SKU: MB.31129M

ISBN 9781513476896. 8.75X11.75 inches.

The name of this book is no exaggeration. It includes some of the most gorgeous music that the authors El McMeen and Sandy Shalk know. To make things even more interesting, none of the music was originally written for guitar.In addition to Celtic favorites, El includes his arrangements of two of the most beautiful arias in all of opera: Che Gelida Manina from Puccinis La Boheme and My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice ôMon Coeur Souvre ? ta Voixö from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Sa?ns. Sandys contributions range from Celtic to French love songs to Stephen Foster, manifesting Sandys gift for chordal subtleties and innovation.Each piece is in either standard tuning EADGBE or Drop D tuning DADGBE .Written in standard notation and tablature with computer generated audio files of each arrangement.

SKU: MB.30957M

ISBN 9781513466101. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

This collection shows a wide variety of musical approaches in open and alternate tunings. The arrangements come from the playing of Davey Graham, Pat Kirtley, Tony McManus, John Renbourn, John Fahey, Sandy Shalk, Dave Evans, Martin Carthy, El McMeen, Leo Wijnkamp and Stefan Grossman. The music ranges from the medieval La Rotta to Willie Brown?s Future Blues from the deep Mississippi delta; from O?Carolan?s Lord Inchiquin to Waterbound, an old-time folksong. From Celtic airs and jigs to gospel and blues you will explore the world of tunings. Hopefully, this collection will help you to discover new approaches and techniques to playing your instrument. Along the way you?ll have fingerpicking challenges and fun.

SKU: MB.31060M

ISBN 9781513468051. 8.75x11.75 inches.

As aspiring fingerpicking guitarists started expanding their horizons from folk, blues, and ragtime in the 1970s, it was only logical to look towards early jazz tunes as a vast source for new possibilities. For one thing, they could follow the same evolutionary path from ragtime to jazz that had been taken by pianists such as Jelly Roll Morton and Harlem stride players like James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. These musicians all composed in a variety of styles, but their most ambitious piano solos expanded on the classic ragtime format developed by the likes of Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb, using several strains that usually changed keys at least once. Morton, the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, would record versions of tunes like King Porter Stomp and The Original Jelly Roll Blues that are similar to straight ragtime performances, and others where there is lots of room left for embellishment and jazz improvisation.

The present collection is a bonanza for guitarists who want to tackle advanced arrangements along the lines of ragtime but featuring jazz age harmonies from the playing of Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, WC Handy, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and other early jazz legends. The 32 arrangements included are by a wide assortment of guitarists including Ernie Hawkins, Pat Donohue, Lasse Johansson, Duck Baker, Ton Van Bergeyk, Sandy Shalk, Steve McWilliam, and Dorian Henry.

Titles include: Oh, You Beautiful Doll, I’ve Got The Blues, High Society, St. Louis Blues, Davenport Blues, Poor Butterfly, Dixie Jass Band One-Step, Memphis Blues, Big Foot Ham, Grandpa’s Spells, The Original Jelly Roll Blues, Midnight Mama, Milenberg Joys, Fizz Water, Back Home in Indiana, Sweet Georgia Brown, Red Wing (An Indian Intermezzo), There’ll Be Some Changes Made, Way Down Yonder In New Orleans, Charleston, Where The Morning Glories Grow, Limehouse Blues, Susie (of the Islands), I Need Some Pettin’, Weather Bird, Cornet Chop Suey, Kansas City Stomps, King Porter Stomp, Jubilee Stomp, Take It Easy, If I Had You, Moonlight Serenade