Rocky Mountain High? Question for real fans!
Sean
awesome music with your own guitar. i am trying. i started with This Old
Guitar - i love that song! don't you!? it is not too difficult to play. the
picking pattern can be mastered quickly. i have been playing guitar for
almost five months now. i can play many of his songs that are simple chords,
but not a lot of his fingerpicking songs.
anyway i am currently working on rocky mountain high. i am not playing by
ear; i have a john denver book with accurate tabs. i wanted to ask anyone
that plays this song:
do you play it with a pick? or do you fingerpick it? i am not talking about
those who simply STRUM the whole song, but those of you who play it like
john - how do you do it?
also, can anyone tell me how john played it? with a pick? or did he
fingerpick it and then strum with his fingers?
if you have any other tips on playing other john denver tunes i would be
happy to hear those as well. thanks!
-sean
David Ladewig
"Sean" <nom...@smapsucks.home.com> wrote:
Hi Sean,
welcome to a grand way to enjoy life. I don't know what I would do without
my music each day. Here's a tip that may help. The later years were much
better for music for Denver. He went beyond great and soared in his last 5
years. If you can tune your guitar to a concert A, which is where it should
be anyway, then you can play along with every song on the "The John Denver
Collection". It is the lowest priced 5 CD set by Laser Lite that can be
bought and is the best he ever did. Some of the better song books like the
Legend Series will tell you when to capo up two frets, but then you can play
along and be in perfect tune with his best work.
Best,
David Ladewig
Sean
can you give me any info about my Rocky Mountain High Question??
-sw
David Ladewig <lad...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:86eaho$pva$1...@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net...
> In article <WVxi4.13189$Sc2.1...@news1.rdc1.sdca.home.com>,
> "Sean" <nom...@smapsucks.home.com> wrote:
>
snip
Rik Curry
John played RMH with a pick. The one thing you want to remember, if you
want the same effect, is to tune your 6th string (the lowest one) down to
'D', and then use that as your root. It's one of the first songs I learned
to play, and it's the one I had the hardest time getting to sound right
until I figured out the low tuning.....
I won the Colorado Karaoke Competition with that song.....
Sean <nom...@smapsucks.home.com> wrote in message
news:WVxi4.13189$Sc2.1...@news1.rdc1.sdca.home.com...
David Ladewig
"Sean" <nom...@smapsucks.home.com> wrote:
Pick
David Ladewig
Sean
doing a little cheat - placing my capo on all strings but E. so i capo the
2nd fret on strings 1-5 but 6 is open. this gives the same tuning.
i do this so i do not have to retune it when i switch songs.
thanks for telling me he played with a pick! i was practicing all yesterday
with my fingers - now i have to start over; it's different with a pick.
-sw
Rik Curry <rikc...@springmail.com> wrote in message
news:86f663$s3i$1...@nntp8.atl.mindspring.net...
Nanci124
>doing a little cheat - placing my capo on all strings but E. so i capo the
>2nd fret on strings 1-5 but 6 is open. this gives the same tuning.
HUH? Okay....gonna show my ignorance here. I have a guitar, and a
capo....(haven't played much in years) But it must be the wrong kind of
capo.....since I don't know how to capo just 5 strings. Can someone explain
this for me a little more clearly? BTW.....the guitar is in the closet,
because I'm teaching myself piano...(those idiot guides work wonders!)
Nancy
Ain't life Grand?
Sean
mechanism. so if looks like a mouth almost. it was about $15. i have seen
the cheap "crappy" capos (my teacher said not to buy them) which may be the
kind you own - with these there is no way to do wh at i describe.
anyway, what i do is just squeeze the back of the clamp, which opens the
"mouth" - then put it on the strings. with this capo it is a snap to move it
up and down the fretboard.
hope this is not confusing.
Nanci124 <nanc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000123172840...@ng-fo1.aol.com...
