The Blues Guitar

  In this video I want to share with you my fingerstyle blues version of the traditional Xmas song 'Little Town of Bethlehem'. This is a nice, straightforward fingerstyle version of the song and shouldn't be too difficult to learn. The structure of the music is very straightforward with there being only two sections, the 'Main' section and the 'Bridge' section. In this video, I play through it Main x 2 - Bridge x1 - Main x1. You can just keep repeating this over and over if required. The music is in the Key of D and is played on a guitar in Open D Tuning. It is in 4/4 time and it is a fingerstyle piece incorporating a travis picking bass pattern. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Little Town of Bethlehem Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   The Bass Picking Pattern - The travis picking bass pattern is played on strings 6 and 4, and strings 5 and 4. However, the changes between these picking patter...

  In this video I want to share with you my version of the blues song 'Avalon Blues' by Mississippi John Hurt. It is very typical of John Hurt's music and it is a fingerstyle guitar piece using a travis picking pattern. As is common with John Hurt's music, it has a quick tempo and is very repetitive, with one main section being repeated through the entire song. What i have given you in this tab is that main section. There are numerous different versions of this by John Hurt with many variations. What i have done is written a version that contains of the main elements of the music, which can be repeated as many times as needed with variations of your choosing, if required. The music is in the Key of E and is played on a guitar in Standard Tuning. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Avalon Blues Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   To Hammer or Not - In the first bar of the main section at around the 4th beat I play fr...

  In this video I want to share with you my version of the classic blues song 'It Hurts Me Too' by Elmore James. It sounds very similar to his most famous song 'Dust My Broom' and uses an 8 bar blues sequence which is repeated throughout the song. This 8 bar sequence is very similar to a standard 12 bar blues sequence but just condensed down.  The music is in the Key of D and the lead section is played on a guitar in Open D Tuning. It is in 4/4 time and although you could play it with a pick, I find it easier to play with my fingers. The lead section is played using a slide. In the video, I will give a brief run through of the structure of the song and then play through it with the tab on screen. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. It Hurts Me Too Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   Pick or Fingers - You can play this piece of music using either a pick or your fingers, depending on what your preference is. H...

  In this video I want to share with you a short bluesy version of the famous song Ode to Joy. Ode to Joy was originally written as a poem in 1785 by Friedrich Schiller. In 1824 the poem (or at least the majority of it) was put to music to create a song when it was married up to Beethoven's 4th Movement from his 9th Symphony. This created the song we know today. However, it is probably the music, rather than the lyrics, that people now recognise as it is one of the most famous and well known pieces of music there is. And the music (not the lyrics) has been adopted as the anthem of the European Union.  I have heard people derisively call some of Beethoven's music classical pop tunes, and although such criticism is largely unfounded, this piece could certainly fall within that category. It is a simple and striaghtforward piece using a chord sequence which is now commonly found in modern pop music. But this gives it is a light, joyous tone and makes it a catchy, acce...

  In this video I want to play through a John Fahey instrumental piece called Calvert Street Blues. The only place I can find this piece of music is on the John Fahey album ' Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You' and it sounds more like a demo track. It is titled 'Dorothy / Calvert Street Blues [Brenda's Blues]' and there are two recordings of it on the album. I have just decided to title it Calvert Street Blues to make it easier. I can't find any similar piece of music with a similar title anywhere, so these two short demo recordings are all there is. Anyway, it is a nice short, catchy piece of music so I thought I would tab out a version of it and upload it.  The music is in the Key of C and is played on a guitar in Open C tuning. It is in 4/4 time and is a standard fingerstyle piece with a travis picking bass pattern. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. I Saw The Light Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   The ...

  In this video I want to have a look at the classic country gospel song I Saw The Light. This is a catchy, upbeat song and I have done my own fingerstyle guitar version of it. The song is quite basic with a repeating 8 bar structure throughout it. In the video I will play through the verse and the chorus sections, then have a look at the music structure and give some tips on playing it. Lastly, I will play through it again slower and put the tab on screen. The music is mostly in standard 4/4 time and is in the Key of D. It is played on a guitar in Open D Tuning and employs a travis picking pattern when playing. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. I Saw The Light Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   The 2/4 Bar - At the end of each of the eight bar sequences, whether that be the chorus or the verse, I have added a 2/4 bar in to bridge into the next section. Now, when I listen through the music, I could hear this 2/4...

  In this video I want to have a look at the blues song Queen Bee by Taj Mahal. This is a nice, mellow fingerstyle blues piece and comprises a 24 bar guitar section which is repeated through the song. In the video I will play through this 24 bar section, then have a look at the music structure and give some tips on playing it. Lastly, I will play through it again slower and put the tab on screen. The music is in standard 4/4 time and is in the Key of Bb. However, it is played in the G position but is taken up to Bb with a capo on fret 3 of the guitar. It employs a travis picking pattern when playing. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Queen Bee Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   Nailing the Slides - In the first eight bars of the music, there is a small slide played from fret 3 to 4 on the third string of the guitar. Although this may not seem too tricky, it can be problematic because you have to maintain the unde...

  In this video I want to look at the classic Robert Johnson song Stop Breakin' Down Blues. This is one of Johnson's best known songs and it has been covered by many famous artists such as The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and The White Stripes. It is a catchy 12 bar blues in the Key of G. It is played on a guitar in Open G Tuning and is in 4/4 time. Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab. Stop Breakin' Down Blues Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT   Palm Muting - In Johnson's original recording he makes extensive use of palm muting on the bass strings. In the version I have done, I use palm muting when playing lower based strings, but when the chords change so that the bass strings are higher up, on the 3rd or 4th string of the guitar, I stop using palm muting. The reason I don't use it is because very little sound is coming out of the guitar when I do this. in Johnson's original recording, it still sounds li...