Author Spotlight

About Ellen Whitaker

Ellen Whitaker began teaching herself to play guitar in 1966 at nine years of age. With the help of various teachers, she narrowed her focus to the study of classical guitar by the age of 12.

Ellen began her formal study of music theory at City College of San Francisco, going on to earn a B.A. degree in Music from Mills College and an M.A. degree in Music Theory from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In addition to teaching guitar and music theory independently since 1981, Ellen taught undergraduate classes in music fundamentals, advanced music theory and composition while at UCSB.

Ellen maintains her own guitar studio and teaches individual lessons also at the Durham Arts Council. She conducts in-school guitar classes at Voyager Academy.

 
Ellen Whitaker's Music Store
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Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar
 More Detail 		Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar By Ellen S. Whitaker
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A beautiful variety of traditional Jewish melodies arranged for classical or fingerstyle guitar. 20 solos and 6 duets.... More > Sephardic, Yiddish, Israeli and Oriental folk songs, as well as Chassidic tunes, Klezmer tunes and music originally sung by Cantors. Intermediate and advanced level, with a few pieces included that can be enjoyed also by less experienced players. Annotations and Performance Notes for each piece, providing historical and/or cultural perspective as well as technical guidance. An Appendix (with Glossary) discusses in considerable detail Jewish scales and modes. A Bibliography and Discography are also provided.

Praised by Steve Marsh of Classical Guitar magazine and by Judith Pinnolis of Brandeis University and Jewish Music Web Center among others. < Less
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Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar
 More Detail 		Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar By Ellen S. Whitaker
Ebook (PDF): $9.95
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A beautiful variety of traditional Jewish melodies arranged for classical or fingerstyle guitar. 20 solos and 6 duets.... More > Sephardic, Yiddish, Israeli and Oriental folk songs, as well as Chassidic tunes, Klezmer tunes and music originally sung by Cantors. Intermediate and advanced level, with a few pieces included that can be enjoyed also by less experienced players. Annotations and Performance Notes for each piece, providing historical and/or cultural perspective as well as technical guidance. An Appendix (with Glossary) discusses in considerable detail Jewish scales and modes. A Bibliography and Discography are also provided.

Praised by Steve Marsh of Classical Guitar magazine and by Judith Pinnolis of Brandeis University and Jewish Music Web Center among others. < Less
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Four Favorite Christmas Songs
 More Detail 		Four Favorite Christmas Songs By Ellen S. Whitaker
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Four all-time favorite Christmas songs arranged for solo guitar. The Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, What Child is This?,... More > O Holy Night. Easy to intermediate level. < Less
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Adío Querida
 More Detail 		Adío Querida By Ellen S. Whitaker
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An arrangement for Solo Guitar of Adio Querida, a traditional Sephardic song. This arrangement includes three pages of music... More > in standard notation and a page of text (Performance Notes, Annotation, and song text in Ladino and English).
The arrangement will be enjoyable for classical and fingerstyle guitarists with intermediate or advanced skills. This arrangement, found also in "Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar" is in the key of D minor, using dropped-D tuning, and is rich in polyphony.
Adio Querida has been passed down through generation after generation and remains one of the most popular songs from the Judeo-Spanish tradition. < Less
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Shalom Aleichem
 More Detail 		Shalom Aleichem By Ellen S. Whitaker
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Solo guitar arrangement of Shalom Aleichem, one of the most popular arrangements found in "Jewish Traditions for Classical... More > and Fingerstyle Guitar" by Ellen Whitaker. You may purchase it separately here, complete with annotation and performance notes. Three pages of music in standard notation, plus one page of text. Intermediate and advanced players will enjoy this arrangement. < Less
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Kol Nidre
 More Detail 		Kol Nidre By Ellen S. Whitaker
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Easy-intermediate level arrangement for Solo Guitar of the very familiar opening section of Kol Nidre. One page of music... More > plus one page of annotation.

Kol Nidre is perhaps the most well-known piece of music associated with the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kipur. This arrangement can also be found in "Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar" by Ellen S. Whitaker. < Less
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Tres Hermanicas
 More Detail 		Tres Hermanicas By Ellen S. Whitaker
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Guitar Duet, score. An enjoyable easy intermediate level arrangement for two guitars. Four pages of music and one page of... More > performance notes. Both parts of this duet carry the melody at times and both parts are interesting and fun to play. Tres Hermanicas is a traditional Sephardic song. Songs of the Sephardim, sung in Ladino, have been preserved and passed down orally by the descendants of Jews who, for their unwillingness to convert to Catholicism, were expelled from Spain in 1492. This arrangement can also be found in "Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar" by Ellen Whitaker. < Less
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Three Pieces for Solo Guitar
 More Detail 		Three Pieces for Solo Guitar By Ellen S. Whitaker
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Three original repertoire pieces suitable for intermediate classical or fingerstyle guitarists. The pieces are lyrical and... More > lend themselves well to the self-expression of the performer. Each piece is two pages long and is comfortable to play, being written in a style that is idiomatic to the guitar. Performance notes are included. < Less
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Eili Eili
 More Detail 		Eili Eili By Ellen S. Whitaker
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Solo guitar arrangement of "Eili Eili," as it appears in "Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar" by Ellen... More > S. Whitaker. Two pages of intermediate level guitar music, plus one page of text (annotation and performance notes). < Less
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Shabes Shabes
 More Detail 		Shabes Shabes By Ellen S. Whitaker
Paperback: $7.94
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Solo guitar arrangement of Shabes Shabes as it appears in "Jewish Traditions for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar" by Ellen... More > Whitaker. Two pages of music plus one page of annotation and performance notes. Easy Intermediate Level. < Less
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