Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.
🎸 [NEW] "Runaway" by Del Shannon – plus 5 Other Rock n' Roll Classics
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LESSON #628 ▶️ Click to view free video lesson​ In today's lesson I'll teach you to strum your way through Runaway, the #1 hit from Del Shannon released in 1961. This song is a blast to play, as it features an uncharacteristic key change (A minor to A major) and includes plenty of strumming flourishes. In my tutorial, I'll guide you through all of this — showing you how to work your way up to the full song, bit by bit. Don't miss my practice guide available over on my lesson page, along with all the related lessons teaching the various techniques used in this song. This includes the iconic Andalusian cadence, which is the minor key chord progression heard in the verse of Runaway).
HUNGRY FOR MORE? In the spirit of Runaway, here's a handful of other songs I've taught released in that same era. Remember to find any bonus materials I've made for any of these songs on the lesson pages linked below. ​Rebel Rouser by Duane Eddy ​Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison ​Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis ​Lonesome Town by Ricky Nelson ​Will You Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles / Carole King A Recommendation for the Road... Before I leave, let me recommend a YouTube video breaking down the Andalusian cadence, which is the minor key chord progression used in Runaway as well as many other songs you certainly know. This video does a great job explaining how this four-chord progression work, as well as playing samples from various popular songs which help you hear what they all have in common. Sultans of Swing is one song I've taught before that uses this exact progression... and I have two lessons tackling that song! One teaches the chorus riff using triads, the other teaches you how to play it using melodic fingerstyle. Thanks all... and as ever, have a great weekend! David |
Song Notes by David Pots
Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.
LESSON #627Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming... ▶️ Click to watch my free guitar lesson In today’s lesson I’ll teach you to play Ohio, the Crosby Stills Nash & Young protest classic from 1970. This one came in by request a few weeks back… and though I’d heard it a hundred times in the prior twenty years, it immediately hooked me this time around. And so, after learning it the past couple weeks… here’s my latest lesson. I teach you how to play the main riff & strum the chorus, with my usual...
NEW PDF & 6 STEP-BY-STEP VIDEOS!How I Learned Travis Fingerstyle with John Prine First up, an update to one of my older lessons. Back in 2018 I managed to finally get over the Travis Picking hump, thanks to John Prine's classic Clay Pigeons. In lesson #173 (below) I outlined the step-by-step series of exercises I created to get the hang of things: Today, I'm excited to share some new additions to this classic lesson. I overhauled my 7-page PDF guide from scratch, giving you detailed...
Happy Friday, my friends! Today I want to share a handful of July 4th inspired lessons in honor of the 250th birthday of USA. Also – don't miss my brand new Ramble On tutorial, where I teach the full Led Zeppelin song (following up on my recent lesson teaching the bassline). Happy 4th! –David HAPPY 250th 🇺🇸America-Inspired Songs for Independence Day First, I wanted to share this roundup of lessons I've made that may spark the spirit of Independence Day celebration here in the USA. Any bonus...