Tag Archives: Fingerstyle

Makalawena (alternate take)

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, anchialine ponds, apogee one, big island, classical guitar, Fingerstyle, Hawaii, Hawaiian coot, kailua kona, Keahole Point, Kekaha Kai State Park, ki ho’alu, Kona International Airport, love, Mahaiʻula Bay, makalawena, mauna loa tuning, Neumann TLM 102, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, slack key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor nylon guitar, tranquil song

Here is an alternate take of “Makalawena,” an original song I named after a charmingly beautiful and relatively isolated beach on the Kona Coast. Makalawena is part of that long stretch of white sandy beaches you see right before landing at Kona International Airport at nearby Keahole Point. The beach is generally accessible via a short hike from the neighboring Mahaiʻula Bay section of Kekaha Kai State Park. I remember camping out at Makalawena as a kid, exploring the rare anchialine ponds with their delicate red shrimp, and swimming in the waters of the bay. Today still, the neighboring marsh is a protected nesting ground, home to rare birds such as the Hawaiian coot. The song’s bridge seems to capture the strange sense of converging energies that I feel in special places such as these. Hope you enjoy.

Auld Lang Syne (Alternate Take, Remix)

Songsacoustic guitar, auld lang syne, blue sky guitar, drop C, Fingerstyle, honolulu, ki ho’alu, new year song, nick borho, open tunings, peaceful guitar, robert burns, slack key

Here are an alternate take and a remix of my fingerstyle guitar arrangement of Auld Lang Syne. It’s a slack key tinged version with an added bridge/transition, but otherwise follows the familiar melody closely.

Remix of original post:

Alernate take:

Happy New Year!

Both takes recorded in Honolulu, Hawai’i 12/30/14.

Makalawena, Original Slack Key Guitar

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, anchialine ponds, apogee one, big island, classical guitar, ear trumpet labs, edwina, Fingerstyle, Hawaii, Hawaiian coot, kailua kona, Keahole Point, Kekaha Kai State Park, ki ho’alu, Kona International Airport, love, Mahaiʻula Bay, makalawena, mauna loa tuning, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, slack key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor nylon guitar, tranquil song

I named this seemingly easygoing yet still restive song after a charmingly beautiful and relatively isolated beach on the Kona Coast. Makalawena is part of that long stretch of white sandy beaches you see right before landing at Kona International Airport at nearby Keahole Point. The beach is generally accessible via a short hike from the neighboring Mahaiʻula Bay section of Kekaha Kai State Park. I remember camping out at Makalawena as a kid, exploring the rare anchialine ponds with their delicate red shrimp, and swimming in the waters of the bay. Today still, the neighboring marsh is a protected nesting ground, home to rare birds such as the Hawaiian coot. The song’s bridge seems to capture the strange sense of converging energies that I feel in special places such as these. Hope you enjoy.

Banks of the Ohio – Thumbpick / Bluegrass

Songsacoustic guitar, banks of the ohio, berlin, Bill Monroe, bluegrass, boutique mics, darlin’ say that you’ll be mine, ear trumpet labs, edwina, Elixir HD Light, Fingerstyle, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, grand concert, guitar, large diaphragm condenser microphone, Malachi Graham, Neumann TLM 102, oregon, portland, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor guitars, thumbpicks

Here is my Clarence White inspired arrangement of the Bluegrass classic, “Banks of the Ohio,” played fingerstyle with a thumbpick (rather than flatpicked or cross-picked).

Ohio River Rag (Rough Cut)

SongsFingerstyle, Ohio River Rag, original songs

Here is a rough cut of my original song Ohio River Rag. My normal preamp setup has a software bug, so recording with just my phone in the meanwhile. Sometimes you have to push through.

Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles / George Harrison

SongsAbbey Road, Arrangements, Eric Clapton, Fingerstyle, George Harrison, Here Comes the Sun

One of the classic George Harrison songs from the Abbey Road album, Here Comes the Sun is a bright, happy tune that sounds great on acoustic guitar. This fingerstyle arrangement is my take on the song – instead of opting for the bright sounds of a capo-ed guitar, I went for the sonorous tones of an open tuning. Despite the lower voice, I think the arrangement still sounds sunny. Enjoy.

Fun fact – Harrison wrote this song while walking around Eric Clapton’s garden on a sunny day in spring 1969.

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

SongsEric Clapton, Fingerstyle, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Slowhand, Wonderful Tonight

Wonderful Tonight was written by Eric Clapton 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.

Morning Moon

SongsFingerstyle, moon songs, original songs

Morning Moon is a combination of two existing ideas, the first being a song I wrote shortly after watching a lunar eclipse. The second idea came years later, resulting in a song with different interweaving parts. The more energetic latter part of the song is a take on some of the ideas in the mellower first part, taking the song in a different direction. I decided to call the song Morning Moon after looking at the still-visible moon one morning, well after daylight.

I’m on Fire by Bruce Springsteen

SongsBruce Springsteen, Fingerstyle, I'm on Fire, The Boss

My mom is a big fan of Bruce Springsteen and used to play the Born In The U.S.A. album a lot. Listening to it again as an adult, it’s a sad, powerful album with some great tunes. I’m on Fire is a really cool little song – almost a sketch at under 3 minutes long, but it really creates a great atmosphere in that short amount of time. I had fun playing it fingerstyle and hope you enjoy my arrangement. Here’s to The Boss.

Auld Lang Syne

SongsChristmas songs, Fingerstyle, New Year's Song, slack key

Here is a fingerstyle guitar arrangement of Auld Lang Syne I came up with. It’s a slack key tinged version with an added bridge/transition, but otherwise follows the familiar melody closely.