THAT CAN BE ARRANGED
W.C. Handy’s Classic
“Saint Louis Blues”
Welcome to "That Can Be Arranged," my
first installment of a series on arranging for
solo guitar. In this series we will learn by
playing full arrangements and by looking at
the harmony and arranging techniques used
within each piece. In this first installment
we’re going to take a look at the life of W.C.
Handy and his most famous composition,
“Saint Louis Blues.”
BY BILL PIBURN
As I read more on Handy’s life, I was inspired
to take a second look at an earlier arrange-
ment, and feeling more of a connection to
his music, I threw it out and started over. The
result is something more connected to the
flesh and bone of the man. It is a reminder
that music is more than a lead sheet.
from a half step below or above opens many
harmonic doors for comping.
for Solo Guitar
Harmonic rhythm is the pulse at which the
harmony changes. It does not take a Mozart
to understand that eight beats of any one
chord can grow old. Likewise, I’ve heard
some jazz guitarists put a new chord on every
quarter note; and that also grows old and
sounds like an intellectual exercise.
William Christopher Handy was born in 1873 in
Florence, AL, and died of pneumonia in 1958 in
Harlem, NY. Over twenty-five thousand people
attended his funeral and over one hundred and
fifty thousand filled the New York streets to pay
their respects. W.C. Handy was a superstar of
his time and one of the most beloved musicians
and composers of his day.
A Topographical Map of Saint
Louis... Blues
“Saint Louis Blues” is a classic example of a
twelve bar blues. In its simplest form a twelve
bar blues is based on three chords: E7, A7
and B7, or the familiar 1-4-5 family (thinking
in numbers is a great help, especially when
playing in new key centers):
His most famous composition, “Saint Louis
Blues” was written in 1914. Bessie Smith’s
1925 Columbia version with Louis Armstrong
is considered to be one of the finest recordings of the 1920s. The movie Saint Louis
Blues, based on Handy's life, was made in
1958, the year he died. It starred Nat King
Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Pearl
Bailey, Cab Calloway, and Eartha Kitt. I highly
recommend seeing it; the musical performances gave me goose bumps!
E7 ( 1) / / / A7 ( 4) / / / E7 / / / E7 / / /
A7 / / / A7 / / / E7 / / / E7 / / /
B7 ( 5) / / / A7 / / / E7 / / / E7 / B7 /
The Arrangement
For this article we will take a look at some
of the overall elements that went into the A
section of “Saint Louis Blues.” Chord symbols
have been added to the music for harmonic
reference and do not reflect fingerings. If
the chord has an alternate bass, you will see
what is called a slash chord. The symbol looks
something like this: E7/G# or C7/E. The second half of the symbol indicates the bass note.
You can play the song in its simple form, or
you can spice it up by adding new changes
to the twelve bar structure. These new chord
changes often do not totally replace the
original chord but are added in what is called
a split bar. This is nothing more than playing
two chords for two beats each, in place of
the original chord for four beats. I’ve put the
split bars into brackets: E7- [ A7-A#dim] [E7-
F7] E7- A7- [A7-A#dim] [E7-D7] C#7- F#7- B7-
[E7-C#7] [F#7-B7]. You still end up with twelve
bars, but with more harmonic interest.
When playing the blues, you want to play the
“blue note.” You’ll see this in the very first
chord of the intro. The “blue note” is the #9
played against a dominant 7 chord. Some think
of this note as a minor third. It is more accurate
to call it #9 since the chord has a major third in
it. This note comes from the blues scale.
Thoughts on Arranging
While it is important to study harmony and
have a command of the fingerboard, nothing can replace imagination. It is my belief
that imagination is often crushed by stuffy
teachers who wouldn’t know a creative
thought if it slapped them. Regardless of
your level of skill or harmonic knowledge, I
encourage all of you to experiment, to be
playful and to imagine. You do not need
anyone's permission or approval—just do
it! We teach harmony because it can be
taught. We can not teach imagination.
You often hear jazz and blues musicians
approach the target chord from a half step
below or above. This half step approach can
be a full two beats or played only on beat
four. An example from a half step above
would be [E7 - B%
7] A7. Play the B%
7 on beat
four passing into the A7. An example of
approaching from a half step below would be
[E7- A%
7] A7. Approaching the target chords
Some bullet points you see in the arrangement are: grace notes, triplets, anticipations of
the beat, contrary motion, filler licks, half step
approach, and tritone 7 chords. I will point out
a few measures where these devices happen.
Grace notes: These are quick notes added
for color and have no rhythmic value of
their own. They are usually played as slurs.
You’ll see these in measures 6, 10, 11, 14,
19, 22, 23, 25, 26 and 27.
Triplets: I just cannot play the blues without
triplets! It’s a very piano-like device. Triplets
