Good Blues Examples?

[WyrmDL]

Hey TB,

I've been wanting to get into blues for a while, to understand the music and all; how all the instruments interact with each other and such.

What would be some great examples to show me what blues is all about? What are the "must know" pieces?

Thanks in advance!

-Don

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Watch "The Blues Brothers".

It is a great way to get introduced to blues and gives you a lot of artists to follow up on

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Watch "The Blues Brothers".

It is a great way to get introduced to blues and gives you a lot of artists to follow up on

careful.......or you'll miss out on the real stuff.......the uptempo chicago style is only one,and there are many..delta,country blues,ragtime,piedmont,texas,jazz blues....etc..

.even the brits showed us a thing or three back in the day..peter green,early tull,john mayall.....go to youtube and hear louis armstrong's st james infirmary,albert king,robert johnson,willy dixon,stevie ray,muddy waters,barbeque bob,and the list is a long one.....and im sure to hear about the ones i've omitted

[Bluesy Soul]

Originally Posted by WyrmDL

Hey TB,

I've been wanting to get into blues for a while, to understand the music and all; how all the instruments interact with each other and such.

What would be some great examples to show me what blues is all about? What are the "must know" pieces?

Thanks in advance!

-Don

Check out these links:

http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2007...s-of-all-time/

http://www.amazon.com/Must-own-blues.../RIRCVVYD6J7OP

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Recordin.../3GW7OTMJS01N9

and pick up Blues Bass by fellow-TBer Ed Friedland at www.bassbooks.com or through his website www.edfriedland.com

Enjoy!

Bluesy Soul

[Stumbo]

Here are some links you may want to check out:
~Blues
Blues progressions explained w/ audio samples
Basic lessons/free backing tracks-NickonBass
Slow blues
Blues bass player's club

blues jam terms/progressions

Getting into the blues
ii-V-I
more blues
1 First jam
2
3
Gig coming up

Influential musicians (mostly) pre-1959
History and styles

"Blues Bass" by TB member Jonster (John Liebman)
Ed Friedland's Essential Styles and Techniques
Blues books
"Complete Rhythm Guitar Guide for Blues Bands" by Larry McCabe
"101 Blues Bass Patterns by Larry McCabe
Turn arounds book for blues/jazz

[oldrookie]

Great question and excellent answers.

Thanks for asking and answering. Bookmarked the thread.

[TL5]

Originally Posted by WyrmDL

Hey TB,

What would be some great examples to show me what blues is all about? What are the "must know" pieces?

Thanks in advance!

-Don

While there are several "must know" blues tunes, as a bassist, I found that what you need to know are the blues "forms" or structures.
You must know a 12 bar shuffle in every key, a quick change aka quick four shuffle. The 8 bar and the box blues should also be there. Now, I'm off to look at the links and see if anyone confirmed what I just said.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

careful.......or you'll miss out on the real stuff.......the uptempo chicago style is only one,and there are many..delta,country blues,ragtime,piedmont,texas,jazz blues....etc..

.even the brits showed us a thing or three back in the day..peter green,early tull,john mayall.....go to youtube and hear louis armstrong's st james infirmary,albert king,robert johnson,willy dixon,stevie ray,muddy waters,barbeque bob,and the list is a long one.....and im sure to hear about the ones i've omitted

But, from watching the films, there are references to many many other styles, which is what i was meaning by following up on

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by WyrmDL

Hey TB,

I've been wanting to get into blues for a while, to understand the music and all; how all the instruments interact with each other and such.

What would be some great examples to show me what blues is all about? What are the "must know" pieces?

Thanks in advance!

-Don

Originally Posted by Bluesy Soul

Check out these links:

http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2007...s-of-all-time/

http://www.amazon.com/Must-own-blues.../RIRCVVYD6J7OP

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Recordin.../3GW7OTMJS01N9

and pick up Blues Bass by fellow-TBer Ed Friedland at www.bassbooks.com or through his website www.edfriedland.com

Enjoy!

Bluesy Soul

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

But, from watching the films, there are references to many many other styles, which is what i was meaning by following up on

point taken.....around here when the blues is mentioned it always uptempo stuff,and the average middle aged fan thinks the delta is an airline......i never could sit through the movie tho'.....

[jonster]

Stumbo,

As always, thanks for the plug. I appreciate your kind words and I know they're sincere.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

point taken.....around here when the blues is mentioned it always uptempo stuff,and the average middle aged fan thinks the delta is an airline......i never could sit through the movie tho'.....

Dang, Jim. That's one of the most fun movies of the last 40 years! And it's probably the reason that half of today's kids even know that blues music exist.

Although there is music in there that could only be considered blues because of the style in which they play it.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Roscoe Beck has a decent video out with quite a few good examples of traditional and modern style blues bass lines. I did a quick google and sadly could only find it on VHS. Probably never released on DVD.

A portion of this video goes over his "organ" sound and his two hand tapping style bass lines. Really not all that useful in a traditional setting, but it has some good entertainment value. IIRC, the rest of the video is him going over blues bass lines and examples on how to use them.

http://www.elderly.com/videos/items/05-858.htm

I also have a copy of "101 Blues Bass Patterns by Larry McCabe" that Stumbo listed above. It has an example of most every traditional bass line, turn-around, and endings that you may have heard. I recommend it as well.



The best thing to do with Blues music like any other genre where a style or feel is important. Listen, listen, listen. Then,...listen some more. Immerse yourself in it. There are a few different styles of Blues and that Amazon list of "Must own Blues" link Bluesy Soul listed is great place to start.

As far as interaction goes I say get together with your drummer, or preferably with a drummer who already has a good library of blues grooves under his belt. Feel is important as you will need to be able to play a behind the beat feel and an ahead of the beat feel. Most important, learn how to get that lose swing feel. If your coming over from the rock world picking up on that swing feel will help you immensely. Go to youtube and find some drum lessons for a "Texas shuffle"

EDIT: This guy seems to touch base on what I'm getting at.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu2rNE5J0KI&feature=fvw

Texas Shuffles are real common in blues, but the one style I like to play the most is more of an upbeat Blues Swing feel.
Totally random youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVrnrB4Jczk

Lots of room to improvise and just play. Fun stuff.
Okay, so the dynamics seemed to drop off a bit that tune. Probably not the best example, but there ya go.

Another of my favorites is the blues with a touch of R&B that people like B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Little Milton would bring. Really breaks up that "shuffle all night long" thing that a lot of blues bands do.

Little Milton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n11gy...eature=related

B.B. and Bobby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF85L...eature=related

Bobby Blue Bland
Swinging: EDIT, oooops wrong link. Here's the correct one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SNz...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DrMs...eature=related


Lots of horns in this stuff, but there are a lot of similar tunes that can be done without a horn section.

[Hamrhed]

Originally Posted by Chunk-O-Funk

The best thing to do with Blues music like any other genre where a style or feel is important. Listen, listen, listen. Then,...listen some more. Immerse yourself in it

+1

While the Blues brothers were mentioned, Duck Dunn is a great example- although he could also be used as an R&B/Soul example... but he is a classic example to me because: he demonstrates the ability to adapt to different styles and still come across as Duck. To me, that is what we should all strive for

[ggunn]

Listen to "Super Session" by Al Cooper, Mike Bloomfield, and Steven Stills.
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Session-...9509408&sr=1-1