What learning 'I Walk The Line' by Johnny Cash taught me...
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 8. 07. 2019
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why only one like????
As one self-taught player to another I'd like to just pass on a spot of advice about picking the bass notes on different strings. Raise your left hand up a little bit to hit the lower bass notes, and down to hit bass notes on the higher strings, whilst keeping your right hand in a fixed location. It doesn't need much movement, most people watching would not notice you doing it, but it makes a huge difference to ease of playing. In summary: when thumbing the low E string the neck should be held at it's highest point, then when you want to thumb the A string just lower the neck a tiny amount, this rotates the guitar so that the A string is where the E string was. I hope that made sense to you.
@@GeorgeSPAMTindle I'll try that next time I've got my guitar.
Awesome
Your videos are inspirational. Thank you.
watching competent guitar players faffing to work out a part is very comforting to the less competent among us :)
Silverlyx agree - awesome video!
Absolutely.
I was about to make the same comment. It's really like this with anything. I teach writing and while it's not the same, I compose things off the top of my head to show that it just doesn't come out perfect, no matter whether it's writing, music, or anything.
Hell yes! That was the most inspirational part of this. I thought this would be a retrospective of "that time I learned and mastered that song years ago". Watching her work it out upped my confidence. Thank you.
What Silverlyx said.
People don't realize that "simple" music is the hardest to play and write well. But it connects the most. No room for mistakes.
Lyrically I enjoy anything where I can make out the words and decipher the meaning without doing research. As far as musical mistakes...you just have to push through...the perfect performance will arrive every now and then.
I am currently working on this song, and I find it is (as we used to say in my rural Central Texas childhood) "a wooly-booger". Not only is the guitar part more difficult than it sounds, but the song itself is a show-off piece for a singer, modulating five times through three keys and two octaves. It's a beast! I love it.
It's actually kind of nice to know that a professional musician struggles with the same things I, someone who is trying to learn guitar, do. Great video!
I am so impressed with your humility and your desire to learn new things and expand your versatility!
Johnny Cash was a great player and it's sad he is no longer with us. Thank you so much for learning, teaching, and playing his music. You are the best!
This song is engrained in my system. There is no song like it. So while I enjoyed your video I have to put this here:
Luther played with his palm resting gently on the bridge because his volume knob was busted. That part is true. But Perkins picked single notes using mostly upstrokes. This is very unnatural. This guy LOVED knitting (no joke) and boy it shows in his picking patterns. He would NEVER touch the high strings unless it was for a quick run around the chord patterns higher up the neck. Cash provided the "chicka" and muffled strings with a crisp piece of paper on this one, along with the slap of the bass. (actually the bass player didn't have this technique in his playing but Sam Philips applied tape echo on the track. Later bass players mistook what they heard and added the slapping of the strings to the body of the bass to emulate the sound they were hearing on the recording.
The truth is Cash wanted to create a snare drum sound, but in those days drums weren't allowed at Sun. They were considered too "colored" for white artists in Memphis. Cash hated that, he loved the sound of a snare drum so he figured out how to get around this. Later he could bring in WS Holland on drums of course but I believe this is sometime around he was leaving Sun for Columbia Records.
Also the idea for Walk The Line originated from a practise run of bass player Marshall Grant.
Thanks for the info. Very interesting. đ
Great info and good knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
However, we also need to acknowledge how the playing of the song has evolved as different folks have interpreted it and tried to replicate what they hear (which is two guitars and tape effects) on a single instrument.
Whichever way, that boomchicka sound is iconic.
Have a good one, friend. đžđ¶
Furthermore, the "hmmmmmm" cash does isnt written to be there, he does it to get his pitch
This is one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar - my dad taught me the guitar intro somewhere around age 12 and I was hooked!!!
I discovered @MarySpender through a recent Rick Beato video, and ended up here today. My late father was a huge Johnny Cash fan, and it melts my heart to see that he's still on the scene after all these years - in a way validating my father's sense of music taste. Nice job, my eyes are dripping.
Hey, i did too.
I love that you delve into, try to learn and show respect to such a wide variety of styles of music. You're a musician in the truest sense of the word and it comes across in your videos. So cool. I'm such a big fan.
I just love your matter-of-factness in fleshing out the mechanics of this song. Seems I'm in good company when learning a new song and trying to get things to fall into place. Thanks for the post, Mary!
