Elizabeth Cotton Overview

Self-taught and having no knowledge of conventional guitar tunings (e.g. standard 'EADGBE' tuning or any established open tunings), Cotten developed her own original style. Her unique approach to left-handed guitar playing involved keeping the guitar in standard tuning but to hold... [more]

Self-taught and having no knowledge of conventional guitar tunings (e.g. standard 'EADGBE' tuning or any established open tunings), Cotten developed her own original style. Her unique approach to left-handed guitar playing involved keeping the guitar in standard tuning but to hold it upside down. This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature, alternating bass style is known as "Cotten picking". [show less]