I’ve added to my repertoire and begun to divide up the songs by their specific tunings. For performance with one guitar, though, the tunings should be organized according to similarity:

  1. Open-G
  2. Open-D
  3. Drop-D
  4. Standard
  5. Open-A
  6. Open-E

-Or-

  1. Open-E
  2. Open-A
  3. Standard
  4. Drop-D
  5. Open-G
  6. Open-D

Here’s an updated list of what I am practicing.

Open-G:

  1. “Black Cat Bone,” Jessie Mae Hemphill
  2. “High Water Everywhere,” Charlie Patton
  3. “Police Station Blues,” Peetie Wheatstraw
  4. “Dough Roller Blues,” Ranie Burnette
  5. “That’s Alright,” Fred McDowell
  6. “Screaming and Hollering the Blues,” Charlie Patton
  7. “Poor Black Mattie,” R.L. Burnside
  8. “Special Rider Blues,” Skip James
  9. “Banty Rooster Blues,” Charlie Patton & Son House
  10. “Kokomo Blues,” Kokomo Arnold & Scrapper Blackwell (Stefan Grossman’s arrangement)
  11. “Rolling and Tumbling,” Hambone Willie Newbern & Muddy Waters
  12. “Country Blues,” Muddy Waters
  13. “I Be Troubled,” Muddy Waters
  14. “Little Red Rooster,” Howlin’ Wolf
  15. “My Black Mama,” Son House
  16. “Walking Blues,” Son House
  17. “Death Letter Blues,” Son House
  18. “Levee Camp Moan,” Son House
  19. “Tom Rushen Blues,” Charlie Patton
  20. “Mississippi Bo Weavil,” Charlie Patton
  21. “High Sheriff Blues,” Charlie Patton
  22. “Hammer Blues,” Charlie Patton
  23. “Future Blues,” Willie Brown
  24. “Mississippi County Farm Blues,” Son House

Open-A:

  1. “Traveling Riverside Blues,” Robert Johnson
  2. “Crossroad Blues,” Robert Johnson
  3. “Come On In My Kitchen,” Robert Johnson
  4. “Worried Life Blues,” Fred McDowell
  5. “Train I Ride,” Fred McDowell
  6. “Ragged and Dirty,” William Brown
  7. “Drinking Water Out of a Hollow Log,” Fred McDowell
  8. “Write Me a Few Of Your Lines,” Fred McDowell
  9. “Dry Spell Blues,” Son House
  10. “County Farm Blues,” Son House
  11. “Kokomo Blues,” Fred McDowell

Standard:

  1. “Hey Hey,” Big Bill Broonzy
  2. “Bad Luck Blues,” Blind Lemon Jefferson
  3. “Black Horse Blues,” Blind Lemon Jefferson
  4. “Drunken Spree,” Skip James
  5. “Everybody Ought to Change Sometime,” Sleepy John Estes
  6. “Running and Hiding,” Jimmy Reed
  7. “Mississippi River Blues,” Big Bill Broonzy
  8. “Worrying You Off My Mind,” Big Bill Broonzy
  9. “Green River Blues,” Charlie Patton
  10. “Meet Me In The City,” Junior Kimbrough
  11. “Jumper Hanging On The Line,” R.L. Burnside
  12. “Look Down The Road,” Skip James
  13. “All Night Long,” Skip James
  14. “Crow Jane,” Skip James
  15. “Stone Pony Blues,” Charlie Patton
  16. “Kindhearted Woman,” Robert Johnson
  17. “.44 Blues,” Howlin’ Wolf
  18. “Catfish Blues,” Robert Petway & Muddy Waters
  19. “Worried Blues,” Skip James
  20. “Saturday Night Rub,” Big Bill Broonzy
  21. “Pig Meat Strut,” Big Bill Broonzy
  22. “Mopper’s Blues,” Big Bill Broonzy
  23. “Long Tall Mama,” Big Bill Broonzy
  24. “Brownskin Shuffle,” Big Bill Broonzy
  25. “M&O Blues,” Willie Brown
  26. “Depot Blues,” Son House
  27. “Walking Blues,” Son House (1940s version)
  28. “Pull a Party,” Lightning Hopkins
  29. “Going Down Slow,” Lightning Hopkins
  30. “Baby Please Don’t Go,” Lightning Hopkins
  31. “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane,” Elmore James

Drop-D:

  1. “Big Road Blues,” Tommy Johnson
  2. “Brownskin Girl,” Joseph Spence

Open-D:

  1. “You Got To Move,” Fred McDowell
  2. “Standing In My Doorway Crying,” Jessie Mae Hemphill
  3. “Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning,” Blind Willie Johnson
  4. “61 Highway,” Fred McDowell
  5. “I’m Crazy About You Baby,” Fred McDowell
  6. “Someday Baby,” Fred McDowell
  7. “Wake Up Mama,” Blind Willie McTell
  8. “John Henry,” Fred McDowell
  9. “Preaching the Blues,” Son House
  10. “Pony Blues,” Son House
  11. “God Moves On The Water,” Blind Willie Johnson
  12. “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground,” Blind Willie Johnson
  13. “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” Blind Willie Johnson
  14. “Dust My Broom,” Elmore James

Open-E:

  1. “Rambing On My Mind,” Robert Johnson
  2. “When I Lay My Burden Down,” Fred McDowell
  3. “Louise,” Fred McDowell
  4. “Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning,” Fred McDowell
  5. “Break Em On Down,” Fred McDowell
  6. “Mojo Hand,” Fred McDowell
  7. “I Heard Somebody Calling,” Fred McDowell
  8. “Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil),” Robert Johnson
  9. “Dust My Broom,” Robert Johnson