Sean
this is my capo.
http://www.kysermusical.com/sixstring.htm
-sw
Sean <nom...@smapsucks.home.com> wrote in message
news:tALi4.13736$Sc2.1...@news1.rdc1.sdca.home.com...
Hiway
I deeply regret having dropped my piano lessons so long ago... Which
"idiot guides" (sounds right up my alley!) are you using? Are they the
ones that are connected to your computer?
When you have a moment, I would be interested in knowing your methods.
Keep Practicing,
Hiway (:
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Rik Curry
ones are damned near impossible. They actually make capos to do just that.
You can choose which strings you want to capo.....
RichardH
the site you will also find a "drop" capo. Where the shape of the capo is
designed to leave the 6th string open. I guess in your case you must have
your capo flipped around with the jaws pointing toward you rather than away.
They also have them for 12 string too!
~Richard
Sean wrote in message ...
>nanci - its me again. check out this page to see what i'm talking about.
>this is my capo.
>
>http://www.kysermusical.com/sixstring.htm
>
>-sw
>
>> Nanci124 <nanc...@aol.com> wrote in message
>> news:20000123172840...@ng-fo1.aol.com...
>> >
ThisOldGuitar
>the
>> >2nd fret on strings 1-5 but 6 is open. this gives the same tuning.
>>
Kyser also makes a capo especially for Drop D tuning. It clamps on normally,
but allows clearance for the 6th string to go "uncapoed" (is that a word??).
There is also a gadget called the Third Hand, which is an elastic capo with
cams that go over each string allowing you to capo/uncapo each string.
I've not seen these in any stores around here; if you can't find them in a
local store, you can order them from Elderly Instruments (www.elderly.com) or
other mail order houses.
Gotta go now....it's a Colorado Rocky Mountain high........
Dave
Ed Brown
You need to remember that the original version of "Rocky Mountain High" had
2 guitars. Mike Taylor played the lead to John's rhythm guitar. Capo up two
frets and use your pick in a "finger pikin' " style. It's a great song to
play and alot of fun to play along with the record. Unless you can tune by
ear, don't worry too much about the tuning on the E string. Just make it
your style and have fun!
Also be sure to listen to the original version of the song. It's still the
best!!!!
Ed
Sean wrote in message ...
Flyushome
used a capo? Not being a guitarist, I can't begin to guess the implication.
Is a capo always used, and if so, what is the purpose?
Pat
Sean
Well, a capo is basically a bar which holds down all the strings at one
fret. This, in effect, moves the nut of your guitar up the neck and raises
the tuning of your guitar. Your guitar is tuned in C, but if you use a capo
2nd, it becomes tuned in D. Therefore, if you play a C chord with capo 2nd,
it sounds like a D chord played without a capo.
also, if you play a D chord without a capo and then capo 2nd and play a D
again (it will sound like an E chord! don't get confused), it has a higher
pitch, and THIS is used to accomodate john's voice. often he used a capo to
get the higher pitches because he sings with a fairly high voice.
make sense?
-sw
Kathy Kazmir <sneau...@cp-tel.net> wrote in message
news:3892F282...@cp-tel.net...
> Having two guitarists in the family, I'll try to reply. The implication of
not using a capo 'might' mean that you could configure any chord or note
anywhere on the neck, using the scales as your base. If you use a capo, it
is much easier just to use 'easy to finger' G-C-D chords, and just change
the key by moving the capo further up the neck, without differing the
positions of the chords. If you don't play the guitar, it's hard to
explain. Can anyone else out there do it better?
> Kathy
Basil72
Flyushome
It helps. Wish I knew how to play the gui-
tar. Would using a capo as he did be a cop-out for John, as was indicated to
me?
