quitos52 - Posted - 04/15/2019:  12:18:12

Does anyone know where I can find the tab for Whisky Rye in Open D or Open G?

Thank you.

Larry

Slidennis - Posted - 04/15/2019:  13:56:03

Are you looking for Rye Whiskey as Ed Gerhard plays it? Or Rye Whiskey as the Punch Brothers play? Or Rye Whiskey as Pete Seeger plays it?



I apologize, I just do not do tabs.



I'll assume you want the Ed Gerhard version. It is fairly easy to pick out by ear. It is mostly very much the notes in D major scale with an occasional blue note thrown in. If you know where your D scale is you should be succesful figuring it out.. Gerhard has several videos on youtube that you can slow down and obsess over where his slide is. Another good video to pick up the bar position is by John Wilde.  youtube.com/watch?v=8kbG03skCfQ  There was another one out there I cannot find right now that had better views of both hands.  I'll keep searching.



The tune follows a common chord patter in the key of D major, what some call the "four chord trick" - D, Bm, G and A played with D (open or at the 12th fret), Bm at the 9th fret played on the lowest three strings (by keeping the open D on the first string sounding it makes it a minor chord) , then G chord at the 5th fret and A at the 7th fret.  The chord structure goes between D, Bmin, G back to D and from D, Bm G, to A and back to D as the melody requires it.  And this chord pattern is the basis for a gazillion songs in D major.  So once you get it down you can play for hours going from song to song using the same chords.



The melody starts on the first string open 2nd, 4th frets for the D chord. Then go to the 9th fret and accent the third string (I think) for the Bm. Then to the 5th for the G chord and slide up to the 7th to pass through the A chord.



The bridge breaks the chord pattern up.  It igoes between a root D chord and the A, the 5 chord.  Start at the 12th fret, slide up sleazy, you'll find the notes. The riffs that follow get a little tough to describe. They can be played several different ways. I'll attempt to write them down later tonight.

Hope that helps gets you started.

Dennis

Edited by - Slidennis on 04/15/2019 14:10:55

quitos52 - Posted - 04/15/2019:  14:42:04

Thank you for your generous response, Dennis. This is very helpful.

Larry

Slidennis - Posted - 04/15/2019:  16:56:59

You're welcome.



I should have stated that if you get the chord progression going, most of the melody notes you need will sit right where the bar plays the chords. If you only use the lowest three strings of the Bm chord at the 9th fret you will find the required notes on the 4th string at the 9th fret and then the open 2nd and 1st strings.



So here is the simple bridge. 1st string being the highest pitched string. There are two chords D, the root, and A, the five chord. Then back to the verse chord progression.



For the D chord, slide up to the 12th fret using the 2nd and 3rd strings. Play the 2nd, the 3rd and the 2nd again. Rest, then play play 2nd, 3rd (slide back two frets if you want), and then the 4th strings at the twelfth fret. You can stay there and get vibrato with the bar or you can echo those last three notes an octave lower using open 2nd, 3rd, 4th strings or play those notes any other way you can think of.



Then the A chord ... Slide into the 7th fret accenting the 1st and 2nd strings. Play the 1st, the 2nd and then the 1st again at the 7th fret. Rest. Then play 2nd, 3rd (slide back two frets if you want) and then the 4th string again at the seventh fret. Echo those same notes an octave lower on the 4th and 5th strings.



That's the simple melody. You can use a variety of techniques to dress all that up. If you watch all the YouTube videos of the song you will see that nobody plays it quite the same way.



The Ed Gerhard arrangement (which is at this point a mandatory Weissenborn tune) is loosely based on the old melody as sung by the likes of Tex Ritter and Pete Seeger (and many others). If you go back and listen to either of those you will see that the singers play it basically as a two chord song D and A. So the Gerhard version smooths things out quite a bit by adding the chord progressions. Still the singing, particularly of Seeger in my mind, takes the melody to a few interesting places beyond the Gerhard melody. I think that is supposed to be the whiskey talking. Start with the basic melody and then take it where you will.



Have fun.

Edited by - Slidennis on 04/15/2019 16:59:49

quitos52 - Posted - 04/16/2019:  04:31:44

Thanks again, Dennis. This is perfect. I will certainly enjoy learning this song.

Larry