B Sharp Friday - 6/6/25
Songs, Licks, and Practice for Your Musical Weekend
Welcome to another edition of B Sharp Friday! I share a song of the week, a quick lick idea for the song, and some ideas to help you practice. Let’s get to it!
Song of the Week
This week’s song is a country classic. I love “Big Iron” because it paints such a great picture of the Old West - complete with an outlaw and a gun fight. There have been many versions over the years, but the quintessential is by Marty Robbins.
Check it out below.
The Chord Map and backtrack: Strum Machine Link
Check out this song - what a great format for the lyrics! The trickiest part about playing this song is the phrasing. It has everything - 4, 5, and 6 bar phrases interspersed. At least the form is repetitive!
This is a clear-cut example of lyrics-first songwriting. The music is phrased to fit the cadences of the lyrics and the story - genius! I usually love songs like this, but they can be tricky to get the timing just right until you really know the melody and can hum along.
Practice just that. Even if you are familiar with the tune, hum along and notice when the chords change with the melody. Do this while using the chord map as a listening guide and you’ll have it in your ear in no time. Then, you’ll be ready to start strumming along.
Note: the chord map and back track are in C because we use those shapes, BUT the song is in the key of E - so get those capos out and slap it on the 4th fret to use the shapes as written.
Lick of the Week
This week’s lick is for the song but can be used in any C shape tune. It is heavily influenced by some shorter licks heard in the song, but not exactly played in the song.
It starts on the 2nd Am bar in the first phrase of the verse and can also be played starting in the 1st Am bar on the 2n phrase if you land on the 3 fret of the 4th string instead (for the F chord). Actually, I even played it over the C chord itself - this works because Am and C are practically the same chord.
Consisting of some cross-string picking and funky blue notes, it can be a bit tricky because of starting on the second beat. I just felt it the groove that way, and you’ll have to listen to it to feel the timing out for yourself. The lick is great over an Am chord and C chord can be adapted to land on other chords, as well (just check out how I landed it in F)
That’s it for this week - short and sweet! Stay sharp this weekend, and pick on!
- Justin