I have some difficulty counting this song and would appreciate some help. Very sweet harmonica work. Ferocious and yet tasty and laid back. Must be Little Walter?
Anyhow, I figure it is a 24 bar blues? If you count till 8 for each bar, it works. But then there is some confusing triplet-tapping by the drums (that's probably not the right word for it - not a native speaker obviously) and some quirks that seem like an extra bar at the end of it. So that would make it a 25 bar blues?
Does anybody know more about this style? I'd very much like to discover some more harp in this style. It's very cool to my ears!
This question now includes a link to the actual song. But will this help FreeWilly to learn something, or will even the combined resources of all the MBH forum members not be enough to unravel the mysteries lurking in Muddy Water's depths?
Free Willy, stop....don't think, just learn the song, not just the harp parts, the vocal lines too, play them or just hum them...it is what it IS. Not all blues is a 12, 16, 24 or 8 bar...Muddy & guys today like Big Joe Louis won't always stick to even or uniform measures, even Little Walter seemed to struggle with that at times....the important thing is to listen and follow, whether it's a "13 1/2bar" or whatever...or you might look at each verse as being 3x4 1/2 bars? ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
Thanks for the embedding guys! That's the one. Cool tune right?
5F6H: Thanks. I did that (kinda), but I'd like to understand it also. And if it's not understandable, I'd like to know stuff like "even little Walter struggled". :)
And then there remains the problem: what do I tell the guitar guy? Although it's probably best to just send him the track :) ....
@FreeWilly "And then there remains the problem: what do I tell the guitar guy? Although it's probably best to just send him the track :) ...."
Send him the track...when he says he has learnt it, play it with him. In the meantime, practice the harp player's "concerned glare" over the harp, for when he goes wrong...or practice conducting him with a free hand. ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
with Muddy Waters or john lee hooker etc , the band would be at the command of the leader , if he felt like changing he would change when he's ready , a kind of telepathy is needed , and going with the flow as it were . a lot of british blues acts in the 60's couldn't always understand how to back someone like this , becuse they don' t always plays by the rules . you have to feel your way through it and do what comes natural , listen out for the vocals it's the most important part and comp away and you'll know when the time is right to wind up a solo , i suppose it's when people say the blues is easy , dig deeper ,it's not about being easy to play it's all in the groove !
