The Whirling Dervish, Part 1: Pull-Off Power

from: Fingerstyle Guitar with Stevie Coyle

This lesson is part of the course Fingerstyle Guitar with Stevie Coyle.

Get immediate access to this lesson and all of the lessons in this course when you subscribe.

Start Course
Browse Courses

About This Course

Learn to play fingerstyle guitar, from traditional Travis-picking tunes to arrangements of contemporary fingerstyle tunes, song accompaniment and more, with acclaimed performer, teacher, and entertainer Stevie Coyle.

Try a Sample Lesson

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

The Beatles’ classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” makes a great fingerstyle guitar piece. In this lesson, Stevie shows you how to get an alternating bass going (Travis style) and then find the melody on the treble strings. Learn the infectious signature melody and bass line that start the verse in Part 1.

Try a sample lesson

The Fingerstyle Guitar Subscription Includes:

34 extensive Fingerstyle Guitar video lessons
26 complete songs to play
Notation and tablature for all lessons
Lessons on the C-A-G-E-D system and learning the fingerboard
High-quality video with multiple camera angles so you can see closeups of both hands in action

$20/Month For One Course

Additional courses only $10/month each! • Save 20% with an annual subscription

Start Course

Get started now!
Use promo code StevieLand at checkout

and get your first month free or $20 off an annual subscription.

The Whirling Dervish

The Whirling Dervish, Part 1: Pull-Off Power

The Whirling Dervish, Part 2: Learning the Second Part

The Whirling Dervish, Part 3: Palm Muting

The Whirling Dervish, Part 1: Pull-Off Power

In this lesson, you’ll learn Marcel Dadi’s tune “Le Derviche Tourneur” (“The Whirling Dervish”), which just happens to be a great pull-off workout. The tune is in the key of C, but Stevie plays it with a capo at the fourth fret to make some of the fingering easier. He starts by showing you the basic chord progression, as well as what bass notes to play, and then walks you through the tune phrase by phrase, giving advice on how to play clean pull-offs, which the “The Whirling Dervish” is full of.

"The Whirling Dervish," Part 1 (Available to subscribers)

Previous Lesson

← Here Comes the Sun, Part 3: The Bridge

Next Lesson

The Whirling Dervish, Part 2: Learning the Second Part →

Previous Lesson

← Here Comes the Sun, Part 3: The Bridge

Next Lesson

The Whirling Dervish, Part 2: Learning the Second Part →

Previous Lesson

← Here Comes the Sun, Part 3: The Bridge

Next Lesson

The Whirling Dervish, Part 2: Learning the Second Part →

Guitar Articles

ELIXIR Strings Artist Series: Chris Tomlin

GRAMMY Award winning songwriter Christ Tomlin talks about the songwriting process, performing, and why Elixir strings work so well for him.

Guitar Videos

Garrison, Gordy, Hargreaves, Walsh: “Sports”

Watch a video of an original song from “Bluegrass and the Abstract Truth,” with mandolin from Peghead Nation instructor Joe K. Walsh, and illustration by our banjo instructor Danny Barnes.