Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten taught herself how to play the instrument, but with no conventional knowledge of tunings or techniques she developed her own unique style known as ‘Cotton Style.’
Guitar Lessons
Lesson 16 – Nine Pound Hacksaw
this is a new arrangement of the classic ‘Nine Pound Hammer’ based on Merle Travis’s version and played in the key of E.
Lesson 15 – The Caravan Exercise
The song Caravan was written by Juan Tizol and recorded by Duke Ellington in 1937. Since then has been performed by thousands of artists in styles ranging from jazz to bluegrass, surf to rap, and everything in between.
Lesson 14 – Applying the Fundamentals
By this point you should find your fingers becoming more coordinated and your thumb growing independent. This means it will now take less conscious effort as your motor skills will begin to take over the repetitive parts and you can concentrate on some of the more exciting aspects of your playing.
Lesson 13 – A Few Chords and How They Work (Part Two)
The following chart shows five common positions for the 7th chord, the root is noted with a diamond (note: the numbers 1-5 across the top are there to identify these forms for our purposes, they aren’t the proper names).
Lesson 12 – A Few Chords and How They Work (Part One)
The list of chords, their positions and inversions is pretty exhaustive and seemingly endless. Instead of writing a huge chart for you to try and memorize, we’re going to save a little time and space
Guitarist Profiles
Elizabeth Cotten
She taught herself how to play the instrument, but with no conventional knowledge of tunings or techniques she developed her own unique style known as ‘Cotton Style.’
Willie Brown
Born in Clarkdale, Mississippi, Willie Brown (not to be confused with William Brown from Arkansas) was among the earliest blues musicians, a talented guitarist and singer whose playing had a tremendous influence on the development of Delta Blues.
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell’s music is urgent and commanding. His playing is hugely rhythmic and dynamic, sparse and overflowing, passionate and heartfelt.
Blind Blake
Arthur Blake, a.k.a. Blind Blake, was a prolific and talented guitarist who is often referred to as ‘King of the Ragtime Guitar.’ His complex and intricate fingerstyle techniques and diverse repertoire have influenced and inspired generations of players, including Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Willie McTell.
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson combined the passion of gospel music with the intensity of the blues unlike any other artist. His deep, gravelly vocals soared mightily over his haunted, burning slide guitar, creating a hard-hitting spiritual experience which remains unparalleled.
Blind Willie McTell
Willie McTell was a Piedmont musician, remarkable not only for his powerful, clean and crisp 12-string fingerstyle technique and the ability to jump between ragtime, blues, slide, gospel, country and popular music; but also for his vocals, which sing through clear as a bell.
