Super Mario Brothers Theme Tab and Standard Notation

The Super Mario Brother’s Theme is a huge hit with kids (and some adults too)! This song is great for more advanced beginners or intermediate players. One of the ways I teach this tune is in sections. I spend the first week teaching them the A section, than on the second week we skip ahead to the C section. The reason I skip the B section is that it contains some pretty nasty chromatic runs and odd timing of notes.  I’ve found out that if we do the A section and C section first, the student’s confidence is pretty high and they seem to be more successful with that nasty B section. Usually by the third week the kids are pretty prepared to play the B section.  Another thing I love about this song is that it’s a pretty fun way for kids to work on reading ‘sharps’ on the guitar. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Love,

Dylan

Here is the PDF:

Super Mario Theme Song

AfterShock’s Take It Slow

The second song that Adam Rossi and I recorded with the boys and it is called Take It Slow.  This is the first song that boys in AfterShock ever wrote that features original lyrics and a melody.  I think it’s pretty great and I hope you enjoy. Oh yeah check out the cool bass solo done by James and the wonderful interplay between James and the drummer Felix.

AfterShock

AfterShock is a San Francisco youth band that I started working with in September 2011.  The members of the band are all in Middle School and this is the first time they have ever been in a recording studio.  We did the recording at ARA with my producer/engineer and musician extraordinaire and good friend Adam Rossi.  Adam not only engineered the two songs that they boys recorded but he also taught them some basic recording etiquette and techniques. Counterfeit is the first original that the boys wrote and it’s an instrumental that the boys that features some great guitar work by Wyn and Chris.

Ladies and Gentlemen here is Counterfeit:

For more information on Aftershock here is their Facebook Page:

AfterShock Facebook Page

Sir Duke “The Riffs”

One of the great things about working with young people is that they will give you a new perspective on how to approach things. I used to be the showcase band director at a music school where the kids would play out quite a bit.

Im a huge Stevie Wonder fan so when a group of kids approached me about adding “Sir Duke” to the show I was a bit surprised…I silently asked myself, “Could these kids pull this off I?” Well when Dylan Hadley (drums), Sasha Berliner (vocals), Maddy Baltor (guitar), Cole Berliner (guitar) and Monica Smith (bass) began to play the opening riff my skepticism diminished and I was blown away!

When they were done the only thing that I suggested they do was maybe harmonize the riff. Cole said maybe we could do it an octave up so I went home that night and figured out what Maddy and Monica were doing than transcribed it an octave up. A few days later I showed the basic idea to Cole and by the next rehearsal he nailed it.

The following arrangement is based on what the kids brought to me…Nick Tamburro and I didn’t really teach them this song; we just helped them a bit with getting it to groove more.

I’ve tabbed out the following a two parts: The intro and THE RIFF. The lower octave version is pretty much what Maddy and Monica played and the higher octave version is what me and Cole figured out. By the way none of those kids are over 15 years old…

PS-I’d like to thank Cole Berliner for proofing this tab and helping me out with the corrections!

Good Day Acoustic Version

This is from an acoustic album that I did with my boys in Luce.  The tuning is open G and I’m playing slide all over it. I think that I used Wayne Skeen’s Martin and the a Gibson J185 that Gibson loaned me for the session.

Zomby Woof by Zappa

Hey Guys,

So I’ve tabbed out the Frank Zappa classic tour de force Zomby Woof out for you.  It took me a long time to write this out so I hope you guys enjoy it. Instead of charting out the song by saying verse and chorus I’ve chosen to do it with time frame.  This arrangement is to help you out if you wanted to jam the song with your friends or if you want to play along with it at home.  I’m not sold on some of the tempo markings nor am I a hundred percent sold on the time signatures so if you disagree or if you hear something different HIT ME UP! LET ME KNOW and I will totally fix it and give you credit…