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How to play Roxanne by The Police

roxanneIf you want to learn how to play “Roxanne,” by The Police, this is a great place to get started.

This time we take a look at the song “Roxanne” by The Police. This song was written by Sting in 1978 for their debut album “Outlandos d’Amour.” This was the first single and it helped make The Police a household name. You can hear Sting accidentally sit on a Piano and laugh in the very beginning. With only two main sections to learn, this is a very easy song to play.

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How to play Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones

gimme shelterIf you want to learn how to play “Gimme Shelter,” by The Rolling Stones, this is a great place to get started

This time, we are going to take a look at the song “Gimme Shelter,” by The Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the 1969 record “Let It Bleed” and it is the opening song on that record. This song features an Open Tuning on the Guitar, meaning that the strings are tuned to an open chord, instead of the standard tuning.

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How to play You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC

You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DCIf you want to learn how to play “You Shook Me All Night Long,” by AC/DC, this is a great place to get started

This time, we are going to have a look at the song “You Shook Me All Night Long,” from the Australian Rock & Roll band AC/DC. This song was released in 1980 for the album “Back In Black” and as their first single, which featured Brian Johnson as lead singer, replacing Bon Scott, who had passed away earlier. This is a very well known song that is pretty straightforward and easy to play, making it great for beginners.

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Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream – How to Play

Sunshine Of Your Love by CreamIf you want to learn how to play Sunshine Of Your Love, by Cream, this is a great place to get started.

This time we are taking a look at the song Sunshine Of Your Love, by Cream. This song was released in 1967 and was written by the bass player Jack Bruce after seeing a Jimi Hendrix concert and there were later contributions by Eric Clapton and Pete Brown. This song features a noticeable distortion on the bass, more likely to have been created by having pushed his Marshall amp too hard rather than by using a Fuzz pedal, though several types were available.

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Evil Ways by Santana – How to Play

evil waysEvil Ways is played in the key of G Minor Dorian, a mode of F Major, and both scales share the same notes.

This time, we are going to learn how to play Evil Ways, as performed by Santana on their self-titled debut album in 1969. The song was written by Clarence Henry and was originally recorded by Willy Bobo in 1967. It has been said that Carlos Santana detuned his guitar one whole step to play the chords in an open position for the recording.

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Black Magic Woman by Santana – How to Play

black magic womanIf you want to learn how to play Black Magic Woman by Santana, this is a great place to get started.

Now we are going to take a look at, and try to learn how to play, a song called Black Magic Woman, as performed by Carlos Santana in 1970 for the record Abraxas. The song was originally written by Peter Green in 1968 for his band at the time, Fleetwood Mac. The Santana version also blends in a song from 1966 called Gypsy Queen, by Gabor Szabo which adds much of the polyphony rhythm to the song. Black Magic Woman is one of Santana’s most popular songs.

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Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones – How to Play

under my ThumbIf you want to learn how to play Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones, this is a great place to get started

Under My Thumb was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the 1966 record Aftermath. This record was the first to be recorded in the United States and is notable for the instruments not usually associated with the Rolling Stones, such as the Marimba. BIll Wyman uses (most likely) a Maestro Fuzz pedal on the Bass guitar for this song.

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Layla, by Derek and The Dominos – How to Play

Layla by Derek And The DominosIf you want to learn how to play Layla, by Derek and The Dominos, this is a great place to get started.

This time we are going to look at the song Layla, by Derek and the Dominoes. Released in 1970, Layla was written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon separately, with Clapton composing the guitar heavy first half, followed by Gordon’s composition of the piano heavy second half. Duane Allman is also featured in this song, playing slide guitar. The final recording of Layla was sped up a small amount, so if you try to play along with the recording your guitar will be (almost but not quite) ½ step flat.

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Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix – How to Play

purple hazeIf you want to learn how to play Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix, this is a great place to get started.

Purple Haze was written by Jimi Hendrix in 1967 for the record “Are You Experienced.” This was the first single by The Jimi Hendrix Experience that was written by the band. An earlier single titled “Hey Joe” was (possibly) written by Billy Roberts, but Purple Haze became an instant hit and introduced the world to Jimi’s amazing playing, inventiveness, and psychedelic imagery. We can hear Jimi’s Fuzz Face and Octavia pedals in this song, in addition to tricks such as the way he recorded some of his guitar at a slower speed so that when he played it back at normal speed it produced very high notes not otherwise possible on the guitar.

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Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix – How to Play

 voodoo child by jimi hendrixIf you want to learn how to play Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix, this is a great place to get started.

This time, we are going to look at the song Voodoo Child (Slight Return), by Jimi Hendrix. Voodoo Child was recorded in 1968 for the record Electric Ladyland and it has become one of his most popular songs. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is a modified version of Voodoo Chile, a 15-minute song Jimi Hendrix recorded the night before Voodoo Child (Slight Return). Both songs are said to have evolved from the song Catfish Blues, which Jimi played regularly, to honor Muddy Waters.

Key And Scale

E Minor Aeolian is used for the bulk of the song. E Minor Aeolian is a mode of the G Major scale and it is one from which both the Pentatonic and the Blues scales are created. Jimi uses the Blues scale for all of his playing in this song.

E Minor Aeolian = E, F# ,G, A, B, C, D,
G Major = G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
E Minor Pentatonic = E, G, A, B, D
E Minor Blues = E, G, A, A#, B, D

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