TA La I red ALON BOOSEY & HAWKES.The Josh White Guitar Method written by Josh White ana Ivor Mairants Part I ‘The Rudiments of Music and Reading from Cifra The Basic Rhythms and Chords for Vocal Accompaniments Solo Blues and Fill ins Part IT The Music, Words and Guitar accompaniments for the following Songs as played and sung by Josh White PUBLIC LIBRARY OF DES Mi N T You don’t know my mind ‘On top of Old Smokey Molly Malone (Cockles and Mussels) ‘The Riddle Song (I gave my love a cherry) Lord have Mercy Jerry the Mule (Timber) In the evening ‘THE MUSIC EXCHANGE 109 West 48 Street New York, N.Y, 10036 | TAT ami of atl robber Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd Sole Selling Agents: Boosey & Hawkes Ltd. London ~ Paris ~ Bonn ~ Capetown + Sydney » Toronto ~ Buenos Aires » New YorkCopyright © 1956 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Copyright for all Countries B. & H.18282Action Pictures of Josh White I want to commend and thank Ivor Mairants foraccomplish- ing what has heretofore been known as ‘the task impossible’ In other words, to set into musical copy the notions of a com- pletely unorthodox ‘musician’—one who, technically, can neither read nor write a single note of music as it is known to the world today. The remarkable part of all this is the fact that during the one week that we had to work on this book, I had to do four shows for the B.B.C. with the George Mitchell Choir, rehearsing with them, writing with Charles Chilton and his Girl Friday, Sheila, not forgetting the dozens of tele- phone interruptions plus being overtaken by the “flu, all at the same time. =o eae Playing and Singing on his Broadcasting and Recording dates Vii = if Ud AU A B.& H 18232 Photos: Jack EvansPreface By Tvor MAaIRANTS This isa book for the guitar player who singsa little or the singer who plays the guitar little. It is a book for those who can or cannot read music and deals mainly with accompaniment to the voice interlaced with solo passages. I would say that everybody who is interested in folk songs, blues, jazz songs or popular songs has heard of Josh White. Personally, I think his guitar accompaniments contain some of the most delicious blues phrasing ever recorded and consider it a privilege and pleasure to have worked with him on this book. With the popularity now reached by the guitar as an accompanying instrument, it is essential for this type of book to be available, regardless of the player’s ability to read music. ‘Therefore, this work combines Josh White’s style and method of playing and my own knowledge and experience in writing for the guitar. My ‘guinea pig’, the person who was sufficiently keen and patient to have this method tried out on him was B.B.C. producer, Charles Chilton, himself a guitar player, who has kindly written a Foreword. I am sure there could be no more suitable person to do this since he has been responsible for most of Josh White’s B.B.C. broadcasts in Great Britain. Moreover, these programmes were personally produced by Charles Chilton, who was thus given many opportunities for a close observation of Josh’s work. Foreword Thave known and worked with Josh White for a number of years and consider him to be one of the foremost folk singers and guitarists in the world today. My first association with Josh was early in the war when a half-hour programme of Negro folk songs, played and sung by him and Huddy Leadbetter, was broadcast in my ‘Radio Rhythm Club’ series. As the programme was recorded in New York, I had no direct contact with Josh; I had to wait nearly ten years for that privilege. In 1951, when Josh came to England, we devised between us the memorable ‘Glory Road’ series. My work with Josh on that, and many other radio programmes, increased myadmiration for him and his musica hundredfold. I also found, asan amateur guitarist, that his style of playing was having a great influence on me. After some years of playing plectrum guitar, I changed to finger style. Like hundreds of other amateur guitarists in Great Britain today, [like to play and sing folk songs—or accompany other singers—and I learned quite a lot from Josh in this field. Josh’s incomparable style is the result of nearly thirty years of perserverance and practice. He plays the guitar, on an average, six or eight hours a day. All the time he is working out new chords, runs and figures which, being the generous person he is, he is only t00 pleased to pass on to any other guitarist who are willing to sit down and play with him for an hour or two. That is very pleasant for people like myself who are lucky enough to know him personally. But how about others who are also keen to learn to play in the Josh White style but never have the opportunity of meeting him? Unfortunately, Josh, although a first- class musician, does not read music; consequently he is unable to write down his accompaniments and pass them on via the printed Page. One way round this problem, of course, was to get somebody to write them down for him. That is all very well, but many amateur guitarists (and professionals, too) are non-readers or, like myself, poor readers, particularly when the notes are written in any but first position, In the words of the famous New Orleans trumpeter, ‘Wingy’ Mannone, ‘I can read ’em but I can’t separate ’em’. Then how was the problem solved? Personally, I didn’t think it could be—until Ivor Mairants hit on the idea of writing this book. By use of the Spanish Cifra system of notation (a very popular system among the non-reading, Flamenco guitarists of Spain) Ivor has found an infallible method of teaching the Josh White style, Even if