Topic 4 of 100: The Blues
Sun, Sep 22, 1996 (22:26) |
Paul Terry Walhus (terry)
The blues are big around Austin, centered around Antone's on Guadalupe
and the statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn on Town Lake. And there's the Grey
Ghost...
22 responses total.
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 1 of 22: drymartini (drymartini) * Fri, Dec 27, 1996 (10:20) * 7 lines
There's a wonderful forward momentum in the blues. Each four-bar line demanding another until there are three lines, each 12-bar chorus demanding another go-round.
Then there's the eternal reach for possibilities, the celebration of each one that is seized. The use of the "blue note" or the "third third" is at the heart of this questing feeling, I believe. And it was that questing that helped drive the development of boogie, a peculiarly piano thing.
Most other instruments can manage a blue note, as can the voice. But the piano? Nah. So it does an alternating thing, minor-major-minor-major, using the low third and the high third. And the squawk, with a gracenote, either slammed or drawled into a major third from a semi-tone below.
That third third was legislated out of official existence mainly by J S Bach, tempering his clavier. For the convenience of keyboard players and notators and the ideal of not having to put split sharps on keyboards, and for the luxury of being able to play in any key without retuning and making innumerable adaptations for each tonality, he decreed that there would be a major third, with its 5:4 ratio, and a minor third, represented by a 7:6 (he didn't talk about ratios and frequencies as such, so far
as I know), and poor old 6:5 was eliminated. Then the other two were futzed and compromised, and JS wrote a prelude+fugue in each neatly tailored major and minor tonality, based on this tempering and the new system of tuning your keyboard instrument (harpsichord, clavichord, pipe organ or whatever).
But we know, all of us know at some level (whether or not we know that we know), there is so a third third! In boogie we force it to emerge from the cracks between the keys; in blues we acknowledge it, in sorrow and in hope, in gritty triumph over all the bad cess we have been through and seen others slog through.
At least, that's how it seems to me, when I hear blues, or play blues. Especially when I hear Clancy Hayes, singing with the Bob Scobey outfit-- and most especially when he sings "Trouble in Mind."
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 2 of 22: T.J. Cellery (tj) * Fri, May 9, 1997 (11:03) * 34 lines
Texas Blues, Zydeco Blues, Chicago Blues, Mississippi Blues, Delta Blue,
Bayou Blues, European Blues, I just love the blues..........
Ok a little test for blues fans
THE FOLLOWING LIST OF BLUES GREATS ARE BETTER KNOWN BY:
Chester Burnett
Marion Jacobs
Aaron Thibeaux Walker
Saunders Terrell
McKinley Morganfield
Beulah Thomas
Deacon Bates
Booker T. Washington White
John Peter Chatman
Roosevelt Williams
Rice Miller Williamson
Eddie Jones
Arthur Crudup
Robert Brown
Otis hicks
Walter Horton
Josua Howell
Amos Blakemore
George Guy
Azell Hill
Mehemia James
Walter McGhee
Malcolm Rebennack
William Bunch
Here is a hint........Eddie James = Son House
......................Henry Byrd = Professor Longhair
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 3 of 22: Johnny Johnson (ShtnJohnny) * Mon, May 19, 1997 (00:05) * 12 lines
Yeah Man, the blues. The odd tones, the emotion of the colors. Warning: If you hade trouble understanding the first two sentences and hate poor spelling, stop reading this post.
Drymartini covered the thirds so I will deal with the fifths. No, not that kind of fifth, I mean the kind that lets ya know if ya drunk. The fifth that sways back and forth. The one that makes ya wanna run home. You know it flatly as weak and timid. Humblely headed home or to anywhere he may end up. Unlike the sharp cat who demands what he wants and marches proudly to anywhere he wants including home. Talking stuff all the way there.
Slide guitar makes a good way to travel. Tiny steps back and forth may cause the trip to take awhile... But chill and lay for awhile. Cut your own time... (:D
Peace,
Johnny
Visit my hope page at...
http://www.angelfire.com/va/jjblues/index.html
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 4 of 22: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, May 19, 1997 (00:13) * 2 lines
Feel free to link to this here topic from yer page. Hope you
come back more often, I'd like to start talking with you about stuff.
