My Favorite Things

One the biggest charms in playing guitar is all the different sounds you can get.
When I was a student at Berklee, Mike Ihde showed me a cool trick where you put
a piece of paper between the strings to simulate the sound of a banjo. Bob
Stanton (a student at the time) showed me a way to play scales that use open
strings to simulate a piano with the damper pedal pressed. If you play the same
pitch on different strings, the tone changes dramatically, even if it's the same
octave. While studying with William Leavitt, he used to talk a lot about position
playing. In doing so, he would insist that I avoid any use of open strings.
Being immature, I thought he was saying, "open strings are bad." Actually he
wasn't saying that at all. He was trying to show me a certain discipline that he
knew would help me.

I wrote an early version of this arrangement as a response to Bill's "open strings

are bad" policy. I used open strings in every single place I could find; even if the
results were musically less than tasteful or appropriate. It was a musical
"nyah-nyah" to my teacher.

Bill's response was eye-opening. he commented that he was surprised at how

well the maj7 chord in measure 62 works as well as it does (the voicing contains a
b9 interval that usually creates more dissonance than he likes to see) given the
way the phrase uses the chord. His words, paraphrased, about the open strings,
"they sound pretty." I was protesting an opinion that did not exist.

After I settled down a little, I tweaked this arrangement so that it was more musical.
I performed it at my senior guitar recital.

JF Pick and fingers closeup.tif

Photo by Atsushi Sato

 Performance Notes
-You can play almost all of this using a strict classical (fingers only) technique. My choice to
make it "pick and fingers" is so the pick is available for all the strumming that starts at measure
33. Here, the mix of techniques works well because of the range of textures available; delicate
couterpoint lines vs. big strummed chords.

-Because the pick plays the low E so many times, it's easy to let that note get too loud. Just be
mindful of string balance.

-Sometimes classical guitarists like to separate the notes in a chord (i.e. "stagger" the attacks) as
a means of highlighting the independance of each line. That effect is used quite a lot in this
arrangement.

-There are several points in this piece where open strings are used to create the "piano damper
pedal" effect. To maximize that, sustain each note played as long as it will ring. Measure 29 is
the first place that happens. The same effect happens at measure 55.

-Take your time playing the chord sequences starting at measure 46. These are tricky, and
difficult to play smoothly. In the recording, the tempo slows down considerably! this was done
both for artistic effect, and to make it playable.

JF Fret hand Closeup.tif

Photo by Donna Harrington

 My Favorite Things
( 0:00 ~)
Arr.by Jon Finn
Rubato

≥
Em Em(maj7) Em7

≥
# 3 ˙ .œ 3 œ 1 œ1 ≥˙m.
# ˙œ 2.
a m a m

œ0 œ0 œ0 œ0
1
œ0
a m a m

& 4
0 3 3

0 7 7 0 0 0 0
7 0
9 8 7

≥
Em6 Em Em(maj7)

œ œ
m
4
# # œ˙ 3 ˙ ˙. œ # œ˙ . œ œ
a

&
2 Simile...

0 0 7 7 0 0
7 7
6 9 8

Am7

≥ œ3 œ1
m a m

# ˙œ. œ œ # œ˙ . ˙ œ
Em7 Em6
7

&
˙.
V
0 0 0 7 5
0 7 5
7 6

5
 # œ1 œ3 œ4 œ1 Œ
D7 G C

œ3 œ1 ˙1
10

& ˙. ˙3 Œ
1 ˙ .1
V
III 5 3
5 7 3
7 5
5 7
3

≥ œ
G C Am

# œ0 œ œ œ œ3 œ3
m sl.

œ œ
j
œ1 œ2 œ2
œ 3
13

œ
0 3 1
& œ œ2 œ2
1
œ0 œ2 2 œ 2
J
0 Am
H.O. H.O.
0 2 3 5 5 7 5
0 1 3
0 2 4 5 5 7 5
0 2 4

( 0:19 ~)

≥
B7 Em Em(maj7)

≥ œ1 œ1
m

# #˙. 2 ˙≥0 . œ 3 # ˙œ .23

m m

œ œ0
m a a
16 a
0
m

& ˙
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.
sl.
1 #œ 3
J
0̇
0 7 7 0 0
4 7
9 8
4
67 0 0

≥
Em7 Em6 Em

# ˙≥ . 0 œ3 œ3
m

œ0 œ0 # œ˙ 2. ˙0 œ˙ .
m
19

& œ
3

˙.
3

0 0 0 0 7 7
0 7 0
7 6

0
 Em# 5 Em# 5
# œ˙ 3. œ0 œ0 œ0 œ0 œ˙ 3. ˙0
Em6

#˙2 .œ 0
22

& 1 Œ
1
Œ
˙. œ0
0 0 0 0 0
7 0 7
5 6 5

0 0

( 0:27 ~)

# ˙œ . 33 œ4 œ3 œ4 œ4 œ2
˙˙œ .. 113 œ4 ˙œ . 23
D7 G
25
Am7

& ˙. 3 ˙. 1
˙2 . Pick all ˙. 1
V
7 5 5 3
5 5 7 3
5 5 7 4
5 7
5
5 3

# ˙. 1 ≥ ≥œ œœ1 œ
C
28
˙
C G m

˙ œ4 œœœ
m m a
1
& ˙˙ .. 31 Œ Œ
4
Slow, deliberate strum

Pick all Let notes ring in to each other....

