Ernie Hawkens over at acousticguitar.com has written a wonderfully detailed introductory lesson about the guitar work of the Reverend Gary Davis, a master of the so-called “Piedmont” style of fingerpicking. He’s posted plenty of printable tabs with MP3′s in addition to several videos. One of the first tunes I ever learned on the guitar was a Gary Davis tune, so naturally I thought I’d share.

I found Davis in the back of a store in Queens, asleep in a big chair. I waited a minute, then gently tapped him on the shoulder. He exploded, whoopin’ and yellin,’ and I retreated to the street. When he calmed down, I told him who I was and he asked, “Did you bring your money?” I had, so I spent the next seven hours with the legendary Piedmont master. Those hours turned into five years, off and on, of studying with Davis, and I’ve since spent decades working through his guitar style.

In this article we’ll talk a little about the Piedmont fingerpicking style in general and then move on to a few of Davis’s innovations, breaking down parts of some of his representative songs, such as “Crucifixion” and “Slow Drag (Cincinnati Flow Rag).” The subject of Reverend Gary Davis’s guitar style is vast, but hopefully we’ll be able to scratch the surface and show you some of what made his playing unique. You’ll see how his playing moved in voices, with a bass or inner line working against a melody, and how he liked to syncopate the bass line.

And here’s the Reverend playing Slow Drag (Cincinnati Flow Rag):