Totally Guitars TARGET Program Access

It's Still Rock And Roll To Me is one of the few Billy Joel songs that features the guitar rather than the piano. The song appeared on his 1980 album, Glass Houses and is written from the point-of-view of an aging artist who is pressured by his label or manager to get with the times. Typical of a Billy Joel song, It's Still Rock And Roll uses a wide range of chords, including some bar chords and some power chords. The power chords can be played using the common shuffle pattern that moves from the 5th of the chord to the 6th of the chord on beats 2 and 4 in each measure. The song opens with single bass notes played using the palm mute technique. Half way through the verse it starts strumming, then continues with a combination of the two techniques.

Don't Fear The Reaper was written by Blue Oyster Cult guitarist and singer Buck Dharma. It appeared on their 1976 album Agents Of Fortune and was their first big hit. This is a great song for guitar players of any level. I make just about all of my students learn the opening riff early in their guitar lives. The chords can all be played with just 2 fingers, many of which are just power chords. It is also a good way to learn the technique of placing your left fingers down one at a time, in the order you need to play them, rather than slapping the whole chord down at once.

Bad Moon Rising is probably the happiest song about an impending apocalypse ever written, although it was most likely written in response to the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. Like many of John Fogerty’s songs, it seems pretty timeless and still relevant today. John said that the inspiration came from a movie called The Devil and Daniel Webster, where a small town is hit hard by a hurricane.

John Fogerty wrote Green River and it was the title song of their 3rd album, released in 1969. The real Green River that John spoke of was Putah Creek, near Winters, California, and was a place the Fogerty family would spend time during the summer when the boys were young. Most Creedence songs follow a pretty simple formula as far as instrumentation and arrangement. The three-piece rhythm section keeps a rock-steady beat driving with very regular accents.

When he was a teenager, John Fogerty kept a little notebook with a list of potential song titles; Proud Mary was at the top of the list, although he envisioned it as referring to a housekeeper or domestic worker of some sort. When he came up with the opening chord sequence (C-A), it brought up a picture of a paddle wheel going around, which made him think of the Mississippi River. The signature riff is an unusual combination of chords that are not often played together as they are not in the same key.

Suzie Q is an example of a blues tune that is not in the 12-bar format. It is an 8-bar progression that features a 2-measure riff based on the E blues scale. This 8-bar phrase is really a mini version of the A-A-B-A form that was common in jazz and standard songwriting starting in the 1920’s and is still popular today.

Most John Fogerty songs can be summed up as very tight arrangements of a common chord progression with some simple licks and fills. The opening to Who’ll Stop The Rain is a little 3-note sequence repeated over 2 chords. The chords progression just uses open chords in the key of G. The leads and fills are simple runs right out of the scale. This song is a great place for beginners to learn to change chords and keep a basic strumming pattern going, as well as explore some easy lead licks.

Graham Nash is a master songwriter of tunes that require only some basic guitar techniques but ones that are really fun to play and sing. Teach Your Children is a classic example of this. The song is a 3-chord progression in the key of D, with a step out into a 4th chord in the chorus. A simple country-style strumming pattern is all that is necessary to make this a great song for beginners to sit around the campfire and play with friends.

Madman Across The Water was written by Elton John and his main lyricist, Bernie Taupin and was the title song from his 1971 album. It is one of his few songs that features acoustic guitar. The lesson goes over the basic riff and strumming accompaniment. Neil also plays a chord solo arrangement of the tune which is not covered in the lesson.

From The Beginning has all the elements that make Greg Lake’s acoustic songs great- interesting sounds with the use of extended chords, many of which use open strings for a sense of consistency, harmonics, percussive strumming, arpeggio picking in both the alternating and cross-picking styles, and slightly cryptic lyrics that add to the mysterious quality. A must-learn tune for every guitar player!

Lucky man is a very simple folk song, playable by almost any beginning guitar player. It is a great song to start with for learning a few common chords, as well as an easy 3/4 or 6/8 strumming pattern. It is played in the key of D but the chords are from the mixolydian mode, it is not in a major key.

This TARGET Short lesson on Hey Jude takes Paul McCartney's piano tune and looks at it as a simple strumming song, more in the Campfire style. It also includes a sing-along and some tips on turning it into an instrumental by picking out the melody, although many of the specific details are left up to the student.

One of the biggest hits by Britpop band Oasis, Wonderwall is a simple strumming song featuring easy chord changes. This TARGET Short gives you everything you need to strum along with the band, as long as you have a capo at the second fret. The lesson is done without the capo.

Another second entry from our favorite Scottish-born aussie hard rocker Angus Young. This song presents an opportunity to wrap your left thumb around the neck to fret the 6th string.

Back In Black is another of the most requested intros of all time. Like many AC/DC riffs, it is very basic, but there are a few details that are often overlooked. Neil's lesson will have you playing Back In Black the right way!

Our second entry from the second Black Sabbath album features a great opening lick followed by a pounding series of power chords. Some might say this song from 1970 single-handedly defined the punk era later in the decade.

This Dicky Betts song, which is pretty much a campfire tune, starts off with a great opening lick. This lesson shows how to play the dual guitar parts at once

This piece was played on a 12-string guitar in dropped D tuning, Greg Lake’s white Gibson J-200 most likely. The arpeggio pattern that he keeps going throughout most of the song is really compelling due to the 12-string, mostly when he hits the 3rd string, which brings in the highest note of the sequence. When the guitar is in dropped D tuning, the main chords that are fingered differently are those with roots on the 6th string. In this song that would be G and F, where the bass note must be played 1 whole step higher than where it is in standard tuning.

Another one of the Rolling Stones signature openings, Jumpin' Jack Flash is really just standard barre chords over an independent bass line. This lesson combines the 2 parts and really captures the sound of the original recording. It also shows the main riff and chord progression.

More Than Words, by Extreme features an interesting but difficult technique for the right hand. It is a percussive style of playing that requires a constant rhythm similar to a strumming pattern. The song was written by Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherone and first appeared on the second Extreme album Pornografitti, in 1990.

Karma Police by Radiohead, from their 3rd album OK Computer, is a nice, simple strumming tune, although this haunting melody might be a bit melancholy for a sing-along. An easy strumming pattern and a few barre chords are all it takes

TG is pleased to enter the contemporary-country-pop world with a song that Neil has taught many of his younger students, particularly teenaged girls, Love Story by Taylor Swift. Taylor writes most of her songs and many feature the banjo. This TARGET lesson looks at playing the banjo part on the guitar in an alternate tuning and strumming away

Really a solo guitar song by Eddie Vedder, Just Breathe is a fingerpicking tune much like Dust In The Wind or Blackbird. One of the similarities is that the picking is easy but very fast. This was released in October 2009 on the Pearl Jam album Backspacer.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps was written by George Harrison. The song first appeared on the Beatles' White Album, officially called The Beatles, and this lesson looks at that version as well as George's acoustic demo version that appeared on Beatles Anthology 3.

Locomotive Breath, from Aqualung by Jethro Tull, is a great song to learn to strum using the constant right hand motion technique. You really just need to hit an accented chord on the 1st beat of the measure and then keep a steady flow of eighth notes played percussively (muting the strings). It also gives you a chance to practice barre chords from the A Major shape, one of the most difficult for many people

Our first entry in the great songs of Loggins & Messina, Danny's Song is one you can fingerpick anyway you like, or use a standard Travis pick all the way through. It is in the key of D and includes a common descending bass line similar to Mr. Bojangles. This lesson is done with the Campfire approach as all you need to do is play the chords and sing the song.

Another Rolling Stones Campfire song, You Can't Always Get What You Want is about as easy as it gets in their catalog. A few simple chords and a simple strumming pattern and you've got it. This lesson also talks about playing in different keys using a capo to create different sounds.

Billie's Blues is a short 12-bar exercise that Neil put together using a syncopated bass line and a few standard blues fills in the styles of Robert Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy. Feel free to change it around anyway you like and make it your own.

The Sage starts out like many Lake tunes with a nice cross-picking accompaniment over a couple of extended chords in the key of A minor. This continues for a pair of verses, ending with a solid cadence on the tonic. The classical part introduces us to the technique of using a pick in combination with the right hand fingers, similar to fingerstyle, really. This is a great way to play a song that requires arpeggios, plucked chords on non-adjacent strings, fast single-string runs, and even strumming (which does not happen in this song). This technique is even used to play rapid triplets in spots. This part will take quite a bit of practice to master.

Oh! Susannah was written in the mid-19th century by Stephen Foster. This instrumental arrangement was inspired by James Taylor's version on his album Sweet Baby James. It just takes the melody and adds an alternating bass pattern with a few decorations.

Carefree Highway is one of dozens (maybe even hundreds!) of great songs by Gordon Lightfoot. This Campfire Lesson goes through the chords in the key of E, which include a few from the barre families, and some thoughts on strumming patterns.

And I Love Her is another one or our most requested Beatles songs. This multi-part TARGET Lesson teaches both the rhythm guitar part and a short look at George’s lead.

We have had the rhythm guitar parts to *Year Of The Cat*available for some time but we now have added new videos going over the lead sections to this great song by Al Stewart. This is an example of a song where there are instrumental progressions used that are different from those used in the vocal sections. These instrumental sections include leads that are more composed than improvised, and are the type that can be beneficial to learn, rather than one that is improvised and played differently every time. We have also included a bonus segment that is audio from a concert Neil did with Al in 2005, and played the lead parts addressed in this lesson.

Money For Nothing features one of the most instantly recognizable opening licks of all time. This lesson goes over the way Mark Knopfler plays it, sometimes, as he changes things with every performance. The lesson also includes the rhythm guitar part that accompanies the verses and chorus.

I Feel Fine is mostly a simple, but effective riff derived from the blues scale and applied to a modified 12-bar format. This song is also famous for being the first to use controlled feedback on a recording.

House At Pooh Corner is one of our most requested songs. This Campfire Lesson includes some quick-changing barre chords and talks about transposing it to another key to suite your vocal range.

Today we look at a fingerpicking piece you may have heard but might not be able to place. It is a song written by another student of Neil's guitar teacher Alan Beilharz, Jim Page. You'll have to watch it for more of that story. It is called Busted Down Around O'Connelly Corners and appeared on the 3rd Doobie album, The Captain And Me. It was originally called The Ivory Salamander and features a couple of intermediate licks over an alternating bass pattern using standard chords.

Today we introduce the 1st in a series of easy fingerpicking songs that Neil wrote as exercises similar to Shades Of Funk and Billie's Blues. We start with Monday, a song in a style he calls back porch music in the key of C. There are more of these in the pipeline, many use a standard songwriting form known as AABA.

This fingerpicking song by Stevie Nicks has been a favorite of Neil's students since it was released in the 1970s. It uses a very regular Travis-style pattern and only open chords. In the Play Through segment Neil plays an instrumental version that incorporates the melody into the picking, a chord solo. Tab to this arrangement is included as well.

Today we introduce the 1st in a series of easy fingerpicking songs that Neil wrote as exercises similar to Shades Of Funk and Billie's Blues. We start with Monday, a song in a style he calls back porch music in the key of C. There are more of these in the pipeline, many use a standard songwriting form known as AABA.

Mauro Giuliani was an Italian composer and guitarist from the early 19th century. He wrote many compositions and studies that are still popular in the classical guitar world today. Hector Garcia has put together a series of right hand exercises by Giuliani. Today we take a look at the first two, a great place to start your classical guitar journey.

The Fisherman is one of Leo Kottke's most requested solo pieces. This lesson is broken up into small segments to help make it more approachable to all guitar students who have a moderate amount of fingerpicking experience. It can be found on Leo's 1971 album 6 & 12 String Guitar.

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes is probably Stills’ most recognized song and the one that really brought them into the spotlight, particularly after their appearance at Woodstock in 1969. It was written for contemporary songstress Judy Collins and consists of multiple sections (hence the ‘Suite” part of the name), all of which include complex guitar parts and lush vocal harmonies. The guitar is in the D Modal tuning (DADDAD) and uses a variety of strumming and picking techniques. Some of the lesson addresses improvising in Stills’ style in this open tuning.

Amie was written by Pure Prairie League co-founder Craig Fuller and released on their 2nd album, Bustin' Out in 1972. It became a hit a few years later and is one of the top requested songs here at TG. This lesson goes over the chord progression, strumming patterns, and includes chapters on the Intro Lead, the Main Lead, and the Outro.

California Dreamin’ is a song that exemplifies the era of peace and love. Written by John Phillips shortly before forming The Mamas And The Papas, it was released in 1965 and is a great strumming and singing tune

The Strumming Simplified package includes four complete theory lessons with 60 parts total. Worth over $110 in lessons. Right now we are offering one year of access to these lessons for a limited time at $57.79. That is a savings of almost 50% off! You will also get streaming access for your Apple iPad or iTouch as well!

It Don't Come Easy was one of Ringo Starr's first solo releases, coming out in April 1971. It features a simple opening guitar lick, much in George Harrison's style, who coincidentally 'helped' Ringo significantly with composing the song. George and Ringo performed it live at the Concert For Bangla Desh later that year.

