This is a wonderful piece by Ferdinando Carulli. Carulli was an Italian guitarist and composer who lived from 1770-1841. In fact, he was born the same year as Beethoven. He composed about 400 pieces for guitar.
GNOSSIENNE NO.1 – Erik Satie – New Arrangement! – Fingerstyle Guitar
Erik Satie composed the Three Gnossiennes around 1890 and they were published in 1893. Originally for the piano, they are beautiful pieces of music which I would recommend checking out if you don’t know them. Satie was an interesting composer who experimented with chords, form and scales.
Score/tab available at my website (Click on the Picture)
THE DARKNESS BEHIND THE LIGHT – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
I composed The Darkness Behind the Light last year and is meant to be an etude for a late-beginner/early-intermediate guitar student. The piece consists of a melody (top voice) and bass voice (bottom) with an occasional inner voice.
While composing this I imagined a creepy scene (Halloween-ish) with a dark doorway full of mystery.
POLTERGEIST (Main Theme) – Jerry Goldsmith – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
The original Poltergeist came out in 1982 and is a classic movie. I first saw the movie when I was way too young. I was 9 or 10. My parents were out with friends and we had a babysitter. The movie was on HBO and I told the babysitter that I was allowed to watch it. It scared me so badly that I slept in my parents bed at night for the next 3 weeks!
It’s a beautiful melody composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Sounds very much like a lullaby which makes sense because the central character is a young child.
Score/tab is available at Musicnotes (click on the picture)
Improvisation/Hard Times Come Again No More – Fingerstyle Guitar – Robert Lunn
Hard Times Come Again No More was composed by the American composer, Stephen Foster. This song was published in 1854. Beautiful piece of music and one of my favorite of his.
Before I play the song I do an improvisation. For this improv I am noodling around with chords found in D Major: D, G, A7, Bm
I hope you enjoy this performance!
HUNGARIAN DANCE NO. 5 – Brahms – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
Hungarian Dance No. 5 was composed by Johannes Brahms and is a set of 21 pieces he composed for piano four hands (two performers on one piano). The set was completed in 1879.
This particular piece is based on composition by the Hungarian composer, Béla Kéler.
I tried to make this arrangement as easy as possible while still keeping the integrity of the piece.
FIRE DANCE AT DUSK – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
Fire Dance at Dusk is piece I composed last week for the intermediate-level guitarist. It alternates between a fast section in simple meter (4/4) and a slow section in compound meter (6/8). Last week I witnessed a beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan. It turned the sky fiery red. That image inspired this piece.
HUNGARIAN DANCE NO. 5 – New Arrangement!! – Johannes Brahms – Fingerstyle Guitar
Hungarian Dance No. 5 comes from a set of 21 pieces that Brahms finished in 1879. Originally these were composed for piano duet. This particular piece was based on a piece by the Hungarian composer, Bela Keler.
The original was composed in G minor and I have transposed this arrangement to the key of A minor in an effort to make it as easy as possible to play.
Score/tab is available at http://robertlunn.com
SPANISH ROMANCE – Alternative Version – Full Tutorial with TAB
Spanish Romance is a popular piece for classical/fingerstyle guitarists, and for good reason. It’s a beautiful melody. I have no idea who wrote this piece. Doing a little research online it seems that there are several people who have claimed to have written the song but it seems as if there is nothing definitive.
For this version, I change the bass line a bit in the E minor section. For the final repeat of the E minor section I had a note in two spots to add a little spice. 95% of this arrangement has not different compared to the way that most people play it.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (repost with Performance) – Full Tutorial with TAB – Fingerstyle Guitar
In this guitar lesson I teach you the classic song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, from the movie, Wizard of Oz. Not gonna lie, when I was a child, I was in love with Judy Garland.
This song, composed by Harold Arlen, contains a beautiful melody and is a good example of the AABA song form. Overall, I tried to make this arrangement as easy as possible so that the performer can really focus on making the melody sing.