I Walk the Line was the very first guitar riff and song I ever 'learned'. I used to watch my dad play and sing it all the time on guitar when I was a kid and tried to play it from time to time. Long before I actually started playing at age 15.
Oh the struggle with muscle memory and learning new finger picking patterns.. my fingers always want to go back to one I already know.
This is very rewarding for me to watch. I just learned about learning.
It's good to see someone else push through the process, very relatable!
"Aw, Pick it, Luther!"
Occasionally you can hear Cash say this at the end of a verse.
The Front Man said that once in a gig. My response was "I'm pickin' it as LOOTH as I can!"
Sounding pretty good, there.
Cheers.
I want to hear the finished product. Don't worry about the deep voice, just do it your way. Every time I hear someone try to imitate Johnny Cash it sounds awful.
But, I have heard people do Johnny Cash in their own voice and style, and it sounds great. I know...it's so hard to get that iconic voice out of your head, but you can do it.
Thanks!â€
I never realized how low Cash was singing till I sang along one of his recordings. Many of us can sing that low but almost nobody can sing that low with that quality of voice.
Thank you Mary! Those rhythms are so interesting. Almost like a train, or walking. There's a sense of movement in his songs. I'm not a huge Country fan but I like Johnny a lot. I highly recommend his Autobiography if you haven't read it. Also love that melodic line on 'Spire' just beautiful!
Love it! Really cool for students to be able to see the process that even their teachers go through, I reckon. Thanks for that
It's one of those songs that sounds simple enough but then you find out it's actually more challenging when you sit down and try to learn it. And of course, the other challenge to a song like that is that even if it _were_ easy to play, it's also very easy to -- and more to the point -- very _noticeable,_ when you mess up. I find the hardest part of playing guitar isn't even so much getting to where you can play a line or riff, but being able to play it consistently without making mistakes. _That's_ the real challenge. There's a lot of riffs I can play that most would find challenging, but, to play them ten times in a row _perfectly_ is another thing entirely. That's the hardest part really, I find; even for the 'easy' stuff.
I was checking out Johnny Cash covers and made my way here. Iâm glad Johnny Cash brought me hear, Iâve found a new artist that I really enjoy listening to. Youâre originals and covers are great and also enjoying chewsday talks.
The man in black will show you the way!
I like when you show how you go about learning new stuff. I hope you will treat us to a playthrough when you have it down. I am still trying to figure out the solo part of Folsom Prison Blues (on acoustic); so if you want to figure that one out, and explain it you'd be my hero.
It is always such a bright spot in the week when your videos pop up. Thanks for what you are doing here.
I've figured out a passable solo on the acoustic. It's all pinky work twiddling around the chord suspensions on the high two strings while I'm holding the regular chord shapes from the song (the open E, the three finger A, and the double barre B). On the E chords you're playing just open and third fret on the high two strings, so like G, E, and D. When you get to the A chord you're just doing that sus4-sus2-major3 stuff on the B string, so like lots of B-C#-D things, and then on the B chord you're just doing a quick hit on the fifth fret of the B string, so like E. I don't know how to give you the specific music, but those are the notes and fingerings I use. It's probably not what Luther plays but it works for me. If you play around with that you'll find the notes and the timing and it sounds pretty good.
Exactly
I would also suggest giving Jerry Reed a listen. His picking hand work was something else.
Ditto!!đ
gonna get me some Eastbound and Down right now.
Or Chet Atkins, mindblowing.
Never heard of him, but I'll be googling that soon.
@@bobboitt3126 I agree. But considering Mary tends to fingerpick, I felt his style was a bit outside of what she might be interested in.
I have recently rediscovered your channel. I must say you have once again sparked my interest in guitars and especially playing them. Not to mention your original music, which is pretty much on repeat on Spotify and CZcams. Chewsday Tawks has made days like this all the more special for me. I am truly thankful for all of that. All the best and here's to many more amazing music and content to come. Cheers!
You've such a unique lovely style of playing. Always getting in your rhythm, mid-range and melody all with your fingers. Bravo
When I was a kid many decades ago That was one of the three or four songs my dad could play on guitar.
I wonder how the rest of the week is pronounced.
HA
Mooonsday, Chewsday, weeensday, Tuuursday,Freeeday,Sutterday,& Suunesday!đ€đđ€
@@wesleyalan9179 Stuttuttutterday
@@Matthewrents ...Hahahaha, yeah!â
Chunday.. Chonday.. Chewsday...Chensday...chursday...chiday...Chaturday... đ»đ»đ»
I love that you allow yourself to be so very genuine with your audience. Awesome Video!
