Practice Pieces

[john]

Hey

I wondered what acoustic guitar pieces you like to play?

I still love playing Davy Graham's "Angie", much overplayed by acoustic players everywhere at one point with everyman and his dog having a go but still I enjoy it.

David Crosby's "Guinevere" I love to play, it has a warm fluency to it that I find limbers up the brain and fingers quite nicely.

Jimi Hendrix "Little Wing" on an acoustic. Excellent fun. A different fluency with the left hand flowing over the neck. Great stuff.

Lately I've been working on an acoustic guitar arrangement of Portishead's "Roads" incorporating some rhythm played on the guitar body.

So what are you playing? Favorite warm ups?

Cheers

John

[roxhythe]

My only warmup, actually--and the only piece of music I fingerpick--is Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant." Since I hit every string on the guitar, usually in pairs, it tells me almost instantly if the guitar's in tune. I usually run through it enough times till I get every note perfect--then I'm ready to play.

Joe

[john]

Hey

I haven't played that in a while. Haven't heard that in ages!

Ol Arlo wrote a few pretty good tunes. Bert Jansch as well.

Cheers

John

[Rudi]

My old standby use to be 'Naked Ladies & Electric Ragtime' (in C) by Michael Chapman (album: Fully Qualified Surviver)

Sometimes it was the Davy Graham-esque arrangement of 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' by Charlie Mingus (in E)

Now it is 'The Entertainer' by Scott Joplin (in C)

Occasionally 'Soldiers March' by the Rev. Gary Davis (in F)

[john]

Hey

I love playing Joplin on the piano, though I tend to play Beethoven or Chopin. I've been learning Rachmaninov piano concerto number 2, but I don't really get time on the piano to practice so I'm pretty crap at it and it's a piece that takes a lot of practice. It's beyond me really but it's good to stretch your skills.

I've been trying to teach myself some Jazz guitar styles, but only really as a background thing.

Cheers

John

[Nick]

My old standby use to be 'Naked Ladies & Electric Ragtime' (in C) by Michael Chapman (album: Fully Qualified Surviver)

I still play Naked Ladies sometimes - scarey to think I first heard it in about 1972ish and learned to play it by listening to the album. Play Alices Restaurant too occasionally and nip into a few ragtime pieces

Angie occasionally but haven't played it all the way through for people to listen to for probably 4 years - I originally learned it on a beach in Cornwall many years ago

A John Renbourn called Cat(something) which is the hardest thing I know and struggle with a lot

A Lunasa tune called Inion Ni Scanlain which is a pipe piece I adapted for guitar (the story of how and why it was written is beautiful and it is a gorgeous tune - "Inion Ni Scannlain translated to English means Miss Scanlon, or daughter of Scanlan. Miss Pauline Scanlon is a pretty young girl from Dingle in Co. Kerry, an amazing little town on the west coast of Ireland where I spent seven magic years of my life and where I learned to play traditional Irish music. Pauline is currently the singer in the Sharon Shannon band. I wrote this waltz for her and then I asked her to marry me." Donogh Hennessy [the writer] about this tune.

Richard Thompson Beeswing which I learned one evening last week on a whim

Lots of messing about in Drop D and DADGAD

Edited December 17, 2008 by Nick

[Lazz]

Were you guys aware that Davy Graham popped his clogs this Monday ?

Or is this some big cosmic coincidence ?

And that he originally spelled that tune title "Anji" ?

Answers on a postcard, please.

[john]

Hey

Feck no I didn't. Wow.

Sad.

John

[Lazz]

Here's a little Video Tribute assembled by the Grauniad.

Sorry to interrupt with bad news.

Carry on.

[Rudi]

Davy... gone!

No I didnt know.

I found a Davy Graham CD album this year.

I was very curious about a couple of cover tunes on there.

Don’t Stop the Carnival – Alan Price

Take 5 – Dave Brubeck

I enjoyed the album (It may have been his debut – not sure) though a little disappointed to discover that Take 5 was played in a lead style with a percussion accompaniment.

I decided to try and figure out a way of doing it finger-style unaccompanied; the way I sort of imagined it Davy might have done it.

I could immediately see why he didn’t do it that way, and I did not persevere with it either. Now however, I think I will try again; and I will think of Davy when I go about it.

[Lazz]

Don’t Stop the Carnival – Alan Price

There is one argument that attributes "Don't Stop The Carnival" as a Trinidad traditional number.

On the other hand, it is more commonly credited to Sonny Rollins.

[FinnArild]

I often play "Mood for a day" by Yes (or Steve Howe) to warm up and sometimes several of Steve Hackett classical pieces. I've got some pieces of my own too, that I run through. Other than that, I just jam along with my self most of the time.

[thelevellers]

I don't really warm up, as such, nothing I play; is really difficult enough to need it!

At the moment I'm really enjoying the few finger picked songs I know - Beatles - Blackbird, Radiohead - Street Spirit, Tom Mcrae - Hidden Camera Show.

That's pretty much all I know though, and I wanna learn more finger picked stuff - indeed, badly enough that I recently arranged an awesome soundig picked acoustic version of Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright!

Anyone got any suggestions for stuff I could learn? I have a problem at the moment that the bands I like that use it don't have any tabs, and those that have lots of tabs don't do finger picking

Rohan

[connelly73]

I started a website called guitar and song. It’s new and the only songs I have tabbed so far are the ones I use so far to warm up. I always seem to play these pieces before doing anything else. . Let it Be, (for guitar and vocal warm up), Good riddance (same) Wild horse (just cos I love the song). Another two I always do is the godfather theme and Blackbird by the Beatles.

[Hyardacil]

I'm not a guitarist, but for some relatively easy but yet very good music for classical guitar I'd suggest the repertoire of one Mr Steve Hackett.

Ofc his electric guitar work is worth checking out as well.

[Jim622]

"I'm One" - Pete Townsend, fun to play and "Babe - I'm Gonna Leave You" - Led Zepplin