Hello and welcome to FGM’s free lesson portion of our monthly
newsletter. This month it’s time to tackle a Doc Watson inspired
version of the famous flatpicking tune “Black Mt. Rag.” There is no
question that Doc made this tune famous amongst guitar pickers and his
phrasing and inflections on this tune are yet to be be equaled. He
has, through the years, inspired so many of us to flatpick the guitar
and his style has indeed paved the way countless acoustic guitarists.
For this lesson I have
arranged two new versions of the tune. The first time through I tried
to convey the melody in a way that was not too difficult. Then, the
second time through I improvised a more intermediate/advanced break
through the chord changes. This version is not transcribed from a Doc
Watson recording, rather it is a collage of ideas with a clear Doc
inspired feel.
“Black Mt. Rag” is not
your typical AABB fiddle tune form. For the chord player, the first
two sections are played the same, but there are two distinct melodies
over the chords. To me, the first two sections are eight measure a
piece with no repeats (AB). Then, there are C and D sections that are
also eight measures a piece with no repeats. The chord player will
play different turnarounds in these sections and the melody clearly
has two new sections. Hence, the form of the tune is ABCD with each
section being eight measures long.
When picking the melody you will
find your left hand switching from third position to first position
quite a bit. If there is an open string, then you can shift positions
while the string is ringing. Otherwise, you must take extra care of
the slides, for that is how you will move between positions smoothly.
I do not like to stifle guitarists with too many fingerings, but you
must slide with a finger that will allow yourself to grab the next
note with an available finger!
For the second break, I
took more melodic liberties. I tried to incorporate some cool ides
that sound hip are not to hard too hard play. You will notice how I
enjoy using open strings to jump up to the eighth fret and back down
quickly. This pattern covers a lot of musical space and the sound is
impressive without being too challenging. Check out the mp3 to hear
the effect open strings have on the ear. As always, it is not
necessary to learn the solo note for note, rather pick out a few of
your favorite ideas and try to work them into musical ideas that you
may already know.
I hope you enjoy
adding “Black Mt. Rag” to your list of tunes. I often run across
“Black Mt. Rag” at jam sessions, especially flatpicking jams! If you
have questions, comments, or concerns on this e-lesson, past lessons,
great ideas for future lessons, drop me a line at [email protected]