The follow up album by the same line up that did Rumours was 1977's Fleetwood Mac. One of the songs featured on this was Lindsay Buckingham's short guitar piece Naver Going Back Again. It is a basic fingerpicking piece that Lindsay played in Dropped D Tuning but this lesson presents an arrangement in a C Tuning- CGDGBE. This has the 5th string lowered 1 step and the 6th string lowered 2 steps. It is also known as C Wahine in the world of Slack Key Guitar. Using a capo at the 6th fret allows you to play the exact same notes Lindsay played with a little less stretching required.

This arrangement of Amazing Grace includes playing the melody with a slide or bottleneck. The lesson goes over some basic slide techniques as well as some of the different types of slides available.

Tangled Up In Blue is one of Bob Dylan's most popular songs from his early 1970s period, released on Blood On The Tracks in 1974. This Campfire lesson goes over the way it was done on that album in the key of A as well as a little info on other versions Dylan released on the Bootleg Series in other keys.

This lesson on Losing My Religion presents the basic rhythm and strumming, as well as some ways to incorporate a bit of the mandolin parts into the intro and bridge.

Pancho And Lefty was written by Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt and recorded on his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. It has been covered by many artists, including Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Townes always said he didn't really write the song as much as discovered and channeled it, a frequent occurrence for talented songwriters. This Campfire lesson goes over the chord progression and encourages the student to improvise some fingerpicking patterns as the accompaniment.

Eva Cassidy has become widely known as a phenomenal interpreter of songs from many eras. Unfortunately, this has all been after her untimely passing at the age of 33 in 1996. She had the ability to create simple guitar arrangements to act as the perfect backdrop to her incredible voice. In this lesson we look at her take on Fields Of Gold, written by Sting and originally done on his album Ten Summoner's Tales.

Listen To The Music was the song that launched the Doobie Brothers into the national and international spotlight. It was released in 1972 on their second album Toulouse Street and featured one of Tom Johnston's signature opening guitar riffs- a syncopated hammer-on into an E major/A major cycle. The chord progression mostly stays in the key of E, using barre chords and partial barre chords but the main challenge is getting the opening strumming pattern just right.

So this is a special guest acoustic lesson from MattB. If you are yet to watch MattB's interview series please go and check that out. For those of you yet to realize, Matt has been blind from 2 years old on, and yet has become a great guitar teacher, player, and artist. In 2005, Jack Johnson released the album In Between Dreams, a disc that would include a number of hits that cemented Johnson as an acoustic rock favorite. Hawaiian-born and California-educated, Johnson's voice and style echoes Nick Drake of the 1960's with a slightly tropical flare. This song showcases the possibilities available with four chords for a verse and a chorus, spices things up with a bluesy bridge, and, best of all, starts things off with a sweet and groovy acoustic guitar lead.

Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard came out in 1971 on Paul Simon's 1st solo album, after the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel. It is a pretty straightforward chord progression in the key of A but has a very distinctive intro using specific voicings of the main chords (I, IV & V). Otherwise, a simple strumming song using only open chords.

Oh Well is from the early days when Fleetwood Mac was a British Blues Band led by guitarist Peter Green. Its distinctive opening riff, as well as the rest of what was considered Oh Well Part 1 are covered in this lesson.

Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown was one of his biggest hits, as well as one of his easiest songs to play. It was released in 1974 and got him back on the musical map as it had been a few years since his last hit, If You Could Read My Mind. It uses just a few open chords and is done with a simple rock strum.

This lesson is based on Sting's original version of Fields Of Gold, which appeared on Ten Summoner's Tales in 1993. It covers the chord progression, a percussive accompaniment technique, and ways of transposing it to a comfortable singing key according to your range.

The Canon In D by Johann Pachelbel is one of the most popular and widely recognized compositions from the last 500 years. Pachelbel was a German musician who predated J.S. Bach by a generation in the mid- late Baroque period. A canon is one of the most strict and complex forms of composition that exists, requiring the composer to construct a melody that can be played in multiple voices and blend with each other where each voice is following each other, playing the exact same melody. It is a bit like an endless round. Pacelbel's Canon In D was originally written for three violins to carry the melody over a basso continuo part which outlined the harmony. This part could be played on a harpsichord, cello, or even a lute. It follows a simple chord progression that can be broken down into 8 equal units with regular changes. In the key of D Major, the chord progression is D - A - Bm - F#m - G - D - G - A. The original score started with the bass introducing the progression, then Violin I starting the melody, followed by Violin II and Violin III each one series behind. Due to the nature of the original composition, an accurate and complete solo guitar arrangement is impossible. Many pieces of the original melody lend themselves very well to a guitar transcription, and keeping the harmony with chords and bass notes is manageable. However, the three voices played in counterpoint on a six-string guitar with only two hands has led to many guitarists of varying levels creating their own arrangements with a huge range of accuracy and difficulty. Hector Garcia's arrangement is done in Dropped D Tuning (DADGBE)and features the opening chord progression and a dozen or so variations on the melody, ranging from Level 4 to Level 8. We encourage guitar students to tackle this masterpiece in small chunks, the equivalent of 4-measure sections in this arrangement.

This TARGET lesson is the top requested lesson here at TG - While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison. The song first appeared on the Beatles' White Album, officially called The Beatles, and this lesson looks at that version as well as George's acoustic demo version that appeared on Beatles Anthology 3.

If Not For You was written by Bob Dylan and appeared on his 1970 album New Morning. George Harrison, who had always been a fan of and was heavily influenced by Dylan, covered in it 1970 as well on his album All Things Must Pass. George's version added some slide guitar to the accompaniment, giving it a touch of his signature sound. The lesson goes over the chord progression as well as some of the slide fills. If you have not tried playing bottleneck or slide guitar you might start with the lesson on Amazing Grace. If Not For You is a good one for the second step of your bottleneck journey.

The Ocean is a classic Jimmy Page riff-based song which first appeared on their 5th album Houses Of The Holy in 1973. The riff is a great example of how Jimmy Page uses unusual time signatures to create a heavily syncopated sound.

Under The Milky Way, by The Church was released in 1988 on their album Starfish. The guitar part is simple strumming on one hand, but there are some nice nuances that can be brought out that add a little to the challenge.

With the lesson on Hey, Soul Sister, we step pretty far into the recent past, maybe even into the current music scene. Lead singer Pat Monahan said they were trying to write something in the style of INXS but as it evolved he was not happy with the sound. Maybe it was because it followed the classic 'Pachelbel Progression', I-V-vi-IV, also found in songs like Let It Be, With Or Without You, and Jason Mraz's I'm Yours, to mention a few of the thousands in this category. In any case, once band mate Espen Lind strummed it on the ukulele, he was convinced that they had found the right recipe. In this lesson we look at chord voicings that sound more like the ukulele.

Today we head back into our Intros, Riffs& Licks series with Life In The Fast Lane by the Eagles. This was a song based on a Joe Walsh riff that has a Jimmy Page-like syncopation, where the melodic figure starts on a different beat after a few repetitions. See if you can spot the similarity between this and Black Dog, and even Band On The Run by Paul McCartney.

America is a simple strumming song in 3/4 time fingered in the key of C, although a capo can be used to put it in a more comfortable key for your voice. It was written by Paul Simon and appeared on the 4th Simon & Garfunkel album, Bookends. This lesson looks at descending bass lines and some little embellishments you can add to a few of the chords to dress it up a bit.

In 1975 Fleetwood Mac revamped their line up with the addition of guitarist Lindsay Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks. Rhiannon became one of their biggest hits with a great guitar riff backing Stevie's haunting vocals. This lesson goes over the fingerstyle riff with a steady bass line and the chords to the chorus, as well as tab to Neil's chord solo arrangement as heard in the Play Through segment.

Long Train Runnin' is a classic Tom Johnston riff-based tune which was released on the 3rd Doobie Brothers album, The Captain And Me in 1973. The simple chord progression revolves around 2-note hammer-ons and pull-offs above a barre chord, with a syncopated strumming pattern.

The last Simon & Garfunkel album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, included The Boxer, a semi-autobiographical Paul Simon song that is one of our most requested. Another classic Simon lick starts this otherwise somewhat generic fingerpicking song. The lesson includes a fingerstyle arrangement of the solo as well.

Cat Stevens made a couple of albums that were not particularly notable, until he found a style and a bit of direction with Mona Bone Jakon in 1970. The follow up, Tea For The Tillerman included Wild World, as well as Father And Son, and really established Cat as a star on the acoustic music scene. This lesson includes a couple of the fills that made this simple song very captivating.

Homeward Bound was one of the early follow ups to Simon& Garfunkel's 1st hit, The Sounds Of Silence. It opens with a classic Paul Simon intro that establishes the key of G Mixolydian. The accompaniment is mostly a fast but subtle couple of fingerpicking patterns with main emphasis on the bass notes.

April Come She Will - This is a very early song of Paul Simon's, from the 2nd Simon & Garfunkel album The Sounds Of Silence. It is unusual in that is one of a few tunes sung solo by Art Garfunkel. It is fairly basic fingerpicking in the key of G, with no barre chords in sight!

The 1st Simon & Garfunkel hit, from both of their first two albums, Wednesday Morning 3 AM and The Sounds Of Silence. This tune became a hit after the record label remixed the original recording and talked Paul into coming back to the US to resume their career.

American Tune is an intriguing look at our country from Paul Simon's 2nd solo album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. This lesson includes a simplified, almost Campfire version, as well as a more intricate look at some of the fingerpicking fills and bass lines Paul used.

Mrs. Robinson was originally written for the movie 'The Graduate', starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. Paul Simon later wrote more lyrics and polished the few that he had before they included it on their 4th album, Bookends. This lesson starts with a Campfire Version, then adds the main riff ,a fill and some passing bass notes, before ffinishing up with a flashy instrumental flatpicking arrangement of the intro. The Campfire Version is a level 4, the addition of the riff and such pushes it to a 5 or 6, and the instrumental intro bumps it up into the level 8 range.

Dust In The Wind is a classic Travis-style fingerpicking song that is a 'must learn' lesson for all guitar students. It uses a steady alternating bass technique in a repetitive pattern. The main difficulty is getting it up to speed but it will come with practice. It appeared on Kansas's 1978 album Point Of Know Return.

Duncan is a typical Paul Simon fingerpicking song with a story about the coming of age of a young man who enjoys playing the guitar. The verse is done with standard fingerpicking patterns but the lesson also includes a solo arrangement of the instrumental section, which could really be considered a chorus, as it occurs between each 2 verses.

This new lessons package includes 10 Simon And Garfunkel song lessons valued at $149.59. Right now we are offering one year of access to these lessons for a limited time at $57.95. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you all of the Simon And Garfunkel classics.

The Dangling Conversation is one of Paul Simon's most poetic compositions and features a fairly simple fingerpicking accompaniment. The original recording, on their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, was done using a capo at the 3rd fret in the key of G and included some nice bass lines connecting the chords, all of which are covered in the lesson.

This is one of the simplest Jimmy Page riffs ever. Whole Lotta Love became one of Led Zeppelin's early signature songs after it was released on Led Zeppelin II.

What I Got is from Sublime's 3rd album, Sublime (self-titled or eponymous if you will), and became their biggest radio hit in 1996. MattB's lesson is presented in 2 parts, one looking at the rhythm guitar part and the other going over the lead. It uses a strumming pattern similar to Good Riddance by Green Day but is a little slower and uses fewer chords. The lead section has a few tips and techniques that you will want to apply to many other songs as well.

China Grove is one of Tom Johnston's signature sound songs. It is just a simple, but driving power chord based riff, combined with a few guitar fills and inspired vocals from Tom, with Pat Simmons and Tiran Porter adding great backing parts and harmony. The song was released in 1973 on the 3rd Doobie Brothers album, The Captain And Me. This lesson goes over the main rhythm guitar parts with a few lead fills thrown in.

This fingerpicking song by Pat Simmons shows off even another dimension in the Doobie Brothers' sound - a bluesy, southern feel. It is a simple chord progression done in Double Dropped D Tuning but includes some snappy syncopated picking as well. The lesson covers all the accompaniment guitar parts.

The Doobie Brothers were a band with a couple of different personalities and sounds. Tom Johnston's hard rockers were balanced with Pat Simmons softer, country-rock tunes. South City Midnight Lady is one of his best from a guitar player's point of view as it features a free-form accompaniment style that is part strumming and part fingerpicking.

This new lessons package includes Doobie Brothers 5+ pack valued at over $75. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for $37.95. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan.

Chicago is a country blues tunes that Pat Simmons learned as a young musician in Northern California in the mid 1960s from a local performer named Billy Dean, who was also referenced in a Hot Tuna song on their album Burgers. It is a modified 12-bar blues tune played in a Travis style in the key of A. It found a home as the last track on the 1st Doobie Brothers album in 1971.

