Tag Archives: fingerstyle guitar

Momentum (912ce)

Songsblue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, momentum, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, rosewood taylor, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

Momentum is an original I’ve been playing for a while. Over the years, I have added different bridges and changed the intro at times, but at its core the song remains the same. This version has a new bridge and was recorded on my Taylor 912ce.

Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór (Taylor 912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, celtic guitar, fiddle tunes guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kona, Martin Simpson, O’Carolan songs, open tunings, Pierre Bensusan, relaxing music, slack key, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, Tony McManus, Turlough O’Carolan

Here is another version of my arrangement of Si Bheag, Si Mhor (Little Fairy, Big Fairy), reportedly the first song composed by famous 17th century bard Turlough O’Carolan. This version was recorded on my 912ce, which I feel is a perfect guitar for this arrangement. Hope you enjoy.

Every Little Thing (Is Beautiful)

Songsblue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, nick borho

Today’s song from the vaults is an exuberant song called “Every Little Thing (Is Beautiful).” Hope you enjoy.

Louisville Rag

Songsacoustic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, open tunings, ragtime guitar, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar

Here is a demo from the vaults of a song called “Louisville Rag” that I recorded a few years back. The idea behind the tune was to write an uptempo instrumental with a similar feel to the Nashville Skyline Rag from the eponymous Bob Dylan album. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Louisville, Ky 9/28/12.

Kaiminani Slack Key

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, blueskyguitar, ear trumpet labs, edwina, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, kaiminani drive, kalaoa, Keahole Point, ki ho’alu, Kohanaiki, Kona International Airport, Kona Palisades, Mamalahoa, open g tuning, open tunings, OTEC beach, peaceful guitar music, Pine Trees beach, Queen Kaahumanu, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, slack key, taro patch, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon, tranquil song, Wawaloli

Here is an original slack key song I named for Kaiminani Drive in Kalaoa, North Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kaiminani Drive is a main mauka-makai road that connects the Queen Kaahumanu and Mamalahoa highways (lower and upper roads, respectively). It also runs through the Kona Palisades neighborhood where I lived for a number of years as a child. Back then, the neighborhood was less developed, and my friends and I would build tree houses and play in the vacant lots. We could also watch the planes come and go at Kona International Airport at Keahole Point (KOA), and had easy access to then-uncrowded OTEC (Wawaloli) and Pine Trees (Kohanaiki) beaches. Hope you enjoy.

Wonderful Tonight (Alternate Take)

Songsacoustic guitar, apogee one, Elixir HD Light, Eric Clapton, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, love, Neumann TLM 102, Pattie Boyd, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Here is an alternate take of my fingerstyle rendition of Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight. Eric wrote the song about his then-wife Pattie Boyd, who had already inspired great songs from Eric and previous husband George Harrison. This song has been the theme to many a high school prom, and its simple yet tasteful melody has held up over the years. In keeping with that, my arrangement here is fairly straight forward: it doesn’t move around the neck very much or have any unusual chord voicings. Hope you enjoy it.

Recorded in Honolulu, Hawaii 4/27/15.

Embryonic Journey (Jorma Kaukonen / Jefferson Airplane)

Songsapogee one, Drop D, ear trumpet labs, edwina, Embryonic Journey, fingerstyle guitar, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, john hardy preamp, Jorma Kaukonen, love, peace, relaxing music, Surrealistic Pillow, Taylor 900 series, Taylor 912ce

From the uber psychedelically titled Surrealistic Pillow album, Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen’s solo fingerpicking tour de force Embryonic Journey highlights his country blues influences and provides a rootsy counterpoint to far out songs like White Rabbit. Though I don’t listen much to the rest of the album, Embryonic Journey stayed on rotation in my car for a number of years – sometimes when I was in the mood I would listen on repeat four or five times in a row. It seems like this song was often playing when I was cutting over from Waialae to cruise on down Kapahulu, stopping for groceries at Kokua Co-op or Down To Earth Moiliili, or hanging out at Kapi’olani Park. Hope you enjoy.

Slack Key #1 by Sonny Chillingworth

Songsacoustic guitar, apogee one, dancing cat, Endlessly, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, john hardy preamp, ki ho’alu, Neumann TLM 102, open g tuning, open tunings, slack key #1, slack key number one, Sonny Chillingworth, taro patch, Taylor 412ce-R, waimea cowboy

Slack Key No. 1 is a classic showpiece of slack key master Sonny Chillingworth. I first heard it on the Dancing Cat release “Endlessly,” and it also appears on his 1964 solo release “Waimea Cowboy.” The Waimea Cowboy version sounds like it was recorded on an electric guitar, while the version on Endlessly was recorded on acoustic guitar. Both versions are very similar, though with some slight differences. I have incorporated elements from both versions in the arrangement I play. Hope you enjoy.

Wake Up Slack Key

Songsacoustic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, open G, open tunings, slack key, taro patch, wake up

Wake Up Slack Key (also known as Ho’ala Ki Ho’alu) was one of the first slack key style songs I wrote. It stayed in my set for a number of years, though I haven’t played it much lately. This demo was an early version of the song recorded not long after I bought my first Taylor on eBay, a 310ce that became my main guitar for 9 years. This take among the others in my archive really captures the spirit of the tune. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 5/13/06.

Straight Ahead Blues (Demo)

Songsacoustic blues, acoustic guitar, big island, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught

Here is an improvised song from the vaults I dubbed “Straight Ahead Blues.” At the time I recorded this song, I was listening to a lot of the Clapton Unplugged album, which I still enjoy going back to from time to time. Same with the blues on acoustic guitar. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/26/09.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar