Peter, Paul & Mary Pack

Lessons

• Lesson 1: Puff The Magic Dragon - Peter Paul and Mary - Guitar Lesson

  Many years ago we put up a Free Campfire Lesson on Puff The Magic Dragon, and I happened to mention that someday I would probably get to a more detailed one. Well, someday has come, thanks to a request on our Forum, and here we have a blow-by-blow description and demonstration of exactly what Peter Yarrow played as the introduction to this classic.
  
  In the earlier lesson I mentioned that Travis picking was one of the ways to approach Puff and in this one we look at the specific notes and strings that Peter used. There is also a segment on a second guitar part, as can almost be heard in just the left channel of the original recording.

• Lesson 2: Leaving On A Jet Plane Guitar Lesson - Peter, Paul & Mary

  This is a short look at how Peter, Paul & Mary arranged and performed John Denver's early song, Leaving On A Jet Plane.

• Lesson 3: Going To The Zoo Guitar Lesson - Peter, Paul & Mary

  Going To The Zoo is a song by Tom Paxton that was made famous by Peter, Paul & Mary. This kids favorite is a blast to play by, for, and with kids of all ages.

• Lesson 4: Early Morning Rain

  Early Morning Rain was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary in 1965, which put Gordon Lightfoot on the map at the beginning of his songwriting career. It had been released before but PPM had a much bigger audience than Canadian artists Ian & Sylvia, at least in the US. Typical of their arrangements, they expanded the chord progression and added great harmony and answering vocals.

  This song is best done with what I call 'generic' fingerpicking, meaning there is no one correct way to do it, it can be changed and improvised every time. This lesson is really a comprehensive introduction to this style of fingerpicking, showing some core patterns and variations, and then examples of embellishments and fills. Once the student understands and can execute these techniques, the door is open to thousands of songs that can be played in this style.

• Lesson 5: The Wedding Song (There Is Love) - Paul Stooky - Guitar Lesson

  In 1970 Peter, Paul & Mary worked on solo projects. As part of his solo album, Paul Stooky recorded a song he had written for Peter’s wedding.
  
  The Wedding Song (There Is Love) has continued to be one of the most requested and played songs at wedding to this day. It consists of a basic chord progression with simple picking but the original sound, thanks to a low-pitched 12-sting guitar, was very distinctive and original.
  
  This lesson shows how it’s done on the 12-string, but also how best to approximate the sound on a 6-string in standard tuning.

• Lesson 6: A Soalin'

  A Soalin' started life as a guitar exercise by Noel (Paul) Stookey. He came up with the short pair of melodies in counterpoint. His band mate, Peter Yarrow noodled along in the key of E Minor (capoed to the 2nd fret making it really F# Minor), they added some old English lyrics sung in a round style, and the 4-measure exercise became a favorite challenge for guitar students and players from 1963 on.

  
  This short lesson breaks down the way Paul originally fingered it, adds some alternate ideas, has some thoughts on Peter's noodling, and even includes tips on harmonics that can be used.