The traditional murder ballad “Pretty Polly” has been recorded by numerous musicians, including Ralph Stanley, the Byrds, Tim O’Brien, and many others. It has three-line verses that follow the format of many blues songs, where the second line is a repeat of the first, but unlike a standard blues progressions, “Pretty Polly” is usually played with just one main chord, or one chord with a quick V chord at the end. And the tonality can change, depending on the version. It’s often sung using a straight minor pentatonic scale but many singers use both the minor and major third for more of a bluesy sound than straight minor, and there are even versions that use the major third and major seventh. In this lesson, you’ll learn to play “Pretty Polly” in dropped-D tuning with a few different bass run fills. Scott starts by showing you a simple vamp/intro to get you going and then a half-measure fill you can play after the first and third lines. Then you’ll learn some one-measure and three-measure fills you can play between verses. Scott also shows you a cool “capo trick” you can use if you want to get the sound of dropped-D tuning in the key of E by using a partial capo that covers just the top five strings.
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"Pretty Polly" Bass Runs and Fills (Available to subscribers)
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"Pretty Polly" Lyrics (Available to subscribers)
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