Dust My Broom - Tutorial + Tab



One of the most famous and recognisable blues songs is Dust My Broom by Elmore James. The song was written and initally released by Robert Johnson in 1936 and was titled 'I Believe I'll Dust My Broom'. However, the most famous and well known version of this song is by Elmore James, and was released in 1951. In this post and video I will look at the Elmore James version. 

In the video, I have shown a lead guitar section and also a rhythm guitar section accompany it. The song is in 4/4 time and played in the Key of D. The lead guitar section is played using a slide on a guitar tuned to Open D. The rhythm guitar section does not require a slide and is played on a guitar tuned to either Open D or Dropped D, either tuning will do as you are only using the bottom 3 strings of the guitar.

Here is the downloadable tab for the song below

Dust my Broom - Lead Tab -         Power Tab - PDF - TXT
Dust my Broom - Rhythm Tab -    Power Tab - PDF - TXT

 

Playing Advice

  • Sliding Around - To play the lead guitar section, you will need to use a slide to get that distinctive sound like Elmore James. Although the slide sections aren't too tricky, you do often have to move the slide quickly and use the slide across multiple strings. This can often be tricky doing this on an electric guitar when the action is quite low. For some tips on using a slide, check out my video below which may be of some help when playing this song.

         


  • Switching to and from the Slide - During the turnaround between verses, and at the end of the piece, you have to switch between the slide and fretting the notes with your fingers, and back again. This might cause a few problems depending on how you play with the slide. I would recommend putting the slide on your pinky finger. Not only does this free up your other 3 fingers for playing the fretted notes, but it also lets you get the slide clear of the strings as it can be very easy for the slide to touch the strings when fretting the notes with your fingers. Although it would be possible to have the slide on another finger, I believe it would make this section trickier to play and cause more errors when playing. However, you just have to find what you are comfortable with.
  • The Quick A Switch - Dust my Broom is mostly a standard 12 bar blues. However, it does have one slight variation. During the verse section, bar 2 (bar 14 in the tab) of this 12 bar blues moves up to A for this bar, then back down to D for bars 3 and 4. Although this sequence isnt uncommon in 12 bar blues, it is easy to forget it when playing the rhythm section and you play 4 bars of just D. Just be mindful of this when playing the rhythm section as it will sound out if you dont switch the A chord.
  • What order to Play - The tab I have provided and shown in the video has most of the guitar parts for the song in it. However, the order you play it in depends on how much of the song you wish to play. Bars 1-12 are the intro section which Elmore plays without any singing. Bars 13-22 are the verse section which Elmore sings over. If you then want to repeat and do another verse, you would use the turnaround in Bars 11 and 12, and then play Bars 13-22 again. If you wish to finish the song, you would play bars 23 and 24 which is the finish of the song. If you also wish to sing the song, the lyrics are below.

Lyrics

I'm gettin' up soon in the mornin'
I believe I'll dust my broom
I'm gettin' up soon in the mornin'
I believe I'll dust my broom
Out with the best gal I'm lovin'
Now my friends can get in my room
 
I'm gonna write a letter, telephone every town I know
I'm gonna write a letter, telephone every town I know
If I don't find her in Mississippi
She be in East Monroe I know
 
And I don't want no woman
Want every downtown man she meets
No I don't want no woman
Want every downtown man she meets
Man, she's a no good doney
They shouldn't allow her on the street, yeah
 
I believe, I believe my time ain't long
I believe, I believe my time ain't long
I ain't gonna leave my baby
And break up my happy home
 
Source: LyricFind

 

This is quite an easy piece to play if you are skilled at using a slide and playing fingersyle guitar. It is also a good piece to play with a friend as one can play the lead and the other can play the rhythm section. I hope you have fun playing it

Thanks for Reading,
Neil

 

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