Song For Juliby Jesse Colin Young

Aside from a career with The Youngbloods, Jesse Colin Young put out some great solo albums. His 1973 album Song For Juli included Ridgetop, Morning Sun, Miss Hesitation, along with the title song, written with his wife Suzi, to their daughter Julia.

The song opens with a beautiful fingerpicked intro, which is really the whole progression played one time through. That is followed by some jazzy solos featuring the piano then a flute, before settling into a short vocal verse.

This lesson covers the intro, which has a lot of flexibility as far as the notes go. It does not have to be exactly like the original studio recording but there are some important reference points and techniques. Jesse does not keep a steady alternating bass pattern going. It is usually a mono bass pattern, meaning repeating the same note more than alternating. This could be difficult for students who are already proficient in alternating.