I'm definitely appreciating the details and the little variations. Keeping the groove going during the vocals is also tricky because this song is wordy and has some awkward consonant combinations. SBW2 was a master of self accompaniment - you've really captured it.
Thanks Bill - SBW2 was definitely a master at accompanying himself. I do what I can. Stick with it. Continue to develop that inner-metronome. You have a good, natural groove - Just keep on cultivating it.
After about 15 listens I have figured out the difference between what you played at the start and what you played at the end đ I love both versions. Thanks for the two for one.
Hi Bill - sometimes itâs a kinda tough to remember exactly what I did, but it really is a little bit like a two for one - Plus, if you have any questions about either, Iâm glad to try and explain whatever Iâm doing.
Yeh. I guess it's just a cool variation. No need for theory but I figured I'd ask. I think I probably learned that 2-3 blow combo from you and it's pretty much part of my vocab now.Â
OK, I'm going to take you up on the offer. At several points you're going down from the root, either 3-blow or 2-draw, to the 5 of the scale on the 1 draw. Sometimes you go 3-blow, 2-blow, 1-draw, and sometimes you go 2-draw, 2-draw-whole-step-bend, 1-draw. It's a subtle difference in the sound of it, tonally I guess you'd say. The 2-blow, which I guess is the 6 of the scale, has a more country feel to my ear while the 2-draw-bend, which is the flat7 has a bluesier feel. It's sometimes hard to hear these little differences when you're listening to a recording made 50 years ago. Is there any rationale for when to use one or the other?
Iâm probably mostly using the 3 blow, 2 blow, 1 draw sequence for the tag at the end of the verse. Â I play that tag like that simply âcause I hear Rice Miller do it, using those notes in that sequence. I also do it like that âcause I donât hear many other people play that tag in that way - even when theyâre approximating SBW2âs style. Generally, and especially with Rice Millerâs style, my approach is more from feel, instinct and habit than it is from conscious, theoretical intent. SBW2 sometimes used the 2 draw to the bent 2 draw to the 1 draw to end a verse, in a variation of that tag. Iâm not sure I even answered your question - Maybe a more honest answer wouldâve been, I donât know. For some reason, in my mind, using that 2 blow in that lick really makes it feel like itâs definitely the end of the verse.
Nice timing dude! I've been listening to Sonny boy a ton lately and spent a ridiculous amount of time on your Nine Below Zero lesson. Hopefully this will help me bring it up a notch or two. Thanks.
Now that I've listened to it about 20 times and toyed a little with it I'm seeing some other notes. I'm not ready for overblows, though I now have some incentive to work on the high end blow bends in anticipation of working more with first position. Thanks.
This is the first time I've tried anything in first position. In the first and second octaves the flat third isn't available- is that right? You still make it sound bluesy - wow! What a devilishly tricky instrument. The major pentatonic falls very naturally - are those the main notes you're  working with?
Yes, the flat third (b3) is not available unless you overblow, which I don't go into and I don't recommend until you really master playing and using the "regular" bends. But as you can hear, you can still make 1st position bluesy.
The Major Pentatonic is easy in the middle octave, but in the bottom octave one of the notes is the 3 draw whole step bend, which is tricky to always hit in pitch. I don't use the complete Blues Scale (the b3 is not easily attainable) but I also don't use only the Major Pentatonic either (not bluesy enough for our purposes), so I use most of the blues scale with the natural 3 and a few other notes here and there.
I think it's interesting that the direction is to stick to instrumentals. I really like the lessons you did on Getting Out of Town and Nine Below Zero. Other artists on the site are doing songs. I would love it if you mixed in some lessons that included vocals, especially vocals and harmonica with no other accompaniment. It really makes you think about your breathing and sustaining the groove. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
Yeah man - If it wasnât for Cotton, I mightâve spent my whole life wondering what I was supposed to be doing. His playing had a profound effect on my development. His five cuts on volume 2 of Chicago The Blues Today - a couple albums that he cut with Otis Spann - the LP he did with Johnny Young - and Cottonâs first Verve album - There are tools I picked up from those records, plus, the visceral feeling I was able internalize from listening to, and living with those recordings, those things have carried me a long way.
