The How-To Repository for the Cigar Box Guitar Movement!
How to Build and Play Cigar Box Guitars and other Homemade Instruments
This tablature was created by Glenn Watt.
All of the ci
gar box guitar tablature here on CigarBoxGuitar.com is presented by The Southbound String Company, the only strings specifically chosen and voiced for cigar box guitars. Be sure to check out our line of Open G GDG cigar box guitar string sets here! Continue reading “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry by Hank Williams – 3-string Open G GDG – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature”
If you have been thinking about using a magnetic pickup in your next cigar box guitar build, but aren’t sure about how they are different from piezo pickups, then here is a quick overview for you. Magnetic pickups can be a nice addition to most any cigar box guitar, but they do require some different handling and some knowledge of their unique properties. Continue reading “Introduction to using Magnetic Pickups”
When most people think of cigar box guitars, they do not think of traditional Irish tunes… but it turns out that a lot of Irish tunes are fairly simple melodies and are quite well suited to playing on a 3-string cigar box guitar. So here are 3 of my favorite Irish polkas (the term polka refers to the time signature and rhythm of the piece, not any German origin), which I used to play when I was in an Irish band. You may recognize the second tune as the popular Irish/kids song “The Rattlin Bog/Bog Down in the Valley-o”, and the third one from the Irish party scene of James Cameron’s hugely popular movie The Titanic. Continue reading “Irish Tune Set: 3 Polkas – 3-string Open G GDG – Chords & Tablature for Cigar Box Guitars”
“Who says you need to buy a guitar?”
In this video clip from Dave Grohl’s “It Might Get Loud” documentary, Jack White builds a diddley bow in a cow pasture. He spends just over a minute doing it, and the last step is to tack on a single coil pickup and plug in to the amp stack he has standing by. He ends with the line quoted above. Why indeed? Continue reading “Jack White builds a Diddley Bow in about 1 minute”
These three printable sheets give you the 3-string cigar box guitar chord forms for playing in the three most common keys: C, G and D. These chord forms are intended for Open G “GDG” 3-string tunings. Continue reading “Jamming Guides for 3-string Cigar Box Guitars: Chords for Keys of C, G and D”
Musical styles: Blues, Hillbilly stomp, Rock, Americana, Originals
Handmade instruments played: cigar box guitars
He didn’t start build cigar box guitars until 2007 but he was bit by the artistic bug much earlier in life. Jason Farthing was drawing his favorite super heroes as a wee lad which is something that ultimately led to his love for the visual arts. That love turned into some of the finest custom painted cigar box guitars one can find. Continue reading “Jason Farthing (The Budrows)”
The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the classic Christmas song Jingle Bells. Continue reading “Jingle Bells – 3-string Open G GDG – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature”
Learn how to play the bass line to Jingle Bells on your 2-string bass with the free-to-download tablature in this post. Continue reading “Jingle Bells 2-String G-Bass Tablature”
“In elementary school, we had a picture of Bo Diddly in our cafeteria. He was holding a rectangular guitar and the poster said something to the affect of ‘Eat your vegetables’. […] I didn’t see anything like that again until 2000 or so when Microwave Dave played the local W.C. Handy fest with his cbg. […] I had no idea at the time it would totally change my life in the years to come.”
Musical styles: One-man-band Blues Blast, Psycho-Hill Country, Punk, Originals
Handmade instruments played: Lowebow, cigar box guitar, stick guitar
As a young boy, John was introduced to boogie-woogie piano. Years later, and after a short stint with the trumpet, he was given a guitar. John was not one who took well to lessons on either piano or trumpet, and had a only a few on guitar. His growth as a musician really took off by jamming with friends. He grew to play in several bands in various clubs and immersed himself into the Fayetteville, AR punk scene, ultimately opening a music store with his wife in that city. Continue reading “Johnny Lowebow (John Lowe)”
Learn how to play the bass line to Jolly Old Saint Nicholas on your 2-string bass guitar with the totally free-to-download tablature in this post. Continue reading “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas 2-String G-Bass Tablature”
The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the classic Christmas song Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. Continue reading “Jolly Old Staint Nicholas – 3-string Open G GDG – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature”
In this video lesson, Dan walks you through how to play the lead and riffs for some good ole Northern Mississippi Hill Country Blues, Junior Kimbrough’s “Nobody But You”. Continue reading “Junior Kimbrough’s “Nobody But You” – lesson from One-Hand Dan Russell”
Musical Styles: Blues, Folk, Roots
Handmade Instruments Played: Cigar Box Guitar, Gas Can Guitar, Diddley Bow, many others
Over the last several years, Justin Johnson has become one of the most recognizable performing musicians of the cigar box guitar and homemade/handmade music movement. A highly accomplished musician, Justin plays a wide variety of handmade instruments created by builders and craftspeople all over the world, frequently switching between different instruments on stage all while weaving a masterful tapestry of sound and spoken word. Continue reading “Justin Johnson”
As performed by the Carter Family and in O Brother Where Art Thou. View the full text of this entry by clicking the “Read More” link below for the formatted canjo tab…
Arrangement courtesy of C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, intended for playing on American Canjo Company™ brand one-string canjos with dulcimer-style fretting, with fret numberings as shown below. The open unfretted string is notated as “0″.
0 1 3 4 5 4 3 1 3 0 There’s a dark and a troubled side of life, 3 5 8 8 9 8 5 3 5 4 There’s a bright and a sunny side too. 4 5 6 4 4 8 5 4 5 Though we meet with the darkness and strife 3 4 4 5 3 2 0 1 2 3 The sunny side we a-l-so may view. Chorus 8 8 8 8 5 3 4 3 3 3 3 1 0 Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side, 3 3 4 5 5 6 5 4 8 8 9 8 8 4 5 Keep on the sunny side of life, it will help us ev’ry day, 5 5 4 3 3 1 0 3 4 5 5 6 5 5 4 4 3 It will brighten all the way, if we keep on the sunny side of life.
To learn more about this classic American song, and to find more verses, check out this Wikipedia article.
Arrangement by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply Copyright 2014
