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Hi, that sounds quite likely. I guess I just think of this as a large-scale work, but in reality I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise that it works so well on guitar!

Cheers, Dec. I love being able to make a playable guitar version of songs that feel ‘bigger’. I’m delighted you’re getting some mileage out of the White Christmas jazz shenanigans 😀

Thank you!

Many thanks for your kind comments, Harold. You may know about my Dylan Complete www.halleonard.com/product/293667/bob-dylan-complete , which has *bits* of tab, mainly representative picking or strumming patterns for each song. I also did some matching folios, including Blood on the Tracks, which has proper transcriptions of the guitar parts in tab www.musicroom.com/bob-dylan-blood-on-the-tracks-bob-dylan-melody-musam1012957? You might like that if you're into open D 😊 and of course many of the songs are remarkably similar in terms of the guitar part. Music publishing is in a funny place at the moment, demand for traditional printed sheet music has almost died out but of course there are lots of avenues for online publishing, which I'm just dipping my toe into-so you might see some printable PDFs from me in the coming months. Feel free to get in touch at dalstondavid.com if you'd like to chat further, it's always great to talk to others. Best wishes for the holidays and 2025.

@@dalstondavid I will. Thank you for your detailed reply. A good friend and former co-worker is editor at Acoustic Guitar magazine. I wonder if that can be of help top you.., Not just the transcriptions, but your explications of what's going on.

Very kind and thoughtful, thank you. I’m glad you’re able to get something out of these videos-I’m delighted to hear that you’re finding the backing tracks useful too! 😊

My pleasure, Paul. A surprisingly ingenious little song 😀

You're very welcome ☺️ glad you found it useful. Great song!

Thank you. I have fun getting to the bottom of these songs on guitar or finding a workable solution. Always a bit of a voyage, and for this one it turned out be a real surprise! 😀

Thanks, @dennisferrell3662-that's a question that requires a detailed answer, but in essence you need to identify the key areas (the key and any obvious shifts in the harmony, like the C9 that takes us to the F) and then it helps to have a reasonable grasp of likely chord sequences (the Fmaj7 to Bb13 is variation on a "backdoor ii-V"; the Eb7 is a tritone substitution for the vi chord, etc) that will allow you to cover the melody with stylistic elements that work. That's not a very clear answer, but basically it comes down to little mini formulas that you find all over the place in this sort of song, and if you know them, or enough of them, you can put them to good use. The Cdim at the start is usually harmonised with B7, which is a bit clunky, but has most notes in common with Cdim. Diminished chords are your friend with this kind of thing. Anyway, your question gives me an idea for a series of videos and I might start to put some ideas together for that, so thank you!

@@dalstondavid Very helpful answer! Thinking of it in terms of “little formulas” seems like a good approach. How and when to use substitution is something I still struggle with, but thinking of it as “can a substitution help me get the melody note?” Is helpful. I would love a series of tutorials on this topic! Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Ah that's great, Colin, yes it's a really good song for an open mic and you can hear it can sound quite effective on a guitar. Good luck with it!

Thanks! 😊

Thank you so much, I'm really glad you find it useful. This is just a brilliant song. Happy holidays! 😊

Haha thanks! No Christmas is complete without a bit of Jingle Bells! 🔔🎄❄️

And to you!

Well that's what it's all about, my absolute pleasure! ☺️

Thanks Ian. Glad it's coming together!

Thanks John, Bing’s pleased 😀 I’ve just finished editing a jazz style version-I’ll put it up over the weekend

Thanks, Chris! It's been a lot of fun ☺️ happy holidays!

Thanks, Rick. My pleasure! Another Carole King classic 😊

Thank you, Laura, it's a wonderful song and I'm so glad you're getting good use of the video. Merry Christmas to you too! Guitars, I like to remind people, are like pairs of shoes. Some you need, some you like, and some you just fancy, and no one has just the one ;-) I have quite a few Yamaha acoustics, which might make a satisfying subject for a dull video soon-and I've just bought another. Let me know if there's another song you'd like to see, I'm always interested to hear what people are after.

Nice one! Such a brilliant song!

