Queen Bee - Taj Mahal - Tutorial + Free Tab

 

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 underlying chord for the travis picking bass pattern. I find that the easiest way to play this slide is by using the pinky. and then using the index finger to play fret 2 on the third string. This way you retain the underlying chord for the travis picking pattern and it makes it easier to play this small slide. I show you how I do this in the video. However, if you are still finding that it is tricky to play this little slide, just leave it out because it doesn't make too much difference to the music.

• Switching the Bass Picking Pattern - On bar 16 and into bar 17 of the music, the picking pattern for the bass line changes. In bar 16 it only plays the first three beats and then doesn't play the fourth one. When the bass picking pattern resumes in bar 17, the order of bass picking is changed so you now play the 4th string on the first beat, then the 6th string on the second beat and repeat this thereafter, which is reversed from how you are playing it previously. This change in the bass picking pattern can make it seem confusing, and it can make you play the other notes out of sync. However, you just have to remember that it's still the same pattern. It's just offset slightly. With some practice, you should be able to get it. But if you are still struggling, what you can do is rewrite the music so that bar 16 is a 5/4 bar and the first bass note, that would have been in bar 17, is now the end of bar 16. This way, when it comes to playing bar 17 you will start on the lower bass note. However, you must remember to move all the other notes one beat back as well. And also, in the last bar of the music you must make this a 3/4 bar so that when you come repeat it isn't out of sync.
  

• Palm Muting - From In the recorded version by Taj Mahal he plays it on an electric guitar, and he employs palm muting when playing the bass strings. When I play through it in the video, I don't use palm muting and I'm playing on an acoustic guitar. It is really up to you if you wish to employ palm muting. If you are intending a sing over the music using palm muting might be a good way to suppress the bass notes and let your voice ring out more. However, I find when playing it without singing, on an acoustic guitar, not using palm muting gives the best sound. 
  

This is about all I need to say about this piece. It is a fairly straightforward piece of fingertsyle blues music. If you are used to playing travis picking fingerstyle guitar, you should be able to learn this quite quickly.

Thanks for Reading,
Neil