Maybe you're going to pick this up on the next lesson but I think this verse ends, sort of as a turnaround, with a blast on the 6-hole draw. It's not an after thought. That blast makes a huge statement! And I'm not sure how you finish it off. Is it just bending the 6-draw over or do you bend it over and into the 5 draw? (Sorry, but you may have to go back to the performance again to hear it :)
Hi Bill  - Iâm sure I bend that slashing 6 draw note at the end and trail it off into the 5 draw a little. Iâm surprised I didnât mention it. Maybe I talk about it next week. Itâs sort of another way of switching gears, or announcing that thereâs about to be a departure from an established theme.
Well thank you for checking. It really feels like time well spent trying to reproduce all the sutleties. There's definitely a distinct change in tone when I go from the grip of bending to the completely unbent note. It's almost like it's being held, held, held and then it suddenly floats free. I go back to past lessons of yours sometimes just to listen to the three-hole sounds. So much to mine there. Thanks again.
Hi Bill - Thanks! That âheld, held, held, and then it suddenly floats freeâ is a perfect description. I never thought of it in words like that, but thatâs exactly the impression Iâm trying to convey.
I can play all the notes, but your tone and especially the way the last note in each phrase ends is so expressive when you do it. I have a tendency to play those notes too hard I think. Probably because the notes sound aggressive, but actually playing too aggressively blows my control.
Also, on the first two licks, when you do the drawn out bend on the 4-draw, it doesn't just get louder. The tone changes. It seems more pronounced on the performance than in this lesson. Are you changing the shape of your mouth cavity, or maybe it's just when you land on the unbent note there's a more relaxed resonance. Hard to describe in words.
Hi Bill - Once again, you made me go back and take a closer look at some of the things I just automatically do and donât really think about when Iâm playing. When I release the bend, I do open up a little and slightly increase the size of the oral cavity. Hopefully thatâll help. Keep the questions coming! You help keep me honest!
So I'm noticing that the guitar line has a minor feel and you never hit the 3-draw natural, even over the 1 chord. Is that right? You can't do the 3rd of the scale over a minor chord? That's what gives it the spooky feel I think. This is important for me, alluding to my previous question because I'm also working on a minor blues in A and if I don't get that bend it really sounds off.
Hi Bill - You are correct. The bass line does have a semi-minor, or âbluesâ minor feel and sound, so you can hit the major 3rd, (the unbent three draw) on the V chord, but not on any other change.
Huh! Scale down the focus and magnitude of he compression. I would have thought the opposite. Thanks - that's definitely something to explore. Yeh, Sonny Boy does some things, like Do It If You Want To, on a high F harp that would be good to revisit.
Good to virtually see you again. I like the guitar line - spooky without being cheesy. Not an easy feat.
I love your ideas. Seems like every verse I think I know where it's going and then you come up with a surprise that really grabs me. I'm hoping to have the first verse or two more or less together and the rest of it in my head by next week.Â
I find that it's easier to bend notes, especially the 3-hole draw bends, on an A harp than on a higher pitched harp like a D. Any thoughts on that? Could it be the particular harp or is that normal? Are there any ways to alter the technique or do I just have to wear out a few more D harps until I get the feel for it?
Hi Bill - Glad you like the piece. Rusty tells me that by me being such a primitive guitar player, I sometimes come up with some cool âignorantâ bass lines that a real guitar player or bass player probably wouldnât think of.
The adjustment youâre asking about is difficult to describe, but when youâre playing higher pitched harps, itâs like you need to scale down the focus and the magnitude of the compression youâre using to get your handle, or your grip on the reed. I donât know if that makes any sense at all to you, but Iâm just trying to describe what will have occurred anyway after you âwear out a few more D harpsâ and âget the feelâ.
