I heard this song the first time by my uncle playin his classical guitar

I love this album....for many many reasons :))

but this one too :))...he had the blues :))

All of your choices are on my list of great tunes, all those great blues and also 'I want to hold your hand" John Lennon's rhythm guitar was inspiring to me as a kid and I still use the way he pounds out the accented rhythms on the 5 chord. Bill Dogett's" Honky Tonk" did it for me from day 1. I started playing just to learn that solo! It's still the best ever! 

Hi Tim, It was just the music I was listening to at the time and real life situations that inspired "Duke's Blues" Thanks, Duke

Its sad to say I haven't played there in years so I pretty out of touch, sorry! Duke 

Hi Minug, I mostly use D'Addairo 11 sets with a plain 18 on my electrics and 012 light gauge D'Addairo's on my acoustics. Thanks, Duke

Howling Wolf is the man.  This song like ot put me in a trance when I first head it.

Bonnie was always a harp fan. We toured together for a while when I was with Muddy. In 1978 we were on a bill together at the Montreaux Jazz Festval in Switzerland and she called me out of the wings to play with her on this song.

Hi Duke .. just have to say .. I still LOVE this album!  Sounds like you and the band are sitting right in the room and tearing it up.   Would be great to learn some of these licks sometime ... and how you got the 'vibe' .. it's just great.

Hi Corey .. that makes a lot of sense.  It's like having a good conversation or any other mutual endeavor ... you have to understand the person you're working with and what you want to try and create together.

Hi Jerry,

Love this tune, Bonnie and your solo!  What's the story behind this performance?

@Steve   Love the Gator's Groove.  Would be great to see it live.

@Slim  Thanks for the heads up on the other version of Hey Now Baby.  I will check it out.  I just love his playing.  Henry Butler too!

Hi Steve .. great thoughts, thank you!  I agree that seeing how a master uses chords, voicings ... and how they phrase the music is priceless.

Quick question with respect to YouTube videos .. if we were to enable you to loop certain sections YouTube videos .. would that help your practice routine?

Also .. how do you keep all of your stuff organized?  

Thanks!

Mike

Duke,

What size and flavor srings are you partial to on your electric and acoustic archtops?  Thanks for all the work and travel you have done over the years.....

Hy Mike,

I'm positive about this....Che domande!!! "What questions!!!!" :DDDD how we say in Italian...Whatever is acoustic blues for me is fine...I've asked to Corey if it was possible to learn also some African Blues..I'm talkin about whatever tune of Ali Farka Tourè...Don't know if you like him...He was great and the son is a master too!!! :))

Hi Corey,

If you and others are up for it, it would be fun to do Key to the Highway.  I've always loved the tune and it would be a great one to explore.  It would be cool if you could do an easy version the first week .. and then keep building it each week .. and also maybe expore different ways of approaching it.

Thanks for considering!

Mike

Duke

I have to go to New Orleans soon on a business trip.

Any recommendations on clubs or local musicians I should tap into while there?

Thanks!

Steve

PS: anyone else please chime in.  I have one night there and would like to experience the real deal.

I always thought Duke's Blues was written with Duke Ellington's inspiration in mind, but after many years of loving the song, I discovered that in 1952, (Ellington sideman) Johnny Hodges did a song called Duke's Blues.  This song has all the groundwork to inspire that "roomful" of fellas soon to be a band up in Rhode Island.

Duke,

Any thoughts on the true inspiration for writing your Duke's Blues?  

 This tune would make a great lesson someday, , 

regards,

Tim

this song does it for me.  It is the song that stopped me in my tracks, and still does to this day.  I found this song in a used record store in the mid 80's.  I think it was on a compilation called Atlanta Honkers.  This is Willis Jackson doing Gator's Groove.  The intro drums and horn riffs I could play over and over, and wish I was there for it live.  Reminds me of an old New Orleans funeral style march, like in one of those James Bond movies...but the real deal.  Too bad this isn't hi fi.  Try to find this song and get a better version, well worth it, but not easy to find.

Mike

1. Yes, I have internet access where I practice.  Wireless.  I think the majority of people that have internet have wireless in their home, or will.

