I had already begun work on the intended target of my Guitar Tone exercise, my cover of The Monkees ~ ‘I’m a Believer’. I have been using the Justin Sandercoe video lesson and Kirklees Guitar School‘s video / PDF, which had recently been shared with spooky serendipity!

With the guitar and vocal practice of the song I’ve also been transcribing an arrangement of the song, to match the Paris Music commercial backing track that I obtained for a forthcoming Sing Pop student showcase performance in July.

For the guitar I’m using a Capo on the 5th fret to transpose the arrangement from the Key of C to F. Dropping two semitones and singing in my bass register makes the high notes at the bottom of the treble clef just about achievable if my voice is warmed up. The transcription is being progressed in Musescore Studio.


This exercise again exposed me to the Mixolydian mode, given the presence in key of F of that lovely crunchy Eb. I have been aware of modes for some time but never really explored them. In this case I decided to familiarise with the F Mixolydian scale whilst transcribing the song in that key.


Whilst learning a new song I seek Youtube live performances of it, including covers, to help get the feel. This often leads to discovering gems on YouTube like the brilliant live cover by The Mona Lisa twins in the renowned Cavern Club, Liverpool. It was viewing this video, and a live performance by The Monkees, that led to the related investigation of Vox AC30 like guitar tones over the Easter holiday too.