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 5 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (02:01) * 3 lines
~Shoutin' Johnny~! Where'd you go? It's been awhile since you came by,
in May, and here I sit, all alone, while I play.......
'DA BLUEZ!
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 6 of 22: wer (KitchenManager) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (23:59) * 2 lines
you're not alone...
I just can't do anything musically!
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 7 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (17:05) * 2 lines
Hey, Wer! That's ok! It's just great to see you sittin' here! :)
You can always put on on BB King, and, we'll take it from there!
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 8 of 22: wer (KitchenManager) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (17:08) * 4 lines
I might could pull that off...
(wouldn't be that hard for me to
dress up like Jake Elwood Blues,
either...)
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 9 of 22: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (17:48) * 2 lines
In honor of you all...
I will pop in the Robert Johnson tonight!
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 10 of 22: wer (KitchenManager) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (22:55) * 1 lines
Good choice...could use some Robert Cray, myself...
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 11 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Sat, Mar 7, 1998 (19:13) * 2 lines
Alright! Let's get the party going! And, Wer, you're gonna be the BLUES
Brother...and sing, right? ~grin~
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 12 of 22: wer (KitchenManager) * Sun, Mar 8, 1998 (01:23) * 1 lines
Then we'd all be sad...
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 13 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Sun, Mar 8, 1998 (19:37) * 3 lines
And, have...da bluez! See? Life the life, and sing about it! ~grin~
Just growl in tune....throw in a few "Owwwwws", and...who'll know?
I'll play bass. Anybody else wanna drag out a guitar and join in?
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 14 of 22: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Mon, Mar 9, 1998 (15:36) * 1 lines
i'll add the 'uh huh's and 'oh yeah's
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 15 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Thu, Mar 12, 1998 (09:44) * 1 lines
Alright, Stacey! You're IN!:)
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 16 of 22: Morgan Wright (rattlecat) * Fri, Mar 13, 1998 (05:44) * 28 lines
Ok here are some answers to the blues test back there:
Chester Burnett = Howling Wolf
Marion Jacobs = Little Walter
Aaron Thibeaux Walker = TBone Walker
Saunders Terrell
McKinley Morganfield = Muddy Waters
Beulah Thomas
Deacon Bates = Blind Lemon Jefferson
Booker T. Washington White =
John Peter Chatman = Memphis Slim
Roosevelt Williams
Rice Miller Williamson
Eddie Jones
Arthur Crudup = "Big Boy" Crudup
Robert Brown = Washboard Sam
Otis hicks
Walter Horton
Josua Howell
Amos Blakemore
George Guy = Buddy Guy
Azell Hill
Mehemia James
Walter McGhee = Brownie McGhee
Malcolm Rebennack = Doctor John
William Bunch
Those are just the ones I knew. I could have got more if I looked it up.
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 17 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Tue, Apr 21, 1998 (21:23) * 1 lines
So, it's been a while...Wer, Stacey - is the gig still on? (grinnin')
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 18 of 22: wer (KitchenManager) * Wed, Apr 22, 1998 (00:05) * 2 lines
It has been awhile...
Not sure, definitely in a blue state of mind, though...
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 19 of 22: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Wed, Apr 22, 1998 (16:38) * 1 lines
certainly need to mellow out a bit after this long day...
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 20 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Sun, Feb 14, 1999 (20:09) * 1 lines
...and, almost ten months, later, she returns to have a look around...and finds that everyone has been quietly...quietly (that's like, noone's posted in a year kind of quietly) moanin' the bluuuuuuues...;)
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 21 of 22: wer (KitchenManager) * Sun, Feb 14, 1999 (23:15) * 1 lines
just a sad lot, aren't we?
Topic 4 of 100 [music]: The Blues
Response 22 of 22: Annette Mercer (LaughingSky) * Mon, Feb 15, 1999 (17:30) * 1 lines
well, somebody once said that you have to live the blues to be able to sing the blues.....?
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