Motherless Children (Tutorial + Tab)

Motherless Children is traditional blues tune and there are countless variations on it. I found this tab for it on the net and although the tab has no author, this version has been attributed to Stefan Grossman. This is my reworking of this version.

The tune is a 12 bar blues but it does not follow a standard 12 bar structure, although it is very similar. It is played in the Key of D, in 4/4 time, and is played with the standard triplet feel common in so much blues music. It is a fingerstyle piece played on a guitar in Open D tuning and will require the use of a silde. Above is a video of me playing the tune along with the tab. In this post I will give some advice on playing the tune.


Here is the tab for the music

Motherless Children Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT

Playing Advice

• Alternating Bass Pattern - The tune utilises an alternate bass picking pattern played with the thumb. In theory, it could be played without alternating between strings if you are more comfortable with that.

• Short and Slow - The tune is only 12 bars long and repeats with a different ending. It has a relatively slow tempo. The first bar is merely a short intro and isn't part of the 12 bar sequence.

• Fret and Slide - The tune requires a mixture of both, notes fretted with the fingers and also the use of a slide. The first 4 bars of the 12 bar sequence are played without a slide, the remaining 8 bars are played with the slide. Because of this, I would recommend you put the slide on your pinky finger rather than on your ring finger or you may have trouble fretting the notes.

• Using the Slide - The slide can be tricky to use in this tune as you don't cover all the strings at once with it. In bars 6-10 and bars 18-22 you only hold the slide over the top four strings of the guitar and leave the other two open. Bars 11 and 23 requires you to only use the slide on the top string whilst keeping the others open. At the end of bar 11 and into bar 13, and at the end of bar 23 and into bar 25 you can cover all the strings. This becomes tricky because you still have to play the open bass notes whilst using the slide, meaning you need very accurate placement of the slide or you will get harsh ringing on the strings. Moreover, it also means you can't mute the strings behind the slide with your other fingers, so you have to use the slide very carefully to avoid clanging on vibrating strings. As such, I would recommend when you put the slide on the strings at the start of bar 6 to keep it touching the strings all the way through to bar 13 where you remove it.

That is about all I need to say on this tune. It is a short, straightforward piece but it does require very accurate use of the slide. As such, it is a great training exercise in using a slide when playing fingerstyle guitar.

Thanks for Reading,
Neil