ronp – Page 4 – guitar + music blog

Hymn: We Gather Together, key of A, fingerstyle guitar

Happy Thanksgiving!

This fingerstyle guitar arrangement is in the key of A Major, and mostly in first position. There are some measures that are farther up the neck; 5th position in measure 11 (A chord as F chord shape), and 6th position in measure 7 (within 2-note harmonies on 4th and 1st strings).

For measure 7, it’s actually 5th position if you use your middle finger on 4th string and pinky on 1st string. I highly recommend getting used to using your pinky finger; it’s 25% of your 4 fingers that you use on the fretboard! Use of your pinky is essential when playing fingerstyle guitar.

Ode To Joy: Add some joy to your guitar repertoire

‘Ode To Joy’ is a well-known melody from the prelude to the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Today this melody appears in the official anthem of the European Union.

Here are some links to articles if you would like to know more about Ludwig van Beethoven’s melody, the poem, ‘Ode To Joy’, by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller, and some history regarding this poem and melody.

In addition, this is a great melody for beginning guitar players to learn. I will explain four reasons why you should include this song in your music practice sessions, and later your guitar repertoire.

This is the introduction to a series of articles on how to play ‘Ode To Joy’ in various ways and keys, in order to learn several guitar playing techniques and skills and explore the guitar fretboard. Stay tuned for additional articles.

Simple melody: Only 5 notes

‘Ode To Joy’ uses only the first five notes of a Major Scale, also known as the “do re mi” scale. So that would be these notes: do, re, mi, fa, so. The 5th scale note (“so”) appears as both a high sounding “so” and low sounding “so”. So, technically speaking, there are six notes, but the “so” appears in two different places.

Ode To Joy: Play Melody in Key of C (1st pos.)

This familiar tune composed by Ludwig van Beethoven has a relatively simple melody (only 5 notes). It’s also a good tune for beginner guitarists to learn. Read this related introductory article about this tune for more background information.

In the key of C, that would be notes C, D, E, F and G. The “so” note in key of C is the G note. The play-by-number guitar tablature for ‘Ode To Joy’ in the key of C is below. This arrangement is in first position, which indicates your index finger is playing at fret 1.

I’ve included the chord grids and chord names above the measures. If you already know these chords, you can also learn the accompaniment. If you have a friend who plays guitar or piano, they can accompany you with just three chords (C, F and G).

To view smartphone-friendly chord grids and tablature, keep reading…

Ode To Joy: Play Melody in Key of G (1st pos.)

In the key of G, that would be notes G, A, B, C and D. The “so” note in key of G is the D note. The play-by-number guitar tablature for ‘Ode To Joy’ in the key of G is below. This arrangement is in first position, which indicates your index finger is playing at fret 1.

To view smartphone-friendly chord grids and tablature, keep reading…

Autumn and Halloween Tunes on PEG-TV Arts Show

On September, 26, I visited with Mary Crowley at the PEG-TV studio in Rutland. Mary is the host of the local “Arts and More” show. She was taping for the October 2019 program (Episode 4).

Host Mary Crowley interviews Sherri Birkheimer Rooker, Executive Director of Chaffee Arts Center for the ARTS portion, and Ron Pulcer, guitar teacher, for the MORE portion for episode 4 of ARTS and MORE!

My section is from 13:16 to 28:22 in the video:

Martin Richard’s words in song (Peace)

I send my thoughts and prayers to the people of Boston; those who lost their lives, the injured, and their families and friends.

Like many, I was touched by the words from one of the youngest victims. Eight year old Martin Richard lost his life due to this terrible bombing. While in second grade, Martin had made a poster with this message to his classmates, teachers and parents, and now for the world:

“No More Hurting People, Peace”

My condolences go to Martin’s family, and I pray for healing for his mother and sister who were injured by the bomb blast.

I hope Martin’s words will live on, in song, and other art forms. I was inspired to put his words to music.

On Sunday, April 21st, at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland, VT, I was to play “People Get Ready” by Curtis Mayfield at the annual Laity Service. Given the events of the past week, I instead played and sang “Let There Be Peace On Earth, And Let It Begin With Me”. I used the above musical setting of Martin Richard’s words as a bridge between the verses, and a song ending, so it was a medley of two Peace songs.

Martin freely gave his words to America and the world (marathon runners come to Boston from all over the world). So I share this song with other musicians. Perhaps others can compose other settings to these beautiful words, in a variety of musical genres, and even various ethnic music styles.

May Martin’s words live on. But even more importantly, may we all as humankind heed Martin’s message and work to create Peace for future generations.

Song List

Here is a list of instrumentals and songs that I play on guitar. The songs and pieces are organized by musical genres or guitar playing styles. I enjoy playing fingerstyle guitar for a variety of music genres.

This is the printable version of my Song List.

Ukulele Virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro in concert April 27 (Troy, NY)

I recently saw a very cool music documentary on PBS (WMHT – Albany, NY) about ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro from Hawaii. He not only plays traditional Hawaiian music, but he plays many different styles of music on the uke, from classical to rock, etc.

The film “Life On Four Strings” was shown on WMHT on March 11th, 2013 (PBS debut). The “national” debut on other PBS stations is on May 10th, 2013 (don’t miss it).

As a supporter of WMHT I was inspired to donate for this particular “pledge drive”, since it provided a CD and two tickets to see Jake Shimabukuro live in concert at the “Troy Savings Bank” Music Hall in Troy, NY on April 27, 2013 @ 8 PM. I very much look forward to this show.

Here is a video of interview with Jake Shimabukuro, by Jeffery Brown of the PBS NewsHour.

Jake also provides chord charts for the Ukulele on his website! When I looked these over, the fingerings are similar to guitar chords on bottom 4 strings. The main difference is the chord names. For example, the C Major chord on the ukulele has similar fingering to the 4-string version of G Major chord on guitar. The same goes for most of the other chords (hmm … I’ve seen those chord fingerings somewhere before). That entices me to look into learning more about the ukulele!