Passed down from the late 1800s, the folk ballad “John Henry” tells the story of a Black steel driver who dies in an effort to best a steam drill in laying down steel for the construction of a railroad. Henry is thought to have been a real person, whose proof…
With its graceful melody and romantic glow, the song is an acoustic repertoire staple—sung at countless weddings and song circles.
ADVERTISEMENT
This guitar transcription of Lead Belly's blues murder ballad "John Hardy" uses the tuning of low-B from the 1940 Library of Congress recording.
“Casey Jones” is one of the great traditional American folk songs. Here's how to play a basic campfire strumming version on guitar.
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…
ADVERTISEMENT
"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.
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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.
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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
“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.
Here's an open-G arrangement of the traditional blues tune "Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home"
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
Learn slip-jig meter and master this difficult, but instantly recognizable and rousing, Irish song.
"House of the Rising Sun" is surprisingly easy and fun to play on guitar. Learn a basic picking pattern and get rocking!
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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…
ADVERTISEMENT
