The Guitar of Elizabeth Cotten taught by John Miller

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1 The uitar of Elizabeth otten tauht by John Miller

2 ontents Freiht Train... 4 Mama, Your Papa Loves You... 9 Spanish Flandan... 6 Oh, Babe, It Ain t No Lie... Vastapol... Wilson Ra... 4

3 Elizabeth otten s Music Elizabeth otten (89 98) was born and raised in hapel ill, North arolina, and lived most of her adult life from her middle ae onward in Washinton,.., after movin there to help out her dauhter. She rew up in a home with music, first teachin herself to play her older brother s bano, and then uitar. Because she was left-handed, and every instrument she encountered was strun for a riht-handed player, she devised a technique whereby she played the uitar left-handed and upside down, pickin the alternatin bass with her left index finer and the melody with her left thumb. As a youn woman, she ave up uitar playin after bein told by the leaders of the church that she had oined that she could not continue to play secular music and be a member of the church, too. She miht have stopped playin for ood, had not a chance meetin put her in the employ of the Seeer family. When Pey and Mike discovered her playin the uitar one day, it was only a matter of time before her music became more widely known. Elizabeth otten s music is notable for her beautifully flowin sense of time and the attention to detail that she ave to voiceleadin, phrasin, and choice of chord voicins. Of the ountry Blues players who were rouhly contemporaneous with her, only Blind Lemon Jefferson showed a comparable deree of nuance in his arranements and playin. Elizabeth otten most often finer-picked in the and positions, in standard tunin, but, like the arter Family, often tuned a whole step low, so her sons sounded in the sweet flat keys, B and F. She was also comfortable playin in open and open tunin. er playin often had an improvisatory feel, for within the loose structural framework of a son, she would recompose and reassemble as her imaination dictated. One way in which she prefiured many of today s finer-pickin uitarists is in her predilection for composin oriinal instrumentals, somethin not commonly encountered in other musicians of her eneration. When you see Elizabeth otten interviewed, you can see that she was ustifiably proud of her music. When you work on tunes like Freiht Train or Mama, Your Papa Loves You, you bein to realize that the way she put them toether and played them cannot be improved upon chaned, perhaps, but not improved. We are so fortunate to have been able to hear her music. About the Tablature Most uitarists who transcribe sons usin tablature have their own ways of communicatin what the player who wishes to play a son will have to do to et the ob done. In this respect, I m like everyone else I have my own wrinkles on the system. If you observe the followin points, I believe the tab will be clear. Notes with downward stems are played by the thumb of the riht hand. Notes with upward stems are played by the finers of the riht hand. Where two notes are connected by a slur, the letters, P and SL indicate a hammer-on, a pull-off, or a slide. An arrow curved upwards (Á) and the letter B indicates that the note is bent, and an arrow curved downwards ( )indicates that the bend is released. A straiht arrow up or down ( er ) indicates a strum or brush stroke. The direction of the arrow indicates the direction of the stroke, relative to the strins represented by the lines in the tablature. The tablature employs the same methods of notatin rhythm as does standard music notation. A quarter note () has the same duration as two eihth notes (Â) or four sixteenth notes (ÊÊÊ). A sinle eihth note looks like and a sinle sixteenth note has a doubled fla (Ù). Each of these note values has its own rest symbol, as well the quarter rest (), the eihth rest (Ò), and the sixteenth rest (Å). A dot followin a note or rest adds on one half of the note or rest s rhythmic duration. An eihth note triplet ( ÍÂ ) divides one beat into three notes of equal duration. The /8 time sinature has four beats per measure with each beat divided into three eihth notes. Thus the beat can be broken into three eihth notes (ÂÂ), a so-called broken triplet ( ), or one beat (.), the dotted quarter note. When a note is sustained or held across beats, the notes are connected by a tie ( ). Where two notes are tied, only the first note is plucked by the riht hand the left hand continues to hold the position for the duration of the second note. Thus ties are helpful not only for indicatin how lon notes should sustain, but also when the left hand should move. ood luck and have fun!

4 Freiht Train Freiht Train, played in, standard tunin, is Elizabeth otten s most well-known son, and as played by her is one of the prettiest of finerpickin pieces. The voicin she used, with the seventh finered at the rd fret of the fourth strin, is very rarely encountered in ountry Blues uitar. She often tuned as much as a whole step low to play this son, but I do not know if it was to accommodate her sinin or because she preferred the uitar s tone at a lower pitch. Key of, standard tunin (/ step low) INTRO Elizabeth otten 9 E # F 4

5 E # F. VERSE

6 9 E # # F 4 SOLO 6

7 4 49 E # n # n F bá Á bend release E # n # n F bá Á bend release

8 6 o w o FREIT TRAIN (John Fahey/Elizabeth otten: Vestapol ) Freiht train, freiht train, run so fast Freiht train, freiht train, run so fast Please don t tell what train I m on They won t know what route I m one. When I am dead and in my rave No more ood times here I crave Place the stones at my head and feet and Tell them all that I m one to sleep. Repeat Verse When I die, Lord, bury me deep Way down on old hestnut Street I can hear old Number Nine As she comes rollin by. 8

