Two Minute Song-Brown Eyed Girl

I had fun with the last 2 minute song and had many people comment that they enjoyed it. So I thought why not try another one. This time I chose Brown Eyed Girl and old Van Morrison favorite. I included the strum pattern, the intro musical phrase and a short practice session to work on the information I gave you. Not only is this a good way to learn the basics of the song but I believe this is a great way to share a new song with a friend or you can work on it together. Music is always more fun when you can share it with friends.
I will give you a link for the video and for the complete chords and lyrics;

http://www.screencast.com/users/guitarzan6/folders/Jing/media/bfc4b2b7-7662-48fe-adb7-87be966b150f
                                                                        Chord & Lyric Sheet
I hope you have a good time with this 2 minute song lesson and if you have a chance let me know what you think.

Bob

Two Minute Song

I have heard from some of my students, other guitar players and read on the Internet that some of you would like to learn to play guitar a little faster. I guess we would all like some things to go a little faster but learning guitar is not an over night project. However this gave me an idea to try and make some learning a little faster. I wanted to try and give you some songs that I could show in 2 minutes. I decided to use "When the Sun Goes Down" by Kenny Chesney as the first selection. Let me know what you think of this idea.

download complete chord and lyric sheet

http://www.music-ala-carte.com/images/stories/songs/sungoesdownchordlyric0001.pdf

If you have some ideas for 2 minute songs please let me know and I will give them a try.

Hope you enjoy my 2 minute songs.

Bob

Get Started Learing the Guitar for Free

Some times the best intentions create their own stumbling blocks. Many of you have said to yourselves, "I really want to learn to play the guitar" or "this summer I will start to learn to play the guitar". May be not exactly these words but some thing along those lines. And I believe you meant every word but things can get in the way; not enough time, I don't have a guitar, where do I find a guitar, where do I go for lessons or it's a little to expensive. All of these points are quite valid and I understand any or all of them can get in the way of what you would like to do. So, at http://www.gtrteacher.com/ I have tried to help out with some of these obstacles.
At Music Ala Carte I have online video guitar lessons, 24 hour access, you can learn and practice your guitar at any time. All videos are easy to follow and all exercises can be printed out any time. I also have a bargain box on the home page of  http://www.gtrteacher.com/ where you can find good deals on solid beginner guitars along with sites for other guitar accessories. The expense of musical instrument lessons has always been intimidating, the the guitar is no exception but at http://www.gtrteacher.com/ if you look under the FREE Lesson tab you will find beginning lessons and songs you can learn if you already know some chords or just want to try them on for size. I stronglyy recommend a visit to http://www.gtrteacher.com/ to take a look at learning the guitar online.
Please stop by and register so I can keep you updated on the news at Music Ala Carte.

Bob Swinton

First Performance

I woke up this morning remembering my first performance some 50 years ago. It was a state wide contest for strings; piano, violin and guitar. I was 10 with one year of classical guitar lesson under my belt and the ages of the contestants ranged up to 18 years old. My teacher told me that just learning a piece was just the start of the preparations for this performance, practice and repetition were the keys to a good showing at the contest. Well I learned the piece, Tempest, and I still play it today, I practiced over and over but I still remember feeling it was just not good enough for the contest. One day while practicing in my living room I began to imagine I was performing in front of a large group of people in a concert hall and a feeling came over me that I never felt before. All of a sudden I felt it very important the the song was played just right; the notes were correct, the phrasing was as I wanted, the intonations were all there and my technique was as it should be. I knew my concentration and effort needed to be at their peak and I had to be in control of the performance of the song. I have never forgotten that feeling and constantly strive for it in my performances today. My performance went well at the contest and I took 2nd place, I remember that performance as one of the best experiences of my childhood.
I hope you will get a chance to have a First Performance for yourself someday.

Six String Music is Good for the Soul