The Blues Phrasebook
BY Kid andersen
Currently the guitarist for Rick Estrin & the
Nightcats, Kid Andersen has recorded and
performed with Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin
Bishop, and many other blues legends.
Originally from Norway, Andersen is now based
in San Jose, California, with the immigration
status of “Alien of Extraordinary Ability.” For
more information, visit rickestrin.com.
CHOPS: Beginner
THEORY: Beginner
LESSON OVERVIEW:
• Learn what not to do over a
turnaround. Ever.
• Create licks in the style of the
three Kings.
• Understand how to relate a
Norwegian limerick to developing a blues vocabulary.
Click here to hear
sound clips of
these examples.
Thank you for indulging me. You probably
recognize the limerick form in these words,
and you may even think you know the words
“moss,” “spy,” “gang,” “men,” and “med,”
but I defy you to be able to relay this short
tale in your own words if you don’t speak
the Norwegian language. (Hint: It’s about a
woman who enjoys drinking, fighting, and
vomiting.) You get my point, I hope.
That’s not to say that I think every
guitar player out there should know
every Robert Jr. Lockwood turnaround to
demand respect. I’m actually not what you
would call a blues purist myself. I person-
ally draw on everything from jazz, surf, and
rockabilly to country, metal, and baroque.
However, the blues is my mother tongue
on the instrument and if I were to quote
George Benson or Tony Iommi during
some extended guitar freakout, it’s more
the equivalent of me shouting out nostrovia!
(cheers) in a Russian crowd.
One of the beautiful things about this
incredible art form is that with the right conviction behind it, blues can fit in just about
any kind of music for two reasons: First, it’s
at the root of most modern Western music,
and second, it’s cool as hell. Just try sneaking one of these licks I’m fixin’ to show you
into your next Indian raga, Bach lute suite,
or head-banging anthem for the glorification
of the dark lord. You can’t fail. Okay, enough
preaching. Allow me to show you some licks
and tricks you may not be hip to.
I’m going to start off at the end, as all
these licks apply to the last two measures
or so of a 12-bar progression, when you
return to the I chord after the V and IV of
the turnaround. We will call Fig. 1 “What
Not to Do.” Nothing reveals a blues novice more than someone who fumbles and
plays square, rhythmically awkward licks
that break up the groove, and most of all,
over-emphasize an anticipated V chord
at the very end of the progression. You’ve
heard this a million times, which is why it
has to end!
As with all my rules, there are many
good exceptions, but unless you were born
But with these alone, you have as much
chance of making a real statement in blues
as I do writing a great limerick in Russian.
To illustrate, here’s one in Norwegian,
which I was raised speaking, but you hope-
fully weren’t:
Jeg kjente ei jente fra Moss,
som likte å drikke og slåss.
Hun begynte å spy,
hver gang dagen var ny
men jeg giftet meg med ’a til tross.
Hello ladies and gentlemen, ’tis I, the Kid. In this lesson, we’ll be digging
deep into the extended vocabulary of blues
guitar. Nothing exemplifies the phrase “a
minute to learn, a lifetime to master” better
than this uniquely American art form. For
inspiration, look to some of the originators
of this musical language to help you write
your own chapter in this highly expressive
style. That’s how all the true greats in blues
and rock made their discoveries.
To me, the blues is simultaneously as
much about tradition as it is about originality. You learn the language by going back
to the origins, then the more “words” and
“phrases” you know in this language, the
more colorful and interesting your own
story will be when you tell it. You might
think that knowing a blues scale and the
12-bar form, having a tube amp and an
electric guitar, and arming yourself with a
few blues licks is all you need to wail.
What Not to Do
44 &
G7
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeb oe
Fig. 1
D7
oeoeoe# oe˙
˙
5
Fig. 2
44 &
G7
OE
Fig. 2
˙
5
3
3
2
2
oeoeoe fi oej oe oe b
3
1/2
3
3
6
4
5
1
1
0
D7
3
oeoeb oe oeb
53
3
5
3
4
5
oeoeoe˙
1/4
53