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is an acoustic fingerpicking song played using arpeggios (chords played one string at a time). It uses a repetitive 4-mote pattern and the challenge is to keep all notes ringing as long as possible. Jimmy Page took credit for arranging it as a traditional tune when it appeared on the first Led Zeppelin album. Page and Robert Plant had heard it on a Joan Baez album and later added the real author, Anne Bredon to their credits.

This new lessons package includes Country Blues Guitar Volume 1 valued at over $89. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for $57.95. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you Country Blues Guitar.

This is from Jimmy's 1974 album 'Living And Dying in 3/4 Time' and is typical of many of his tunes- mostly open chords, easy strumming, and easy to sing by many folks without real voices! This song includes a hybrid picking technique that is part arpeggio and part alternating bass, as well as transitions from picking to strumming and back, which are a sticky thing for many students.

This was the title song from Jimmy's 1977 album that really took him out of the local Florida scene and brought him into the national spotlight. The album also featured Margaritaville. Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes is a pretty basic Campfire song in the key of D and includes a couple of barre chords. This lesson looks at a percussive strumming pattern and includes 3 short instrumental parts where the melody/lead is incorporated into the strumming

From Jimmy Buffett's 1974 Album A1A, A Pirate Looks At 40 is an introspective ballad that follows a simple 12-Bar Progression in the key of G. This lesson includes various fingerpicking accompaniment techniques and really encourages the student to create their own arrangement with each performance. There is also a segment on playing it in an Open G Tuning, along with a look at the way Jack Johnson covered it.

In 1978 Jimmy Buffett released his 9th album, Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, following his breakthrough album Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes. This song is another great example of how Jimmy can take a simple progression, melody, and accompaniment and create a very catchy tune. The lesson focuses on using a pick and mostly a single-string arpeggio technique. We also take a look at playing the intro combining two guitar parts into one

This new lessons package includes 6 lessons valued at over $89. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for $37.97. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan.

One of his earlier songs, He Went To Paris is a song Jimmy wrote after meeting Spanish Civil War veteran Eddie Balchowsky. It appeared on his 1973 album A White Sport Coat And A Pink Crustacean. It follows (or started?) a typical Buffett formula of a one-part song, meaning a series of verses without any real chorus. It was also covered by Willie Nelson. This lesson features a simple fingerstyle accompaniment with a few variations.

Margaritaville would have to be the defining song of Jimmy Buffett's career, as well as a poignant commentary on the state of American culture. In any case, the song is very fun to play and would have to be considered a poster song for the term 'Campfire Song'. In this lesson we look at some variations in chord voicings and inversions that can be added to the chorus, as well as playing the intro and the lead in 2-part harmony.

A Chord Solo is an instrumental arrangement of a song that incorporates the chord progression, the melody, and the rhythm and wraps them up into something playable by a solo guitarist. They also make great instrumental sections to a song you are singing, much like the original recording might include a lead break. This set of lessons introduces some of the concepts and techniques to get you started on this journey. It is designed to teach you how to make your own arrangements, not just play some that you may have heard.

Today we are thrilled to bring you an electric guitar lesson from our good buddy MattB. He brings us Beverly Hills by Weezer, from their 2005 album Make Believe. The lesson is based on power chords and inverted power chords, and is done in MattB's style of learning by listening carefully, no tablature involved. The lesson includes all parts to the song, as well as segments on the solo and a little technical talk about palm muting.

The second Led Zeppelin album (Led Zeppelin II) included some great riff-based songs. Heartbreaker has to be one of their best and proved to be the inspiration and model for hundreds of songs that followed it. The recording also featured a classic improvised, unaccompanied guitar solo by Jimmy Page that was later edited into the released version. This lesson looks mostly at the riff and rhythm guitar parts.

Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather")" is a song written for "The Godfather" (1972), the first film in the Godfather trilogy. While its instrumental version is simply known as "The Godfather Theme", "Speak Softly Love" is the vocal version. The words are by Larry Kusik with music by Nino Rota. Originally sung by Andy Williams, other artists, such as Bobby Vinton, have also recorded the song. Slash of Velvet Revolver (formerly of Guns N' Roses) had also performed it in a hard rock style. Slash's version contains backing chords from Izzy Stradlin, bass from Duff McKagan, piano from Axl Rose and has a solo in the beginning. Many versions recorded all over the world are also popular. There are multiple arrangements of the theme for large and small orchestras, bands, and even ethnic instrument groups. Also, there are solo versions arranged for the most popular instruments. Good guitar arrangements are among the best, since the music allows guitar players to use the rich expressive features that the instrument offers.

Plush is from the first album by the Stone Temple Pilots, Core, released in 1992. It features some colorful chords played on the top 4 strings with a great distortion sound. This lesson covers all the parts; Verse, Bridge, and a couple of different choruses, as well as a bit of theory talk on Modal Interchange.

Written by Nino Rota, the romantic theme from the movie Romeo and Juliet is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful movie themes.There have been several different versions of the song including the famous instrumental version by Henry Mancini and the ones by Luciano Pavarotti and Josh Groban. This guitar arrangement is based on a piano version. The A minor key chosen for the arrangement makes it possible to have a version that fits the instrument well and uses most of its range while allowing the player to use expressive elements that are essentially guitaristic (vibratos, slides, etc.). This makes the piece sound as if it were composed originally for guitar.

Island In The Sun is from Weezer's 2001 album 'Weezer', aka The Green Album. It is basically a strumming song played with barre chords in the standard 'E' and 'A' shapes. MattB's lesson goes over the Verse, the Chorus, the Bridge, and also the short guitar solo

We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Muriel Anderson and were thrilled that she was gracious enough to put together a couple of short lesson for TG. Here we have her arrangement of Nola, a 1915 novelty piano piece composed by Felix Arndt for his fiancee. This beautiful, ragtime-like tune in 12/8 time has been very popular with guitarists over the years. Muriel's version is done in a G6 or Dropped G Tuning (DGDGBE) and the tab is available to purchase at her site- http://www.murielanderson.com/store.html'p=sheetmusic There are multiple sections to the song and Muriel's lesson goes over the main section, which reoccurs between all the other sections, like a chorus would with multiple verses. If there is enough interest, we would consider having Neil continue with the other sections somewhere down the line.

Greensleeves is a traditional English Folk song. The piece was probably composed before the year 1580 since a ballad by this name was registered in that year. Nobody knows who the composer of Greensleeves is, although there is a persistent belief that the piece was composed by Henry VIII. Greenleeves is also mentioned in some of Shakespeare works. Through the centuries, Greenleaves has been a beloved piece. There are many instrumental and song type versions. The guitar arrangement that is used for this lesson includes a main theme in traditional stile plus two variations. The first variation uses a set of arpeggios that follow the classical style from the 1800s. The 2nd variation is stylistically closer to the original theme. It has some counterpoint and ornaments that are found in renaissance music.

Today we bring you another electric lesson from Stef. One of the bands he was heavily influenced by was AC/DC. He has put together a lesson on all the rhythm parts to You Shook Me All Night Long, one of the most popular sports warm up soundtracks of all time. Crank up the distortion and give it a try.

Today's TARGET Lesson has an interesting history. Neil was very surprised and impressed with this recent Tom Petty song, I Should Have Known It, and also ran across a teaching competition going on at Ovation Guitars. He put together a short lesson on the song and entered the contest with it. For some unknown reason Ovation chose not to publish the entry so we are bringing it out for our members. Neil's lesson combines a couple of guitar parts into one that is done in a G6 tuning, lowering the 5th and 6th strings 1 step. It is a great example of a solid riff-based tune framed in a modified 12-bar blues format.

You Really Got Me was the 1st big hit for the Kinks, just when they were on the verge of being dropped by their record company. Neil considers it one of the 1st, and best examples of 'Caveman Rock'. It uses 2 power chords in a very simple theme that is then repeated at 3 different spots on the neck. This is a great place to start your excursion into sliding power chords.

Over The Hills And Far Away is from Led Zeppelin's fifth album Houses Of The Holy, and is a great example of Jimmy Page's effective use of syncopation and complex acoustic picking and strumming, as well as quick hammer-ons and pull-offs. This lesson focuses mostly on the acoustic intro but also addresses the power chord riffs that appear later.

I'll Follow The Sun is a very early Paul McCartney song with a very simple chord progression and short lead. This 'Campfire' song is very playable by beginning guitar players as soon as you can play an F chord, although the barred version is preferable. We also look at incorporating the 8-note lead into the strumming.

American Woman is one the Guess Who's most recognized classics. The team of Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings essentially improvised this on stage one day, added bluesy acoustic intro to the 'Caveman' riff and took over the charts in 1970. The song can be played in standard tuning but was originally done in an uncommon Em7 tuning. Our TARGET lesson looks at the intro, the riff, and the opening lead, all done in this tuning.

Probably the most famous tune by Ray Davies and the Kinks, Lola came out in 1970 on their album Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round. It is a relatively simple strumming song but includes some barre chords and syncopated changes.

Wonderful Life is a beautiful song written by Colin Vearncombe, who headed his band, Black. They were popular in the UK but never quite made it in the US. He is a very talented songwriter and singer and this song is pretty basic with a nice intro that sets the stage. Check out their videos. The main focus of this lesson is to start adding a little percussion to your accompaniment.

A new addition to our shorter series is Ticket To Ride, by the Beatles, from their movie Help. This is a good example of how a songwriter (Paul McCartney) can take a very simple melodic riff derived from a chord, and craft a brilliant piece of pop. A few barre chords are needed but otherwise this is a very accessible tune.

The Kinks were a band with many sounds. Today we take a look at a song that many people don't even know was them but they can immediately identify the tune. Sunny Afternoon was written by Ray Davies and is a very quirky look at life with money. The chord progression is based on a descending bass line in a minor key and has a somewhat jazzy feel. It also seems a bit strange that a Brit would mention 'ice cold beer'. One of Neil's favorites so we had to do it!

I've Just Seen A Face is a bluegrass flavored flatpicking song of Paul McCartney's from the Beatles' album Help. The accompaniment includes a fast country pattern of hitting bass notes, some of which are hammered on, and also uses passing notes to connect the chords. The lesson also goes over two acoustic guitar parts played as an intro, and George's short lead break.

All Day And All Of The Night was the second hit for the Kinks, on the heels of You Really Got Me. It also continues the 'Caveman' concept and takes it up a notch with the addition of some full barre chords, including some from the 'A' family, which really require 2 barres. The riff is a bit more complex as well.

Silent Lucidity uses a modified arpeggio accompaniment pattern, occasionally with measures in an odd time signature, over relatively simple chords that include some open strings. We take a look at the picking in the verses, strumming and a picking pattern in the chorus, the accompaniment to the solo, and even the solo itself.

Stairway To Heaven would probably have to be considered one of the greatest songs in rock history, as well as a very important song for all guitar players to learn. It encompasses many techniques from fingerpicking arpeggios to strumming partial chords moving up the neck, and of course a killer lead to close the epic. This lesson covers all the rhythm guitar parts.

Get Together is one of the most recognizable songs from the mid 1960s, and features the voice of Jesse Colin Young and his band, the Youngbloods. The lesson covers the campfire version, a couple of ways to play the opening lead, a bit about transposing to a key to better suite your voice, as well as details on creating a chord solo by combining the chords and melody.

My Sweet Lord has been one of our leading vote getters in the Recommend A Lesson here at TG for quite a while. This lesson covers strumming it in a couple of different keys, one using a capo, and also goes over the slide guitar parts that immediately identify the song.

Judy is a classic guitar instrumental from John Renbourn's debut album, released in 1965. It is 3 short sections that cover a range of techniques and textures. It was modeled after some of the ideas in Davey Graham's Anji and is representative of what many English guitarists were doing in the mid 1960s.

Blister In The Sun is from 1982, the Violent Femmes debut album. The song is a short, catchy riff in the key of G, with some fast strumming over easy chords. This is a good song to work on a relatively easy set of techniques that are made difficult because of the speed involved.

Today's Campfire release is a classic from Roy Orbison, aka Lefty Wilbury in a later incarnation, Oh Pretty Woman. This is an example of a song with a catchy opening riff leading into a solid chord progression that then modulates into a neighboring key. Sounds like a lot for a simple song but this is a lot of fun to play.

Continuing the looking at oldies theme, we tackle the only Turtles song that hit #1 in the US, Happy Together (knocking out Penny Lane in 1967). The song is mostly a simple strumming tune but in the lesson we look at fingerpicking the distinctive intro.

David Gilmour's recent release On An Island, included this beautiful ballad, Smile. It was a song he started about 10 years before and finally got back to it, leading to the recording of a bunch of new tunes. It is very basic strumming in 3/4 time and can be done without barre chords, although the addition of a full F is recommended.

After our flurry of intermediate level songs, we end this week with John Mayer's Why Georgia. This song uses very elaborate, percussive picking, as well as a somewhat difficult filler lick over a relatively uncomfortable and unusual chord, and that's just the first 2 measures. The rest of the song gets easier, a little, but don't let that scare you off!