you do not read music you can learn to play in the Josh White fashion, easily and confidently. By progressing steadily through the exercises set out in the following pages, you can develop a technique which will enable you to play the accompaniments to the seven selected songs (together with all the slurs, glissandos, etc. that are so characteristic of Josh). You can, if you wish, learn the rudiments of music, too; Ivor has left nothing out. If reading music is difficult for you, you need not worry. A good method is to get a friend to play the exercises or accompaniments over on the piano. Commit them to memory and then pick out the notes on the guitar by the Cifra system. Once you know what you are trying to play, picking out the actual notes is simplicity itself. Finally, beg, borrow or buy all the recordings of Josh White you can lay your hands on. Play them over time and again, particularly those songs which are included in this book. Memorise them, and, with the aid of this excellent tutor, play them. CHARLES CHILTON B. & H.182382PART ONE THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC The Notes, Stave, Clef, Sharps and Flats The Notes in music are named from the first seven letters of the Alphabet:—A. B. C. D. E. F. G. When to any series of these letters, the eighth—which is a repetition of the first—is added, the whole number is termed an octave, and forms a Scale. That series which begins and ends with C, and is played on the white notes of the piano is called the Natural Scale. The notes are placed on, between, above and below, five parallel lines called a Stave:— Lines Spaces In music intended for the 6 String Guitar, the notes are preceded by a character called the Treble or G Clef, which is placed upon the second line of the stave thus:— From this clef the notes upon EG BDF ie AgiC I, the five lines are named: s - and those in the four spaces eA G@D che two notes immediately above and below the stave are: ary If more notes are required, then, what are called /eger-lines are added above and below the stave, the notes placed on or above the leger-lines are:— 2 gz etc. 0-3 eae |e 6. those on and below: bss | | ABCD +? 2 aS The sound of notes depends upon the distance between them: the words tone and semitone, are used to express this. (A tone is equivalent to two semitones), Every series of eight consecutive sounds of an octave becomes a Scale. A Major if played on consecutive degrees of the stave containing intervals of five tones and two semitones; and a minor scale, intervals of three tones, three semitones, and one combined tone and semitone. In the Major Scale the semitones occur between the third and fourth, and the seventh and eighth notes, and in the Harmonic Minor Scale between the second and third, the fifth and sixth, and the seventh and eighth notes. HARMONIC. MAJOR _[S.tone S.tonel MINOR [S. tone S.tonel [S. tone Ear! rFoG A BF ch A coop es) a ACh aD, # All rights reserved Tous droits reserves Copyright © 1956 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. B. & H. 18232 Printed in England |The relative duration or value of notes is indicated by black or white blobs without reference to their position on the stave. They may, or may not, be connected by stems. There are Six kinds of notes (blobs) used in modern notation, the names and appearance which represent their values are:— A SEMIBREVE a white note equals TWO MINIMS A MINIM a white note with a stem or FOUR CROTCHETS equais TWO CROTCRETS A CROTCHET a black note with a stem or EIGHT QUAVERS or FOUR QUAVERS equals TWO QUAVS, | A QUAVER ditto with one tail or SIXTEEN SEMIQUAVERS or EIGHT S.QUAVS. or equals FOUR S.QUAVS.|| TWO S.QUAVS| A S.QUAVER or or equals EIGHT FOUR TWO D.S.QUAVS. || D.S.QUAVS. |] D.S.QUA\ or THIRTY-TWO DEMISEMIQUAVERS or SIXTEEN D.S. QUAVS. It will be seen from the above example, that when two or more Quavers, Semiquavers or Demisemiquavers follow in succession, they are tied together by one, two or three thick lines, which are used instead of hooks or tails. Notes may be raised or lowered in sound or pitch by the use of characters called Sharps and Flats. a Sharp, (f) raises the note before which it is placed, a semitone. a double-Sharp, (x) raises the note, a tone. a Flat, (b) lowers the note, a semitone. a double-Flat, (bb) lowers the note, a tone. a Natural, (4) restores the note, to its normal condition. a GH) or (hb) restores the note, to which a (x) or (bb) has been added, to its former condition. When Sharps or Flats are introduced in the course of a composition, they are termed accidentals, and only affect the notes in the bar before which they are placed. Sharps or Flats, at the beginning of a composition—next after the clef-affect a// the notes on the same. line or in the space, throughout the composition, and is called the Signature. B. & H.18232The Bars, Time-figures, Dots and Rests Every piece of music is divided into equal Measures or portions of Time by vertical lines called Bars;— Every bar must contain a certain number of notes regulated by the Figures, which always follow the signature. A Double-bar, is used to denote either a part, or the whole of a composition, and when Dots are added, the part on the same side as the dots, is Repeated. (i.e. played again.) == = ——— There are two kinds of Time in use, Common and Triple;—common time is indicated by 4/4 or @ and each bar contains one Semibreve, Two Minims or their equivalents. The time called alla cappella formerly used for Church-music only but at the present time in general use, is indicated by 2/2 or ¢ . In fact, it is common-time with only two beats given to each bar, instead