Notes to Porgy's Blues

Tuning: C Minor: C G C G C Eb

On my album Blue River Blues, I made a slide arrangement of Gershwin's melody Summer Time. The title Porgy's Blues came from the original name of the show Porgy and Bess, which contained the very bluesy Summer Time… Anyway, it was originally a throw away track as I was messing around in the studio, when the air conditioning had broken down and had the guitar tuned to Cm , that's low to high - C G C G C Eb. The arrangement came naturally out of that tuning, and I didn't have to try too hard. If you've heard the album you can sense the, lazy heat of that July, Californian day. We kept the track and it remains one of my faves. You should play with a languid feel and use the vibrato markings as a guide. Dots above the tab indicate to play these notes fairly short to give the tune a little punctuation where needed. Improvise as much as you can - as I do on the album version. Remember this is only a guide. Let the tuning lead you and your slide where it has to go - you'll be amazed! Rick

Acoustic Guitar Workshop - Main Site