The Lord Is My Shepherd

If you're a beginner, don't let the tab scare you.  There's a very easy, strummed version shown as a cheat sheet at the end of the tab.  Both are in the key of A, so you can play them as alternate verses, or as a duet, if you like.

To make this a bit easier, I've tried to use chords that lend themselves to easy changes.  For example, you can easily change from Av to Dv by just flattening the fingers of the left hand across the strings.  Same for D6v. To get from the (unbarred) A to the (barred) Av at the end of the song, use the first joint of the index finger (the one closest to the palm) to fret the first string, as it's already in position over the string, and just needs to be slid up to the IV space. Then, it's easy to hit the barre in the v space for the full-barre Av.

Counting this song is easy, if you remember that every two notes equal one count!  I routinely recast 3/4 time songs like this as 6/8, as it rarely makes a difference.  This is one of the rarelies, so I left it in 3/4. But remember the metronome setting of 70 is for two notes, not one, or the song will really drag.

I have to confess, I'm not entirely happy with this arrangement, but audiences seem to like it.  If anyone knows a better one, I'd love to see it. 

The cheat sheet at the end of the tab is for strumming, to accompany a singer.  The chords are much easier, and you can even play it with a pick, if you want.  I usually replace the high A note at the end with an Av chord, but if you aren't up to playing full barre chords, you can just tremolo the last note, and it'll sound great.  Virtually any guitarist can play this version. My seven year old student Meilin picked it up and started playing it (while singing!) the first time she heard it. 

Christmas! It's Coming!

Christmas IS coming, and SOON!  I was going to put up a poll asking which Christmas carols you wanted me to post next, but the poll gadget seems to have disappeared.  So, if there's a special Christmas carol you'd like me to post, you have two options:
1. You can comment on this post.
2. You can send me a message, if you are a follower, by clicking on my thumbnail photo.  If you are not a follower, you can easily become one.

I'll do my best, but please allow me some time, as I may not already have your favorite carol tabbed.

Stats

For all those who think there are more folks viewing this blog than shown as Followers -- you are right!  Thanks to those who recommended that I get a counter.  Blogger now provides one.  Here are the lifetime stats for this blog:  (stats do not include my own visits)

Average usage:  about 2900 visits per month
Nearly all are from the United States and Canada, but also from the Netherlands, Mexico, the UK, Australia, Honduras, Germany, Ireland, and Russia.  There are others, but those are the top ten countries.

Top ten all-time favorite posts*:

#   1    I Am A Child of God                                    1001   page views
#   2    A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief                   509   page views
#   3    Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing           313   page views
#   4    Lead Kindly Light                                         255   page views
#   5    I Know That My Redeemer Lives               235    page views
#   6    A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief MP3       101    page views
#   7    O Holy Night                                                 98     page views
#   8    Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling           90     page views
#   9    Praise to the Man                                          88     page views
# 10    Teach Me to Walk in the Light                     87     page views

* Sorry!  I can't track downloads, as they are link visits to my hosting website, which is not equipped. I'm working on it.

About 80% of the searches that resulted in hits on this blog included the words "Mormon" or "LDS" and "guitar" in the search terms.  About 80% of the searches were in some form of Google.

Your favorite operating systems were: Windows, Macintosh, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Linnux, Unix, Blackberry, Danger, and Nintendo Wii.  Whoever you are out there who is reading the tabs on a Blackberry, your nickname ought to be "Hawkeye!"