In My Life might be considered the first song to take the Beatles to a higher level as songwriters. It appears to be a little more collaborative than most of their songs but John and Paul's recollections of its beginnings differ somewhat. In this lesson we look at a basic rhythm accompaniment and George's opening lead lick, as well as a slightly more complex accompaniment to the keyboard solo.

As we approach the holiday season, we are thrilled to bring out a classic American tale; Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie. This is an example of a ragtime fingerpicking progression acting as the background for a long story. This style of talking blues is frequently credited to Arlo's dad, Woody Guthrie. The lesson goes over a slightly simplified arrangement as well as one that addresses more complex ornamentation and variation

Cinnamon Girl appeared on Neil Young’s second solo album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. The arrangement featured heavily distorted guitars that now can probably be looked at as the roots of the grunge movement. Neil frequently performs an acoustic version of Cinnamon Girl with the guitar tuned to Double Dropped D (DADGBD). This makes for a lot of easy-to-play chords that are done with partial bars, sometimes across just the higher strings and sometimes just across the lower strings.

I'll Be Back is another example of a great Beatles tune that is mostly strumming but includes a clever opening lick, as well as shifts in tonality from major to minor, unlike anything else rock musicians were doing at the time.

Tobacco Road is a well known and much recorded tune written by John D. Loudermilk but made famous by the likes of Lou Rawls, Eric Burdon, and Rare Earth, but originally recorded by an English band- the Nashville Teens. This lesson looks at the way John did it originally, using only 2 chords. Later, most artists turned it into a 12-bar blues

Today we take a look at an electric classic, Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd, courtesy of our Skynyrd expert, Stef Beddeson. This was one of a handful of hits from their debut album in 1973. The lesson goes over the arpeggiated accompaniment to the basic 3 chord progression, as well as the backing riff and strumming to the chorus.

Lagrima is one of the simple preludes for guitar composed by the great Spanish guitarist Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909). The piece is very popular among classical guitar students. There are several recorded versions of Lagrima, including the ones done by Andres Segovia and Julian Bream. Consistent with other Tarrega compositions, Lagrima is an intimate piece that requires a careful observation of the instrumentòÀÙs palette of sounds.

Many of the Beatles songs make great Campfire songs and We Can Work It Out is today's addition to our library. As simple as many of their tunes are, pretty much every one has some unusual twists and turns that offer great learning opportunities. We Can Work It Out has a very interesting rhythmic change, as well as some chords with unusual bass notes. We even attempt a multi-fret barre at one point

Country Blues Guitar Volume 1 is a course designed to give you the tools and develop the techniques needed to play fingerstyle acoustic blues in the styles of the early masters; Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Big Bill Broonzy, and Mississippi John Hurt to name a few, as well as those by the next generation; Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna), Stefan Grossman, Dave Van Ronk, David Bromberg, and many others. The course is presented in 6 multi-part sections; an Introduction and 5 Lessons, and includes over 3 hours of detailed instruction and information.

Down By The River was one of the first jamming tunes from Neil Young. Others in the same vein would include Cowgirl In The Sand, Southern Man, Like A Hurricane, etc. Neil frequently plays an acoustic version, sometimes as part of a medley that includes Cinnamon Girl and The Loner. He uses a Double Dropped D tuning (DADGBD) for this, which slightly changes some of the chord fingerings. The song is in common (4/4) time and revolves around the chords Em7 and A, making it in the key of D major. However, the tonic note is E, putting this in the Dorian mode. The lead can be played using the E minor pentatonic scale.

Alison is one of Elvis Costello's best known songs, it was released on his first album My Aim Is True, in 1977. Like many of his songs, the lyrics can be interpreted in multiple ways, and it is not likely that this is the love song that it might appear upon first listen. The song is in the key of E, and that means plenty of barre chords, including some 1-beat changes. The lesson uses a fingerstyle plucking technique in the intro, followed by finger strumming accompanying the verse and chorus.

Rocky Mountain High might be considered John Denver's signature song, although there would have to be a couple of others in the running, and was released in 1972 on his album of the same name. It is done in Dropped D tuning with a capo at the 2nd fret and features a nice little melodic lick picked out at the beginning. This is a great example of the quintessential 'Campfire Song.'

Solitary Man was Neil Diamond's first solo hit, released in 1966, although it was rereleased in 1970 and had better chart success. The song uses the five open chords in the key of G and the basic folk strum.

My My Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) was written by Neil Young around 1977 when he was playing with the Ducks, a Northern California club band. We have a simple set of chords in the key of A minor- Am7, Am, G, Fmaj7, F, C, and Em7. The use of minor 7 and major 7 chords helps give the song a soft, almost jazzy feel.

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald was a big hit for Gordon Lightfoot, from his 1976 album Summertime Dream. The song is a recount of the sinking of the freighter on Lake Superior in 1975. The lesson is mostly strumming open chords but we take a look at the opening lead fill as well.

Reverend Gary Davis is one of the most influential fingerstyle guitarists in history. This lesson is on one of his most famous songs, Candyman. It uses mostly an alternating bass pattern, although it is inverted from the standard lower string first pattern. Rev. Davis referred to this style as 'old fashioned picking' and felt it was somewhat elementary compared to some of his more complex pieces. We also look at his instrumental version called Two Step Candyman.

Take It Easy was the first single for the Eagles, released on their debut album in 1972. It was written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey and later appeared on Browne's second album For Everyman. It is pretty much a Campfire song but the lesson also looks at the syncopated strumming pattern that opens the song.

Cocaine Blues is another Rev. Gary Davis tune in a style that he called "old fashioned picking", meaning steady alternating bass notes and not too complex in his eyes. It is one of his most covered songs, having been played by the likes of Dave Van Ronk and Jackson Browne for example. This lesson presents a simple way of accompanying the verse and chorus as well as more complicated variations and a short instrumental solo.

As was alluded to in our Country Blues Volume 1 set of lessons, we are bringing you some fingerstyle blues by Mississippi John Hurt. One of his simplest songs is Shake That Thing, a tune that showcases some easy licks in the key of G and is our starting point for exploring more from this blues legend.

As ELP was winding down the first phase of their career in 1974, Greg recorded a solo single that has become a seasonal standard, I Believe In Father Christmas. This piece is also done in Dropped D and uses a simple set of 2-finger chords working their way down the neck. He plays this with the hybrid picking technique but it can be done with standard fingerstyle technique as well.

Undun, by the Guess Who, is a song that Neil considers one of the best ever written. It has multiple elements that contribute to this- a shocking opening chord that grabs your attention immediately, a syncopated opening vocal line that seems slightly out of sync, a creative and unusual chord progression with a memorable melody and catchy lyrics, a spectacular vocal performance by Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman's percussive guitar accompaniment with some clever fills, and the icing on the cake- a jazzy flute solo. Level 8 When Neil started working on this lesson he wasn't confident enough with his vocal abilities to feel comfortable singing the Play Through segment so he recruited his friend Jim Ford to drop in and run through it with him. As a bonus sideline to this lesson we are including a couple of 'Behind the Scenes' videos- an alternate Play Through segment where Jim sings, as well as their entire session with a few run throughs of the song and some general music discussions. They ended up playing Undun 3 times, and not surprisingly, the first take was the best. We hope you enjoy the informal clip.

Greg Lake has penned a handful of great songs for guitarists. He is of course best known as the bass player and voice of progressive rock pioneers Emerson, Lake& Palmer but his acoustic guitar songs are mini- masterpieces that feature complex and intricate techniques, as well as beautiful melodies. In this set of lessons we breakdown his five most requested and popular tunes.

Continuing with our Country Blues Series, we take a look at Fishing Blues, as done by Taj Mahal in his early days, the late 1960s. The song originated with Henry 'Ragtime Texas' Thomas in the 1920s but became a staple for some of the folk-rock-psychedelic-blues groups of the 60s like the Lovin' Spoonful and the Jefferson Airplane. It is played in Dropped D Tuning with a steady alternating bass, similar to songs by Mississippi John Hurt.

As Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were headed down their Four-Way Street, Neil put together a group of country musicians that he called the Stray Gators and recorded songs in Nashville with guests like James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. The Needle And The Damage Done is a pretty simple folk song in 4/4 time that uses an 8-measure progression. It is played with a pick in a chord-melody style where melody notes are individually picked out in the middle of strumming.

Stagolee is another staple in the Country Blues world from Mississippi John Hurt. His arrangement showcases an unusual 11-bar blues form and is done with a steady alternating bass in the key of D. Like many of his tunes, it features clever, but simple licks found in the chord shapes.

This instrumental arrangement of Fishing Blues combines the melody with a moving, or walking bass part, creating 2 independent voices. The resulting sound is almost that of a duet, but of course being played by one guitarist. The goal with this type of piece is that each voice should be as clear as if you were playing it solo. This requires and develops a high level of finger independence.

Got The Blues, Can't Be Satisfied is another example of Mississippi John Hurt's delicate fingerpicking style. It uses his typical alternating bass accompaniment to little licks and fills in the key of G. It is a modified 12-bar progression, having 2 extra half measures to complete a signature fill of his and particularly challenging because it is played pretty quickly and includes vocals sung over a couple of bluesy licks

As we enter 2011 we are bringing you a song that is just a few months old- Beg Steal Or Borrow by Ray LaMontagne. Ray recently hit the scene with a throwback sound and look, along with some great songs. Beg Steal Or Borrow is pretty much a folky Campfire song that just uses a steady strumming pattern over mostly open chords. The song has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the US for last year.

Supertramp is one of the iconic bands of the 70s. Roger Hodgson's unmistakeable vocals really defined the band's sound, along with his 12-string guitar and keyboards by Rick Davies. Give A Little Bit is one of our most requested songs over the last year and we are happy to get to this lesson that Neil has shown many students over the years. The strumming pattern is heavily syncopated and broken up into 16th note rhythms that are one of the main points addressed in the lesson.

As many of you know, Neil has quite an attraction to classic progressive rock, particularly that which falls into the 'symphonic' category. Renaissance would be the band he most closely identifies with in that genre and today we are bringing you a strumming version of one of only a few songs of theirs that can be done in an almost 'campfire' style. Ocean Gypsy was released on their 1975 album Scheherazade And Other Stories. The song features a complex chord progression and a classical solo piano section but can be strummed and sung with a little alternate picking in the intro.

Pink Floyd had been evolving and honing their craft and sound for nearly a decade by the time they released The Dark Side Of The Moon in 1973. The chord progression features combinations of chords that clash a bit. It starts with a pair of D to G7 changes and follows with E while keeping D as the bass note. This is a perfect example of an off-balance series to set the mood for a song about insanity, or at least perceived insanity.

Ain't No Tellin' by Mississippi John Hurt takes us into another of his favorite keys, C Major, and uses most of his typical licks in that key. It is an example of the 16-bar blues form, really more of a folk form, that he commonly used as well. The Travis-style accompaniment includes using the left thumb to wrap around to fret the 6th string for F chords, but otherwise the main challenges with the song are the speed and synchronizing the vocals

Nirvana came onto the scene in the early 1990s and was a major part of the grunge movement that started in the Pacific Northwest, partially inspired by some of Neil Young's songs and styles. Kurt Cobain wrote and sang some very basic songs, most of which are interesting chord progressions along with some cool riffs. Come As You Are is a great example of this as it starts with a simple riff that is followed with a set of 2-finger barre chords. It is important to play the riff with the alternating picking technique, and the barre chords could even be reduced to power chords, making this song even a little easier to play.

Candy Man Blues is by Mississippi John Hurt and is one of his more complex songs. It features the alternating bass technique but not always in the standard order. It also uses some passing bass notes and unusual inversions of chords where open bass strings are used that are not normally part of the chord. It is in the key of A and includes some interesting chord shapes up the neck in the solo section

Here we have a short lesson on I'm Free by The Who. This is an example of how Pete Townsend can take a very simple idea, add some syncopation, and come up with a great exercise in counting carefully. It opens with a 'Caveman' riff that is followed with some basic rhythm guitar, and that's about it. This was from their 1969 classic concept album Tommy.

As a follow-up to Tommy, Pete Townsend embarked on another opera-type project called Lifehouse. It never really materialized but some of the songs written for it appeared in 1971 on Who's Next. Behind Blue Eyes has some different parts that use a wide variety of techniques. It opens with arpeggiated picking over chords in the key of E minor, followed with some basic strumming through the chorus, then adds a short sample of Pete's signature double-time strum, before changing modes and rocking out a bit. This has been one of our most requested lessons for quite a while.

Mississippi John Hurt was one of the most popular and influential guitarists in the Country Blues Style. His playing was graceful and complemented his gentle voice perfectly. Most of his songs featured Travis-style alternate bass picking, although he was generally not concerned with traditional harmony or establishing consistent patterns, as much as creating a solid and fascinating accompaniment to his songs. He commonly played in 4 different keys, and in this package we look at an example of each one, as well as a very basic instrumental to get started.

