Play acoustic like Bert Jansch

Scottish guitarist Bert Jansch was a seminal figure in the 1960s folk revival, spearheading the movement alongside Pentangle bandmate John Renbourn, and Martin Carthy.

Influenced in equal measure by the guitar of Big Bill Broonzy and the songs of Anne Briggs, Jansch's folk and blues playing style is unmistakable. He is admired by many including Bernard Butler (Suede), Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Modest Mouse) and Neil Young, who called him "the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar".

This acoustic piece has a slight ragtime/blues feel with some characteristically bluesy, lazy string bends, reminiscent of Bert Jansch. Before you launch into learning this piece don't forget to tune your sixth string down from E to D for a deep, resonant tone.

Gear

Bert's current instrument of choice is a dreadnought - a Yamaha LL11. Here we used a Tacoma PM-28, mic'd with an AKG C1000S, into a laptop via an Edirol UA-25 external soundcard.

Click 'see all pictures' in the picture box for full-sized tab.

Audio - Tutorial track