tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78736621516404800412012-02-15T22:59:18.907-08:00This blog is an interactive resource to help beginning acoustic guitarists play a wide range of rock, pop, and folk songs. This blog shows beginners how to leverage the capo to play the guitar in many different keys while avoiding harder-to-play chords such as barre chords. Each posting shows the reader how to play a single popular song, and includes commentary and video.webmasternoreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-37631722716476923952010-12-27T07:47:00.000-08:002010-12-27T07:54:20.819-08:00

Hi everybody,My original song "The Guardian" is now available for sale on CD Baby. You can buy it at this link:http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/andyhoskinsonI wrote this song to celebrate the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces in defense of our country. This song is based on my personal experiences as a U.S. Army veteran, and it paints a poignant picture of what it is like for a

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-44834373902054713592010-11-24T08:46:00.000-08:002010-11-24T08:57:24.297-08:00

Ok folks, it's official: YouTube has finally "jumped the shark."I received a message today that YouTube is claiming a COPYRIGHT VIOLATION on my rendition of the 150 year old Christmas hymn "Silent Night" on behalf of an entity entitled "Music Publishing Rights Collecting Society," which is not even a real legal entity as far as I can tell. Here's the video in dispute:This is BULLSHIT. First of

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-28774288957904515942010-09-28T18:47:00.000-07:002010-09-28T18:51:43.278-07:00

Here's a song I wrote. It's an alternative folk song about living in this day and age. I hope you enjoy it.Lyrics:On the road there's a hiding placeThat brings me back to outer spaceAnd says to me win another raceAnd I pray to God give me a happy faceOn the sea there's a leaky shipThat snaps the waves just like a whipI hold my loved ones to my hipAnd I pray to God we don't take a dipThe man on

webmasternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-50728944981487586932010-08-27T15:20:00.000-07:002010-08-27T15:21:31.986-07:00

This is my version of Jimmy Buffett's classic island escapism song on acoustic guitar. This song is played in the key of D, using just three chords: D, G, and A. Check out the video below, grab your guitar and play along. Enjoy!

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-41667414283249071452010-08-24T15:22:00.000-07:002010-08-24T15:37:22.978-07:00

Hi folks,Sorry to get off-topic, but something happened the other day that shocked me and I felt obliged to write about it.The other day, my eight year old daughter came up to me in tears. I asked her why she was crying."Daddy, I HATE Viacom!" she exclaimed."Why do you hate Viacom?" I asked. "How do you even know what Viacom is?"As it turns out, my daughter had seen a fan video on YouTube that

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-68343615123075985442010-08-21T21:31:00.000-07:002010-08-21T21:32:04.407-07:00

This song is played in the key of A, using the following chords: A, D, and E (simple I-IV-V chord progression). You can also play it by capoing the guitar at the 2nd fret and playing G, C, and D. Enjoy!

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-11674952361131735342010-08-19T11:11:00.000-07:002010-08-19T11:14:42.437-07:00

I always loved the hook in this song: "I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."I'm playing it in the key of D, using the following chords: D, G, and A (simple I-IV-V chord progression). Jimmy usually plays it in E, which can be accomplished by simply capoing the guitar at the 2nd fret.Enjoy!

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-49885508364437441512010-07-05T08:12:00.000-07:002010-07-05T08:17:32.961-07:00

"The Joker" is the title track of the 1973 Steve Miller Band album of the same name. This is my acoustic cover, played on my Martin XC1T. This song uses a simple I-IV-V-IV-I chord progression. Steve Miller normally plays it in the key of G:I - GIV - CV - DIV - CI - GI'm playing it in the key of D to match my vocal range:I - DIV - GV - AIV - GI - DHere's what it sounds like when I play it:Enjoy!

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-35322226746014722332010-06-22T17:24:00.000-07:002010-06-22T17:28:41.383-07:00

This is my acoustic cover of Bob Seger's classic 1973 song about the trials and tribulations of a musician's life on the road. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed playing it. It's an easy song to play, four easy chords: Em, D, A, and C. This song has also been covered by many other artists, including Waylon Jennings, Metallica, and Kid Rock.

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-89948559884006960532010-05-06T08:07:00.000-07:002010-05-06T08:09:57.194-07:00

Today's lesson will show you how to play Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic tune Freebird on acoustic guitar. This is a great rock song, usually played with Skynyrd's three electric guitar attack, but sounds great using a solo acoustic arrangement, IMHO. Here are the chords you need: G, D, Em, F, C, and back to D. Just loop through that chord progression and you are good to go. The video below shows

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-56362396715575250302010-04-27T21:08:00.000-07:002010-05-12T18:32:51.856-07:00

For my next lesson, I wanted to do a contemporary song, so I selected "Daughters" by John Mayer. This is a great song, somewhat hard to play, but as a father with a daughter, I can definitely relate to the song's lyrics and it just feels right playing it. I didn't have the sheet music, so I played it by ear. I played this chord progression for the verses and chorus: Bm7, Em7, A7, and D. For the

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-32895656805591797132010-04-17T10:01:00.000-07:002010-04-18T15:32:20.609-07:00

In this article, I'll teach you how to play three classic toddler songs: "Farmer in the Dell," "The More We Get Together," and "Happy and You Know It." As you can see from the embedded video, it's always a hit playing these songs to a roomful of kids.All three of these songs use a simple I-IV-V chord progression. The way I play it is in the key of E, capoing the guitar at the second fret and

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-70139016504763699322010-03-04T04:32:00.000-08:002010-03-04T04:35:11.943-08:00

Hi everybody,I created a download site where you can sample, free of charge, some of my original songs. Please go to http://hoskinson.net/music/ and check it out, and feel free to download my songs in MP3 format. Thanks!

