Song: If I Only Had A Brain (Wizard of Oz)

by Daryl on April 9, 2010

This is an intermediate arrangement in the key of D. The Major 9 chords give it a kind of jazzy sound.

Lyrics and Chords

DMaj9                  Emin7      F#min7           GMaj9
I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers
DMaj9               Emin7   F#min 7  Fmin7
Consultin' with the rain.
       Emin7
And my head I'd be scratchin' while
   A13
my thoughts were busy hatchin'
     DMaj9      Emin7    DMaj9   A13
If I only had a brain.
       DMaj9      Emin7      F#min7   GMaj9
I'd unravel every riddle for any individ'le,
   DMaj9         Emin7   F#min 7  Fmin7
In trouble or in pain.
         Emin7
With the thoughts I'll be thinkin'
          A13
I could be another Lincoln
       DMaj9               Amin7   D9
If you only had a brain.
    GMaj7  G#dim                 F#min7  Bmin7
Oh, I             could tell you why
    Emin7   A7sus    DMaj7
The ocean's near the shore.
        C#min7            F#7            Bmin7
I could think of things I never thunk before.
             E7sus    E7         A7sus
And then I'd sit, and think some more.
        DMaj9         Emin7      F#min7           GMaj9
I would not be just a nuffin' my head all full of stuffin'
   DMaj9             Emin7   F#min 7  Fmin7
My heart all full of pain.
        Emin7
I would dance and be merry,
           A13
life would be a ding-a-derry,
     DMaj9      Emin7
If I only had a brain.

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How To Tune A Guitar (with a digital tuner)

by Daryl on February 25, 2010

If you haven’t tried tuning your guitar by ear yet I recommend doing that first so you can truly appreciate this method of tuning. Besides, this is just one giant experiment anyway and getting your ear in tune is a part of becoming a better musician.

So… now that you’ve tried to tune your guitar by ear, here’s how everyone else is tuning their instruments and its the easy, lazy way. It will also invoke confidence that you really are in tune (at least for that moment the meter lines up). Its a digital tuner.

Power up your tuner and set it somewhere close to your guitar. Your tuner uses a microphone that “listens” for frequencies. On auto mode it will actually try to determine which note you are trying to tune to and will indicate that in some way. Start by tuning the sixth string, Low E. Turn the tuning peg on your guitar until the display indicates “E”. Now that you are close to the correct note its time to fine tune. On most digital tuners you will see 2 arrows >  <. If so, you want to tune up or down in order to make both arrows light up. If your tuner has a meter style display, make the needle go to the center.

Boss makes a lot of great tuners. I have owned both shown on this page and have been very happy with their performance. There are also many iPhone apps available. I am using TuneORama iPhone app which costs $2.99.

I recommend the Boss TU-2 if you play electric guitar and especially if you play live. You can use the pedal to mute your guitar while tuning.

Happy playing and stay in tune.

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How To Tune A Guitar (By Ear)

February 23, 2010

Online Guitar Tuner
There are a few methods you can use to tune your guitar. This first method works if you already have a good ear and can tell the differences in pitch from one source to another. Using the black tone generator (tuner) at right you will compare the tone it makes with a string [...]

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Guitar Finger Exercise #1

February 21, 2010

This exercise was the first fingering exercise my bass teacher taught me so this exercise is good for bass players as well. It accomplishes a few things.
1. Builds finger dexterity.
2. Builds finger strength.
3. Improve your sense of time by playing along with a metronome.
4. Should increase your finger callus.
Place your thumb behind the [...]

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Finding Your First Acoustic Guitar

February 20, 2010

So you are on the search for your first guitar? (Or maybe you are trying to find a gift for someone eager to learn.)  Welcome to one of the world’s most popular hobbies. In this article I will cover how to find a great,  playable acoustic guitar.  There are a few things to consider in [...]

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