It is a different feel - Iâd suggest maybe listening to, and trying to replicate some Sonnyboy II stuff where heâs using higher pitched harps.
I think this is something I don't quite understand. It's the 3rd of the B major scale right? So when you're on a chord, you can play any note in the scale that has that chord as the root?
It's the 3rd of that key. Not of the "major" or "minor" scale...just of that key. The minor scale or chord would include the b3rd (flat third) and NOT the natural 3rd. There are many different types of scales and this is where some basic music theory comes in handy...though nothing too complicated.
Suffice to say that the 3rd in any scale (be it the natural 3rd in this case, or the flat 3rd in the case of a minor key) is always OK to play since it is one of the notes that actualy makes up the chord. The natural 3rd has a more melodic sound, the flat 3rd has a meaner/dirtier/sadder sound. You do not want to play a natural 3rd over a minor chord, but it is OK to play a flat 3rd over a natural chord, as long as you want to get a sadder/meaner type of mood from the note.
Can you fill in a little theory on why the 2-draw half-step bend works over the 5-chord? That's the major 7th of the scale and the 3rd of the B major chord?
Totally cool riff. This lesson is giving my bends a workout.
I'm definitely appreciating the details and the little variations. Keeping the groove going during the vocals is also tricky because this song is wordy and has some awkward consonant combinations. SBW2 was a master of self accompaniment - you've really captured it.
Thanks Bill - SBW2 was definitely a master at accompanying himself. I do what I can. Stick with it. Continue to develop that inner-metronome. You have a good, natural groove - Just keep on cultivating it.
I don't have any questions at the moment. Your demonstration/explanations are really revealing. I just have to listen alot to get the timing. Thanks.
Cool. Have fun.
After about 15 listens I have figured out the difference between what you played at the start and what you played at the end đ I love both versions. Thanks for the two for one.
Hi Bill - sometimes itâs a kinda tough to remember exactly what I did, but it really is a little bit like a two for one - Plus, if you have any questions about either, Iâm glad to try and explain whatever Iâm doing.
Yeh. I guess it's just a cool variation. No need for theory but I figured I'd ask. I think I probably learned that 2-3 blow combo from you and it's pretty much part of my vocab now.Â
OK, I'm going to take you up on the offer. At several points you're going down from the root, either 3-blow or 2-draw, to the 5 of the scale on the 1 draw. Sometimes you go 3-blow, 2-blow, 1-draw, and sometimes you go 2-draw, 2-draw-whole-step-bend, 1-draw. It's a subtle difference in the sound of it, tonally I guess you'd say. The 2-blow, which I guess is the 6 of the scale, has a more country feel to my ear while the 2-draw-bend, which is the flat7 has a bluesier feel. It's sometimes hard to hear these little differences when you're listening to a recording made 50 years ago. Is there any rationale for when to use one or the other?
Iâm probably mostly using the 3 blow, 2 blow, 1 draw sequence for the tag at the end of the verse. Â I play that tag like that simply âcause I hear Rice Miller do it, using those notes in that sequence. I also do it like that âcause I donât hear many other people play that tag in that way - even when theyâre approximating SBW2âs style. Generally, and especially with Rice Millerâs style, my approach is more from feel, instinct and habit than it is from conscious, theoretical intent. SBW2 sometimes used the 2 draw to the bent 2 draw to the 1 draw to end a verse, in a variation of that tag. Iâm not sure I even answered your question - Maybe a more honest answer wouldâve been, I donât know. For some reason, in my mind, using that 2 blow in that lick really makes it feel like itâs definitely the end of the verse.
Â
This is definitely the shizzle:)
So many little things I would never have picked up just listening to the performance. Thanks.
Glad youâre digginâ it, Bill. And youâre right, thereâre a lot of small details - As always, feel free to ask me about about anything.
