In the late nineties I came across a compilation called Guitar Fingerstyle: A Narada Collection, and it has never really left my rotation. In this episode I reflect on the opening track, Little Martha, played by Tim Farrell in a solo fingerstyle arrangement of a piece originally written by Duane Allman shortly before his death in 1971. There is a story behind this melody, and it makes the listening even better. Along the way I consider what fingerstyle guitar shares with the harp, what King David knew about music and a troubled king, and recommend Muriel Anderson's To B or Not to B as a bonus listen.

The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.

Here’s a link to Tim Farrell’s cover of “Little Martha”: https://youtu.be/GkCEvpcqjmk

And here’s Muriel Anderson’s “To B or Not to B”: https://youtu.be/LzTJqR9_g0I

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com