8 Bar Blues Ballad w/Bridge in Bb (65 bpm) I was thinking of B.B. Two times through the head each at the beginning and end of the song, with a bunch of solo choruses in between.ĩ. Freddie King Style The Stumble in E (122 bpm) I really tried to get the Cincinnati King Records vibe here - the rhythm section of Philip Paul and Bill Willis had a shuffle like no other. Unlike the other slow blues in this collection, there’s no quiet section here there are dynamics, but that shit plows right ahead.Ĩ. Chicago Style Hard Slow Blues in A (66 bpm) This is inspired by Otis Rush’s 70s output (it’s the basis of my recording of “Right Place Wrong Time” on Live and in Lockdown), but I could also hear Buddy Guy, Jimmy Johnson, or Luther Allison playing over this sort of thing. 6 minutes of this is a LOT of choruses, but it’s a style that I personally could use the practice in, so it works for me.ħ. T-Bone Walker Style Shuffle in G (145bpm) As straight ahead as jump blues gets, with a ii/V change and “oombah” piano. Also, it ends with a few bars of staying on the I chord.Ħ. I included Sam’s idiosyncratic intro of THREE bars on the I, then V /IV /I because I love it so much. Magic Sam Style West Side Blues in B (76 bpm) One of the many great things about Magic Sam is the way he played around with the space between major and minor keys in songs like “All Your Love” and “Easy Baby.” Undeniably, the main riff includes a big old B minor chord, but every other chord he plays is major. Check out Eddie Taylor’s version of “Big Town Playboy” on the Floyd Jones/Eddie Taylor Masters of Modern Blues album - that’s the vibe.ĥ. Eddie Taylor/Jimmy Reed Style March (Shuffle) in A (115bpm) See the comments above re: “March.” Everything applies here, just faster and in a different key. Memphis Style Funky Soul Blues in Bb (83bpm) I love that classic “Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home” bassline, so I, uh, appropriated it for my own song “Please.” This is a modified version of the groove I used for the Live and in Lockdown version of “Please,” only with straight ahead 12 bar changes.Ĥ. There’s a big dynamic drop off in the middle that builds back up. You could also listen to one of the versions of my song “I’m Gonna Move To Another Country” - of course, the one I consider definitive is the version on the Monster Mike Welch/Mike Ledbetter Right Place Right Time record. King’s “Gambler’s Blues” from Blues is King, because 1) it’s perfect, and b) that’s what’s happening here. I would do this with a two-chorus opening solo for the dynamic break in the second chorus, please check out B.B. King Style Slow Blues in C (64bpm) Dynamics! This is one of the reasons I started making my own backing tracks - I miss the response and conversation of playing with a real band, and static backing tracks feel like wallpaper to me. Pay attention to that “drone V” - when the shuffle pattern goes to the B chord, Jimmy Reed would leave the open A string to ring out instead of fretting it, and that’s a cool part of that feel.Ģ. Whatever it is, it’s the groove you hear on Jimmy Reed and Eddie Taylor records, and that Jimmie Vaughan turned into a lifestyle brand with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Eddie Taylor/Jimmy Reed Style March (Shuffle) in E (99bpm) I’m from New England, and the legacy of Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Roomful of Blues, Ronnie Earl, and Duke Robillard dictates that this sort of shuffle is called a “march.” You may have heard it called a “lump,” or something else. If you use these publicly, please give a shout out and a link to !Įach song includes two bars of count in (including any drum fills or pickups)ġ. Here they are, reworked into (mostly) 12-bar forms for jamming, practicing, or performing over! Every time I would post a video, I’d get at least a couple of musicians asking where I got my backing tracks. Some of these tracks became the basis of my Live and In Lockdown album, and some were the basis for live streaming shows for Can’t Stop The Blues or other web video projects. I’ve been making elaborate multitrack demos for years, and when musicians all lost the ability to safely play together, I started building up backing tracks that I’d be happy playing along with, with dynamics and correct feels and a sense of interaction, even if that interaction was planned out in advance. NOTE: this is specifically for musicians to play along with and is not a new Monster Mike Welch album, just to avoid any confusion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |