"Galaxy 500" by Reverend Horton Heat

Last night I caught the Reverend Horton Heat show at The Aggie in Fort Collins. Jim Heath is not only an accomplished guitarist, but also a great showman.

I was close enough to the stage to observe the grips he uses on Galaxy 500. Using the original recording, I transcribed the intro and head section of the tune. Here is the tab for that:

"Galaxy 500" by Reverend Horton Heat

Here is the recording I used to take off the fingerings:



... and here is a YouTube clip that lets you see the grips he uses:



RHH play their tunes wickedly fast; this one sounds just as good at a slower tempo.

Adding mp3 links to my posts

I've been receiving requests for the audio files I transcribe from, some of which are hard to find.

I buy most of my digital music from Amazon, mainly for the quality of the files and because they are DRM-free. They also seem to have downloadable versions of the music I want to study, which is convenient.

I snooped around on Amazon and figured out how to add mp3 links to my posts, so from now on I will include them with my transcriptions. (I also updated my earlier posts)

Elvin Bishop once said that if you consecutively listen to a song eight times, you will have it memorized. It's definitely easier to learn a piece transcribed in guitar tablature by listening to it while scanning the tab, before you start learning the grips and timing.

I hope this helps.

John McLaughlin's rendition of "My Foolish Heart"

Here's the tab for John McLaughlin's reharmonization of the Washington/Young ballad, "My Foolish Heart":

My Foolish Heart - Tab

Here is a DRM-free mp3 of John's original recording. It's amazing:



As an 18-year old rocker growing tired of three-chord songs, I happened to see a release poster for McLaughlin's 1978 album, "Electric Guitarist". Considering myself one as such, and not yet familiar with jazz, I decided I needed to hear this record. It introduced a new universe of music to me and forever changed the way I look at the guitar.

McLaughlin performed it with the 6th string detuned to A and probably used a light-gauge bass string for this, as even the heaviest low E treble guitar string wobbles and slaps the neck when tuned this low.
I transcribed this for standard tuning so no instrument modifications are necessary. This is the only change I've made; the piece is otherwise transcribed as he originally performed it.

McLaughlin's rendition of My Foolish Heart stands as one of the greatest interpretations of a standard in the idiom of modern jazz.

"Blue In Green" by Miles Davis and Bill Evans

It's the 50th anniversary of the recording of Kind of Blue, one of the greatest jazz recordings of all time. I've had it on heavy rotation lately, and it sounds as fresh as ever.

I'm mad about Blue In Green and decided it was time to add this piece to my solo guitar repertoire.

The composition is structured as a 4-bar intro followed by a 10-bar chorus. I loosely based the intro on Bill Evans's opening phrase on the original recording, reharmonizing it a bit to satisfy my ear. I wanted the intro to chromatically flow into the E natural that starts the melody, so I used a palm-muted arpeggio to connect the intro to the head.

Here's the tab:

Blue In Green

Here is a DRM-free mp3 of the original Miles Davis recording (Amazon):




I like playing this in the morning as a meditation. It starts the day in a very nice way. It also makes a nice intro to any tune in Dm or Gm.

"Back Up" by Larry Young

Let's get this blog started.

Here's the head for Larry Young's cool tune "Back Up", as performed by Steve Khan on his 1991 release "Let's Call This":

BACKUP_Tab_Head

I love bouncy arpeggios and had to tab it after watching Steve perform it on "Jazz Masters: Vol. 1", a collection of solo jazz guitar performances from the 1980's program "The Guitar Show". You'll know it was taped in the 80's by the Miami Vice suit and the hairstyle Steve is sporting. I found the DVD on Netflix: Jazz Masters: Vol. 1

I checked my tab against Steve's fingering and believe I've got it right. If you catch an error, let me know. Sadly, Steve's recording is out of print, but here is Larry Young's original recording, which still sounds fresh: