| Mississippi John Hurt’s “Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me” |
Mississippi John Hurt’s “Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me”
Mississippi John Hurt’s “Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me” is a classic of fingerstyle blues guitar. It’s played in the key of C, although Orville plays it with a capo at the second fret, so it sounds in the key of D. He starts by playing and singing it all the way through and then summarizes what he’s playing: alternating bass on simple C, G7, and F chords, with the melody played on the treble strings. Then Orville walks you through the entire arrangement of the melody, showing you how the bass notes fit with the melody, even when the melody takes you slightly out of position. He also talks about how he abbreviates the arrangement when he’s singing, putting in some melody notes and leaving some out, and muting some of the strings to keep the guitar from ringing too much and create a more percussive sound under his vocal.
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"Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me" (Available to subscribers)
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