In this video I talk about one way that I make arrangements. For hymns, popular songs, folk songs, I prefer to work from a lead sheet. A lead sheet contains the melody as well as the chords.
Category Archives: Arrangements
MINUET IN G – Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (114) – Full Tutorial with TAB -Fingerstyle Guitar
Minuet in G comes from the “Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach,” a gift that Johann Sebastian Bach gave to his second wife. For many years this piece was believed to have been composed by Bach but now the piece is believed to have been composed by Christian Petzold.
I remember playing this piece, as well as the companion G minor minuet, back in college when I was a music major taking piano lessons.
ODE TO JOY (Easy) – Ludwig van Beethoven – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
Ode to Joy comes from the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. You hear the melody throughout the movement. It first begins in the strings before moving to the vocalists before reaching a triumphant climax with the full choir and orchestra. Many people feel that this represents the apex of western classical music. It’s a great piece of music for sure.
For this arrangement I tried to make it as easy as possible. It is basically an arrangement of the melody with chords.
TRUMAN SLEEPS – Philip Glass – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
This is an arrangement of the piece, Truman Sleeps, composed by Philip Glass that can be found in the movie, The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey. I loved the movie and I have always loved this particular piece of music in the movie. Originally, it was composed for the piano.
For a long time I didn’t try arranging this piece because I figured it wouldn’t work. I tried it out in E minor a couple nights ago and was surprised that it worked! Philip Glass is one of my favorite composers and so it is nice to be able to play his music on the guitar.
ADAGIO IN G MINOR (Opening Theme) – Albinoni – Easy -Full Tutorial with Tab – Fingerstyle Guitar
Adagio in G Minor is a beautiful piece of music. The version I always heard (and liked a lot!) was for strings and organ. I remember listening to it on repeat back in college. There is some confusion on who actually composed this piece. It is attributed to the 18th-century composer, Tomaso Albinoni but some think that the musicologist, Remo Giazotto actually composed it.
This arrangement comes from my second volume of easy arrangements. I just arranged the opening theme and tried to keep this arrangement as easy as possible.
IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING – Easy Arrangement – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
In the Hall of the Mountain King comes from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt suite. It is a popular piece of music and, at least to me, very exciting the way that it builds up. For this arrangement I tried to keep it as easy as possible while still keeping the integrity of the work.
RIVER FLOWS IN YOU – Yiruma – Full Tutorial with TABS – Fingerstyle Guitar
River Flows in You is a great piece for piano composed by the South Korean composer and pianist. This is one of those arrangements that I didn’t know if it would work on the guitar. It can sometimes be difficult to arrange piano music for the guitar.
DANNY BOY – Easy Arrangement – Fingerstyle Guitar
In this guitar lesson I teach the famous song, Danny Boy. The melody comes from an old traditional Irish melody called, Londonderry Air. English words were later added in the early 20th century by Frederic Weatherly.
This arrangement comes from my first volume of easy arrangements. It’s a group of 30 hymns, folk, spirituals, and patriotic songs. I tried to make the arrangement as easy as possible while still keeping the integrity of the piece.
ALLEGRETTO IN D – Fernando Sor – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
This is a lovey piece by Fernando Sor and is perfect for the late-beginner/early intermediate guitar player.
Fernando Sor is a wonderful guitar composer. He lived from 1778-1839 and was considered a great classical guitar virtuoso. He was a Spanish composer who spent time in France, England, and Russia. He has composed works for beginner guitarists all the way up to concert pieces for the stage.
I hope you enjoy this guitar lesson. You can see many more lessons like these at my guitar school found at my website.
FUR ELISE (Theme) – Easy Arrangement – Beethoven – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
Fur Elise is one of Beethoven’s most popular and beloved pieces. It is used in music boxes, movies, commercials, etc. I have already made an “easy arrangement” of this theme but decided to make an even easier arrangement of it where everything is in the first position.
Here are a couple interesting factoids about this piece…
It was first published about 40 years after his death
And…
The original title was Bagatelle No. 25
