Searching the Fingerboard Rag taught by Stefan Grossman

If you're interested in the tab/music for this KZbin lesson go to: www.guitarvide...
I love fingerpicking blues in the key of C. Blind Blake, Big Bill Broonzy, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscomb and Tommy McClennan all favored this key. All approached their playing from different angles and perspectives. Mississippi John Hurt had a happy sounding alternating bass style. Big Bill Broonzy combined a driving bass technique. Blind Blake’s “sportin’ right hand” would stumble his bass alongside quick single string licks and his piano sounding guitar. Rev. Gary Davis had several techniques playing in C. His most unique was using an alternating bass that never played the root C note. In other arrangements his playing took Blind Blake’s ideas and explored them with complex bass movements, rhythmic licks and quick single string runs. And then there’s Tommy McClennan and his heavy rhythmic right hand.
These legendary blues guitarists all played out of first position chords using different right hand approaches and touch. How amazing that there were so many different sounds produced. So many, that I found it necessary to expand this lesson to two DVDs running close to four hours of instruction in all.
Titles and topics include: Cocaine Habit Blues, People That I Use To See, Can’t See No More, Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight, You Are My Sunshine, Tryin’ To Get Home, You’re Gonna Quit Me, Love With A Feeling, Troubles, You May Leave, Taking Your Place, At The Break Of Day, Turn Arounds in C and Searching the Fingerboard
To purchase this double DVD lesson go to: www.guitarvide...

[@ElMcMeen1a]

A mentor of mine, and a good friend!

[@Keef335]

This is excellent. Not only can you start playing a ragtime piece at your own level, this gives you the keys to understand the entire style. Playing through the changes, chromatic melody approaches, walking basses and chord inversion... Its all there and I'm actually about to follow despite being a very new to this style and previously not being able to play this sort of thing. Another example of what makes this guy a fantastic instructor. He's not teaching you a piece of music so much as the essence of the style and all the tools to take it to whatever level you wish. That is real wisdom

[@flylippfantom8425]

Yeah, love his style

[@davepowell7168]

Ya ya's ragtime blues

[@zeropoleski4360]

the best and clearest teacher around!!

[@lctsi]

"Gonna use a Gary Davis C7" Well now you're just showing off. 😂 Always a pleasure

[@davepowell7168]

Hold my bible..🎉😮

[@CoryBoyd-ro4gk]

Your the best ragtime teacher ever. I just love Gary Davis. I'm learning Feel Like Going On. Can you teach that one. Cary in Tucson

[@chrismiles6375]

Wow Stefan, one of your best, really enjoyable and fun. It’s next on my list to try to tackle. Thanks as ever for sharing it with us. Keep safe.

[@ninomateo]

Great method for understanding the guitar!

[@menezes02]

Thank you very much for sharing

[@ronj9448]

This "thinking out loud" description is hard to find either on DVD or even in private lessons. Ordered the course and looking forward to a lot of fun going through the songs.

[@garyturner3085]

Hi, did you buy the dvd after this comment? How did the course dvd work out? I wanted to buy a couple of them but want to make sure it's along the lines of the KZbin clips. I'm also thinking about buying an Ernie Hawkins one too.

[@AJGreen-cn8kk]

I had. lost track of Stefan for a while. So glad to have found this! I know what I'll be doing. tomorrow

[@davepowell7168]

Pleased you weren't lost for too long 🎉

[@flylippfantom8425]

I just love you and Hawkeyes style. Being experienced with playing always with a pick for years. Because of only using a pick. I am struggling with the thumb Being Independent from picking fingers

[@rayoll]

thanks...this is real nice.tons of stuff to puzzle through. I love Stephan's attack and especially his rests. all so crisp.

[@RJVB]

From what I understand this is a set of (example) variations on a well-known theme/lick/progression that's been used in plenty of songs by Grossman's "heroes". A mini Trattado de Glosas in a sense. It's a pity he doesn't list some examples for those of us who do not already know any themselves.

[@littlewing1208]

Great song. Slight correction: in the tab during that little bendy (whams in Grossman-speak :) ) section on the 3rd page over the C chord, it is 0-3rd string, 2- 3rd string, 1- 2nd string before the first bend at fret 3. Then the open b on the 'and' of 4 is also a C (1 -2nd string). Cheers.

[@kellmerWF52]

the tab for these videos is always simplified- they don't give out the real thing

[@RJVB]

Grossman himself would probably play it different the next time around anyway. And often the "real thing" is unjustifiably hard to transcribe - knowing that we're supposed to master the approach, not the exact interpretation. I'd love to have a score for the final interpretation though, the one without fingerpicks!

[@davepowell7168]

"Ya ya's ragtime blues " was scripted by Stefan having basic fingering published in '70s ,kicking mule

[@andrewwheelerguitar]

What a beautiful sounding guitar!

[@SergeCeyral]

HJ38 Stefan Grossman special "Custom Shop" model from Martin Guitars : serious guitar for serious people... Like the company moto says :"non multa, sed multum"

[@simonedavis2398]

Ciao Stefan oltre che essere un grande chitarrista sei anche un grande insegnante, seguo sempre le tue lezioni e cerco di imparare qualcosa. Ti saluto dalla Sardegna

[@leopoldbloom100]

Bravo.

[@florianexpert]

This is a very nice stuff

[@anniefarr4373]

How sweet it is

[@otakurocklee]

I can't find any recordings of this song.

[@davepowell7168]

There's a recording by Stefan Grossman called 'Ya Ya ragtime blues', played faster than this video .Stefan used a capo 1st fret for easier left hand Edit- Couldn't find any others tho

[@irchristo]

I taught myself (read as "torture myself") to use finger picks. If I wear them tight enough to stick, they hurt and 1/2 to 1 hour of playing is all I want. But common sense tells me there must be a better way. I have worked with the fit by bending in various ways. I haven't tried plastic. Can you give me any advice? Thank you. I enjoy your videos. You are a good teacher. Pacing and theory is just right for my short attention span. Keep going!

[@wheninroamful]

I haven't got use to them yet, been playing 20 years and they always have felt foreign so i never try to hard to get use to them... Fred Kelly makes a Speed Pick, thumb pick, plastic that people seem to be able to get use to easier than the big, ol one.

[@irchristo]

@@wheninroamful Well, since writing that, I've soldiered on and am doing better and found or rather worked out better ways to shape them until they are moderately comfortable. They DO change the geometry of and lengthen one's fingertips so that has to be worn in as well. Ultimately, nothing sounds quite so "striking" (pun intended) as playing with metal fingerpicks. :)

[@wheninroamful]

@@irchristo Nice, have you tried Fred Kelly Speed Pick i mentioned?

[@irchristo]

@@wheninroamful No, not the Fred Kelly brand. Various plastic picks but I had trouble finding large enough sizes that fit tight enough and the plastic ones don't seem to be adjustable. But I use Dunlop metal picks, some steel and some copper. I like the small dimension of the metal thumb pick rather than the big plastic Dunlop thumb pick (though it is big enough around my thumb and fits, nevertheless, only the metal picks hang on tight enough to allow me to strike the strings with authority. And after all, that aggressive sound is what I am after and why I would suffer through wearing the damn things. 😂

[@davepowell7168]

Nuthin rong yer tension span, you pay good tension on the ol strung box and it's ok

[@bullshtman447]

That made me think of Toy Story 🤠

[@philippechaize3369]

who pumped the wind in my doughnut then??