I STAND CORRECTED – BLOG POST – JASON OLSON

I Stand Corrected

So…This post is about Dolly Parton, yes Dolly Parton. Over the years students have occasionally asked me how she could play guitar with those long fingernails (usually female students around prom time). My standard response has always been “oh, she doesn’t really play…the guitar is more of a prop.” Well I have to admit that I owe Dolly an apology. A while back when giving my standard “Dolly response,” a student challenged me to check out some videos. My student correctly pointed out that she was playing some pretty cool sounding licks. I have to admit I was quite surprised. There was Dolly, nails and all, playing impressive solo versions of “Jolene,” and “My Tennessee Mountain Home.” I was intrigued! How was she able to play those intricate lines with long nails and one or maybe two fingers! Well, this is where I must give Dolly quite a bit of credit. By using open tunings, and a very well developed right hand technique, Dolly has been able create some elaborate and musically impressive guitar parts that still allow her to keep her long nails. While I admit this approach still has some limitations, it is hard to deny the success that she has had with this style. The tuning she uses on “My Tennessee Mountain Home” is an open F major chord (6/F 5/A 4/C 3/A 2/C 1/F with a capo at the 4th fret).

My video shows a standard blues riff using this tuning and basic style. Notice how much depends on the right hand as opposed to the left.