Big Round Summer Moon

 
Big Round Summer Moon:  another song using the Dropped D tuning (when you lower the low E string down to D).  This song is mainly fast strumming.  This is an example of a song that grew out of a guitar riff I worked out and that knocked around in my head until I finally expanded it into a song.  The melody closely follows the riff and so I call the riff an "instrumental verse" and use it for both the intro and breaks.

This take just includes the solo guitar and vocal, so that the guitar work comes out clearly. 

 Here are the chords for the intro riff:

 These chords are played by moving the first three fingers up and down the fretboard.  That is why the initial D chord has an odd and seemingly awkward fingering.  This is done so that it can be shifted quickly to the Dm formation used further up the neck.  Also, this allows for a slide effect.  I use the numbers below the chords to show the progression and the A is the standard A chord:

A-----1-2-3-4-3-4  3-4-5-4-3--  4-3-5-4-6--  5-4-3---2---1---A

And here is the riff played at a slower pace:

Here are the chords that are used for the first part of each verse.  The first three F# chords are played successively where the F#m is shown on the lyric sheet.  There is a slide effect using an A chord shape to the Am7 on the fifth fret and for the Dmaj7 on the seventh fret.

Here are the chords used for the second part of each verse.  As we are in Dropped D tuning, the barr for Bm only goes across five strings and the sixth string is played open.  The G chord is the way I usually play G in Dropped D tuning.  A and D chords are played in the standard way.

This recording forms the basis for the version on the Yesterday's Dust, Along the Way CD that I did with Eric Dennis, who added some great harmonica and harmony vocals to this song: 

Yesterday's Dust, Along the Way 

Some Traveling Music Please

Here is another song using the Dropped D Tuning that we looked at last time:  Traveling On (Part 1 of the Traveling Trilogy).  This is just the lone guitar and vocal so that the guitar work is easier to hear.  I used my electric guitar for this recording, but it works fine on acoustic guitar as well.


Here are the lyrics and basic chords (the chords I use in Dropped D tuning are listed after the lyrics):

Here is the first set of chords.  The open circle in the D chord indicates that this note (played with the index finger) rhythmically alternates with the open A.  In this song I often slide up to the D from a D formation on the first fret.  When moving from the D into the bridge sections, I walk up and down the 5th string bass notes:  A B C A.  For the F chord, the P5 and P4 represent when a pinky note is added to the chord as per the lyric and chord sheet:

Here is the next set of  chords.  The chords with the (h) indicate they are played high up the fretboard and are used at the end of lines as shown on the lyric sheet.  There is a slide from the C(h) to D(h) and again from the D(h) to Am(h).  The barr in the Bm is only across five strings and the 6th string (D in Dropped D Tuning) is played open.

Here are the final two chords.  The E/E7 indicates that you move smoothly from E to E7.  The /G indicates that you slide the E up three frets where it becomes a G.

When I released this song in  the Traveling Trilogy, I decided to add some bass (done with my Yamaha keyboard) and slide guitar (since there was already a lot of sliding going on):

Woody's Traveling Trilogy

Dropped D tuning to get a strong bass line

A tuning I have come to use a lot is the Dropped D tuning where you lower the 6th or low E string down to D.  I generally do this by pinch playing it and the D or fourth string and lowering the 6th strung until they sound a clear octave apart.

In the song Cold and Dark I use this tuning to easily generate a strong bass line with the thumb pick while strumming the higher strings with the fingers.  

This recording features just the guitar and vocal tracks recorded in one take and without enhancing them or adding any effects at all.  The thumb picked bass line comes out strongly even without enhancing it in any way through studio effects.  The chord fingerings used for this one are very easy and are given below the music.

For the F, G and A chords I barr the lower three strings with the 2nd finger and slide this barr as I move it up and down.  This allows the thumb pick to generate a bass line using only the 6th string, while the other two barred strings generate the chords and are usually dampened slightly by barring so that only the 6th string is fully down.

At certain points I lift the barr and lead into the next chord with an open 6th string D note.

This recording formed the basis for a fuller recording with Ted Burton playing bass and Nanci Hobson and Ted Burton providing backing vocals. 


This version of the song was released on the Wojoergy (2011) CD featuring songs by Ted Burton and I:

Wojoergy CD on Alonetone

This CD also features the other two songs (Road Unknown and Gone with the Night Time) that together with Cold and Dark form the Goldenbridge Orphan Trilogy inspired by Bernadette Fahy's harrowing account of life in the orphanage: 

 Freedom of Angels 

The song Road Unknown is also done in the dropped D tuning using similar chords to Cold and Dark.

Song Index and Introduction to Webster's Guitar Technique

SONG INDEX

Here is an alphabetical index of song titles in this blog.  All songs are written by me and are available copyright free for anyone to listen to or play for themselves and others: 

•  All Winter Long
•  Big Round Summer Moon
•  Cold and Dark
•  Digging A Well 
•  Dreams Fly By
  
•  Equilibrium 
•  Her Song 
•  Into the Rhythm of Love
•  Long Rugged Road
•  No Road Home - High Chords Up the Neck
•  Now is the Time 
•  Shelter of Song
  
•  Some Rainy Day
•  Stone Angel
•  Through the Rain 
•  Traveling On

INTRODUCTION TO 

WEBSTER'S GUITAR TECHNIQUES BLOG

This a blog for presenting various guitar techniques that I use for songs and classical guitar solos.  The recordings are presented without any overdubbing so that the solo guitar technique is as clear as possible.

NOTE:  This blog is a work in progress and I will be often tweaking and reorganizing it, sometimes adding more music demos or tablature to the various posts.  It is NOT a journal blog where posts are made regularly but never revisited or updated.

All of the music demos for this blog can be found at my ReverbNation site:  ReverbNation

Song Chords and Lyrics are at:   Chords and Lyrics

When a piece has been recorded in a finished fashion for a CD you will find it at one of the following music websites for the Wetband:

Wetband at Alonetone 

Wetband at ReverbNation

Wetband at SoundCloud 

Our group The Wetband also has a blog with lots of history and photos:

Wetband:  The Blog