First Steps with Doc Watson's "Deep River Blues"

Howdy, friends! Today we’re looking at Deep River Blues by Doc Watson, a terrifically fun acoustic fingerstyle classic. Instead of racing to show you exactly how Doc Watson plays it (which I’d consider fairly difficult), this lesson is more of a getting started guide for this song. It’ll walk you through the necessary chords, picking, and strumming skills needed – but in a step-by-step manner.

In total, I’ll teach three different arrangements inspired by Watson’s version: a very simple version, a semi-simple version, and then a “full” version which starts to capture some of Doc Watson magic, without being quite as difficult to play. No matter your skill level, this will ensure you’re able to have fun with this treasure of a song. Let’s get to it!

• 0:00 Lesson Summary
• 2:17 Chord Progression
• 3:06 Chord Shapes
• 6:21 Version 1 of 3: Simple
• 7:58 Version 2 of 3: Moderate
• 11:55 Version 3 of 3: Full
• 16:50 Final Tips & Farewell

Instructional PDF 2 pages

Lesson Discussion

Slow Playthrough Videos

The following videos are available to members of Song Notes Premium. If you’re not a member, learn more about the many perks of Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those of you who are members — thanks for your support! It makes these lessons possible.

Playthrough 1 of 3: Most Simple

Playthrough 2 of 3: Semi-Simple

Playthrough 3 of 3: Full Arrangement

This is what I show in the opening of my main video lesson. It’s still simplified compared to Doc Watson’s version, but is what I’d consider a fully realized & fun-to-play training-wheels version.

Additional Strumming Practice

To accompany my main lesson, here’s an extended look into some of the strumming techniques that will help when learning this song. The focus here is showing how you can add occasional syncopated up-strums (on the thinnest 1-2 strings only) which go a long way in adding bluesy flavor & spice to things.

Whether you’re playing with or without a pick, these tips will be helpful across various songs. The tabs I show in this video are included in the two-page PDF guide I made for this lesson.

Other Recommendations

Doc Watson Playing Deep River Blues

This video is a treasure! It begins with a spoken introduction from Ralph Rinzler of the Smithsonian (0:00), followed by Doc explaining how he originally worked out this arrangement (1:37). Then, Doc plays the full song (3:32).

Other Teachers Teaching Deep River Blues

Here’s a few suggested tutorials I’ve come across. Every teacher approaches things their own way, which can a good thing! There’s many more if you look around YouTube. But again, if you struggle to keep up with any of these – I suggest you start by simplifying things! Which is what I show in my main lesson. Good luck!

Doc Watson’s Version of Summertime

If you’re interested in more Doc-inspired lessons, check out my previous tutorial teaching Summertime. This is modeled on the Billy Strings & Marcus King cover of the song, though I believe they are almost certainly playing it in the style of Doc Watson. My main video tutorial is below – and check out my Summertime lesson page for additional videos & resources for this song.