A Few (EASY) Blues Standards?

[MartinJames]

I've been studying my fretboard, practicing via several good instructional texts, listening to bass-specific CDs, and studying music theory for about the past six months. My technique is improving and my understanding is coming along; I know major and blues scales by heart, and I can play (and "feel") a I-IV-V progression pretty well.

 

I've learned a few pop song basslines: Walking on the Moon, Roxanne, Money, Treading Water (Nada Surf), Bring It On (Nick Cave), and I can sight read - albeit slowly - standard musical notation.

 

I've been playing with some friends who are really good musicians and very patient with my novice skills.

 

Armed with these skills, knowledge, and my Fender J bass, I showed up at a local Blues Jam. I did my I-IV-V shuffle, and the (much more experienced) guitarists said I was coming along nicely. However, after a couple of these exercises, they asked me "What songs do you KNOW?"

 

I sat there, mouth-breathing, and really couldn't answer; I hadn't thought to learn an actual Blues SONG. (What a dork, huh?)

 

So....before the NEXT jam, I'd like to learn 3-4 well-known Blues songs with reasonably simple basslines. I'd like to expand my repertoire to include patterns beyond the shuffle.

 

(I read anoher thread on this topic, but it was not limited to music suitable for a beginner.)

 

Any suggestions?

 

Also, if you're REALLY feeling generous, how about keys and/or chord progressions?

 

As always, THANKS!

[bruiser_dup2]

MJ,

 

You can play almost any blues riff with any blues song. Just learn the NAMES of a few blues songs (or blues-based rock songs) and when asked, say "Key to the Highway, in G" and play what ever blues shuffle you like in G.

 

Better yet, go to OLGA.net and print out the lyrics to "Key to the Highway," and hand them to the singer. Then play what ever you want in G.

 

Or "One Way Out." Or any Stevie Ray Vaughn song.

 

If you want to expand your repertoire of blues riffs, get "The Blues Player Book" and learn the "Blues Essentials: 15 Lines You Must Know."

 

It's okay to learn specific bass lines for specific songs in specific keys, because some songs have signature riffs that would be missed if you didn't play them. Think of the descending minor pentatonic scale riff in "I Shot the Sheriff," if you ever play reggae. But for a jam it's more useful to have a few basic riffs under your fingers and be able to fit them to the song at hand.

 

Bruiser

[MattC]

I learned blues on SRV's "Texas Flood." I'd wanted to learn blues for a while but it never really sunk in until one night after a recording session (a very similar experience to yours) when I decided that I had to get it. Somewhere between the beginning and end of "Pride and Joy" it just all clicked. Although that entire album is in half-step down tuning, it is a great place to start, especially considering that "Texas Flood" has several blues standards you should know.

[Jode]

There you go. Learn "Pride And Joy" and "Leave My Girl Alone" in every key you can play, and you'll basically know about 75% of the songs out there. Knowing the progression is the main thing; learning the various tempos and grooves is the next. Those two songs, respectively, are a mid-tempo shuffle and a 6/8 ballad. Those sre the main two styles. Beyond that, you'll pick it all up as you go.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Spend some time just listening to blues music. Try some Elmore James, Howling Wolf, or Willie Dixon, for example. Maybe even look for recordings where Willie Weeks played bass.

 

Listen for patterns that vary from the standard 12-bar blues. For example, 8-bar blues.

 

Also, listen to the turnarounds. There's a whole world of blues turnarounds -- some in terms of chord progressions/substitutions and some that are riffs. You'll recognize some of the classic turnarounds right off the bat.

 

I know you're looking for some blues "standards," but really listening to some of this stuff will take your current "shuffle" to new places. Plus, you'll come across some "standards" while listening!

 

Peace.

[Father Gino]

I've been playing blues for 25 years and I couldn't answer that question either. What tunes do I know? I dunno, just hum a few bars and maybe tell me what key you're in.