This is definitely the shizzle:)
So many little things I would never have picked up just listening to the performance. Thanks.
Hey Rick,
Nice timing dude! I've been listening to Sonny boy a ton lately and spent a ridiculous amount of time on your Nine Below Zero lesson. Hopefully this will help me bring it up a notch or two. Thanks.
Bill
I hope it helps too! Keep me posted.
Now that I've listened to it about 20 times and toyed a little with it I'm seeing some other notes. I'm not ready for overblows, though I now have some incentive to work on the high end blow bends in anticipation of working more with first position. Thanks.
Glad you are working more with his and feel inspired! There's so much to do without overblows that people haven't even explored really yet anyway...!
Hi DennisÂ
This is the first time I've tried anything in first position. In the first and second octaves the flat third isn't available- is that right? You still make it sound bluesy - wow! What a devilishly tricky instrument. The major pentatonic falls very naturally - are those the main notes you're  working with?
This is expanding my world - thanks!
Hi Bill -
Yes, the flat third (b3) is not available unless you overblow, which I don't go into and I don't recommend until you really master playing and using the "regular" bends. But as you can hear, you can still make 1st position bluesy.
The Major Pentatonic is easy in the middle octave, but in the bottom octave one of the notes is the 3 draw whole step bend, which is tricky to always hit in pitch. I don't use the complete Blues Scale (the b3 is not easily attainable) but I also don't use only the Major Pentatonic either (not bluesy enough for our purposes), so I use most of the blues scale with the natural 3 and a few other notes here and there.
Glad you are digging it!!
I think it's interesting that the direction is to stick to instrumentals. I really like the lessons you did on Getting Out of Town and Nine Below Zero. Other artists on the site are doing songs. I would love it if you mixed in some lessons that included vocals, especially vocals and harmonica with no other accompaniment. It really makes you think about your breathing and sustaining the groove. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
My favorite verse (so far)! Definitely not too dirty for me. God bless James Cotton!
Â
Yeah man - If it wasnât for Cotton, I mightâve spent my whole life wondering what I was supposed to be doing. His playing had a profound effect on my development. His five cuts on volume 2 of Chicago The Blues Today - a couple albums that he cut with Otis Spann - the LP he did with Johnny Young - and Cottonâs first Verve album - There are tools I picked up from those records, plus, the visceral feeling I was able internalize from listening to, and living with those recordings, those things have carried me a long way.
Hi Rick,
Maybe you're going to pick this up on the next lesson but I think this verse ends, sort of as a turnaround, with a blast on the 6-hole draw. It's not an after thought. That blast makes a huge statement! And I'm not sure how you finish it off. Is it just bending the 6-draw over or do you bend it over and into the 5 draw? (Sorry, but you may have to go back to the performance again to hear it :)
Thanks. I'm digging every note.
Hi Bill  - Iâm sure I bend that slashing 6 draw note at the end and trail it off into the 5 draw a little. Iâm surprised I didnât mention it. Maybe I talk about it next week. Itâs sort of another way of switching gears, or announcing that thereâs about to be a departure from an established theme.
Â
Well thank you for checking. It really feels like time well spent trying to reproduce all the sutleties. There's definitely a distinct change in tone when I go from the grip of bending to the completely unbent note. It's almost like it's being held, held, held and then it suddenly floats free. I go back to past lessons of yours sometimes just to listen to the three-hole sounds. So much to mine there. Thanks again.
Hi Bill - Thanks! That âheld, held, held, and then it suddenly floats freeâ is a perfect description. I never thought of it in words like that, but thatâs exactly the impression Iâm trying to convey.
I can play all the notes, but your tone and especially the way the last note in each phrase ends is so expressive when you do it. I have a tendency to play those notes too hard I think. Probably because the notes sound aggressive, but actually playing too aggressively blows my control.