Great video, thank you for posting...please continue!!
I've always found that bringing the speed down until I can play the darn thing without mistakes three times in a row helps immensely
That's the way to go, whether learning Johnny Cash or Lamb of God.
Oddly, I get bored and lose interest if I do that. I flail through until itâs right. Most of the time I screw up more playing slow oddly.
My brain has come to habitually expect this fix of oxytocin every Tuesday.
THANK YOU - I'll just keep on showing up
I think you mean every Chewsday Chris :)
@@apolloptx you are misspelling OxyContin, the brand name form of Oxycodone.
Chris is saying oxytocin, a neurochemical. Please be certain when you correct someone.
@@caramelsurpriz Good advice for everyone. And I myself am annoyed when people speak without sufficient knowledge, so clearly I am a hypocrite. Sorry, I will be better.
Apollo Alexandre thanks for taking that like a champ that was surprising to see.
Wow. Great piece. Thank you so much for sharing.
This is CZcams guitar channel goals as well as guitar playing goals. You're having so much fun. Keep on keepin' on.
I learned this tune when I was just starting out 12 years ago but I definitely didn't do the boom-chicka-boom correctly so I'm excited to revisit this! Great video Mary!
Nothing beats a real spring reverb! And if it doesnât sound good clean it wonât sound good with overdrive, Distortion or other effects you throw at itđ
Tru dat! If you pour good squash into muddy water (I know it's the other way around) you're gonna get mud.
Awesome video Mary! I'm learning and this was Valuable information!!! Thank You! I LOVE your music...
Amp sounds really cool. There is nothing better than when you find the perfect clean tone
That 5 minute ad was really something special.
Yeah wish I could do that and be a millionaire with Orange freebies đ€Ł
Hi Mary, i saw your vid at Guitar Center NYC and thought, well those are some nice disappear chords and she does a clean blues bend, but she should learn basic country guitar with all the simple but cool bass walk ups, so you would really be "playing" something that engaged you, and Voila! i saw your Walk the Line vid! You are definitely on the right track now! I've been playing this stuff for 50 years, I started playing John Hurt style, which is basically ragtime, which is also country beat. I think you would do well by learning hammers and pulloffs, walk ups, and downs, in all keys , learn Wildwood Flower, Give My Love to Rose, I Still Miss Someone, etc. By the time you learn a new tune in this style, you will be killing I Walk the Line and you will develop a mastery of this technique. You have a good voice, keep singing with feeling. The Beatles played a lot of country, and played slowly this style works for ballads and learning to get around the fretboard easier. People like this stuff because its simple, it swings, and its REAL. Good job, Mary!
Thank you so much for this video, Mary. The way you embrace and tackle your weaknesses is truly inspiring, and I learned a lot!
You are a pleasure to watch , talk, and play with your own unique style Mary !
When you learn it please perform it for us. đđžđ
I seem to remember hearing in one of the documentaries that Iâve seen that the boom chicka boom sound comes from the rhythm of a train rolling down the tracks.
Oh I love how you dig into what you do. Absolutely fabulous.
Such a humble and above all...generous commentary. Thanks Mary!
I was just watching some other guitar stuff and was like "I could really go for a new Mary vid" also, ya gotta show us when you've learnt it
An old version of the lyrics that I heard once:
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep a close watch on this heart of my mine
I keep my pants up with a ball of twine
If you'll be mine, please pull the twine.
i love this.
So great
Roger Miller, huh.
Doug Snyder ...thunk Junie wrote dem wuns
@@getredytagetredy I heard them from a guitar player I played with years ago. He also taught me that the lyrics from the Beverly Hillbillies goes perfectly over the music to Jimmy Hendrix's Purple Haze.
Thanks Mary. It was encouraging for me to see someone who plays very well working out a song.
"I'm completely biased"! Lolol! I love it.
It just dawned on me, the color on your t-shirt is the Revolution Green of your Vigier! Very Cool!!
Also, when visiting Sun Studios, they mentioned that he used to stick a dollar bill under the strings to dampen them.
Eamon Wyse Johnny himself would do that and heâd play the instrument like a percussion instrument in certain cases.
I love this video.
Thanks for what you do Mary. đ
That's a great sounding amp.
Thanks for the video, was fantastic.
