Wim VD1

It's been a while since I posted on this forum and I am glad to see the names of some of the long time members pop up again in this thread. I completed the main course and also L&M fingerstyle several years ago, and spent a lot of time learning and recording fingerstyle arrangements of popular songs. My focus shifted back a bit to doing more sports in my spare time, but playing guitar is still important in my life. For me, the best way to relax is still to pick up the guitar and play some songs. I wish all of my Guitar Gathering friends a great 2025. Wim.

Hi Gary, I am currently learning to play slide in open tunings on a resonator guitar. That feels like learning to play a different instrument as well. Good luck with the teaching! Wim.

A Sheraton II ?

The passing of Jeff Beck is indeed very sad news. "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" is my favourite instrumental.

Hi Ron, what a coincidence. Santa brought me a Spark amp as well. It's time for me to start playing electric again after 3 years of acoustic guitar. Wim

Thanks for your feedback, Bryan. I might have been digging in a bit too much at certain points indeed, and this kind of song does not need that. Wim.

This is my fingerstyle arrangement of the classic gospel blues song "I shall not be moved". It is mostly inspired by the version of Paul Rishell & Annie Raines and was covered in the Fingerstyle 5 lessons from D. Hamburger. Wim.

This is a first recording on my new resonator guitar. It took some experimenting with the EQ of my DAW because the tone of this guitar is quite different from my other acoustics. It is also louder, so the signal-to-noise ratio is better, especially when compared to my all mahogany parlor. Wim.

It took several months to get it delivered, but finally my new Fender PR-180E Resonator has arrived. On my last visit to the music shop, I had played a Dobro for the first time. I did some research and finally pre-ordered this brand new model from Fender as my first guitar of this type. After playing it for a few hours today, I'm convinced it's a good buy and I'm pleased with the playability of the V-shaped neck and the sound of the spider cone. I like to play fingerstyle blues, and am now going to start learning slide (I've already apologized in advance to my family members 🙂) and maybe some lap steel slide. Wim.

Congratulations, Ron. That's quite a journey you have accomplished! All the best with your deep dive into the Blues. Wim.

This is my fingerstyle arrangement of the Delta Blues classic Rollin' and Tumblin', based on a lesson by D. Hamburger. The song has been recorded by many artists and I especially like the Bob Dylan version on his album Modern Times.

There is one certainty: one is never done learning to play the guitar.

Hi Kenneth, Check out Session 19. That one is about soloing.

That is not an easy song to learn, Mike. You play it beautifully. I learned Windy and Warm from a Tim van Roy tutorial some time back and I agree, he has many great lessons on Tommy Emmanuel songs. Thanks for posting, Wim.

Here is my attempt at House Of The Rising Sun in a steady bass arrangement and in a very relaxed tempo. It took a while to get confortable with the thumb-over-the-neck technique. Last year I recorded this alternating thumb version (from a Tommy Emmanuel arrangement). The solo on that one required a second track. It has a completely different vibe and I like both arrangements. Wim.

Thanks, Ron, Dave and Henk. @Oldjock Henk, I have also seen the film "1917" and liked the pure vocal version of the song too. I got to know this song from another movie "The Broken Circle Breakdown" about a Bluegrass band. The clip is on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LprqBP0JTw). It contains some great dobro slide playing. Wim.

Wayfaring Stranger is a song that I wanted to learn for a long time. The fundaments for this arrangement come from David Hamburger's Fingerstyle 5 lessons. I searched on Spotify and listened to many different versions to get additional inspiration for my own arrangement. I liked the cover by Johnny Cash on his album "Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man" the best and adopted some of the violin intro and solo. Wim.

My recording of this month is a solo fingerstyle rendition of the Blues/Gospel tune "You Got To Move" played in E with a shuffle bass groove. Melody and chord progression are similar to the tune "It Hurts Me Too". Wim.

Hi Ron, For this song, there are 3 tuning options: 1. Drop D : tune the 6th string (low E) 2 half steps down to a low D. The riff uses the notes D G A C A C D. You can play these using the 6th and the 5th string if you're in this drop D tuning, as is shown in your tab. 2. Regular tuning: If you want to stay in normal tuning, you can play the riff 1 octave higher on the 4th and 3rd string. The bar chords in the song do not use the 6th string, so there is no change in how to play them in regular or drop D tuning. 3. Tune all strings down 2 half steps so you get DGCFAD. Clapton uses this tuning in this live version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOK7alO6hNY . He plays the riff here on strings 6, 5 and 4. In option 3, you have to play the bar chords 2 frets higher up the neck compared to regular tuning. Hope this helps. Wim.

@Plantsman13@Mike Hoodenpyle Thanks, Bryan and Mike.

This recording is an 8 bar fingerstyle blues in 3/4. There are many versions of this song in Bluegrass, Country and Blues style by artists such as Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Dolly Parton, Leadbelly and even Nirvana. Wim.

Beautiful, Mike!

Thanks, Bryan. How are the F5 lessons going for you? It takes all of my practice time to keep up with the lessons and learn the song of the month. No time to get sidetracked 😀. Wim.

My recording of this month fits the topic of Steve's latest YouTube lesson on drop D tuning. It is a slow fingerstyle blues in an "After Hours Blues" style. Wim.

Thanks, @Strings I learned this from David Hamburger. I am member of his Fingerstyle 5 learning group. Each month, there is one new song he is teaching. It is like building with Lego. David gives us several options for playing the main melody, ideas for soloing, and several vamps and shout choruses. So the building blocks come from him, and the final arrangement/assembly is done by myself. Wim.