SuperBee
4749 posts
Jun 23, 2017
6:09 PM
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I've been studying Downchild for a while now. I picked up the intro quite a while ago as part of trying to read transcriptions, but then didn't push on as other priorities
But then I committed to learn the song, so I started from the top.
This is a fairly quick shuffle, and the version I'm learning is a later recording, around 1960 I think, oh maybe 57, I'll have to check. But it's on checker/chess and is on the 'his best' compilation.
Song is in C and Sonny used an F harp.
My recording is a little flat. I raised it around 30 cents to play along.
Notable for me in the song are the intro, the unique fills and the oddball main solo.
The fills are worth checking out. In verse one and two each fill is unique, although in verse 1 the differences between the main fills are fairly subtle. I haven't learned the fills in verses 3 and 4 yet.
The fills in verse 2 are quite inventive.
And the turnaround of verse 1 is a great demonstration of his amazing acoustic tone and ability to make more than just the notes.
It was all going quite well until the solo.
The solo is very interesting. Starts off in standard Sonny Boy Miller fashion, rhythmic chugging on the draw chord, but then goes on a wild excursion to 8 draw and back. I couldn't even hear what was going on but the amazing slow downer came to the rescue. I can say, just don't even worry about trying to play McKelvy's script at this point, trust your ears.
And, having trusted your ears to work out what is on the record, consider whether that's actually what SBW was really trying to do. I think there's a strong chance it's actually a miss, and you might be able to come up with something a bit more natural-sounding.
I spent a while getting down what he actually plays, and I'm now modifying part of it. Not all of it because the 3rd and 4 th measures are brilliant as they are. He comes out of the (maybe fudged) triplet run of bar 2 into a lick that briefly wails on 4 draw before repeating but substituting 5 draw instead of 4 draw
That 5 draw is really something.
Again, listening to SBW2 I'm struck by how much of this is additional to playing the notes in the right order, but that's maybe a good place to start. Another good place to start though, might be just playing one note and trying to get the sound.
From that quite complex opening play, he goes to one of his famous repeating licks, starting with a draw 3, 4 blow to set up 4, 4', 3, +4, repeat.
The 4 to 4' sounds like 1 note, but it's important to start unbent and pull it down before sliding off to the 3 and back to the +4.
There are a couple of points in this section which sound to me like he stumbles a little but I tried to learn them as played.
Staying in time through this section can be tricky. He plays this lick for 4 measures, right through the change from the IV chord back to the I chord.
The V chord wails the 4 draw, before setting up a return to the repeating lick over the IV chord and then another unusual variation on one of his standard turnarounds.
So one of the great things about studying such a song is in observing how great players put songs together.
It feels to me as if the player may have been using a solo idea he had used at a slightly slower tempo or maybe was used to playing solo or with different players. It does seem to contain a couple glitches but overall is so great.
There is enough harp in this to play as a solo performance. But it's a workout to sing and play, especially at tempo. Definitely recommend an F harp even when not playing along with the original recording.
I've started rehearsing the song with the band, and it's clearly a strong song. Maybe a candidate for second song in the set. Really distinctive driving groove and has a lot going on with the structured harp fills. Slightly controversial lyrics but at least no one gets killed or threatened with a beating (unless I've misunderstood the meaning of 'drop a chunk'!) Just some solid advice to a chap not to let 1 woman misuse him twice, and some optimism about keeping oneself under control in relation to making 'mistakes' which would ruin one's happy home. And an allusion to past mistakes. Learning from mistakes.
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