Flatpicking workshop planned for May 21

Just announced! I'll be teaching a workshop on the basics of flatpicking guitar in country, folk and bluegrass styles. For more details, see the video below. To sign up, call (518) 661-9932 or see http://www.pncreativeartscenter.org/

O! Susanna!

Here's one way to play a classic piece of 19th Century Americana: One of Stephen Foster's most famous songs, O! Susanna!

This is a simplified arrangement that will allow you play the song with just two chords (G and D7) on the verses and three chords (C, G and D7) on the chorus. If you play the melody according to this tablature, you'll notice that the notes all fall along the G-major scale. (Click the image for a larger, printable version.)

Here's one modern recording of the song that I like, by a band called The Be Good Tanyas. Their version is in the key of C, so if you want to try to play along with them but still use the arrangement above, you'd have to put your capo on the fifth fret. That will make everything played in G fingering sound like the key of C. 

Wreck of the E.F.

Here's a video for Tom and Eric, in which I demonstrate a way to play the melody on the treble strings as an intro or outro (or both) for the song. I strum through the chord progression a few times, too. Scroll down for a view of TAB for the song (but note the intro in the tab is not the same as mine in the video). I didn't try to sing on this one, as I didn't want to wreck it. *groan*

All about the bass

Okay, this post isn't "all" about the bass, as there's a lot to learn about bass lines and using them to move through the chord progression of a song. Below is a video demonstration of the "Beginning Bass Walks" TAB handout. In class this week, we'll talk about bass runs in other keys, including C and D.

Carolina in My Mind

Here's some information that will help you learn to play JT's "Carolina in my Mind." The original recording and all of the various concert performances that are available on disc and online have some complex fingerpicking, but you can strum the chords on this song and add some walking bass lines to simplfy the original arrangement. The following chord chart is from http://jamestaylortabs.com, and it appears to be pretty accurate. 

(Scroll down for some diagrams to help with some of the less common chords, and note that when you see a "slash" chord, such as G/F#, that means you are playing the chord shape indicated by the letter before the slash and a bass note of the letter after the slash.) If you play the chords below and have a capo on the third fret, you should be at the same pitch as heard in this video:

CAROLINA IN MY MIND (By James Taylor)
(Capo to 2nd or 3rd fret)

Chorus:
D G G/F# Em7 A
In my mind I'm gone to Carolina
G A
Can't you see the sunshine
Em7 A
Can't you just feel the moonshine
D D/C# D/B D/A
And ain't it just like a friend of mine
G G/F# Em7
To hit me from behind
A D Bm Em7 A D
And I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
D C
Karin she's a silver sun
G A
You'd best walk her way and watch it shine
Bm G A
Watch her watch the morning come

G F#m Bm Em
A silver tear appearing now I'm crying ain't I
D Bm Em7 A D
Gone to Carolina in my mind
There ain't no doubt in no-one's mind
That love's the finest thing around
Whisper something soft and kind
And hey babe the sky's on fire I'm dying ain't I
Gone to Carolina in my mind
Chorus
Dark and silent late last night
Think I might have heard the highway call
Geese in flight and dogs that bite
And signs that might be omens say I'm going going
Gone to Carolina in my mind
G A Bm
Now with a holy host of others standing round me
F#m Em G A
Still I'm on the dark side of the moon
C G D
And it seems like it goes on like this forever
C D/B Em
You must forgive me
A D Bm Em7 A D
If I'm up and gone to Carolina in my mind
Chorus
Chorus

House of the Rising Sun

Here's a video demonstrating some various ways to play "House of the Rising Sun" in the key of A minor. To get started, play along with the video with just one strum per measure, then add some additional strums as your left-hand fingers get the hang of it.


Here are a few more versions of this song that are worth checking out. Each of these has a different tone and feel, from the folky to the rocky:

More blues! (Part II)

Following up on yesterday's class, I put together a video showing examples of ways to play "How Long Blues" in the key of A. The simplest chord voicings to use here are:

 

These images are courtesy of JustinGuitar.com, which offers a very thorough video lesson specifically on the use of these chords in blues. You can check it out here:

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-151-A7D7E7-chord.php

Here are some of the ideas I brought up in yesterday's class, recapped for you:


And, here's one more thing worth checking out. SwiftLessons has a great video lesson on blues shuffles, which expands on these ideas: