Category: Sing and Play

‘Little Satchel’— Learn Sarah Jarosz and John Leventhal’s Take on a Traditional Tune

On “Little Satchel,” the most traditional number on Sarah Jarosz’s brilliant new album, World on the Ground (see link to review below), Jarosz sings and plays clawhammer banjo while her producer, John Leventhal, lends spare but effective guitar parts. Leventhal’s instrument—a late 1930s Gibson J-35 that he has owned for…

Adam Perlmutter
July 21, 2022

singer-songwriter Maurice Tani seated and holding an acoustic guitar

‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ Learn an Easy Guitar Version of this Classic Popularized by Elvis

"Are You Lonesome Tonight" was a big hit for Elvis. For this easy guitar arrangement in the key of G major, we’re going to concentrate on just the main body of the song.

Maurice Tani
June 5, 2022

How to Play James Taylor’s Timeless Cowboy Lullaby “Sweet Baby James”

Here are some tips on how to play "Sweet Baby James,” the 1970 title track of James Taylor’s second album. Taylor himself has called it his best song.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
May 29, 2022

Watch Joan Armatrading Play Her Classic Ballad “Love and Affection”

Watch Joan Armatrading play "Love and Affection" on her Ovation 12-string guitar, and learn some tips for playing the song with her rich chord voicings.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
May 4, 2022

Aoife O’Donovan’s ‘Prodigal Daughter’

Once you’ve gotten a feel for the fingerpicking pattern, played in dropped-C tuning, look for ways to add your own variations to the song.

Adam Perlmutter
May 1, 2022

Learn a Simple Guitar Arrangement of “I’m Sitting On Top of the World”

This arrangement is taken at a relaxed tempo, using a handful of open and first-position chords—C, F, A7, D7, G7—along with a couple more sophisticated but easy-to-play shapes.

Maurice Tani
April 27, 2022

singer-songwriter maurice tani seated holding an acoustic guitar

Learn to Play an Easy Fingerstyle Guitar Arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do”

You wouldn’t normally think of the work of Irving Berlin as an acoustic guitar campfire song, but in this installment, Berlin’s “What’ll I Do” takes the spotlight.

Kate Koenig
April 11, 2022

Learn an Easy Guitar Version of “House of the Rising Sun” Using Simple Chords

Here's an easy arrangement for guitar of "House of the Rising Sun" that's great as a campfire song—whether you're cooking dinner inside or outside.

Maurice Tani
March 21, 2022

Norman Blake with acoustic guitar outdoors

Guitar Transcription: Norman Blake’s Take on “Just Tell Them That You Saw Me,” an Early Tin Pan Alley Song

Rather than strumming full chords, Norman Blake's acoustic guitar version of "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me" features a taut melody on the bass strings.

Adam Perlmutter
March 13, 2022

Manhattan acoustic guitar campfire songs

Learn a Streamlined Guitar Arrangement of the Rodgers & Hart Classic “Manhattan”

Some of the chords you'll play in this guitar arrangement of Rogers & Hart's classic tune "Manhattan" are a bit sophisticated, but they’re all pretty easy to play.

Maurice Tani
February 13, 2022

Bob Dylan holds a guitar in a promotional photo from Columbia Records

Tips to Play ‘Tangled Up in Blue,’ Bob Dylan’s Apparently Unfinished Masterpiece

Here are tips for playing Bob Dylan's "Tangled up in Blue," as arranged on The Bootleg Series, Vol. 14 in an intimate and intense version with just guitar, harmonica and bass.

Adam Perlmutter
January 23, 2022

Megan and Rebecca Lowell, aka Larkin Poe "Self Made Man" performance for Acoustic Guitar Sessions In Place

Learn to Play Larkin Poe’s “She’s a Self Made Man” on Guitar

The title track of Larkin Poe’s 2020 album Self Made Man is a blues rock banger, with crunchy electric guitar by Rebecca Lovell & scorching slide by Megan Lovell.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
January 2, 2022

beautiful dreamer acoustic guitar campfire songs

Learn an Easy Guitar Version of the Classic American Tune “Beautiful Dreamer”

“Beautiful Dreamer” was originally written in the key of Eb major. Our arrangement transposes it to the more guitar-friendly key of C, with just a handful of chords.