Pat
David Ladewig
flyu...@aol.com (Flyushome) wrote:
The answer is no. Sometimes I wonder where these experts come from. LOL
David Ladewig
Sean
just slashing away with barre chords, which are easy to play (once you
master them -- ouch!) and sometimes some super solos using scales.
this of course is not important to you. but some of my favorite music is
"fingerpicking." john does a lot of fingerpicking rather than simple
strumming. my favorite example is "This Old Guitar." this is where you use
your fingers rather than a pick, to "pick" single notes in the chords you
form with your left hand.
i might be confusing you here but let me leave you with this. for a long
time i have wished that i could play guitar. but i always thought that it
was too late for me, because i hadn't started at say age 9 or 10. but this
past summer, someone i know who is 38 years old was playing guitar for some
people. i was there and thought he was doing a great job. i asked him how
long he had been playing - he said exactly one year! (i just remembered - he
lives in aspen!) anyway, i told him, wow, i always thought that i was too
old to learn to play. he said you are never too old, so... last september,
at age 17, i bought my first acoustic guitar with the help of another
friend. since then i have turned 18 and have been taking lessons every
thursday, for thirty minutes, $16 per lesson.
this turned out to be a little longer than i planned, but bottom line is i
am so glad to have picked it up. i will continue with the lessons the rest
of this year and hope to be able to continue on my own when i go to college
next year. it was not very long at all, probably 6 weeks or so, that i could
play a large portion of This Old Guitar by myself. one of my favorite songs
to play. now, i play that, and things like Rocky Mountain High, and tons of
bits and pieces of other john denver songs. so i guess i am not all that
bad!
i hope that no matter how old you are, you will consider buying a decent
acoustic guitar and signing up for lessons with a good teacher in your area.
learn the basics from him, and maybe branch off on your own when you feel
ready...
and be sure to by a capo when you buy your guitar :) cop-out, my ass!
-sw
Flyushome <flyu...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000130142431...@ng-ce1.aol.com...
Flyushome
At some point about a year ago, Renee Armand told me she thought John was a
very good guitarist, in the folk style. I'm of course not sure what this
means, but I do use a guitar article as an editing exercise in my composition
classes, and the indi-
cation is that the folk guitarist, as opposed to the classical guitarist, may
take liberties with the melody--thought this doesn't seem to have anything to
do with the capo.
Pat
David Ladewig
flyu...@aol.com (Flyushome) wrote:
Hi Pat,
Looks like the age old wall between styles. Same goes for rock verses some
snoozer classic concert. One of my best rants is with the classical snot
noses who think bludgeoning you with sharps and flats for two hours is good
for your soul. Most of that "classical" stuff makes me want to punch my
eyes out with grapefruit spoons. It is boring, precise, and does not engage
the heart. "Folk", "rock", and any mondern day guitarists and musicians
engage the mind and body. The music brings you to life. It makes you want
to sing and tap your foot. It makes you want to sway back and forth and
dream. I'll take 38 years of playing for the audience and myself instead of
the starchy "follow the notes 'till you fall off the stage" garb we hear
from the "classical" players.
Here's a great true story.
Family reunion. Music by some cousin with great guitar training and all
that. I was asked to back the boy up and play second seat. Cousin only
knows tunes that he learned in college music class and a few kids tunes.
The family gathered for singing and there were 90 plus people trying to sing
some of these tunes from the 13th century. After two of these, I told them
we're going to sing a song they know this time. I went to my box of goodies
and got out my bongos, tambourine, and two bell shakers. I plugged in my
amp, ran the chord and chose 4 people who might stay within 5 beats of good
rythym. Then I said the famous line: "Clap your hands!" We sang "Thank
God I'm a Country Boy." I happen to have had some lyrics printed just in
case. LOL. Cousin tried to play with audience, but was having trouble
without music sheets. He survived. Family sang for the next hour and
twenty minutes without a break. As it turned out, several family members
wanted to contribute, but were told the music was handled by Cuz.
The next time someone wants to compare the differences, ask them how you tap
your foot to the "classics" verses lets say, "Eagles and Horses."
David Ladewig
Flyushome
joy. I'm that way with the piano.
By the way, I like fingerpicking, too. That much I know!
Pat