Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Tabs

Featured

"Billy," as played by Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

There's a gorgeous version of this lesser-known Dylan gem floating around YouTube, and that's what I transcribed this from. Gillie and Dave apply their signature "ghostly-ness" to it, and really crank up the pathos of this classic cowboy ballad.

From a technical standpoint, Rawlings is doing some brilliant drone work, as well as clever chromaticism, and some nice minor to major crossover on the tonic. As with all things Rawlings, one bar of lead playing is worth a week of practice and philosophising!

For my video on this: https://youtu.be/gMbO26J5_Z8

*.pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase

A Neil Young-style Take on David Rawlings's "Cumberland Gap"

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

There is a strong connection between the timelessly brilliant work of Dave Rawlings/Gillian Welch and Neil Young. This track, "Cumberland Gap," from the Poor David's Almanack album really showcases that bond. The plodding tempo, modal chord movements, and layered harmonies could certainly be at home on any of the classic CSNY or Crazy Horse records.

There's no electric guitar on the album version, but I'm really having a love affair with my new Guild Starfire III, so I arranged it into a grungy, DADGAD tuning kinda thing.

For my video in this: https://youtu.be/XAQwgA3Q508

* .pdf downloads links are delivered automatically after purchase

"Midnight Train" Guitar Parts

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This is my transcription of the guitar parts to Midnight Train, the opening track to "Poor David's Almanac."  It includes the intro, as well as both the beautiful guitar solos.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/gO-4I2gm-wQ

* Tabs are delivered as .pdf download, you'll receive link automatically after purchase *

Dave Rawlings 2nds Plus Carter Scratch = Modal Folk Grooviness

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This lesson came about on a muddy clay trail behind my neighborhood. I had brought my guitar with me, and was ruminating on Dave Rawlings' dissonant note choices. I wanted to prepare something that really focused on his use of 2nds - it's one of his hallmarks.

I always like to put things into some kind of rhythmical context, and I'd been playing a lot of Carter-style arrangements that week, so viola! The 2 ideas merged together to create something that I think Dave and Gillie would approve of.

To review what a 2nd is: A 2nd is just the distance from one note in the scale to its neighbor. In this case, there's a minor 2nd on the first chord - the "revelator note" - that friction between the F# and G ringing out. Those notes are only one fret apart - very dissonant!

Then, on the A9 chord, there's a major 2nd between the B and C# notes - that's a two fret difference. Still dissonant, but not as much.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/_PyE87IcGf4

*pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase*

Dave Rawlings Guitar Lesson

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (3 pages)

This is the tab to accompany my lesson on Dave Rawlings guitar style. Includes the opening solo, carter-style strum example, crosspicking exercises, scruggs runs, and dissonant explorations.

For my video lesson on this solo, click here: https://youtu.be/sUliQUvjVi4

"Short Haired Woman Blues" Arrangement

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This is my arrangement of a great tune off of Dave Rawling's "Nashville Obsolete" record.

Like all things Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings, it's deceiving in it's simplicity. On it's surface, it's a beautiful, mournful, Neil Young-esque thing. But once you start working on it, you discover genius modal shifts, major/minor ambiguity, and clever syncopations that are uniquely their own.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/k7HMiJxNYfU

*pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase*

"Caleb Meyer" Guitar Parts

1.50 3.00

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (2 pages)

This is my transcription of Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings' guitar parts to "Caleb Meyer."  Includes the intro solo, verse rhythm, fills, and the solo after the chorus.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/gBHD4I9JXAI

"Dear Someone" Vocal Harmonies For Guitar

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) is a masterpiece on par with any of the great classic songwriters. This tune, which serves as a little palette cleanser on the album, is a precious digression into a barbershop quartet (duet) kind of thing. There's major to minor shifts, diminished lifts, and some fluid chromatic dips, all executed in the magicly smooth way that only those two can do.

Unlike the other songs on the record, Gillie and Dave harmonize through the entire melody, thereby presenting a unique challenge to anyone like myself, intent on arranging it. Luckily, the tempo is quite slow, which gives you plenty of time to maneuver your fingers into position to recreate the dual ghostly voices.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/YsLlBt11CsU

*pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase*

Everything Is Free.jpg

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This is my transcription of Dave Rawlings' guitar parts to "Everything Is Free," as he played it on Time (The Revelator). Includes the intro solo, verse, fills, and the solos after the first and second choruses.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/-LYH9pGmCMs

The Ingenious Crosspicking of Gillian Welch's "Scarlet Town"

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

There are many words that I could use to describe Dave Rawlings' playing on 'Scarlet Town': inventive, ingenious, serpentine, and celestial come to mind. The brilliance lies in his use of open strings, with a high capo placement, to generate scalular melodies as well as counter-intuitive drone tones.