of four. This time is often incorrectly termed Alla Breve. For all other Measures, Figures only are used, placed one over the other. The lower figure shows into how many parts the Semibreve is divided, the upper figure shows how many of such parts are contained in each bar:— Quick Count 1 2 1234656 land a 2anda oe anda 2anda3anda4anda| TWO FOURTHS || SIX FOURTHS ‘SIX EIGHTHS ‘THREE EIGHTHS || TWELVE EIGHTHS St z ron Ler rrr pre There are three different kinds of Triple-time in use:—each bar containing three Minims, three Crotchets, three Quavers or their equivalents. There are two Compounds of the above named times:—Compound common-time contains six Crotchets, six Quavers, twelve Quavers or their equivalents in each bar. Compound triple-time contains nine Crotchets, nine Quavers, nine Semiquavers or their equivalents in each bar. A Dot placed after a note, or a rest, indicates that its length is to be increased by one-half. Two Dots placed after a note, or a rest, indicate that its length is to be increased by three-fourths. When the Dot is placed over a note, it means that the note is to be played staccato, (i.e. detached). A double-dotted A double-dotted A dotted Semibreve A dotted Minim A dotted Crotchet _A dotted Quaver Minim Crotchet is equal to is equal to is equal to is equal to 1s equal to is equal to Three Minims ‘Three Crotchets || Three Quavers || Three Semiquavers |} Seven Quavers || Seven Semiquavers Rests are signs to denote periods of silence in music, viz:— DEMI-SEMI- 2 3 ANY SEMIBREVE MINIM CROTCHET QUAVER SEMIQUAVER QUAVER BARS REST BARS REST NUMBER SSS SSS ES SS Ss SS When the figure 3 is placed above three notes or three rests or any combination of three notes and rests, they are called a Triplet, and are played in the time of two ordinary notes of the same kind. B.& H.18282Graces, Marks, Signs and Words The principal Graces of melody used in modern music are:—the Appoggiatura, the Accent (> or A) the Bind or Slur, the Turn (« or $) the Mordente () the Trillo or Shake (&) Others may be found in a Dictionary of Musical terms. Short eS Short Long Written:- APPOGGIATURA Played:- A Bind(—~), a curved line, uniting two notes of the same name. Slur, also marked(——), indicates that any number of notes are to be played smoothly. = 2 Z & = Written:- THE TURN Played: Written:- THE MORDENTE Played:- A Pause (7), prolongs a note or rest beyond its proper value; it is also used to indicate a finish. o at Written: THE SHAKE Played:- D.C. Da Capo—from the beginning. D.S. Dal Segno—from the %. nif mezzo-forte—rather loud. f° forte—loud. Jf double-forte—very loud. P piano—softly. PP double-piano—very softly. af xf> sforzando—emphasised. Unis. Unisoni—together. cresc, crescendo or ———— with increasing tone. decresc. decrescendo or ———— dim. diminuendo—with decreasing tone. leg. legato—in a gliding style. stacc. staccato—detached, distinct. dol. dolce—sweetly. Cantabile—in a singing style. Assai—very. Molto—much. Sempre—always. a tempo—in time. Modo Moderato—Moderately. Largo—broad, dignified. Maestoso—Majestically. Pit mosso—more quickly. Meno mosso—less quickly. poco a poco—iittle by little. Sostenuto—sustained. string. stringendo or accel. accelerando—increasing the time. Rall. Rallentando or Rit. Ritardando—decreasing the time. Lento—slow, lingering. Larghetto—not so slow as Lento. Adagio—slowly, leisurely. Andantino—not as slow as Adagio. Andante—moving easily. Allegretto—quicker than Andante. Allegro—iively, briskly. Vivace or Vivo—quicker than Allegro. Presto—quickly, rapidly. Prestissimo—at the utmost speed. B. & H, 18282THE GUITAR % ‘THE FINGERBOARD ‘THE BRIDGE SIX PINS ‘THE NUT ‘THE SOUNDHOLE THE SADDLE ~ There are in general use three types of guitar: (1) The Spanish finger style nylon strung guitar, for classical, contemporary or Spanish music; (2) The plectrum steel strung cello built guitar, for dance band and converting into electric guitar by means of a pick-up; (3) The flat top round hole, light steel strung accompanying guitar which has a saddle and fixed bridge, but no tailpiece. The strings are held in by pins which are plugged into holes behind the bridge. This type of guitar is sweeter toned and lighter than the cello built plectrum guitar ind more ‘punchy’ for rhythm than the Spanish nylon strung guitar. Reading from Music and its alternatives Most people who take up a musical instrument, do so with the aid of musical examples. This is also true of the guitar, but since it is pos- ‘ble to learn chord shapes without learning music, many guitar players do not read music too quickly and others cannot read it at all. Since this book is written mainly as a help to accompanying oneself, and many people who enjoy singing and playing in their leasure time ind reading music too irksome and tedious, we have duplicated all the musical examples with a system called ‘cifta’ which is in common use in Spain for Flamenco music on the guitar. Cifra: This is very simple to understand and is written on a six line stave underneath the music, Instead of the five lines of the musical stave, there are six lines representing the six strings of the guitar. Added to the lines are figures or groups of figures. The figures represent the fret or frets on which the notes must be fingered. One figure represents a single note and a number of figures underneath one another represents a chord (three or more notes played together.) It is now therefore possible for both music readers and non-music readers to learn the same systems of playing and accompanying. The Accompanying (Josh White) Guitar The Accompanying Guitar has six strings, the first and second