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Dan's Guitar Blog

By Dan Cross, About.com Guide to Guitar since 1998

YouTube: How to Play Hotel California

Sunday November 15, 2009
If you're looking for a relatively simple song to play on acoustic guitar, The Eagles' "Hotel California" might be worth a look. This YouTube instructional video of "Hotel California" walks viewers through how to play the entire song on acoustic (a capo is required). Note that this video shows how to play the acoustic guitar part only... electric guitar solos are not included.

Free Ray Davies MP3

Friday November 13, 2009
Fans of the band will be happy to hear a free Ray Davies re-recording of The Kinks' classic "Celluloid Heroes" is available in mp3 format, courtesy of LA Weekly. The track is availabe via direct download... no registration is required. Note that this mp3 is only available until November 19th.

The Omstrument

Monday November 9, 2009
There is a post on the Guitar Blog about "The Omstrument", a 46-string instrument built from a guitar, harp, dulcimer, strumstick, and a tanpura. If the Omstrument looks completely unplayable, there is an accompanying performance video on YouTube. On a personal note, I was intrigued to learn this was built by Jack Haas, who lived four houses down from me as a kid.

Download Free Paul McCartney MP3

Monday November 9, 2009
Fans of Paul McCartney now have a chance to download an MP3 of "Let Me Roll It To You" from paulmccartney.com. The free MP3 and is part of a promotion for McCartney's upcoming release Good Evening New York City. Submission of your email address is required for download.

Eigenharp Demo

Sunday November 1, 2009
If you haven't heard of the Eigenharp before, it's a fretted electronic instrument that combines woodwind, keyboard, guitar, bass and percussion. If that intrigues you, there's an Eigenharp demo video on YouTube.

50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time

Monday October 26, 2009
I just stumbled upon this 2008 list from Guitar World of the "50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time". Although they've listed 50 guitarists here, unfortunately Guitar World weren't willing to rank their choices. So, you'll have to make up your own mind about which of these guitarists takes the "fastest guitarist of all time" trophy.

50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time

Download free Nirvana MP3

Sunday October 18, 2009
To help promote the 20th anniversary reissue of Nirvana's Bleach, Sub Pop Records has released a free mp3 of "Scoff", taken a live disc recorded in Portland, Oregon in February, 1990. This track is part of the live album that Sub Pop will accompany Scoff. You can download the mp3 for free from Rollingstone.com, without any registration.

YouTube: Delay Pedal Tips

Tuesday October 13, 2009
Although many guitarists own a delay pedal, most tend to "set it and forget it". While the delay pedal can be used as a subtle tone enhancer, with some experimentation it can almost be used as a whole other instrument. This video begins to outline some of the more dramatic sounds that can be created with the delay pedal (the Boss DD6 is being used, but the same concepts apply to all delay pedals). watch the delay pedal YouTube guitar lesson

Free Vampire Weekend MP3

Thursday October 8, 2009
Vampire Weekend have posted an MP3 of "Horchata" from their upcoming release Contra on the band's official site. Although this track isn't particularly guitar-heavy, much of Vampire Weekend's music features quirky, interesting guitar playing. Registration isn't required to download this mp3.

Funk Guitar Lesson

Tuesday October 6, 2009
So, ya wanna play funk guitar? In order to play funk music well, you'll have to un-learn some of the habits you've picked up over the years. This lesson should help provide you with the basic requirements needed to get your start playing funk guitar. Includes funk guitar tab and mp3 clips. Funk guitar lesson.
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