If nothing else, Intellimusica is where you’ll find Radiohead and Katy Perry songs harmoniously living on the same blog.  Even though I have a rigid system, I’m still experimenting; putting anything and everything through the filter of my nylon-string guitars. Roar was very low hanging […]

I posted a version of Gustavo Santaolalla’s The Last Of Us theme in January of 2012. At that time, the only thing I had to go on, was an unmixed, un-mastered, and ultimately incomplete “leaked” version of what we now know as The Last Of […]

It would seem to me, that success is the product of hundreds — if not thousands — of good decisions in any given time period. Whether it’s your diet, a football game, your studies, or just playing guitar — an overabundance of good to bad […]

Both of my grandfathers passed away when I was very young. In my adult life, my de facto grandfather was actually (my wife’s) grandfather, David Mills. “Pap”, as we called him, passed away last week at the age of 91. Thankfully, his mind, body, and […]

From an recent interview with Access WOBI, in which Gustavo Santaolalla was asked what advice he would give to a young artist: “I would focus on three fundamental qualities. First of all, discipline. The famous “80% perspiration and 20% inspiration”. The second thing is to […]

I sort-of created my own style for nylon string guitar.  I don’t have long fingernails (creepy), and I’ve never really learned the different right hand techniques.  For that matter, I can play a little bit of Cannon In D, and Fur Elise — but that’s […]

I imagine that Gustavo Santaolalla charges a serious fee for his composition work. The Quarantine Zone illustrates precisely why that fee is worth it — for any production company. When it comes to music, I value genius over prowess.  Guitar chops and fast licks really don’t […]

How to play Within | fingerstyle guitar This guitar tab tab is split up according to chord position. While not for total beginners, I would characterize Within as easy to play.  I purposefully arranged this to be easier — while still sounding really professional. Within […]

A very pleasant comment from YouTube, in reference to my Django Unchained arrangement: Anywhere to find the tabs without having to sign up to some f__king cash grabbing blog? While not as pithy, this is one of my favorite YouTube endorsements, in reference to my […]

One of the many upsides to having a (regularly updated) blog, is that it will establish credibility and authority with your offline job — so long as they’re similar. Although my teaching schedule is booked to capacity, I have pointed to my blog as a […]

“If you’re remarkable, then it’s likely that some people won’t like you. That’s part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise — ever.”  -Seth Godin This post will only appeal a very small minority of people — and that’s probably a good thing.  […]

[Update: March 25th 2017] Inception Inception is a 2010 science fiction film written, and directed by Christopher Nolan. Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased in […]