steel, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth steel, covered with fine wire. ON TUNING Phe six strings from lowest to highest are named:— G BE Treble clef ee = a Ath 3rd 2nd 1st 6th 5th Phey should sound like the following notes on the piano:— E B Bip AA aD SG) Bass clef 6th Sth 4th 3rd 2nd Ist B. & H.1823210 Between the nut and the first fret of each string there is a semitone or half tone and between each fret and the next one, there is also a semi- tone. Between the 6th and sth strings there is an interval of 5 semitones equal to two and a half tones called a perfect 4th in music: E to A —perfect. The same is true of the interval between A and D, D and G and B and E. But between the third and second strings G to B, there are only four semitones two tones a or major 3rd. ‘Therefore, if you tune the 6th string to E then stop it at the sth fret it will give the pitch of the open sth string: if you stop the sth string at the sth fret it will give you the pitch of the open 4th string; if you stop this string at the sth fret it will give the pitch of the 3rd string; if you stop the 3rd string at the 4th fret it will give the pitch of the open and and the and string stopped at the sth fret gives the pitch of the open Ist string. Holding the Guitar Place the waist of the guitar on the right thigh so that the inward curve fits snugly and the rest of the instrument lies snugly against the body. ‘The neck should slope upward as in the pictures. The belly of the guitar should slope a little outwards at the bottom. Place the right arm over the widest part of the guitar so that the forearm grips over the widest curve. The right hand will then be able to hover over the strings so that the thumb and the fingers will be at the ready. The Right Hand In order to produce any notes, the thumb and fingers of the right hand must pick the strings. The little finger of the right hand is also used. This is not so with the Spanish guitar. There are two kinds of sounds which are produced. Single notes, and chords. As you know, single notes are those which follow one another as in a melody. These are mostly played by alternative picking with the first and second fingers (indicated by index ‘m’ middle). A chord is a group of three or more notes played together and these notes can be picked with the thumb and fingers. If there are three notes, they may be picked with the thumb and two of the other fingers or even with three fingers. Four notes can of course be played together with the thumb (marked ‘p’) and three fingers. The third finger or ring finger is marked ‘a’. Five notes can be played with thumb and four fingers. ‘An arpeggio is a chord in which the notes are played immediately one after the other so that each note is carried over and the same technique is applied as for chords, but instead of picking as one chord the fingers pick rapidly one after the other. The Left Hand ‘The object of the left hand is to stop the strings at the various frets in order to create different notes. ‘The thumb acts as the bottom part of a vice and the fingers as the top part. ‘The rounded part of the long piece of wood is called the neck and the almost flat part with the frets across it is called the fingerboard. ‘The thumb should connect with the neck just below the middle at right angles, so that if you place the tips of the first, second, third and fourth fingers of the left hand just behind the rst, 2nd, 3rd and 4th frets of any string, the thumb will be between the second and third fingers. This position is correct for single note runs. For chords, however, where often the first finger is placed flat across the strings, the thumb should be about parallel with the first finger so making almost a pincer, with the fingerboard and neck in between. ‘The numbers appearing beside the notes represent the fingers of the left hand. 1, 2, 3, 4, means First, Second, Third and Fourth fingers. NUT oO ————- 15 Reading from Music and its Alternatives a For those who find the reading of music difficult or impossible there is an alternative method which coupled FRETS| 3—> together with Cifra should show how to play the music that is written in musical notation. For chords there Fas are the diagrams or ‘window boxes’. The perpendicular lines represent the six strings and the horizontal | lines, the frets. The top horizontal line is always the nut, so that if you had the fingerboard facing you, the oe sixth string would be on your left and the first string on your right. fete tt STRINGS 654321 Drawing: Showing the Fingerboard facing you giving a picture of origin of diagrams. THE NUT . ais Photograph: Showing the fingerboard placed horizontally, with nut on your left and strings, 1,2, 3,4,5,6, from top to bottom of fingerboard. The six strings are represented by the 6 lines of the CIFRA. 4 etc. FRETS B.& H.18232noe A finger placed behind a fret is represented by a dot, thus:— 654321 320001 ind the number at the top of the diagrams represents the finger:— ) means open string and X means that the string is not to be sounded. \ thick line across the strings means that one finger must be placed across the strin 1 4 — 113421 The first finger is placed across six strings. = Can also be indicated as LP.B., which means ist Position Barré. 