[matt_theripper]

I just started taking lessons again. Today was my first one. The guy I'm taking lessons from is a phenomenal guitarist, and unlike my last teacher he can teach me bluegrass/folk/acoustic type stuff (my last teacher was a shredder through and through). I've never been able to get the syncopated, alternating bass lines down when strumming bluegrass type tunes. He tought me Blue Moon of Kentucky and Friend of the Devil today, and I'm already a much better guitarist for it. I'd never really understood how that type of playing worked, but I'm definately starting too.

Anyway... he asked me for suggestions of what I wanted to learn and I drew a blank as to specific tunes. I've got some faster and harder tunes I'd like to learn, Hartford's "Steam Powered Aeroplane" Merle Haggard's "Nine Pound Hammer" and "Buffalo Skinner" preferably the Tim O'Brien version. However, I have a feeling I'm probably going to have to work up to those. So in the mean time I would like some suggestions for other John Hartford, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, Doc Watson or other Traditional type songs. I want to get a passing familiarity with at least a few before going back to my next lesson.

Thanks in advance!

[dadfad]

Matt, "Wildwood Flower" is almost considered a "must" in Bluegrass, a sort of "mark on the bar" for a flatpicker to be able to play it well. There are other "standards" too, like "Soldier's Joy," "The Arkansas Traveller," and "Pretty Polly" (Handsome Molly). I'd look into some Merle Travis who did a lot of great tunes. Merle usually used a fingerstyle or a hybrid pick and fingers himself, but many of his tunes have become straight flatpickers favorites like "John Henry," "The Cannonball Rag," "Walkin' The Strings" and "Long Gone." ("Nine Pound Hammer" was an old Travis tune.) Doc Watson has a lot of good tunes too. (He was sort of a Merle protege I was told.) like "Deep River Blues." I'm sure Jim knows a lot of others he can add too.

[okiejohn]

There's an old one called Under The Double Eagle that has some similarities to Wildwood Flower, in fact I like to alternate verses of the two.....works pretty well.

Freight Train as suggested here on another thread is not too shabby.

Oops, never mind on the freight train, thats for finger pickin'.

This post has been edited by okiejohn: 19 October 2006 - 10:58 AM

[tenn_jim]

Matt,

Great topic. Many of us learned lead guitar thru our flatpicking.

As DADFAD said, Wildwood Flower is the granddaddy of flatpicking songs. Most original flatpicking songs were played in major keys, this one in C Major.

There are a lot of great flatpicking songs. I would recommend you begin with simple songs in different keys to get your finger dexterity up.

1. Wildwood Flower (C Maj)
2. Guitar Boogie (E Maj)
3. Under the Double Eagle (G Maj)
4. Sunny Side of the Mountain (D Maj)

When you feel comfortable with this, try some more complex tunes like Alabama Jubilee, Salty Dog, Beaumont Rag.

I'll think a little more about this and try to let you know my thoughts.

I decided to include my own tab for Wildwood Flower just in case you wanted it.

CODE

THE WILDWOOD FLOWER
In the style of the Carter Family

Standard Tuning.

Key of C Major

Pretty easy song to flatpick.  Mother Maybelle Carter was the master of this song and
played the strums in scratch rhythm.  Her style was to semi mute the strings when she
strummed.  I've shown this at the top of the tab with a ^for up and v for down.

                              
        
             ^v            ^v            ^v            ^v    ^v    ^
e|-----------0-------------0-------------1-------------0-----0-----0---------|
B|-----------1-------1-----1-------------0-------------1-----1-----1---------|
G|--------0--0--0h2--------0-------------0-------------0-----0-----0---------|
D|--2--3----------------2-----2h3--2--0-----2p0-----------2------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------------2--3-----------3------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

                        
             ^v            ^v            ^v            ^v    ^v    ^
e|-----------0-------------0-------------1-------------0-----0-----0---------|
B|-----------1-------1-----1-------------0-------------1-----1-----1---------|
G|--------0--0--0h2--------0-------------0-------------0-----0-----0---------|
D|--2--3----------------2-----2h3--2--0-----2p0-----------2------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------------2--3-----------3------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

