Londonderry Aire - Teaching

Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins

Lesson time: (6min 25sec)

In this lesson, Chet Atkins teaches you how to play the tune Londonderry Aire on the guitar.

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This lesson is part of the course The Guitar of Chet Atkins
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Lesson transcript:

Music Arrangement Insights

I don't know why I make arrangements like that that I can't play. But anyway, I got the idea to use that technique from listening to Eric Johnson play White Cliffs of Dover.

I couldn't do the lick he did, so I kind of changed it and did my own. And I've never played that for him, but I gotta do it, send it to him or something.

Key Concepts

The Song Structure

  • 1E Annie.
  • Bass Notes: E, 1E, and E.
  • Progression: 1 like 1E and E, 2E and E.
  • Melody: Play melody against that.

Of course, I changed the chords around as usual to make it a little more interesting to me musically. But slowly, it's an open G there, another open G, another G flat 5 to an F sharp.

Key of B

This is in the key of B, of course. A lot of people don't like the key of B, but I find it very interesting because it hasn't been explored a lot by guitar players.

I've written a couple, maybe three tunes in the key of B.

The Bridge

Then the bridge is a crucial part. I try to make it sound like a bagpipe with that drone in there with the open B.

  • Consider another fill: That's what I heard.
  • Return to the 1: Notice I use that chord a lot instead of going straight to that.

Tension and Release: That's what music is all about, is tension and release, to me, anyway.

Progression Breakdown

Then I get off of it here, the 1E Annie.

  • That's a raised nine.
  • There's the nine.
  • Here's the raised.

The progression would be an A flat 5 to an A flat 6 to a G. Then we go to C, which is up a half tune.

  • That's A which is a 4 over a 5.
  • Bass: B diminished with a C note in it.

Get that line that helps sustain.

Final Thoughts

It's just 1E, ante, 2E Annie. That's a B flat 9 with a flat 9 in it. It's like this chord, only you're up here at the nut, you see, to an E minor, then to a six minor, and finally to A minor.

I play that B against it, which is nice. That is a jazz chord. I don't know what it's called, but I learned that from Lennox.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

  • It's a flat nine.

Ending the Piece

The end is just almost chromatic with one line. I go to an A flat here, an F major 7, and F minor 7.

You can do whatever you want against that. Like, I think on the take, I did something very tough to play, but I think it's interesting.

Sustain Challenges: You know, you have trouble with sustain with a guitar, and this gives you a sustaining sound.

So practice. That's all I can tell you. I can't play it. Maybe you can!

About the instructor

Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins

Known as "Mr. Guitar", Chet Atkins is the most recorded solo instrumentalist in music history. His signature picking style was inspired by Merle Travis, with other major influences including Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul and, later, Jerry Reed. That trademark picking style and musicianship won him admirers within and well beyond the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. As a studio musician, his playing graced records by Elvis Presley, Kitty Wells, The Everly Brothers, Hank Williams and dozens of other Nashville legends. His style went on to influence pop greats such as Mark Knopfler, Duane Eddy, George Harrison, The Ventures, George Benson and Eddie Cochran, as well as thousands of country pickers. He won nine CMA Awards as Musician of the Year, four Playboy jazz poll honours and thirteen Grammys. With more than 35 million copies of his 75-plus original releases sold, Atkins was also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky tonks - and without him, country may never have crossed over into the pop charts in the '50s and '60s. Learn from the master - just click on one of the courses on this page! read more

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19 lessons (1h 24m)
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