3 [he Cifra Method [he other method of identification of musical sounds on the guitar, is the ‘cifra’ or cipher method. In this the six strings of the guitar are written vorizontally under the musical stave like this:— 2 34 | STRINGS 6 The identification of the notes is made by figures on each side of the lines. These figures represent the numbers of frets where the notes are o be found :— Ast, SPRING arett » negate _When there are figures over one another, they must be played together as a chord. Here are the three forms of identification placed together. the middie line is the musical stave. Above is the diagram and below the cifra. The letters C and G7 are the chord symbols. x32010 320001 co oan Music Cifra B. & H.18282Exercises on the Open Strings Music intended for the guitar is always written an octave higher than it sounds; this is done to avoid using so many leger lines. ‘Throughout the book, latin numerals will refer to the left hand fingering. The right hand fingers are indicated thus:—‘p’ thumb; ‘’ index finger; ‘m’ middle finger; ‘a’ third or ring finger; and ‘o’ for the litte finger." The first requirement in the art of playing the Guitar is to develop a good right hand, This means that the thumb, first second, third and fourth fingers must be able to find the strings which contain the notes to be played and to be able to find them comfortably and without fumbling, Therefore the first thing to do is to make the fingers of the right hand work. After placing the Guitar in playing position with the instrument firmly gripped, poise the right hand over the strings with the wrist high and curved and play the following exercises:-— ‘The letters for right hand fingers refer also to the CIFRA. Keep repeating until fluent. i The letters for right hand fingers refer also to the Ex.2 CIFRA. Keep repeating until fluent. aah A f f fee SI a = 3s he Sarr ee s z é ‘ 2s a = eH + 5 ¢ Fx3 ae? P mae P Bae P mee P + * The reason that the letters p, i, m, a, and 0 are used is because p, i,m and a are already in use for the Spanish guitar, and are French for thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger. B.& H. 18282023001 TOT Inorder to make these exercises. little more interesting we will try a simple chord of E minor bringing the left hand into play. Place the third finger of the left hand behind the second fret of the fourth string and the second finger behind the second fret of the fifth string. Ht Now play the same way with the right hand. FEE EBEGBE 6-5 0.6 G9 8 2 i i pemimapimami Fam imamima Timamima \.B) Note that figures in the CIFRA represent the numbers of the frets on the respective strings, i., 1 =first fret, o—open string, etc, B.& H. 1828214 On Fingering ‘Vo produce the stopped notes,the joints of the left hand fingers must be squared and the strings pressed down firmly and held upon the fin gerboard, with the tips of the fingers behind the fret i ted: always keep the fourth finger above and over the fingerboard. O means the open string. ‘The figures 1 2 3 4 indicate the fingers of the left hand. 1P means first position, 2P second position and so on, When you are in a position the first finger is placed behind the fret indicated by the number, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers stop the corresponding frets above the position marked. Nut istFret 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th ith 12th F #) G ete. Cc (C4 D E ete. y 2 Cc ete. Names of notes etc. Musical notation of notes on fingerboard up to 12th fret ist Cifra sung B.& H. 1828215 By this time the fingers of the right hand will be more supple and the left hand fingers must learn to work in conjunction with the right hand. So, taking the B string as an example, pluck the open string with the first finger so that the finger is stiffand moves asa whole. Also pluck across towards you and downwards so that the finger comes to rest on the next string—in this case the G or third string. Then press the first finger of the left hand behind the first fret and pluck with the second finger of the right hand in a similar way. Continue, second finger behind second fret, pluck with first finger of right hand: third finger left hand third fret, right hand second finger: fourth finger left hand fourth fret, right hand first finger. The first, second, third and fourth fingers of left hand should all be on the fingerboard. Now lift fourth finger of left hand so that the third finger is on; right hand second finger: lift third finger so that second finger is on; right hand first finger; lift second finger so that first finger is on; right hand second finger: lift first finger and we are back where we started at the open string. Exercise 8. Now repeat the whole process and do so on every string, as indicated below. 2nd String ° + 2 3 4 8 2 1 ° = 2 38 4 3 2 a Same as Ex.8 but on all strings commencing on 6th. 6tho 4 Boras Ce Oe er 8 Aik ed 2 1 bo Oto: witha ees eas sell jaenmomedt: a Jer ava she igeeet see ve +s be + s- =F + SracMeeeetee he 4 gi 8. 4 Exercise 10 shows the notes in the Key of C in the rst position; that is, with the first finger at the first fret, second finger at second fret, etc. OF 101 O10 OO OO OO OS B. & H. 1828216 There are three kinds of scales in common use, and they are the major, the melodic minor, and the harmonic minor. ‘They each contain seven notes, or eight including the octave or eighth note which has the same name as the first or root. The scales consist of the following intervals: MAJOR SCALE MELODIC MINOR HARMONIC MINOR Ascending Descending oe | Tone Tone Tone Tone pSraik | Tone Semitone Semitone Semitone 3Mediant fcorntane Tone Tone Tone 4 Subdominant Tone Tone Tone Tone pa Dominent Tone Tone Semitone Semitone 6. Sub-mediant Tone Tone Tone Tone and Half 7. Leading-note Semitone Semitone Tone ‘Semitone 8. Octave ‘These scales and their fingerings (mainly in the first position) are given on pages 15, 16 and 17, and include the scales of C, G, D, A, E, F, and their relative minors Am, Em, Bm, F