JFRocks UNplugged Acoustic Guitar Lesson

Written by:	Jeff Fiorentino
Produced by:	Jeff Fiorentino, & JFRocks.com
Video Edited by:	Kelly Ross
.
Copyright © 2007 JFRocks All rights reserved

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We DO NOT suggest 800 x 600http://jfrocks4.com at that setting certain tabs or tables may not fully fit your screen.

Lesson Features

The song track

The Jam along track

The Video Guitar Lesson

Not applicable

Song example track

is part of the video lesson

Not applicable

Fonts may look weird, or not line up properly in Firefox or some other browsers if you have not set them up correctlyhttp://jfrocks4.com

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Key of G however you could also look at this as the key of Em, and assume a Harmonic minor feel due to the D# which is the Major 7th of the E. In this case I've chosen to look at this in the key of G as an 8 tone scale that uses the minor 6th as a transition, or tension adding pitchhttp://jfrocks4.com To each his own, do what ever makes most sense to you.

E_________________________________2_3_____________
B_________________________1_3_4_5_________________
G__________________0_2_4__________________________
D____________1_2_4________________________________
A______2_3_5______________________________________
E__3_5____________________________________________

I wrote the scale out above, because it's a good idea when you want to embellish on a piece, to figure out the scale that makes it up, and run through that scale as a scale. This will give you a snapshot of the mood of the piece, and is often helpful in forming new ideas or direction to take the chord pattern inhttp://jfrocks4.com

What I've written out below are the full boiled down versions of the chords in use in this piece. You can strum the chords below if you like. If you do that quietly in the background, it would actually make a fine guitar 2 accompanimenthttp://jfrocks4.com

The reason I laid these chords out for you this way is that it's far easier for you to analyze the lesson example or even "Blackbird" from the Beatles if you boil what's going on down to simple chordshttp://jfrocks4.com, or at least full chords, rather than the 2 or 3 note chord pieces that are being singled out in the actual performance piece.

I encourage you to mess with these and change the chord order and the feel of the lesson examplehttp://jfrocks4.com I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are hundreds of songs that could come from this chord patternhttp://jfrocks4.com In fact hundreds have alreadyhttp://jfrocks4.com. lol

Most of you learn by doing very wellhttp://jfrocks4.com Most guitarists do, it just seems to be the way that works the best for ushttp://jfrocks4.com A nice blending of text book and tinkering around on the fret board will serve you wellhttp://jfrocks4.com I've done a good just of the analysis for you below, it's up to you to tinker with this stuff and try to draw some conclusions of your own, or even change up what I did a little bithttp://jfrocks4.com

This is the opening riffing broken down into its simplest, most basic strummy dummy chord shapeshttp://jfrocks4.com

E__3_____0____0_____0____3________________________
B__0_____1____3_____1____0________________________
G__0_____2____2_____0____0________________________
D__0_____2____4_____2____0________________________
A__2_____0____2_____3____2________________________
E__3_____________________3________________________

E__0_______3_______3_____3______2________________
B__1_______3_______0_____0______3________________
G__0_______2___2___0_____0______2___2____________
D__2___5___0___1___2_____1______0___1____________
A__3___4___________2_____________________________
E__________________0_____________________________

E______________________________________________
B__5_______________ 4__________________________
G__5_______________ 5__________________________
D__5__<strummed____5__<strummed_______________
A__3_______________ 3__________________________
E______________________________________________

E__3___3____3___3_________________________________
B__0___0____0___3_________________________________
G__0___0____0___0_________________________________
D__2___0____1___1_________________________________
A__2___2__________________________________________
E__0___0__________________________________________

Now for those that are confused about the chords above, it's really very simplehttp://jfrocks4.com I've named the various sections of the example piece above exactly the same as I've named them below in the lesson example tab sectionshttp://jfrocks4.com. Apply the same feel to the chords above as you apply to the example piece belowhttp://jfrocks4.com Basically, I've done some of the analysis for you herehttp://jfrocks4.com. I've taken what I play below in the example piece and boiled it all down into the strummy dummy chords that it originated fromhttp://jfrocks4.com. There are 100 different ways this could be done and 100 different guitarists might do it 99 different wayshttp://jfrocks4.com This happens to be my wayhttp://jfrocks4.com. However, my way above works nicely as an accompaniment to what's tabbed below, and will give you something to help you understand where a piece like "Blackbird" comes fromhttp://jfrocks4.com Or, I should say "could" come fromhttp://jfrocks4.com

Also, this is a great example of how you can start with a basic chord pattern like a G, C, D, sort of thing and turn it into something like the lesson example that's tabbed belowhttp://jfrocks4.com The ENTIRE lesson example below is simply made up of two or in some cases 3 note sections of the chords above, in various positions on the fret board, with some open "drone" strings thrown in to add depth. Remember like we've talked about before, open strings are very important on an acoustic guitar. You don't have the sustain of an electric so you need them for a lot of things to fill in the spaces and prevent dead spots.