        
                   ^v          ^v    ^v      ^v          ^             ^v
e|--------------0--0--0--------0-----0-------1-----------0-------------0---------|
B|-----------1-----1-----3--1--1-----1-------1--1--------1-------------1---------|
G|--------0--------0-----------0--0--0--0h2--0-----2--0--0-------------0---------|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------0--0h2------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------3--------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
         ^v      ^           ^v            ^v    ^v    ^

    
                   ^v          ^v    ^v      ^v          ^             ^v
e|--------------0--0--0--------0-----0-------1-----------0-------------0---------|
B|-----------1-----1-----3--1--1-----1-------1--1--------1-------------1---------|
G|--------0--------0-----------0--0--0--0h2--0-----2--0--0-------------0---------|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------0--0h2------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------3--------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


e|-------0-------0-----------1-------------0-----0-----0---------------------|
B|-------1-------1-----------0-------------1-----1-----1---------------------|
G|-------0-------0--0--------0-------------0-----0-----0---------------------|
D|--0h2-----0h2--------2--0-----2p0-----------2------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------2--3-----------3------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|


e|-------0-------0-----------1-------------0-----0-----0---------------------|
B|-------1-------1-----------0-------------1-----1-----1---------------------|
G|-------0-------0--0--------0-------------0-----0-----0---------------------|
D|--0h2-----0h2--------2--0-----2p0-----------2------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------2--3-----------3------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
          
                  ^v          ^v    ^v      ^v          ^v            ^v
e|--------------0--0--0--------0-----0-------1-----------0-------------0-------|
B|-----------------1-----3--1--1-----1-------1--1--------1-------------1-------|
G|--------2--3-----0-----------0--0--0--0h2--0-----2--0--0-------------0-------|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------0--0h2----------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------3-------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

         ^v      ^           ^v            ^v    ^v
e|-------0-------0-----------1-------------0-----0---------------------------|
B|-------1-------1-----------0-------------1-----1---------------------------|
G|-------0-------0--0--------0-------------0-----0---------------------------|
D|--0h2-----0h2--------2--0-----2p0-----------2------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------2--3------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

The Carter Family

C                               G7          C
I will twine and will mingle my raven black hair
C                             G7        C
With the roses so red and the lilies so fair
C                             F       C
And the myrtle so green of an emerald hue
C                        G7       C
And the pale emanita and islip so blue

Oh he promised to love me, he promised to love
And cherish me always all others above
I woke from my dream and my idol was clay
My passion for loving had vanished away

Oh he taught me to love him, he called me his flower
A blossom to cheer him through life's weary hour
But now he has gone and left me alone
The wild flowers to weep and the wild birds to moan

I'll dance and I'll sing and my life will be gay
I'll banish this weeping, drive troubles away
I'll live yet to see him regret this dark hour
When he won and neglected this frail wildwood flower.

This post has been edited by tenn_jim: 19 October 2006 - 10:15 AM

[matt_theripper]

Thanks for the suggestions. I definately want to learn Soggy Dog at some po int.

I think my main problem is that I'm only really familiar with all of these older tunes because of thew newer(ish) musicians who play them often (i.e. Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien etc).

Guess it's time to go pick up some more CDs.

[dadfad]

Thanks for the suggestions. I definately want to learn Soggy Dog at some point.

I think my main problem is that I'm only really familiar with all of these older tunes because of thew newer(ish) musicians who play them often (i.e. Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien etc).

Guess it's time to go pick up some more CDs.

If you meant "Salty Dog" I did a real quick demo of the progression of the tune in key of G awhile back on SoundClick for someone who asked. Let me find it...


SALTY DOG

[tenn_jim]

Thanks for the suggestions. I definately want to learn Soggy Dog at some point.

I think my main problem is that I'm only really familiar with all of these older tunes because of thew newer(ish) musicians who play them often (i.e. Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien etc).

Guess it's time to go pick up some more CDs.

If you meant "Salty Dog" I did a real quick demo of the progression of the tune in key of G awhile back on SoundClick for someone who asked. Let me find it...


SALTY DOG

Great rendition Dadfad!

[matt_theripper]

I did indeed mean Salty Dog... Don't know how I mistyped that.