Cane Break BluesMerle Travis (1961)Transcription: Tom Thomason (1995) TablEdited by Tom Thomason (1998)$xJI I@I`IIIIIDiB i@i`iDiBiiiEiC i@i`iEiCiiiI I@I`ICDiB i@i`icEiC i@i`ic    0 I0 I0 I0 I I@ I` I I I I I DiB i@ i` i DiB i i iEiC i@i`iEiCiiiI I@I`ICDiB i@i`icEiC i@i`ic 0I0I0I0 i@`i  ii@f0ii@ff&f&fi i@i`i i @ i i i@!f!f#&f#&f@$i$i$!I@ %I`%i%!I &@&f&$I@@'f)%f)f **i,#I ,"I@, ,i,i,i@-#I -i`.%I@/!F 0@0i`0i00i@1i1 12 2i2i0@3f3i84f4 05f6 6i@6iH6 6i66i66i`7i7@8f8f9f@9f9f:f:f;f< EC@>`>>>>> ? AcB B`BiBBiC`CC C D Di@DiE@EfFFGfGfH HiHiHiI I@I `IiI@Jf0@KLfLFMfMfN NiNiNi O@O `OiOP @Pf0@QfRfRFSfSfT TiTiTiTiU U@U `UiUUU @VfVf@WfWfXfYfYfZ  Z@Z `ZZ Z]i3 ]i0]i3]i0@^f^f```(i`i`` a)i@a)ia ib @bfb&i@bi@c(fc'i cie&fe&fffif gi@gi`gig ih@hfhihii@ifiik&fk&fl@lilili mi`mim min@nfnf@ofofq%fq%fri@ri`ris sis@tf@ufvi8vi8w%fwi8w%i8x@y$i`yiyiz z#i@ziz#izf@{"f{f|#f}#f~DB ~DB@~DB`~DB~i~iiiEC EC@EC`ECff EiC@i`ix ii ii DB@` EC@`  f`i@ `i i@f0@f8#Fff -I@*I`(II)I 'I%IfFi0@i`i I@`II@ 0 i8@ 0`i8 0I8I8I8FI8@I8`I8I8I8I8I8 I8@ 0`I8 0I8I8I8 i(@`i ii @f0i0@fi8f&fi0 &If 'I@'`If@&ffc -i@(i`i i8)Fi0  0 i%L@*i8 >>i i@i`i @` @`i8i8i8i8 i@I`iii@ƒfiƒf@ffffDB DB@DB`ii i`iEC EC@EC`iiif i@i`iiif@`@`fxZ c c c c ccT = L.H. thumb TE9e=1 DescriptiArusScan\Config3F#9m6)usScan\SF9m6)usbar=1 E9sScan\Config3 E6aj 6) E6aj 6 9B9A7/6 !"#!"#A7E7Eb7at 7D7E7B7 (9)Am add 9 9 7hordA7/6AA7E I0IE7WH"WHWHWHWHWHzWHRWB7WHWHWH2W E6/9sus 4  This is a real fun blues in the key of E which, due to it's easygoing tempo, is an excellent introduction to the Merle Travis style of guitar playing. I've updated the tablature since it was first posted in order to make the chord shapes and fingerings conform more closely those which Travis would have used. I've slowed down the tempo to match Merle's performance on his Capitol album "Walkin' the Strings" (Capitol 7243-8-35809-2-7). I actually play it a bit faster. A couple of comments should be made here concerning Merle's playing, in general. As anyone who's listened to any great amount of Travis' guitar work will know, Merle had an absolutely incredible sense of timing coupled with enormous speed. The latter is all the more impressive when you consider the fact that Merle used ONLY his thumb and index finger to pick with. The tablature has been altered to reflect this. I find the difference between this and using the thumb and two or more fingers fairly minimal. I use my thumb, index and middle fingers for the most part with my ring finger being used sometimes for "rolled" chords. Merle kept three fingers firmly on the top of the guitar, I anchor with the little finger only. Different strokes for different folks. Possibly the two most important elements to learn are the use of the thumbpick and the left hand thumb. Merle ALWAYS used a thumbpick. All those lightning fast rolls he did in such tunes as, for example, "Cannonball Rag" and "Walking the Strings" were done by dragging the thumbpick downwards across the bottom strings of a chord, using the index finger only to pick the last note of the roll. The thumbpick also provided an important element of that solid bass accompaniment of his. In contrast to the style of Chet Atkins, where bass notes are almost always struck very cleanly (and, thus, singly), Merle almost always struck a double note on the second and fourth beat basses. The top note of these bass strokes always sounds just a bit weaker than the principal bass note of the pair. This is reflected in the tablature by using the "ghost note" function without dropping the dynamic value (this function automatically drops the volume of the note). These, secondary notes should NOT be picked separately! They're strictly a result of Merle's bass style. Please note that these secondary notes (99% of the time on the 3rd string) are not muted. Merle instinctively maintained very fine control over which strings were damped by his right hand palm. Travis' use of the left hand thumb on the bass strings, a technique most of you will be familiar with, was extensive. A close examination of various "soundies" (the 1940's equivalent of modern music videos) and live concert films reveals that Merle's left hand thumb remained hanging well over the top of the neck of his guitar 90% of the time. He used it regularly for both the 