is that in any book or sumptin, cuz I have seen him play that and I think it is awesome how he uses two hands.
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Stu Hamm Moonlight Sonata
- Thread starter paniak17
- Start date
Hey there,
I'm currently trying to learn it too for a school exam performance piece, so I'm kinda in the same boat.
Basically, I've found that just getting hold of the original score for it, then converting it so it's in tab (just for easiness's's's's sake!), and sometimes checking out some other people's tabs (e.g. the tab on mxtabs.net) to make sure I'm going in the right direction, is working pretty well. It's just a matter of toughing it out.
Re: the tapping. When you start playing it, to get to the right notes and hold the bass notes correctly, you have to have your hands in certain positions so you play it correctly, so it's just something you pick up. Saying that, there's one ******** bit where it's some ker-azy stretch, and there's some parts where you've really gotta practise 'cos it goes from something like fretting the 9th with your right to fretting the 16th with your left, and 'cos of the rh positioning you're fretting blind.
On the whole, it's not too hard a song. It's just that it's quite long, and there's a lot to learn. From a technique point though, it's fairly straightforward. Try practising with a metronome to make sure you get it all right in time though (58bpm to do it right). Make sure you've got the note length right too!
Good luck,
Mark.
I'm currently trying to learn it too for a school exam performance piece, so I'm kinda in the same boat.
Basically, I've found that just getting hold of the original score for it, then converting it so it's in tab (just for easiness's's's's sake!), and sometimes checking out some other people's tabs (e.g. the tab on mxtabs.net) to make sure I'm going in the right direction, is working pretty well. It's just a matter of toughing it out.
Re: the tapping. When you start playing it, to get to the right notes and hold the bass notes correctly, you have to have your hands in certain positions so you play it correctly, so it's just something you pick up. Saying that, there's one ******** bit where it's some ker-azy stretch, and there's some parts where you've really gotta practise 'cos it goes from something like fretting the 9th with your right to fretting the 16th with your left, and 'cos of the rh positioning you're fretting blind.
On the whole, it's not too hard a song. It's just that it's quite long, and there's a lot to learn. From a technique point though, it's fairly straightforward. Try practising with a metronome to make sure you get it all right in time though (58bpm to do it right). Make sure you've got the note length right too!
Good luck,
Mark.
Drop me a PM and I can help ya with it. I am pretty sure I ahve the first part nailed, however I haven't really tried to get the rest of it down.
go to www.stuarthamm.net and click on the tabs section. thats where i learned it from. it has most of his stuff up there.
The tab on here is way better than the one on MXTabs...it has you flipping your hands into crazy, acrobatic positions when it can be played much more simply. I'm checking out the stu hamm site tab now...
EDIT: Oof! Initially, it would appear so. I retract my previous statement.
EDIT: At the bottom of the tab on MXTabs (which is the same as the stu hamm site one, for those who haven't seen both) it says "i hope u know stuarts tricks. if u dont know them.. dont play it or even try to play it .. :]". What tricks are these?
EDIT: Oof! Initially, it would appear so. I retract my previous statement.
EDIT: At the bottom of the tab on MXTabs (which is the same as the stu hamm site one, for those who haven't seen both) it says "i hope u know stuarts tricks. if u dont know them.. dont play it or even try to play it .. :]". What tricks are these?
Govithoy said:
As far as I know, he doesn't have any "tricks". Perhaps they are talking about two handed tapping in general?
I suppose that would make sense.
On a side note: Those G#'s on the D string are WAY easier to play with the right hand on the A string (11th fret). Makes the song a lot more comfortable to play. The only time this causes complications is during one pattern where it goes right into an A major chord (A-C#-E) where you'd have to tap the entire thing with your right hand, but if you adjust your forearm so that it's perpendicular with the fretboard, that takes care of the problem. Plus, you only have to do it twice, and then it's on to much easier things.
EDIT: Bleh, the MX/StuHamm tab is a little funky in places. The notes are right, I'm working on altering the fingerings to make it a little more playable. The way I'm doing it makes you change your right hand position during the song a couple times (as in, instead of your forearm being parallel to the board, it's perpendicular) because that's more conducive to "fret walking" as opposed to "string crossing" which is often necessary in this song. The way I'm redoing it shifts focus from your left hand to your right hand. Of course, this version best fits me, as it's how I tap, so y'all might not find it better.
On a side note: Those G#'s on the D string are WAY easier to play with the right hand on the A string (11th fret). Makes the song a lot more comfortable to play. The only time this causes complications is during one pattern where it goes right into an A major chord (A-C#-E) where you'd have to tap the entire thing with your right hand, but if you adjust your forearm so that it's perpendicular with the fretboard, that takes care of the problem. Plus, you only have to do it twice, and then it's on to much easier things.
EDIT: Bleh, the MX/StuHamm tab is a little funky in places. The notes are right, I'm working on altering the fingerings to make it a little more playable. The way I'm doing it makes you change your right hand position during the song a couple times (as in, instead of your forearm being parallel to the board, it's perpendicular) because that's more conducive to "fret walking" as opposed to "string crossing" which is often necessary in this song. The way I'm redoing it shifts focus from your left hand to your right hand. Of course, this version best fits me, as it's how I tap, so y'all might not find it better.
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