Now available for instant download w all video lessons, tab, notation, and jam tracks. The syncopated western swing guitar rhythm was not born until later. In this guitar lesson, youll learn how to spice up your rhythm playing with some jazzy sounding chord substitutes. Each was a sizeable outfit full of horns as well as traditional string instruments. The music is an amalgamation of rural, cowboy, polka, and folk, new orleans jazz or dixieland, and blues blended with a jazzy swing. The ranger doug book has a chart of freddie greentype chord shapes for playing swing rhythm. Echo melody is echoing the vocalists efforts with short after the fact melodic runs, but staying out of the way of the vocalist and lead guitar.
It consists of a longshort, longshort rhythm pattern in which chords are strummed and sustained on the the 1st and 3rd beats of the measure. The 8string c6 tuning is acegaceg, which spells out a c6 chord, or an am7. For western swing collectors 27 recordings, non previously released commercially, by one of the best of the great western swing bands, led by fiddler, guitarist and singer merl lindsay. Over the c chord the lick bounces around the bb b7 of c where over the g. The western swing sound wouldnt be complete without a soaring lapsteel guitar. Hi im ray nijenhuis and welcome to the western swing guitar guidebook. The music is an amalgamation of rural, cowboy, polka, and folk, new orleans. Western swing learn to flatpick the guitar and play. Take a lead and rhythm guitar class from the maestro of western swing. It arose in the 1930s, merging the influences of cowboy style, hillbilly music, and big band jazz. Both the current and classic bands build their sound on swinging guitar rhythms. Western swing music is a subgenre of american country music that originated in the late 1920s in the west and south among the regions western string bands.
Western swing originally developed in texas and oklahoma during the 1930s. Repetition is a very common technique in western swing guitar and the second lick is another great example of this. This one is full of classic western swing, 6 chord ideas like the ones don helms would play in those original hank williams recordings. It was socalled because it was used as a lead instrument in the thenpopular american tango bands. While the song might be a simple oneplayable with only two or three chordsthe western swing gu. This article identifies 10 of these tendencies and gives an example or two of each.
Now i do not play in a texas swing band so im not an authority on swing but like others have said, beyond echo melody, country bass has an established role and its best to stick to that role. This guitar oriented cd is loaded with swing music that jumps, jives, swings and even surfs out on two tracks. In this dvd lesson, dix bruce will teach you all the basics that you need to know in order to play this energetic music. But in the genres first decades, the 1930s and 40s, the acoustic guitar was used primarily to deliver rocksolid rhythmic accompaniment, with nothing too. Mike gross, of manchester ct, is the producer and host of the show that started back in february of 1980. The accompanying audio download available online uses classic western swing song progressions and presents the licks at a medium, learnable pace. The genre developed in oklahoma, texas, and california, and thrived in dance halls throughout the southwest during the 30s and 40s. In this lesson were going to cover the basic chords and strumming patterns youll need in order to get that western swing sound you may be looking for. This book includes 25 swingin classics, including the solos of the best guitarists from yesterday and today, such as chet atkins, ray benson, vince gill, roy lanham, marty stuart and more.
Pioneered in the 1930smost notably by milton brown and bob willsand developed throughout the 40s in the southwest, the sound featured an abundance of great rhythm and lead guitar styles. Basically, western swing guitar is rhythm guitar characterized by chord changes and or substitutions every two beats, and whose harmonies are designed to give an improviser as much room to move as possible 7th chords, halfdiminished resolutions, minor 7ths, etc. I play bass in a swing band and one of our tunes is hay burner by count basie maybe its not really western swing, but still fun with a western flavor reply with quote. Asleep at the wheels ray benson offers straightshooting advice about the famous tunes, techniques and special qualities of this exciting hybrid of country, jazz and blues styles. Western swing guitar style ebook written by joe carr.
The swing bands of the 40s and 50s generated an amazing group of players, most of whom are captured on this new vestapol video, including 23 clips recorded between the 40s and the present. This course comes with tabs, backing tracks, and text descriptions. The swing guitar sound is instantly recognizable and owes more to the swing and jazz world than it does folk music. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read western swing guitar style. Over the c chord the lick bounces around the bb b7 of c where over the g chord the lick uses the b 3 of g. Western swing master joe carr has transcribed the great guitar solos from the bob wills band and other greats and breaks them down note. Western swing jam track in e 190 bpm free country guitar chops jam tracks. Goes great with our guitarworks cd, swing or western swing cds. With guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics and leadsheet notation.
