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 Some of my work is available on Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop, SMP Press, Mel Bay, and Amazon. Check out below!

Georgeous Melodies for Fingerpicking Guitar by El McMeen and Sandy Shalk, co-authors.

 This one is in standard tuning and dropped D and includes Celtic, classical, arias, Stefan Foster and more—All accessible arrangements for late beginner and intermediate players.

Contents

Once to Every Man and Nation (Thomas J. Williams), Castle of Dromore, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (J S Bach),  Hector the Hero (J Scott Skinner),  Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of His Second Wife, Che Gelida Manina (Giacomo Puccini),  Plaisir D’Amour (Jean-Paul-Égide Martini),  El Noi de la Mare, Beautiful Dreamer (Stephen Foster),  My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice (Camille Saint-Saëns)m  Pavane, Op No 50 (Gabriel Fauré), The Fairy Queen (Turlough O’Carolan)



The Glory of CGDGAD Guitar Tuning: From Music to Method (El McMeen and Sandy Shalk, co-authors). Fate had in store for me that I would get to work with one of my all-time favorite guitarists, arrangers, and composers--El McMeen. We teamed up under his leadership and completed this 308-page work on CGDGAD tuning. One of the top fingerstyle guitarists internationally, El is known for his beautiful renderings of Celtic, pop, gospel, and trad tunes in CGDGAD tuning. To say this work was a labor of love is an understatement! 

In addition to advice on rendering and arranging tunes for guitar, personal anecdotes, and tune analysis, titles include Amazing Grace, Bridget Cruise, Star of the County Down, Till We Meet Again, St. James Infirmary, Annie Laurie, America Patrol, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Carolan's Concerto, Carolan's Receipt, Carolan's Cottage, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Joshua Fit the Battle of Jerico, Be Thou My Vision, St. Louis Blues, I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen, Blind Mary, Dark Town Strutter's Ball, Alexander Rag Time Band, Simple Gifts, La Paloma, Mo Ghille Mear, and a mystery tune! There is also a chapter on the Singing Guitar-- a Mini Workshop (written by El) that is a classic.


https://www.melbay.com/Products/30842M/the-glory-of-cgdgad-guitar-tuning.aspx


The DADGAD Gospel: Gospel Guitar Solos in DADGAD Tuning (El McMeen and Sandy Shalk co-authors)

This is a collection of DADGAD arrangements of Gospel Chestnuts and less familiar treasures. 

This book (with online audio) is available through Mel Bay Publications

Blessed Assurance, Down in the River to Pray, Drifting Too Far from the Shore, Holy Manna, In Christ There is No East or West, In the Great Triumphant Morning, Just As I Am, Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone, On Jordan’s Stormy Banks, Softly and Tenderly, The Hallelujah Side, There Is Power in the Blood, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, When I Can Read My Title Clear, Whiter Than Snow, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Yes, I Know.

Early Jazz: Dances, Songs, Instrumentals for Fingerstyle Guitar (Compiled by Stefan Grossman)

I have two arrangements in this wonderful collection: Poor Butterfly in DADGAD and Davenport Blues in Dropped D.

Other guitarists include Duck Baker, Pat Donohue,  Ernie Hawkins, etc. Great ones!

Fingerstyle Guitar in DADGAD (Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop). This instructional DVD features five arrangements of Jazz tunes in DADGAD. A tab/music file is included as a PDF on the DVD.  DADGAD is a wonderful tuning for the the Great American Songbook! Available as a hard copy or download. 

Titles include: God Bless The Child, Blue Monk, Take Five, All Blues, Round Midnight

Further Adventures in DADGAD (Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop).  More arrangements of Dadgad jazz tunes with some trad tunes included. A tab/music file is included as a PDF on the DVD. Great tunes taught phrase by phrase in DADGAD. Available as a hard copy or download

Titles include: It Ain't Necessarily So, Summertime, Ain't Misbehavin', Roslyn Castle, Medley: Farewell to Whiskey/Coleman's March and Snowbird on the Ashbank

Fingerstyle Guitar in OPEN G Tuning (Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop). This instructional DVD includes a mix of jazz and trad arrangements in OPEN G. It's highly recommended to have some OPEN G tunes in your toolbox--an amazing in tuning! Available as a hard copy or download. 

Titles include: Blind Mary, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, La Paloma, The Girl I Left Behind Me, Off to California, My Romance and Still Crazy After All These Years

Fingerstyle Guitar in DADGAD, Further Adventures in DADGAD, and FIngerstyle Guitar in OPEN G (Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop).  These titles now have single song downloads on Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop. 

Newer Every Day. This is my solo guitar CD.  It's a collection of jazz, trad, and Celtic tunes in alternate tunings--mostly DADGAD. It's available on Amazon.com.

 "Newer Every Day" is a beautiful album with a great selection of tunes from O'Carolan to Monk and Ellington. The album is sweet, smooth, elegant, and uplifting. Exquisite harmonies and infectious rhythms! I especially love the jazz (which flows from Sandy so effortlessly), but the entire album is beautiful--every single song. If you're a fan of solo guitar, this one is sure to be a favorite. It's a masterpiece!  Judith Giddings.

Titles Include: Blue Monk, My One and Only Love, Be Thou My Vision, Black and Tan Fantasy, Round Midnight, Take Five, Blind Mary, Christmas Time is Here, Davenport Blues, Lament for Owen Roe O’Neil, Tears, Good Morning Heartache, God Bless the Child, Arran Boat Song, Georgia, I Dream of Jeannie.

DADGAD Jazz Collection on SMP Press.   I now have tab/music PDFs of some solo fingerstyle guitar DADGAD jazz tunes on Sheet Music Plus (SMP press). These are available as a single song PDF downloads. A 30-second mp3 clip is available on the site for each tune. I'm always looking for Dadgad jazz converts!

Current titles include: My One and Only Love, Black and Tan Fantasy, In a Sentimental Mood, Moon River, Nuages, The Shadow of your Smile, Stella by Starlight, Nardis.

Giving Voice (Tim Alexander and Sandy Shalk). This is a first CD for myself and my fingerstyle buddy, Tim Alexander. We each play 7 tracks of of solo fingerstyle guitar (14 Total). We were fortunate to receive production assistance from El McMeen for our CD. Giving Voice was engineered by Marc Moss of Target Studios, Red Hook, NY.

Tim Alexander and Sandy Shalk have put together a lovely disc of mostly gentle, traditional sounding tunes. While it's a duo recording, the pair take their turns on the songs, highlighting their individual talents. Scottish and Irish melodies fill most of the CD, whether jigs like "The Bonnie Jig" (Alexander), ballads like "Jock O'Hazeldean” (Alexander), or the obligatory Turlough O'Carolan song like "Planxty John Irwin" (Shalk). These guys have obviously been playing and listening to these tunes for some time, most clearly evidenced on "Crested Hens" played by Shalk, where he gives the song just the right pace, allowing the music to breath. We even get "Deep River Blues" by Alexander, and "Moon River" by Shalk for a turn on traditional American songs. © (c) Kirk Albrecht, Minor 7th Review

$15.00. Free shipping in continental USA.  Contact me at sandy_shalk@yahoo.com