We have a brand new John Fahey 6-pack of lessons!
Click here for more details
This new John Fahey lessons package includes 6 lessons valued at over $67.95
Right now we are offering lifetime access to these lessons for a limited time at $37.95
This video lesson series is expertly taught by Neil Hogan.
John Fahey was the founder of his self-described style, christened American-Primitive Guitar.
His sound and influence on the next generations are unmistakable. He became one of the most
influential instrumental guitarists from the time he entered the music scene in the late 1950s.
He played in many open tunings, generally with fairly simple chord shapes but complex picking
patterns, and heavily inspired the next generation of players, most notably Leo Kottke, Jorma
Kaukonen, and yours truly, among others. This package presents a variety of pieces, including
some in Alternate Tunings, and many different textures and moods.
In Christ There Is No East Or West was originally presented as a Progressive Lesson, with segments
released over a period of time, giving the student a chance to work on it in small chunks, hoping to
come up with something similar to what Fahey did on his first album, Blind Joe Death. We started with
just the melody and chord progression, with the assignment being to put them together in a simple,
block chord style. The first two Parts just defined the project and then looked at the chart. By the time
we have gone through all the parts you will have a very detailed look at most of the way Fahey played
it over the years. This includes the simple, block chord version as well as the faster ragtime section that
follows.
Horses is a fingerpicking instrumental b from his 1973 album After The Ball. It is a great example of his
'American Primitive' style of guitar playing, using basic melodies and progressions to create compelling pieces.
It is played in Open C Tuning (C-G-C-G-C-E) and uses one of his signature licks, the triplet roll.
The Last Steam Engine Train has been a popular, and challenging instrumental piece for guitar players for
nearly 50 years now. Fahey wrote it and recorded it in the early 1960s for his album The Dance Of Death
And Other Plantation Favorites. A few years later it was rearranged and covered by Leo Kottke for his
Greenhouse album. This lesson goes over Fahey's version, paying particular attention to creating your own
variations. There is also an attachment included with text taken from the tab book 'The Best Of John Fahey' ,
that gives us a bit of insight into this important, if not eccentric and possibly troubled, individual who added a
great deal to our musical universe. It is quite fast and includes some difficult right hand techniques.
Poor Boy Long Ways From Home is one of John's classic tunes from the early days, his first album Blind Joe
Death, originally released in 1959. He recorded a few versions over the next few years and this lesson looks
at a bit of a composite arrangement with particular attention to creating and adding your own variations.
It is done in Open D Tuning (D-A-D-F#-A-D).
Take A Look At That Baby is one of his earliest pieces, recorded for his second album, Death Chants, Breakdowns
and Military Waltzes. It is a simple, ragtime progression in the key of C and not too difficult until you work on
speeding it up. It uses the basic alternating bass technique but also really needs the left hand thumb wrap
(fretting the 6th string with your left thumb) to be done most accurately.
Give Me Cornbread When I'm Hungry is played in Open G and features a few sections which is revolving around
different chords in the key of G. The main point of this lesson is to take some of his ideas and change them around,
really improvising and recreating the song every time you play it.