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My friends! Here's a grab-bag update, showing off a handful of things I've been working on over the past couple weeks. If you're reading this on Thanksgiving – I hope you & yours have a great day!
Website Update: Improved Search!
Last week I finally completed a re-write of my Search page, which now includes course lessons in the results, along with my weekly lessons. This means your routine searches on my site are much more likely to include what you’re looking for! Here’s a tour showing it off:
Website Update: New Video Tour
One other improvement I made the past week was updating my video tour, showing folks around Song Notes Premium. Whether or not you’re currently a member, this video shows you around and lets you know what’s included with Premium membership.
My previous video tour was 2 years old and had a ton of things missing, given how much I’ve added in the past couple years. So – I wanted to make this updated version. Check it out below!
Vidami Holiday Sale - Save 20%!
My friends at Vidami have shared a 20% discount code for you fine folks in the Song Notes audience – which is SongNotes20. Apply that code if you’re buying a Vidami pedal before December 31, 2024 and you’ll save 20%!
If you missed my prior video showcasing the Vidami pedals, check it out below. Their pedals allow you to control YouTube hands-free… meaning you can pause, rewind, loop, and even slow down videos all without touching your mouse or keyboard.
Order your Vidami pedal here – and remember to use the coupon code SongNotes20 to save 20%
PDF Updates: Melody Deep-Dive Lessons
I recently did some PDF clean-up on a few of my lessons where I do melody deep-dives into popular songs. Specifically, I show the process of figuring out the exact notes being sung by the artist — and how we can write these up in tab form, along with the chords to the song.
Being able to play a song’s melody is helpful in many ways:
- If you’re interested in singing, you can use these notes for reference — and adjust your vocal pitch accordingly.
- If you’re interested in melodic improvising, it’s never a bad idea to start by learning a song’s melody note by note… and from there you can add melodic flourish as you see fit.
- If you’re working on your scales, whether in open position or in any “box” shape up the neck, song melodies are a great way to put what you’re learning to the test! As practically every song’s melody is built with a single scale, matching whatever key the song is in (e.g. a song in the Key of G will have melody notes that come from the G major scale).
Here’s the lessons I’ve made that focus 100% on melody notes of very popular songs. These are especially helpful to learn because you’re most likely already familiar with the melody. The first two of these lessons have updated PDFs, with some additional annotation to explain things:
And there are plenty other lessons where I include this melody deep-dive as part of my main lesson:
Browse Related Lessons
Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:
Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!
Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!
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Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made
Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!
Recent Lessons
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March 3, 2026
Strumming Issues? Try the "Pyramid" Rhythm Drill
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Feb 13-20, 2026
Save Your "Favorite" Lessons, with Custom Collections!
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February 4, 2026
Sing & Strum "Piano Man" by Billy Joel
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Jan 26, 2026
Member Q&A: January 2026
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Jan 16, 2026
Melodic Fingerstyle Fun with "Piano Man"
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Jan 8, 2026
2025: All My Lessons in One Place!
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Dec 19, 2025
"Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues
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Dec 12, 2025
"The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole
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Dec 4, 2025
"If I Needed You" by Emmylou Harris & Don Williams
