Tunefox
The Clever Way to Learn & Practice Bluegrass Music
This version of Railroad Bill is based on the finger style blues guitar playing of Etta Baker.
Etta had an astounding amount of variations, and could play this on the banjo as well. In some of her recorded versions of this tune she will leave out the typical "major III" chord on the first couple of times through. That chord is usually an integral part of this tune, but she makes it work.
In the key of C an E7 chord is a "major III". At the moment that chord is usually played, the melody note being sounded is a single E note. A typical C major chord also has an E note. That's why it still sounds good even when the E7 is left out. There's an important lesson here: you don't have to always play the most fancy chord or lick to make good music.
Another important note on Etta's playing style. She would often play multiple notes with her thumb when playing a secondary alternate bass note. An example of that is in the licks for measure one. The tab was simplified for ease of reading and playability, but you can be a bit "looser" with your thumb like Etta did. It also helps to give a fuller sound.
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