Topic: Miller's Breakdown

[Slack]

An FYI for you folks who regularly follow this topic.  To make it easier to find specific songs in the ever growing list (97 at current count!)  I've added a Menu Item, to the Quick Menu section, on the left panel, called 'Millers Breakdown".  Clicking on the link takes you to John's index of covered songs.

Perpetual Country Blues instruction, ear training and all around fun, from a master of the genre.  How great is that!  Thank you John Miller!

[uncle bud]

I agree with E position. Frankie beat me to the Luke Jordan comparison. Who incidentally is also on the Virginia Traditions: Western Piedmont Blues record this is taken from.

[One-Eyed Ross]

An FYI for you folks who regularly follow this topic.  To make it easier to find specific songs in the ever growing list (97 at current count!)  I've added a Menu Item, to the Quick Menu section, on the left panel, called 'Millers Breakdown".  Clicking on the link takes you to John's index of covered songs.

Perpetual Country Blues instruction, ear training and all around fun, from a master of the genre.  How great is that!  Thank you John Miller!

Slack, this is a great thing you have done...  (Seriously, though, I think this is so great, words escape me).

[andrescountryblues]

What position/tuning did James Lowry use to play the song?
- E position standard tuning

Where is James Lowry fretting what he plays behind the first vocal phrase of his first verse, from :31--:35?
Alternates between these two chords:
-7-
-5-
-7-
-6-
-x-
-x-

AND
-6-
-5-
-6-
-5-
-x-
-x-

I cant really hear the first chord so Im only guessing.

Where is James Lowry fretting the fill he plays from :35--:38?
- Similar to what Frankie said. I think is an E7 chord first position with that play between the 2nd and 4th fret of the 4th string.

Where is he fretting what he plays under the second vocal phrase of his first verse, from :38--:42?
----------------
----------------
----------------
----------------
-------2-5-2---
--3/4----------
----------------

[Johnm]

