Chord Enrichment and Wunsche Brothers
My Return To Wunsche Brothers
Chord Enrichment
Are you ready to take your chords to the next level? In these studies we learn how to enrich (embellish or color) basic chords. Add9, sus2, sus4, 6, and Maj7 chords are constructed be adding diatonic notes of the scale. Understanding chord construction and enrichment opens up a world of possibilities with chords.
Chord enrichment in the key of G.
Chord enrichment in the key of C
Chord enrichment in the key of D
Chord enrichment in the key of A
Chord enrichment in the key of E
Tommy Emanuel Last Night
I saw Tommy Emanuel and Richard Smith at the Stafford Center last night. Tommy is probably the best guitarist you’ll ever have the opportunity to see live.
The Benefits of Playing Guitar
I recently receive a nice email from a guitarist named Bella with her article on The Benefits of Playing Guitar. It is very well done. Enjoy!
The Benefits of playing guitar
Guitar Talk: Autumn 2021
Autumn is here and the weather is wonderful. It is good to see people out and enjoying the nice weather. I hope you had a great summer. There are a couple events coming up this week. We have a winner for Essential Listening, and I have some new video freebies for music lovers.
Highway 59 Revisited
On Thursday, September 30, Professor Steve Davis will be presenting Highway 59 Revisited The Blues In East Texas at The Charles Bender Performing Arts Center in Humble. I have taken history classes and heard him speak about local music. He is wonderful. I encourage all my friends to be there.
Live Music at The Kingwood Farmers Market
On Sunday, October 3, 1-5 PM, I will be performing at Kingwood Farmers Market.
Kingwood Town Center Park
I would love to see you there!
Congratulations to Shubhra Misra for providing the best answers to Essential Listening in our last Guitar talk. The Artist was Jeff Beck performing Definitely Maybe. The answers were researched and expressed very well. I learned a few things reading his answers!
Here are Shubhra’s answers to the questions:
Who is Jeff Beck?
Jeff Beck is an English musician/songwriter/guitarist.
What style(s) of music does Jeff Beck play?
Jeff Back plays primarily rock, jazz and blues.
How does he get those sounds on his guitar? What is unique about this song? What devices or gadgets does he use to get his sound?
On this particular song and most others, the use of his right hand and his fingers (varying attack), including his use of the tremolo/vibrato bar to adjusting the tone/volume knobs, and the left hand with the slide. This song could very well be the literal “while my guitar gently weeps”! The emotional content of this song, all from Beck’s phrasing, tempo and sounds, from the weeping, and screaming to the ambiguity in the interlude is what makes the title so apt. Aside from the melody and Beck’s playing, from a harmony perspective, I think the mix of major and minor chords makes this song unique. I don’t know much about his amp and effects set up, and I’m sure there is quite a bit, but I don’t think there is much – most of what I hear from Beck seems to come out of straight out of his guitar.
What famous musicians recorded with Jeff?
Endless list, from Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Roger Waters, Brian Wilson, Bon Jovi to Toots and the Mayals and Johnny Depp!
What brand of guitar(s) does he use?
Typically, a strat or a tele but also Gibson Les Paul and others.
What kind of amplifier does he use?
I had to read up on this, and it obviously varied depending on the stage of his career, but included Vox, Marshall, Fender Twin Reverb and many others. The clear progression has been from the “dirty” Yardbirds-era sound to a “cleaner” sound.
Where was he born and raised?
Surrey, England
Name two more songs by Jeff.
I’ll pick two that are covers and maybe not as well known but my favorites – His interpretation of Nadia and his interpretation of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.
What other instruments do you hear on Definitely Maybe?
Drums, bass, electronic piano/keyboard
Do You like this song? How would you rate it on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being fantastic.
I think this is fairly mediocre even within Beck’s repertoire. 6/10.
Is there another song by Jeff that you like better?
The entire playlist/live performance at Ronnie Scott’s! https://youtu.be/AoQHnzHrqgE
From Brian:
There are only a couple observations I would add: Jeff uses a wah wah pedal to produce a crying effect throughout the song. The Jeff Group is the studio band that played on Donavan’s recordings, most notably Barabajagal .
When speaking with Shubhra about the song, he told me his father was a fan of Jeff Beck when we was growing up in India. That impressed me. Someone from India and the USA were digging the music of a British cat at the same time. That shows that music is the universal language and knows no borders.
This month’s Essential Listening: Los Endos by Steve Hackett
The questions: Anyone is allowed to participate. Email the answers to brian@guitarlessonsbybrian.com.
- Who is Steve Hackett?
- Who wrote and recorded the original version of Los Endos and what album is it on?
- What kind of guitar is he using?
- What is unique about his guitar?
- What does Steve have in common with Eddy Van Halen?
- What other instruments do you hear and see on this video?
- Do you like this song? Rate it 1 to 10 with 10 being awesome.
- Is this the first time you have heard Steve Hackett?
- What other songs do you like by him?
- What song from any artist would you recommend to be featured as Essential Listening?
FREEBIES
The Andalusian Cadence, also known as the Runaway progression is one of the coolest chord progressions you’ll ever learn. I have created nine videos on the subject.
How to play Aloha ‘Oe on the ukulele.
How to play The Beatles classic, Yesterday, on guitar.
Learning the notes on the guitar.
Music Theory for Guitarists
Phone: 281.386.6982
Email: brian@guitarlessonsbybrian.com
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Breaking Up Is Hard to do was a big hit for Neil Sadaka in 1962. It was a beautiful melody but, it was a done in a “do wop/bubblegum style” that was popular at the time with teens. Years later he did a blues version with him singing and playing piano in a slow, soulful, blues style. It is absolutely marvelous. I never get tired of this song.
In the first video we have the original from the early 60s. The second video is Neil’s blues version years later. And, the third video is my solo guitar arrangement.
How To Play Yesterday
I learned how to play this arrangement of Yesterday, by The Beatles, in 1977 from my guitar teacher, Manuel Padraza. Here I am sharing it with my students 40 years latter. That speaks volumes about the longevity of this classic.