Re: [Harp-L] 12 bar vs. country blues

[Joel Fritz <jfritz666@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ross Macdonald wrote:
> First time poster here - and no this is not weighing in on Shakin' Smith
> <<G>>.  I'm 40% of the way there to mastering the blues harp according to
> Gindick's "5 minutes to play and 5 years to master".  Am most at home playin
> cross harp to the 12 bar blues and am just starting to venture into other
> genres, have just joined a country blues band - Memphis Jug Band, Blind
> Blake stuff etc. and I find it incredibly difficult when compared to the 12
> bar blues.  I think it's the change patterns, but it feels like it is not
> just the difference in changes. I can't really tell if 2nd position is the
> way to go.
>
> Any suggestions out there on how to speed up the country blues learing
> curve.  Am an avid Harp-l reader - and for a dedicated novice, this site is
> so valuable.



I think the easiest thing to do is learn the melody before trying to 
improvise.  Some things lay out better in 2nd, some better in first.  A 
lot of the Noah Lewis, Will Shade, et al. is played in first. Very 
little of the country blues/string band music is played in other 
positions. If you fumble around for the melody notes on a few tunes, 
you'll learn how to play a lot of them.  Many ragtime songs include a 
VI, II, V progression.  Another thing you'll see a lot is I, I7, IV, IV 
dim7 (?) (I'll admit it, I'm an ear player and don't know the dim and 
aug chord names--just know where to play them on the guitar. <g>)

Some good template tunes from the players you mention would be:

Blind Blake--"West Coast Rag," "That'll Never Happen No More," "Diddy 
Wah Diddy," (really a 12 bar gussied up a bit.)

MJB--"Cocaine Habit," "Sun Brimmer Blues," "Stealin."

A good ragtime song that provides you with almost all the things my 
might run into is "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate."

Another thing that may be useful is that a lot of songs follow the 32 
bar pop tune form.  There are two separate progressions, both 8 bars 
long.  One for the bridge and another for the other three sections.

Jug band music is one of my favorite things to play.  Good luck.


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