Reverend Gary Davis would have to be considered one of the founding fathers of the Country Blues style that has become so popular among acoustic guitar players. He spent his entire life playing Blues and Gospel tunes with a Ragtime feel and passed this down to the next generation in the likes of Jorma Kaukonen, Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn, and Roy Bookbinder, among countless others. This package offers a wide variety of pieces that will present fun challenges for intermediate and advanced level fingerstyle students.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Candyman Guitar Lesson - Rev. Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis is one of the most influential fingerstyle guitarists in history. This lesson is on one of his most famous songs, Candyman. It uses mostly an alternating bass pattern, although it is inverted from the standard lower string first pattern. Rev. Davis referred to this style as 'old fashioned picking' and felt it was somewhat elementary compared to some of his more complex pieces. We also look at his instrumental version called Two Step Candyman.
Lesson 2: Cocaine Blues Guitar Lesson - Rev. Gary Davis
Cocaine Blues is another Rev. Gary Davis tune in a style that he called "old fashioned picking", meaning steady alternating bass notes and not too complex in his eyes. It is one of his most covered songs, having been played by the likes of Dave Van Ronk and Jackson Browne for example. This lesson presents a simple way of accompanying the verse and chorus as well as more complicated variations and a short instrumental solo.
Lesson 3: She's Funny That Way Guitar Lesson
Country Blues great Reverend Gary Davis played a couple of different styles over the years, starting with Blues and Ragtime before concentrating on Gospel in his middle years, and returning a bit to the Ragtime style in his later years. *She’s Funny That Way*is an 8-bar tune that uses a chord progression commonly used by Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1920s like Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. It is in 12/8 time and this fingerstyle lesson includes a segment that helps demystify time signatures in general.
Lesson 4: Sally, Where’d You Get Your Liquor - Guitar Lesson
*Sally, Where’d You Get Your Whiskey*is one of Reverend Gary Davis’ more whimsical tunes, although it falls into the blues category of doing away with an unfaithful woman. It is more Ragtime than Blues and is done in swing time. It uses easy chords and nice runs but has a challenging stretch as well as the added complication of singing over a syncopated guitar part.
Lesson 5: I’ll Be All Right Someday - Guitar Lesson
*I’ll Be All Right Someday *is a catchy ragtime song of Rev. Gary Davis’ that uses some quick changing partial chord shapes up and down the neck. Neil’s arrangement incorporates a lot of ideas that Jorma Kaukonen added to the song as well.
Lesson 6: Hesitation Blues - Rev. Gary Davis - Guitar Lesson
Hesitation Blues is one of Gary Davis’ most popular songs and has been covered by dozens of great blues artists. This lesson is really based the way he played it on the recording Lo’ I Be With You Always, a 10-minutes version with lots of entertaining verses sung over the basic accompaniment. There is also a discussion about the chord progression and examples of some extra licks and fills heard in other versions of the song.
Lesson 7: Death Don't Have No Mercy
Rev. Gary Davis was one of the most influential blues players of the last century. Death Don't Have No Mercy is one of his iconic tunes that was covered and rearranged by artists like Hot Tuna and The Grateful Dead. This lesson looks specifically at the way Davis recorded it on his album Harlem Street Singer. There will be a follow up lesson looking at Jorma Kaukonen's versions and improvising over the progression but this is where it started for all of us who love to play in his style.