Free Monthly Newsletter Lesson - March 2014
"Squirrel Hunters"
Arranged for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine by Mickey Abraham
Download PDF | Download MP3
Hello and welcome once again to Flatpicking Guitar Magazine’s free lesson portion of our monthly newsletter. For this month’s tune I have chosen the old-time classic “Squirrel Hunters.” I have noticed a huge resurgence of this tune in modern picking circles. It seems all my picking buddies from Asheville to Nashville and Florida to NYC -- they all want to jam this tune! For this reason, I’d like to offer two easy version of “Squirrel Hunters” for you to learn on your guitar.
The melody I have notated here is strongly based on a version by Tallahassee guitarist, Kevin Roberson. I’m not sure where he learned it from but I found his rendition to be concise, melodic, and interesting. I feel it’s important, when learning a new tune, to be able to express the tune’s actual melody with as few notes as possible. Most fiddle tunes are not hard or complicated, it’s just certain player’s modern pyro-techniques on their instruments that make it seem that way. I enjoyed learning this tune from Kevin as he was able to offer me a “bare bones” version.
On the second pass I just added a few ornamentations and eighth note runs. This version is almost as simple as the first but it’s different enough to act as a variation or to begin to spawn creative versions of your own.
If
you are still reading this, “Squirrel Hunters” is probably being jammed right now somewhere in your town and you'r missing it! What I’m trying to say is, go learn this tune while it’s hot. As always, if you have any questions or comments on this e-lesson don’t hesitate to drop me a line at
[email protected].
|
|
|
|
