Play an Easy Version of the Traditional Song “Darling Corey”
Try wrapping your hands around a G chord (see chord diagram below in the music to “Darling Corey”). This is the first chord you’ll learn in The Acoustic Guitar Method in which the bottom note of the chord, the lowest note you want to hear, isn’t actually an open string. So when you’re going to form this chord, reach for the low string first—get your ring finger onto the third fret of the sixth string, then put down your middle finger, and finally your pinky. It can be a little tricky to spread your fingers out this much, but laying them down one by one like this can help.
AN EASY VERSION OF “DARLING COREY”
In 1927 Dock Boggs recorded a tune he called “Country Blues” with an Appalachian clawhammer banjo accompaniment, a performance that was included on the landmark Anthology of American Folk Music, edited by Harry Smith. It has since been recorded countless times, often under the name “Darling Corey.” Here is a simple version using two chords, A and G, that will give you plenty of practice switching between those two chords. Use a strum with upstrokes on the second and fourth beats.
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David Hamburger
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