H. C. Speir was a record store owner and talent scout in Jackson Mississippi. He was responsible for launching the recording careers of some of the most important Mississippi blues singers…including Charley Patton, Skip James, Willie Brown, Ishmon Bracey, William Harris and a host of others. When he was asked what kind of guitars these guys played, his answer was: ”Stellas – they all played the old cheap Stella guitars, across the board.” Blind Willie McTell is probably the most photo-documented of the country blues performers. Having a shiny new axe was an important element of a bluesman’s public image. So McTell would trade in his guitar for a new one on a regular basis.¹

Blind Willie McTell Guitar Keys and Positions
compiled by Chris Berry with additional notes from Andrew Mullins

For those not familiar with playing Blind Willie McTell on a 12-string guitar, the first thing to note is that McTell tunes down from concert pitch to varying degrees: his low E or sixth string is generally tuned down anywhere from C# to A, or even lower. You can see examples of how this works in the tables below by looking for tunes played out of an E position. For instance, “Drive Away Blues” is played out of an E position, but sounds at the C# below a standard-tuned guitar – the relationship of the string intervals is the same as standard tuning but everything is tuned down 1 1/2 steps (with a 1/2 step being equal to one fret). The later prewar recordings of “Broke Down Engine” are also played out of an E position, but McTell is tuned even lower, just sharp of A. By the time of the version on the Atlantic recordings, he is at Ab.²

This tuning down generally requires heavier string gauges in order to maintain enough tension on the strings. For some valuable information on 12-string gauges and setups, check out this page at Todd Cambio’s Fraulini Guitars website. It has excellent examples of 12-string setups for playing McTell and other artists in your attempt to get an authentic sound.

Warning: once you start putting heavier gauge strings on a 12-string guitar, do not tune to standard concert pitch! Use of these gauges is meant for tuning the guitar low as McTell and others did. Failure to follow this advice could result in your guitar folding in half. No fun. In some of his earlier recordings, McTell does not tune down very far. If you are using heavier gauges, you’ll want to be careful. In some cases you may be better off tuning lower and capoing up a bit.The recordings used for reference in compiling this document are:

In the tables below, the song title is followed by playing position, then actual pitch, then Curley Weaver’s playing position, if applicable. A “+” symbol means that the pitch is sharp of this key, but less than a fret.

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1Prewar Recordings
• 2Library of Congress and Postwar Recordings
  • 2.1Library of Congress Recordings
  • 2.2Atlantic Recordings
  • 2.3Regal/SIW Recordings
  • 2.4Last Session

Prewar Recordings

6-string guitar

Order	Title	Position/tuning	Pitch
1	Writin’ Paper Blues	E	D+
2	Stole Rider Blues	drop D	C+
3	Mama T’ain’t Long Fo’ Day	Spanish	F#
4	Mr. McTell Got the Blues	C	B-flat+
5	Mr. McTell Got the Blues	C	B-flat

