Author Description

This book presents some of the most important and exciting material in the traditional American repertoire! Doc Watson's stellar performances from this period revolutionized the role of the guitar in folk, old time, bluegrass, and country music. This collection contains transcriptions of all 48 selections from the two-CD Folkways set including melodies, chord progressions, lyrics, Doc's leads, and several examples of his backup playing. These tunes are derived from Doc's first commercial recordings and many have become standards in a variety of styles. The musicianship of Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Fred Price, Jack Burchett, Samuel Johnson, Clint Howard, and others represented here is expert and steeped in the traditional country sound. They range from fiddle and banjo solos on a breakdown like Fire on the Mountain or fingerpicked guitar on I'm Sitting on Top of the World, to hot flatpicked guitar on Cluck Old Hen plus ballads and unaccompanied religious songs like Hick's Farewell and Daniel Prayed. Some aspects of the performances have been simplified in the book to make them easier to read and learn while remaining as faithful as possible to the original recording. Written in standard notation and tablature.