What did Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Josh White, Sr., Mississippi Fred McDowell and Rev. Robert Wilkins all have in common? They all knew how to use the language of blues guitar to tell a sacred message. This is a class that focuses on the sacred side of traditional blues guitar. We will explore the CAGED system, principles of finger picking, the use of the relative minor chord and other tools that are essential to getting a sacred sound out of the blues guitar.
This class will cover songs in both standard and alternate tunings, and it will cover both fingerpicked and slide styles. While everyone is welcome to come to the class, a solid knowledge of basic first position guitar chords would be most helpful. Also, since this is a fingerpicking class, the use of a thumb and fingerpicks, a guitar slide and a steel string guitar are recommended.