In this lesson we look at the last song on the first album by the Traveling Wilburys, End Of the Line. The Wilburys consisted of George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne (ELO and producer of most of George's albums), Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. Many of the songs were true collaborations with parts written and sung by all members of the band. End Of The Line is a very basic strumming song but includes an intro that uses 3-string chords up the neck. These are from the D, A and E families and played on just the top 3 strings.

By late 1966 the Beatles were into heavy production and processing in the studio, being free to spend as much time as they wanted on any particular song. This period of creativity produced some of their most elaborate songs, most of which might not seem adaptable to playing solo and singing. However, most of them started off being simple guitar songs. Strawberry Fields Forever, started by John when he was shooting a movie in Spain, began this way and we are fortunate to have access to some very early recordings as John was in the habit of recording all his ideas as they developed. This lesson combines a few versions but is mostly taken from the one released as Take 1, on Anthology 2, with the addition of the introduction arranged for solo guitar.

Here we have a great example of the collaborative effort the Traveling Wilburys put together on Volume 1, the opening song, Handle With Care. It features an opening segment by George, followed by a section featuring Roy, and a 3rd part done by Tom, Bob and Jeff. The chords are very basic and the strumming can be simple as well, although we look at a pattern that includes double bass notes played on consecutive eighths, which adds a bit to the level of difficulty.

Another song that on first glance doesn't seem very playable, Penny Lane can be done by transposing it into a guitar friendly key (D Major), and focusing more on the moving bass part rather than rapid chord changes.

Comfortably Numb is one of the most popular songs from Pink Floyd’s album The Wall, released in 1970. It is one of only 3 songs on the album credited to both Roger Waters and David Gilmour. This lesson concentrates on just the rhythm guitar aspects of the song. We use a single strumming pattern that is very common in slower songs. The chords are from the keys of Bm (D major) and C, and give the student a good opportunity to work on bar chords.

*River Of Life*is Progressive Rock tune from the Italian band PFM. This lesson goes over the introduction, which is really a short classical guitar piece that becomes Baroque like with the addition of piano, bass and flute or violin (depending on the band line up at the time)

*In The Land Of Grey And Pink*is a tune from Caravan, a progressive band that falls into the Canterbury sub-genre. This style features some jazzy elements, frequently with unusual chords/progressions and somewhat whimsical lyrics. It is mostly a strumming song but includes an intro that uses some 3-string chord shapes moving up the neck, along with a percussive strumming pattern.

King Crimson is one of the bands that can be credited with being one of the creators of the Prog-Rock genre. Their first album, In The Court Of The Crimson King featured *Epitaph*, sung by original bassist Greg Lake. This lesson goes over the basic chord progression, adds some arpeggio picking, and includes a look at common variations on some of the chords.

Camel was a band consisting of Andy Latimer on guitar and Peter Bardens on keyboards, along with Doug Ferguson on bass and Andy Ward on drums. Their first album came out in 1973 and included *Never Let Go*, a song that almost became a hit for them. It opens with a cross-picked arpeggio before settling in to a solid rock tune with a catchy melody. It included a well worked out solo section, which is part of what makes it a Prog-Rock tune. This lesson looks at the rhythm guitar parts as well as the intricate intro.

*Crash Into Me*by Dave Matthews is an example of a song that uses a droning chord with a slightly moving bass line to create an interesting accompaniment. The droning chord is just an E5 (power chord) and the bass notes change with a syncopated rhythm. As in many of DaveòÀÙs songs, the chord fingering is a bit stretchy but the lesson focuses on counting carefully to get the bass notes in the right places.

Pearl Jam is another band that came of age in the 1990s and their 1994 album Vitalogy included *Better Man*, a song Eddie Vedder wrote when he was still a teenager. It features a simple picking pattern over a few chords that slide up the neck, as well as the standard major chords in the key of D- D, G and A.

Kurt Cobain's guitar playing was very basic and he wrote a lot of songs that are accessible to beginners. *Polly*is a great example of just the type of song. It was released in 1991 on their album Nevermind and really just uses a basic set of power chords, although the lesson looks at how Kurt played slightly expanded versions of them. It also includes some ideas about syncopated changes and how to make them smoother.

Another great strumming song from Dave Matthews, *Where Are You Going* appeared on the Dave Matthews Band album Busted Stuff in 2002. It uses some of his typical extended chords, ones with notes outside the normal major, minor and seventh combinations, is strummed with a basic pattern hitting bass notes on beat one. The lesson presents the chords in tab and generally addresses the strumming without getting too specific

Some of the greatest music of the late 1960s and early 70s was created and produced by bands that fall into the Progressive Rock category. Some of the items that put songs in this world include- extended and experimental compositions, complex harmonies and arrangements, classically influenced themes and techniques, and frequently a high level of virtuosity on the part of the musicians.

This short lesson goes over the strumming and chords to Still The Same, by Bob Seger. It is a basic progression but does include some barre chords.

Is There Anybody Out There starts with some atmospheric sounds and dialogue from a couple of old American TV shows, before a few repetitions of the title phrase in a somewhat demanding tone. The second half of the song becomes a delicate classical guitar arpeggio study in the key of Am. This is a very simple song in most regards and it sounds fine using block chord fingering techniques where you just change your hand position at the end of each measure.

David Crosby wrote *Triad*while he was still a member of the Byrds but it was a bit risqu? for them at the time. It was originally released by The Jefferson Airplane on Crown Of Creation but David continued to play it live at Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young concerts. His version first appeared on 4 Way Street, from their 1970 tour. This short lesson shows the chords and fills that accompany this haunting tune

*Love The One You’re With*is a Stephen Stills song that dates back to the early CSNY days and is frequently done with electric guitars or as a big production. Like many of Stills’ songs, it started out as an acoustic tune in the D Modal tuning. Stills used DDDDAD but DADDAD is a more efficient and harmonically rich version that is used in this lesson. We also introduce a new twist with this lesson- that we are calling a ‘Work It Out Lesson.’ In the first segment Neil plays through the song and gives you hints about figuring it out yourself. The next segments present the ‘Answers’, with Breakdowns of the chords, the strumming, and the vocals.

*Marrakesh Express*was written by Graham Nash and appeared on the CSN album in 1969. It is a relatively simple strumming song, although it moves along. It uses a couple of unusual chord voicings in the beginning, derived from a ‘D’ shape moved up the neck, but other than that it is standard chords, mostly in the key of G and a lot of fun to play.

Neil Young uses Double Dropped D Tuning for many songs. This acoustic guitar lesson is one of our most requested at TotallyGuitars: *Don’t Let It Bring You Down*. It first appeared on his 1970 album After The Goldrush, and was performed extensively during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s tour that year that was released as the farewell album Four Way Street. Neil usually played this one step lower in those days and now tunes the guitar even lower for his voice, bringing the 6^th string all he way down to Bb. The tuning creates some new chord shapes but most of them are not too difficult and you really just have to work on keeping a steady strumming pattern going to make the song sound pretty good.

Guster has been putting out some catchy tunes over the last decade, most of which could be considered Campfire Songs and feature acoustic guitars using simple strumming patterns. Their 2010 album Easy Wonderful included *Do You Love Me*, a great example of their up-beat pop sound. This lesson is done in a ‘Work It Out’ format, where the first few video segments focus on ear training and figuring out the chord progression yourself. If you decide to try this approach, I recommend not looking at the chart until you have gone through ear training segments. The entire song is taught completely and in the usual manner in the last segment.

A great guitar song for beginners, *Only Love Can Break Your Heart*is from Neil Young’s third album After The Goldrush but was also performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young during their ‘Farewell Tour’, 4 Way Street in 1970. The song uses a simple 3/4 strumming pattern and mostly open chords.

Country Blues great Reverend Gary Davis played a couple of different styles over the years, starting with Blues and Ragtime before concentrating on Gospel in his middle years, and returning a bit to the Ragtime style in his later years. *She’s Funny That Way*is an 8-bar tune that uses a chord progression commonly used by Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1920s like Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. It is in 12/8 time and this fingerstyle lesson includes a segment that helps demystify time signatures in general.

Jim Morrison penned the lyrics to *Love Street*watching hippies go by his house in Laurel Canyon in 1967. Guitarist Robby Krieger came up with a fascinating chord progression and melody that cycles through multiple keys. This guitar lesson includes a simple strumming accompaniment as well as an alternating fingerpicking one that is more like what Robby played. It is also quite a workout as it is best to play almost all the chords as barre chords. Love Street was released in 1968 on the Doors third album Waiting For The Sun.

This new lessons package includes songs from the 1990's and is valued at over $100 for 10 guitar lessons. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for only $57.95. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you some of the best guitar songs of the 1990's

In 1967 the so-called ‘Summer Of Love’ took place in California, specifically in San Francisco. The Jefferson Airplane was one of the main bands that were part of a developing sound now considered Psychedelic Rock. *White Rabbit*was written by Grace Slick while she with another band, The Great Society, and it is certainly one most identified with the time. It uses an unusual set of 6 major chords set to a hypnotic, bolero –type rhythm, an eastern-influenced opening lead played by Jorma Kaukonen, and fantasy lyrics based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland. In the lesson we look at both the rhythm and lead guitar parts.

Wish You Were Here is the title track from the 1975 release by Pink Floyd. The album was their follow-up to one of the greatest recordings in rock history, The Dark Side Of The Moon, which was released in 1973. This lesson looks at 3 different aspects of the guitar parts in Wish You Were Here; the rhythmic strumming accompaniment backing the vocals, the opening part played in the chord-melody style where a melody is picked out while strumming a couple of chords, and the single-note lead played over the chord-melody section.

The psychedelic sound was not confined to the West Coast of California. Across the Atlantic, Donovan Leitch, who had already released two folk albums, became one of the first London musicians to adopt the sound and join the Flower Power brigade. His first recording with an electric guitar was *Season Of The Witch*, and although the ripples were not as big as the reaction to Dylan going electric, the times certainly were changing. This is really just a two-chord jam with almost improvised lyrics and the lesson talks about creating strumming patterns, transposing a chord progression to other keys, thoughts on lead playing using the Pentatonic Minor scale, and even includes a Jam Along segment.

Iron Butterfly was a Southern California band formed in the mid-1960s who jumped on the heavy, psychedelic bandwagon and created one of the benchmark songs of the time, *In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.*It combined a catchy riff, a simple run, and a short chord progression with a classical organ intro and an extended jam with solos for each member into a classic rock masterpiece, although more from a historical perspective rather than musical virtuosity angle. In this lesson we look at the basic accompaniment parts but also take a classical guitar look at playing the rapid arpeggio opening. This segment would probably rate at Level 8, but the main part of the lesson is Level 5.

Much of the music we consider the soundtrack to the ‘Summer Of Love’ was created by bands based in Southern California. The Strawberry Alarm Clock might be classified by many as a ‘one hit wonder’ with their catchy tune *Incense And Peppermints*. With music written by Mark Weitz and Ed King (later of Lynyrd Skynyrd), its cryptic lyrics, heavy organ sound, and poppy background vocals epitomize the sound of Psychedelic Rock. It is a good example of many songs of the time that used disjointed chord progressions (not necessarily from a single key), many different parts, and layers of sound for a colorful effect. This lesson goes over the rhythm guitar and chord progressions.

This new lessons package includes songs from the 2000's and is valued at over $100 for 10 guitar lessons. Right now are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for only $37.79. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you some of the best guitar songs of the 2000's.

*Hymn 43*was written by Ian Anderson and released on the classic Jethro Tull album Aqualung in 1971. The album consist of quite a range of sounds and styles and this song is based on a simple riff, a few easy chord changes, and a couple of nice little guitar fills. Most of the songs Ian Anderson writes, and especially his acoustic guitar songs, are very challenging. Hymn 43 is more of an electric guitar song and this video guitar lesson is presented in four parts, which include a close look at the chords and left hand techniques, a section-by-section breakdown, and a play along segment with a metronome.

Aqualung featured quite a few riff-based tunes and *Up To Me*, like Hymn 43, is another one with easy chord changes, a killer riff, and a pastoral bridge thrown in for a little variety. This lesson looks at some of the common additions Ian Anderson adds to his rhythm guitar parts as well a separate look at how he now performs it live, in a different key than the original

*Wond’ring Aloud*is a beautiful ballad/folk song tucked into the middle of Aqualung, by Jethro Tull. It is a perfect showcase for the exquisite guitar style of Ian Anderson. This gentle song is in 3/4 time and features some measures of simple strumming, a few connecting runs of bass notes, great use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, and a few very complex syncopations that make it very challenging. A simple chord chart is included for a version that is very playable by beginning guitar students, as well as detailed tab that is very accurate to the actual version taught in the lesson.

One of the most intricate acoustic guitar songs from Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is *Mother Goose.*This is Ian Anderson at his intricate and whimsical best. The song is played with a capo at the fifth fret, helping to create one of his signature sounds, and uses some easy, if occasionally unusual chords. The main challenges in the song are the rapid and precise alternate picking technique, and the great use of off-beat syncopation.

