Here are some useful guitar licks and playing tips by Homespun owner/instructor Happy Traum and others. Homespun Performances are excerpts from lessons by some of our great artists that are worth listening to just for pleasure. Keep checking back as we'll be adding to them frequently. And take a look at Happy's Blog. He has had a fascinating journey through more than six decades of playing, writing, and studying about American folk music, and he has quite a few stories to tell.
Legendary artists Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie played this classic Woody Guthrie song on Jack's instructional video, "The Songs and Guitar of Ramblin' Jack Elliott." Jack turned 90 in July 2021 and is still going strong.
Peter Rowan sings one of the most poignant and enduring classics of the bluegrass repertoire. You can find this on his Homespun lesson, "Lead Singing and Rhythm Guitar."
Enjoy this performance excerpt from Roger McGuinn's Homespun lesson "Roger McGuinn's Basic Folk Guitar." This musical adaptation from the well-travelled Irish blessing "May The Road Rise to Meet You" penned by Roger and his wife Camilla, shows why he is such an influential and beloved artist with an enduring fan base.
In this performance excerpt from the Homespun lesson, "Roger McGuinn's Folk Guitar," McGuinn plays "Gate of Horn," a tribute to the famed Chicago folk club where he spent his formative years.