12-string guitar

Order	Title	Position/tuning	Pitch	Curley Weaver
1	Three Women Blues	Vestapol	E-flat
2	Dark Night Blues	C	B
3	Statesboro Blues	drop D	C#+
4	Loving Talking Blues	G	F#
5	Atlanta Strut	C	B-flat
6	Travelin’ Blues	Vestapol	D
7	Come On Around to My House Mama	C	A
8	Kind Mama	C	A+
9	Teasing Brown	C	B-flat
10	Drive Away Blues	E	C#
11	This Is Not the Stove to Brown Your Bread	C	A
12	Love Changing Blues	Spanish	E
13	Talkin’ to Myself	E	C#
14	Razor Ball	C	A+
15	Southern Can Is Mine	C	A-flat
16	Broke Down Engine Blues	E	C
17	Stomp Down Rider	G	E
18	Scarey Day Blues	E	C#
19	Rough Alley Blues	E	C#
20	Experience Blues	Vestapol	C
21	Painful Blues	C	A
22	Low Rider’s Blues	C	A-flat	Spanish
23	Georgia Rag	C	A-flat+
24	Low Down Blues	Spanish	E-flat	Vestapol
25	Rollin’ Mama Blues	Spanish	C#	Vestapol
26	Lonesome Day Blues	C	F#	Spanish
27	Mama, Let Me Scoop For You	G	D
28	Searching the Desert for the Blues	E	C
29	Warm It Up to Me	C	A-flat	G
30	It’s Your Time to Worry	G	D+	Vestapol
31	It’s a Good Little Thing	G	E-flat	Vestapol
32	You Was Born to Die	Spanish	D	Vestapol
33	Lord Have Mercy If You Please	Spanish	D	E
34	Don’t You See How This World Made a Change	Vestapol	B	E
35	Savannah Mama	Vestapol	A
36	Broke Down Engine	E	A+
37	Broke Down Engine No. 2	E	A+
38	My Baby’s Gone	G	C
39	Love-Makin’ Mama	C	F	G
40	Death Room Blues	C	F+	G
41	Death Cell Blues	G	D+	E
42	Lord, Send Me an Angel	E	A	C
43	B and O Blues No. 2 (take 1)	G	C#+	E
44	B and O Blues No. 2 (take 2)	G	C#+	E
45	Weary Hearted Blues	A	E-flat	E
46	Bell Street Lightnin’	C	F#	G
47	Southern Can Mama	C	F#	almost inaudible, likely G
48	Runnin’ Me Crazy	E	B-flat	C
49	East St. Louis Blues (Fare You Well)	E	B-flat	C
50	Ain’t It Grand to Be a Christian	Vestapol	A-flat
51	We Got to Meet Death One Day	Vestapol	B
52	We Got to Meet Death One Day	Vestapol	B
53	Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around	Vestapol	B+
54	I Got Religion, I’m So Glad	Vestapol	A-flat
55	Dying Gambler	Vestapol	F#+
56	God Don’t Like It	Vestapol	G
57	Bell Street Blues	C	F#	E
58	Let Me Play With Yo’ Yo-Yo	C	F#	G
59	Lay Some Flowers On My Grave	C	F	G
60	Ticket Agent Blues	E	A-flat+
61	Cold Winter Day	Vestapol	B	Vestapol
62	Your Time to Worry	G	C
63	Cooling Board Blues	E	A	A
64	Hillbilly Willie’s Blues	C	F