*Thick As A Brick*by Ian Anderson and his alter ego, Jethro Tull. It features very intricate and rapid flatpicking with complex syncopation, all of which must continue when the singing enters, and that is all just in the first 30 seconds. The rest of Part 1 of this 45-minute masterpiece is a lot of fun to play and will present quite a challenge for even very accomplished guitar players, although much of the song is simple strumming. Although this will have to be considered an advanced guitar lesson, it can be very accessible to intermediate guitar students if they work on each part very slowly. The lesson includes a complete Play Through and detailed instruction on each of the parts, a 60-minute lesson on a 3-minute song.

The late eighties was the time when the trend of rock bands doing acoustic folk songs got started. *Patience*, by Guns N’ Roses was their entry into this new look at acoustic guitar playing. The song featured three guitars gently strumming a few chords with some nice lead played over the top, along with Axl Rose’s impassioned vocals. The tune is really just a campfire song but in his lesson we take a ‘Work It Out’ approach where Neil goes over some of the points and techniques necessary to figure it out by ear. We recommend not printing or looking at the attached chart at first if you are going to try the lesson this way. The entire song is taught in the last segment if you just want to know how to play it.

An obscure English blues rock band, the Jaybirds included members who, in 1966 renamed themselves Ten Years After, in honor of front man, Alvin Lee’s idol, Elvis Presley, who had his breakout year in 1956. After a few albums and moderate success in England they came to America to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival and Woodstock in 1969. Lee’s rendition of I’m Going Home in the movie launched them to stardom. The song opens with an arpeggio pattern followed by a chromatic bass run leading to the next chord, then a similar move on the next pair of chords, before landing on the dominant chord. The chord progression then picks up in intensity with a heavily accented series of the same chords.

One of the biggest bands of the 80s, Bon Jovi, featured some good songwriting and some great guitar playing, mostly from the team of Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Their 1986 album Slippery When Wet included *Wanted Dead Or Alive*, which had a very distinctive opening run played on a 12-string guitar. Other than that it is a pretty basic strumming song with some syncopated chord changes and a slightly bluesy fill played as part of the vocal hook

Poison was one of the glam/hair metal bands of the 80s who had their biggest hit with the power ballad *Every Rose Has Its Thorn*. Typical of attitudes and trends at the time, the song is a simple chord progression gently strummed with lyrics that can be interpreted many different ways. This 4-chord song is great for beginners as it starts introducing the technique of different strumming patterns in consecutive measures.

The late 1980s brought us a one-hit-wonder out of Liverpool, The La’s. You may not remember the band but *There She Goes*has appeared in numerous movies over the last 20 years. It is a good example of using lots of guitars to create a bouncy, jangly texture with the added plus of a catchy melody. In this short guitar lesson we look at strumming the rhythm guitar part as well as a segment on incorporating the opening lead into a strumming pattern.

A popular sound of the 1960s came to be known as Surf Music. This usually featured the simple arrangement of a catchy melody played by two guitars (lead & rhythm), bass, and drums. The Ventures were one of the first instrumental groups on the scene, although they soon branched out into many different styles. Their version of *Walk Don’t Run*, released in 1960, was written by Johnny Smith in 1955, recorded by Chet Atkins two years later, and went on to become a defining anthem of the times and the sound. Neil likes to use the rhythm parts this song as a barre chord exercise for beginners and the lead sections as intermediate exercises to work on steady alternate picking and playing scales. This lesson works on both aspects.

Many songs of the 80s were driven by keyboard riffs and a synthesized, electronic rhythm feel. A-Ha came out of Norway and added a pyrotechnic vocal element to the mix and produced *Take On Me*. This song, which only needs to be heard once to become unforgettable, is probably not one many people would think about playing on the guitar, and one segment discusses arranging keyboard pieces for guitar in general. The lesson includes a basic rhythm guitar accompaniment as well as a chord solo of the intro, which incorporates the rapid keyboard riff into a strumming pattern.

The Stray Cats came on the scene in the early 1980s with a sound that was more 1950s and brought new life to the Rockabilly style that was so popular then. They found better acceptance in the UK than the US before an American record company would talk to them but then had quite a string of hits over the next few years. *Stray Cat Strut*is one of their signature songs, and although Brian Setzer is partial to the electric guitar, it transfers very nicely to the ‘unplugged’ version that Neil does in this lesson. The lesson goes over the rhythm guitar accompaniment to the vocal sections, as well as acoustic versions of all the main leads.

Gordon Lightfoot was a well-known songwriter in the mid 1960s but in 1970 he became a household name with the release of *If You Could Read My Mind*. It features a gentle, rolling arpeggio fingerpicking pattern, and a relatively easy set of chords backing a beautiful melody. This guitar lesson looks at Gordon’s repetitive pattern as well as how to expand and improvise a bit around it. There is also a short interlude that incorporates the melody into the accompaniment. The song is fingered in the key of G but with a capo at the second fret, putting it in the key of A. The lesson is done without the capo.

*Early Morning Rain*was written by Gordon Lightfoot and recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary, effectively bringing Gordon up the ladder into public view. His first record for United Artists, Lightfoot, presented his versions of many of his early tunes. This song is really more of a Campfire song, using a basic strumming pattern and a simple set of three chords in the key of D. It is done in Dropped D Tuning

Fleetwood Mac has been bringing the world great rock tunes since the mid-1960s. Their 1977 release, Rumors included *Go You Own Way, *a simple but driving song by Lindsay Buckingham. This lesson looks at the electric guitar opening, played with a syncopated muting technique, the acoustic guitar accompaniment (played with a capo at the third fret), and even a bit of the first lead, played over the verse.

Across The Universe is a John Lennon tune that originally appeared on a benefit album for the World Wildlife Fund (the real WWF!) and later appeared on Let It Be. The most authentic version can be found on the reissue Let It Be… Naked. The song opens with a short melody, harmonized in 6ths, played on the 1st and 3rd strings, before settling into a little strumming over F#m and A. The verse has an interesting variation in a couple of spots where John puts an extra beat of A in a measure to let the words flow a little smoother.

*Living In The Past*was released as a single in the U.K. in 1969 but became Jethro Tull’s first Top 40 hit in the U.S. when it was released there in 1972. It is one of a very small number of songs written in 5/4 time and the lesson goes over strumming in this time very extensively. It also uses barre chords exclusively, high on the neck, changing quickly. It can be played using 4-string version of the common barre chords and this approach is covered as well.

This new lessons package includes songs from the 1980's and is valued at over $100 for 10 guitar lessons. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for only $57.95. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you some of the best guitar songs of the 1980's.

*Helplessly Hoping*is a classic fingerstyle tune by Stephen Stills that was released in 1969 on the first Crosby, Stills & Nash album. Stills’ playing is generally very free form and he never plays this song exactly the same way twice. The lesson covers the chord progression and presents a ‘Campfire Version’ that is easy to strum, as well as great detail on specific licks and additions that Stills uses and how to add your own variations to fingerpicking patterns, making the arrangement your own.

In 1982 Crosby, Stills & Nash released their album Daylight Again, which included *Southern Cross*, which has now become a standard part of their concerts. The song only uses three chords with a bit of a syncopated strumming pattern making it a great guitar lesson for beginning to intermediate students. The lesson includes a chord and lyric chart and breaks the strumming down to concentrating on individual eighth notes.

A feature of many David Crosby tunes is the use of altered tunings. *Guinnevere*is an great example of how he changes the pitch of a few strings, starts messing around with chord shapes and sounds, adds a somewhat abstract melody with complex harmonies, and creates beautiful music. The tuning is EBDGAD and uses an arpeggio-style picking pattern over some fairly simple, but unusual chord shapes. He also is never concerned with playing anything exactly the same way twice, and as such recreates each song every time he plays it. We take that approach in this lesson and start with some specific patterns but look at changing and varying them on the fly.

*D?j? Vu*is another David Crosby tune that uses the EBDGAD (Em11) Tuning, like the one used in Guinnevere. This one opens with a cross-picked intro before settling into a series of colorful chords that are mostly strummed, in an improvising manner. Translation: We don’t talk about strumming specifics, just a few thoughts about keeping a steady rhythm but creating a mysterious mood, as called for in the song.

This new lessons package includes songs from Fleetwood Mac and is valued at over $50 for 5 guitar lessons. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for only $37.79. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you some of the best guitar songs of Fleetwood Mac. Includes tab, chart, and guitar pro files.

This new lessons package includes songs from Gordon Lightfoot and is valued at over $50 for 5 guitar lessons. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for only $37.79. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you some of the best guitar songs of Gordon Lightfoot.

All Things Must Pass was the album that really brought George Harrison’s songs to the attention of the public. Released in 1970, just after the Beatles broke up, it was full of great songs, including *Beware Of Darkness*. The song was also recorded by Leon Russell at about the same time, and in 1996 was covered by the modern progressive rock band Spock’s Beard. All Things Must Pass was produced with a very heavy hand by Phil Spector, but we are fortunate that George made some demos that were stripped down to just solo performances. Consequently, this song makes a great acoustic guitar lesson. It is played in the key of E, using quite a few barre chords, along with a couple of chords outside of the key, and the lesson includes a segment on transposing it to the key of B as well.

In 1973 George Harrison released the follow up to All Things Must Pass, Living In The Material World. It included his next hit, *Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth),*a song played with a capo at the third fret and mostly chords in the key of D. Many of George’s songs feature unusual chord combinations and this is no exception. The strumming, on the other hand, is somewhat basic. The lesson includes a quick look at a piano fill that occurs in the chorus as well.

The Beatles spent part of the summer of 1968 in India on a retreat with followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The English folksinger Donovan showed both Paul and John a guitar accompaniment style known as Travis Picking. Paul’s right hand technique has all the notes being played with the thumb and index finger. His index finger never really picks out a single string, it is more of a brush across 2 or 3 strings, and is brushing down or being pinched with the thumb on the beats, and brushing softly up between the beats.

George Harrison and his old band mates were masters of interesting chord progression, many times combining chords from multiple keys into one section of a song, and other times reaching out pretty far from conventional harmonic patterns. *All Those Years Ago*reaches outside the box a bit with the addition of a diminished, an augmented, and even a minor sixth chord. This guitar lesson focuses mostly on strumming the chords, although we also look at playing a shuffle-type riff with a bluesy lick, as well as a couple of segments on transposing it to a key different from the original. The song first appeared on his 1981 album Somewhere In England, and was written as George’s tribute to John Lennon.

This set of songs represents a collection of early tunes by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, mostly from their albums released around 1970. A couple of alternate tunings are used in half the songs, which represent a wide range of difficulty levels.

The album George Harrison was working on in his last days was Brainwashed, and it was released posthumously in 2002. George had always been enamored by the sound of the ukulele and he included *Between The Devil And the Deep Blue Sea*on the album. Harold Arlen (Over The Rainbow) wrote this standard in 1932 and George played it on the ukulele in a very traditional manner. This lesson goes over the chord progression and strumming techniques for guitar, as well as how to get the ukulele sound on the guitar, and even how to play it on the ukulele.

The 1970s were the heyday of what is now considered Classic Rock. This Package presents detailed lessons on 10 of the most popular songs Neil has taught over the last 4 decades.

One of the bands that really helped define the Psychedelic Sound of the Sixties was The Byrds. Their early line up with Roger (Jim) McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Gene Clark produced a defining song of the era, *Eight Miles High.*The song featured McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker guitar, combined elements influenced by John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar, and really opened up the ears of the musical community. This lesson goes over the chord progression and a foray into improvising in the Dorian mode… definitely a mind-expanding lesson.

*Birthday*is a classic example of taking a simple riff, dropping it into a 12-bar blues format, adding some catchy vocals over a short chord progression, throwing in a little drum break and lead guitar fill, and creating great rock and roll in a matter of just a couple of days. Paul came up with the main riff and had most of the song done by the time the rest of the band was back in the studio. This lesson includes a Campfire Version, the way I like to have beginners learn the basics of the song, as well as a One-Man Band Version where the rhythm guitar and bass parts are combined into something a bit more challenging. The lead section includes some techniques more commonly done on an electric guitar, bends, slides, and quick hammer-on pull-off combinations

*We Used To Know*was released on the second Jethro Tull album, Stand Up, as they were starting to head out of their blues roots and into a more progressive direction. It features an interesting chord progression as it uses many chords available only in the melodic minor scale. This guitar lesson explains the relationships between the chords, strumming in 6/8 time, and a way to add a second guitar part using partial chords up the neck. Any similarity to Hotel California (written many years later) is purely coincidental.

Day Tripper contains one of the greatest rock riffs ever written and would have to qualify as one of the most instantly recognizable tunes around. You really only need to hear a couple of notes to Name-That-Tune. Like many Beatles songs, Day Tripper is rooted in the blues. John takes a very catchy riff, plays it twice, moves it up a fourth, then back, in the manner of the first 8 bars of a 12-bar-blues progression. At this point it diverts from the formula and continues through a series of seventh chords before finally landing where we would expect, on the dominant chord.

