El McMeen has painstakingly compiled and presented a stunning collection of fingerstyle guitar arrangements of his favorite Celtic songs, airs, and dance tunes from his 30 years of recording. These gems of the repertoire range from aching laments and gorgeous songs to lively dance tunes. 27 pieces are included in this monumental folio. A 77-minute recording of the tunes is available for download to help the reader access and enjoy the magical CGDGAD guitar tuning. Includes access to online audio.

Acclaimed fingerstyle guitarist El McMeen has arranged beautiful music for guitar from the harp, song, pipe and hymn traditions. Utilizing the evocative C-G-D-G-A-D guitar tuning, the author describes the appeal of each tune presented and notates the arrangement in detailed tablature and music. The arrangements are a result of a process of experimentation -with ornamentation and counterpoint lines playing in different keys and registers. Emphasis is placed on creating and preserving the flow of a piece, sensitivity to accenting, and avoiding any 'jarring' elements, while at the same time following the author's Three-second rule (a guitarist must do something interesting every 3 seconds of a solo to sustain the listener's interest.) Each tune contains brief performance notes and, in some cases, lyrics. To aid in the performance of these songs, this book has a Low-C Chord Chart. The pieces included have very diverse origins, yet they have two common elements - they were not originally composed for the guitar and they are certain to be treasured!

Having written or contributed to several volumes of Celtic guitar music over the course of four decades, El McMeen offers fresh and unusual concepts in these 30 fingerstyle arrangements of both familiar and lesser-known Celtic tunes. The music is written in standard notation and tablature in three distinctive guitar tunings: Standard (EADGBE), Drop-D (DADGBE) and Low-C (CGDGAD). Unique to this collection, 7 of the book’s 23 tunes are written in two different tunings, so you can compare the advantages and musicality of each tuning and choose which one to emulate or perform. Computer-generated audio files, an extensive introduction to tablature notation, and an invaluable Low-C chord chart enhance this insightful approach to the Celtic guitar style, alternate tunings, and the arranger’s craft.

The name of this book is no exaggeration. It includes some of the most gorgeous music that the authors El McMeen and Sandy Shalk know. To make things even more interesting, none of the music was originally written for guitar! In addition to Celtic favorites, El includes his arrangements of two of the most beautiful arias in all of opera: "Che Gelida Manina" from Puccini's "La Boheme" and "My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice" (“Mon Coeur S'ouvre à ta Voix”) from "Samson and Delilah" by Camille Saint-Saëns. Sandy's contributions range from Celtic to French love songs to Stephen Foster, manifesting Sandy's gift for chordal subtleties and innovation. Each piece is in either standard tuning (EADGBE) or Drop D tuning (DADGBE). Written in standard notation and tablature with computer generated audio files of each arrangement.

Christmas Carols in the British Isles presents 20 songs from the Renaissance through early 20th century. It includes familiar compositions such as the “Coventry Carol”, “Away in a Manger”, and the “Wexford Carol”, and incorporates some lovely pieces that may be new to the listener. The melodies for these lyrical pieces appear in their most easily recognized form before any variation is presented. Raymond Gonzalez has a gift for combining traditional harmonies with occasional harmonic and rhythmic twists, providing freshness, color, and new life to familiar tunes. All arrangements are in standard or dropped-D tuning, suitable for both steel and nylon-string guitar performance and should be comfortably accessible to the intermediate guitarist. The reader is referred to the tablature for string, fret, and harmonic locations. The book includes access to online audio of every tune recorded by the author.

El McMeen has authored many guitar books for Mel Bay Publications, but this book holds a special place in his heart. This cutting-edge collection includes melodic, challenging, and exuberant band marches carefully arranged for fingerstyle guitar. The book contains arrangements of seven marches (including six by John Philip Sousa), many of which are in various open tunings. These pieces are challenging and geared for intermediate-advanced and advanced guitarists. There are so many great melodies in this collection–guitarists can camp on sections of pieces that they enjoy or tackle the pieces in their entirety. The book also contains a discussion by El McMeen on his selection and arrangement process. Includes access to online audio.

This anthology includes both new pieces and outstanding previously published fingerstyle tunes. Veteran performers and talented young upstarts are given a forum for their best work. Intermediate to advanced in difficulty with nearly all pieces appearing in standard notation with tablature. Includes access to extensive online audio. The contributors are: Jonathan Adams, Muriel Anderson, Seth Austen,D.R. Auten, Douglas Back, Duck Baker, Steve Baughman, William Bay, Pierre Bensusan, Larry Bolles, Ben Bolt, Bill Brennan, Thom Bresh, Rolly Brown, Robin Bullock, Jonathan Burchfield, Michael Chapdelaine, Mike Christiansen,William Coulter, Marcel Dadi, Peppino D'Agostino, Craig Dobbins, Pat Donohue, Doyle Dykes, Steven Eckels, Tim Farrell, Peter Finger, Tommy Flint, Rick Foster, Stefan Grossman, Ole Halen, Todd Hallawell, Roger Hudson, JackJezzro, Buster B. Jones, Laurence Juber, Phil Keaggy, Pat Kirtley, Jean-Felix Lalanne, Jay Leach, Paul Lolax, Woody Mann, Dennis McCorkle, El McMeen, Dale Miller, Franco Morone, Stevan Pasero, Ken Perlman, Al Petteway, Bill Piburn, Chris Proctor, Harvey Reid, John Renbourn, Don Ross, Vincent Sadovksy, Dylan Schorer, John Sherman, Martin Simpson, Johnny Smith, Fred Sokolow, Tim Sparks, John Standefer, David Surette, Guy Van Duser, Al Viola, Paul Yandell, Andrew York, and John Zaradin.