{"id":146759,"date":"2024-12-26T09:57:29","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T17:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=146759"},"modified":"2024-12-26T09:57:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T17:57:35","slug":"learn-to-flatpick-the-hanukkah-classic-maoz-tzur-rock-of-ages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/learn-to-flatpick-the-hanukkah-classic-maoz-tzur-rock-of-ages\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn to Flatpick the Hanukkah Classic \u201cMaoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Learn to Flatpick a Hanukkah Classic, \u201cMaoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)\u201d\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d2foDoKhmos?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the spirit of the season, I\u2019d like to share a solo flatpicking arrangement of the Hanukkah classic&nbsp;\u201cMaoz Tzur (Rock of Ages).\u201d&nbsp;The melody familiar to most American Jewish households is actually an adaptation of a German folk tune that dates back to at least 1450. This melody was also used for hymns by Martin Luther, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this arrangement, I\u2019ve set the tune as a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/improve-your-flatpicking-technique-mother-maybelle-carter-exercises\/\">Maybelle Carter<\/a>\u2013style flatpicking tune in the key of C major. The melody is played primarily on strings 5\u20133, with occasional excursions to the second or sixth string. To fill the space between melody notes, I\u2019ve added accompanying strums and cross-picking on the top three strings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When playing, aim to keep the accompaniment significantly quieter than the melody\u2014the dynamic contrast creates a fuller, richer sound. Also, pay close attention to your pick direction when tackling syncopated cross-picking passages, such as in measures 8 and 18. Downstrokes should align with the downbeats (1, 2, 3, and 4), and upstrokes with the upbeats (the&nbsp;<em>ands<\/em>&nbsp;in between).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy Hanukkah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ethan Sherman is the co-author of&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/string-theories-tips-challenges-and-reflections-for-the-lifelong-guitarist?_pos=1&amp;_sid=3dd6e4dc1&amp;_ss=r\">String Theories &#8211; Tips, Challenges, and Reflections for the Lifelong Guitarist<\/a>, available at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/\">store.acousticguitar.com.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1669\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1290%2C1669&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-146761\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?w=1484&amp;ssl=1 1484w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=386%2C500&amp;ssl=1 386w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 791w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C994&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=232%2C300&amp;ssl=1 232w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1187%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1187w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1583%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1583w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-146762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 791w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?resize=386%2C500&amp;ssl=1 386w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C994&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?resize=232%2C300&amp;ssl=1 232w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1187%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1187w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1583%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1583w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Maoz-Tzur-2-scaled.jpg?w=1484&amp;ssl=1 1484w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This accessible arrangement, inspired by Maybelle Carter\u2019s style on classics like \u201cWildwood Flower,\u201d is perfect for the holiday season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":146764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"This accessible arrangement, inspired by Maybelle Carter\u2019s style on classics like \u201cWildwood Flower,\u201d is perfect for the holiday season.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1655,1151],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1943],"class_list":["post-146759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flatpicking","category-instrumentals"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/moaz-tzur-ag-ethan-sherman.jpg?fit=900%2C506&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1943,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"ethan-sherman","display_name":"Ethan Sherman","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/ethan-sherman.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/ethan-sherman.jpg"},"user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146766,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146759\/revisions\/146766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146759"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=146759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}