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-26914769063040115262009-05-30T07:28:00.001-07:002009-05-30T14:41:52.247-07:00

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Last Mango in Paris. This is a great song, written in 1985 as a tribute to Jimmy's good friend Anthony "Captain Tony" Tarracino, who passed away last November. This song can be a difficult song to sing and play on acoustic guitar, but I'm able to pull it off by capoing the guitar on the 5th fret and playing the following chords

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-54724249915322936222009-04-30T15:33:00.000-07:002009-04-30T15:37:03.869-07:00

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune A Pirate Looks at Forty. This is one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. This song is relatively easy to play. It is played in the key of G, using the G, C, and D chords - your classic "3 chord song." This is what the song sounds like when played by me on acoustic guitar:As an added benefit, I added a harmonica track for the

webmasternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-14051567493050290722009-04-07T16:42:00.000-07:002009-04-07T16:45:27.090-07:00

HMO Blues, my latest political satire song, is getting some airplay on CNN this week. Check it out at the URL below:http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-239703

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-69266834898159638862009-04-05T06:21:00.001-07:002010-05-06T07:54:38.518-07:00

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Tin Cup Chalice. This is one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. It's one of his early tunes from his Key West days. This song is not as well known as some of his more popular songs, but it's a great mellow tune for listening to when you're chilling out on the beach. This song is relatively easy to play. It is played in the key

webmasternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-19889867099760202872009-04-05T05:52:00.000-07:002010-04-20T08:34:34.120-07:00

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Son of a Son of a Sailor. This song uses a I-II-IV-V chord progression. Jimmy Buffett plays it in the key of C, using these chords:I - CII - DIV - FV - GOf course, you can easily play it in a different key by transposing chords, e.g. the key of G would look like this:I - GII - AIV - CV - DWhen I play it, I'm actually playing

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-3801142168533397092009-03-25T12:16:00.000-07:002009-04-07T16:46:37.583-07:00

Yesterday, I got a call from a CNN producer. They liked my song "Robber Barons" so much, they wanted to use it on the air! Of course I said yes. So it is currently posted on the CNN iReport.com website: "Robber Barons:" Musical commentary on AIG bonus scandalI'm not sure if it has been used on the air yet or, if not, when it might air in the future. In any event, if you see it on CNN, shoot me

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-51336711845712210322009-03-17T07:39:00.000-07:002009-04-07T16:47:48.153-07:00

I'm going to go off-topic today because I read something in the Washington Post that just infuriated me. The article is entitled Rage at AIG Swells As Bonuses Go Out, and you can access it at the Post's website (Registration required). In a nutshell, AIG is using taxpayer bailout money to pay $165 million in bonuses to executives of the AIG Financial Products Division, the same division that

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-70012727578303601482009-03-02T16:56:00.000-08:002009-04-07T16:48:25.539-07:00

This article shows you how to play Who'll Stop the Rain, the classic 1970 protest song. This song was written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival for their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory.This song is relatively easy to play. It is played in the key of G, using the G, C, D, and Em chords. When I play it, I use the same chord progression, but I capo the guitar at

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-39487077091699213612009-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:002009-07-12T18:22:20.559-07:00

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Margaritaville. I really enjoy Jimmy Buffett's music. Jimmy's known for writing fun, catchy, crowd-pleasing songs, and most of them are relatively simple to play. In the case of Margaritaville, it's very simple to play; your classic "three chord hit."Margaritaville is usually played in the key of D, using the D, G, and A

webmasternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-77678636741420748752009-03-01T06:36:00.000-08:002009-07-25T14:12:55.895-07:00

In many of my lessons, I talk about how you can change the key in which you are playing your guitar by putting a capo on a given fret. The capo accomplishes this by essentially shortening the strings, thereby changing the pitch of the guitar.To help you determine where to place the capo and which chords to finger to play a particular key, I have prepared a guitar key chart. This chart will tell

webmasternoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873662151640480041.post-37863474604397590292009-02-28T12:00:00.000-08:002009-02-28T17:47:38.561-08:00

For today's lession, we're going to learn how to play The River by Bruce Springsteen. This song was the title track of his fifth album, The River, and was released in 1981. This is a great song, one of the Boss's classics. It's also a nice song to play on acoustic guitar, and not as hard to play as you might think, as we'll see in a few minutes. If you are a harmonica player, it has a great

webmasternoreply@blogger.com2