Also, remember what I've said on numerous occasions. A chord is usually made up of 3 or 4 notes. A "G Major" for example is made up of, G, B, Dhttp://jfrocks4.com G's, B's, and D's occur all over the fret board, and you can put them in any order you want or in any two note combinations you want and create a piece like the one below pretty easilyhttp://jfrocks4.com BUT, if you can understand the root chords (similar to what I've laid out above) that all this stuff comes from, then there will be far less guesswork involved in it for youhttp://jfrocks4.com

What I mean is, if you can look at two pitches that are being played together like the C and the E and the C and the Eb in the transition portion, and know, based on those pitches alone that it could be a C to a Cm chord change because the E is the 3rd of the C and the Eb is the minor 3rd, then you're understanding more about what you're playing than if you had just read the tab and just knew how to play ithttp://jfrocks4.com The reverse of that is helpful in creating tensionhttp://jfrocks4.com This is because most of us know what simple chord patterns sound goodhttp://jfrocks4.com G, C, Am, D, is a cool sounding chord pattern. Or, G, C, A7, D, is also good and that A7 really adds some thick tension to the mixhttp://jfrocks4.com Well, armed with that knowledge it's not much of a stretch for you to break those chords up into 2 or 3 note sections and either create mean rock riffs with them, or create pieces like the one below or like the Beatles "Blackbird"http://jfrocks4.com etchttp://jfrocks4.com

Like I say on the video, don't over think thingshttp://jfrocks4.com Most of what we play really isn't rocket science, it works for a reason and that reason is usually less complex than most people make it out to behttp://jfrocks4.com. Van Halen for example has some great riffs, well, most of them are just simple rock chord patterns broken up into riffs. "Beautiful girls" for example is an, A, D, E, chord pattern riffed outhttp://jfrocks4.com. A, D, and E sound awesome together, so it's not that much of a leap to figure that you can explode those chords and create some great sounding rock riffshttp://jfrocks4.com

I also encourage you to reverse analyze this lesson example as well. Try boiling it back into other chords. There are any number of ways this could be boiled down, maybe you have a different idea than I didhttp://jfrocks4.com.

I'm certainly not Mr. Know it all by any means. Just the same the lessons on this website are all here to try to help you guys get a better understanding of what you're playing, hopefully they do that for you, and hopefully you take full advantage of the notes on the page and do some analysis leg work of your own, and draw your own conclusions as to what's happening with a piece like thishttp://jfrocks4.com.

I'm not of the belief that a teacher should always just give the student the answer, there's too much of that going on these days, and it's backfiring big time!!http://jfrocks4.com I think a far better way to teach is to encourage individuality and thought. This is why I only give you 1 analysis of this piece instead of the 100 that there probably arehttp://jfrocks4.com. My teacher was a great teacher, and the one thing he always hammered home with me, is that deductive reasoning skills will serve you well as a musicianhttp://jfrocks4.com

All that being said, always remember that if you get stuck we're always here to help out anyway, either in the forum, or via "ask Jeff"http://jfrocks4.com. Hopefully this page combined with the video lesson will be of some help to some of youhttp://jfrocks4.com. Good luckhttp://jfrocks4.com.Jeff Fiorentinohttp://jfrocks4.com.JFRocks.com

Primary Guitar	Primary Amp		Effect #1	Effect #2

Ovation	Crate GFX 212		none	none

	Settings		Settings	Settings
	Channel: Low EQ: Mid EQ: High EQ: Reverb:	Clean 2.5 8 5.5 5	Level: EQ: Rate: Depth:	Output: Attack: Sensitivity:
	Effect order from Guitar to Amp

*Remember Effect suggestions are my suggestions for the home player. Usually suggestions are geared for a low budget. I purposely use effects and equipment that I know everyone can afford, and get their hands on in an effort to prove that you can get a great sound without mortgaging your house.

Acoustic guitar, with your fingershttp://jfrocks4.com.see video for performance helphttp://jfrocks4.com

E___________________0___________________________________________
B__0___0-1-0___3___________12________12_______12________12______
G_____________________________0___0_____0________0___0____0____
D_______________________________0_________0________0________0__
A_____________2_____3_____10_________________10________________
E__3___________________________________________________________

E__0_______3_______2______5_____________________
B_______________________________________________
G_____0_______0_______0______0__________________
D__________________0____________________________
A__3_______4______________6_____________________
E_______________________________________________

E__3________3_______3__________3_________________
B_____0_______0________0_________0_______________
G_______0________________0_______________________
D__2______2_________2______2_____________________
A________________________________________________
E________________________________________________

E__3________3_______3__________3______2___3______
B_____0_______0________0_________0_______________
G_______0________________0_______________________
D__1______1_________1______1__________0__________
A_________________________________________4______
E________________________________________________

E__________________________________
B__5_________5_____5________5______
G_____0________0______0_______0____
D__________________________________
A__3_____3_________3_____3_________
E__________________________________

E__________________________________
B__4_________4_____4________4______
G_____0________0______0_______0____
D__________________________________
A__3_____3_________3_____3_________
E__________________________________

E___________________10______________________________10~__
B__8~_________8________8_____8______8~_______8___________
G______0________________________________0_________________
D_________________________________________________________
A__7______7______7________7_____7___6______6_____6________
E_________________________________________________________

E___________________10_____________________10~__
B__8~_________8________8_____8______8~__________
G______0________________________________________
D_______________________________________________
A__7______7______7________7_____7___6___________
E_______________________________________________


The Black Birds

Written by:	Jeff Fiorentino
Performed by:	Jeff Fiorentino
Engineered by:	Mick the Mixer
.
Copyright © 2007 JFRocks All rights reserved