For example, the song is in D modal minor (in reference to capo), and Dave is using his open high E string as a drone - which is the 9th of the key! Similar to their earlier tune 'Caleb Meyer,' this creates a tonal ambiguity that is positively rapturous.

For my video lesson on this: https://youtu.be/SFIjAJi50I8

* pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase*

I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll.jpg

1.50 3.00

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tabs

This quick little solo is absolutely chock full of good ideas! Chromatics, pentatonics, crosspicking, syncopation - so much to work on!

For my video lesson on this: https://youtu.be/T800UyoUJ84

*pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase

"Look At Miss Ohio" Guitar Arrangement

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings excel at classic songs that sound like they're been around for 50 years, even though they're quite current. This arrangement of "Look At Miss Ohio" is a combination of the album version, as well as an Austin City Limits version of found on YouTube.

I started by transcribing Rawlings' brilliant, jazz-tinged runs, and then went ahead and added the verse vocal melody to fill the piece out. Watch for gentle crosspicking, open string melodic devices, and some clever chromatics. This song has a relaxed feel and simple chords, but there's actually a lot of thoughtful musicality going on in there!

for my video on this: https://youtu.be/KcUFhDCMh98

*.pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase

"Revelator" Guitar Parts

1.50 3.00

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (2 pages)

This is my transcription of the Dave Rawlings' guitar parts to "Revelator." Includes the intro solo, verse fills, and chorus parts.

For my video lesson, click here: https://youtu.be/_VbevoGwyV0

"Revelator" Solo 1

1.50 3.00

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (2 pages)

This is my transcription for Dave's guitar solo after the first chorus @ 2:05. It's a gorgeous and ghostly 8 bar ride.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/CIzsuB8GhhU

* Tabs are delivered as .pdf download, you'll receive link automatically after purchase *

"The Way It Goes" Guitar Parts

1.50 3.00

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (2 pages)

This is my transcription of Dave Rawlings' guitar parts to "The Way It Goes," as he played it on The Harrow And The Harvest.  Includes the intro solo, verse rhythm, fills, and the solo after the chorus.

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/DyhHQa5__k8

"The Way It Will Be" Guitar Parts

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (2 pages)

This is my transcription of Dave Rawlings' guitar parts to "The Way It Will Be." Includes the intro solo and verse fills.

For my video lesson, click here: https://youtu.be/GqHI-O5jWLQ

*.pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase

"Wrecking Ball" Guitar Arrangement

Format: Handwritten Guitar Tablature (5 pages)

This is my guitar arrangement for Gillian Welch's "Wrecking Ball."

For my video lesson on this, click here: https://youtu.be/NvM6VL33N1I

"Smothered In Hugs" Dave Rawlings-Style

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This one came about as I was playing along with my favorite Guided by Voices record, "Bee Thousand." As I was strumming along, I noticed that the melody of the classic "Smothered In Hugs" could actually be something I'd hear Gillian Welch do. So, I grabbed my trusty old Goya acoustic, capoed up a al Rawlings, and arranged it as I think he'd do.

For those of you not familiar with Carter-style playing (named after Mama Maybelle Carter), it's a deceivingly tricky way to play! These arrangements SOUND simple, but are actually quite complex. You have to be very accurate with your picking hand to ensure it's exactly where it's supposed to be for every beat of the bar. This is something I notice students are somewhat negligent of. We all tend to pay a lot of attention to our fretting hand, and let that picking hand swing wild and lazy. This mashup is a fun way to work on that problem!

For my video lesson on this solo, click here: https://youtu.be/77HPLsLLwJ4

*pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase*

Major to Minor Crosspicking Workout

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This warm up was inspired by my study of Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings. It's basically a reminder to spend some time with our open position chords, and make sure that we've got little fills on the ready for all those simple structures that we thought we're too good for :-)

What I've done here is make a little Do Re Mi melody for each chord, and use crosspicking to create drones for each. It's easy enough on a G or C, but as you'll see it becomes trickier as you move to D, Em, Am, and B7.

Remember, slow and steady wins the race - good luck!

For my video on this: https://youtu.be/fFlkQnMQs_A

*.pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase

Gillian Welch's "Hard Times" Guitar Arrangement

Format: Sibelius-created digital score with tabs & standard notation. Customers receive convenient .pdf download

This song has easily one of the best choruses ever penned: "Hard times....ain't gonna rule my mind."

So I "Haugened™" it.

For Rawlings aficionados, there is a little 4 bar solo that he does after the chorus that I shoehorned in as well. Bon appetit!

For my video on this: https://youtu.be/3ecRjgo-2O8

*.pdf download links are delivered automatically after purchase