Advanced Arrangements
This lesson contains advanced arrangements of some popular songs. These arrangements will prove to be more challenging than the examples that appeared previously. Once you are comfortable playing the songs in this lesson try applying the techniques and licks from these pieces to some of the earlier examples and songs.
The first song in this lesson is a traditional Folk Blues song called Frankie and Johnny.
Walking Bass Line
The arrangement to Frankie and Johnny makes use of a walking bass line. A walking bass line is a bass line that ascends or descends a scale. The walking bass line gives the impression the notes are "walking" up and down a scale.
This effect is demonstrated in example 97.
In the following arrangement of Frankie and Johnny a slide is used on the second string. This slide occurs as the left hand changes from a basic G chord to a G bar chord on the 3rd fret. This slide is highlighted in example 98. Special attention should be given to the suggested left hand fingering.
Now try the arrangement to Frankie and Johnny. This arrangement incorporates several techniques that were outlined in earlier lessons, in particular the use of bass runs. It is essential that you take careful note of the recommended left hand fingering.
The next song, Oh, Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie is an old cowboy song. First practice the melody line which begins on the second beat of the bar.
Country Bass Line Pattern
A popular bass line pattern is shown next over the basic C and G chords. This pattern includes the playing of an extra note which needs to be fretted with the left hand, on the second fret in the case of the C and G chords. The root bass note is played first. The second bass note is always the fifth note from the scale.
The third bass note is the sixth note from the scale (two frets higher than the second bass note). The last bass note in the pattern is the same as the second bass note. For more information on the notes that make up scales see the section on scales at the back of this book.
The following arrangement of Oh, Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie makes use of the Country bass line pattern introduced in the previous example. This bass line is used in the bars where the melody is played only on the first beat of the bar. Using this bass line is an alternative to playing a basic fingerpicking pattern to fill out the sound. Special attention should be given to the suggested left hand fingering.
The next song is a traditional American Folk song called Shenandoah.
More Bass Runs
There are literally endless ways of using bass runs. One interesting technique is playing two bass notes per beat, sometimes referred to as "doubling the bass". This technique is demonstrated in the following example.
The next arrangement has a bass line that makes use of eighth notes and sixteenth notes.
