Boogie Woogie Dance - Tampa Red - With Free Tab

 

In this video I want to share with you my version of Tampa Red's 'Boogie Woogie Dance'. This is a fast, catchy piece of early blues music dating from the 1920's. The music is played on a guitar in Open D Tuning and is in the Key of D. It is in 4/4 time and it is a fingerstyle piece incorporating a bass picking pattern throughout. Tampa Red was famous for playing with a slide but I have chosen not to use a slide in this version. I will discuss this below.  In this video, I will play through the music at normal tempo first, and then I will play through it again more slowly and put the tab onscreen.

Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab.

Boggie Woogie Dance Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT

 

• Using a Slide - Tampa Red was famous for playing with a slide and I believe he used it in the original recording of this piece. However, in the version I have given you there are only the fill sections where a slide would be used. The main section of the music, the turnaround, and the outro would all be played without a slide. As such, I have chosen not to use a slide, the main reason for this is because a slide just adds another layer of complexity and difficulty into playing an already tricky piece of music, and I wan't to make these versions as accessiable as possible. Any notes in the music with slides, you can just slide using your finger. However, do feel free to use a slide when playing if you want. The slide would be used in the fill sections on the single notes. Because this piece is quite tricky it may be worth learning it without a slide first and introducing the slide once you have mastered it without.

• Hammer-Ons - You will notice that there are quite a lot of hammer-ons in the music. These take place on the second string from the open position of fret 2. The reason these are played as hammer-ons is because of the fast tempo of the music and these are two eighth notes on the same string. Thus, it's extremely difficult to play the two notes at speed without using a hammer-on, especially if as you will be using your thumb to play these two notes. If you do not like playing hammer-ons or can't get the technique correct, just leave out one of these two notes. It wont sound as good but it will let you play through the music.

• Alternating Bass Strings - The music has a bass picking pattern throughout which is played with the thumb. This varies quite a lot through the music. Sometimes it alternates between strings 6 and 4, sometimes it alternates between strings 6 and 5, sometimes it alternates between strings 5 and 4, sometimes all the bass notes are played on the same string, and sometimes it is a mixture of all of this. It can take quite a lot of practise to get all these bass picking patterns correct and it is easy to hit the wrong bass string. If you are struggling with this, just trying playing the same bass string in each bar instead of alternating between strings. It won't sound as good but it will make it easier to play. Also be mindful when playing alternating bass notes on adjacent strings as it can be very easy for your finger or pick to catch the adjacent vibrating string and get a buzzing sound. Just make sure you are accurate and are attacking the string with the finger or pick at a suitable angle.

This is about all I need to say about this piece. It is quite a tricky piece to play with it's fast tempo and changing bass pattern but with practise you should be able to get it, even if you can't play it quite as fast as the original. Once you are competent playing it, you could also introduce the slide for the fill sections if you wish to make it sound more authentic.

Thanks for Reading,
Neil