Blues Rules (not a joke thread...)

[ArtechnikA]

Working with a wanna-be blues band with a singer/guitar who loves to overthink everything and seems to believe you just gotta follow the formula to be successful...

We're auditioning a new guitar guy and in the consultation, singer guy says he didn't like how the candidate "didn't end on Beat 2." 'What?' I inquire....

" Never (rarely) start a solo on beat one, usually it is a done on beat 3 or 4
of 12th bar as a pickup.
End your solo on beat 2 of the 12 bar for a transition/or ending to get back
to vocals/ending riff. "

I've never heard of such a thing - I have no idea where he got it. Is this really some unspoken rule of soloing that I've never heard nor consciously observed?

 

[SteveCS]

Imagine him 'auditioning' John Lee Hooker!!

 

[feterpatch]

Working with a wanna-be blues band with a singer/guitar who loves to overthink everything and seems to believe you just gotta follow the formula to be successful...

We're auditioning a new guitar guy and in the consultation, singer guy says he didn't like how the candidate "didn't end on Beat 2." 'What?' I inquire....

" Never (rarely) start a solo on beat one, usually it is a done on beat 3 or 4
of 12th bar as a pickup.
End your solo on beat 2 of the 12 bar for a transition/or ending to get back
to vocals/ending riff. "

I've never heard of such a thing - I have no idea where he got it. Is this really some unspoken rule of soloing that I've never heard nor consciously observed?

I think I know what Singer/guitarist is getting at but holy moly, the last thing you want to do with blues improvisation is sterilize it with rules...

 

[ArtechnikA]

I'm heading out to an open mike/jam tonight, and I will be listening for it.
I'm guessing this is a theoretical 'rule' never actually observed in the wild.
( I could be wrong, but I've been seriously listening to blues since 1989 and never noticed it... )

 

[MattZilla]

Is this really some unspoken rule of soloing that I've never heard nor consciously observed?

yes and it’s among the reasons I almost never listen to blues music. Maybe it happens in jazz too, but it’s definitely less obvious.

 

[LBS-bass]

You hear blues guitarists doing this all the time, and I'd call these cliches rather than rules. To my mind, blues is almost wholly improvisational, but there are a lot of people out there who will practice it to death, anyway.

 

[Killing Floor]

Quick Google search, there's more than 1 blues song and they're not all the same. Share these data with Singer Guy (if that is his real name)

Also, people who name themselves after Howlin' Holf songs find humor in such statements even though they may not be intended as a joke.

Very few records remain from the original Blues Convention when the Delta, Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta executives came together to establish the rules. There was a lot of disagreement stemming from Memphis trying to identify as "Delta". "Ain't the delta 'bout 350 miles from Memphis?", said Skip James, then Bessie Smith laughed out loud and had to excuse herself for composure. Also, Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues is not the same as Killing Floor. Howlin' Wolf was a Chicago bluesman. Make sure Singer Guy keeps that straight.
Speaking of Bessie Smith, did I mention she's a total badass? Hard to pick out exactly where the guitar lands here.

 

[Killing Floor]

NO!

Sounds like the singer might have "white privilege"?

Or he hasn't paid his dues. Got to do that before he can sing the blues.

 

[the_home]

Or he hasn't paid his dues. Got to do that before he can sing the blues.

And you know it don't come easy.

 

[dalkowski]

Working with a wanna-be blues band with a singer/guitar who loves to overthink everything

He's ridin' the blinds on a mile-long freight train from Wanna-Be to Never-Was.

 

[GretschWretch]

Or he hasn't paid his dues. Got to do that before he can sing the blues.

He can't drive a Volvo, either. Ask me how I know.

 

[Wasnex]

I wouldn't say the solos end on 2 in these songs.





Of course these are not standard 12 bar blues songs either, but I would not consider telling Mr Cray he doing anything wrong.

 

[devnulljp]

Singer Guy is a dolt, and a boring one at that

 

[Mechanical]

Marcus Miller in his Sweetwater video said something to the effect of, "If you don't end your solo on the one, you're fired."

 

[Bruiser Stone]

 

[MrLenny1]

Good Luck!.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

What I know for sure about the blues is that bass is apparently supposed to be a supporting instrument. Strict blues players of a certain style think my playing doesn't suit them. But then I'm really not a blues player. But those blues players who cross over into jazz are a tad more adventurous in their thinking...

You were talking about extended jazz odyssey bass solos weren't you?

 

[wes stephenson]

Ha! Lame.

 

[GretschWretch]

The only way I can make sense of this is if the application strictly is to lead-ins and lead-outs to the guitar solo, as in two three-and four solo (on the one). Ending the solo is a bit more tricky, and I cannot imagine a single example where abruptly ending on the one would not be . . . What? The problem with all this is that it can become formulaic; and once it becomes formulaic it becomes mindless, like some of the walk-ups walk-downs in country music.

And I would think pick-ups leading into a solo would be more the provenance of the bass than the soloing instrument.

 

[Real Soon]

I've played with a number of blues guitarists. They've started solos on the 1, the 2, the 3, the 4, the &'s of each beat, and anywhere else they felt like.

For guitarists, I'm pretty sure the rule for blues is "Play the shagin' blues".


That guy sounds like he saw a youtube video about one song and latched on.