Maurice Tani
December 12, 2021

Blues Lesson: Learn Jontavious Willis’ Take on “Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home”

Here's an open-G arrangement of the traditional blues tune "Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home"

Jontavious Willis
November 29, 2021

lucinda williams black-and-white portrait by shelby lee adams

Watch Lucinda Williams’ Classic Performance of “Passionate Kisses”

To play the acoustic guitar rhythm part of Lucinda Williams' "Passionate Kisses", capo at the fourth fret and use C shapes, which sound in the key of E major.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
September 22, 2021

“It Had to Be You”: A Guitar-Friendly Arrangement of a Great American Songbook Favorite

The title of “It Had to Be You” instantly calls its famous melody to mind. Written by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn in 1924, it has been covered countless times.

Kate Koenig
May 14, 2021

Campfire Songs: Learn to Strum “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”

Learn a simple acoustic guitar arrangement of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," a 1920s chart topper that's been revisited by countless musicians over the years.

Kate Koenig
April 28, 2021

photograph of an asphalt road on a gray day in ireland

Learn to Play “Rocky Road to Dublin”

Learn slip-jig meter and master this difficult, but instantly recognizable and rousing, Irish song.

Danny Carnahan
April 17, 2021

close up of hand picking strings over the soundhole of an acoustic guitar

Easy Fingerpicking Lesson: How to Play “House of the Rising Sun”

"House of the Rising Sun" is surprisingly easy and fun to play on guitar. Learn a basic picking pattern and get rocking!

David Hamburger
April 10, 2021

Danny Carnahan smiling with his acoustic guitar resting across his lap

“Black Velvet Band” — Learn to Play this Popular Irish Waltz

This waltz-time tale is quite straightforward and easy to sing and play, as the chorus and the verses follow the same melody and chord changes.

Danny Carnahan
March 16, 2021

Maurice Tani performing Ragtime Cowboy Joe on guitar.

Campfire Songs: Learn to Play ‘Ragtime Cowboy Joe’

Back in 1912, when ragtime was still a part of the musical zeitgeist, the second best-selling song of the year was “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” a bouncy Western tune recorded by Bob Roberts. Telling a whimsical tale of a cowboy who sings ragtime music to his herd, the song’s lyrics were…

Kate Koenig
February 22, 2021

Acoustic Classic: Learn to Play Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles”

When outlaw country singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker died last October at 78, he left behind a rich body of work, comprising more than 30 albums. But the only song of his to become a major hit was “Mr. Bojangles,” which he first recorded for the Atco label in 1968. Inspired…

Adam Perlmutter
January 28, 2021

Ben Harper playing slide guitar in studio

Video Lesson: Ben Harper Teaches His #1 Anthem “Better Way”

Released as the first single from Ben Harper’s album Both Sides of the Gun, “Better Way” topped the AAA charts in 2006, but the song’s call to stand up for your rights and ideals continues to reverberate. The (Dixie) Chicks have covered “Better Way” as a rocking show finale, as…

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
November 20, 2020

Tips for Playing “I Still Miss Someone” by Johnny Cash

Cash played the original version - which features just three chords - with a capo on the first fret.

Andrew DuBrock
November 5, 2020

John Prine and Bonnie Raitt perform Angel From Montgomery.

“Angel from Montgomery”— Here’s How to Play John Prine’s Best-Known Song

“I am an old woman.” So goes the opening of “Angel from Montgomery,” first released in 1971 by John Prine, who was neither a woman nor old. Along with songs like “Hello in There” and “Sam Stone” on his self-titled debut album, “Angel From Montgomery” introduced Prine as a songwriter…

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
October 9, 2020