Jazz (Rhythm) - Advanced

Walking Bass Jazz Blues

This exercise is based around the same 12 bar chord pattern used in the Jazz Blues Lead improvisation exercise above. The basic idea here is to sound like two instruments, namely a guitarist “comping” (the tri-tones/3rds/4ths played with index and middle fingers) with a bassist playing the walking bass line (thumb). The chord tones should be played short and choppy (staccato) whereas the bass line should flow smoothly and effortlessly throughout. The bass line employs a great deal of chromatic/passing notes. Try to work out what is going on with the harmony in this exercise to get a greater understanding of how you could use this technique yourself. Find a chord progression in The Real Book (jazz standards book) and try to walk the bass. Good luck!




NOTE: Soundfiles for this piece will be uploaded shortly. Please click on the URL link below to hear the piece (make sure pop-ups are enabled on your browser or press "shift" when clicking on the link). When the new window has opened, click the triangular play button in the right hand corner of the screen to hear the music (you will need Flash installed to hear/view the music).


http://chrispearcemusic.com/downloads/walkingbassjazzblues.php

Blues (Fingerstyle) - Intermediate

Fingerstyle Blues – Chris Pearce

This is a 16 bar blues (not the regular 12) that works well on either the acoustic or electric guitar. The trickiest thing about this tune is getting the rhythmic feel right. Old school blues oozes a raw and loose vibe that is more difficult to recreate than you might first imagine. Landing your picking fingers on the strings over the sound-hole/pickups of the guitar produces the rhythmic clicks (the x’s in the TAB). Try to keep the fingers ready to re-pick the strings as they land (1st, 2nd & 3rd fingers should land on the high G, B & E strings whilst the thumb lands on the next bass string to be picked). Experiment and make up your own fills/licks (I used the E Minor pentatonic scale (F# Minor when the Capo is on fret 2)).





NOTE: Soundfiles for this piece will be uploaded shortly. Please click on the URL link below to hear the piece (make sure pop-ups are enabled on your browser or press "shift" when clicking on the link). When the new window has opened, click the triangular play button in the right hand corner of the screen to hear the music (you will need Flash installed to view/hear the music).


http://chrispearcemusic.com/downloads/fingerstyleblues.php

Classical Guitar (Romanza) - Novice/Intermediate

Romanza – Anon

This is a very famous and beautiful classical guitar piece with a simple yet flowing melody and arpeggio accompaniment. The first page is of grade 3 standard, the second page elevates it to grade 5. Although the piece may initially appear easy, the real skill in playing this is the use of expression. Without putting feeling and emotion into the music, Romanza will remain merely an exercise. By using dynamics (volume, both loud and soft), tone (produced by the flesh and fingernail picking the string in “sweet spots”), and through the use of rubato (literally meaning “robbed time” – slowing down at a point in the music but then speeding up to make up for lost time before returning to the original tempo) you will produce music with soul and depth. That is the real skill in playing this tune.

Use the thumb of the picking hand to play all of the bass notes. The three high strings should be plucked with the index (G string), middle (B string) and annular (E string) fingers. The picking hand should be poised over the appropriate strings at all times.

D.C. al Fine = Go back to the start (D.C. is short for “Da Capo”, which translates as “The Head”) until you reach the Fine marking which is where the piece ends (end of page 1).

NOTE: Soundfiles for this piece will be uploaded shortly. Please click on the URL link below to hear the piece (make sure pop-ups are enabled on your browser or press "shift" when clicking on the link). When the new window has opened, click the triangular play button in the right hand corner of the screen to hear the music (you will need Flash installed to hear/view the music).


http://chrispearcemusic.com/downloads/romanza.php

Classical Guitar (El Testemen De N’Amelia) - Intermediate

El Testemen De N’Amelia – Miguel Llobet

Here is another haunting and beautifully melancholic piece for the nylon string guitar. This is of about grade 6/7 standard due to the awkward artificial harmonic section. To produce the artificial harmonic, place the index (1st) finger of your picking hand 12 frets above the tabbed note directly over the metal fret (as if you were going to play a “natural” harmonic). Pick the string with your annular (3rd) finger of the picking hand whilst keeping your index finger of the same hand in place over the metal fret. This should result in an artificial harmonic. This action will take some practice. Matters are made even more difficult when it comes to picking a bass string with your thumb whilst you pick the harmonic with the 1st and 3rd fingers. Once again, this piece requires much expression to bring it alive.

NH = Natural Harmonic
AH = Artificial Harmonic

NOTE: Soundfiles for this piece will be uploaded shortly. Please click on the URL link below to hear the piece (make sure pop-ups are enabled on your browser or press "shift" when clicking on the link). When the new window has opened, click the triangular play button in the right hand corner of the screen to hear the music (you will need Flash installed to see/hear the music).


http://chrispearcemusic.com/downloads/amelia.php