Hi all,
It seems as though everyone who intends to respond to the James Lowry puzzler, "Early Morning Blues", has done so by now, so let's take a look at the answers.  I should say before getting to the answers, though, that this is I think the most challenging puzzler from my point of view since the Emmett Murray puzzler a while back.  This one is tough!
   * Playing position for the song is E position in standard tuning, but with a caveat.  First of all, C position sounding in E, or a little flat of E which was where James Lowry was tuned, won't work because he has a low I note on his sixth string, and the lowest note you can get on the sixth string playing out of C position in standard tuning is  III note (E is the third of a C chord).  Likewise, cross-note or EAEGBE tunings will not work because of the V7 and VI7 chord voicings that James Lowry played:  Both of those voicings as he played them put the major third of those chords on the fourth string, and a major third of the V7 chord is not available on the fourth string in cross-note or EAEGBE tuning due to the fourth string being tuned to the IV note of the V chord, a half-step above the III.  An example in a key may help make this clearer:  In the key of E, the V7 chord is B7.  The major third of B7 is D#, no problem in E position in standard tuning--that note lives at the first fret of the fourth string.  In cross-note tuned to E or EAEGBE tuning, though, that D# note can not be played in that register on the fourth string because the fourth string is tuned to E.  This is what Frank alluded to in his answer, I'm just fleshing it out a little bit.  It's a really good thing to remember, though:  if you hear a "standard tuning" B7 chord happening down at the base of the neck, cross-note and EAEGBE tuning are ruled out.  This one distinction ends up being the easiest way to eliminate cross-note and EAEGBE tunings from being possibilities for an E-sounding piece.
I said there was a caveat to the song being played in E position in standard tuning, and here it is.  Either James Lowry was tuned in standard tuning and never struck his first string from beginning to end in his rendition, or he was playing a guitar missing the first string.  Give Dave credit for noticing this and commenting on it.  I think it is far more likely that his guitar had only five strings on it, and was missing the first string, than that he played an entire rendition of a blues in E while studiously avoiding striking the first string, which was tuned to E.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but that would just be too weird!  I've listened to this rendition at least twice, just listening to hear anything being played that could only be played on the first string, and have heard nothing there.  I reckon he just didn't have a first string on his guitar.  Well heard, Dave!
* For his passage from :31--:35, James Lowry hit the following notes.  I think he played this whole rocking passage with his thumb dragging through in the right hand, hitting the lowest-pitched note in the first position on the + of beat one and dragging into the upper two notes on beat two, then switching to the second position, hitting its lowest-pitched note on the + of beat three and dragging into the upper two notes on beat four.  The first two bars of the verse both conform to this rhythmic placement.  The first position is this:  X-X-6-4-0-X.  You can hear him hit the sixth fret of the fourth string on the + of beat one, and then he brushes the unison between the fourth fret of the third string and the open second string on beat two.  My guess would be that he fretted the sixth fret of the fourth string with his third or ring finger and the fourth fret of the third string with his index finger.  The notes in this position, relative to his tuning, would be G# on the fourth string, B on the third string and B on the open second string.
The second position in the rock consists of the notes E-Bb-C#, from lowest pitched to highest pitched, and can be found in two possible positions.  The first, and most elegant solution, I think, would be X-7-8-6-X-X, which he could get to from his first position by sliding the first position up two frets and dropping his second finger into place at the seventh fret of the fifth string.  This chord, incidentally, is a partial E diminished 7 chord.  The alternative placement of the chord is X-X-2-3-2-X.  It has the advantage of being at the base of the neck, near to where you have to go next, but it doesn't flow well out of the first position in the rock, you have to pick up every finger and re-position, and the voice-leading is not as good.  I'd suggest trying both positions and going for whichever suits you best and seems easiest.  I really hope it was the first option because it is one of the slickest moves ever, but we have no way of knowing for certain at this point.
   * For the passage from :35--:38, a number of you, Scratchy, Old Man Ned, Frank, and Andres were right on it.  James Lowry is essentially playing an E7 chord and rocking between the Root, located at the second fret of the fourth string and the 9 note, located at the fourth fret of the fourth string.  It's a lovely sound, and not one I can recall ever having encountered in a Country Blues before, which is some indication of James Lowry's imagination and big ears (and probably big hands)!  Placed in the pulse it works this way, using the whole passage as his instrumental response to the first vocal line.  Instead of doing two bars of four beats each, he plays one bar of six beats.  On beat one, he brushes an E7 chord 0-2-2-1-3-X.  On beat two, he plays a triplet in which he plays the third fret of the second string on the first and third notes of the triplet and brushes the second fret of the fourth string and the first fret of the third string on the middle note of the triplet.  On beat three, he hits the open sixth string with his right hand thumb on the beat and plays another triplet in the treble, going from the fourth fret of the fourth string on the first note of the triplet to a brushed third fret of the second string and first fret of the third string on the middle note of the triplet, ending the triplet with the second fret of the fourth string.  Beat four repeats the triplet he played for beat three, but without the open sixth string in the bass.  On beat five, he hits the open sixth string in the bass and the fourth fret of the fourth string, both falling on the beat.  On beat six, he has a rest on the beat and hits the pick-up note for the IV7 phrase on the + of beat six. 
For fingering this passage, I think he must have mashed the second fret of the fifth and fourth strings with his second finger, used his index finger to fret the first fret of the third string, his third finger to fret the third fret of the second second string and his little finger to fret the fourth fret of the fourth string, the 9 note that gives the fill such a pretty and unusual sound.
   * For his passage from :38--:42, James Lowry is working in an A7 chord.  He anticipates the downbeat, hitting the open fifth string on the + of beat six from the previous measure, doing a thumb roll into the second fret of the fourth string on the downbeat of the measure, hitting the fifth fret of the fourth string on the + of beat one, sliding that fifth fret of the fourth string down to the fourth fret of the fourth string on beat two, continuing towards the treble with his thumb and brushing the second fret of the third and second strings so that they sound simultaneous with the slid note at the fourth fret of the fourth string.  On the + of beat two, he hits the fourth fret of the fifth string, doing a thumb roll into the second fret of the fourth string on beat three, getting the fifth fret of the fourth string on the + of beat three, sliding the fifth fret down to the fourth fret on beat four and brushing the second fret of the third and second strings simultaneous with that. He repeats what he did in the second half of the first measure of the IV7 chord for both halves of the second measure of the IV7 chord.  Frank and Andres both pretty much had this.

Whew!  These three passages by no means exhaust James Lowry's invention in "Early Morning Blues".  I could, but won't, do another puzzler just on this song.  I hope you all enjoyed his performance here as much as I did.  When I hear someone do so many original things in the course of playing a blues in such a well-trod area, I am awed.  I think we're sometimes tempted to think if we've listened to this music for a while that we're unlikely to hear anything we've never heard before by someone coming out of the tradition.  I think this song proves that is not the case.  Keep listening and searching out material and you'll encounter more gems like this one from time to time.

I hope that some of you are working through some of the explanations in these puzzlers, trying out the moves and seeing how they feel under your hands.  Thanks for participating and I'll try to find another good puzzler soon.

All best,
Johnm       

[One-Eyed Ross]

Thanks, as always, John, for a wonderful song and explanation.

I enjoyed this so much, I'm downloading the album from Folkways...($9.99, but that's cheap for all that good music!)

[Johnm]

You're welcome, Ross, and I'm going to have to get that CD for myself, too.  It's really a winner, with lots of great stuff on it.
Thanks also to Slack for setting up the menu item in the left menu, Miller's Breakdown, to get the easiest access to the list of songs in the thread and the links to where each song starts in the thread.  It makes it so easy to find any of the songs you care to re-visit or hear for the first time.  Thanks, Slack!
All best,
Johnm

[Old Man Ned]

Would also like to add to the thanks for this explanation, John.  I've been itching to see how the 31:38 passage was fingered as I felt I was just dancing around it without being able to nail what was going on.  Again, I'm amazed that this thread has revealed another blues man I'd never heard who has such a unique way of playing things.  For sure, I'll be downloading the Folkways album.  Can't wait to hear the rest of the tunes on it.