Tommy Emmanuel and Chet Atkins are really good to look into if you really wanna get that thumb goin
Mark Knopfler shakes that thumb too...
Chet Atkins even covered Yakety Sax on guitar (renaming it, appropriately enough, "Yakety Axe").
Merle Travis is essential too. Practically the godfather of using the thumb for running bass lines. The technique is aptly named Travis picking.
Tommy also described a technique similar to this as boom chick.
Tommy Emmanuel is unreal man. He does some REALLY crazy things with his right hand.
Great stuff Mary, love Luther perkins and Carl Perkins, have a look at Scott Moore on early Presley stuff too x
Yes ! And Maybelle Carter
Keep up the great work as usual Mary. I am also teaching myself to play and watching your vids inspire me to keep progressing knowing it can be done and done well.
This is really cool to watch you teacher yourself to be the best you can be. Keep it up.
Now that's how you make a commercial for a amp!
Why thank you
Shiloh Store seriously! I was cruising Reverb for one during the video because of her demonstration! I'm actively shopping for a clean amp too. She should get an affiliate link.
Yeah, this thing's lush. Gonna have to figure out how to get the tone a little more chewy and organic after coming out my Flint.
I actually enjoyed more the way she is drowning in music as she is playing. Mary is definitely one of the wonderful and unique musicians who are super down to earth and actually share valuable knowledge.
Amp advert ends @ 5:02
You're welcome. đ
Thank you sir...(or madam)
Actually, these adverts never end, thru the magic of CZcams: the free-forever billboard...
yep, you got it The rest was...well ....
Ty. was about to leave the video
Actually I have an Orange 20 and am thinking of going up to a thirty watt so I find it quite useful but thanks anyway đ€
Symbols for knob labels. Genius. And they are so intuitive.
You took flight on this one. Thanks, Mary. Well done.
Look at you matching your shirt with your guitar... how grand..
Hi Mary, thanks for bringing the Orange "TremLord" to my attention! For the whole of my 64 years of guitar playing, I think this is the amp I have been looking for!! As an aside, I worked with a singer for about 20 years, covering many Johnny Cash songs (as well as Carl Perkins) and it was my job to provide the Luther Perkins rhythm! So good (and quite rare!) to hear an artist talking about Luther. Thanks.
Learned a lot from this one. Thank you Mary. Love this song and that sound.
Wonderful to see the process.
The Orange amp sounds intriguing.
You are such a great "explainer"....and your diction is perfect...easy to listen to and understand....
Thanks for giving (me) an introduction to Luther Perkins and his picking style. I have missed out on it, too. And when you demo'ed the amp, I learned how to slow YT to see your fingerstyle. Btw: you, 3/4 speed = drunk; you, half-speed = stoned. ;^) Thanks!
8:07 that's about where my voice gives out, too
Excellent video. I think this was one of your best! Do more of this type of lesson. Thanks.
Hey Mary ! I love that schematic you have on the wall, as an electronic guy i se the sound thru the components, and hear the lovely playing you do đđ
You ought to give ol' Merle Haggard a spin.
Old Goat the Antichrist,
"Mama Tried"
When I think of country music, I think of "Crazy" by Patsy Cline
Funny story is that in Poland orother Eastern Europe countries in communism time there was hard to listen Patsy Cline BUT! Kenny Rodgers and his The Gambler was recorded on every reel to reel tape people bring me( to check for any child / grandpa recordings found on the attic... I had reel to reel tape recorder in a studio)
You have a lovely speaking voice and I found this video relaxing to listen to. It gives your content a great feel and pace. Too many people put an artificial energy into the video that gets tiering.
Love your advice and listening to your playing skills! And for giving me hope to be a better guitarist...Thank you!!
I understand the need for sponsors...but the title of this video was a bit misleading since so much of the time was weighted towards the Orange amp leaving so little for the Johnny Cash adventure.
David Parnell, "... leaving so little ..."
Five minutes for the amp ad, EIGHT for "the Johnny Cash adventure." Fair amount, IMO.
The thing is, you can skip through the ad, but I even enjoyed hearing Mary just doing an ad for a product I will never have a need for. So articulate, classy. skilled, ...
@@ArcoZakus ok
I asked a little while ago but can you please do a cover of Pearl Jam's song "Black"? I really want to hear a "Mary Spender interpretation" of that beautiful song.
Or.....Pearl Jams "Crazy Mary"!!
I second this!
