I learned how to play in order to sing the songs I heard in Greenwich Village in the late 1950's into the early 60’s. They were a different kind of song than the Doo Wop songs I sang in Brooklyn with my friends. They were songs that made me think and even confirmed many of my own theories about Human Beings and what we were supposed to be.

So I wanted to learn fast. I wanted my friends in Brooklyn to hear these songs, I thought they might hear what I heard and felt them, And many of them did. Through the years many young people have asked if I teach the guitar, but being on the road since 1967 and still going, I didn't have the time. So this page is dedicated to all those young guys out there wishing to sing their songs in a couple of days.

In most of the songs we like, there are very few chords being played. So, you could and should only start with songs you love... that's the fastest way to learn to play you will ever find.

There are pictures to help you make the necessary sounds for you to start singing your favorite songs. Just follow the instructions and I'll be in the audiance seeing you on stage in the near future.
so you could be playing the songs you love in a matter of hours.

TUNING YOUR GUITAR

There are many open tunings you could experiment with but they require you to use your fingers as in normal tuning, this method is very simple and does not require learning countless positions. My way of playing requires very few fingering positions and very little time to learn them so you could be playing the songs you love in a matter of hours.

HOW I TUNE

I tune my guitar in an open D tuning, which is in the structure of an E chord, of a correctly tuned guitar. I tune down to the key of D...
D A D F# A D ...from top to bottom

Use a tuner or a pitch pipe to help you tune if you do not know anything about musical notes, or a piano will do. Once you have achieved this you are ready to be the next singer/songwriter on your street. Your friends won't believe it. That's the way it happened to me. The main thing is that you have fun doing it.

I have found many of the chords I play by looking for sounds I liked, you too should not stop at just learning what is on this page. You will discover sounds I have not& i'm sure...

With the following few chord configurations you will be able to sing thousands of songs... if you want to know that many :)

But for now, just learn how to put your fingers to get the sounds. Click here