0 0
0 0 8
5 7 11 11
5 10 10
7

( 0:35 ~)

œ˙ 3. 1
# œ œ3 œ . 01 œ œ4
31

# ˙˙ .. 42
Am B7 Emaj7

& ˙2.
4 4
gg ˙
g #˙. 3
Œ œ3 œ1 ggg# ˙ .. 2
gg ˙ . 0
0 7 7
10 12 10 0
9 8 4
10 7 6
6
8 7 0
 # #

# # œœ œ4 œ4 œ œ œ ˙4
34 F m7 Emaj7 F m7

& ggg# ˙˙˙ .. 3 g œ ggg# œ˙ .

ggg# # ˙ . g ˙. 3
g . gg ˙ . ggg # ˙
gg ˙ . g ˙. ˙ ..
II II
2 0 0 2
2 5 5 0 2 5
2 4 2
2 6 2
4 6 4
2 0 2

# g # ˙˙œ0 .30 œ œ œ œ0 œ0 #gg ˙0 .œ 3 œ œ0

Amaj9 Dmaj7(6)
37
˙
4 4
˙˙ ...
4 0
& ggg# ˙2 .. g ˙.
gg ˙ . ˙. gg 0
0
0 7 7 0 0 0 0
0 7 0
6 6 6
6 6 0
0 0

# œ4 ˙ œ4 œ3 œ4
˙˙œ . 333 ˙˙œ .. 311
Am7 D7

œ4
40

& . ˙. 1
Œ Œ ˙. 2
œ V
0 7 5
7 5 5 7
5 5 7
5 7
5
0 5

# 2 œ4 œ2
G C G

& ˙œ . 3 œœœ 31
43
˙˙ . 11 œ1 œœ 31
˙ .. 3 Œ 4
˙. 1
5 3
3
4 5 4 5 7
5 7 9
7 10
3
 U
G #dim7
˙˙ ..
E bdim7

œ 31 œœ 11 b œœ 42 n n œœœ
Cmaj7 Cmaj7/E Am Gdim7 Adim7

# œ4 œœ 41 œ œœ 13 # œœ 31 # œ # ˙˙ . "
46

& œœ 3 b œœ 23 n œœ 42
2 Simile...
#œœ
sl.
J 1
rit.
5 6 7 8
7 8 5 5 6 7
9 5 5 5 6 7 8
9 7 9 7 5 6 7
6 7
8 67

( 0:55 ~)

# Œ œœœ 21 œœœ ˙˙˙ Œ œœœ 31 œœœ

œœ 31
Em(add9) Em B7sus4
49

& œŒ 2
4 4

˙ . a tempo ˙ 2̇
.
7 7 7 5 5
8 8 8 5 7 7
11 11 11 4 9 9
5
0 0 7

Em# 5
# # ˙˙˙ 431 œœ # œ n œœ # œ ˙˙ 31
B7 B7/A Em

œœ 11 Œ
52 3 P.O. 3 sl.

& œ1 œ
Œ
4 3 1
˙2
1
œ2 ˙.
IV
5
7 4 8 8 8 0
8 4 9 8 7 6 5
4
7 5 0

≥
Cmaj7 C maj7

# ˙ ≥ ≤ œ1
œœœ œ˙ 42 œ4
55
1œ
m m

œœœ ˙ .. 3
m

& Œ0 0
Œ
3̇
œ0
4
Pick all
0 0 2
0 5 5
5 5 0 0 4
7 7 5
9
 C7(# 11) E b7(# 11)
# œ 21 œ4 œ1 œ œ œ ˙˙ œ
Gm
58

& b ˙˙ .. 3 b ˙˙ .. b
b ˙ ..
Simile...
2 2 5 5
5 8 8 8
3 7 6
5 8 8

# œ˙˙ .. 111 œ2 œ1 ˙˙ .. 11 ˙˙ ..
Gmaj7/B C maj7/B

˙˙ .. 3 ˙˙ ..
61

& ˙. 3 2

7 8 7 8 8
7 8 8
7 9 9
9 9 9

( 1:12 ~)
D 13(b 9)

# b ˙˙˙˙ . 21 # œ0 ˙˙˙ .... 231

œ1 œ1
Emin(maj9)

œ1 ˙˙˙ .. œ0 œ0
64 1

& 4 ˙4 ˙ ..
˙0 . ˙.
7 0 7 7 0 0
7 7 7
8 8 8
10 9 9
10 10
0 0

Em7
C 9(# 11) B b9(# 11)
U
a

≥
B9

# 0˙. œ1 " g ·. 3
m

œ œ b œœ 31 b œœœ 131 # n # œœœ 241 ggg · . 3

67

& œ˙˙ ..
0 0

œ 2 bœ 2 nœ 3 gg · . 3
˙. rit. harmonics
0 0
0 7 5 4
8 7 5 6 12
9 8 6 7 12
10
0 8 6 7 12
70
# ‚ 3 ‚ 1 ‚1 ‚1 ‚ 4 ‚4 ‚ 4 ‚ 4 ‚4 ‚1 O4
&

12 7 7 12 12 12 12 12
7 12 7

jonjamsb&w edit.tif

"Once the milk is in the bucket, you cannot squirt it back in to the cow."