George Harrison had a long career after his life with the Beatles and he wrote and recorded a huge catalog of great songs. This set of songs covers much of his output all the way from his first album, All Things Must Pass, to his last, Brainwashed, works in a little of his beloved ukulele, and includes a song he wrote that was a hit for his buddy Ringo.

The songs of the 1960s were as diverse as the times themselves. Folk, blues, jazz, pop, and rock styles had merged and emerged into many new sounds. Some of these, combined with some non-musical influences became the Psychedelic Sound. In this package we explore a wide rang of hits from the time.

By now everybody should be aware of the incredible talents of Ian Anderson, on many levels. *Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of A New Day) *would have to be considered one of his acoustic guitar classics. The song was released in 1974 on the Jethro Tull album War Child and is one of Ian’s most complex and heavily syncopated masterpieces. This detailed lesson goes over the guitar and vocal parts, as well as how to combine them into a great solo presentation

John Fogerty’s 1984 come back album, *Centerfield *brought him back into the limelight with a bang. It really is a Campfire tune and this lesson goes over the progression as well as the opening riff.

The Rolling Stones have been a favorite band of guitarists and music fans alike for almost 50 years now and have been the creators of some of the greatest riff-based songs of all time. This set of lessons includes some very detailed looks and explanations of some of their songs, some simple strumming patterns, and a few that just go over the main riff or intro to one of their classics.

Waterloo Sunset, by the Kinks, began in Ray Davies head as Liverpool Sunset, partially owing to his fondness for the Merseybeat sounds of bands coming out of Liverpool at the time. The song featured a strumming acoustic guitar with a short lead using a tape-delay echo effect, a sound that had been popular a decade before but then forgotten. This Target lesson incorporates the lead part with the rhythm and occasional bass runs to create a very full texture.

*Touch Of Grey*was a song that the Grateful Dead starting playing live in 1982 but became a hit 5 years later when it was released on In The Dark. It is notable as really the only ‘hit’ the Dead ever had, breaking into the Billboard Top 10, and also for a memorable video showing the band as skeletons playing live. The song features some basic strumming over quite a few barre chords, mostly from the keys of E and B major. This lesson includes the opening riff played on the bass, as well as a very distinctive fill played in the chorus.

One of the most interesting bands to come out of the 1960s was Ian Anderson's revolving group of English musicians known as Jethro Tull. The band started in a blues direction but then headed into an unknown world that could be considered Progressive Folk. Anderson's virtuoso flute and acoustic guitar skills combined beautifully with Martin Barre's electric guitar stylings and cut a very distinctive path. This set of lessons focuses mostly on some of the acoustic masterpieces with a few rockers thrown in for good measure.

Led Zeppelin’s *Tangerine *has been one of the leading requested songs here at TG for quite some time. Jimmy Page had the basic idea for the song developing while he was with the Yardbirds and they recorded the prototype as ‘Knowing That I’m Losing You.’ In 1970 he resurrected and recorded it on Led Zeppelin III, their most heavily acoustic oriented album. Although the song was played on a 12-string, tuned down one half step, with the addition of a mandolin, the acoustic guitar part is the main part of the sound. This lesson goes over the rhythm guitar part, paying particular attention to picking out the moving melody notes and getting the offbeat chord changes just right.

The main guitar part is played in Dropped D Tuning (DADGBE) and John keeps a steady bass pattern going that plays the 5th string as the first bass note in each measure, alternating 5-4-6-4. The progression cycles through 4 measures where the 1st bass note goes from A to C to B to Bb. The names of the chords get a little cumbersome here but it is fine to think of it all as a D chord with changing bass notes.

When Dave Matthews decided to ‘go solo’, he put out his first non-band album in 2003, Some Devil. It was still full of a lot of friends and they released *Gravedigger *as the first single. It has become one of Dave’s best-known songs, in spite of its dark overtones and mysterious mood. It uses some unusual, but relatively easy chords but the strumming is somewhat free form. The lesson mostly focuses on strumming with a light muting technique, counting eighth notes carefully, and hammer-ons to help color the overall sound

The Kinks were one of the British pioneers in the new sounds that were developing in the 60s. Led by songwriter Ray Davies and his brother Dave, they were a band with many different styles, ranging from pre-punk to acoustic ballads, with even a touch of jazz at times. This pack includes short lessons on two of their power chord/riff style songs, as well as extended lessons on three of their more complex tunes.

A song Neil started playing many years before he had kids but became a big hit with them as they started school is Teddy Bears Picnic. It was written in the 1930s and recorded by many people over the years, most notably nowadays by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman on their album Not For Kids Only. This Target Campfire lesson goes over a traditional arrangement as well as a few thoughts on Jerry and Dave’s version.

In 1968 the Beatles learned a bit about fingerpicking from Donovan while they were in India for a short time. This resulted in a much more refined guitar sound for a few songs on the ‘White Album’, including John Lennon’s *Julia*. This lesson uses John’s repetitive alternating bass fingerpicking pattern with some unusual chord voicings, and shows exactly how he played the original, including a capo at the second fret.

Led Zeppelin would have to be considered one of the greatest bands in rock history. They had quite a range of styles and sounds due to the combination of talents and virtuosity of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. This package includes songs from their first five albums, some acoustic classics as well as some of their riff-based, power chord songs. These lessons concentrate on the rhythm guitar parts, as Page's leads are generally improvised solos, and a completely different subject. The Bonus Songs are generally shorter lessons that cover the important parts of each song without going as deeply into all the specifics. All these lessons are presented the way Neil teaches them to his students and are very accurate acoustic versions of Jimmy Page's songs.

*She’s Not There *is probably more identified by keyboard and bass parts, and these are combined in this lesson, creating a somewhat complicated arrangement that might be called the ‘Fancy Version.’ This lesson includes keeping a complex riff going underneath the vocals, rather then just strumming the chords, and presents a good challenge for intermediate guitar students. The Campfire Version is included as well.

This pack includes some of the Dead's most melodic songs, presenting mostly rhythm guitar parts but also including a couple of chord solos, where the melody is incorporated into the strumming. The set includes a few songs from their acoustic heyday, the early 70s, and one from their later days when they wrote about aging a bit. All of the songs are played with a pick and include charts with the chords and lyrics. Some lessons include tab for some specific parts.

Mark Knopfler is one of the most talented musician’s to have come along in the last 50 years. This lesson is on one of his acoustic masterpieces, *Romeo And Juliet*. The song first appeared in 1980 on Dire Straits’ third album Making Movies, and remains a standard in Mark’s performances and a fan favorite still today. The song is played in Open G Tuning with a capo at the third fret, and uses what is really a free-form picking/strumming technique.

Norwegian Wood is played in 12/8, where each measure consists of 4 repetitions of a simple 3/4 strumming pattern. The song is fingered in the key of D, but the guitar was played with a capo at the 2nd fret moving the tonal center (tonic) to E. It uses 2 different modes, the first section, starting on D major, uses the mixolydian mode (C natural in the scale rather than C#). The second section, starting on Dm is based on the melodic minor scale.

There are many nuances in the recorded version of *With A Little Help From My Friends*that are pretty challenging to incorporate into a solo guitar accompaniment version. This lesson talks about complex time signatures, works on a percussive strumming pattern using a lot of barre chords, and includes some of George’s lead fills.

*That'll Be The Day by Buddy Holly* is a classic from the early days of Rock & Roll. This short Campfire Lesson goes over the chord progression, played using mostly power chords with a shuffle-type riff, and a quick look at the opening guitar lick.

In 1965 The Beatles sound was changing, as it continued to do for the next 5 years, and Rubber Soul, released late that year included quite a few acoustic songs. *Michelle*, written mainly by Paul using bits and pieces from something he originally had as a lighthearted French sounding ditty, is a great example of one of these. The guitar is played with a capo at the 5^th fret, creating a somewhat delicate sound. This lesson includes the guitar accompaniment, as well as the short lead incorporated into a Chord Solo.

Our second 10-Pack from the Fab Four touches many of the styles that they were renowned for covering. We have sentimental ballads, fingerpicking songs, simple strumming songs with fascinating chord progressions, a little bluegrass flatpicking, some with psychedelic tendencies, and a couple of electric guitar specialties.

Our dear friend and Classical Guitarist/Teacher extraordinaire Hector Garcia has contributed a set of intermediate to advanced lessons that are now available in one package. The pieces cover a wide range of styles from different eras.

A classic Campfire Song, City Of New Orleans was a big hit for Arlo Guthrie in 1972 when it was released on his album Hobo’s Lullaby. The song was written by Steve Goodman, who managed to get Arlo to listen to it in a bar in Chicago, and Arlo agreed to record it. It is a pretty standard chord progression that can be played in many keys. This lesson looks at it in the key of C, using a country strumming pattern.

Rubber Soul included many acoustic oriented songs and Paul’s I’m Looking Through You was one of those that had a nice folk-swing feel to it. This lesson covers the way it was played on that original release, as well as an earlier outtake that appeared on Beatles Anthology 2 in the mid-1990s. That version had more of a bluesy feel to it. The lesson also includes a short organ fill that fits nicely into a barred G chord.

Our third package of Beatles songs continues with a varied mix of acoustic classics, riff-based rockers, sentimental ballads, and some 1960s psychedelic sounds.

*Here Comes The Sun*is a lesson we have had a partial version of here at TG since the early days. Neil has finally put together the complete version for our Target Program. The song was written by George Harrison in Eric Clapton’s garden, as the winter of 1969 was turning to spring in England. This lesson goes into detail about the techniques George used to create this acoustic masterpiece.

his new lessons package includes songs from our individual Beatles Lessons Packages Volumes 1,2,3 and is valued at over $400 for 30 complete guitar lessons. Inidividually these lesson packages cost over $170 which is already a substantial savings. For the first time ever you can purchase this Super Package of 30 Beatles classics for a limited time for only $137.00. Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time for only $137.00. This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan teaching you some of the best guitar songs of The Beatles. Includes tab, chart, and guitar pro files.

The version of Something on Abbey Road is done in the key of C, modulating to A for the bridge. This arrangement we are looking at is based on George’s acoustic guitar demo of the song that was released on The Beatles Anthology III. This version is probably how George played it for his wife, Patti, in their kitchen in 1968. We are playing in the key of A, modulating to F# for the bridge. The intro riff, or melody is much easier to play in this key and leads me to believe that this is the key George wrote it in, if he wrote it on guitar. There are conflicting stories about this. Most composers who play the guitar tend to write things that lay comfortably under the fingers on the fretboard.

*Closer To Fine *was one of the first hits for The Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, and has remained one of their most popular for over 20 years. The song features some quick strumming using a fairly easy set of chords, which act as a perfect accompaniment to their tightly woven harmonies

John Fogerty has come up with some of the best simple guitar songs of all time. *Rock And Roll Girls,*from his comeback album Centerfield, is a great example of one of these. This is a basic power chord song that can be played with just 2 fingers!

*Gold Dust Woman,*by Stevie Nicks and from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album, is a song that can be played many ways. This lesson looks at fingerpicking it in Dropped D Tuning as well as a simplified way, strumming it in standard tuning. The fingerpicking version is mostly a basic pattern but includes a couple of more sophisticated techniques as well.

*Question*, from The Moody Blues album A Question Of Balance, has been an elusive song to many guitar students for years. It was played by Justin Hayward on a 12-string guitar in Open C Tuning (C-G-C-G-C-E), and included a very quick strumming sequence in the first part of the song. The second part was actually a different song until Justin realized they went well together, being in the same tuning. This lesson looks at a way of simplifying the strumming, as well as doubling the speed for the original sound.

This fingerpicking instrumental, *Buffalo Gals*is an American folk song from the mid-19th century. Neil’s arrangement is done in Open G Tuning, which makes for pretty simple chords and left hand moves. The right has one section using standard alternating bass technique but another using what he calls an eighth note roll, where there are only three bass notes in each measure, played in a syncopated pattern. Overall not too difficult, as long as you start very slowly and get it smooth before speeding it up.

In this package we bring together a half dozen songs by some of the female songwriters and singers who have helped shape the course of music over a couple of generations.

*Melancholy Man *is a song from The Moody Blues album A Question Of Balance, written by Mike Pinder, well known for bringing the orchestral sound of the Mellotron to the Moodies. It is a simple 3-chord progression in the key of D Minor and includes a haunting, descending melody line, which is incorporated into the guitar accompaniment for this short lesson.

John Fahey was once of the most influential American guitarists from the time he entered the music scene in the late 1950s. He played in many open tunings, generally with fairly simple chord shapes but complex picking patterns, and heavily inspired the next generation of players, notably Leo Kottke, among others. In this lesson we look at *Give Me Cornbread When I’m Hungry.*It is played in Open G and features a few sections revolving around different chords in the key of G. The main point of this lesson is to take some of his ideas and change them around, really improvising and recreating the song every time you play it.