Great channel, just come across it. Simple informative and well put together. Great variety of all types of music. Good job.
Oh Mary you have true talent and when you learn from the masters you can't go wrong. Keep on doing what you're doing. It's only going to be a huge help to you. Love your music..
Hey, there's a contry player named Colter Wall. He has a really intressting and unik Finger picking,
Wich deserve your attention ;)
You should try the ones that callet "motorcykel" or "devil wares suit an ty"
Greatings from Danmark đ
Unique, which, motorcycle, devil wears a suit and tie, and Denmark* not poking fun just trying to help outđ
@@Kuskoodo thanks you savet My lifeđ
Now that she learned the boom-chicka-boom, she's the new queen of the rumba beat.
Sssssmokin'
Just what I needed as I am trying to improve my rhythm. Love your videos, they are so informative.
Girl, you are awesome! Love your style!
Are you coming to Summer NAMM??? Is that why you are learning Johnny Cash tunes?
Sponsored by orange- boss katana on the shelf: "nobody sees, nobody knows"
Sneaky little ninja he is, hiding behind that plant.
Like this style of video seeing you work out and learn a song makes us all feel better in our playing and learning. Great tone
Thank you for teaching me how to count up the notes on the strings.
The story of "I Walk The Line" is one of those weird ones that will make you collect weird stories. He came up with the music when he was in the US Air Force and stationed in Germany(West Germany, as it was known then).
He had a tape recorder, one of the old reel-to-reel things, and he loaned it to another guy in the barracks. When he got it back, the tape had been reversed on the reel(a problem that sometimes would happen when rewinding the tape). The next time he used it he found some music on it that sounded unusual, and interesting. He figured out what had happened - the tape got put back on backwards.
The intro covers the unusual part Cash got from the incident with the tape machine, and it should teach those learning to play to have an open mind and to keep your ears open.
Also, that "Hmmm" part at the beginning of the verses is a trick used by amatuer singers(like in church) to get in tune, and choir directors will usually tell you to "stop that!" It was left in the recording on purpose, though, and the song sounds wrong without it!
Mary Spender... I'd think you'd do a LOVELY cover of John Mayer's "Stop This Train", if you ever want to learn it... with your guitar work, and with that fantastic voice of yours.
She has a video of her covering it some years ago, there might be a newer one too
Here's her cover:
czcams.com/video/qi9Dd5wffzE/video.html
I really love that poster on the black wall behind you, and I really , really love your guitar style!
Wow that colour. I absolutely love it
Mary. At about 9.50 I heard "oh, I'm getting that wrong." 2 things to learn:
1. The bass is worked on the tonic/5th above or tonic /5th below. Understand this inversion.
2. This playing style is JC/LP take on a style going around at the time called the Carter Scratch. That's a test for you to vid. You already play the carter Scratch but in an English way.
exactly - the five in the bass line is usually the fifth below - which you can't do on the low E string in that key. There's a video of 1957 with Luther: czcams.com/video/FuPmhYZIf70/video.html
Look into Chet Atkins, and a thumbpick Also Tommy Emmanuel, Merl Travis, Jerry Reed.
Jerry Reed is so underrated but probably my favorite, or Roy Clark
Isn't the technique called "Travis picking"?
I am thoroughly enjoying finding your older videos, Mary. As a middle-aged beginner guitarist attempting to be self-taught, segments like this are great. By the way, I recently received my signed copy of your cd and am enjoying that so much as well. Thank you! :)
Hi Mary, Iâve just picked the guitar up again after 28 years. You inspire me. Thank you so very much.
mother Maybelle Carter chicka chicka is twice as fast you'll be obsessed with the song I was
Maybelle called it the Carter scratch. The L5 she played from the 1920âs until the 1970âs is still the most important guitar in country music history. Chet thought so too when he played in the Carter Family band for 8 years as a young man. In fact he wrote a beautiful instrumental for guitar simply titled Maybelle in her memory.
Came for the "bow-chicka-wow-wow", was given "boom-chicka-boom". Dang.
â€ïž Love your stuff Mary!
Wow what a teacher! I'm hooked..
This woman is dangerously attractive. Everything about her. Thanks to Scallon & their double acoustic/bass videos, I've now discovered an awesome & beautiful CZcamsr.
When I read the title: What Learning 'I Walk The Line' by Johnny Cash Taught Me.
Me: .....was it the song, I Walk The Line?
fun to watch your passion for guitar playing