There are a number of versions of this great old-time fiddle tune (also called “Sail Away Ladies” and “Sally Ann”), but the one recorded by fiddler Uncle Bunt Stephens in 1926 is a particular favorite. It has a distinctive syncopation common to Southern Appalachian mountain fiddling that is important to understand if you’re going to play with old-time fiddlers. In this lesson, Scott shows you how he adapts old-time fiddle tunes to the guitar by getting as close as he can to the fiddler’s phrasing and timing, and then changing it to make it work on the guitar while retaining the original’s syncopation and rhythmic emphasis. In this video, Scott shows you how Uncle Bunt Stephens played “Sail Away Lady” on the fiddle, getting as close as he can to Stephens’s phrasing and note choices, some of which are awkward to duplicate on the guitar. He starts by explaining the two-bar rhythm Stephens uses, starting on the fourth beat of the measure, rather than the down beat, and accenting the third beat of the first measure and then the downbeat of the next measure, producing a two-bar rhythm of three beats, two beats, and three beats.
