The blues, and where to begin?

[Jason Sypher]

That's cool as a novelty but I wouldn't want to listen to a whole set of someone playing like that. But there is something to learn there for faster tunes. There is always something to learn.

I play with a couple guys who play old acoustic blues songs from the 20s and 30s that were mostly recorded by a single guitarist/singer. I usully keep the bass backing really really basic.

Lol. That novelty was my bread and butter for eight years but yeah, I’m sure I’m in the minority here on TB as per usual but it’s really my favorite kind of blues, mostly acoustic, raw, emotional, imperfect. It sounds like a mess to modern ears but I guarantee everything you need to know lies therein. Willie Dixon's playing is incredible on this album. Most people never get an opportunity to explore blues on this level, to learn it from the ground up. In New Orleans it was the norm, everyone was expected to be able play like this and be heard across Jackson Square. It was physical and visceral. You had to make a huge engaging sound. You had to be FELT. An electric double shuffle in a club with a PA felt like a cakewalk after playing acoustic blues, cajun, zydeco and early jazz on the street in the hot sun all day. But something stays with you when you have to make art out of the most primitive elements. When I first heard the Ornette Coleman quartet I thought it wasn’t much of a stretch from this here. I perfectly understood how any instrument could take the lead, any instrument could accompany, and chord structure could be imposed by any player.

 

[BlueRock]

 

[gcb]

Goin' To Chicago Blues - YouTube

 

[gcb]

FENTON ROBINSON stormy monday - YouTube

 

[Tom Bomb]

What's the deal? Where to start. No half measures, if you wish to understand. There's no escaping the blues. This could help you pull the plow thematic. What you is doing is you is chopping down a big ol' tree.
​

​

I went here, straight away — [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. The idea being, for me, that if you want roots, you'll be diggin' down. Understanding don't come easy. With understanding comes mastery. Blues is a blend of all music, as blues music stood in the beginning, for those who made the journey, made the leap, entered the fray.

The love of sound, the love of music, the love of people, their voice, their struggle, it's all bound up in blues. I guess that's why there's no escaping the blues Backsliders got some form. They really dig it, making it their own.

My introduction came from Terry Wilson and the Magnetics, down at the White Horse Inn, Ultimo, on a Wednesday night — no trace remains. And, prior to that, there was a couple of wayward cousins who took up folky blues, sometime in the seventies.

They was doin' tracks from these records,

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Traditional Blues - Vol. 1 | Smithsonian... Brownie McGhee

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Traditional Blues - Vol. 2 | Smithsonian... Brownie McGhee

I had no idea what any of it was, back then. But I liked it Terry Wilson had us up, behind the mic, shoutin' Hi Ho Silver. In hindsight, it was there, them blues, everywhere, and from the onset. I just couldn't see it.

Quite a ride, the blues. Just look to the lists here ^ Listen. Find a place to stand. Go from there. Be true.​

 

[TyBo]

What's the deal? Where to start. No half measures, if you wish to understand. There's no escaping the blues. This could help you pull the plow thematic. What you is doing is you is chopping down a big ol' tree.
​

​

I went here, straight away — [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. The idea being, for me, that if you want roots, you'll be diggin' down. Understanding don't come easy. With understanding comes mastery. Blues is a blend of all music, as blues music stood in the beginning, for those who made the journey, made the leap, entered the fray.

The love of sound, the love of music, the love of people, their voice, their struggle, it's all bound up in blues. I guess that's why there's no escaping the blues Backsliders got some form. They really dig it, making it their own.

My introduction came from Terry Wilson and the Magnetics, down at the White Horse Inn, Ultimo, on a Wednesday night — no trace remains. And, prior to that, there was a couple of wayward cousins who took up folky blues, sometime in the seventies.

They was doin' tracks from these records,

​

Traditional Blues - Vol. 1 | Smithsonian... Brownie McGhee

​

Traditional Blues - Vol. 2 | Smithsonian... Brownie McGhee

I had no idea what any of it was, back then. But I liked it Terry Wilson had us up, behind the mic, shoutin' Hi Ho Silver. In hindsight, it was there, them blues, everywhere, and from the onset. I just couldn't see it.

Quite a ride, the blues. Just look to the lists here ^ Listen. Find a place to stand. Go from there. Be true.​

Yeah the Alan Lomax stuff is great, some treasures there. Brownie McGhee was great, himself. I saw him back in the 70's with partner Sonny Terry (before the time when their act disintegrated into acrimony and they finally split). Terrific musical chemistry, classic tunes, "the real folk blues" - loved it! I had Brownie's guitar instruction book, too, picked up a few things there, all grist for the mill. Here they are in a representative sample:

 

[Tom Bomb]

Sonny warrants a mention Still workin' on Sonny's Thing. He's an inspiration. And, there was a time when, every morning, I could be heard singing Good Morning Blues, in the shower at St Vincent's Hospital That song got me a girlfriend, and a good nurse​

 

[MichelD]

Lol. That novelty was my bread and butter for eight years but yeah, I’m sure I’m in the minority here on TB as per usual but it’s really my favorite kind of blues, mostly acoustic, raw, emotional, imperfect. It sounds like a mess to modern ears but I guarantee everything you need to know lies therein. Willie Dixon's playing is incredible on this album. Most people never get an opportunity to explore blues on this level, to learn it from the ground up. In New Orleans it was the norm, everyone was expected to be able play like this and be heard across Jackson Square. It was physical and visceral. You had to make a huge engaging sound. You had to be FELT. An electric double shuffle in a club with a PA felt like a cakewalk after playing acoustic blues, cajun, zydeco and early jazz on the street in the hot sun all day. But something stays with you when you have to make art out of the most primitive elements. When I first heard the Ornette Coleman quartet I thought it wasn’t much of a stretch from this here. I perfectly understood how any instrument could take the lead, any instrument could accompany, and chord structure could be imposed by any player.

I'm certain you are right.

 

[Motoboy]

What I did to cozy up to the blues was buy a standard collection of diatonic harps (plus an F harp) and played along with a lot of early Taj Mahal and all the Little Walter and Junior Wells I could get my hands on. The basic harmonica lines are not so difficult as to be unplayable for a noob. A few hours on YouTube reading up on crossharp and bending and you're good to go!