Notes Along with “You Was Born to Die,” McTell could be playing “Low Down Blues” and “Rollin’ Mama Blues” in G standard, but I think he’s probably in Spanish, and here’s why. First, he constantly plays a thumb stroke that’s a slide on the fifth string leading up to the open 4th string. He doesn’t do this in any of the G standard tunes, but does it in Vestapol in “Experience Blues” and “Savannah Mama,” which suggests he’s in an open tuning. Second, he constantly walks up to the third of the IV chord, not playing the root in the bass (this would be walking up to the E note of a C chord — if we’re talking playing position, not keys) this would make sense in Spanish to play the IV without barring. Third, his V chord is even more abbreviated than normal usually in G standard he plays a brief D chord and the third is audible on the top, and I don’t hear that here. Maybe someone else will hear this differently or can decide definitively. “Don’t You See How This World Made a Change” is a really weird one – it sounds like Weaver’s tuned down as far as McTell. It’s really hard for me to tell who’s doing what on “Cold Winter Day.” I’m fairly certain the slide guitar is Curley Weaver on six-string, but McTell’s guitar seems really under-recorded and Weaver is playing a lot of bass notes along with the slide lead. The chord voicing sound similar to me on each guitar, which is why I put Vestapol for McTell. I think this is one of their best sides as a duet. Library of Congress and Postwar Recordings Note about McTell’s string setup: Frank Basile has determined that on most of McTell’s recordings from 1940 on, he used not only an octave on the third course of strings, but on the second course as well. He points out the octave second course can fool your ear into thinking tunes that were actually played in a C position were in G, tunes in D sound like A. For the octave on the second course, Frank used a .012 gauge string. Warning – be tuned down to at least A (lower is better) before trying this string setup! Some of the stuff with Curley Weaver from the late ’40s is my best guess, because either McTell or Weaver’s guitar is off-mike. That octave second string finally explains “Murderer’s Home Blues” – that tune had always driven me crazy, because I knew it was in drop D, but couldn’t figure out where the high tonic note was coming from. The song title is followed by playing position, then actual pitch, then Curley Weaver’s playing position, if applicable. A “+” symbol means that it’s sharp of this key, but less than a fret. Library of Congress RecordingsOrderTitlePosition/tuningPitch1You Got to Die/Climbing High MountainsVestapolA-flat+2Boll WeavilGC3DeliaCF4Dying Crapshooter’s BluesDm (ends on F chord)Gm5Will FoxCF6I Got to Cross the River JordanVestapolA-flat+7Old Time ReligionVestapolA-flat+8Amazing GraceVestapolA-flat+9King Edward BluesCF10Murderer’s Home Bluesdrop DG11Kill-It-Kid RagGC12ChaineyVestapolA-flat+13I Got to Cross the River of Jordan Vestapol A Atlantic RecordingsOrderTitlePosition/tuningPitch1Kill it KidGB2Razor BallGB3Little DeliaCE4Broke Down EngineEA-flat5Dying Crapshooter’s BluesDm (ends on F chord)F#m6Pinetop’s Boogie WoogieGB-flat+7Blues Around MidnightCE-flat+ (almost E)8Last Dime BluesEG+9On the Cooling BoardEG+10Motherless ChildrenVestapolG11I Got to Cross the River of JordanVestapolG12You Got to DieVestapolG+13Ain’t It Grand to Live a ChristianVestapolG+14Pearly GatesCE15Soon This Morning drop D F+ Regal/SIW RecordingsOrderTitlePosition/tuningPitchCurley Weaver1My Baby’s Goneno McTellB-flatA2Ticket Agentno McTellA+A3Don’t Forget ItEAA?4A to Z BluesCFF5It’s A Good Little ThingCFF6You Can’t Get Stuff No MoreCFF7Love Changin’ BluesVestapolGG8Savannah MamaVestapolGG9Talkin’ To YouEAA?10East St. Louis (Fare You Well) E A A? 11Wee Midnight HoursA?EE12She Don’t Treat Me Good G? C C 13Brownskin WomenEAA14I Keep On Drinkingdrop DGG15Pal of MineCFF16Pal of Mine (take 2)CFF17Honey It Must Be LoveCFF18Sending Up My TimberGCC19Sending Up My Timber (take 2)GCC20Lord Have MercyCFF21Trying to Get HomeCFF22It’s My DesireCE+23Hide Me In Thy BosomCF24Some Rainy Dayno McTellA-flatG25Trixie no McTell G+ G “Wee Midnight Hours” and “She Don’t Treat Me Good” are somewhat problematic as McTell’s guitar is under-recorded and Weaver plays lead.Last SessionOrderTitlePosition/tuningPitch1Baby It Must Be LoveCE+2Dyin’ Crapshooter’s BluesDm (ends on F chord)F#m+3Don’t Forget ItEA-flat4Kill It KidGB+5That Will Never Happen No MoreGB6Goodbye BluesGB7Salty DogGB8Beedle Um BumFA+9A Married Man’s A FoolCE+10A to Z BluesCE+11Wabash CannonballDF#+12Pal of Mine C E+

Footnotes

1. https://stellaguitars.com/about/what-did-they-play/ ↩︎
2. https://weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Blind_Willie_McTell_Guitar_Keys_and_Positions ↩︎