Guitar Sessions 33: Play Joni Mitchell’s “Just Like This Train”

This week, Joni Mitchell made a dramatic, surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival—singing a full set with host Brandi Carlile and a stage full of ecstatic performers. This was Mitchell’s first real concert in 20 years, and marked a stunning recovery from the brain aneurysm she suffered in 2015.

Mitchell mostly sang, but she did pick up a guitar to play an instrumental version of her classic song “Just Like This Train,” from Court and Spark. An unforgettable moment. Watch it here.

To mark the occasion, I made an episode of Guitar Sessions teaching how to play “Just Like This Train,” which uses the tuning CGDFCE. I interviewed Mitchell back in 1996 for Acoustic Guitar magazine, and we actually transcribed “Just Like That Train” along with my feature on her pioneering alternate-tuning-based guitar style.

Watch my video lesson above and download the complete tab/chart for “Just Like This Train” on Patreon. 

More

Read my complete 1996 interview with Joni Mitchell in the book Rock Troubadours.

For an in-depth lesson on Mitchell’s guitar style, see the book/video Play Guitar Like the Great Singer-Songwriters.


Join Patreon for chord/lyric charts and guitar tab for every episode of Guitar Sessions, plus live guitar workshops every month.

Watch more episodes. Follow Guitar Sessions on YouTube.

Previous
Previous

In tune with Will Ackerman

Next
Next

“My First Guitar” podcast