Andrew Lardner

"Chambertin," by Bert Jansch

Friends:

Welcome back for another fantastic monthly finger-style lesson. We are back to some British folk revival repertoire with "Chambertin." I admit, I was mostly unaware of this solo up until last year when several Patrons started commenting that they'd love to see a lesson on this. Based on what I heard in the studio recording I knew I'd have my work cut out for me, and Jansch had previously made a transcription available of this piece from his own hand, so the question was, what c...

Requiem for Russell Blaine Cooper

Friends:

It is a pleasure to see several of you back for another month of fantastic early finger-style repertoire. As many of you know, John Fahey's birthday was yesterday and I like to make a habit of dedicating the March 1st post to him every year.

"Requiem for Russell Blaine Cooper" was first recorded for a commercial album on either January 24th or 25th of 1967 at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. I have always liked this recording, but I absolutely fell in l...

Theme From "The Rick and Bob Report"

Friends:

Happy February. I'm incredibly excited to share this lesson with you. I would say this is the most I've looked forward to a post in recent memory, but I feel like I could say that with every new post. I get such joy from transcribing these pieces, discovering all of the subtleties, and there's something nostalgic about opening up the software and working on these every month.

Kottke would have likely first composed this piece some time in 1984. It took me a long time to f...

Feb 1 teaser

Friends:

I've been having a blast practicing for next month's post, I can barely keep the guitar out of my hands. I've been trying to produce better quality results with the new camera and thought it was a good excuse to share with all of you what is coming soon. Here I'm practicing the "Theme from the Rick and Bob Report" on the guitar Leo said he originally wrote and recorded it on. It is a mini strat-style guitar built by Knut-Koupee of the twin cities c. 1984, meant to be tuned up a...

"Future Shot at the Rainbow" by Peter Lang

Friends:

This is an emotional post for me. This month has been an especially difficult one, highlighted by the passing of my friend Tony Klassen of New Era Guitars. I suspect many of you may have known him, or at least been aware of his work.

It is no surprise our mutual love of Larson brothers instruments and American Primitive guitar forced our paths to finally cross in early 2018. What was initially planned as a short trip out to his shop in Indiana to drop off my Euphonon for ...

"The Lament for Owen Roe O'Neill / The Mist Covered Mountains of Home"

Welcome back friends:

Let's go back to the British Isles this month and look at a fantastic pair of arrangements by John Renbourn. 

The Lament is a 19th century Irish ballad and "The Mist Covered Mountains of Home" is a 19th century Scottish Gaelic song. Both are arranged using one of my favorite tunings, open G minor.

I would consider the lament to be one of the most accessible pieces I've so far added to the Patreon, I hope everyone has a chance to at least get tuned ...

"Blue Dot," by Leo Kottke

Friends:

I'm excited to share this month's lesson and transcription with you. "Blue Dot" is yet another early favorite of mine, and a very interesting piece because he only appears to have played it for a few months, from late 1972 to early 1973. This makes transcription easy but also difficult, because we have only one true source recording to transcribe but no others to compare to and draw firm conclusions from.

This one is in standard tuning in the key of E, and starts off with...

Thoughts for Nov. 1

Hi all. I’ve lately been getting a lot of requests for a lesson on Leo Kottke’s “Blue Dot.” I started the month working on John Renbourn’s “Mist Covered Mountains of Home/The Orphan” medley. If you like to share here which one you’d rather see I’d value your feedback. The existing available materials for both of these tunes require significant revisions to reflect the intent of the original artists, so both should be done eventually.

"Seaboard Stomp" by Blind Blake

Happy Oct. 1 everyone. It has been a very busy month trying to get everything ready for this Blind Blake solo. In "Seaboard Stomp" Blake talks about the Seaboard train (probably referring to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad). Though hard to make out everything he says in the song he recounts listening to other musicians then imitates them on his guitar. There's the piano, coronet, trombone, and saxo...

"Devil Got My Woman," by Nehemiah "Skip" James

Friends:

This month we'll be discussing my transcription of Skip James' iconic 1931 recording of "Devil Got My Woman."

"Devil Got My Woman" has long been a favorite of mine among the catalog of important blues artists of the 20s and 30s. It was recorded for Paramount records in February of 1931 in Grafton, a little Wisconsin town on the river just about 25 minutes north of downtown Milwaukee. This tune features the open D-minor tuning that has come to be so strongly associated wit...