2. When I seriously "practice", I'm working on individual pieces of music to add to my repertoire.  Within those pieces are a few subsets in no particular order: Learnining the Melody, Creating Chord Voicings/Learning the Chord Progression, Choosing a Tempo, Transposing it to Key that works for my voice or if instrumental a location on the fretboard that sounds best to my ears. Learning how to riff or solo over the changes (which involves the melody and chosen arpeggios or scale patterns that are sybiotic to the melody. Finally practicing the song while singing and playing chords & melody and soloing so that it's a complete piece.  

A. What excites me about your video tool is we have top top pros showing their knowledge, which speeds up a lot of things.  For example.  When I see Duke's example of Jumpin Blues, I see chords and substitutions that I may have learned in the Mickey Baker Jazz Book, but now I get to see a pros interpretation in using them in a real song. 

3. Frustration points? Hmmmm. Not really with all this new stuff it gets easier every year.  If you could give me more time in the day to practice and a nice soft practice seat from Roc-(something other)..that would be great!

Keep doing a great job.

PS: I have both iPad and Android.  The Android IMHO is clunkly and unfriendly feeling.  I'm in IT so I got them to compare for work.  The iPad feels more fun and enjoyable to use.  I'd go there first.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Really appreciate your thoughts on how you use the iPad to practice and learn music!  I am currently thinking about an iPad / iPhone / Android application.  The first step is really trying to define the key use cases ... so I really appreciate your thoughts.   A couple questions

1. Do you you have internet access where you practice?

2. When you practice .. what do you use the most / spend the most time on?

3. Are there any frustration / pain points that if solved, could take your practice routine to the next level?

I think what you have listed so far are right on.  The most important decision will be what to focus on first .. second and third.  What would you ask for?

Thanks!

Mike

"Diddy Wah Diddy" by Blind Blake,  "I Want to Hold Your Hand"-Beatles, "One O'Clock Jump"-Basie, "Midnight Rambler"-Stones, "Sweet Sixteen"-B.B. King, "Hideaway"-Freddy King, "Dyin' Crapshooter Blues"-Blind Willie McTell, "Candyman"-Mississppi John Hurt, everything by Rev. Gary Davis....I could go on.

BTW-Mike, find the version of "Hey Now Baby" from the Atlantic comp "New Orleans Piano", I think it's funkier.  Also, dig "She Walks Right In".

Slim

Hey Now Baby ... Professor Longhair.

The rhythm totally infected me ... in a good way!  I love the way he moves around the beat.  I believe it's Clarence Gatemouth Brown on guitar.

What was a song, that when you heard it for the first time, totally blew you away.

I NEED an electric i think i'd sound better with a lil reverb i love the blues and i'm kinda broke

looking for a frontman and a drummer and a bass player willin 2 play any instrument

as long as i play u'll hear about me from somewhere i'm kinda well known

any body got some gear i'm a mechanic looking for tools 2 fiddle with and an electric

i wanna be backstage so hire n teach me the technician blues

Mike, 

My favorite piece of gear is actually my iPad.  I'll explain and then tell you why I'd like a Sonic Junction App on the iPad.

I use this for so many applications when practicing.

I snap it into a music stand that holds it firmly into place.  

My sheet music is displayed on the screen with a sheetmusic APP from Musicnotes.com and I can move the pages forward or backwards with a bluetooth foot pedal as I play the piece.

I have an onboard tuner APP called GuiTune that is so handy and easy to dial in perfect pitch it's silly. They also have a Metronome app from the same writers.

I reference videos on YouTube for comparing the piece I'm working on to others or the original.

I also reference anything in my iTunes library for song comparison or reference.

I use a transpose & optional slow down APP called Anytune.  The App has access to my iTunes library, I can transpose any song to the key of my choice.  This is cool because I typically change the key signature in my sheet music from Musicnotes to something comfortable for my voice or a position on the fretboard I prefer.  For example I could listen to Duke's Swing album song Jumpin Blues in a completely different key signature, and play a long with it.

The iPad is a great practice tool for sure.

The reason I wrote all this is I think if Sonic Junction has an iPad app, (could start with simple access and an icon).  I would be watching the instructional videos in my practice chair with my iPad music stand instead of clonking my guitar over to the computer at a table bumping into it.  I would also use Sonic Junction more in my regular practice sessions.  As a member If I could download let's say the backing track from Jumpin Blues into my iTunes library, I could then use Anytune to transpose it and play along with it.  They key is ease of use.

There are loads more apps on the iPad that in conjunction with the material coming from Sonic Junction could really enhance the user experience.

Mike you have a great concept here!  I'm a big fan of what you have created.

Steve