The Middle Eight

Hello again, fellow twanger, I'm back with the last part of the tune we've been studying for the past couple of weeks. It's not the verse, not the chorus ... it's the middle eight.

Middle 8's are often used in songwriting to break up the repetition of the verse/chorus structure. Often called 'the bridge', the middle eight (which gets its name from the number of measures used) more often than not echoes some other part of the song, but can be totally different and even change key. Anything is possible. You'll see that in this case, it almost mirrors the verse, but the chords change every two beats instead of four.

Go to http://www.guitarforbeginners.com and follow the Weekly Lesson links. As always, it's a movie/tab/midi/commentary lesson.

My tune 'Storm a Comin' hit number 1 at Soundclick.com's 'Blues General' charts today (Sunday), so thanks to all who have listened to it and helped it rise through the ranks. If you haven't already, you can have a listen here: http://www.soundclick.com/pro/?BandID=156391 It's a tune off my CD 'Still No Apostrophe'.

If you're still wondering how it is that some players seem to have the entire fretboard at their disposal, check out my book PlaneTalk - The Truly Totally Different Guitar Instruction Book. It reveals the simple map that turns the whole fingerboard into familiar, friendly territory. Yes, there is a master template, one that keeps track of all music ... chords, melody, harmony and you will amazed at how simple it is, in fact you'll kick yourself for not having seen it yourself. For more info, go to http://www.thatllteachyou.com

Do you have a slide guitar related web site? If so, join the Slide Guitar Web Ring at http://www.bottleneckguitar.com ... it's a good way to bring traffic to your site.

OK, get your fingers wrapped around that middle eight, then string all sections together: verse/chorus/middle8 and you've got yourself a nice finger style rendition of that great tune to play to your audience ... even if it is only the pet goldfish.

I heard that is one twanger left, somewhere this side of the Equator, who still can't play 'Stairway to Heaven' and we can't have that! Next week's lesson will be for you!

All the best,

Kirk
http://www.kirklorange.com