LESSON > BEYOND BLUES
lifetime to assimilate, and if you’re looking
for money and chicks, you might want to
think about law school instead.
However, I’m going to show you some of
his “secrets,” and try to avoid the most-often
heard licks he pioneered, as you’ve heard them
already a gazillion times on the records of Eric
Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd.
I don’t want to infringe on anyone’s
copyrights here, so let’s say this example
of a turnaround (over the V-IV-I progres-
sion) in Fig. 1 is from a song I call “Feel
Like Crap,” from an imaginary album I call
Sorrow at Sunrise. This one took me about
eight years to get it to where I’m pretty
cool with how I sound doing it, and I still
can’t touch the master.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
≈
oeoeoeoe
fi oejoe oeoeoeoeoe
&Ó
oe
oe oeoe b oe oeoe fi oe bj oeoe oeoeoe
1
8 10 13 10 10
13 10
13
10 13 10
1
13
11
3
1
13 13 11 13
Waters, or Mike Bloomfield) are at great risk
of getting punched before too long if I’m in
the room and in the mood. Take that to heart!
Nothing annoys a person with a musical ear
more than some dude making his “blues face”
with a bent note that’s just a few cents flat.
Hell, if you want to make your note jump
out, do like Albert King and actually go a
little bit sharp. This sound is especially effective on the 1st string and can make the note
jump out favorably. Whatever you do, do it
strategically, with conviction, and with a painful memory in the back of your mind!
Remember Yoda’s words : There is no
try. Do or do not.
Fig. 2 is a great way to start a slow
blues solo in G. Hit that high G with all
you’ve got, again with the subtle shading
of the 3rd string in there, and wait for
the panties to come flying your way, or if
you’re in front of a blues crowd, the 2XL
1
13
11
11
13 11 8
˙
&
fi oej fi oej oeboeoeboeoeoenoeoeboeoeb ™oe fi oej fi oej oeoe oeb oe
oeoeboeoeb oeoeboe
oeoeoe ˙˙˙ b
Ó
3
3
1/2
1/2
8
8
11 8 11
1/2 1/2
1/4
10 10 10 8
10
8
10 10
11 8
10 8
10
8
10 8
10
10
8
10
8
9
8
Nothing annoys
a person with a
musical ear more than
some dude making
his “blues face” with
a bent note that’s
just a few cents flat.
Fig. 4 Fig. 4
44 & ‰oeJoeb oeoeoeoeoe oeoeoe ˙
12
11
12
10
12
11
12
10
12
˙
&‰oeJoeb oeoeoeoeoe wwwb
12
11
12
10
12
11
12 8
8
8
&‰oeJoeb oeoeoeoeoe ˙˙˙
oeoeoe
12
11
12
10
12
11
12 10
10
10
‰oeJoeb oeoeoeoeoe oeoeoe ˙
12
11
12
10
12
11
12
10
12
‰oeJoeb oeoeoeoeoe oeoeoe ˙
12
11
12
10
12
11
12
10
12
oeoeoe oeoeoe ˙˙˙ b
oeoeoe oeoeoe oeoeoe www b
10
10
10
10
10
10
8
8
8
8
8
8
3
3
3
bowling shirts. The timing of this lick is
pretty rubato (non-existent), except the
last note should definitely be somewhere
close to the downbeat of the I chord.
Yet another turnaround. Let’s say Fig. 3
was used as the intro for the imaginary track
“Government Handout Sad Music” from an
album we’ll call Not For Pleasure by the artist
we’ll call Jiffy “Speedy Digits” Dumplings.
This lick borrows heavily from Albert King,
as Otis often would, but in true blues genius
fashion, he adds some twists of his own,
which, once you get this stuff down, you
ought to do for your own damn self! Lastly,
Otis is the king of minor blues, you might
recognize Fig. 4 from a tune I’ll call “The
Total Sum of Your Affection.”
Until next time, my friends, may the
Force be with you!
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