"Beverly," by John Fahey

Friends:

I'm excited to be back with the usual monthly post. This month started as a toss up between Skip James and Davy Graham, then morphed into "Beverly." I could sense some disappointment it didn't make the vote last month, so I wanted to get it out there sooner than later.

This transcription is based on the After the Ball recording from 1973. There were a couple video performances to reference so we have some very accurate fingerings in the score. Overall, this ...

"Sofa No. 1," arr. by Michael Hedges

Friends:

I have a surprise mid-month lesson to offer you this month. "Sofa No. 1" has long been my favorite "flatpick" tune of Michael's, and my recording has generated many requests for a good transcription over the years. I've worked tirelessly the last two weeks to prepare this lesson for you, I hope you enjoy!

"Sofa No. 1" originally appeared on Frank Zappa's One Size Fits All album in 1975. Apparently Frank Zappa's son, Dweezil Zappa approached Michael some time...

Requiem for Mississippi John Hurt

Friends:

I'm glad to be back with another monthly post. Thank you for participating in the vote that decided this month's lesson.

Fahey's "Requiem for Mississippi John Hurt" was originally recorded in January of 1967 and would be included on the album titled Requia later that year. Requia was Fahey's fifth commercial record, and the first that would not be released on Takoma. He wanted a release on a large label to maximize exposure and the album sold relati...

Patreon votes for July 1st post

All:

Thank you for participating in the first round of voting. "Beverly" received 25% of the vote, "Requiem for Mississippi John Hurt" received 21.7%, and "On the Sunny Side of the Ocean" received 14.1%. Here is a link to the final round of voting, please make your choices! Here is the link: https://forms.gle/fmGwn39ZexUp9hob7

If you want to know how the other pieces did:
Portland Cement Factory 12%
...

Next lesson, Patreon votes

All:

I'm itching to do a Fahey 6-string instrumental for July 1st and I'd like you to vote on what we do. There is a list of several Fahey songs that all have numerous requests, so I'd like to put forward several tunes and have the community here vote on what is next. Possibilities:

"Sunflower River Blues" from Fahey Kottke Lang
"2022-06-06 18:29:13 +0000 UTC View Post

"Constant Traveler," by Leo Kottke

Hello all:

It's good to be back for another monthly lesson. This month lets have a look at a blazing mid 70s Kottke 12-string instrumental. This piece is partially a take on the Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Open Country Joy" released the year prior. 

This will be an interesting addition because it lies somewhere between the more primitive early Kottke and the more intricate work of the late 80s/90s, in a period of exploding popularity and innovativeness for Kottke.

Leo playe...

"Red and White," by Leo Kottke

All:

I'm so happy to see all of you back again for another monthly lesson. For May, we have a beautiful transcription of "Red and White" from Takoma's 1974 issue of Kottke/Fahey/Lang. This one is hot off the press, I worked through the night and was up again at 5am to have this one ready for you this morning.

This is a blazing instrumental (about 270bpm) from Leo's early career. It is played in the key of D in drop D tuning. It is worth noting that Kottke's guitar is soun...

Upcoming book

Hello everyone,

As some of you know I've been working with a new publisher, the last time we spoke I mentioned that I was really interested in Blind Blake's work and felt like I had finally figured out a lot of the mystery behind his playing. They asked if they could send a contract out right away! I wanted to reach out to the community here for feedback regarding what you would like to see. A few friends have already suggested some titles:

Instrumentals:
West ...

"Tell Her to Come Back Home" by John Fahey

Welcome back friends. Happy April 1st, I'm so glad to see so many of you back again, thank you.

Several people suggested this tune earlier in the month and it was a wonderful choice, so here we are. "Tell Her to Come Back Home" was originally recorded for The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death in the summer of 1965. Only 50 copies of this record were originally pressed in August of 65, with handwritten and individually numbered labels (does anyone have an original copy??). The ...

Soliciting opinions for upcoming posts

Hi all,

The last time I made one of these threads it was quite active and I got many good recommendations. Now is the time to lobby for pieces you'd like to see here. When I'm looking for new pieces to teach I'm asking myself questions like: Is there historical/cultural significance? Are there pioneering techniques that the artist used that have gone largely misunderstood? Is it approachable by a number of learners? It is extra helpful if recommendations are particular pieces of music a...

