Big Band
Over the years I have noticed that many school big band charts are virtually unplayable for the guitarists. (Particularly for middle school aged students!) This is largely due to the commonly used keys and the extended chords that are often present in such charts. 
An easy option is to use tritone shapes. These are often the 3rd and 7th of the chord and the extensions are handled by the piano and horns.

The example below shows an easy way for a guitar player to play the chords shown (mo...
Continue reading ...

As a general suggestion, allow a few beats for your guitarists to go from chordal playing to single notes and vice-versa.
This would be a challenge.

A better way to write it would be:


Usually it is best to allow your guitar players time to transition from the larger strumming action to the smaller and more precise picking action. 



Continue reading ...

Arranging for guitar is a very complex and involved subject, so we will handle it in small chunks. Here are some basic 'rules'. 

These are generalisation but are usually applicable to most high school aged guitarists. There are, of course, exceptions.

1. The guitar sounds an octave LOWER than it is written.
   
2. The open strings are tuned high to low E B G D A E. (Other tunings are possible but standard is still 'standard'!)
3. Cluster chords of 2nds may be unplayable. 
4. Keys of F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb are very diff...

Continue reading ...