John Fahey - Requiem For Mississippi John Hurt

[alaggon]

what tuning is this in?

[Arsenal123456123]

@alaggon Open C tuning. 

[Iamthewalrus17]

Awesome Fingerpickin Man!

Keep it up!

[amacallan9]

Excellent. Don't stop playin the shit.

[dantean]

You rock (or Folk, or Root, or something)!!!

[otacon451]

now if you can just avoid cigarettes, homelessness, and alcoholism...

[flexxxyourhead]

o pen sea

[deefjohnholler]

maniac!!! great stuff.

[stumply]

awesome job dude, i just have a question. for a song like this do you use just your thumb index and middle finger or do you use all?

[Arsenal123456123]

@stumply Thanks. For a song like this (and every fingerpicking song) you only use your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

[danversdon]

jesu christo, maria, y jose, y el burro,

please let me contact you. i have a friend who will record you and marcet you. and best of all he knows moore abou "that old shit" than you do.

[caralhosvosfodam]

Do you have tabs for this?

It's an open tuning like open G?

[caralhosvosfodam]

WOWOW!!!!!!!

Kickass dude!!!!

How old are you??? You're a blues beast already.

[Arsenal123456123]

@caralhosvosfodam Thanks for that. I recorded this when I was 16 (I believe.) I'm 19 now and am still playing the same ol' shit. But I love the shit. Heh.

[caralhosvosfodam]

@Arsenal123456123 I'm 21 and I'm diving into the blues world (better late than never).

I'm in Open G, is the same tuning as this piece? Or are you in Open D?

[Arsenal123456123]

@caralhosvosfodam It's in Open C tuning.

[ElComadreja777]

Damn fine job of it.

[petespencer51]

Nice going, Arsenal. Your right-hand technique is excellent and you are able to get a sound out of a crappy" guitar - your point about Patton, Blake is well taken. And you handle the peanut gallery well, too. What is it about the internet that drives people to aggrandize themselves in such pointless ways? Keep up the good work.

[sctaerprhearna]

5 stars..awesome playing!

[greybeard73]

Well played. I love this tune and have started to look into it myself. Actually I think I can pick up a thing or 2 from watching you. Thank you. I like your strong approach to this tune. You use fingerpicks? Right?

[Arsenal123456123]

Yep - I'm using the fingerpicks. I can help you with this song (or any other Fahey song) if you need it.

[6stringdaveyM]

Good playing but it sounds like a $90.00 guitar no matter what you think.

[Arsenal123456123]

I think I got it for $85.00 actually. Really not far off! A friend of mine gave me his 1923 Ditson Martin.... sounds quite different. But the guitars that players like Charley Patton, Blind Blake etc. played -- those were crappy pieces of wood and glue put together that sounded INCREDIBLE.... because of the the guitarists.

[barleyguitar]

Sounds great to me. Awesome picking!

[jwalsh671]

Arsenal, see my comment on "When Cathedrals were White". It is just as applicable here. Do you have any original compositions posted on youtube? I have always heard that it is important to "immitate before you innovate". I have no doubt that you have a stash of innovation, and I would like to hear some of it.

[junkyardfool]

Mr. Fahey: "The worst possible way to play these songs is in metronome time at a uniform volume. Another terrible thing would be to play any composition the same way every time, or to feel that you have to play it exactly the way someone else, such as myself, played it or said to play it... I think of myself as a very good composer, arranger, and plagiarest for the solo acoustic guitar"

But I spend my time trying to sound the same as him too. Tch, what did Fahey know...

[Arsenal123456123]

I don't think my playing applies to what Fahey said in that quote. It's most likely he was referring to himself, playing live. And for the most part, he played his usual set the same way for most of his live shows.

[LowStackTom]

n1 arsenal !!

ur english?

[Arsenal123456123]

from New York, but been a Gooner all my life.

Up the Arse!

[JesseMathews]

Well Done 5 stars for you :)

[dccam58]

thanks for all the great postings and video "When Cathederals were White". I dont think i'd want to know what John Fahey himself would think of all this, but how else to pay tribute to his greatness. Great playing

[dirtybiking]

very well played Sir! 5 stars for you

[tHeDirTyJoHnSon]

Very nice picking man,, luv'n the sweet sounds,,

[ANTIONE888]

thats awesome bro keep it up.

[1ArtfulBodger]

Givin you 5***** great tempo and feelin.

[rayoll]

nice playing....you switch positions especially well...not too squeeky. Your intent is clear and direct so this is really nice. keep those fingers loose and free no tension (I have had hand trouble and am older than you).

..........then play on

[BaptistPicker]

What kind of guitar do you have there?

[Arsenal123456123]

A shitty $90 one. A guitar is a guitar.

[jimwalsh2001]

"A guitar is a guitar."

Hear, hear.

[majorhoop]

"A guitar is a guitar."-----nice......fahey wasnt afraid of his guitar either.......

