theholtsite

An old song we used to sing in youth group. My own classical guitar kinda version. Recorded 1/24

One of my students learned this charming old Irish song, and I found this a capella version. It’s impressive by itself, but I wanted to add some chords. This is my own arrangement. There’s no clock/metronome, so the rhythm is a bit off in some places. Recorded 2/23

Jill sometimes falls asleep to songs I’ve made like this. This is a hymn she likes, just the melody and then some ambient, sleepy jamming at the end. Recorded 2/22

A simple song I wrote. Lyrics are right out of Psalm 77. Recorded 4/21

A summary of 1 Timothy 2 I wrote. A great chapter that should be the subject of many songs, but just isn’t. Recorded 9/20

This is my own rendition of a song from Baldur’s Gate, it plays when you enter a temple. I always liked it despite the fake, 90s-sounding voices, and decided to figure it out on guitar. Recorded 9/19

A slow, ambient version of a church song I created to put Jill to sleep. Forest wind background for a “white noise” effect. Recorded 4/19

This song has always captivated me, both the chords and the lyrics. My own arrangement. Recorded 4/18

My own jazz arragement of Mr. Rogers’ theme song. Some background “pub” noise added. Recorded 1/18

My own jazzy arrangement of the ballad from Willy Wonka. Recorded 2/17

My own arrangement of this great jazz standard. Recorded 6/16

For those of us who were anti-social gaming nerds in the 90’s! This is the castle theme to Zelda II (Link). Not as good as the first Zelda, but still a recognizable tune if you played NES back then. Created using only guitars! Recorded 7/12

I am often inspired by Renaissance guitar music and lyrics from Frederick Noad’s book. This song is a very moody one by John Dowland. It speaks of his fervent wish for death and Heaven. Recorded 6/11

One day I was sort of inspired to make a neat jam track and actually ended writing some lyrics for Jill! Recorded 2/10

I used an Axe-Fx and created a preset based on Joe Satriani’s rig. I created this song with Logic using MIDI loops and a few guitar tracks to see how well it fit. I posted it on the Axe-Fx forums and got some great feedback. Recorded 8/09

There’s no guitar in this one, just downtempo chill music with synths and fake drums. Recorded 4/09

For Christmas 2008, Jill requested an album of hymns done in my own style. I called it “Hymns for Lord and Lady”. Recorded 12/08

This song was skillfully written a few months before our wedding by my friend Nate in 2001, and we played it at my wedding (yes, I was nervous). Seven years later, we decided to re-record this tune. Nate played this version for his wife when he proposed! We also played this at Nate’s rehearsal dinner on 6/6/08. I play the mandolin and sing harmony on this song, and I also recorded and mastered it. Recorded 1/08

I created this when Garageband had just come out, and I was excited to put all the built-in loops to good use (and then solo over it). Recorded 1/04

Videos

A tune by The Shadows I recorded in 2011. I created the backing track too!