That's what I've got, isn't it? They're dominants, so D7 C#7 D7

Easier for me to think of it in 12/8-that's just four beats with triplets, and especially for teaching it keeps things simple 😊

Thanks, it’s such a great a song. The guitar is a Yamaha FG-335. They were inexpensive laminate guitars and when I first had it, in around 1983, it was nice to play but sounded quite thin. Over the years it’s opened up and I’ve played it a lot in that time. I have another identical one that isn’t nearly as worn out and sounds similar. They are very good value if you can find one that doesn’t need a neck reset. They are excellent for recording-never boomy or shrill.

Thank you! 😊

Thank you very much 😊

Thank you! 😄

Thanks, Tom, that's very kind. Glad you're enjoying it 😊 This type of encouragement makes a real difference.

Ah, good, someone else with a sensible outlook! 😃 Yes, it would be better to keep it in the same octave as the the others (2nd & 3rd strings) but I wanted to keep it simple. How do you do it?

after the a minor, finger the d chord with the g string open, then the d chord with the f sharp on the 4th string. then the e on the 4th finishing up with the d chord f sharp on the 4th. transitions naturally to playing the c chord notes on the 4th string if you want to avoid the slightly awkward fingering of the c on the 1st and 2nd second strings

an additional note - the melody is taken from an old english ballad ‘skewball’ dating back to the 18th century .. peter paul and mary have a version on youtube if any wants to check it out

Yes, excellent explanation, thanks. I played around with that but you really *have to* avoid the top string when playing Dsus4-and you’re right that it flows more nicely too

@@drooga81 Cool, PP&M were amazing. I'll check it out. Thanks for the info!

Many thanks, Timmy, glad you found it useful!

Ah that's great to hear! I'm delighted to know that people are getting use out of these. Let me know if there's anything else you want to learn-I'm always happy to see suggestions for songs 😊

It’s on the list. I have an arrangement somewhere that I did for students years ago. Great song, sax solo by Michael Brecker. I’ll dig out the chart and have a play around. Maybe I’ll cover it in the new year-excellent suggestion!

@dalstondavid yay!! Been looking for a proper tutorial for it since forever.

Haha “Crap Algorithm” will be the name of my next album 😜 Thanks for the vote 👍 I probably need someone who knows what they’re doing to help me get my stuff out there but it’s growing slowly…

Oh yes, not ignorant at all and an excellent question! I guess the thing is that you can move this shape up and down the neck wherever you like, and alternate the bass by moving to the next string down at the same fret. You’re right that you don’t need to do this for D7, because you can just use the open fifth string, but for me that movement to the next string down is such an integral part of thumb movement in fingerpicking that it’s baked into the picking pattern for that shape. Thanks for pointing it out, and maybe next time I’m covering something like this, I’ll mention the reason why. How are you getting on with it otherwise?

@@dalstondavid Really enjoying it. I work on it a little each day and am pleased that I actually progress with it! Thanks for the answer. I wondered if teaching my finger to move back and forth might be one reason why I would want to do that instead of just raising the finger.

Hope it made sense to you, Tom-let me know if you have any questions. And yes, capos are best friends 😂

Ooh, great info, thank you so much for filling me in 😊 🌟

Thanks Rick-although I confess I’ve only covered “Time in a Bottle” by JC. “Have to Say” is on my list though. Many thanks for the 💰, much appreciated and very kind 🍻

@@dalstondavid Ah yes, I just looked backed and now see, but truth be told, your teaching method adds a bit more depth, insight and understanding. I appreciate you. Keep it up.

Haha, maaaaaaybe... I've got some traditional stuff coming, and a bit of fingerpicking. I don't have a pop tune though, might still be time. What do we need to see?

Thank you!

Dziękuję 😊

😊

Hi Carl, thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a kind message. Glad you enjoyed it-sometimes the hardest thing is finding the character in a really simple song, and that's what makes a proper performance, I think. If you like to play blues, maybe take a look at my lesson on 'Stormy Monday' as played by the Allman Brothers th-cam.com/video/z3zDsCcvb3Y/w-d-xo.html or 'Need Your Love So Bad' (Fleetwood Mac) th-cam.com/video/TdFZxc8izZw/w-d-xo.html. Thanks!

Thank you so much for your kind comment-greetings from London 😊

Thank you! Glad you liked it 😊

My pleasure, and thanks for your kind gift 😁

Thank you @EmilioAlbertoSoltero, that's really generous and much appreciated 🙏 😀