sharp, C sharp, Dm. In every key there are three important or primary chords which are built up by adding notes to tonic, dominant and subdominant notes. The notes that are added are a major third (two tones) and a perfect fifth, which is another tone and a half. Minor keys as well as major keys also contain these chords but the tonic is built up of a minor third and a perfect fifth, and the dominant always contains a major third and a perfect fifth. In common chords, such as these are called, where there is a root and a perfect fifth, the major or minor sound is determined by the kind of third contained in the chord. Hence when the third is major it is a major chord, and when the third is minor it is a minor chord. To become familiar with the way in which the left and right hands work in conjunction with one another, play the following ascending and descending chromatic scale or a scale in semitones commencing on the lowest note of the guitar (E) and going up to the highest note in the first position (A flat) which is found on the fourth fret of the first or highest string. (Exercise 11.) ® 1 © 1 @ 1 ® 1 ° Ex. it B.& H. 1828217 Now to play a few very easy spread chords, or arpeggios as they are called, in the form of triplets, for which count 1 and a, 2and a, 3 and a, 4 and a. For Boxes play only strings that are marked with the numbers which represent the left hand fingering. xxx210 xxx100 xxx001 ‘xxx010 Hold fingers. , Hold finger , Hold finger. , Hold finger. A Aminor 9 Bio Car Cao) fe pa ete Deca e ls 12 ‘The same chords extended to four strings. Hold the fingers down so as to form a chord. Xx2310 x2100_ xxO001 xx2010 ee AR Fe FAH 2 ° 1 Am 255 VS Se pimapimap imapima 13, The same chords extended to five strings. Hold the fingers down throughout each bar. 02310 23100 ae o4 2 1 ON OZOEA| Am 0 26% Ep 3 : ima°amy, imaCamy, Pe eee 14 u x20001 x32010 Cc 8 3 22 2 * ce + | a o—$—6 5a 4 0 ; 3 == i - + ) harmonic minor Lean ee 1s 2 8 Wenbeibadieas) 8 4 [80 6 # # A eee bn an 60_1© ,@_1 0. ©. , O21 O_ © © 134211 xxl id 32410 x13421 131211 134111 eS ee i wae Ee PRE aay = F Bb a SPB 42 C7 AT 1 Gn —— a 1o ei oe = oS 3S ae vx a 1s or SS B.& H. 1823226 You should by now have a general understanding of the way to play a guitar within the limitations of keys and positions given for the pur- pose of this type of accompaniment. It must be understood also that in order to play the various effects used in the pieces, the following additional methods of producing notes will have to be practiced; Slurring notes and chords: glissandos: smearing notes: ways to produce Josh White effects. First we will take slurring. This is produced by striking one note and following with another note which is nor picked by the right hand. Where the second note is higher than the first, it is sounded by hammering the finger on to the string at the required higher fret after the first lower note has been picked. This hammering of the finger produces a note without the aid of the right hand. If the slurred note is a lower one than the picked note do it this way:— Put one finger on the first of the group of notes to be played this way and another finger firmly on the fret of the second note. In fact, prepare the second note. Then pick the first note and at the proper time pull the first finger off the string so that it actually plucks it and thus produces the note which your other finger has prepared. ‘The way to write this effect is to put a slur or curved line over the affected notes, thus: —— A curved line can also be used when itis intended to play a phrase smoothly or ‘legato’. .queezing notes: playing short staccato chords; using the right hand in different Another important use of the curved line is to tie two notes of the same sound together in order to prolong the sound. The next exercise however, will deal with the slur. First ascending, second descending, then both. * = Hammer finger on * * ot 212 zs 28 sk gt sph st 228-258 12120101 Ex,32 ow reverse the procedure, Pick the higher note only, and pluck it off with the same finger, but prepare the second note. = Prepare note by. pressing hard while previous note is being played tet ar Aeoio ent 2-1 ase ess pete a4 panS £88 282 12121 tor.) Ex.33 Next a combination of the two. A eat ee Slee) aoe eet 1 Ex.34 Play the above fingered exercise on every string. B.& H. 18282‘THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF DES MOINES OVUM 1704 0028 7941 9 8 It is sometimes necessary to play three notes as a group of slurred notes. When three notes are played equally spread in the time of one at,the group is called a ‘triplet’ as denoted by the figure 3 within the curved line. When the triplet is obvious,the 3 is sometimes omitted. Here first of all is an exercise in triplets which helps to synchronise the working of both hands ascending and descending up and down the inger board. Practice in full, on all the strings, commencing on the E string. 1 eas Bi Bee Ante 243 23 b 35 bo abe tg 2 te @ 202 ug be 21d a gk 2 3 hate etc. as on E string B.& H. 1828228 ete. descending etc. ascending and descending eto. ascending and descending COMMIS ONN tid em DiaaOhen 2)! Sika A a ealewee cdc SIRES Re 8 eee = etc. ascending and descending al 4! a el B.& H. 18232ee 29 Besides slurring up or down as shown in Ex. 34 it is also possible to slur up and down, i.e, to play three notes with only one note plucked the right hand. The second note is hammered by the finger playing that note which then snaps off re-sounding the first note. This demands 1t the finger which is playing the first note retains its pressure throughout the operation. x BS ss = = > Ex.41 === oe St OR and 2 and 3 and 4 and and 2 and 3 and 4 Ex.42 == SSeS 5 fs tf If you tap four with your foot, and at the same time count:— One and (2) and (3) and (4) and you will get the rhythm. Do not say the numbers, just say:— One and ~ and ~ and - and Now here is the same piece, ‘You don’t know my mind’, written a little nearer the rhythm it is meant to sound. So this time it will be with slurs and tied syncopated notes. If there is any doubt about the left hand fingering, refer to fingering in Version I. Similarly for the righ hand plucking. Practice the ‘squeeze’ and ‘pull’ after Version II of ‘You don’t know my mind.” ‘The squeeze or push is executed by pushing the string towards the lower strings, and is written thus over a note:— ———— | i ‘The pull is executed by pulling the string with the tip of the finger towards the treble string, and is written thus:— Here is a little exercise in these two effects which actually sound the same. It is just a question of producing the best results Each blue note in this two bar phrase is suspended. The D goes up but does not come down, neither does the B flat. B.& H. 1828233 You don’t know my mind Version IT To Alternative ending aS o SS SS } Alternative ending HH Sos 0 5 202 ia GE aa AOS ee ee Version II is now a passable imitation of the blues playing which made Jazz and Blues an art in its own right, but one thing is still missing The extra squeezing or slurring which go to make a ‘blue’ note in the Blues or Jazz. For example, the G natural in Bar 2 is a main blue note. First ofall itis the minor third in a major chord. The chord is E (E. Gg B.) and in spite of the G¢ inthe chord a Gf is played. This is amain bluenote. It is, however, not sufficient to play itand go on tothe next note. The sound must be squeezed so that it almost reaches the G sharp. This is done by pulling or pushing the string sideways so that the sound is slightly raised in pitch from the one to be found at the fret. This puts life into the blues, and will often be used throughout the solos and accompaniments. B.& H. 1828234 Besides pushing or pulling the string, sometimes a triplet is played in which the first note is struck, then the finger pushes the string up nearly a semitone and comes back again. For example in the triplet A. B. flat. A below,this could be done by pushing the string and using one finger only. You will find, however, that it is quite hard to push the 3rd string at the second fret, so you must play the A on the 7th fret of the fourth string, when it becomes easier to push. This bar will now read:— The last of these left hand effects is the Glissando, which is produced by playing a note and then, by using the same finger, push or slide on to the next note without picking again. This is written as a slanting line_“o — A short line up 7 before a note means: Glissando on to the note from a lower fret. ®@____1 §',9/® ©@®@ © ®©6® |®_ *4 Now it may be possible to play ‘You don’t know my mind? as it was intended, with all the Blues embellishments so as to make it really alive. ‘There is still another effect or two which will be explained as we go, and the first is the one which occurs in Bars 9 and 10 of Version III of “You don’t know my mind”, ‘The note is ‘A’ on the second fret of the 3rd string which is struck and squeezed up to Bb. The Bb is held until the beginning of the next, bar. Then the Bb, which is still on the second fret, is played then released to its original position on the second fret thereby returning it to A. ‘This is known as a ‘Smear’ up and then down. B.& H. 1823235 You don’t know my mind Version III squeez; up to BI Finger A,squeeze up to Bb then release ® Alternative ending 20 isaeeeaed {e203 0 8 202 © ao tMliCeeee 3 *If great difficulty is encountered in pushing or squeezing the 3rd string up a semitone it will have to be played on the fourth string. B.& H. 1828236 Practice the foregoing until you are familiar with it, then use it as a 12 Bar Blues introduction to the tune which follows. In order to enable you to play the tune, which is a simple Blues, it has also been written in Cifra. Therefore, the top line is the tune in musical notaton; second line the tune in Cifra. Under the Cifra there is the accompaniment in musical notation, and on the bottom line, (4th line) the Cifra of the accompaniment. ‘Take special note of how the accompaniment allows the melody to sing out without interference, and when the melody rests on a long note the accompaniment fills in with either runs or chords. You will have to commence the harder parts sometime, so do it now. You will notice that the right hand fingering is fully marked. Any special effects that require extra attention from the right hand will be marked. Continuing Version III with vocal You don’t know my mind You dont know, you dont know, you dont know my mind, ; You dont know, Copyright © 1956 by Hawkes & Son (London), Ltd. All rights reserved B. & H, 18282cae you....dont know my mind. laugh-ing just to keep me Blues ain’t nothin’, Blues ain’t nothin’ But a woman on a poor man’s mind I said the Blues ain't nothin’ But 2 woman on a poor man’s mind When you see me laughin’ P’m laughin’ just to keep from cryin’. Ifyou got a good woman, boy, if you got a good woman You'd better pin her to your side. I said if you got a good woman, got a good woman Better pin her to your side Thad a good woman But the fool lay down and died. 37 When you see me laugh - ing, SS from | cry- ing. When a woman takes the Blues, takes the Blues She tucks her head and cries When a woman takes the Blues , Hangs her head and cries. When a man gets the Blues Catches a freight train