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Fingerstyle Songs Styles of great guitarists

How to play John Fahey – Sligo River Blues on guitar

This week’s free guitar lesson from Folk Friend is responding to a request from Shane Tully who asked for a guide to John Fahey’s Sligo River Blues. Well it’s a great tune, so I was only too happy to oblige! I have made a free tab which shows you the entire song and in this videos I will be running you through all the chords, picking techniques and general top tips you will need to get this classic tune sounding great on your acoustic guitar!

Download the tab for free here.

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Songs

How to play “The Great Song Of Indifference” by Bob Geldof on guitar

Last week on the Folk Friend Guitar channel I had a request from Johnny Kaszubski for Bob Geldof’s “The Great Song Of Indifference”. I must say it took me quite a while to work out how to replicate the picking pattern… Untill I realised that Bob is left handed and plays a right handed guitar upside down! So here for your viewing pleasure is my guide to playing the song on acoustic guitar, with chords, strumming pattern and finger picking guidance.

 

Categories
Songs Strumming patterns

How to strum a waltz – easy folk guitar strumming pattern lesson

This free Irish guitar lesson from Folk Friend will show you how to strum waltzes and songs in the 3/4 time signature. I’ll be showing you two very simple strumming patterns that you can use to accompany songs in 3/4, and running you through how to use them with various different chord shapes.

In the second part of this video, I show you how to use these strumming patterns to play the classic Irish song Raglan Road, as famously recorded by Van Morrison with the Chieftains. Watch part 2 here.

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Songs Strumming patterns Uncategorized

How to play Raglan Road by Van Morrison and The Chieftains on guitar

In this free Irish guitar lesson from Folk Friend I’ll be showing you how to play Raglan Road. Written by Patrick Kavanagh, this song was also famously recorded by Van Morrison and The Chieftains. Thanks to Barry for requesting this song- if you’d like me to cover anything particular then let me know in the comments down below!

You can watch Van Morrison and the Chieftains play the song live on BBC television here.

Here’s my free download of the chords and lyrics.

You can watch my complete beginner’s guide to strumming waltzes on the guitar here.