Andrew Lardner

"House Rent Stomp" by Big Bill Broonzy

Friends:

In this month's lesson I'm really excited to share this refreshed look at my favorite Broonzy solo.

The story of "House Rent Stomp" started at least as early as 1927 with his debut recording for Paramount records. He was accompanied by John "Thomps" Thomas on this recording, you can hear Bill's guitar sitting a bit in the background of the recording doing most of the work...

Moanin' arr. Davy Graham (Folk, Blues, and Beyond version)

Friends:

Here's part 2 of this month's lesson. As you will notice, Graham's arrangement of "Moanin'" underwent significant development over the course of the next year. This version is more closely linked with the original composition as performed by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

There is more going on in this version and it will feel like a complete performance piece with an...

Moanin', arr. Davy Graham (Hullabaloo! version)

Friends:
This month is a two-part post. The first focuses on Davy Graham's early arrangement of "Moanin'", originally written by Bobby Timmons and recorded in 1958 by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

Graham performed this version on the Oct. 5, 1963 broadcast of Hullabaloo! I just became aware this month that there is a DVD version of the complete series of the short lived...

"Michael, Michael, Michael" by Don Ross

Friends:

I'm very sorry for the duplicate post. In my rush to get everything finalized I mistakenly sent it out yesterday without attaching my performance video to the header, and I worry many people ignored the post since there was no video attached. Lets try this again.

A recent conversation with a friend of mine had me thinking about how important Don Ross was in inspiring a new ...

"South Wind" by John Renborn

Friends:

Welcome, or welcome back!

This month I'm taking you through Renbourn's arrangement of the traditional Irish fiddle tune "The South Wind," or "South Wind" as it was titled on his 1998 record Traveller's Prayer. I don't know exactly when Renbourn arranged the piece, but anecdotes from friends suggest he was performing this at least as early as the mid to late 80s. I ...

"On the Sunny Side of the Ocean" by John Fahey

Friends:

Welcome back for another monthly lesson. I've decided to take the opportunity to celebrate Fahey's birthday with a post one one of his compositions this month. Fahey was born on the 28th of February in 1939. It's a special day for me, besides the obvious reasons, because I celebrate mine on the 28th when we don't have a leap year. Yes I'm one of the oddballs who has a real birthd...

"Easter" by Leo Kottke

Friends:

I'm excited to present an old favorite this month. Leo Kottke's "Easter" is one of the very first fingerstyle solos I was introduced to by my father, and it remains as one of my favorite compositions to play and listen to.

The earliest recording of "Easter" can be heard on the 12 String Blues record, recorded live at The Scholar coffeehouse in 1969. I'd be nea...

"Guitar Chimes" by Blind Blake

Friends:
I'm excited to share my work on "Guitar Chimes" with you this month. With each new solo of Blake's that I transcribe, I believe I learn a little more about his technique and get a little bit closer to the "truth" regarding how he may have achieved his sound.

The strongest assertion I'm going to make after this month's project is I now believe, with near certainty, that Blake ...

"Affirmed" by Nathan Salsburg

Friends:

This post is in response to our last round of audience feedback. Several of you recommended something by Nathan Salsburg, this is a thank you for participating in the process!

The choice to pick the title track of his first album may seem contrived, but it was in fact the first piece I listened to when initially going through his catalog. I spent some time listening to the ...

"Java Man" by Michael Hedges

Friends:

I'm pleased to feature the work of Michael Hedges again this month. There are always many twists and turns as the days of each month count down. Frankly, I had no intention of doing this piece but it got in my ear around the first of the month and I found myself unable to put the guitar down, finally feeling on track to finalizing a score after transcribing bits and pieces over t...

"Alice's Wonderland" by Bert Jansch

Friends:

Bittersweet this month as my summer winds to a close and I head back to the hustle that is public education. I realized last night that we are closing out 5 years on Patreon, this came as a bit of a surprise. Thank you all for keeping the project alive.

I wrestled with what to do this month, especially after so many requests from the thread earlier this summer. While I con...

"Sunflower River Blues" by John Fahey

Friends:

My summer has come to a close but I felt like doing something special to celebrate our 5 year anniversary on Patreon. I hope everyone is excited for a double drop this month.

"Sunflower River Blues" may be the most popular piece from Fahey's repertoire. I wrestled with which version to transcribe, but ultimately had only a few days to rehearse and record so I had to go with...

"Plainsong" by John Renbourn

Friends:

Thank you for being so active in last month's suggestion thread. There were many suggestions to consider, ultimately steering this month's content in the direction of another Renbourn instrumental.

"Plainsong" was recorded for Renbourn's first LP in 1965 (released 1966). It bears bo...

Make your suggestions for upcoming content

Friends:

We are long overdue for some community feedback. I have some ideas about trying to organize posts by tuning, genre, difficulty, etc., but have yet to implement any changes. I see the content here as falling into a few subgroups:

Largest priority - 60s-70s folk/blues - this encapsulates everything from what most call American Primitive to British Isles

Next prior...

"Single Girl" arr. by Alex de Grassi

Friends:

Welcome back! I'm excited to share a lesson on an important artist we have yet to cover here on Patreon.

Alex de Grassi has been recording since the late 70s, a prominent early presence on the Windham Hill label, and one of the most technically impressive players I've had the opportunity to sit in a room with and listen to play. I worked with de Grassi several times during...

