"Plainsong" by John Renbourn
Added 2024-08-01 14:05:34 +0000 UTCFriends:
Thank you for being so active in last month's suggestion thread. There were many suggestions to consider, ultimately steering this month's content in the direction of another Renbourn instrumental.
"Plainsong" was recorded for Renbourn's first LP in 1965 (released 1966). It bears both the influence of British folk and American blues. We're also very fortunate to have an earlier take of the piece to listen to, released on the Attic Tapes collection. The two different takes suggest this was a combination of composed material and improvised sections. Whether they were improvised in the moment or they just evolved with the piece is yet to be determined.
I transcribed this one directly from the record and am really proud of the end result. There were only a few fishy notes and rhythms to obsess over, but there was enough repetition in the two recorded takes to confidently determine what I believe he intended to do.
The piece starts rather contemplative, rocking back and forth between A5 and D5 chords which ultimately create the main motif of the piece, measures 14-29. The second section, measures 30-45 features a nice sequence of A minor 7 -> D7 -> A minor harmony that I theorize may have originally been the core concept of the piece given his "chantlike" humming over its return later in the piece. This would be the connection to the title "Plainsong" which is an early sacred music, usually the launching off point for academic study of the history of western music.
The introduction and first two sections are followed by three sections of "improvised" blues material. I put improvised in quotes because I think the spirit of the piece would dictate these to not be strictly composed, rather there would be some flexibility in the performance of these sections. Many of the phrases used in the improvised parts seem to be used frequently throughout other songs.
Most of the content here is accessible to the intermediate player, but playing the blues sections at his tempo and a few of the chord configurations will require serious practice to execute with regular fluidity.
The lesson video can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/5NE0T0RrgX0
The score is attached below. Thank you again for continuing to support this work!
Comments
Great, thank you! I really liked this one, I find myself keeping it under my fingers.
Andrew Lardner
2024-10-12 10:11:28 +0000 UTCFinally finished working through this one. Really glad you did this one. I was hoping for it. Sandy bells as well. Both are a blast to play. Thanks a ton. ๐ป
haiden wager
2024-10-12 05:19:05 +0000 UTCHi Kevin. I recently bought "John Renbourn Fingerstyle Guitar, Golk, Blues and Beyond, Celtic Melodies and Open Tunings, and The Jazz Tinge". Tabs are great, don't get the fingering like you do with Andy, but really great songs from Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop Audio Series. He toured with John so his presentations are first rate. Plus he has John teaching and playing the tunes on a website available when you buy the book.
mark blomquist
2024-08-23 02:25:50 +0000 UTC
