For FREE tab/music for this lesson go to: www.guitarvide... Master songster Dave Van Ronk teaches "Green Green Rocky Road." From the DVD "Dave Van Ronk: Folk, Blues & Ragtime." More info at stefan-grossma...
I was lucky enough to study with Dave in his apartment at the Sheridan Arms for three years. He was an amazing guy.. the first time I went to his apartment, I sat down on a chair opposite him sitting on his couch (wheezing, smoking and using his asthma inhaler!) and he told me "Bobby sat there"... I was nervous enough to say "Bobby who"?? DYLAN!!!! he coughed!!!!
Van Ronk has consistently used "Bobby" to refer to Dylan. That's the way he referred to Dylan in Martin Scorsese's famous documentary. I think it is a conscious choice that reflects some inner disgust with Dylan., whom Van Ronk remembers as a nobody with a super-high vision of himself. The very young Dylan was infamous for "borrowing" albums he did not return. Dylan's first album included a version of The House of the Rising Sun that Van Ronk had developed and planned to record.
In every music appreciators life, there are rare and random moments that the universe gifts you with songs that just leave you breathless and you know will follow you for life. This is one of those moments, for me. I heard this in the Llewyn Davis movie, and had to look further into it. Amazing. While the movie was sort of depressing, the cat and this song made it all worthwhile.
Love this guy so much. At :44 seconds, he grows 12 fingers and plays a magical fill, which he skips on the step by step portion (7:45) and it is currently driving me insane
Hey everyone, I watched this video a million times while producing my own video lesson for it. I think I got it pretty close. If anyone is still having trouble after watching this, you can find that lesson on my channel. The tablature is included in that videos description. Good luck to everyone!
Got to hang out with Dave a time or two. He was a sweet guy. He knew my face from seeing me at his shows around Philly and NY. I don't think he ever knew my name. I thought he'd always be around.
DVR was great. One of my favorite quotes about "folk" music comes from him. In the 1980's, when the Fast Folk community was gaining some attention in Greenwich Village, a disk jockey asked DVR about the difference between "folk" music in NYC in the 1960's vs. the 1980's. He replied that in the 1960's, the "folk" music scene consisted of hillbillies and sharecroppers performing in front of Ph.D.'s and graduate students, whereas in the 1980's, the scene consisted of Ph.D.'s and graduate students performing in front of other Ph.D.'s and graduate students. Classic DVR!
I saw him in the 70's at Passim's in Harvard Square. Because I mentioned a mutual friend, who Van Ronk performed with years earlier, he invited me after the show for drinks next door. He was wonderful.
I went to see dave in concert in tenn. a few mounths before he passed, met him in the hotel the morning before the show and we spent the day driving down highway61 to the crossroads, and then going to the blues museum, what a gentleman, dave, I love you.
Yes...in his apartment..5 Bucks...1971...about a year...he got me started playing blues, ragtime and old union tunes...I still play some of it...when I strted woth him I didn't even know who he was.
very interesting the way his thumb goes *under* his other fingers on the picking hand. I played like that a long time ago instinctively and somehow got the notion that it was wrong. Now I can't do it!!! My thumb sticks out on top. There's a moral to this story...
Re: "There's a moral to this story..." The moral is "Don't copy Dave Van Ronk's right-hand position". Don't rest any fingers on the body of the guitar; don't play below the sound hole except for special effect; and keep your thumb closer toward the fingerboard than your fingers. (Notice that at no point during the "lesson" does Van Ronk even mention his right hand.)
Herbert Wells how can u say dave played wrong? I would love to hear you play sunday street and sing. I understand that it isnt standard. Dave sounds good to me so would you please, (and im really trying to learn here not being a wise ass) elaborate each thing you said as to why you shouldnt do that.
bgbreakdown The film, beautifully crafted as it was, left me wanting in many respects, but I still love the project as a whole because it introduced me to Ronk and a lot of good folk.
Hehe I guess I didn't really think about it that way, at least not directly and conciously. And you're probably right about watching it multiple times to pick up on vague yet intricate details, but I probably won't be watching it again for a little while. I picked up the album a few weeks ago though and played through the whole thing multiple times now. I hope the live concert/ documentary is released on DVD or as an album soon.
Rob Bert Read Dave's autobiography. It is far more witty and interesting than the movie, which is a very loose dramatization. To me, it isn't really about Dave, but a character something like Dave.
Len Chandler wrote this, though it may have been derived from traditional chord runs, and there are various added verses from other folks who’ve performed it. Peter, Paul & Mary do a version with different lyrics.
This DVD was the reason I wanted to learn to fingerpick. If you like this you should check out John Miller teaching Mississippi John Hurt DVD. Now he could play!
Dave's fingerings are too much work for me...but at least you can get all the important info from this video and work around it ....maybe you won't have to? Bless his big heart.....one of my biggest heros.....would love to have studied with him....anyone who knew him loved him...
great, love it, but i'm so confused "there's your F#" isn't that Bb?? And "that's the D you want" isn't that c#?? I thought the low E string was the only change in tuning... a whole step drop :S
You're right. He is ignoring the capo and treating it as the nut. ie if you were playing this without a capo the Bb would be F#. Same with the "G" chord that is actually a B.
Super job by Oscar Isaac on Green, Green Rocky Road. but, one more time, WHY was Dave Van Ronk NEVER mentioned in the Coen Brothers' movie, Inside Llewyn Davis, either in the dialogue or in the credits, even when Dave was singing THIS SONG at the very end? Shameful!
You are wrong. Just watched movie and Green green rocky road song says "End credit performance by Dave Van Ronk". You never look final texts...just stupid no fact comment.
You're quite right. I don't mean to come off mean. I can't remember why I wrote what I did or at whom it was aimed. It's easy but not that easy. I had a sister who was hanging out with Arlo Guthrie when he was high school age and had the advantage of learning to finger pick by osmosis. Tablature can help just to crank through some patterns and then to wax improvisatory and mess around. These days there is a lot on line with audio files that come with, like on Wikipedia for scales and modes and intervals and other basics. For picking patterns it may take some digging, but people who actually play instruments have a treasure trove lately. Cheers.