9 Mama, Your Papa Loves You Mama, Your Papa Loves You moves back and forth between and E minor before concludin surprisinly in. On her first Folkways recordin, Libba called this tune oney Babe, Your Papa ares For You. The tune s mood is very mysterious and its sound stays with you. The tappin technique Libba employs in measures 4 4 and 46 4 is tricky, and takes a while to start feelin natural. Key of, standard tunin # Elizabeth otten n 4 # fl ± # n # Em b n b n 9

10 # Em b n b n # Ó 6 # # 9 # # # n

11 # # # n 8 # Ó # # #

12 4 # # b Á Á Á B Á # Em # b 4 # n Em 4 #

13 46 # Em 49 # # b # n Em b # # n

14 8 # Em # # b n 6 # # n 64 # # n 6 # 4

15 # F n n # n n n 6 # Ó o w o

16 Spanish Flandan Spanish Flandan, played in open tunin, is a survivor of the parlor uitar craze of the late 9th century. Libba s version, in /4, has a serene flow. Many of her pickin patterns on this tune work out especially differently when transferred to the riht hand. Open Tunin: B Elizabeth otten # 4 % % SL % % 4 % % # % % SL 4 # % % 6

17 9 # 4 % % # SL 4 4 % % # #

18 4 # 49 # % % 4 # % % 4 % % 9 # 4 8

19 6 # % % SL SL # SL 9 SL SL SL 9 # SL 9 SL % % 8 # SL SL SL 9 9

20 89 # SL SL SL 9 SL 9 SL 9 # % % # # Ó

21 # 9 # 4 % %

22 Oh, Babe, It Ain t No Lie Oh, Babe, It Ain t No Lie is played in, standard tunin. On her old Folkways album, Libba played a variation towards the end of her rendition of this tune in which she inserted a rhythmic hitch which I have never heard anyone duplicate. Until I heard Libba recount the circumstances in which she wrote this tune, it had never occurred to me that it was a child s voice sinin this son. Key of, standard tunin ORUS # # n Elizabeth otten 4 E # n F Ó

23 # 4 6 VERSE 9 F

24 F 8 # # # Ó Ó ORUS 4

25 4 # n # E # A # 6 4 # 6 6 F # # # 4

26 46 Ó o o O, BABE, IT AIN T NO LIE (Elizabeth otten: Vestapol ) There s one old woman, Lord, in this town Keeps a-tellin her lies on me Wish to my soul that old woman would die, Keeps a-tellin her lies on me. horus: Oh, babe, it ain t no lie (x) Know this life I m livin is very hih. (verse from Folkways recordin:) Been all around this whole round world Lord, I ust ot back today Work all the week, hon, and I ive it all to you oney baby, what more can I do? 6

27 Vastapol Vastapol is both the name of this tune, and the tunin in which it is played, open. As with many of her tunes, Vastapol could be reassembled and structured differently on different days, as Libba s mood and imaination dictated. Open tunin: AF A Elizabeth otten # # n Á Á n Á Á 4 6 n Á Á Á Á 8 8 Á Á ÁÁ # # n Á Á Á Á 8 8 SL 4 # # 9 9 n Á Á ÁÁ 8 8

28 # # SL 4 Ó n # # A SL 4 6 # # # 9 # # # 8

29 # # Ó n # # A SL 4 8 # # SL 4 SL 4 # # SL 4 # 9

30 4 # # SL 4 SL 4 # # # SL 4 SL 4 4 # # Ó n A SL 4 4 # # w n Á Á Á Á 8 8

31 46 # # n Á Á 4 6 n Á Á Á Á ÁÁ n Á Á Á Á # # SL 9 9 # # n Á Á Á Á 8 8 SL 4 # # Ó n A

32 8 # # SL 4 # 6 # # b 64 # # # b 6 # # n A SL

33 # # SL 4 w o w o

34 Wilson Ra Wilson Ra, played in, standard tunin, covers a tremendous amount of round, movin throuh the keys of and, as well as a brief portion in F, which was not transcribed for the video. The tune has a very improvisatory feel, and to achieve the kind of flow Libba had is a real challene. Key of, standard tunin # # # Elizabeth otten # 4 4 # E # 4

35 # n F 4 Ó # 4 4 # 4 4 # 4 4 # P

36 # # # # E 6 6 # A # n 6 9 # b # 4 # 4 4 # # E # 6 6 6

37 # A # 6 # b # 4 # Á Á 44 #

38 4 # # 4 4 # # # E # n A # 6 F # #

39 9 w 9

Theme from Disney-Pixar s UP. Music by Michael Giacchino Harp arrangements by Sylvia Woods

Theme from Disney-Pixar s UP. Music by Michael Giacchino Harp arrangements by Sylvia Woods UP Theme from isney-pixar s UP Music by Michael iacchino Harp arranements by Sylvia Woods This sheet music contains two arranements of the theme from isney-pixar s movie UP. Both versions are basically