Guitarwaze Picks - Warm Autumn Tunes
So not only is it autumn on our side of the world but we're also spending lot's of time at home, due to more pandemic restrictions. Cosy days in the living room, with a nice cuppa and the right tunes is what will soothe our souls for sure.
One of the things we are working on at Guitarwaze is our song library. The one where you can pick a song and learn how to play it from a 3D captured version of our very own Guitar master. As part of this research we choose the best songs, have our personal maestro create the guitar tutorial and our tech guys capture it on to the screen.
This week we give you some of our favourite autumn tunes.
1. Autumn Leaves - Nat King Cole
A beautiful love song describing the beauty of a love in relation to the beauty of the season, with a melody that makes you want to snuggle up in front of a fire after a walk among the autumn leaves.
The original makes you melt into the romance of days gone by. It is also beautifully performed by Eva Cassidy here in this video.
2. Autumn in New York - Billie Holiday
The song was composed by Vernon Duke in 1934 and performed by many artists, reaching chart success only through Frank Sinatra. But Billie Holiday's performance is the one we chose. Her unique voice and feel makes this another gorgeous classic for the music archives
3. Harvest Moon - Neil Young
Neil Young was known to be a lover of the moon, so to speak. He used the moon as a guide having said that "Before there was organised religion, there was the moon. The Indians knew about the moon. Pagans followed the moon. I've followed it for as long as I can remember, and that's just my religion." He was also a strong advocate for small farmers and this song is an ode to the seasonal moon of autumn and gives a feel of connecting to the natural world around us.
4. Leaves that are Green - Simon and Garfunkel
A great acoustic song for the guitar with an uplifting rhythm and an ode to the change of seasons in nature as well as within our lives. Listen to this, get out the cords and sing along and it'll set a great tone to your day.
5. November Rain - Guns'n'Roses
A rock star style, guitar accompanied love song for the colder season, including epic solos. Darker times in a love story, darker times of the winter. "Sometimes you need some time on your own", a lovely way to describe that we sometimes have to go inside. The colder season literally takes us indoors and the darkness of the days calls for reaching into our souls, collect our energies and listen to our wisdom within. Relationships need this and our every changing lives do as well once in a while. Really, the changing seasons are a clear guide to our human existence.
6. California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas
We love this one on the guitar as well. It's got this iconic short intro to it and is an easy tune to learn. We're all about the guitar but love that little jazzy flute solo in the middle too. And well, we all know the lyrics that speak of cold winters day and the dreaming of the California sun, so if you're one of those that reminisce about the summer right now, this one is for you.
7. Indian Summer - The Doors
A simply beautiful song, short, sweet and a love song. It is obviously more of a song describing a late warm summery spell in autumn, which doesn't strictly fit in with cold weather day songs, but it's such a great tune that it had to be on the list. Besides it certainly works perfectly for adding some warmth to these months and if you're learning the guitar, you should add it to your repertoire.
8. Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash
A song about a lost love from the North Country and how he remembers her, while describing the weathers of the cold seasons. Another brilliant song for a warm and fuzzy heart.
Once you've gone through our picks and have some favourites of your own, we would love to hear about them. If we've missed anything for our library, your input is Guitarwaze gold. Enjoy this season, stay warm, stay healthy and keep your spirits high with plenty of music!