"Thoth Song," by Peter Lang

Hello everyone. I'm excited to present another Peter Lang lesson this month. As some of you may know, it has been exactly 2 years since the last Peter Lang lesson on "Turnpike Terror." 

Lang's first record, The Thing at the Nursery Room Window, was released in 1973 on Takoma. "Thoth Song" was released the following year, in 1974, on the split album Fahey/Lang/Kottke. "Thoth Song" stands out to me in Lang's early repertoire as a piece of music that sought to break with many...

"That Will Never Happen No More," by Blind Blake

Hello all, happy February. I'm pleased to see so many of you back again. This month we're looking at another Blind Blake tune. This one has been covered by many artists in the past, but in my opinion none quite capture the panache of Blake's 1927 recording. Here, we seek to once again recapture the nuance that has been lost to time. I'm confident you will find this to be the most accurate presentation of Blake's performance to date.

This one is in standard tuning, if Blake is at concert...

"Stealing," by Leo Kottke

Happy New Year with a big throwback post to one of my first YouTube videos. This is the tune that essentially launched my personal channel and has been the most requested piece I've done over the last 10 years.

“Stealing” first appeared on Leo Kottke’s fourth commercial release, Mudlark, in 1971. The title “Stealing” refers to the borrowing of several different melodies from other songs. The main thematic material in the original recording is borrowed from the melody ...

Takoma T-shirt giveaway

Hello friends:

Sorry it has taken me about a week longer than anticipated to announce this giveaway. We have rounded the corner on my two year anniversary here and I wanted to start doing things to give back to all of you who help me keep these lessons coming. This month I am going to give away two custom Takoma Records t-shirts that I will have made to your specifications.

I was lucky enough a number of years ago to find an original Takoma records t-shirt, I then hired a custom t...

Medley: Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel / Joe Kirby Blues, by John Fahey

Welcome back all:

Santa came early this month with a two-for-one John Fahey post.

Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel
I mention in the YouTube lesson that Fahey had a tendency to close his early records with a hymn or a spiritual. Since the season is upon us, I thought it would be fun to present this slow, beautiful hymn in the key of E minor. This was first recorded on Vol 4: The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions, released in 1966.

Candyman, by Rev. Gary Davis

Welcome back friends,

This month we are back to another Gary Davis solo, and it is probably  the simplest one of the three we've done now. Don't let its harmonic simplicity fool you though, as there is much that can be gained by studying this one.

Interesting features:
As most of you know, Rev. Gary Davis used only the thumb and index finger of his right hand. This is an interesting technical study alone, and the slower tempo makes this a great candidate i...

Busted Bicycle

Hello friends, and welcome back.

This month we're focusing Leo Kottke's "Busted Bicycle" as he played it on the record My Feet Are Smiling.

This solo was the piece that got me interested in Leo Kottke's music. The first time I heard it was on My Feet Are Smiling. This was my father's favorite Leo Kottke record, and he was excited that my mom got it for him on CD for his birthday. We spent nearly every Saturday hanging out, just running errands or going to look at...

Silver City Bound

Happy September friends. This month lets dive into some Lead Belly.

This take is transcribed from Lead Belly's Last Sessions, 1948, roughly a year before his passing. It is an incredible box set worth adding to your collection. Most of what I want to say about this you'll hear in the lesson video, but if you skip it here are some of the really cool points, and things I learned this month.

Lead Belly used a unique arrangement of strings on his guitar. We often think of 12-...

"Variations on the Coocoo," by John Fahey

Welcome back friends. This month we are looking at another Fahey tune, an early one from The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites. "Variations on the Coocoo" borrows the main melody from Clarence Ashley's "Cuckoo Bird."  "The Cuckoo" is an English Folk song,  Being a folk song, it has been recorded numerous times and under various titles. These account for the variations in spelling of the word cuckoo. 

What I find most interesting about this piece is ...

"Angie," by Bert Jansch

This month we are having a close look at Bert Jansch's arrangement of "Angie." Why would I do a piece that has been covered hundreds of times over, a piece nearly every fingerstyle player has had a look at? In my opinion, so much of the original character and nuance of Bert's 1965 recording has been lost as the decades go by. I refer to it as an unfortunate game of telephone, where the piece has been incorrectly taught, learned, and passed down to new generations of players.

My transcr...