Just came across this great Donna Hightower version of the classic song “The Nearness of You”. When I’m learning a song, as I am with The Nearness of You, I always like to listen to different versions for inspiration. Listening to different versions also gives you a strong sense of the melody which is all important. You can check out some of my other recomended listening for this song along with some background info in my Nearness of You you guitar Song Lesson page

CLICK HERE to access EXCLUSIVE CONTENT  in my  ‘BEYOND TABS’ guitar course

Below is an analysis of the chord movement in the first 4 measures of the classic tune The Nearness of You. Arranged here in the key of D, the  chord in measure 1 is D major. Moving into measure 2 an Am7 and then D7 resolves us to G in the 3rd measure. Try out some of the chord voicings I’ve suggested below. These types of movement are standard to many songs of the era so if you can start to put the standard movements to  memory you’ll begin to find other places to use them. Go to The Nearness of You Guitar chords measures 5-8

Some footage of Joe Pass and Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson playing I can’t get started. This is a great version of this classic standard. Check out my previous blog on the I can’t get started melody where I look at the first 4 measures of the melody and give some pointers as to what is happening.

Some more footage from Cafe Tibo in Glasgow. Myself, Alan Geddes, and Olivia Ennemoser performing the classsic song Duke Ellington song I’m beginning to see the Light. Click here to go to my songbook page for the song where you’ll find some background, analysis and suggested listening

A great rendition of the classic song The Days of Wine and Roses is introduced in the clip below by Jazz Guitarist Herb Ellis where he talks about his early days in Jazz. Born in 1921, Ellis started out his musical life as a double bass player. As he refers to in the video clip, due to a lack of funds he dropped from college where he was studying the double bass, going onto to play guitar in a college band. Bit of a similarity to myself here in that I originally played the Bass in the Glasgow Youth Band, a Jazz Orchestra, before switching onto guitar. After a number of bands and a gaining reputation he played in Tommy Dorseys band 1946 through to 1947. Another highlight of his career would have to be replacing Barney Kessel in the Oscar Peterson Trio. While many of the guitarists who came up in the 1940’s where influenced by Charlie Christian it’s perhaps in Herb Ellis’s playing where we can always here echoes of the lineage. Go to my Days of Wine and Roses Guitar Song Lesson for some background of the song and recommended lsitening and also my Days of Wine and Roses and adding a bass line blog for further reading.

When you are playing through a swing type chord progression the most common rhythm to play would be “four in the bar”.  This means that you would strum the chord or if you play in a fingerpicking style, pick the the notes of the chords simultaneausly, 4 times in each measure. This is demonstrated in example 1 below where I’m showing the first 4 measures of the classic song “The Days of Wine and Roses”. This type of rhythm will create a great feel if executed properly. If you’re looking to add a bit of variety to you’re playing then you should consider adding some bass notes to your chord arrangement. In example 2 below I’ve taken the same 4 measures as in example 1, varying the rhythm and adding some bass notes. Try playing both examples. Both are valid and both are interesting for different reasons. Variety, which is something I always promote in my video guitar lessons,  is the key here.

Further Reading:

Go to the Days of Wine and Roses guitar chord lesson for some song background and my recommended listening

Go to my Herb Ellis Jazz Guitar – The Days of Wine and Roses blog where you’ll find a great rendition along with a short biography for this great guitarist.

Example 1

Example 2

Recent footage from our Cafe Tibo gig in Glasgow…Geddes-Ennemoser Duo performing Corcovado

CLICK HERE to access EXCLUSIVE CONTENT  in my  ‘BEYOND TABS’ guitar course

How cool is this performance. I referred to angular melodic shapes in my previous blog on the Round Midnight guitar melody. Listen to how Monk Accents the angles in his introduction.