Chris Owen's Guitar Lessons Blog

Hi everyone, the video below is me playing one of my favourite Simon and Garfunkel songs – “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”. I’ve been listening to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel lately on my ipod and this one was a bit of a challenge.

First of all, the guitar chords that Paul Simon uses aren’t the usual “standard” guitar chords – they’re quite “jazzy” and he makes use of open strings to create a dissonant sound in some parts.

The song also changes key too – a few times. I originally tuned my guitar down half a step to play along, but when it got to the flute solo, it went up half a step to standard tuning but still used open strings, THEN it goes back down half a step for the “Architects may come…..” part, and then back up for the final verse!!! This was probably done in the studio, but I wanted to be able to re-create this live.

My solution was to tune my guitar down by a whole step and put a capo on the first fret so I’m half a step down from standard tuning. When I get to the flute solo (1:26 invideo) I slide the capo up to the second fret so I’m in standard tuning.

After the flute solo part I push the capo back to the first fret (1:56 in video) for the “Architects may come…” part.

For the final verse, I go back to standard tuning by sliding the capo up a fret again (2:12 in video), and it stays there until the end of the song.

Here is the video:

I didn’t sing along – just whistled now and again, also I didn’t want to stare blankly at the camera so I look away most of the time, probably at the TV.

The capo I used was an elasticated one, which meant I could have it tight enough to press the strings down, but slack enough to slide up and down the 2 positions quite easily.

This video is a bit of a rough sketch, I’ll be doing a more comprehensive one soon, showing the chords, tuning etc.

I hope you enjoyed watching my acoustic version of “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”, keep an eye out for my lesson coming soon.

Please check out my other videos too – you could also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Thanks for watching,

Chris.

Hi, in this video I will be showing you how to play The Manic Street Preachers’ “Kevin Carter”. The song uses an open G tuning – DGDGBD. Don’t worry if  you’ve never used an open tuning before, it’s really easy to do. All you have to do is tune down your 6th string from a (Low)E down to a D, using your 4th string as a reference. Then detune your 5th string down from an A to a G, using the 3rd string as a reference, and finally detune the 1st string from a (High)E to a D, using the 4th or 6th string as a reference.

Remember, when tuning down you should always tune down below the note you require and then tighten up to the correct pitch. This will ensure that there isn’t any “slack” which could cause tuning problems when you start playing. Also, once you’ve altered your tuning, check all the strings again to make sure they are in tune because detuning strings can cause the others to tighten up very slightly.

All of this is explained in the video. If you’re really having problems tuning to an open G, then you can always try one of the free online guitar tuners that are available. The one I have bookmarked is at Get-Tuned.com. This will tune your guitar not only to standard tuning, but many other preset tunings too, including open G. Just go to http://www.get-tuned.com/online_guitar_tuner.php, go to the “Tuning Presets” drop down box and choose [DGDGBd] Open G. Then just click on the play buttons for each string to tune. You can also use this to get back to standard EADGBE tuning.

Here is the video, I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for watching, keep strummin’

Chris.

Hi, in this video I show you how I play Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair”. As you can see, I put the capo on the 7th fret. this is just so it’s in the same key as the original recording. If the 7th fret is too high or too low for your voice, then feel free to move it to a more comfortable key.

The finger picking is a bit tricky at first but if you’re having problems, just take it slowly at first and gradually speed it up.

Here is the video:

Notice the “bum” note at the beginning? I recommend you learn it one section at a time.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed the video and learnt this tune which was beautifully arranged by Paul Simon.

Feel free to comment or share,

Thanks for watching,

Chris.

Hi everyone and I would like to welcome you to my new blog. I think it looks a lot better than my old “Blogger” blog. As you can see, I’ve transferred all my old posts to this new guitar blog so everything is all in one place. I’m going to be uploading some more guitar instruction videos to YouTube so keep an eye out for them.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Please feel free to share any posts too on Facebook, Twitter etc.

Thanks again,

Chris.

Hi everyone, here is a follow up video I made about two years ago, showing my way of playing the intro to “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel, note-for-note. I’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t exactly like the original recording but it seems close enough. You may find it helps if you use this video in conjunction with the TAB in the previous post and my first “Boxer” video.

Many thanks for watching,
Keep strummin’
Chris.

Hi everyone. I’ve got a couple of videos on youtube showing me playing the intro to “The Boxer”. Quite a few people have asked for the TAB, well here it is.

If you watch my videos, you will see which fingers go on which strings.

Basically, your 4th finger frets the 1st string, your 3rd finger frets the second string and your 2nd finger frets the 3rd string. After the initial pull off, get your 4th finger ready to fret the 4th string 5th fret.

Your 2nd finger stays on the 3rd string 3rd fret throughout the intro.

There’s a stretch on the last 4 notes with your index finger on the 2nd string 1st fret, your 2nd finger on the 3rd string 3rd fret and your 4th finger on the 4th string 4th fret.

Hope this helps.

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 6 months since I last posted. Time really does fly! Back to the topic of guitars. One of the most important aspects of playing your instrument is keeping it in tune. There are many ways of doing this. You could use “relative” tuning i.e. each string is tuned relative to the previous one, pitch pipes, guitar tuners (prices can vary) or if you’re like me and don’t own a tuner, you can always use the good old internet to help you out.

I came across this website – http://www.get-tuned.com/guitar_tuner.php which has an online tuner. As well as the standard EADGBE tuning, it feature other tunings such as dropped D and 1/2 step down tunings. It will even tune other stringed instruments such as bass guitar, violin, mandolin and others. Check it out and see.

http://www.get-tuned.com/guitar_tuner.php

Thanks,
Chris.
P.S. Do you want to download 5 FREE blues backing tracks and improvisation video lessons? I bet you do. Just CLICK HERE for more info on how to get hold of them.

Hi, hope you all had a fantastic Christmas. Just a quick post for now. Here is a site where you can sign up for a FREE 6 day introductory guitar course curtesy of Team Method Guitar. The lessons are sent to your email address, your first lesson arrives within 5 minutes. You can check it out by clicking HERE and give it a try.
All the best for 2008, keep strummin’,
Chris.

This video is my way of playing the intro to Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” It can be a bit tricky at first as there is a bit of a stretch at one point. Have a look and please feel free to leave comments.

Thanks for looking.

Here is a quick video of me playing “Dear Prudence”. I cut it short, and also forgot the chords at the end! Hope you like it.

Thanks for watching,

Chris.