Guitar Tab Blowin in the Wind- Intermediate

In this lesson of Guitar Tabs from Ultimate Guitar OnLine we will show you a basic to intermediate fingerstyle version of the classic Bob Dylan song Blowin' in the Wind. Chet Atkins also made a great arrangement of Blowin' in the Wind as well. The version in this Guitar Tab is a simplified version of Chet's arrangement. We will also be publishing an advanced version of this lesson, so once you have this version mastered, move on to that arrangement for a much more in-depth look at Blowin' in the Wind.

One thing to alert you about. Although this may be an intermediate version of the song, if played through exactly as tabbed, it will sound just a bit "Mechanical". But that is OK! The purpose of this lesson is to teach you the basics of fingerstyle guitar playing.

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 Fingerpicking technique? We have some great articles on fingerstyle guitar in our Fingerstyle Guitar Lessons Section. We will constantly adding content to that section, so check back often.

You will learn the alternating bass to be played with your thumb (which is the accompaniment), along with the lead fingerstyle to be played with the index, middle and ring finger of your right hand.

Although this song sounds just a bit mechanical without any ornamentation, it forms the very backbone of your fingerstyle guitar playing. You must nail the alternating bass with the thumb in this and other songs. You also must be able to play the thumb part without much or any thought as you will be playing lead notes with your other three fingers. So you you are playing 2-part guitar on one guitar, all by your self. Pretty cool.

That is the fun and impressive part of fingerstyle guitar. Once you have absolutely mastered the mechanics of the alternating thumb, you will free up your mind to concentrate on the lead portions and not be too concerned with the thumb or accompaniment portion of the songs.

We will be publishing an advanced fingerstyle lesson of this song. In this version, we will explore just how to take parts of this song and embellish them, place ornamentations within the piece and really spice it up and give it a much more freeform feeling that is both fun to play and fun to listen to.

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.

Each quarter note = one beat in the measure so there are 4 quarter notes in just about every measure.

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.