A pair of bluegrass pickers in the Boston area have launched a new web site, The Picker’s Guide, that is certain to be a useful resource for players and jammers all over the world. Their goal is to be the source for accurate bluegrass lyrics, chords, and more online.
The Guide is the brainchild of Tony Watt, a noted professional guitarist and instructor in Cambridge, MA, and one of his former students, Phil Fernbach, a cognitive scientist and marketing professor. The two came up with the concept in the usual way that entrepreneurs do – they wished they had a product like this, and not finding one, decided to create it themselves.
Obviously, there are sites in existence that offer song lyrics and chords, but not one specific to the needs of bluegrass players. That is the niche that Tony and Phil seek to fill, and they plan to do so by giving the service away, but charging a small fee for the convenience of some special features.
Watt told us a bit about their intentions.
“The site actually has tons of other super-cool and useful information, but accurate, specific versions of common jam songs are definitely what will draw most people in at first.
The site was designed entirely with the bluegrass community in mind, and our hope is that it will become a go-to resource for musicians at all levels. Although there are many web sites in this space already, we are really excited to have the community become aware of ours.
Keeping in line with the best of the other sites that service our community, our plan is to remain fee-free and ad-free in perpetuity. But we do have a membership option for those who want to create, edit, and save unlimited playlists. The membership cost is $29 per year, which is less than $2.50 a month.
But the core of the site (accurate lyrics and chords) will always remain free because we consider this site as much a product of the community as a product for it.”
The Picker’s Guide is crisply designed; no flashy images or confusing layout. Just quick and easy access to song lyrics and chords. An obvious tuning fork icon links to a page with a fully-functional guitar tuner and metronome, and a clever feature is what they call Bluegrass Roulette, a link that chooses a song randomly from their database for you to learn.
Each individual page offers the song in question with a number of display options: lyrics only, in-line chords (chords displayed within the lyrics using the number system), above-line chords (number system), and in-line chords (letter names). The letter name chord display allows the user to easily change the key of the song, and reference capo placement.
There is also a source recording info section should you want to find or reference that, and quick links to hear the song on YouTube or Spotify. Knowing the truth of human frailty, Tony and Phil also have a prominent link to report any errors you might find in any of the information on a song page.
The site offers both a simple and more advanced song and tune search, and an alphabetical display. You can search either vocal or instrumental pieces, or by artist name.
It is quite an impressive listing of songs and tunes already – a great deal of work for sure – and The Picker’s Guide includes a simple form for any user to suggest a song they would like to see included. You don’t need to submit the chords and lyrics, just point them to the song and they will see that it is added.
The playlist option is a perfect way to keep a handy list of the songs you are working on, either on your own or with a group. Being quick with the lyrics and chords at your favorite jam is sure to make you a welcome contributor.
Anyone who plays, or is learning to play, bluegrass music should check out The Picker’s Guide online, and consider the extremely reasonable $29 annual fee for membership.
Tony and Phil also plan to offer stickers, t-shirts, and hoodies in exchange for donations to the website, and will make those options available soon on the site.
They have extended a tremendous amount of effort and thought in developing The Picker’s Guide, and it shows. It is a wonderful resource, and a worthy contribution to bluegrass music.
Well done!