 

Blues to some people is Led Zeppelin and to others it's Robert Johnson. And everything in between. It's a very improvisational kind of music. You can usually find 45678 versions of any one tune. They'll have the same chords (sorta), but totally different grooves. With such simple changes, it's all about the groove which will vary with the players, time of day, humidity, beer consumption, audience, moon phases, etc., etc.

 

If you play the same three chord shuffle exactly the same twice, you're missing the point.

[SplitNick]

The only thing I would watch for is the turn around...A lot of the time the turn around can come as a iii-vi-ii-V-I or a vi-ii-V-I...This is probably more relevant for jazz/blues but it may help you in other blues situations...If you want to hear the iii-vi-ii-V-I turn listen to "Straight, No Chaser", for the vi--ii-V-I turn listen to "Billy's Bounce". Both songs are out F and are I-IV-V progressions but they turn differently...You'll recognize the turnaround immediately...It is heard on so many recordings.

[jeremy c]

How about learning:

 

Tore Down

Down Home Blues

The Thrill is Gone

Stormy Monday

Crossroads

Hideaway

I'm A Man (Mannish Boy)

 

Seems like that would cover most situations.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by jeremyc:

How about learning:

 

Tore Down

Down Home Blues

The Thrill is Gone

Stormy Monday

Crossroads

Hideaway

I'm A Man (Mannish Boy)

 

Seems like that would cover most situations.

Excellent list.

 

How 'bout adding "Sweet Home Chicago"?

[...]

Whatever you do... for the love of god, do not learn "Mustang Sally". The world would be a better place is Mustang Sally and Brown Eyed Girl were never, ever played again.

[Father Gino]

Originally posted by Bumpcity:

Whatever you do... for the love of god, do not learn "Mustang Sally". The world would be a better place is Mustang Sally and Brown Eyed Girl were never, ever played again.

"Hey, up yours buddy, I still gotta eat ya know!"

 

Wilson Pickett

[jeremy c]

Hey, playing Brown Eyed Girl always gives me the blues!

 

And if just once I could play the 4 bar "bass solo" without a guitar or keyboard covering me up, I would be a happy person.

[tnb]

Originally posted by jeremyc:

And if just once I could play the 4 bar "bass solo" without a guitar or keyboard covering me up, I would be a happy person.

ROFLMAO!

 

I have a friend who is a great piano player, but on non-jazz gigs he would rather cut his right hand off than not play during a bass break. We have discussed this problem time after time, he says he can't help it.

[earljam]

check out a book called 'Jumping Blues Bass" by a dude named Keith Rosier. good variety of cool tunes.

[Tedster]

Keep in mind "Key to the Highway" takes an unusual turn to the V chord (unusual for a lot of blues tunes)...so, I'd just recommend listening to it.

 

I like Sweet Willie's suggestion. There are so many tunes...

 

Sweet Home Chicago is overplayed, but I somehow never get tired of it.

 

Tore Down

It's My Own Fault (B.B. King slow blues)

The Thrill Is Gone (for a little different feel).

 

But, a lot of those songs are way over-covered. True blues aficianados pride themselves on the obscure.

 

So make something up...like "Ever hear that Little Jimmy Hawkins tune off his Muscle Shoals Sessions LP? It's been out of print since '63...and here's a cut off it"...and make something up. They'll be stumbling all over themselves to cover for the fact that they don't have a frickin' CLUE what you're talking about.

[bruiser_dup2]

Originally posted by Tedster:

 

So make something up...like "Ever hear that Little Jimmy Hawkins tune off his Muscle Shoals Sessions LP? It's been out of print since '63...and here's a cut off it"...and make something up. They'll be stumbling all over themselves to cover for the fact that they don't have a frickin' CLUE what you're talking about.

Now that's funny!! I'm going to a jam tomorrow, we might just have to a do some Little Jimmy Hawkins. . .

