Steve Krenz' Learn & Master Guitar Monthly

Some of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever had as a guitarist are when I'm simply playing solo Fingerstyle guitar in some dark corner of a cozy restaurant. Nothing but me, my guitar, and whatever tune comes to mind. I've done these sorts of gigs ever since I was in high school.

A guitar is one of those few instruments that can play the melody and harmony at the same time (most instruments can't). So while you play the melody you can also be doing a variety of things with the harmony...all on the same instrument. Building simple Fingerstyle arrangements of songs is a great skill to have as a guitar player. It's a feeling of freedom that's hard to describe.

Here are three simple keys that I've learned over the years to creating a basic Fingerstyle arrangement on guitar.

1) Put the Melody on Top. Our ears generally hear and identify the highest notes in any music as the melody. So as you are building an arrangement, try to keep the melody notes as the highest tones. Sometimes transposing a melody into another key is necessary to keep the melody notes in the upper range. (Sometimes you do this just to find a key that the song fits well on guitar.) If you get the melody too low, it's going to sound muddy, so adjust your chord voicings to fit the melody in as the highest tone.

2) Put the Bass on the Bottom. Bass notes are generally built on the roots of the chords, but you probably knew that. Bass notes "define" the chord movement and they generally sound best as the lowest tones in your voicing. Playing these notes with your thumb changes the character of the sound from the other fingers too. This makes them sound even more separate from the other notes in your chord, which is a good thing. With a little practice you'll eventually add movement between bass notes, creating moving bass lines.

3) Put the Rest of the Harmony in the Middle. The rest of the harmony notes of the chord can be filled out in a variety of ways but they go between the bass notes on bottom and the melody notes on top. You've got lots of choice here. For example, you could arpeggiate the chords, invent a repeated pattern, or just play the notes all together in a "block." You can even add moving "counter-melody" lines between the bass and melody notes.

Of course there are myriad ways to arrange a song, but these are my three simple keys for a basic arrangement.

Here's your assignment. Take a simple song and try to build your own Fingerstyle arrangement of it. Pick a key that fits the melody in an easy to reach place on the guitar. It's easiest to stick to guitar friendly keys like G, C, D, or A. As you get more familiar with playing Fingerstyle melodies on guitar, then experiment with transposing them to other keys as well. Have fun.

Keep Learning & Growing!
Steve Krenz

October Featured Student Profile

Tom Name: George T. Dunham, Jr. ("Tom")

Screen Name: "Stargazer55"

Gender: Male

My city: Langhorne, Pennsylvania

My instruments/gear:
Guitars:
* Martin D28 Marquis Acoustic
* Martin LXM "Little Martin" Acoustic
* Yamaha CGX171CCA Classical
* Yamaha G50A Classical
* Fender Squire Deluxe Strat w-EMG SA pups
* Ibanez AG95 Hollow Body Electric
* Ibanez GS190 Bass Guitar
* Epiphone Les Paul Jr.
* Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II
* Harmony Monterey Archtop Acoustic
* Washburn D10S12 12-string Acoustic
* Zager ZAD-80 Dreadnought Acoustic

Amps:
* Fender Super Champ XD
* Fender Frontman 65R
* Peavey Bass Amp
* Line 6 Pod XT Live
* Line 6 Pod II

Pedals:
* Boss AD5 Acoustic Processor
* Digitech JamMan Looper
* Digitech RP-250
* Zoom H2 Handy Recorder
* Vox V847-A Wah-Wah Pedal
* Line 6 TonePort UX1
* C Tech Pocket Rockit V2
* Korg TM-40
* Korg MA-30
* Tama Rhythm Watch RW105

Favorite Artists/Bands: Steve Stevens, Phil Keaggy, Paco, Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, Chicago, Armik, Muriel Anderson, Tommy Emmanuel

Favorite style(s) to play: Bluegrass, Christian/Gospel, Guitar Airs, Classic Rock

What made me want to play music?: My Mother was a singer in the late 40's/early 50's. Sang on Ed McMahon's & Uncle Milty's shows and with Al Martino. Her love of music inspired our family.

She was singing with the USO in Philadelphia where she met & married my father.

Previous music experience: Started lessons at 10 years old (1962). First guitar was a Harmony Monterey, one of the most mass produced models of the time. It was a beautiful looking instrument but had a pretty high action. Took music theory in high school & participated in choirs. Was lead singer & rhythym guitar for a small band that performed at various events. Played and sang with church. Minored in music at college. Last performance both singing & playing was at my son's memorial service in 1976. I recently became inspired to play again.

Spending a lot of time out at the farm & being outdoors and listening to church, country, bluegrass & folk music has inspired me to want to play again & thus join the LMG group. The rust is coming off slowly but surely thanks to LMG & lots of practice.

If your house was on fire, which one piece of gear would you grab and why?: That would be the Martin Marquis D-28. It doesn't require any electricity and it's the most beautiful sounding guitar I've ever played. I look forward to picking it up every time I practice.

My favorite place to be when I'm playing music: My favorite place to play guitar would be outside, at our family farmhouse in the NY Finger Lakes (Keuka Lake) during sunset.

My highest musical moment: My highest musical moment was when both of my children, who were high school teenagers at the time, out of nowhere, asked me to sing for their friends. Back then and to this day, I considered my self a vocalist that could play the guitar. I hope to change that to a guitar player who can sing.

Hobbies: Music, Flying, Motorcycle riding, Astronomy, Outdoors, Horses

Current Job: Financial Transaction Card Facility Manager

Learn & Master Photography - Coming Soon!

Learn & Master Photography with Vince Wallace continues the tradition of excellence in educational courses from Legacy Learning Systems. The course will cover everything to teach you how to take better digital pictures.

Topics include: The Basics of a Digital SLR camera, Color Management, All about the Lens, Elements of Art and Metering, White Balance, the Principles of Design and Aperture, and so much more to make you into a photographer extraordinaire.

This course is still in production and is on target for release in 2011. Sign-Up Here to be alerted of its release and to get a very special Pre-Order Discount before the course is available to the public.