🎸DOWNLOADABLE TABS FOR THIS SONG: https://www.musicnotes.com/l/jhKM8 Back in the 40's and 50's, Merle Travis was changing the way people thought about guitar, approaching it more like a ragtime piano player; beating the bassline rhythm on the low strings while simultaneously ripping through syncopated melodies on the higher strings. His right hand was like a machine, and the combination of palm-muting the bass strings and plucking them with a thumb pick, while allowing the melody notes to ring out un-dampened, made it sound like two or three players were playing at the same time. This style of playing would eventually be dubbed "Travis-Picking." His approach to guitar went on to influence players like Doc Watson (who named his son Merle after Merle Travis) and Chet Atkins. My favorite of Merle's instrumental guitar songs was "Cannonball Rag." The use of open strings, shifting chord shapes, and employment of the left-hand thumb to fret notes, especially impress me about Merle's ability to fit all of that music onto one fretboard!

TUNING: Standard Tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E GEAR: • @justinjohnsonlive Signature Thumb Pick • @FurchGuitarsOfficial "Red Pure" OMc-SR (https://furchguitars.com)

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🎸Guitar Tabs for all of my arrangements of cover songs are available at https://www.musicnotes.com/sheet-music/artist/justin-johnson 🎸Tabs for my originals are available at https://www.justinjohnsonstore.com

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