"TICO TICO NO FUBA", BY THE AMAZING DUO SIQUEIRA LIMA

thanks to my dad for forwarding this.
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LES PAUL DOCUMENTARY

Here's a great documentary on Les Paul. I have only skimmed it, but among other things it has some nice clips of Les Paul playing with younger musicians. Late in life, Les's technique had largely wilted away from arthritis etc., but his tone is intact and you can get some insight into the way he thought about melody, chords, etc. Plus it's cool to see Les Paul's pedalboard-- okay, for me it's kind of fetishistic, so sue me.

Also, no complaints please about the commercials. You get serious length and quality here, unlike youtube. The downside is, you can't fast-forward through the ads. I know a lot of young people think the whole world should be available to them for free; maybe anyone that dumb won't want to watch Les Paul anyway.

Thanks to Howard Parker for forwarding this.
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HANK GARLAND TRANSCRIPTIONS NOW AVAILABLE

karlstraubguitar.blogspot.com/2009/09/hank-garland-transcription-book-out.html

Mike Joiner's book of Hank Garland transcriptions is now out. the link takes you to a post where I provided more info about it, and an excerpt from the book. I don't have time now to write in detail about this fine product, but I'll just say it looks great. The guitar parts from the Hank Garland lp "Velvet Guitar" are all transcribed. This is a classic album; it leans a bit to the schmaltzy side by comparison with the more famous "Jazz Winds" lp, but the chord melody stuff on here is really exquisite. If you plug in and play excerpts from Mike's transcriptions, it'll transport you back to the fifties jazz guitar sound. Beautiful stuff.

Mike's notation/tab book is in PDF form. Anyone interested can contact Mike Joiner at jazzguitarist27@yahoo.com.
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DIDDLEY BOW

Wow-- pretty damn cool. Buy one now, before Jack White records a whole album on this instrument.

email this guy for details--

wadester1969@yahoo.com
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LES PAUL TRIO, "DARK EYES"

Any footage of Les is welcome, but the Ziggy Stardust outfit he has on is an unexpected bonus. This day is turning out okay after all!
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ONLINE LESSONS AND TRANSCRIPTIONS, MADE TO ORDER

ONLINE LESSONS DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR NEEDS


If you're interested in doing online lessons with Karl Straub, here's how it's done.

1. Imagine that you are going to an hour long guitar lesson. Make a list of all the things you want to learn about, and think about questions you would ask the teacher. In theory, you can ask just about anything. Here are some general categories and sample questions to give you some ideas.

CHORDS

"Can you tell me about chord progressions and how they work?"

or, more specific--
"Can you tell me about how the chord changes work in a specific style, like western swing, Beatles music, blues, etc.?"

MELODY

"Can you tell me how melodies fit with chords?"

or, more specific--
"Can you tell me how melodies fit with chords in Elvis Costello's music? or Joni Mitchell's? or Bob Dylan's? or Otis Redding's?"

IMPROVISING

"How can I get better at improvising solos?"

more specific--
"How can I get better at improvising blues solos? or country, jazz, rock, etc.?"

TECHNIQUE

"I'm having trouble with bends/pulloffs/slides/vibrato etc. What can I work on to get better at these techniques?"

THE STYLE OF A SPECIFIC GUITARIST THAT YOU LIKE

"How does Jimmy Page put together a solo? or Hendrix? Clapton, Freddy King, Clarence White, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Albert King, Joe Pass, Charlie Christian, etc."

SPECIFIC SONG OR SOLO

"Can you show me how to play 'Satisfaction'? or 'Blackbird'? or 'Iron Man" by Black Sabbath? flatpicking traditional tunes like 'Bill Cheatham'? 'Stormy Monday' by T-Bone Walker? 'Ornithology' by Charlie Parker? etc."

NOTE-- depending on the complexity of a song or solo that you want to learn, it may involve extensive transcription. Transcription rates may apply-- when you let Karl know what you are looking for, he'll work out payment with you.

LESSON FORMAT
Usual format is email, including text and pdf files of notation and tablature. Video lessons are also possible. I'm still working out the logistics of video lessons, but I can probably email movie file to you or post on a private site for you to view.

PAYMENT

When you explain in an email what you are looking for, Karl will come up with a lesson plan that fits an hour format. Hour lesson rate is $70.00. Once you have okayed my lesson plan, you pay 50% down payment, which is $35.00. Remainder is due when you've received your lesson by email.

You can pay by sending a check to KARL STRAUB, 406 CLOVERWAY DRIVE, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, 22314. PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO KARL STRAUB.

If you are looking for transcription more than a lesson, the basic rate is $30.00 per transcription. (Transcriptions are notation and tablature that show what someone played.) Transcription is very time-consuming. I can give you a price quote for whatever your transcription project is, depending on how long the work will take. NOTE-- I tries to keep the price around $30.00, but some projects are very complex. It depends on what you're looking for.

I have a back catalog of transcriptions I've done already. Current price for these is $5.00 each. I haven't put a list up yet, but information available on request.
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EARL HOOKER, "EARL'S BOOGIE"

You may not have heard of Earl Hooker; he's not as well-known as a lot of his contemporaries. He's pretty good, though, as you can see here.
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