Here are some useful guitar licks and playing tips by Homespun owner/instructor Happy Traum and others. Homespun Performances are excerpts from lessons by some of our great artists that are worth listening to just for pleasure. Keep checking back as we'll be adding to them frequently. And take a look at Happy's Blog. He has had a fascinating journey through more than six decades of playing, writing, and studying about American folk music, and he has quite a few stories to tell.
In his achingly beautiful arrangement of the Bob Dylan classic "Just Like a Woman" the late Richie Havens shows why he is still an important, and beloved artist. This excerpt also includes a short discussion with host Artie Traum about how Havens keeps the song fresh. Oh yes, happy 80th Birthday to Bob!
Rainer Brunn, one of our best-selling instructors, plays the old dustbowl song, "I’m Going Down the Road Feeling Bad." He gives it new life with a complex harmonic arrangement and unexpected chord variations in this excerpt from his Homespun lesson "Jewels of Acoustic Blues, Vol. 4."
Del Rey, accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Steve James, plays the Charlie Jordan classic "Keep It Clean" in this excerpt from her Homespun lesson, "Blue Uke." Del is a sensational guitarist and uke-ist as well as a dynamic performer, as you'll see .
Warren Bernhardt is a masterful pianist who has played with too many legendary artists to count. In this short performance excerpt from his Homespun lesson You Can Play Jazz Piano: Lesson 1, his stunning ornamentation of this jazz standard demonstrates his artistry.
The wondrous Etta Baker performs "Dew Drop," a sublime acoustic rag with some stunning right-hand picking. From her Homespun lesson "The Fingerpicking Blues of Etta Baker."