Learn Happy Traum’s Bluesy Take on the Traditional Song “He Was a Friend of Mine”

In a remembrance of Happy Traum that he wrote for the Acoustic Guitar website, David Lusterman recalls receiving Traum’s last album, There’s a Bright Side Somewhere (2022), and being struck by how strong and vital the guitarist sounded at 84. Listening to a take on the traditional song “He Was a Friend of Mine” from the record, it is easy to understand what Lusterman heard. Traum’s guitar and voice are both in top form, and the beloved roots musician is as nimble as ever in his semi-improvised accompaniment.

The transcription here—accompanied by a video in which Traum’s son, Adam Traum, teaches his father’s approach—should give you a good sense of how the elder Traum played the piece and how you can borrow some of his ideas in working out your own bluesy accompaniments on a classic song like this.

When learning the guitar part, keep in mind that while there are a lot of notes on these pages—and some trickier parts, like the contrary motion idea introduced in the first measure—more important than playing it exactly as written is to strive for a confident and insistent time feel.

“Dad’s style seems simple, but there is a lot of complexity to his picking. One of the things that he did so well was keep a steady groove going with his thumb, and that was the underpinning of his sound,” the younger Traum says. “So if I had to recommend anything to people who like his style, I would say to get the fundamental groove and pocket going so it is rock solid. Then start to build a vocabulary of voicings around the neck.”

See Happy Traum’s Homespun video for “He Was a Friend of Mine” here.