6th and 5th strings and, more seldom, the 4th string. According to Thom Bresh (Merle Travis' son), he NEVER (or, at the very least, almost never) used a full barr chord. His philosophy was that using the index finger for a full barr simply locked up his left hand and reduced the number of fingers he had to work with. I, for the most part, agree with this idea but I'll admit that Travis carried it to extremes. For instance, he habitually used his thumb to fret both the 5th and 6th strings in the 9th chord shape appearing in measure 9. Although I have found instances where this fingering is advantageous, in the majority of cases it's just as effective (and a whole lot easier) to use the more standard fingering where these notes are fretted by the middle finger, either as a two string barr or by simply toggling between the two strings. However, in the case of, for example, the 5th fret A position, the use of the thumb is crucial to getting in all those licks. In addition, he used his thumb to create two other chords (neither of which happens to be present in this particular piece) which simply can't be played any other way! One of these is an otherwise fairly standard C7 position (also used in the blues work of the Rev. Gary Davis) where the thumb frets the 5th and 6th strings at the third fret. This sort of use of the thumb will require quite a bit of practice. The E7 appearing in measures 7 (actually the end of 6), 19 and 20 of the earlier tablature has been changed to an E9 chord shape which Travis habitually used. Please note the fingering indicated within the tablature. Merle straddled the 3rd and 4th strings with his middle finger. The final note of the descending run in measure 8 is shortened to an 1/8th note instead of the expected 1/4 note by the fact that this is the point where Travis' brings his normal left-hand damping back into play. Measure 17 starts off with a slightly awkward A chord being used to good effect. At the end of the measure he restores a standard A shape by using a little harmony run in 1/8ths. The E note in the second half of the third beat, previously marked (incorrectly) as the fifth fret of the second string, has been changed to an open 1st string. This makes the transition back to the more standard A position much easier, allowing you to get a much better sound for the run-up harmony. The left hand thumb remains in place throughout the measure. The run beginning in measure 25 can be tricky. I chose a fingering which brings the left hand progressively down the neck in reasonably small steps and leaves a natural anchor (index finger on the fourth fret of the third string) for the descending figure beginning with the F#9 in measure 26. If you prefer, you can play: 1 (12), 1 (9), 2 (12), 2 (8), 1 (0), 3 (6), 2 (0) before setting the F#9. The E note (5th fret, 2nd string) on the third beat of measure 30 actually initiates an indefinite slide down towards the 2nd fret in order to pick up the upwards slide which follows. This downwards slide doesn't actually go all the way down but ends somewhere in between. In measure 31, the E and B notes on the last beat of the measure have been changed from the open 1st and 2nd strings used in my earlier transcription. After having given the original recording another listening, I discovered that there's a definite slide between the two. Merle grabs the E note at the 9th fret of the 3rd string and slides it down to set himself up for the run of partial chords in the beginning of 32. I've marked the slide as ending on the C note at the 5th fret of the 3rd string mostly to emphasize the change of fingers. By the time the slide reaches the 5th fret it's lost almost all of it's volume and you can't really hear the C note. The ending chord is played with a sort of double barr. I find it easiest to use my left hand ring finger for the two top strings since this turns the hand around a little, providing a slight angle for the 11th fret barr (which covers ONLY the 3rd, 4th and 5th strings) and allowing the small barr at the 12th fret to be held at a 90 degree angle to the neck for better sound. I've marked the chord as a "roll" for the sake of the sound. In actual fact, Merle strums it downwards with his thumbpick.cw %).38%).38=