Killer Blues Solo

[Paleo]

If you search "Killer Blues" from the Forum homepage and enter "Paleo" in "Posted By" you'll find 19 posts I've made promoting this course.

I thought I had recently revisited the solo.

But that was in December, 2017.

My how time flies.

I'll revisit it again today.

This is what I posted back then.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/um7722e7e3k8iio/Killer Blues.mp3?dl=0

I'll check with Griff about making the backing track available.

 

[Tom C]

Paleo - great job on the solo!
Like Griff, I do recommend other AAP members to take a look at this solo. Just note that in the video lessons, Griff counts this solo as 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & versus the counting he did in the 5/6/20 session where he counted it as 1 + uh 2 + uh 3+ uh 4 + uh.
Griff mentions in the video that bars 13 - 15 are one of his favorite BB King licks. You can watch example 16 in the lesson to hear him go over this lick.

 

[Paleo]

He originally forget the "Metric Modulation" symbol in the tab.

However, he does "swing" when he starts counting through the solo.

Instead of saying all 3 counts, "1 and uh", he sometimes (in other lessons) leaves out the "and" and just says the "1 uh", with 1 still on the beat and the "uh" at 2/3.

What may be even more confusing is saying "1 and", but putting the "and" where the "uh" should be, as in this course.

This is like straight 8ths because you have 2 notes, but the "and" is at 2/3 of the beat rather than in the middle at 1/2 the beat.

So some people describe this as the 2nd 8th note being "delayed".

In all 3 cases you are still subdividing by 3 and get the "da dum da dum" sound created by only playing 2 notes, one on the first count and one on the third, i.e. the first note lasts twice as long as the second, hence the "metric modulation" symbol at the beginning.

In the original course Griff says the "1 and" version.

3 counts per beat, numbering the downbeat and saying "and" rather than "uh" on the 3rd count of the beat.

 

[Paleo]

Having 3 ways to count the same thing can be confusing in the beginning.

The idea is that you have 3 counts per beat, but you are only saying the 1st and 3rd counts out loud.

You can say either "uh" or "and" on count 3.

Here's a quick demo.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ndphyfz88n0hyt5/Swinging.mp4?dl=0

 

[Paleo]

Just an FYI.

Griff has posted the backing track along with the marked tab in the Archives.

 

[Griff]

I would say that it's most common for people to count swing 1/8th notes using the "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" style, with the "and" being where I usually put the "uh."

I started out doing that in many courses, but soon realized how many people didn't understand how swing 1/8th notes really work, so I started trying to do a better job of using the "uh" and even counting the "and" out loud, whether I was playing it or not.

You're basically watching the evolution of my teaching online over the years

 

[Tom C]

Griff - thanks for the comment above. I think you can tell from the BGU Labs March and April sessions that counting is a nemisis for many students - myself included.
I joined AAP this week so if you have a suggestion on any course that would help me improve my counting, let me know.

 

[Tom C]

Does anyone know what BB King song contains the lick from bars 13 - 15 of the Killer Blues Solo? It is a great lick, but I don't know the BB King where it came from.

 

[Griff]

Griff - thanks for the comment above. I think you can tell from the BGU Labs March and April sessions that counting is a nemisis for many students - myself included.
I joined AAP this week so if you have a suggestion on any course that would help me improve my counting, let me know.

If you go to the AAP archives and use the search for "counting" you'll see several past episodes where we have talked about it.

Also, there is a course called "How To Read Music On Guitar" that covers counting from a very basic level, along with note names.

 

[Griff]

Does anyone know what BB King song contains the lick from bars 13 - 15 of the Killer Blues Solo? It is a great lick, but I don't know the BB King where it came from.

Since it's a shuffle, probably Let The Good Times Roll, Paying The Cost, or something like that. I'm sorry, it's been so long I don't remember where I "borrowed" it from.