Guitar Tab Whiskey Before Breakfast - Intermediate

In this lesson of Guitar Tabs from Ultimate Guitar OnLine we will explore another of the most popular Acoustic Guitar Solos. Whiskey Before Breakfast - One of Norman Blake's most popular songs. We have arranged and intermediate version here. Also since this song is typically played in D major, this version is played in C major with a capo on the 2nd fret, bringing it to D major. We will also offer an arrangement in drop-D tuning, where it is played in open D without a cape - very interesting and beautiful sounding. Watch for that arrangement shortly.

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.....

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 almost always on the upbeat. 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 follows chord formations quite closely with your flatpicking style. Pay careful attention to the 2nd, through the 8th measures to follow the chord formations. This will aid you in playing the song quickly and allow your notes to ring through each other.

Measure 8 there is a combination hammer-on, pull-off on the triplet. Be sure to make this 3-note combination sound clearly through to the end of the triplet. Concentrate just on this measure for a while to master it.

Measure 13: Get your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers in place (Dm chord) and let the notes ring through each other. This is a tough measure as you have some difficult cross-picking as well. Again practice on this measure until you master it.

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.

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.

Although this song is tabbed in the key of C major, it is most often played in the key of D Major. Therefore use a Capo on the second fret and play it in C and you will be playing automatically in D. 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.

We will offer another version of this song played in D Major without the use of a capo. This is one of our favorite pieces played this way and we are sure it will be one of yours. Click HERE to see that version.

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.