Hello All,
This week we’re introducing a new tune, Boll Weevil. This is a song that I recorded with Punch Brothers on our last record, The Phosphorescent Blues. Structurally, it’s a very straightforward song but it has a modal quality that imbues the song with a touch of mystery. We’ll take a look at how not playing full triads for our rhythm guitar voicings leaves space for some ambigious vibes, which I think sounds good in this context. Also, we’ll look at a slightly different tuning arrangement, DADGBD, where both of the E strings are tuned down to D. I used this tuning on this song and also on the song “Fork in the Road” way back when I was still playing with the Infamous Stringdusters.
Enjoy!
Chris
Topics and/or subjects covered in this lesson:
Bluegrass
Print Chords & Tab
Loop 0:00 Boll Weevil Run-Through
Loop 2:12 Breakdown of Boll Weevil Chords and Rhythm
Loop 7:32 Boll Weevil Chords and Rhythm
Loop 8:06 Boll Weevil Rhythm Embellishments
Loop 12:03 Closing Thoughts
Comments
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Chris -
Happy to see this and the concept of incomplete/partial chords mixed with a slightly altered tuning and the vibe it sends. Really cool rock'n stuff. Rygar has me baffled but I can see this helping with that if that makes any sense. Thx for putting this one on here.
Kip
Indeed. By putting different extensions into a chord or leaving out certain notes (often, but not always, a third) you can evoke different feelings and colors. The search for interesting chord voicings is a wonderful rabbit hole to go down!