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A Folksinger’s Guide to the 12-String Guitar As Played by Leadbelly
£104.50
From Introduction: “Huddie Ledbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly, died in December, 1949 at the age of 64. He had come out of the deep South, settled down in a little apartment on New York’s lower East Side, determined to build a successful career as a musician. Unfortunately, there was not much interest in folk music then. He got occasional jobs singing for schools and colleges, or at little parties where they were raising money for some cause like helping Loyalist Spain. Until the last three years of his life, he had barely recorded more than a few dozen songs. Today, through his recordings, he is world famous as one of the greatest singers of folksongs of this century. Songs he composed, or helped put together out of the fragments of older tunes, or adapted into the form in which we all know them now, have sold in the tens of millions: Good Night Irene, Bring Me A Little Water, Silvy, Midnight Special, Rock Island Line, Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (the tune), Old Cotton Fields At Home, and many others. The driving rhythms he developed on his unusual guitar, with its double strings, are unforgettable to anyone who ever heard them. Today, many young people wishing to learn his songs as he sang them, are trying to learn his style of guitar playing. This book is designed to help them, but it cannot be considered a substitute for listening to the recordings of Leadbelly….It must be remembered that more is involved than playing the correct notes and rhythm. When you listen to Leadbelly on record, you are listening to a man with many years of experience play an instrument. To achieve what he achieved is something which cannot be communicated in a book.” – Julius Lester
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Additional information
| Publisher | Music Sales Corp (1 Jun. 1996) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| ISBN-10 | 0825600235 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0825600234 |
| Dimensions | 1.6 x 13.44 x 20.29 cm |
by A.Sturgess
Originally published in 1965, I bought my copy at about that time for the grand sum of £2.50 (in new money terms). I subsequently lost or lent it but have just bought a replacement copy (March 2015). The book contains both handwritten tab and notation as well as a lot of historically interesting photos and technical tips. Contents are as follows:
Tuning
Common questions about the 12 string
Basic accompaniment and use of the bass run
Answering bass and using melody as an instrumental break
Walking bass and bass runs as instrumental breaks
Complex bass
Complex mixed accompaniments
Other approaches to the 12 string
Appendix 1 — Further 12 string notes
Appendix 2 — Leadbelly songbooks and recordings
Some of the tunes featured in the book are out-and-out classics:
Skip to my Lou
We shall be free
Alabama bound
Black girl
Good morning blues
Midnight Special
Salty dog
Easy rider
John Hardy
House of the Rising Sun
John Henry
Gallis pole
Poor Howeard
Bells of Rhymney
The water is wide
Freight train ….. and that’s just over half of them.
Personally, I’d suggest that if you like the look of this book, you scout around for it and pay no more than about £10 – £15. There’s no CD (but I believe Pete Seeger originally released an associated vinyl LP). Despite being over 40 years old, the book is accessible, very useful and a great introduction to both the 12 string and Leadbelly’s music.
As I said at the start, I lost or lent my original copy but in March 2015 I bought a replacement copy. I’ve submitted a new, more detailed review for that version which also includes lots of references to a few useful and a lot of dubious, so-called ’12 string’ tutors and guides. If that’s still available, maybe there will be additional information for you there.
by Amazon Customer
Both informative and interesting. I have never come across another book on this instrument before.
by lkgreenwell
One of my earliest memories is of my folks’ 78 of The Weavers “Goodnight Irene” – with, in italics, (Hudie Ledbetter)
Man casts a big shadow