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