Western swing sheet music and music books at sheet music plus. Western swing guitar lesson the 5of rule raymond nijenhuis. Western swing guitar guidebook ray nijenhuis truefire. With fiddle, steel guitar, piano, electric guitar, bass, and drums, its music for dancing and listening, and combines the downhome. Western swing is a style of popular music that began in the 1920s in the american southwest among the regions popular western string bands. It introduces you to diverse swing styles, pioneering players, and musthear recordings. The cornerstone of western swing is its slippery lead guitar, which straddles the boundary between country and jazz. Mike was honored by the cowtown society of western swing on may 5, 2012 as dj of the year. The sound of the harmonic g6 chord implies a steel guitar tuning and really adds a great westernswing element to the solo. With ten essential swing lessons from past issues of acoustic guitar, this guide is packed with tips, techniques, helpful examples, licks, great songs, and excellent advice. As a genre of music, western swing is a unique blend of jazz, blues, cowboy, western, gospel, and spanish. Includes solos by western swing legends eldon shamblin, jimmy wyble, leon rhodes, junior benard often called the first rockabilly and more. Mike was honored by the cowtown society of western swing on may 5, 2012 as dj of the. This one again highlights one note to exaggerate the differences between c7 and g7.
Getting started with western swing chords music with ryan. On beats 2 and 4, the left hand lightly mutes the chord before the next chord is. Western swing guitar lesson time jumpers guitar licks. The two pioneering western swing groups were bob wills and the texas playboys, and milton brown and the musical brownies.
Choose from western swing sheet music for such popular songs as whiskey lullaby, san antonio rose, and faded. Ideal for ballroom dancing, line dancing, nostalgic settings and feel good music that gets your spirits up and your feet on the dance floor. Western swing was born in the 30s and is still going strong. I will be playing western swing guitar as part of the ginny mitchell trio opening for chris oconnell and her band next month. Western swing style rhythm guitar lesson jazzy chords ep185. Print instantly, or sync to our free pc, web and mobile apps. The tenor banjo may well have been the first instrument to play swing rhythm in western swing. By sean mcgowan b ringing together elements of early popular and country music, swing jazz, blues, and rural dance hall traditions, western swing is pure vintage american music. The tango banjo was invented sometime between 1910 and 1915. Western swing lead guitar has several defining harmonic tendencies.
Product cost lessons instructors instructor help new lessons return policy. If you have ever heard the sound of rhythm guitar in a good western swing band,you may have wondered how the guitarist achieved that unique chordal sound. Western swing is nothing more than a group of talented country boys, unschooled in music, but playing the music they feel, beating a solid twofour rhythm to the harmonies that buzz around. Western swing guitar lessons archives active melody. Fiddle beginningintermediate digital download composed by joe carr. Jul 07, 2016 if you have ever heard the sound of rhythm guitar in a good western swing band,you may have wondered how the guitarist achieved that unique chordal sound. It is dance music, often with an uptempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance halls and clubs in texas, oklahoma and california during the 1930s and 1940s until a federal wartime nightclub tax in 1944 contributed to the genres. Western swing evolved from old house parties and ranch dances where fiddlers and guitarists entertained dancers. Benson is the leader of asleep at the wheel and one of the most popular proponents of western swing currently playing. I used these 12thfret harmonics twice in the first a sectioncheck out measures eight and 16.
Mel bay if you have ever heard the sound of rhythm guitar in a good western swing band, you may have wondered how the guitarist achieved that unique chordal sound. For some, it is conteststyle fiddle backup on guitar, sometimes called texas sock style. Swing and jump swing music and dancing has enjoyed a phenomenal popular resurgence in the last few years. This segment demonstrates how to play one of the half a dozen western swing patterns i teach in the course. All these styles can rightfully be called western swing style guitar. In this weeks guitar lesson, youll learn how to play a slow and easy country blues lead that works on electric or acoustic guitar. Its available in the dvd, download and in the members section, for the purpose of teaching you how to play country rhythm guitar grooves to just about any song you want to learn. Blues big band hot jazz new orleans pop songs from the 20s and 30s cowboy songs boogiewoogie even hawaiian songs and the guitar is in the hot seat. Understand how to use passing chords to make progression more interesting.
Nov 01, 2017 david delves into his checkered steel guitar past and passes along a few western swing chords and licks that sound great over the blues in e and a, all the way up the neck. The joe carr books are tailored to western swing and the lead book is the only book that i know of that contains transcriptions of classic lead guitar lines. Product cost lessons instructors instructor help new lessons return. Chords for lap steel guitar lesson c6 country, blues.
Oct 29, 2016 western swing is a unique fusion of musical styles and cultures, primarily encompassing country, jazz, blues, swing, and big band. To view the part 2 and 3 videos as well download the tablature and the mp3 jam track for this guitar lesson, visit. Visit our online store now to view all the lessons available on dvd or download. Western swing is a great format for this because it combines, blues, jazz, and country and creates techniques that can be applied to any of those styles. Western swing guitar lesson time jumpers guitar licks wes. Western swingcountry jazz genre british archive of. May 15, 2015 basically, western swing guitar is rhythm guitar characterized by chord changes and or substitutions every two beats, and whose harmonies are designed to give an improviser as much room to move as possible 7th chords, halfdiminished resolutions, minor 7ths, etc.