"Mystery Train" taught by Pat Kirtley (Pt 1 of 3) 

Saw you play this at 2011 CASS event. Wish I had told you how much I appreciate your playing and lessons.

What a Fantastic Performance. I bought Pat's excellent "Pickin' like Chet" DVD (which this is taken from) and am working through Mystery Train at the moment (slowly!). My wife commented "your version doesn't sound like the DVD"...*cough* er.. no...but it's getting there and I'm really enjoying learning it... Such a cool tune!

This was first tune Scotty used Ray Butts amp on.....Chet had one and Carl Perkins who traded it off in a bar in London

Jeez! That's really good!! Great picking and stunning tone. Hats off to ya. I know that guitar would not sound nearly as good if I was playing it..as Chet once said" how's it sound now"( referring to the guitar, as it was sitting in a chair)..its all in your hands!

Damn...that perfectly timed echo sounds so incredibly cool!

This is the best rendition of mystery train I have ever heard. Great playing.

It seems to me a few vital parts have been breezed past, also when he plays E7 he frets the A string 2nd fret but doesn't appear to pick the string. Great sounding all the same I think we'll all persevere to the end.

@2011littlejohn1 So I mean the right hand would go: 1) thumb E string 2) thumb D + three fingers GHE 3) thumb A string 4) three fingers GHE 5) thumb D string

Absolutely fantastic fingerpicking, Pat.🎸👍

Comments about the echo delay are terribly confusing. Chet cut the record in the 70s and influenced many guitar players to go out and get that amplifier, including Scotty Moore who played it on many of Elvis' tunes back int the 50s. Did we have some time travel going on here or am I missing something?

Sure: Danny Gatton has some vids on utube called Licks and Tricks and on the one entitled "Forward rolls" (I think #6) buried at the end of that vid is an excellent lesson on the Mystery Train head. Take a look and it may do the job. Don't get frustrated because Pat Kirtley is genius.

Fingernails, yes. Brent Mason, on his tape, shows you that he uses fake fingernails!! I've been doing that for over ten years...You buy a big box of nails at Wal-Mart and put them on with nail glue. I have a kit with clippers, fingernail file, nails, glue, and a couple of pushpins to clear the glue bottle!! I play Albert Lee/James Burton style (with a flat pick) so I only put nails on middle and third finger! Rick Jolley Colorado Springs

Thanks for posting! What is the make of your guitar? Ive not seen one like it. Its beautifull

I build a tap tempo digital, and use an old Roland 1980s DD 1000 rack mount that has a single echo feedback or slap back one delay only setting. It sounds the most like the Butts, or genuine Echoplex tape delays than this new stuff. The Roland has a tap tempo on it. I also am building an octave up echo that emulates the old tic tac style bass line echo on a baritone guitar. Regen and Feedback are the usual # of repeats settings. Chet was a very good tech, but needed schematics to work with.

This lesson inspired me to pick up the guitar again after 25 years. After starting in my teens I never played in my 20’s or 30’s, when I reached my mid 40’s I saw this lesson and thought ‘I’ve got to play that’. It was way beyond my skill level but I plugged away at it for 2 years before getting it down (nowhere near as good as as this I’ll add!), and this led to me becoming a reasonable travis picker where I am now in my mid 50’s. Thank you Pat

excellent player and teacher ,reaaly , sincerely .... but one thing to mention , he has a very distinctive tone .... but not to play mystery train

When you strike the 4th string with the thumb pick is it an open string or is it fretted at that point?

This is a is a very, very well informative/instructional video clip I have ever seen...Kudos to you and keep up the good work/videos!

This is really wonderful to listen to and to watch! I am coming back to it again and again and am trying to learn how to play it myself in between. I haven´t got that far I am afraid but I still enjoy trying! Thank you very much, Pat!

He's certainly a very good guitarist BUT it ain't Rock and Rol at all!

Beautiful Tone! Great version. Thanks for posting. I love this song. Regards, Dave

Danny Gatton has the riff as it was. Danny had Scotty down cold. Great lesson and great pickin' but the actual riff you play is a little funny.

