Crafting a Song for Performance

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Dad posted a video on YouTube that shows how to Travis Pick Freight Train in a particular style. He uses thumb and three fingers to get a different sound and feel.

Learn the elements of blues playing.  

Dad just posted another video on YouTube. This one talks about syncopation and using rubato in Travis picking. There are other good tips on how to make Wabash Cannonball and City of New Orleans interesting.

I love the Beatles classic, Yesterday. It is a very sophisticated song, sweetened by a string section and arranged by the talented George Martin. There is syncopation, as in most Beatles songs, a suspended chord for interest, and Martin uses counterpoint to bring out the melody of the song and to provide a nostalgic feeling…