[Harp-L] re: playing behind the beat




Just about all Chicago blues is played behind the beat (most soul music, and most reggae too). Listen to the backbeat--the two and the four. The snare is just a hair late. Builds up anticipation. Adds some tension and paradoxically makes everything seem laid back and cool. Because we love that snare we give it lots of room. So the harp player starts the riff on the one and usually plays around the back beat--dee dee dee whap do do do whap. If you listen to a really good band like Aretha's or the Wailers, the band plays a killer riff that somehow fills in around the singer and the back beat without ever stepping on them. So by playing less notes, the groove becomes much tighter and things sound way cooler.


If you hear a rock band play blues and you think there's something missing--you're right. Rockers have a hard time with the laid back behind the beat groove.

Rainbow Jimmy
http://www.spaceanimals.com
http://www.soundclick.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals.htm





This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.