John Fahey is truly an original and distinctive voice in the musical world revered by artists and performers the world over for his unusual compositions and cross-pollination of genres. His recording career has drawn influencefrom Country Blues Old-Time music Indian ragas the European classical tradition and Gregorian tonalities. He formed a loosely defined 'school' of American Primitive guitarists that included such diverse characters as LeoKottke and Robbie Basho.In this not-to-be-missed set of tutorials Fahey himself teaches the techniques and arrangements for another fifteen of his best-known instrumentals using regular open G and open D tunings. A48-page tablature booklet is included.
SKU: MB.99802M
ISBN 9781513466941. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.
In this series for the intermediate guitarist, John Fahey teaches a wide variety of instrumental solos. Critics have called Johns style American Primitive Guitar. The book includes tablature and notation with three compact discs featuring note-by-note, phrase-by-phrase instruction. LESSON ONE: A general discussion of pattern picking and the use of the alternate bass. In Christ There Is No East Or West, Take A Look At That Baby and Some Summer Day. LESSON TWO: One of Johns most requested multi-sectioned composition is Indian Pacific Railroad Blues, also known as Beverley. This tune demonstrates how John composes in the fingerpicking idiom. Also taught is another very requested and imitated instrumental, Johns The Last Steam Engine Train. LESSON THREE: When The Springtime Comes Again and The Approaching Of The Disco Void. A discussion of improvisational ideas in relationship to fingerstyle compositions concludes this lesson.
SKU: MB.30957M
ISBN 9781513466101. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.
This collection shows a wide variety of musical approaches in open and alternate tunings. The arrangements come from the playing of Davey Graham, Pat Kirtley, Tony McManus, John Renbourn, John Fahey, Sandy Shalk, Dave Evans, Martin Carthy, El McMeen, Leo Wijnkamp and Stefan Grossman. The music ranges from the medieval La Rotta to Willie Brown?s Future Blues from the deep Mississippi delta; from O?Carolan?s Lord Inchiquin to Waterbound, an old-time folksong. From Celtic airs and jigs to gospel and blues you will explore the world of tunings. Hopefully, this collection will help you to discover new approaches and techniques to playing your instrument. Along the way you?ll have fingerpicking challenges and fun.
SKU: HL.368607
ISBN 9781705141632. UPC: 840126968866. 9.0x12.0x0.19 inches.
Matching guitar transcriptions to Fahey's iconic 1968 album featuring 14 guitar solo arrangements of Christmas classics: Auld Lang Syne • Bells of St. Mary's • Go I Will Send Thee • God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy • Joy to the World • Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming • Silent Night, Holy Night • and more.
About Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions
G uitar Recorded Versions are note-for-note transcriptions of guitar music taken directly off recordings. This series, one of the most popular in print today, features some of the greatest guitar players and groups from blues, rock, and heavy metal. Guitar Recorded Versions are transcribed by the best transcribers in the business. Every book contains notes and tablature.
SKU: MB.99801M
ISBN 9781513460949. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.
John Fahey was a pioneer in composing and arranging guitar solos in open tunings. In this lesson series for the intermediate guitarist, John teaches a wide variety of techniques, musical textures and styles. The book includes the notation and tablature for the lessons and access to online audio featuring phrase-by-phrase instruction. LESSON ONE:  Open G tuning: On the Sunny Side of the Ocean, Spanish Two Step and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear. St. Louis Blues played in a dropped D tuning. LESSON TWO:  In this lesson John explores the possibilities of playing in an open C tuning. The Union Pacific has a distinct blues quality, Requiem For John Hurt has an Eastern feel. Simplicity often creates beauty and John does this with his version of Auld Lang Syne. LESSON THREE:  This lesson concentrates on John's slide guitar playing. Steamboat Gwine Round the Bend played in open G demonstrates many of John's unique technical ideas. The Christmas carol Silent Night is presented in the slide style. John's popular arrangement of Poor Boy A Long Way From Home played in open D tuning finishes the series. Includes access to online audio.
SKU: MB.30844M
ISBN 9781513464268. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.
Skip James was one of the most influential early Bluesmen, but his importance as a stylist remained undiscovered until he was brought out of a long retirement by the Folk/Blues revival of the early 1960â??s. Born in 1902 and raised in Bentonia, Nehemiah Curtis James was brought up in a religious family: his father was a bootlegger who reformed and became a Baptist preacher. Skip learned piano in school but picked up guitar from his friend Henry Stuckey. In 1931 Skip was picked up by a scout for Paramount Records and he cut 26 tracks, of which 18 were released, in a two day session at their Grafton, Wisconsin studios. These recordings presented a unique and haunting genius that influenced legendary bluesmen as Robert Johnson, Kansas Joe McCoy and Johnny Temple. But the recordings sold poorly, having been released during the Great Depression, and he drifted into obscurity.
< span style=font-family: Arial;> We have included as online downloads Skipâ??s 1931 recordings. The crackling sound of these rare recordings cannot obscure the brilliance of this seminal Blues master.
After over 30 yearâ??s retirement from music, Skip was rediscovered by Blues enthusiasts Bill Barth, John Fahey and Henry Vestine. They persuaded Skip to appear at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, where his renditions of his old songs were still powerful and moving. His performances as well as his old and new recordings influenced a generation of new musicians: Eric Clapton, Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, Cream, Deep Purple, Chris Thomas King, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Derek Trucks, Beck, Big Sugar, John Martyn, Lucinda Williams and Rory Block to name a few.
Books on legendary Blues musicians written by white musicologists tend to offer a subjective perspective on how the artists felt, thought or reacted. A tainted picture is captured that has more to do with the writerâ??s social and musical experiences. This autobiography is different. The words, thoughts and feelings come directly from the artistâ??s lips. This is the story of Nehemiah â??Skipâ? James told by Nehemiah â??Skipâ? James.
SKU: AP.6-843440
ISBN 9780486843445. UPC: 800759843442. English.
The Father of the Delta Blues, Charley Patton (c.1891--1934) was born and raised amid Mississippi's cotton plantations. During the 1920s he was the first of the region's great stars, performing for packed houses throughout the South and making popular recordings in New York City. His music---ranging from blues and ballads to ragtime and gospel---is distinctive for his gravely, high-energy singing and the propulsive beat of his guitar. Patton possessed a lively stage presence, originating many of the guitar-playing antics now associated with Jimi Hendrix and other latter-day musicians. His influence, among both his contemporaries and subsequent blues artists, is incalculable. Noted guitarist John Fahey presents a textual and musicological examination of Charley Patton's music. This new edition of the original 1970 publication is enhanced by Fahey's notes from the GRAMMY award-winning, out-of-print boxed set, Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton. Available for the first time outside the set, Fahey's reconsideration on Patton's music offers fresh perspectives and key corrections of the historical record.
