Guitar Tab Bill Cheatham - Beginner
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In this lesson of Guitar Tabs from Ultimate Guitar OnLine we will explore another of the most popular Acoustic Guitar Solos. Red Haired Boy. Nearly every flatpick guitar artist has a good version or versions of this under their belt. We have arranged and beginner version here and also a intermediate version and you can click HERE to see that version.
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MP3 File HERE
We also offer a much expanded version of this song as an digital download. Click the PayPal button below and go to our secure shopping cart to order this song for just $2.49. Here is what you will get.....
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Professionally executed PDF file, with complete tab, notation and chords, showing every downstroke, upstroke, left-hand fingering, ornamentals, and were you are to hold chord forms and let passages "ring through".
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Our Unique "Tab Notes" Virtual teaching notes for each file. This gives you an electronic teacher for a fraction of the price!
It is included as an overlay layer as part of the pdf file and can be easily switched off when not needed, allowing you to print a "clean" version of your tab for your records.
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The complete Guitar Pro file that we used to author this tab. You can use it to practice, do speed training and edit it yourself to do some arranging to meet your own style.
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Complete chorded rhythm track so you can easily practice playing your song/arrangement.
- For a complete review of how our tabs are setup see our Ultimate Guitar Tab Book overview page.
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All of these files were authored in eMedia's Guitar-Pro. This is the favorite tab and notation authoring software for us here at Ultimate Guitar OnLine. It is filled with features and is simple to use - even without a manual. It is compatible with PC and Mac. We use it on the Mac here and it is a pleasure to use. To see a full review click HERE. Otherwise if you would like to try a free copy of it, you can download the demo HERE and use it for 15 days.
If you are not familiar with reading Guitar Tab, click HERE for a quick tutorial. If you are not familiar with reading notation click HERE for some online lesson material we have put together. Otherwise will be give you hints along the way by hovering your mouse over certain keywords in this text.
Having trouble with Crosspicking technique? We have a great article on Learning How to Crosspick.
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Watch your up and down strokes carefully. It is critical that you keep them consistent. Down strokes are almost always on the downbeat and upstrokes are often on the upbeat, but not always. We have clearly shown the down and up strokes below each note in the tab. The down-up strokes are shown on the tab below the Guitar Tab staff.
This version of the song is quite straight forward driving flatpicking and should give you no problems as it is quite minimal on ornamentation with the exception of a few one bluesy slide at the very end.
Left hand fingering is clearly shown below the tab sections and each number is representative of a finger with the index finger being 1 the middle being 2 the ring 3 and the pinky number 4.
Carefully work through the down and up strokes of each measure in this song as there are areas where the up-down strokes come out even and other where it does not. This is especially true after hammer-ons and pull-offs, where you would use a down stroke for the first note and the hammer on or pull off executes the next note, not an up stroke with the pick.
The most difficult passage to play in this guitar tab is measures 17 and 18. This is solid down-ups with eighth notes and a slide thrown in. The slide is a backwards slide, in other words you start at the 3rd fret and slide down to the 2nd fret. Make sure that the second note sounds clearly.
Start slowly and gradually work up to speed. Know the song by heart and be able to play it nearly flawlessly before you attempt to play it up-to-speed. This piece is usually played at about 220 to 240 bpm - so it is one of the faster numbers you will learn.
Beginners should start this song at about 120 to 140 bpm until fully memorized and mastered. Then gradually work up to about 180 to 200. The 220 to 240 gets you into expert status territory.
Guitar Pro has a really cool feature called speed trainer. you can set a loop of accompaniment chords to be played and after each loop the speed increased by a percent that you specify. I love this feature and it gives you milestone very clearly as to you speed conditioning.
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Each quarter note = one beat in the measure so there are 4 quarter notes in just about every measure.
Although this song is tabbed in the key of G major, it is most often played in the key of A Major. Therefore use a Capo on the second fret and play it in G and you will be playing automatically in A. With a Capo on the Second Fret, it tends to play a bit easier also, since the frets are closer together. Watch for this technique a lot in flatpick guitar pieces.
Make sure to memorize your songs. What is the easiest way to do this? Unless you have perfect pitch, you will have to learn one section or measure at a time. Once you can play flawlessly move on to the next measure and add it to what you have memorized. Continue this and make sure you can play the first half of the song, including the second ending.
Once you have the first half memorized, move on to the second half, doing the same thing with the second half of the song.