 

Bruiser

[Tedster]

There ya go ...anything is "legit" as long as you can attribute it to someone who sounds cool...do a blues original...make up an obscure name HAHAHA...you'll have the "blues snobs" falling all over themselves...best case scenario...they go into a record store and try to find it...

[Jode]

Attribute a song to Blind Mellow Jelly. half the crowd will take you at your word, but only a few will remember that it's the name of a fictional blues singer from an episode of "Sanford And Son." Do another song and tell the crowd it's a Blind Melon Chitlin song. Remember Blind Melon Chitlin? Cheech & Chong's Still Smokin'.

[jeremy c]

Anyone remember Mississippi Blind Driveways?

 

Tedster, you are evil. Just for that I'm going to teach you the wrong changes for that Little Jimmy Hawkins tune so that you screw it up next time you play it live.

[Tedster]

Originally posted by jeremyc:

Anyone remember Mississippi Blind Driveways?

 

Tedster, you are evil. Just for that I'm going to teach you the wrong changes for that Little Jimmy Hawkins tune so that you screw it up next time you play it live.

ROFLMAO!!!

 

You could make up something where every verse was different...say, go to the IV chord in a different bar every time HAHAHAHA...or do one verse a'la standard 12 bar, then one "Key to the Highway" verse where you go right to the V chord...

[Chris985]

What about some Cream songs? One that I like is Born Under A Bad Sign. My $0.02

[MartinJ]

Originally posted by SplitNick:

The only thing I would watch for is the turn around...A lot of the time the turn around can come as a iii-vi-ii-V-I or a vi-ii-V-I...This is probably more relevant for jazz/blues but it may help you in other blues situations...If you want to hear the iii-vi-ii-V-I turn listen to "Straight, No Chaser", for the vi--ii-V-I turn listen to "Billy's Bounce". Both songs are out F and are I-IV-V progressions but they turn differently...You'll recognize the turnaround immediately...It is heard on so many recordings.

I've been wondering about this very thing, and I have a dumb question:

 

What, exactly, IS a turnaround? Does this replace the last few bars of a "regular" 12-bar I-IV-V progression?

[jeremy c]

Born Under a Bad Sign is an Albert King song. You should listen to the original. Not only that, but it had Donald Duck Dunn on bass, Al Jackson Jr. on drums, Booker T. Jones and Issac Hayes on piano together with the famous Memphis Horns.

 

Turnarounds are what go in the last bar or last two bars of a blues to end one verse and start over again at the next verse. I'll get more specific later.

[earljam]

looks like Chickenfoot Gumbo will need to cover a couple of the more obscure tunes by Blind Lemon Pledge.

[Jode]

"Thank you, folks. This next one is an old T-Bone Dinner number."

[SplitNick]

A turnaround means simply that...it is a musical phrase that brings the progression back to its begining or takes the song to another direction. In traditional music theory these could be considered cadences. The actual definition that I have on cadences is "a punctuation to a musical phrase". So if you want to punctuate the phrase to say "hey I am going back to the begining", you would use something like a full authentic cadence (V-I), if you want to say "hey, keep listening this song ain't over yet", you could use a half cadence (V), and if you want to say "amen", you would use a plagal cadence (IV-I). I am taking some liberty with my lack of knowledge about music, but maybe this will get someone who knows discussing the topic and we can all be more enlightened.

[Tom Capasso]

I've been playing blues jams for a few months now. I've learned a few things.

 

When they ask you what songs you know, be clear about who is singing. If you are leading, they may think you are singing.

 

Great tunes listed. If they don't fit close to the 12 bar formula, you need to pay attention to who is playing. Some can't go beyond a 3 chord progression.

 

My band used to play Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd, covered by Clapton recently), so I learned to sing it and gave it a go one night. I had to explain how the ending went, and everybody got it when we got there, so it was pretty cool.

 

Somehow I pulled up The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man, which is the flip side of Satisfaction. The vocal is easy, and we had people dancing because it's a movin shuffle.

 

Have fun!!

Tom