WOW

Wonderfull sound, great playing !! It's a Taylor T5 custom

Hi Pat Thank you very much you just very eloquently solved the mystery (pardon the pun) of after 40 years playing on the uk rocking circuit as to why I cant get Mystery train right. I use a thumb pick so my 1st finger is useless so not sure where to go from here.... but thank again

Very nice playing. I've never heard an acoustic/electric hybrid sound good tonally...until this. Way to go.

He used same amp on Heartbrake Hotel but without the echo effect

Thanks for posting this great lesson. I worked through this about a year ago and when I came back for a refresher I realized I hadn't left a thank-you note.....THANKS !!

wow !! omg. what a good player..

@2011littlejohn1 having the same questions but how about if we pick ALL three top strings with three fingers - when playing E7 and also A - and we take the bass with the thumb going its own rhythm? Then the bass-thumb goes at the same time with the beginning E7 and then just slightly AFTER the A. I think this is the way Pat plays it not sure if I´m correct, though. Tell me what you think :)? Rock on...

This guy is one of the best

Pat, I am a bigtime rockabilly fan as well as 50's, 60's tunes. I have lots on the early SUN ..Records. Perkins, Cash, Bill Black, Elvis, Jerry Lee, Moore etc. This is a great version of the " TRAIN". Chet's sound is awesome..and by the way, AWESOME..Picking...what a great guitar jam.. ty for posting this little tune!. jeffs45rpm

yoh...!!! that's COOL dude.clean tone love it.

Flat Awesome! Diggin this. That damn riff never gets old or loses rhythm. Please stop in and support a fellow rockabilly originalist at rockabillygone all one word on youtube for all of your rockabilly original and cover needs. Support a rockabilly artist with comments!

@saturnfive i can do all these bits separately like get an alternating bass going and the chord but getting the hammer on to A at the same time as the alternating bass - it isn't quite clear how this happens (in my instinctive play). I can get the Hammer on and the A and in time but getting it at the same time as the bass is hard it's eithor one or the other at the moment when of course it has to be both. Chet Atkins has got a lot to answer for. Though I wish he was still around.

anyone got the tab for this?

That´s the kind of instruction you want to have. Thanks a lot for posting. It just makes it more interesting when you get all that background. It´s motivational...

@frettish may i ask you do jou have the tabs allready im looking for them to wen il find them al send it to jou if jou want ronny

Brilliant playing and video!

that's good stuff right there

It's a Taylor T5. They are a unique, gorgeous, and very versitile guitar.

Something very wrong about those fingernails....great playing though!

Wicked

Gurgle, gurgle......!!!!!!! I am now thinking of just giving up trying....

Pat, I hope you get to read this. Your tutorials are by far one of the best. Also the production with the zoom shots of the chords add even more. Please post some more!

Please create video where you focus more on the mechanics of the riff. You spend about a minute on the most critical part..

Hi i like to know the make and model of your guitar and your foot pedal

Thanks for the tips...love the song and your explanation works better than 99% of the others

where can the tabs or chords of pats mystery train be found

awesome tone from the guitar,that guitar looks like a taylor

Real nice stuff. Thanks for posting. You're excellent at explaining the techniques.

The Rosetta Stone of Rock 'n' Roll guitar; everything springs from this. Thanks.

oops- I mistakenly thought the poster was the guitarist.

Wow! I like this man and I like this guitar!

very beautiful sound man, love this song .. but sounds better on gretsch 6120 ;)

One of the best instructional videos I've seen....on rock-a-billy and Scotty Moore....it sure is hard to master....

Clickity clack! Great tone and attack!

Pat- Great arrangement! Chris

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Well explained great playing

What truely great playing....

Fantastic lesson!

AWESOME!

You have obviously never seen "claw hammer" nails on a banjo playing hillbilly girl. Those look like claws. I think some of those women could pull nails with two fingers.

those taylors are soooo horrible sounding

god, what a horrible tone.