Also, on the first two licks, when you do the drawn out bend on the 4-draw, it doesn't just get louder. The tone changes. It seems more pronounced on the performance than in this lesson. Are you changing the shape of your mouth cavity, or maybe it's just when you land on the unbent note there's a more relaxed resonance. Hard to describe in words.
Thanks as always.
B
Hi Bill - Once again, you made me go back and take a closer look at some of the things I just automatically do and donât really think about when Iâm playing. When I release the bend, I do open up a little and slightly increase the size of the oral cavity. Hopefully thatâll help. Keep the questions coming! You help keep me honest!
Hi again,
So I'm noticing that the guitar line has a minor feel and you never hit the 3-draw natural, even over the 1 chord. Is that right? You can't do the 3rd of the scale over a minor chord? That's what gives it the spooky feel I think. This is important for me, alluding to my previous question because I'm also working on a minor blues in A and if I don't get that bend it really sounds off.
Hi Bill - You are correct. The bass line does have a semi-minor, or âbluesâ minor feel and sound, so you can hit the major 3rd, (the unbent three draw) on the V chord, but not on any other change.
Huh! Scale down the focus and magnitude of he compression. I would have thought the opposite. Thanks - that's definitely something to explore. Yeh, Sonny Boy does some things, like Do It If You Want To, on a high F harp that would be good to revisit.
Like I said, itâs hard to describe (at least for me) - But the key is usually finesse rather than muscle.Â
Hi Rick,
Good to virtually see you again. I like the guitar line - spooky without being cheesy. Not an easy feat.
I love your ideas. Seems like every verse I think I know where it's going and then you come up with a surprise that really grabs me. I'm hoping to have the first verse or two more or less together and the rest of it in my head by next week.Â
I find that it's easier to bend notes, especially the 3-hole draw bends, on an A harp than on a higher pitched harp like a D. Any thoughts on that? Could it be the particular harp or is that normal? Are there any ways to alter the technique or do I just have to wear out a few more D harps until I get the feel for it?
Thanks,
B
Â
Â
Hi Bill - Glad you like the piece. Rusty tells me that by me being such a primitive guitar player, I sometimes come up with some cool âignorantâ bass lines that a real guitar player or bass player probably wouldnât think of.
The adjustment youâre asking about is difficult to describe, but when youâre playing higher pitched harps, itâs like you need to scale down the focus and the magnitude of the compression youâre using to get your handle, or your grip on the reed. I donât know if that makes any sense at all to you, but Iâm just trying to describe what will have occurred anyway after you âwear out a few more D harpsâ and âget the feelâ.
It is a different feel - Iâd suggest maybe listening to, and trying to replicate some Sonnyboy II stuff where heâs using higher pitched harps.
I think this is something I don't quite understand. It's the 3rd of the B major scale right? So when you're on a chord, you can play any note in the scale that has that chord as the root?
Grateful but confused,
Bill
Not exactly...
It's the 3rd of that key. Not of the "major" or "minor" scale...just of that key. The minor scale or chord would include the b3rd (flat third) and NOT the natural 3rd. There are many different types of scales and this is where some basic music theory comes in handy...though nothing too complicated.
Suffice to say that the 3rd in any scale (be it the natural 3rd in this case, or the flat 3rd in the case of a minor key) is always OK to play since it is one of the notes that actualy makes up the chord. The natural 3rd has a more melodic sound, the flat 3rd has a meaner/dirtier/sadder sound. You do not want to play a natural 3rd over a minor chord, but it is OK to play a flat 3rd over a natural chord, as long as you want to get a sadder/meaner type of mood from the note.
Hi Dennis,
Can you fill in a little theory on why the 2-draw half-step bend works over the 5-chord? That's the major 7th of the scale and the 3rd of the B major chord?
Totally cool riff. This lesson is giving my bends a workout.
Thanks,
Bill
That note is just part of the chord (the 3rd of that scale). Unless you are playing a minor chord, that note (the 3rd) will work with any chord.