In the late 1970s The Moody Blues reconvened with a bit more commercial sound and continued releasing some great songs, mostly penned by Justin Hayward. *The Voice*is from their 1981 album Long Distance Voyager and presents a fascinating chord progression, using chords from many different keys. This lesson is presented in our ‘Work It Out’ style where you are encouraged to figure out the chords by ear, with many hints and suggestions from Neil. If you choose to try this approach we suggest not printing the chart until you have gone as far as you can. The entire song is taught in Part 6.

Truckin' is a blues-based song that works around a shuffle rhythm in the key of E. This lesson looks at a couple of ways of playing the main rhythm guitar riffs as well as a detailed discussion of 12/8 time. It is presented without tablature but includes a chord chart and close-up descriptions of many of the parts.

The Moody Blues were pioneers in brining symphonic sounds into the world of rock and roll. Their 1967 album Days Of Future Passed is even considered one of the forerunners of the progressive rock movement that evolved into the 1970s. Their sound took on a slightly more pop/rock feel over the next decade and we now have many great guitar songs, mostly written by Justin Hayward, but John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge all made significant contributions.

Open G Tuning has been a favorite of guitar players going back to Robert Johnson and the early bluesmen, and still popular today thanks to people like John Fahey and Keith Richards. It is also one of the most common Slack Key tunings among Hawaiian guitar players where it is known as Taro Patch Tuning. This set of lessons includes mostly Neil's arrangements of intermediate-level songs.

Open G Tuning presents the opportunity to make fairly simple arrangements out of many traditional tunes. Neil has arranged *Take Me Out To The Ball Game *as an example of this. The song is in 3/4 time, using a modified alternating bass pattern, which makes it a little different and somewhat challenging at first.

David Gates penned some great tunes in the early 1970s for his band Bread. *If *is an example of his command of simple, but extended chord progressions that back up a memorable melody with touching lyrics, all the ingredients for a great song. This lesson shows the arpeggios he played but also includes segments on theory where you are challenged to analyze the chords as far as their names. If you want to take this harmony challenge do not print out the chord chart but just start with the tab. Then work on figuring out the names of the chords yourself. All the answers are included, as well as how to play the song in its entirety.

Jerry Garcia and John Dawson, of New Riders Of The Purple Sage, wrote the music to Friend Of The Devil, and lyrics were added by Robert Hunter. It was released on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty in 1970. Friend Of The Devil is in a simple 4 time but better counted in 2, making it in cut time (2/2). This is mostly due to the quick tempo of the song. The feel is mainly a folk style, although there are definite leanings toward bluegrass, partly due to the addition of the mandolin. It is played in the key of G, and features the descending major scale as the main theme.

Ripple has been a favorite Grateful Dead song among Neil's students for quite some time. The basic accompaniment is pretty straightforward, almost a Campfire song. This lesson covers strumming through the progression and includes tab to a Chord Solo arrangement, similar to Neil's Play Through segment.

Uncle John's Band is a tune that is mostly basic strumming but includes a few time signature changes and syncopated chord changes that add an interesting effect. The lesson mainly concentrates on the rhythm guitar part but tab to a Chord Solo, similar to Neil's improvised Play Through in Part 1 is included for the more advanced students.

Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress was written by Hollies singer Allan Clarke and a couple of British songwriters, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. It appeared on the Hollies album Distant Light, released in 1971. It features one of the greatest opening riffs in the history of Rock And Roll, followed by a driving, power chord-based progression. Another 'must learn' tune for students into the classic rock era.

Angie is like many other great Rolling Stones songs in that it features a very distinctive opening guitar part, although it is unusual because it is done on an acoustic guitar. This lesson goes over the intro in a very detailed manner, as well as the basic rhythm guitar parts that accompany the vocals. Neil plays a Chord Solo version of it in the Play Through section and tab for that is included. The techniques needed to create this type of instrumental are covered in our Acoustic Genius Series lesson titled Chord Solos Volume 1.

Paint it Black was released in 1966 on Aftermath. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, while Brian Jones' contribution on the sitar gave the song a unique texture, blending the Stones' hard rock and roll with the resonance of the sitar. The song is played in the key of D minor, but capoed to the 3rd fret, really putting it in the key of F minor. Paint It Black is a very simple song in terms of technique and the intro is a nice little picking rendition of the melody.

Waiting On A Friend is a fairly basic strumming song with a couple of notes added to C and F chords to create a little melody. This lesson goes over the simple rhythm accompaniment. Tab is now included to the Chord Solo that Neil improvised in the Play Through segment.

The Stones' recording of Wild Horses featured 3 guitars throughout the song- one acoustic guitar in standard tuning, another in open G (DGDGBD), and an electric playing mostly fills. This lesson looks at the basic rhythm part, playing some of the Open G parts, as well as a Chord Solo as Neil plays in the first segment.

House Of The Rising Sun is an old folk song that found new life in the 60s, particularly after Eric Burdon and The Animals recorded their dynamic version featuring the electric guitar playing a distorted arpeggio through the chord progression. This lesson looks at fingerpicking it acoustically but it transfers very nicely to the electric as well.

We are also bringing out a Complete Free Lesson. Today it is China Grove by the Doobie Brothers. This lesson features a basic version of the rhythm guitar part. Some of the other parts can be found in the China Grove lesson in the TARGET Program.

As part of our Free Lesson Series we take a look at Black Water, by the Doobie Brothers. This is a somewhat complicated fingerstyle song done in Double Dropped D Tuning, and this version uses the same chord progression but uses a strumming accompaniment, almost in the Campfire world.

In the Free Lesson department we take a basic look at a song we added to the TARGET Program recently, Happy Together by the Turtles. This version goes over the chord progression using a simple strumming pattern.

We are adding another Free Lesson to our library today- Cocaine Blues by Reverend Gary Davis. This is the basic version of the verse as presented in our TARGET lesson, which included a couple of variations. It is standard alternating bass picking in the key of C. It also uses the thumb wrap on F chords, using your left thumb to fret notes on the 6th string

Dave Mason was one of the founders of the original incarnation of Traffic. He wrote a lot of their early songs and Feelin' Alright has stuck around through the ages. It is a great example of taking a 2-chord progression and turning it into a Campfire Classic, as well as a Jamming Classic like For What Its Worth, Down By The River, and many more. The song can be played in any key, strummed in almost any way and learned in just a few minutes- perfect ingredients for a Campfire Classic.

*Birthday*is a classic example of taking a simple riff, dropping it into a 12-bar blues format, adding some catchy vocals over a short chord progression, throwing in a little drum break and lead guitar fill, and creating great rock and roll in a matter of just a couple of days. Paul came up with the main riff and had most of the song done by the time the rest of the band was back in the studio. This free lesson includes the Campfire Version, the way I like to have beginners learn the basics of the song. We also have a "One-Man Band Version" available in the Target Program where the rhythm guitar and bass parts are combined into something a bit more challenging. In that lesson the lead section includes some techniques more commonly done on an electric guitar; bends, slides, and quick hammer-on pull-off combinations.

*Baby Beluga*is a popular tune by children's entertainer Raffi. It is a simple 3-chord song done in the key of D.

Waterloo Sunset, by the Kinks, began in Ray Davies head as Liverpool Sunset, partially owing to his fondness for the Merseybeat sounds of bands coming out of Liverpool at the time. The song featured a strumming acoustic guitar with a short lead using a tape-delay echo effect, a sound that had been popular a decade before but then forgotten. Our TG Complete Free lesson goes over the basic rhythm accompaniment, which is really the way Ray plays it solo even today.

*I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song by Jim Croce *has been part of our Target Program for quite a while in a very detailed and somewhat challenging lesson. As part of our expanding Free Lesson series we have a short Campfire Version that uses all the real chords but with a simplified accompaniment.

Ramblin' Man*by Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers Band appeared on the album Brothers And Sisters in 1973. This Free Lesson is really a Campfire look at the chord progression with a bit of attention paid to the opening guitar lick.

Many Bob Dylan songs have fairly simple chord progression and strumming patterns. *Lay Lady Lay*is a great example of this as it uses just a few barre chords in a repetitive fashion. This Free Campfire Lesson goes a bit into barre chord theory and the basic way to strum through the song.

The Zombies were a young group of teenagers when they hit it big with*She's Not There* in 1964. Rod Argent's keyboards and Colin Blunstone's vocals created a unique blend of styles and sounds. This Free Lesson is really a Campfire arrangement of the tune covering the chord progression and simple strumming pattern. The chords change quickly, making it a challenge for beginning guitar students.

*With A Little Help From My Friends*is a song Neil has been teaching to his beginning students for many years. This arrangement would be considered a Campfire Version as it is in a different key from the original with a slightly simplified strumming pattern. This Free Lesson just requires strumming through mostly open chords and singing along.

*Morning Has Broken*is a tune that goes way back to Gaelic roots in Scotland then became a popular hymn in the early 20^th century. It took on new life in 1971 when Cat Stevens recorded it for his album Teaser And The Firecat, with some stylistic and artistic help from Rick Wakeman. This lesson goes over the chord progressions, strumming, and an expanded look at some of the theory involved in modulating and transposing to different keys.

*Wipe Out*is one of the songs that started defining the ‘Surf Sound’ that was evolving in Southern California around 1960. This instrumental was written and first recorded by The Surfaris, then later The Ventures and just about every other Surf Band out there. This lesson goes over the basic rhythm guitar part (a 12-bar blues progression), the melody played with an alternating picking technique in two different octaves, and a bit on using the minor pentatonic scale to create your own lead.

*Tell Her No*was the second hit for The Zombies in 1965. Written by keyboard play Rod Argent, it features some jazzy, extended chords and nice riffs and passing lines between chords. The quick changes and syncopated strumming patterns make this quite a challenge for most guitar players.

The last big hit for The Zombies, *Time Of The Season*was a song driven by a bass line, keyboard fills and solos, a few percussion accents, and compelling vocals by Colin Blunstone. It is another Rod Argent tune that can be fun to play on the guitar, especially when trying to capture some of those parts. This lesson looks at a very easy way of strumming the song as well as a more complicated version that incorporates many of those items into the accompaniment. Neil also includes some thoughts on singing and improvising a short lead over the chord changes

*Moonshadow*is one of Cat Stevens’ most popular tunes and fun to play on the guitar. It uses a combination of different right hand techniques, including fingerpicking with a mono-bass pattern (repeating the same string rather than alternating), a hybrid picking-strumming technique, as well as a bigger strumming pattern where the ‘Invisible Pick’ technique works best. The song was originally released on the 1971 album Teaser And The Firecat.

*Peace Train*is a song that only uses a few simple chords but is deceptively difficult to play. It has a very distinctive and recognizable intro and a short fill but most of the song is strumming C, G, F, and Am. The difficulty comes with the speed of the chord changes, as well as when they happen. This is another classic from Cat Stevens’ album Teaser And The Firecat

*Sally, Where’d You Get Your Whiskey*is one of Reverend Gary Davis’ more whimsical tunes, although it falls into the blues category of doing away with an unfaithful woman. It is more Ragtime than Blues and is done in swing time. It uses easy chords and nice runs but has a challenging stretch as well as the added complication of singing over a syncopated guitar part.

*I’ll Be All Right Someday *is a catchy ragtime song of Rev. Gary Davis’ that uses some quick changing partial chord shapes up and down the neck. Neil’s arrangement incorporates a lot of ideas that Jorma Kaukonen added to the song as well.

John Fahey was the founder of his self-described style, christened American-Primitive Guitar. His sound and influence on the next generations are unmistakable. *Take A Look At That Baby*is one of his earliest pieces, recorded for his second album, /Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes./ It is a simple, ragtime progression in the key of C and not too difficult until you work on speeding it up. It uses the basic alternating bass technique but also really needs the left hand thumb wrap (fretting the 6^th string with your left thumb) to be done most accurately

*Money’s All Gone*is a fiddle tune arranged for fingerstyle guitar. This arrangement is based on one done by David Laibman, who also arranged many complex ragtime pieces in the early 1970s. There are two sections, which use mostly open bass notes, meaning that many notes must be muted after playing to prevent harmonic collisions. There are also a few other percussive techniques employed.

Neil has been teaching fingerstyle instrumentals since day one as a teacher (over 40 years ago). Our Intermediate Fingerpicking Package features a selection of some of his favorite and most popular songs among his students.

Cat Stevens is one of the most popular singer/songwriters who emerged in the early 1970s. His songs included compelling guitar parts, most of which are very accessible to intermediate-level guitar players. This 6-Pack consists of songs from his two biggest albums - Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat.

Reverend Gary Davis would have to be considered one of the founding fathers of the Country Blues style that has become so popular among acoustic guitar players. He spent his entire life playing Blues and Gospel tunes with a Ragtime feel and passed this down to the next generation in the likes of Jorma Kaukonen, Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn, and Roy Bookbinder, among countless others. This package offers a wide variety of pieces that will present fun challenges for intermediate and advanced level fingerstyle students.