Friends:
In this month's lesson I'm really excited to share this refreshed look at my favorite Broonzy solo.
The story of "House Rent Stomp" started at least as early as 1927 with his debut recording for Paramount records. He was accompanied by John "Thomps" Thomas on this recording...
Friends:
Here's part 2 of this month's lesson. As you will notice, Graham's arrangement of "Moanin'" underwent significant development over the course of the next year. This version is more closely linked with the original composition as performed by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
Friends:
This month is a two-part post. The first focuses on Davy Graham's early arrangement of "Moanin'", originally written by Bobby Timmons and recorded in 1958 by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
Graham performed this version on the Oct. 5, 1963 broadcast of Hullabaloo! ...
Friends:
I'm very sorry for the duplicate post. In my rush to get everything finalized I mistakenly sent it out yesterday without attaching my performance video to the header, and I worry many people ignored the post since there was no video attached. Lets try this again.
A recent con...
2025-04-02 17:57:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Welcome, or welcome back!
This month I'm taking you through Renbourn's arrangement of the traditional Irish fiddle tune "The South Wind," or "South Wind" as it was titled on his 1998 record Traveller's Prayer. I don't know exactly when Renbourn arranged the piece, bu...
2025-03-01 14:03:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Welcome back for another monthly lesson. I've decided to take the opportunity to celebrate Fahey's birthday with a post one one of his compositions this month. Fahey was born on the 28th of February in 1939. It's a special day for me, besides the obvious reasons, because I celebrat...
2025-02-01 14:02:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm excited to present an old favorite this month. Leo Kottke's "Easter" is one of the very first fingerstyle solos I was introduced to by my father, and it remains as one of my favorite compositions to play and listen to.
The earliest recording of "Easter" can be heard on th...
2025-01-01 14:02:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm excited to share my work on "Guitar Chimes" with you this month. With each new solo of Blake's that I transcribe, I believe I learn a little more about his technique and get a little bit closer to the "truth" regarding how he may have achieved his sound.
The strongest asser...
Friends:
This post is in response to our last round of audience feedback. Several of you recommended something by Nathan Salsburg, this is a thank you for participating in the process!
The choice to pick the title track of his first album may seem contrived, but it was in fact the fir...
2024-11-01 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm pleased to feature the work of Michael Hedges again this month. There are always many twists and turns as the days of each month count down. Frankly, I had no intention of doing this piece but it got in my ear around the first of the month and I found myself unable to put the g...
2024-10-01 14:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Bittersweet this month as my summer winds to a close and I head back to the hustle that is public education. I realized last night that we are closing out 5 years on Patreon, this came as a bit of a surprise. Thank you all for keeping the project alive.
I wrestled with what ...
Friends:
My summer has come to a close but I felt like doing something special to celebrate our 5 year anniversary on Patreon. I hope everyone is excited for a double drop this month.
"Sunflower River Blues" may be the most popular piece from Fahey's repertoire. I wrestled with which ...
2024-09-01 13:35:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Thank you for being so active in last month's suggestion thread. There were many suggestions to consider, ultimately steering this month's content in the direction of another Renbourn instrumental.
Friends:
We are long overdue for some community feedback. I have some ideas about trying to organize posts by tuning, genre, difficulty, etc., but have yet to implement any changes. I see the content here as falling into a few subgroups:
Largest priority - 60s-70s folk/blues - th...
Friends:
Welcome back! I'm excited to share a lesson on an important artist we have yet to cover here on Patreon.
Alex de Grassi has been recording since the late 70s, a prominent early presence on the Windham Hill label, and one of the most technically impressive players I've had th...
2024-07-01 13:02:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This month I'm excited to present another fine Peter Lang solo from his first record.
"Young Man, Young Man, Look At Your Shoes" should appeal to most here, it is simple enough for more beginner fingerstyle players to find accessible, while having enough melodic and harmonic...
2024-06-01 13:05:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm pleased to be back this month with what I believe to be one of the most iconic blues numbers of the era. Though I've been very hesitant to do this one because of how frequently this has been covered on the internet, both performances and lessons, I felt I could no longer idly s...
2024-05-01 13:04:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
It's a pleasure to be back this month with a huge post. If any of you have been following the narrative of this Patreon, Leo Kottke's My Feet are Smiling record will always stand alone as the most important for my development on the guitar. Even though I tagged along with ...
2024-04-01 14:02:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Here's something a little different. As some of you know, sometimes the breeze catches my ear and it whispers something that I may want to consider for the next post. This one came to me as a random member suggestion last month. I was already in a Renbourn mood, planning on doing a...
2024-03-01 14:35:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Welcome back for another monthly video and lesson. This month we're back to some John Renbourn. I knew I wanted to go back to the British Isles this month, and was unsure of what to do. I felt it would be well worth the effort of transcribing another Renbourn solo, and I really wan...
2024-02-01 14:02:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Im pleased to close out 2023 with one of Fahey's most epic collages. "When the Springtime Comes Again" was first commercially released on the Death Chants, Breakdowns, & Military Waltzes album in 19...
2024-01-01 15:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Aloha
I know it may be unexpected to be seeing a Hawaiian tune on the first of December, but often the work I do here is a reflection of current events in my life. I recently reconnected with a great old friend who lives on Lahaina, and I also think of this as one of my favor...
2023-12-01 14:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm pleased to present my first ever attempt at recording a piece using the bottleneck. We've got a way to go but I look forward to doing more in the future. This is also an exciting post because it is a more contemporary Kottke piece and gives me the opportunity to touch on his th...
2023-11-01 13:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
We're back with a transcription of a 1940s blues number this month. William Brown's "Mississippi Blues" was recorded by Alan Lomax at the Sadie Beck plantation (Arkansas) in 1942. Other than this, little is known about William Brown. What seems to be accepted today, is this William...
2023-10-01 13:00:43 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm pleased to offer another lesson focused on the work of Peter Lang. This solo was originally included on his premier LP, The Thing at the Nursery Room Window, recorded in 1973. You can listen to both the 2023-09-01 12:59:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm excited to share this classic composition from what I view as the most important/influential solo acoustic guitar record, 6- and 12-String Guitar. "Ojo" has remained in Kottke's concert repertoire through the decades, and while it has undergone some development with so...
2023-08-01 13:03:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This month we're exploring more wonderful British finger-style. I can't believe this is the first time we're having a look at Martin Carthy, and I'm excited to share my work on documenting this incredible musician with you.
This arrangement is based off a traditional bagpipe ...
2023-07-01 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Welcome back for another monthly lesson. I was thrilled to see so much discussion on last month's post asking for your suggestions. I couldn't help but move forward with the piece that seemed to have the most suggestions/upvotes for this post. I will continue to weigh the other suggestions and se...
2023-06-01 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostFriends:
I'm relieved the academic year is winding down for my main job. Most of my students are now rehearsing their music for graduation ceremonies and there is a collective sigh of relief from the staff that we only have about 40 days of work left. It's always hard to believe I make it t...
2023-05-02 14:20:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Welcome back for another important dive into the past. This month we look at Gary Davis' arrangement of "Samson and Delilah" as performed in 1967. The piece is considered "traditional," but would most likely be credited to Blind Willie Johnson as he first recorded his version in 19...
2023-05-01 13:30:59 +0000 UTC View Post