve just played “Joy to the World” backward so that’s a bonus).
  3. Hand-friendly C chord which is the 1 chord for C. You’ve heard of 1, 4 and 5 chords; a ton of folk, rock, country and bluegrass tunes use these chords, and the C is a great place to start.
  4. Hand-friendly F chord which is the 4 chord for C. F is tricky but you can play it in a bunch of ways right at the top of the neck so no worries if you can’t make a barre chord yet, you can get away with a three-finger F chord by playing F, A and C notes. Keep at it.
  5. Hand-friendly G chord, which is the 5 for C so a ton of folk, rock, country tunes- pick your poison.
  6. D chord, using the open D string. You can ignore the 5 and 6 strings, just to get started.
  7. E chord – usually the first chord most of us learn for some reason :-). And even […]
2021-02-12T16:44:08-05:00

How to play “love of my life” fingerstyle on guitar

how to play love of my life fingerstyle on guitar

The audio above is the midi playback from a Musescore file and the pdf below is the  notation for it. In other words, the notes are written in MuseScore and we are able to output both the pdf of the sheet music/tablature and the audio as an .mpg file directly from that! Musescore, btw is an excellent tool for any guitarist and it is completely free, which is amazing to me considering what you can do with it. Find out for yourself- download the program from musescore.org

Love of my life tabs and chords part 1

how to play love of my life fingerstyle on guitar

2024-09-26T11:16:14-04:00

How to play “Navajo Rug”

A rhythm guitar and drum track to play along with.

Navajo rug tabs for the introduction and simple bass line

Navajo Rug

A
Well it’s two eggs up on whiskey toast
F#m
Home fries on the side
D
Wash it down with a road house coffee
E
Man it burns up your insides
A
It was a Canyon Colorado diner
F#m
and a waitress I did love||
D
she sat beside me ‘neath an old stuffed bear
E
and a worn out navajo rug
Chorus:
E               A   F#m
Well, Aye aye aye, Katy
D                  E
Shades of red and blue
               A   F#m
Well, Aye aye aye, Katy
D                         E             A
Whatever became of your navajo rug and you

Ol’ Jack the boss he leaves about six
and it’s Katy bar the door
she’d pull down that navajo rug
and spread it across that floor

Well I saw lightning across the sacred mountains

2024-01-03T10:12:46-05:00

Travis picking example

You can get a lot of mileage out of using thumb and index finger! Travis picking: named after country-and-western pioneer Merle Travis, it’s a style of fingerpicking characterized by the steady thump of an alternating bass that underscores rhythmic patterns and melodies on the treble strings. Moving the thumb to an adjacent string lets you play more “plectrum-style” as well, so you can certainly make your playing more interesting than either style separately.

2021-02-12T16:40:29-05:00

How to play Run Run Rudolph

Wishing you major holiday greetings and an awesome new year!

…and heartfelt thanks to all my students, present and past.
The simple truth is that you have made this journey possible.

2021-03-23T14:53:10-04:00

How to play “Brokedown Palace”

 How to play Brokedown Palace

Fare you well my honey
Fare you well my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Have flown except you alone
Going to leave this broke-down palace
On my hands and my knees I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll
In a bed, in a bed
By the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
River gonna take me
Sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy
All the way back back home
It’s a far gone lullaby
Sung many years ago
Mama, mama, many worlds I’ve come
Since I first left home
Going home, going home
By the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
Going to plant a weeping willow
On the banks green edge it will grow, grow, grow
Sing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go, the river roll, roll, roll
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
2022-05-26T19:08:46-04:00

Patrick Kerssen pianist

Patrick Kerssen has quickly become a regular on the Central Jersey, Pocono, and Lehigh Valley music scenes. A full time professional musician with a deep understanding of jazz, blues, classical, and popular styles, Patrick’s piano playing is sophisticated and subtle while remaining extremely accessible and engaging.
A college educated music educator (Moravian College, ’18) based in Bethlehem, PA, Patrick teaches a wide variety of genres, and takes piano students of all levels and ages both online and in his home. Whether you want to learn to read Mozart’s piano sonatas, improvise over a jazz tune, or accompany yourself singing rock or pop songs, Patrick’s lessons are tailored to help you meet your individual playing goals and foster a deep understanding of the necessary musical concepts. Contact Patrick to start achieving your musical goals today!
Phone: 973-934-3854

Contact Patrick for lessons Contact Patrick for performance

2021-02-12T11:53:02-05:00
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