[frankie]

* For his passage from :31--:35
X-X-6-4-0-X
X-7-8-6-X-X
one of the slickest moves ever

That IS a slick move, especially considering it sounds so much like a position that's descending (to me, anyway). To have that sound result from a move that's physically ascending is amazing...  as a guitar nerd, I know that this is possible, but it's kinda startling to see it put into practice like that.

For the passage from :35--:38
I think he must have mashed the second fret of the fifth and fourth strings with his second finger, used his index finger to fret the first fret of the third string, his third finger to fret the third fret of the second second string and his little finger to fret the fourth fret of the fourth string, the 9 note that give the fill such a pretty and unusual sound.

That is one BIG HANDED move. Wow. Either that or pure willpower. Mind over matter! I had actually considered that he was working out of a 1st position E7, but was flummoxed by my own limitations, so I stopped considering it.

Great job picking this one!

[Johnm]

That IS a slick move, especially considering it sounds so much like a position that's descending (to me, anyway).

I know what you mean, Frank, and thinking about it, I think what makes the whole rocking motion between those two positions work is the seemingly innocuous unison fretted and open B notes in the first position.  By having them in the first position, it's possible to move both up and down resolving into the second position, with one of the Bs going down to Bb and the other going up to C#.  How great to be able to think of something like that!
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
It has been a little while since we had a series of puzzlers which involved simply identifying what positions/tunings were used to play a series of songs.  So here goes with three songs.  The first is Will Day's "Central Avenue Blues".  Here it is:



   * What playing position/tuning did Will Day use to play "Central Avenue Blues"?

CLARINET SOLO

I'm gonna build me a little mansion on Central Avenue
I'm gonna build me a little mansion on Central Avenue
So I can stick my head out the widow see what my wicked women will do

Lord, I got a pretty mama, lives on Central Avenue
I got a pretty mama, lives on Central Avenue
Now if that woman wants to quit me, boy, wonder what in the world that I would do

I b'lieve there's Heavens but I seen my pretty mama right there
I b'lieve there's Heaven, Lord, I seen my pretty mama up there
She has one gold tooth and coal black, wavy hair

Good girl used to live here, don't live here no more
Good girl used to live here, don't live here no more
Left here early this mornin', carried all of her clothes

Before I stand to see my good girl leave me in this town
'Fore I stand to see my good girl leave me in this town
I'd beat the train to the corner and I swear to stop hers down

Lord, pretty mama, wonder, what are you tryin' to do?
Lord, pretty mama, wonder what are you tryin' to do?
Seem like you're startin' to run with me and my buddy, too

I'm going to West Texas, Lord, I'm going to stay
I'm going to West Texas, Lord, I'm going to stay
Got a brownskin woman, said she'd pay my way

The second song is Gabriel Brown's rendition of "I Get Evil When My Love Comes Down".  Here it is:



   *What playing position/tuning did Gabriel Brown use to play "I Get Evil When My Love Comes Down"?

The third song is the Mississippi Jook Band's recording of "Skippy Whippy".  Here it is:

http://youtu.be/S-USppH1fC8?list=PLroGMBw4WBrSO5aiK_lJTP6m60PCWrD0A

   *What playing position/tuning is the guitarist in the Mississippi Jook Band using to play his part on "Skippy Whippy"?  (Extra credit:  Who is that guitarist?)

As always, please use only your ears and instruments to come up with your answers, and please don't post any answers before 8:00 AM your time on the morning of Thursday, June 18.  Thanks for participating, and I hope you enjoy the tunes.

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any takers on the Will Day, Gabriel Brown, Mississippi Jook Band puzzlers?  Come one, come all!
All best,
Johnm

[jpeters609]

   *What playing position/tuning is the guitarist in the Mississippi Jook Band using to play his part on "Skippy Whippy"?  (Extra credit:  Who is that guitarist?)

Well, being that I'm not a guitarist, I will at least get things rolling by taking a stab at the extra credit question: The guitarist on the Mississippi Jook Band recordings is none other than Blind Roosevelt Graves.

[David Kaatz]

Will Day Central Ave Blues, I am guessing Spanish capoed up 5 frets to C. This could be way wrong, especially if there is more than one guitarist. It is very hard to tell.

Gabriel Brown I Get Evil, Drop D capoed up 2 frets to E.

Mississippi Jook Band, standard tuning, key of C. Guitarist? Not a clue.

Dave

[Slack]

Well shoot, I meant to sit down with my guitar and run through these...

I can take a shot at Central Avenue Blues without a guitar.  I'd say A Standard, because of the familiar thumb drag from the E to A string and the rocking A to A7 in the long A position.  And because so many Texas Blues are in A. 

I'll go listen to the others again, but do not feel too confident w/o guitar in hand...