and rides. Blues ain’t nothin’, Blues ain’t nothin’ But a poor man’s heart disease I said the Blues ain’t nothin’ But a poor man’s heart disease But it’s a mean old dog ‘That won’t scratch its Momma's fleas. You don’t know, you don’t know You don’t know my mind No, you don’t know my mind When you see me laughin” Pm laughin’ just to keep from cryin’ ‘There are very few tricks in this piece. Itis a simple and genuine blues accompaniment. This should bring you to Part II of the Book with sufficient understanding of the technique required for this type of playing. We therefore go straight on to Part II, commencing with ‘On top of Old Smokey” which we considered as containing some basic accom- panying rhythms which are useful in any Waltz Tempo tune. Now go ahead and enjoy playing the tunes in Part Two both for themselves and as examples of how other melodies can be accompanied. Good luck. B.& H. 1828238 PART TWO On top of Old Smokey G7 131211 © 32010 — Bay x z % Vai Melody Cifra Guitar Cifra F 1342ii 7% = repeat previous bar Copyright © 1956 by Hawkes & Son (London), Ltd. All rights reserved B.& H. 18232gy 11211 39 Z We coy-ered with | snow... lost my true | lov - ¢ 342010 07 032410 Hy / HAH ys From |court - in’ too | slow.7 2nd Chorus 134211 Say court - in's B.& H. 1828240 342010 @ Lee S z Zz yy 181211 false heart-ed x32010 Py 131211 % % x 17 FRR N Hessen orse = than... a (fhiok peters eet HER & | | weds wots 00112304 Chorus Cc *32010 pis42it yo ae Bay 7 x z A thief will but B.& H, 1828241 342010 G7 131211 = es x 8, , x x xz A, take what you have ... =} See otee false-heart-ed cris © 32010 Fisd2it ——_g x32010 y L H f H/ H Z z § / § = Th 1 will send | you to your | grave. Notes on playing “On top of Old Smokey” The foregoing, besides consisting of 3 choruses of ‘On top of Old Smokey” is also a study of three ways in which to accompany yourself in a waltz, or in any tune in 3/4 time. In the first chorus there is a lilt which emphasises the second beat, but as the beginning of the arpeggio, (that is the first note of the spread chord) sounds before the second beat the rhythm has a similarity to the Viennese Waltz. You will also notice that the second beat of each bar is cut short as it is written as a quaver with a quaver rest after it. The sound is cut short by lifting the fingers of the left hand so that they still touch the strings. This lifting of the fingers should be done almost as soon as the chord, or spread chord in this case, is played. The lead into the second chorus and the second chorus itself consists of a completely different style of accompaniment of the more flowing type, and very attractive. A sort of arpeggio style. ‘The third chorus is strictly one, two, three rhythm, and as you notice, the second and third beats are short, or staccato. This is produced by playing the chords absolutely together as one note, and applying the lifting fingers techmique as you did in the first chorus. ‘A warning Do not try to sing and play together until you have absolutely learnt the playing part. It is essential that the playing is almost automatic when accompanying oneself. B.& H. 18282Molly Malone Make a lot of the A flat in the sixth bar. This leads to the A natural in the next bar. This also applies to all the passing notes in bars 10, 12, 16, 18, 19. Bar 22 has a B flat squeezed up and down which is an answer to the tune. The A flat in bar 27 is important as a bridge between the A before it and the G in the next bar. Bar 32 has a pause at the end consisting of a trill D to E flat. The whole should be played gently. Very slow ad lib. c AT D7 G7 Am6 G945, 432010 ‘01030 DF sate “Cosma tad Siases. Goan’ “tin We? AB Ae ST Acc. a Cifra cz F 342010 032410 134211 20333 Dub-lins fair ci - ty,.... where the girls are so was a... fish - mon-ger, and sure’twas no alternative fingering, 4% 4) (igead o auewees re A Amaj7 AZ G7 Gos Sa2010 cou “Mite gaits "raza ixt2it 11234 there I first met her, sweet Mol - ly... Ma - fa - ther and mo - ther were fish - mong - ers_ 4 2 ahd Copyright © 1956 by Hawkes & Son (London), Ltd. All rights reserved B. & H. 18282C7 B' C7 F Fmé 43 332410 33240x 332410 134211 20333 He Ry 7 Ry 7 Hy WADE ee =| ean amity Groin wide and | nar- row, Crying, all wheeled their bar - rows \ T SSS D7 Dr5 «G7. Fm6 c c E7 BLO AT Sx2aix 1x1211 2x0333 342010 *3x010 x2x140 *2x030_ *0x030 - (alae Hf i, HO Ha H a Cock - les. and Mus 3 os CR eS 38 One oon c Fomaj7 C7 c G7 a mati Satta re 342010 aa aa 194211 + uA J / qi / U +H A Of which none could re - fil yaeet es mee A — ee oe FA B.& H. 1823244 Fmé Cc A Amaj7 A7 D7 D7+5 G7 G7+5 | A WB -lieve her And| that was the end of sweet Mol Now her 12151238 C745 Cra BT, c wag F Fm6 c $8241x 30240x 332410 134211 220333 342010 HHH fH RE ED 7 I 7 ae — — —™“ ghost wheelsher | bar-row Thro’the streets wide and| nar-row, Cry-ing Cockles...........-4 31 gue 242) 0 Bee 141418 D7. D7#5 G7 Fmé6 Fm7_—C c 02030 Bx241x 1x1211 -2x0333 2x3333 xx111x 342010 rae 3 Tm 3210 answer answer i lie) B&H. 1828245 The Riddle Song ‘This is a perfect example of how the simplest accompaniment can be the most effective. Use the first variation for the rst and and verses, and the last 16 bars for the 3rd verse only. E A cee Very a Hes 77 HB 77 Very slowly, with feeling Melody : : b = 1. I |[gave mylove a |cher-ry 2. How fican there be a |cher-ry..... Cifra © see. Cifra Bbo E «x1218 xxiiix A Ay E B7 B745 xO1120 01020 023100 221304 221304 Ha, Hy yf / / FR / stone, I |gave mylove a... |chick-en that | had stone? How |can there be a... |chick-en that | has slow arpeggio a os P Copyright © 1956 by Hawkes & Son (London), Ltd. AIL rights reserved B.& H. 18282