Paul | Guitar Lessons and Performance - Paul Elwood

Jingle Bell Rock

How to play jinglebell rock on guitar fingerstyle for solo guitar. What a great holiday song to get under your hands… and not too hard to do. “Jingle Bell Rock” is an American Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It, alongside various cover versions, have received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then, and is generally considered Helms’s signature song. “Jingle Bell Rock” was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe, although both Helms and session guitarist on the song Hank Garland disputed this (see Authorship controversy section below). Beal was a Massachusetts-born public relations professional and longtime resident of South Ocean Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Boothe was an American writer in the advertising business.

“Discipline will only teach the techniques – a great teacher gives discipline, motivation and love” -Maury Massler

Paul2026-03-16T14:32:07-04:00

How to play “La Vie en Rose” fingerstyle on ukulele.

Download tabs and notation pdf

How to play “La Vie en Rose” fingerstyle on ukulele.

“La Vie en rose“ (French for ‘Life in pink’; pronounced [la vi ɑ̃ ʁoz]) is the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the Billboard charts. These recordings were made by Tony Martin, Paul Weston, Bing Crosby (recorded 22 June 1950), Ralph Flanagan, Victor Young, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong.

A version in 1977 by Grace Jones was also an international hit.

Background and release

The song’s title can be translated as “Life in happy hues”, “Life seen through rose-coloured glasses”, or “Life in rosy hues”; its literal meaning is “Life in Pink.”

The lyrics of the song were written by Piaf, with music composed by Louiguy, and is registered with SACEM. It was probably Robert Chauvigny who completed the music. When Piaf suggested to Marguerite Monnot that she sing the piece, the latter rejected “that foolishness.” It was eventually Louiguy who accepted authorship of the music. The song was broadcast live before […]

Paul2026-03-31T21:12:10-04:00

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 and make a triangle on the 1,2 and 3 strings just to get started. Open string is a freebie!

7: E […]

Paul2026-05-03T13:43:04-04:00

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

Paul2026-03-10T07:07:25-04:00

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

A F#m
Well it’s two eggs up on whiskey toast. Home fries on the side
D E
Wash it down with a road house coffee. Man it burns up your insides
A F#m
It was a Canyon Colorado diner and a waitress I did love
D E
she sat beside me ‘neath an old […]

Paul2026-03-11T09:19:09-04:00

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.

Paul2026-03-10T07:08:10-04:00

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.

Paul2021-03-23T14:53:10-04:00

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

“Each of us is climbing a mountain called ‘Music’. The mountain remains, but the climbers are forever changed.” – Suzanne Guy

Paul2026-05-03T08:57:35-04:00

How to play “Sultans of Swing”

“Sultans of Swing” is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, written by the lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits recorded a demo at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977, and it acquired a following after it was put in rotation on BBC Radio London. After Dire Straits signed a record contract with Phonogram Records, they rerecorded it in February 1978 at Basing Street Studios for their debut album, Dire Straits.

The B-side, “Eastbound Train”, is a live track. “Sultans of Swing” reached the top five in Canada, South Africa, and the United States, and the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. It remains a staple of classic rock radio and is one of Dire Straits’ most recognisable songs.

“If you assume you haven’t learned anything yet, there’s no reason your playing can’t stay dynamic all your life.” – Jerry Garcia

Paul2026-05-09T13:13:52-04:00

Over the Rainbow

Over_the_Rainbow IZ

“Over the Rainbow“, also known as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow“, is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale.

About five minutes into the film, Dorothy sings the song after failing to get Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the farmhands to listen to her story of an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto, and the town spinster, Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton). Aunt Em tells her to “find [her]self a place where [she] won’t get into any trouble”. This prompts her to walk off by herself, musing to Toto, “Someplace where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It’s far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain”, at which point she begins singing.

“Over the Rainbow” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland’s signature song. It has been included in several all-time lists, and has been covered […]

Paul2026-04-23T15:25:23-04:00

About Paul

Background and release

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

Navajo rug tabs for the introduction and simple bass line