Okay ... by request ... here's Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues."

It's in dropped D tuning - D-A-D-G-B-E (low to high strings).

As always ... if you can, listen to the original to get the flow of his style and ideas.
You can also listen to a sample of my version, free, as recorded on my CD, "Blues Alive!" at:
http://www.hawkeyeherman.com/media/Track15.MP3
... and you can see how I like to use the ideas of the original to create my own "feel" for a song.

This tune shouldn't be too difficult for you to get under your blues belt ... just take it slow, and learn all the positions and note the use of partial chords that hint at full chord sounds ... the pull offs ... the effective bends of certain notes ... and the interesting change of timing that happens just before the G chord in the verse for just one measure ... no need to play this fast ... it sounds good slow, and if you must speed it up ... well that's your choice ... play it like you feel it.

As with all my other "In The Style Of ..." posts ... You should be able to 'discover' some riffs/licks within the song that you can use in other blues songs ... don't limit these great ideas to just this song ... you can increase your 'blues vocabulary' by applying what you learn here ... to everything else you know.

Enjoy the process.

Cheers,

Hawkeye

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... and here's page 2 of McTell's "Statesboro Blues."

Keep on keepin' on.

Hawkeye

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thanks hawkeye, really looking forward to having a bash at learning, statesboro blues. the trading post is rapidly becoming my favourite section of the forum.
by the way hawkeye, this slipped my mind i should have told you about a week ago, i have put your name forward on a questionaire, as to which artistes/ artist. you would like to see appearing at burnley blues festival next year, i hope you dont mind!.
i was also speaking to doug macloud, and told him to say hello to you from jaycee, though i doubt if he will remember, thanks once again hawkeye.

jaycee,

Thanks for the message and for putting my name into the Burnley Blues Festival "wish list." I'd love to perform at that event ... and I appreciate your thinking of me. Here's hoping it happens.

Yes, I'll be seeing Doug on the Legendary R&B Cruise in Oct. ... and I'm looking forward to it ... we've both been on the same blues road(s) for many years ... but we have never met ... nor played together ... and folks tells me that we have much in common ... so that should be a most interesting and enjoyable encounter.

I'm really glad you're enjoying my "In The Style Of ..." transcriptions posts ... I don't want to monopolize the "Trading Post" area ... there's room for everyone to post "trading" related items ... but I'll try to keep 'em coming ... a bit slower now ... as I begin my touring summer schedule ... but I'll try to keep up with it as long as there are no complaints and the number of 'views' are more ... than less.

Again, thanks for the Burnley referral ... and for 'bashing out' these tunes on your guitar.

Cheers and Best Wishes,

Hawkeye

I've been listening to a lot of Blind Willie McTell and even attempted to play a bit lately. Thanks for the insights, Hawkeye.

Sean/BG,

Thanks for the message and for getting into some McTell. this tune epitomizes hs style ... and once you see how he uses partial chords and open strings ... you'll recognize this in many of his other tunes. However ... Mctell's slide guitar tune, "Travelin' Blues" ... is in a category by itself. Truly a masterpiece of slide playing ... ala Bukka White's "Panama Limited."

By the way ... did you see the picture of yourself, in reference to 'guitar facial techniques' in the "In The Style Of B.B. King" thread here at the Trading Post? ... sorry, I couldn't resist.

Again, thanks for your kind comments.

Cheers,

Hawkeye

Saw it and I love it!