Archives for January 2012

This is the first 4 measures of the classic song Autumn Leaves. There has been many great recording of this song and I’ve listed some of my favourites in the songbook pages. I’ve arranged the chord progression here in the key of G . The first chord in the progression is Am which moves to D7 and then onto G and then Cmaj7. I’ve used a “p” “i” “m” “i” right hand picking pattern as I think it gives a nice flow to progression. With this picking pattern the thumb plays the root of the chords on the lowest sounding three strings of the guitar – E A D – and the index finger “i” and the middle finger “m” play on the highest sounding three strings – G B E. Go to the Autumn Leaves Guitar Chord Progression page for the the full chord progression for the song and go to the Autumn Leaves Guitar Lesson Chord Chart which lists the left hand chord shapes I use in the arrangement.

I love this old recording by Blind Blake, one of the main ragtime guitarists, who lived from 1896 to 1934. Not much is known about who he was or where he came from, however he was and has been very influencial amongst other guitarists including names such as The Reverend Gary Davis, Jorma Kaukoonen, Ry Cooder, Ralph McTell and leon Redbone . His type of ragtime was one where he would frequently syncopate the bass with the melody often leaving gaps for short single line solos. While my playing is different than his, I do adopt this principle of mixing things up in my playing.

Blind Arthur Blake – Black Dog Blues