Paul | Guitar Lessons and Performance - Paul Elwood

Panama Red

“The guitar is your first wings. It’s assigned and designed to unfold your vision and imagination.” – Carlos Santana

The Adventures of Panama Red is the fourth country rock album by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1973. It is widely regarded as one of the group’s best efforts, and reached number 55 on the Billboard charts.

The album includes two songs written by Peter Rowan — “Panama Red”, which became a radio hit, and “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy”. Another song, “Kick in the Head”, was written by Robert Hunter. Donna Jean Godchaux and Buffy Sainte-Marie contribute background vocals on several tracks.

Paul2026-05-03T08:54:20-04:00

Franklin’s Tower

“Franklin’s Tower” is a song by the American rock band the Grateful Dead, written by Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, released as the second from the band’s eighth studio album Blues for Allah (1975) in January 1976.

Background and composition

Taking inspiration from Lou Reed‘s hit “Walk on the WIld Side“, Robert Hunter and intended the song to be a lullabye birthday wish for his son. The track is shrouded in unusual, yet symbolic imagery, as Grateful Dead biographer David Gans wrote in his book The American Book of the Dead: “The song paints landscapes and offers timescapes where the four winds blow around a structure that contains a bell with magical properties so powerful that an unnamed brand of salvation may be obtained by its ringing.” According to Hunter, the lyrics contain references to Benjamin Franklin and the Liberty Bell.

“Playing scales is like a boxer skipping rope or punching a bag. It’s not the thing in itself; it’s preparatory to the activity.” – Barney Kessel

Paul2026-05-03T08:55:08-04:00

Cumberland Blues

It’s not about how long you’ve been playing, it’s about how often you play

Paul2026-05-03T08:33:12-04:00

Casey Jones

“The Ballad of Casey Jones“, also known as “Casey Jones, the Brave Engineer” or simply “Casey Jones“, is a traditional American folk song about railroad engineer Casey Jones and his death at the controls of the train he was driving. It tells of how Jones and his fireman Sim Webb raced their locomotive to make up for lost time, but discovered another train ahead of them on the line, and how Jones remained on board to try to stop the train as Webb jumped to safety. It is song number 3247 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

The song helped preserve the memory of Jones’ feat down through the years in its 40 plus versions and enhanced Casey’s legendary status to the extent that he has even become something of a mythological figure like Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan to the uninformed. Books and pulp magazines about the railroad and its heroes helped to perpetuate his memory as well.

“Fast is only cool if it’s melodic and has substance.” – Yngwie J. Malmsteen

Paul2026-05-03T08:24:42-04:00

Natural Minor Scale

Download the natural_minor_scale PDF. This scale is known as Aeolian or 6th mode. It’s is commonly used in rock, jazz and popular music. The intervals are from the root: W H W W H W W.

In C, the Aeolian mode notes are A B C D E F G A

The PDF illustrates the scale from the 5 string and the 6 string.

“Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

Paul2026-04-16T14:16:33-04:00

Grownin’ Up

Download tabs for Growing Up part 1

“Growin’ Up” is a song by American musician Bruce Springsteen from his 1973 album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J..

It is a moderately paced tune, concerning an adolescence as a rebellious New Jersey teen, with lyrics written in the first-person. The lyrics feature a chorus that is progressively modified as the song continues, with the first chorus being “I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said ‘Sit down,’ I stood up,” while the second chorus switches to “clouded warmth…’come down,’ I threw up” and the third finishes the song with “mother breast…’pull down,’ I pulled up.”

An acoustic version of the song, part of Springsteen’s 1972 audition for CBS Records, appears on Tracks, 18 Tracks, and Chapter and Verse.

During the Born to Run tours and following Darkness Tour, Springsteen often performed an extended version of this song, extending it with a long, sometimes exaggerated and/or fictional biographical narration of his youth and his passion for guitar playing.

The song was featured on the soundtracks of the films Big Daddy (1999) and Gracie (2007).

David Bowie recorded a version of this song in the early stages of the

Paul2026-04-16T14:17:05-04:00

A Chord

The A Chord

The notes of the A major chord in the first position can be played as the diagram shows. A major triad needs the 1/3/5 of the scale and we can get these with three open strings and fingers on the the second fret of the 4,3 and 2 strings.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours…If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau

Paul2026-04-16T14:17:41-04:00

Cowboy chords

Cowboy Chords PDF

Here are a few chords that will be helpful to get you started! The A chord can be played with three fingers on the second frets of the 2,3 and 4 strings or with 1 finger across all three strings on the second fret.

The B chord can be played with the first finger on the 2nd fret of A5 string and fingers 2,3 and 4 on the 4th frets of strings 2,3 and 4.

The C chord in the first position: 34trd finger on the 3rd fert of A,2nd finger on the 2nd fret of D, open G string and 1st finger on the first fret of B.

The E chord can be played with open E6 and open E1, 2nd and 3rd fingers on the 2nd frets of 5 and 4 strings, and the first finger on the first fret of the G string. However if you use your 3rd 4th and 2nd fingers to make the E…

The F shape can be made moving that E shape up toward the body by one fret and using your first finger across the first fret of all the strings!

“Most men would rather die than think. Many do.” – Bertrand Russell

Paul2026-04-16T14:18:25-04:00

Strangers In The Night

Strangers in the Night is a 1966 studio album by Frank Sinatra. It marked Sinatra’s return to number one on the pop album charts in the mid-1960s, and consolidated the comeback he initiated in 1965. Combining pop hits with show tunes and standards, the album bridges classic jazz-oriented big band with contemporary pop. It became Sinatra’s fifth and final album to reach number one on the US Pop Albums Chart. Additionally, the single “Strangers in the Night” reached number one on the pop single charts, while “Summer Wind” has become one of Sinatra best-known songs, making numerous film and television appearances in the years since its release.

“Aping what you’ve already done is just so dangerous and unrewarding.” – Andy Summers

Paul2026-03-09T15:30:49-04:00

At Last

In 1960, rhythm and blues singer Etta James recorded an arrangement by Riley Hampton that improvised on Warren’s original melody. Etta James’s rendition was the title track on her debut album At Last! (1960) and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Most recently, Celine Dion and Beyoncé have also had chart successes with the song.

Prior to release of Sun Valley Serenade, “At Last” was performed in the film by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by John Payne and Lynn Bari, dubbed by Pat Friday. Studio head Darryl Zanuck reportedly said: “There are too many big ones in this. Let’s save one for the next.” The “At Last” vocal by Payne and Bari was thus deleted from the film, although instrumental versions remained, including in the Black Ice Ballet finale. The vocal version was included […]

Paul2026-04-16T14:20:16-04:00

About Paul

Background and composition

Natural Minor Scale

The A Chord