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 "Embraceable You"

  Guitar Lesson by Steven Herron - press "Play"
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Dear Guitarist and Friend,

     Welcome to the April Guitar Lesson of the Month! This month's lesson is a chord melody solo of the George Gershwin standard "Embraceable You" arranged by the famous jazz guitarist Jack Wilkins! This arrangement is from the book with 2 CDs called "Jazz Guitar Standards - Chord Melody Solos" which is fully described on the Jazz Guitar Music A-K page of our website. It is an excellent example of how a melody can be harmonized with  3, 4 and 5-note chord voicings. You will also notice it is written in standard notation (for those of you who can read music) and tab notation for those of you who can't.  In tab notation, the highest line of the staff towards the top of the page represents the 1st string or the highest pitched string of the guitar, while the lowest line of the staff represents the 6th string or the lowest pitched string of the guitar. The numbers on the various lines tell you what fret to press down on that particular string.  So if you have the number "2" on the highest line of the staff, it is telling you to press down the 2nd fret on the first string of your guitar.

     Also, I am including a sound clip from one of the CDs that comes with this book - so that you can hear exactly how the song should be played. Just click the "Green" button on the "Embraceable You" dashboard at the top of this page. You will also notice that due to copyright restrictions, I am only presenting the first part of the song. Here is the book description from our website:

Jazz Guitar Standards - Chord Melody Solos - Book and 2 CDs.  Songs include: "Body and Soul, Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man, I've Got You Under My Skin, What's New" -arranged by Ron Berman, "All The Things You Are, April in Paris, East of the Sun, Honeysuckle Rose, In Your Own Sweet Way, Just Friends" -arranged by Chris Buzzelli, "A Foggy Day, I Could Write a Book" -arranged by Charles Chapman, "Beautiful Love, Yesterdays" -arranged by Corey Christiansen, "How High the Moon, Moonlight in Vermont" -arranged by Mike Christiansen, "As Time Goes By, Bluesette, Bye Bye Blackbird, Invitation, It Don't Mean a Thing, You Stepped Out of a Dream" -arranged by Dave Frackenpohl, "All of You, But Not for Me" -arranged by Barry Greene, "The Days of Wine and Roses, Have You Met Miss Jones, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, You Go to My Head" -arranged by Sid Jacobs, "I Love You, Watch What Happens" -arranged by Ken Karsh, "Alone Together, Lover Man, My Funny Valentine, Night and Day" -arranged by LaRue Nickelson, "I Can't Get Started, Satin Doll, Summertime" -arranged by John Purse, "The Way You Look Tonight, What Is This Thing Called Love"  arranged by Bruce Saunders, "Misty, Speak Low" -arranged by Rick Stone, "Embraceable You, Long Ago, Someone to Watch Over Me' -arranged by Jack Wilkins. Notation/ tab / Fingerstyle/ pickstyle...Price - $24.95

     Jack plays "Embraceable You" using a pick, although you could also play it fingerstyle, using your right hand fingers instead. The first chord of the 1st measure will employ "rest stroke" picking, where your pick will strum down from the 4th string and rest against the 1st string. This will not only lessen the possibility of you accidentally hitting the first string, but will give you a fuller sound out of your notes. There will be other chords in this arrangement where the melody note is on the 2nd or 3rd string and you would want to use rest stroke picking for those as well. The first chord of the piece will also require that you use a "hinge bar" whereby your 1st fingertip is pressing down the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings at the 5th fret. The 1st chord of the 2nd measure will require that you use the same "hinge bar" again.

      Here are some hints which will help out your pickstyle playing considerably. Hold your pick between your right hand thumb and the left side of your index finger tip, keeping your thumb perfectly straight so that it is tension free. The pick should be held loosely enough that there is a little give and take when you strike a string. This way you won't feel like you're digging in or dragging across the string. The pick should strike each string perpendicularly or straight on, as opposed to striking the string at an angle. You will get a fuller sounding note this way. Also, only the tip part of the pick needs to strike the string. There is no need to dig your pick down between the strings. This creates too much resistance. When you use a pick, your up and down picking motions come from your hand, wrist and forearm at the exact same time. They move as 1 unit in a rotary motion and your wrist stays perfectly straight. Keep your middle, ring, and little fingers loosely held back in the palm of your hand - don't give in to the temptation of resting your little finger on the pick guard or the face of your guitar. This will only serve to glue you into 1 position and will cut down on your mobility and freedom of motion.
    
     Remember to keep your left hand thumb straight, pointing towards the ceiling and in the middle of the back of the neck. Resist the temptation to hang your thumb over the top of the guitar neck. Your left wrist should be slightly arched and directly underneath the guitar neck itself. Play on the tips of your fingers, close to the fingernails, being sure that the right side of the palm of your left hand is the same distance from the fretboard as the left side of the palm of your left hand. This will balance and center your left hand so that all of your fingers have an equal and fair reach advantage. Never lift a left hand finger more than 1/2 inch away from the strings. This alone will improve your accuracy because now you have less chance of missing the next note, since you won't be traveling a great distance to find it.

     Please be sure to use the 5 step "Visualization, Mental Imagery Process" that I have taught you earlier.  If you have not yet received this report, here is a link that you can use to access it: www.ChordMelody.com/newpage110.htm.   If you are interested in seriously pursuing the fascinating art of chord melody solo playing and rhythm chord playing (or comping) I would urge you to check out Steven Crowell's 4 year college level jazz guitar course located on the "Jazz Guitar Music Course" page of our website.  An excellent video series for jazz guitar playing in general is "You Can Play Jazz Guitar" volumes 1, 2 and 3 by Mike DiMecco located on the "Jazz A-K" section of our website.  We also offer a unique selection of  fingerstyle and pickstyle books w/CDs as well as videos of jazz and pop standards on the "Jazz L-Z"  page of our website.

                                                                                       Warm Regards,
                                                                                                          Steven Herron

P.S.  At the bottom of this page, you can see and hear our featured DVD of the week, which is currently on sale for 20% off the regular price!

P.P.S.  If you haven't already received a copy of my Chord Harmonizations Report - here is a link to that page - Chord Harmony Report

P.P.S.  Let me say that these guitar lessons are not meant to take the place of a good teacher, instructional video or book/CD.  If you are truly serious about becoming a better guitarist, eliminating the chance of developing bad habits and saving yourself hundreds of hours of frustration and wasted time, I would recommend that you set aside a regular monthly allowance to devote towards furthering your skills and education. You could take private guitar lessons ($70 - $80 per month) or you could purchase a new book/CD or instructional video each month ($20 - $40).  I find it strange that many aspiring guitarists will spend $100's or even $1000's on a new guitar and then turn around and spend only $20 - $40 on a book or instructional video - thinking that this is all they will ever need to master the guitar.  Good instruction, whether it is from a teacher or from the many superb instructional books and videos that are available, will give you an excellent chance of succeeding and reaching your goal of becoming a good guitarist or even a great guitarist!

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John Carlini - Chord Solo Guitar - Vol 2 - DVD. In this exciting program, John Carlini thoroughly teaches 5 complete chord melody solo masterpieces. He also teaches & expounds on his theory, technique and artistic insights using these songs as examples. His course is taught using both fingerstyle and pickstyle techniques and covers a variety of musical styles. Part of what makes this series so special is the absolutely stunning beauty of these arrangements. Includes: "Georgia on My Mind, Stardust, Both Sides Now, Stompin' at the Savoy, The Christmas Song". Booklet included...........Price - $29.95
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