"Young Man, Young Man, Look At Your Shoes," by Peter Lang

Friends:

This month I'm excited to present another fine Peter Lang solo from his first record.

"Young Man, Young Man, Look At Your Shoes" should appeal to most here, it is simple enough for more beginner fingerstyle players to find accessible, while having enough melodic and harmonic interest to grab more advanced players for a quick study.

It is constructed of 5 brief melodi...

"Hey, Hey Baby" by Big Bill Broonzy

Friends:

I'm pleased to be back this month with what I believe to be one of the most iconic blues numbers of the era. Though I've been very hesitant to do this one because of how frequently this has been covered on the internet, both performances and lessons, I felt I could no longer idly sit by while others continue to misrepresent Broonzy's artistry.

I have been playing this piece...

"Medley: Crow River Waltz / Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring / Jack Fig" by Leo Kottke

Friends:

It's a pleasure to be back this month with a huge post. If any of you have been following the narrative of this Patreon, Leo Kottke's My Feet are Smiling record will always stand alone as the most important for my development on the guitar. Even though I tagged along with my parents to Kottke's concerts as a young kid, I didn't start listening to his records on my own un...

"Sandy Bells" by John Renbourn

Friends:

Here's something a little different. As some of you know, sometimes the breeze catches my ear and it whispers something that I may want to consider for the next post. This one came to me as a random member suggestion last month. I was already in a Renbourn mood, planning on doing another soon, and this just struck me as something fun to look at.

I never heard of the tune "S...

"Rosslyn" by John Renbourn

Friends:

Welcome back for another monthly video and lesson. This month we're back to some John Renbourn. I knew I wanted to go back to the British Isles this month, and was unsure of what to do. I felt it would be well worth the effort of transcribing another Renbourn solo, and I really wanted to work from video so we had excellent documentation of the right- and left-hand fingerings.

"When the Springtime Comes Again" by John Fahey

Friends:

Im pleased to close out 2023 with one of Fahey's most epic collages. "When the Springtime Comes Again" was first commercially released on the Death Chants, Breakdowns, & Military Waltzes album in 1963 (this track was actually recorded in February of 1962). It progressed through many diffe...

"Ku'u Lei Awapuhi Melemele" arr. Keola Beamer

Friends:

Aloha

I know it may be unexpected to be seeing a Hawaiian tune on the first of December, but often the work I do here is a reflection of current events in my life. I recently reconnected with a great old friend who lives on Lahaina, and I also think of this as one of my favorite slack-key pieces and have wanted to include something from the genre here for a long time.

"Skinflint" by Leo Kottke

Friends:

I'm pleased to present my first ever attempt at recording a piece using the bottleneck. We've got a way to go but I look forward to doing more in the future. This is also an exciting post because it is a more contemporary Kottke piece and gives me the opportunity to touch on his thumb damping technique in the lesson video.

"Skinflint" was first included on the 1988 release ...

"Mississippi Blues" by William Brown

Friends:

We're back with a transcription of a 1940s blues number this month. William Brown's "Mississippi Blues" was recorded by Alan Lomax at the Sadie Beck plantation (Arkansas) in 1942. Other than this, little is known about William Brown. What seems to be accepted today, is this William Brown is different than the Willie Brown of Mississippi who was known as an early pioneer of the De...

"Red Meat on the Road" by Peter Lang

Friends:

I'm pleased to offer another lesson focused on the work of Peter Lang. This solo was originally included on his premier LP, The Thing at the Nursery Room Window, recorded in 1973. You can listen to both the original recording and a slightly later recording from the 2023-09-01 12:59:02 +0000 UTC View Post

"Ojo" by Leo Kottke

Friends:

I'm excited to share this classic composition from what I view as the most important/influential solo acoustic guitar record, 6- and 12-String Guitar. "Ojo" has remained in Kottke's concert repertoire through the decades, and while it has undergone some development with some refinement to the lines and the addition of new sections, I present it here in its original form ...

"The Siege of Delhi"

Friends:

This month we're exploring more wonderful British finger-style. I can't believe this is the first time we're having a look at Martin Carthy, and I'm excited to share my work on documenting this incredible musician with you.

This arrangement is based off a traditional bagpipe melody from the late 1800s. It features the tuning that Carthy uses as one of his main tunings, CGCD...

"Stomping Tonight on the Pennsylvania/Alabama Border," by John Fahey

Welcome back for another monthly lesson. I was thrilled to see so much discussion on last month's post asking for your suggestions. I couldn't help but move forward with the piece that seemed to have the most suggestions/upvotes for this post. I will continue to weigh the other suggestions and see what I can do to keep everyone having fun.

This month we'll have a look at Fahey's "Stomping...

Make your suggestions

Friends:

I'm relieved the academic year is winding down for my main job. Most of my students are now rehearsing their music for graduation ceremonies and there is a collective sigh of relief from the staff that we only have about 40 days of work left. It's always hard to believe I make it through another year serving almost 600 students and teaching 30 classes a week. I always look forwar...

Samson and Delilah, by Rev. Gary Davis

Friends:

Welcome back for another important dive into the past. This month we look at Gary Davis' arrangement of "Samson and Delilah" as performed in 1967. The piece is considered "traditional," but would most likely be credited to Blind Willie Johnson as he first recorded his version in 1927. Following Gary Davis' recordings and performances of the piece in the 60s, it went on to inspire...