[Krittikas]

Good job! Fahey would be impressed! :-) Keep up the good work.

[cjwaywell]

Very Impressive Playing

[Dooyon]

That was pretty darn good but I have to say that, to me, it seemed like you were really going way too fast. But still, very impressive and it's always good to see people keeping the Fahey tracks going.

Oh and keep that pinky off your guitar!

[Arsenal123456123]

Thanks for that nice comment. However, I am not playing it "too fast" (and no one else who has seen this video has ever said that my speed was off.) I played this version of "Requiem For Mississippi John Hurt" in the style that Fahey played live at the Matrix Theater. You write "keep that pinky off your guitar." Perhaps you have heard of John Fahey? He had his pinky on his guitar.

Thanks mate!

[kensingtongtr]

You get rhythmic power and drive from anchoring the pinky on the guitar, you get more by anchoring the 3rd finger as well. classical gtr rules do not apply to this style of playing.

[pekkanikolaus]

Niiice performance, good work!

[trolly323]

what tuning do you have it in?

[Arsenal123456123]

C tuning.

[snailsongs]

as in open C (vs. downtuned, etc.)?

[tutokuka]

that was kool

[MSB76]

sweeeet! great to see such a young fahey fan! keep it up, man!

[pixielf]

NICE!!! Keep up the good work! You have a future in music!!

[D28guy]

Awesome! A young fella, in this ipod/text message/hip hop/rap (ugh!!) age we are in, actually gets turned on to some truly good music, and wants to play it!

Keep it up, son...keep it up! Your playing is GREAT. Turn all your friends on to it! Turn em all on to the GOOD stuff.

Play what you know is good. Whats in your heart. Pass it on to others.

Enjoyed your playing very much. Bravo!

[thereagauze]

man fahey looks young in this video

[happy2oblige]

Excellent playing. Well done!

But hey, no need to rush. There's no hurry.

[Ederle]

neat!

[Floorbird]

Nice to see the younger generation carrying on the tradition of Fahey and country blues, great stuff keep it up.

[JBoudreau99]

you are the coolest goddamn kid alive!!

[WoodstockImprov]

Very good!

[mradamcooley]

AMAZING.

[dookdookdookdook]

Man you should be really proud of yourself.

[lenaspieltblues]

Love that!

[lastfirstface]

Nice playing.

[LeeteaHutchin]

Very good! Great to see a competent performance! I would like to see you improve on it! ; ) Good Luck!

[daddystovepipe]

Nice picking!

[AnovaMusic]

Man - you're good!

Great stuff here.

[Usurper84]

Good stuff.

[TheRealScottFree]

Keep playin', man...I have a version of that tune also...check it out...maybe give you some ideas! Great job.

[JosiahAltschuler]

I like it! Nice playing.

[sequoia1979]

great to see someone this young that is into mr. fahey.

[NuG919]

exellent!

[dallastropical]

Very well done.

[francobegbie22]

damn good job on that

[whitetrashboys]

I love the sound of your guitar man. Good stuff.

[Bjbm]

Well Done!  I hope you continue and I look forward to future videos. Thanks.

[nichmars]

Nice! Thanks.

[CroatAndNettles]

Forget Gary Hurd. He's wrong. Your rendition of the MJH requiem is really good. You take a few short cuts and miss a few subtleties that make Fahey a master, but you're very close. Even Fahey took two cracks at the piece until he thought he had it right, although I like the first one -- on Vanguard -- better. I'll be glad to send you a mp3 of the Charley Patton if you haven't heard it.

In all events, I look forward to many more of your Fahey renditions in the future. Great stuff...

[thumbpicker1812]

I liked that! Nice sound.

[GaryHurd]

remember to call this Fake,Fake,Fake. Not John Hurt, not John Fahey.

You want to make your own guitar "traditional music," call it your own. I wanted to hear the original John's not yours.

I don't care now if you can play or not. This shit came up on a John Hurt and John Fahey search.

You are never going to be John Hurt, or John Fahey.

Be your self.

[Arsenal123456123]

Well GaryHurd, first of all - John Hurt has nothing to do with this song - except for the title, so you clearly don't know your music history. Second, about 70% of Fahey's music is stuff that he had stolen and either arranged or coppied it straight out - I did the same - I coppied his. You're not very intelligent. Lets see you play some guitar - post a video - make it fingerpicking - if you're so good.

[evorg666]

Gary Hurd is obviously a complete tool. You may never be Fahey or Hurt, but be thankful you're not Gary Hurd.

[sellobic]

hurd rhymes with turd. ha ha ha ha ha ha

[miasm]

what's this guy's problem?!

[miasm]

sorry this comment was meant to reply to the 'gary hurd' comment below! love the rendition.

[iadmike]

very nice. i'm working on learning this piece myself.

[lonewolf28]

Good cover man!! Was just playing this and wanted to hear another version... I swear Fahey could play anything on the steel stringed guitar!!