Shane Speal explores the classic Howlin’ Wolf song, “I Asked Her for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)” and arranges the riff for a 3-string slide cigar box guitar. The classic blues song was first recorded by Howlin’ Wolf for Chess Records in 1956. Shane Speal is the author of Making Poor Man’s Guitars (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2018)
Shane Speal explores the classic Howlin’ Wolf song, “I Asked Her for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline).” The drone blues song was first recorded in 1956. Here is the original recording for reference.
In the lesson, Speal shows the riff in open G (GDG) and then explains how to re-tune the cigar box guitar to a rumblin’ Open E (EBE) tuning.
Musician and author, Shane Speal explores the classic Howlin’ Wolf song, “Little Red Rooster.” The song contains a deep blues riff that that has appeared in other great blues songs by Son House, RL Burnside and others. Speal distills the guitar parts down to an accessible riff for 3-string cigar box guitar. Speal is author of Making Poor Man’s Guitars (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2018)
Musician and author, Shane Speal explores the classic Howlin’ Wolf song, “Little Red Rooster.” The song contains a deep blues riff that that has appeared in other great blues songs by Son House, RL Burnside and others. Speal distills the guitar parts down to an accessible riff for 3-string cigar box guitar.
First we present the original recording for reference. Scroll down for Speal’s lesson.
Here is Shane Speal’s full lesson on “Little Red Rooster.”
Shane Speal tackles an obscure R. L. Burnside blues song, “Nine Days In Jail” by inventing a brand new cigar box guitar tuning. This in-depth lesson explores RL’s riffs and the Missississippi fife-and-drum style rhythm involved. Essential blues lesson for 3-string cigar box guitar! Shane Speal is the author of Making Poor Man’s Guitars (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2018)
TUNING: C MINOR (IMPLIED) – A variation of the Open G tuning (GDG). To get this tuning, simply take an Open G cigar box guitar and raise the middle string to Eb.
The song, “Nine Days in Jail” is from R. L. Burnside’s album, My Black Name A-Ringin’.
For reference, we present the original song.
R. L. played the original version in the key of C#minor…or somewhere near that. (He probably didn’t use a tuner.) Shane Speal arranges the song for Cminor using a new tuning that is very similar to Open G: G Eb G.
Shane Speal breaks down Howlin’ Wolf’s “I Ain’t Superstitious” into a version playable on 3-string cigar box guitar. Video lesson, step-by-step.
Shane Speal explores the deep blues of Howlin’ Wolf (aka Chester Burnett) by combining the three guitar parts of “I Ain’t Superstitious” into a 3-string cigar box guitar version. Speal’s version utilizes an Open G tuning (GDG) for this blues song that is played in the key of D.Continue reading “CIGAR BOX GUITAR VIDEO LESSON: “I Ain’t Superstitious” by Howlin’ Wolf”
Click the image above to view the how-to guide PDF.
This is the full how-to guide from C. B. Gitty’s Cigar Box Ukulele kit. While written with a focus on assembling the kit C. B. Gitty sells (which includes all of the parts and hardware you need in one easy package), this how-to guide is a good general introduction to building a cigar box ukulele, and could be useful if you want to try it on your own from scratch.
Click Here or on the image to the left to view the full guide document.
Here is a short article from the July, 1920 edition of Popular Science Monthly, in which author Frank W. Vroom gives fairly brief instructions for constructing what he calls a “Jazzolin” using a cigar box. This is basically another take on the classic one-string cigar box fiddle. Continue reading “Cigar Box Violin (Jazzolin) – Popular Science Monthly, July 1920”
Click the image above to download the printable PDF document.
The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the classic rock song Cold, Cold Heart, written and performed by Hank Williams. This tablature is arranged for 3-string Open G “GDG” tuning.
Click on the image above to download the printable PDF document.
All of the cigar box guitar tablature here on CigarBoxGuitar.com is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop shop for all things Cigar Box Guitar: Instruments, Kits, Parts, Gear & More.
The questions come up often among Cigar Box Guitar builders: Is fretting worth it? Why would I want to fret my build? What do I need to know and what tools do I need to get started? Fretting can be a complex topic, but it doesn’t need to be a murky mystery to builders.
The questions come up often among Cigar Box Guitar builders: Is fretting worth it? Why would I want to fret my build? What do I need to know and what tools do I need to get started? Fretting can be a complex topic, but it doesn’t need to be a murky mystery to builders. This article will attempt to cover some of the basic concepts to help you decide whether you are ready to take the plunge, as well as point you to other resources to help you get started.