Here’s a chart of the original version of Roy Orbison’s classic song.

Pretty Woman GTR

Pretty Woman BS

Whenever I hear the riff of Pretty Woman I can’t help but think of Devo’s Whip it from the early 1980s.

David Gilmore plays the famous tune solo, and then...

Shine On GTR 1

This book is a good introduction to the rudiments of Tonal music from a classical perspective. I went through this book when I was starting out and the conservatory still uses it. The knowledge offered can be applied to music that uses the Western European harmonic approach (popular songs, standard jazz, classical music, folk…) from the time of Bach up to Wagner. Scales, intervals, triads, etc. Highly recommended for serious music students.

Elementary Rudiments – Chapters

Elementary Rudiments – Amazon

Here’s a tune we’re learning in Scratch Class.

Green Onions BS Bass line

Green Onions GTR lead sheet

Green Onions GTR Bass line

Of all the singers I grew up with Billie Holiday was my favorite. She didn’t have the range or dexterity of Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald, but when I heard her on my dad’s recordings it was like she sang for me. It wasn’t the words, because most lyrics didn’t make sense to me, as a boy I was entranced by music. It was the sound and feeling. Her voice resonated through me. I wished she was my aunt, or someone in my family that would occasionally come over for Sunday dinner. Then, after she might sing a song or two. Maybe I’d play guitar.

This video has a lot of great players on it playing a 12-bar blues in Eb.

Fine and Mellow LEAD SHEET

Fine & Mellow BASS

Fine & Mellow GTR

These tunes are great for getting a feel for one of most popular scales
known to the guitar

E minor pentatonic

E G A B D E

As the name suggests, there are only five notes,
the 2nd and 6th notes are removed from it’s parent scale,

E natural minor:

E F# G A B C D E.

Smokestack Lightnin BS

Smokestack Lightnin GTR

Shaking All over

This is one of my favorite songs by the Police.
It has a great groove.
Learn the main riff using the attached charts.
Play along with the video.
I've also attached the complete chart for you to look at.

Walking on the Moon GTR Excerpt

Walking on the Moon BS Excerpt

Walking on the Moon SCORE, 2 pages

The title of this fun piece by Duke Ellington is C Jam Blues,
but the key they play the song in is Db.
So, I refer to this song as Db Jam Blues and use "D flat" as its lyrics.
This is to help you get a feel for playing the tune.
Say the words as you play the notes.
There are three basic chords: Db6 Gb6 Ab7.
In the attached chart you'll learn how to play an arpeggio of each chord
that creates a walking bass line,
a stream of quarter notes that flow throughout the song to give you
a swinging beat, synchronized with the drummers ride cymbal.
The form of the tune is called 12 Bar Blues.
This is a valuable form to learn because many songs are based on it.

Use the GUITAR  & BASS charts to play along with the attached video.

Charts

Db Jam Blues GTR-LEAD SHEET

Db Jam Blues TAB gtr-lead sheet

Db Jam Blues BS-LEAD SHEET

Db Jam Blues TAB bass-lead sheet

Video