Acoustic Guitar Player

In this article I have created a simple guitar Tab and music notation of Major Seventh Chords for guitar.  
Major Sevenths have a sweet sound about them,  many of the seventies tunes by acoustic bands were full of major seventh chords.  A clasic example from the sixties would be ‘Don’t let the sun catch you crying’.  Another would be Magnolia by JJ Cale.
I have done them as triads, threenote chords.  I like using triads, they have a lot of bounce in them and are very movable. 

To download the free guitar tab and notation click on the 
Major Seventh Chord Triads for Guitar TAB and Notation

The Aeolian mode, although it has an unusual name is more common than you may realise.  It is really just the Natural Minor scale, it is the same as a C Major scale C D E F G A B C, but it starts on the A instead e.g. A B C D E F G A.  It is used in improvisation over the 6th chord in the Key of C .  The Chords would be Cmaj7  Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bm7b5.  There would also be other chords which are built on the notes from the key of C but we’ll keep this simple.The example I have used is a G Aeolian.  The G Aeloian mode is the same as a G Natural Minor, it consists of G A Bb C D Eb F G and it is the 6th scale from the key of B flat (Bb) .  It is used over a G minor , G min7, Gmin9, Gmin sus4, it could also be used over a Gmin+5 and Gmin6. The chord scale built from the B flat scale is Bbmaj7  Cm7 Dm7 Ebmaj7 F7 Gm7 Am7b5.I have written two versions of the TAB and Notation for the G Aeloian Mode, the first version is movable up the fretboard, the second is written with some open strings, as stated in many of my other articles I like the open string sound on an acoustic guitar, and also your playing will become a little less mechanical by using different fingerings that require a bit more thought. For the quality printable version click Aeloian Mode for Guitar 

You might not be familiar with Tim Reyolds so I thought it might be a good idea to introduce you to his playing.   He has toured a number of times with Dave Matthews Band,  and also performed with the legendary banjo player Bela Fleck.  He plays both electric and acoustic. This youtube video features him playing acoustic. Fantastic left hand technique. 

David Wilcox is my favourite singer songwriter guitarist.  ’How did you find me here’ was voted by Acoustic Guitarist Magazine as one of the top ten singer songwriter acoustic guitar albums. He plays predominantly in open tunings, if you don’t know his albums I suggest you try and get hold of the How Did You Find Me Here and Burgandy Heart Medallion albums.   This youtube video is funny, I’d never seen it before.  David is an exceptional guitar player, what he plays looks simple but try playing it.  

Neil Finn from Crowded House is probably one of the most musically intelligent pop songwriters I’ve ever heard.  My first encounters with Neil finn was watching him play bass with Split Enz about  35 years ago and it’s been an intersting journey to watch him develop as a front man and song writer.  He can easily stand up with just an a acoustic guitar and voice and completely slay you.  The last time I saw him play was with Crowded House at a free lunch time concert, that’s right, I had front row seats sitting on a step in a small ampitheatre in Sydney, it sort of reminded me of what I’ve seen of the Beatles doing Let it Be with people hanging out of windows, standing on roof tops.

 It’s very easy to get carried away with the complexity of guitar parts, especially if you’ve played for many years.  Neil  Finn always reminds me to play what is required, and often hat may just be a good solid simple acoustic guitar part to accompany a good melody.

Laurence Juber playing playing an acoustic guitar arrangement of While my Guitar Gently Weeps is a great lesson in itself.

Watch his technique and see how much control he has in his bends and his ability to be natural and relaxed throughout this video.  Although the basic theme and chorus of the tune is repetitive, he manages to maintain an interest throught with his variations around them.  The more I hear of Laurence Juber, the more I realise the quality of guitar player that he is.

If you want to here another video of Laurence Juber playing a beautiful slow blues, go to the acoustic guitarist site

Here’s another beautiful guitar piece on youtube video by the brilliant Andy McKee acoustic guitarist.  Notice how he uses a half capo that only covers some of the strings.  He  is one of the most natyrally percussive players that I have ever heard.  he’s playing a Lowden guitar, not unlike the ones Pierre Bensusan used for many years.  I like the tiny bit of vibrato he often uses when he holds a note.  Listen out for the bell like harmonics just after the 4 minute mark.

 For more music by Andy McKee check out Andy Mckee on youtube