The Blog

Here's a chord chart for "I Got Stripes," originally written out for my student Wesley, the biggest Cash fan I know. Check out his great strumming in his Coffee Shop Jam performance. Part of what makes that groove sound so good is that he's accenting the 2nd and 4th beats of the measure, called the "backbeat." These are the beats the drummer normally plays on the snare drum. When you're lacking a drummer, and you really want your strumming to chug with momentum, accent the backbeat.

This is a tough strumming skill for beginners to learn. Wesley's ability to do it while strumming at lightspeed is pretty incredible.

I've just posted a chart for the Beatles tune "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away".

Many Beatles songs are deceptively difficult. They may sound simple, but then halfway through the tune, BAM! Key change to C#! Or WHAM! Weird diminished chord invented by Thelonious Monk. Beatles fans who just know cowboy chords have a rougher row to hoe than, say, Bob Dylan fans (though he has some challenging tunes too).

Thankfully, there are a few popular Beatles tunes that everyone can enjoy, and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is one. "But Rob," you might say, "It's got an F chord in it. I've been going to my F chord support group every Tuesday for five months and it hasn't helped."

Well, you can kiss your support group goodbye. The Fmaj7/A, while not perfect, is a perfectly serviceable substitution for the F chord. Sure, it sounds a little jazzy/dissonant. I wouldn't recommend changing all your songs to the key of F just to use it. But especially if the song just lights briefly on the F before gliding on to other, friendlier chords, the Fmaj7/A will hardly be noticed as anything unusual.

Enjoy the song!

Here's a chart for the beloved Beatles tune, "In My Life," often found in the lists of top songs of the last century.

Fun Fact: The baroque harpsichord-sounding solo was composed and performed on piano by the Beatles' producer George Martin. He was unable to play it at full speed, so he recorded it at half-speed and then sped the tape up, so that the result sounds one octave higher. Love those studio shenanigans.

Beginners beware: This song features a Cm, a barre chord. Several common barre chords can be substituted with easier counterparts, but I know of no good substitution for Cm barred at the 3rd fret.

Enjoy.

A great 3-chord country-rock tune that Johnathan Rice wrote for his girlfriend Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) to add some up-tempo material to her live show. Elvis Costello sings vocals on this too.

Here's the chart.

My students Erik and Leigh (father and daughter) and their friend Steve did a fun cover of this tune at my last Coffee Shop Jam.

Enjoy!

Photo credit: Getty Images

This strange, gorgeous, moving piece about an AWOL astronaut features fifteen chords and a challenging strum pattern I've never heard elsewhere.

Here's the chart.

Playing "Space Oddity" like the recording requires solid barre chord and rhythm skills, but a little creativity can make it more accessible. For example, the Folk Strum (search my site if you don't know what that is) played twice per measure is a decent substitution for the main strum pattern. What I call the "Rock Riff," awesome as it may be, can be axed if it's out of your league. You can play a non-barred Fmaj7 in place of F and Fm. And the Bbmaj7 can be avoided if you play it and the three following chords as power chords.

Incidentally, this song was performed reverently by Commander Chris Hadfield in the first music video to be shot in space, on the International Space Station, this past May. Major props to "Major" Chris for capturing the hearts of so many of us (and for this fun explanation of the joys and challenges of playing guitar in space). But please, be careful of that little Larrivee Parlour guitar! Watching it tumble through the capsule of the I.S.S was like watching my son pitch out of his high-chair in slow-mo.

People who've followed my blog over the years know that my student Wesley is a big Johnny Cash fan. He was when he gave his amazing performance of Folsom Prison Blues back in 2009, and he's learned and performed several more since then.

His love of Johnny Cash, and in particular his The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show album, has led him to other great country singers like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash's one-time roommate. Last fall, I taught him "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line."

Here's the chart.

The song just has three chords, but you'll need to stay on your toes to nail the timing of the end of the chorus. Just watch this live performance to see the trouble Jennings and his bass player (singing backup vocals) had with this funky 10-beat break. First time through, Jennings doesn't hold the first note quite long enough, and you can see him smiling at the mistake afterwards. Second time he nails it, though you can tell he was working hard.

Third time through, he loses his nerve, or maybe he just decided to mess with his bass player. I wouldn't put it past him. Whatever the reason, he sing's "You've got the--" and then stops singing. The bass player hits his note for a split second, but immediately realizes his voice alone and naked--and he collapses into laughter. One of my all-time favorite live music bloopers.

You know what makes this guitar teacher happy? Travis-picking while watching squirrels run in the yard, great vocal harmonies, and whenever my students request an Avett Brothers tune. This song features all three (note: squirrels not included). The happiness is almost too much to bear.

Here's the chart.

If you haven't heard of The Avett Brothers, and you like alt-country, you should check these guys out. The San Francisco Chronicle's says they have the "heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones." "Tuneful" is right--these guys were born with that melody-making-microchip you can't find in stores.

This is one of those great guitar songs that's simple enough for beginners and also offers a challenge to advanced guitarists. The chords and strumming are straightforward. Fingerpickers will have fun with the Travis-picking solo I arranged, in tab below the chart. I'll also upload a guitar pro version of the tab so you can hear what it sounds like.

Enjoy the music.

I love songs with layers of difficulty. Beginners will appreciate the basic chords (F is tough, but Fmaj7 is always a decent substitute), and the song sounds great using the venerable Folk Strum Pattern I recommend.

The vocals, however, are challenging, and there's a badass Day-Tripper-esque riff that will hold the interest of more advanced players.

Here it is.

Hope you enjoy this great song.

Here's my chart of "I Will." Enjoy!

If you ever get frustrated with your progress on the guitar, you might be encouraged to hear that it took Paul McCartney 67 takes to record this lovely little song. Granted, the song's under two minutes long, but that's still two hours of singing and playing, not counting time spent retuning, drinking water, adjusting the mic, and saying, "Let's give that another go, George."

A tip for beginners: There are lots of opportunities to make chord changes easier in this song by using anchor fingers, where you leave a finger in place as you change chords. For example, with Em-->Am7 the second finger stays put, and with Am7-->D7 the first finger stays put. There are more anchor finger opportunities with C-->D7 and Em-->C. See if you can find 'em.

Here's a simple, sweet, soulful song to brighten your day: "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers.

If it doesn't put a spring in your step, surely this will: An all-clucking version by Jimmy Fallon and his Chickeneers.

And if THAT didn't work, you must be upset that this simple, sweet, soulful song turns out to be not-so-simple to play. Here are a couple tips:

• When playing the main C-->F progression, mute the 1st string with the underside of your 1st finger. Not critical, but for whatever reason the guitarist decided he didn't want that string ringing.
• The C-->F and F-->C changes are quick, and will probably be a new movements for you. Try using my fabulous Chord Pushups technique to speed up the learning process.

Have fun!