How to Play Baby Please Don't Go by Them on Guitar

Learn the classic intro guitar solo to Baby Please Don't Go. First recorded by Big Joe Williams and covered by many. Here we look at the version by Van Morrison's band - Them - released in 1964.

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Abridged Script

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This song has a very long pedigree, in fact we can genuinely say that its true origins are lost in the mist of time. But although Delta bluesman, Big Joe Williams can lay claim to the first recorded version of the song, we are going to look at the intro guitar solo as played by Billy Harrison on the 1964 recording by Belfast band “Them”.

Note that the record is in the key of F. We are going to teach it as if it was in E. So, to play along to the record you will need a capo at the first fret.

The first phrase comes in on the upbeat, so is best played starting with an upstroke
Then as we hit the end note of the phrase sliding from 3 to 5 on the 2nd string we include the open top E string with the slide like this.

As you can see from the tab, this end note is held over three whole bars. If you play this against a backing track this is easy to count as the bass line acts just like a metronome.

The next phrase also starts on the upbeat, this time the last note is not only held, but also given enough vibrato to make it sound wavery.
This time we hold the note for the rest of the bar, plus the next two bars, and then count to three before launching into the next passage again on an upbeat.

Careful attention to picking direction will again help you nail the timing of the first part of this phrase. When practicing this I advise breaking it into four sub phrases Up Down - Down Up Down - Down - Down Up.
This flows straight into the next phrase, built around the slide from 2 to 4 on the third string.
Hitting the top two strings open after the first slide is something of a nicety, and you shouldn’t worry too much about making that happen. Rather, aim to hit the top string on a down stroke and if you happen to include the second string as well, let it happen. Notice I end this part of the phrase a note short of the end of the bar.
I think you’ll find that if you insert a sort of ‘mental comma’ at this stage it will help you hear the phrasing in your head more easily and speed up the learning process.
Now we add the rest of this phrase by starting on the upbeat once again and notice that the rest of the phrase is all on the strong beats so use down strokes for each note and the timing should look after itself.
Finally, we end this lesson with the repeated lick that is played as the harmonica kicks in, here’s the tab covering the last three lines. Notice the footnote about the one bar that is only two beats long – marked with the double asterisks.

Well I’ll leave you to practice that. Site members of the Secret Guitar Teacher can download the tab from the link near the video screen. See you again soon

Видео How to Play Baby Please Don't Go by Them on Guitar канала New Secret Guitar Teacher