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Post by alistairhulett on Aug 14, 2006 7:26:23 GMT 10
If anyone needs more info or further explanation of the playing tips and chord charts from the Online Songbook on the Alistair Hulett Website at www.alistairhulett.com just head up a new thread with the particular song title and start firing away with whatever it is you need to ask. All the best, Alistair Hulett |
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Post by cameronlewis76 on Feb 26, 2007 8:18:31 GMT 10
Wow. A forum for Alistair's Songs. I'm impressed.
I was wondering if the chord structure for Suicide Town could be made available....
In solidarity,
Cameron Lewis
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Post by cameronlewis76 on Feb 26, 2007 8:22:00 GMT 10
Oh, and Militant Red....
Sorry to be so needy....
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Post by alistairhulett on Feb 28, 2007 8:05:37 GMT 10
Hi Cameron, chord charts for both songs you asked about are up on the forum now, each with their own threads in case there are more things you or anyone else wants to discuss about playing them. Happy pickin'!
Cheers,
Ally
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Post by murray on Apr 7, 2007 19:23:23 GMT 10
Hi Alastair I could ask about a ot of songs but for now I'll be happy with any help on He Fades Away
Long Live the Sando
Murray
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Post by alistairhulett on Apr 21, 2007 17:52:30 GMT 10
Hi Murray,
chords and tips for He Fades Away in standard tuning are up and running on a dedicated thread even as we speak. I can also do the alt. tuning arrangements in CGCGCC and DADEAB if anyone's interested in such things. Mrs B's Army for Mary Firkin soon to follow asap.
Cheers,
Ally
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jonb
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by jonb on Oct 1, 2007 6:22:24 GMT 10
Hi Alistair, Thanks for the welcome by the way. I appreciate it. I am not really a very good guitarist - only been playing a couple of years (used to enjoy drumming previously) - I got into playing guitar after hearing Martin Carthy (& subsequently, Nic Jones, Bob Fox & yourself) - I was completely captivated. First heard The Cold Grey Light Of Dawn & loved it ... I then went on to buy Roaring Jack "Cat Among The Pigeons" & Red Clydeside & I love them all. Anyway, the point I am trying to get to (in my rather long-winded way) is that when I took up the guitar I wanted to be able to get that great guitar sound that all of the guitarists I mentioned get ... & what you all have in common, as far as I can tell, is that you tend to play in a lot of alt. tunings. In the last couple of years, since picking up the guitar, I've learnt quite a few songs, I can strum ok, but really want to master fingerpicking. To me, the songs I play never sound quite as good in standard tuning as the versions I listen to played in open tunings, however, even when guitarists like yourself & Chris Foster (another guitarist I really like) play in standard tuning, you manage to get a sound & feel which seems quite beyond me (an example - i been trying to play "The Flower Of Northumberland" - can manage most of it - but so far, your intro (which I really like) eludes me - can't quite get it) - so, my question is ... in your opinion, should I concentrate on mastering technique in standard tuning first, or move on to mucking around with some of the alt. tunings as I go ? I guess the answer is probably to muck around with a bit of both, but I don't want to get too diffuse ... if that makes any sense .... anyway, thanks in advance for any advice. All the best, Jon.
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Post by alistairhulett on Oct 11, 2007 8:08:41 GMT 10
Thanks for all that Jon. I've been pondering how best to respond to your questions for quite a while, seeing as you cover a fair bit of ground with your line of enquiry.
What I'm going to do, I've decided, is to direct you over onto the General Questions section, where I'll post up your email with a thread of its own. What you're raising here really belongs with the Alt Tuning notes that I've already posted over there, I think.
I suppose being a serial re-tuner over many years, into a variety of different 'odd tunings', the one we usually call standard (EADGBE) is now just another 'alt tuning' to me. Thinking of it that way, instead of as the 'official, right way to tune a guitar' frees up the approach to it a bit. For me at least, it does. So the next installment in Alt Tunings will be EADGBE, commonly known as standard tuning. Should be up in the next day or so. I hope it will help you a bit to get that sound you're looking for, both in standard and in some other alt tunings as well.
In answer to your question, 'Should we learn about playing in standard before tackling the others?' Maybe yeah, but not definitely. A good knowledge of how chords are made, what notes are in a major chord or a minor one, and the different voicings and inversions, like sevenths and sus4s etc, is useful and important in my view for all players in any tuning to have a decent working knowledge of, but there is no reason this can't be developed just as well in DADGAD, for instance, as in standard tuning. I know several very good musicians who learned to play first in DADGAD and now never use anything else.
The main advantage of standard is that it functions well in a number of different keys, whereas DADGAD or C Modal only work properly in one or two different keys at the most. You need to use a capo to get the other keys. For that reason alone it's worth exploring standard a lot, in order to get a thorough knowledge of chord structures and harmonic relationships in several keys. But for what we often hear described as 'celtic music' it doesn't always give us quite the right sound. This is where the 'other tunings' come into their own, I think.
Anyway, all that and much more in the next day or so in 'General Questions' over on the other side.
Ally
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jonb
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by jonb on Oct 16, 2007 0:12:28 GMT 10
Hi again Ally, Thanks very much for your reply. Very interesting. You summed up totally - & in a much better way than I could - the frustration that I sometimes get when using "standard tuning" - when you said : " But for what we often hear described as 'celtic music' it doesn't always give us quite the right sound. This is where the 'other tunings' come into their own, I think." I think that this is probably where a certain amount of my frustration comes from. I really look forward to checking out the next installment in the alt. tunings guide when you get time to post it. All the best for now & thanks again for this great forum & of course, all the great music.  |
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jonb
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by jonb on Oct 16, 2007 0:45:12 GMT 10
Hi Murray, chords and tips for He Fades Away in standard tuning are up and running on a dedicated thread even as we speak. I can also do the alt. tuning arrangements in CGCGCC and DADEAB if anyone's interested in such things. Mrs B's Army for Mary Firkin soon to follow asap. Cheers, Ally Ally - Yes please! Thanks for the chords for "He Fades Away" - it's a really great song & I've enjoyed giving it a try - seems pretty straight forward (though having a wee bit of trouble getting the right feel with the Dm6add2 bit in the bridge - it is a great chord though, & hopefully it'll come with a bit more practice). Anyway, as you know, I am trying to get a feel for some alt. tunings so I just wanted to add that I'd love to try it in either the DADEAB or CGCGCC tuning, so it would be great if you could post it up sometime. If not that, any suggestions for which songs I could try in an alt. tunings - ie; any that aren't too difficult for someone fairly new to using open & modal tunings? Anyway, thanks again .... I'll stop bugging you for a while now! ;D |
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Post by balarm on Jan 26, 2009 8:40:45 GMT 10
Hi everybody. New to this forum and to Scotland - moved to the Borders only a few months ago (lovin' every bits of it!) I was...actually am - for about the 70th time - listening to this version of The Overgate: uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qQjBPHZpKPMand wandering if the lyrics are or will be made available (it'll take me a wee while before I develop the ability to fully understand on my own...being Italian) Thanks a lot for any help/reply and for this forum All the best |
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