Topic: No Money No Love

[PiedmontBlues]

John Miller had a great workshop every afternoon at Port Townsend and I caught the one where he was teaching No Money No Love. Unfortunately, my tape recorder did a poor job of capturing the lesson and parts of it are garbled. I recorded one verse of what I think it's supposed to sound like so, if you attended that workshop, please let me know if I'm close or where I need some help. Meanwhile, I'll search for a recording of the original. I'm sure that will shed some light. Thanks.

[Johnm]

Hi Valerie,
I think you are definitely on the right track with what you've put together on "No Money No Love".  The brushed slides of the "long A" position from the second to the fifth fret sound great!  I think that sound really makes the whole tune.  In terms of tempo, I think it could actually afford to go a bit slower, for that grudging, heavy time, where the tug is almost as strong back as it is forward.  The only other thing is that Lil' Son never really goes to the V chord in the bass; he plays a V chord sort of run, but just keeps the I note thumping underneath it. 
I gathered from what you said at PT that this type of material was a kind of a departure for you from the Piedmont Blues and Ragtime material you have specialized in up to this point.  One would certainly not know that from this rendition.  You sound really comfortable in this style.  If you are interested in picking up the source recording, it can be found on the Arhoolie CD, "Texas Blues--The Gold Star Sessions" Arhoolie CD 352, along with the rest of the titles Lil' Son Jackson recorded for Gold Star in the Post-War period.  It is a terrific CD.
All best,
Johnm     

[a2tom]

I wasn't at the lesson and have no insight, but it sounds great.  No, that ain't no Piedmont rag!  I love that bass sound - I've become more and more partial to monotonic thumping bass. 

tom

[eagle rockin daddy]

Hey Valerie,

If you keep on thumping away on the bass with your thumb like that, you are likely to raise a blister, which will eventually turn into a callous, so you can really thump away.  Great feel, great job.  I love playing the guitar with a lot of force.  I think you have that idea.

Mike

[PiedmontBlues]

Hi John! Thanks for the fast feedback. I've slowed it down a bit as you suggested and I like it much better that way. Eliminating the V chord was very strange at first, but now I'm used to that too. You are correct in that this type of music is not something I usually try to play. That's why it's so refreshing. Thanks for teaching it to me.

a2tom, I might find myself growing partial to that thumping bass as well. It's very relaxing because my thumb doesn't have to do as much as when I'm working on something with an alternating bass. Especially since John reminded me to eliminate the bass of the V chord. Now my thumb is really going to get lazy!

Hello Cheapfeet. Glad you like the song. The stuff on SoundClick is a bit old now. I guess I'll have to think about uploading something new there soon.

Well, eagle, nearly all my fingers have some form of callous on them at this point. Especially my left hand. Those are the worst. On the right hand, the thumb, index, and middle have a slight callous. I usually sand them down every few days or they start to look unsightly

Thanks for all your feedback. John, I've uploaded a second version with the corrections you suggested. Thanks again.

[37 Gibson]

I really enjoyed both renditions.  Thanks for sharing them.  Now I'm off to track down the Lil' Son Jackson original of this cool tune... Cliff

P.S. Found it.  Here's a link to the Arhoolie Texas Blues CD with Lil' Son Jackson: http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/352.shtml

[Prof Scratchy]

Loved both renditions. Wonderful stuff!

[Blue in VT]

Piedmont,

Sounds great....love that driving bass and the slides....quite a different feel from the other posts you shared with us but I reaaly like it....how about a full redition when you get comfortable with it?

cheers,

Blue

[PiedmontBlues]

Hi Blue in VT, I'd like to upload a longer version but the 810KB limit is preventing me. I can only seem to squeeze in a max of 45 seconds which is roughly 1 verse. Sorry.

[uncle bud]

Hi Valerie -

If you want to post a longer version, you can rip a new mp3 of your original recording but this time make sure the bit rate settings are at 32 kbps or less. Doesn't give you high fidelity but is good enough for the Back Porch! Your current file is set at 128 kbps (the standard setting for ripping mp3s).

cheers,
UB