Topic: Tampa Red's Guitar Style--Queries and Tips

[si]

Working on "Can't Get That Stuff No More" by Tampa Red.
Not sure of chords towards end of each verse.
Playing in key of E:
E / / / E / / / E / / / E7 / / /
A / / / A / / / E / / / E / / /
B / / / B / / / B / / / E / / /
or last 4 bars could be
B / / / B / / / B / E / E / / /
or maybe
B / / / C# / B / C7 / B7 / E / / /
Your opinions will be welcome.

[MTJ3]

I think that you are keying (sorry--bad pun) in on the bass strings.  I hear the harmonic structure of the song (and the related "Dead Cats On The Line") during the verses as noted below; it flattens out harmonically a bit during the instrumental breaks. 

E-E-E-E/E-E-E-E/E-E-E-E/E7-E7-E7-E7/
A-A-A-A/A-A-A-A/E-E-E-E/E-E-E-E/
B7-B7-B7-B7/A- A-B7-B7/A-A-B7-B7/E-E-E-E

In the 4th measure, TR plays a D (5th string 3rd fret) which leads to the C# (5th string 2nd fret) in the bass in the next measure (the third of the A chord); this is an uncommon voicing in standard tuning, but open E readily lends itself to it.  The C# in the bass in the 10th and 11th measures, again, is the third of the A chord.  In those measures, TR shifts between B7 and A by alternating between the open 5th string and 5th string fretted at the 2nd fret.  Beginning in the 11th measure, TR walks the bass down C#-C# (5th string 3rd fret), B (5th string open), Gb/G (6th string 3rd fret, slightly bent), E (6th string open).  You can reharmonize it as you did, which makes it a lot more interesting and makes it your own, but you don?t need to in order to play it as TR did.

[si]

Thanks MTJ3 for your excellent analysis. That explains why I was hearing different chords at the same time. It is so good to find a 12-bar with a different ending, am going to try this at a jam session.

[GerryC]

Thanks for that turnaround. It's really cool and a great improvement on what I've been playing.

'Stuff' is also a great song for making up extra verses to tease/mock/insult your buddies at jams or open mics, eg

"(Name) plays a mean guitar
But with a face like that he'll never be a star."

"Listen to (name) on the old banjo,
We untuned his strings and he don't even know."

"(Name)'s playing that National fast as he can,
Pity it sounds like an old tin can."

"(Name), go easy on that big ol' bass,
Them strings could twang you out into space."

Etc. You get the idea...

Cheerily,

Gerry C

[GhostRider]

Gerry:

And I like the idea. The guys and gals at PT are in big trouble at the next Participant's Concert.

Alex

[LB]

This is just an introduction to the tuning, the chords and the first 8 bars. I posted this on the APM Forum but I really thought it would be great to post it over here. I know many of you are beyond this stage of playing but I made this hoping to draw more people into Tampa Red. Below is my post and in a way it's a thanks for all the nice help I have recieved here.



Tampa Red was one of the greats. He played one of the oldest National Tricones made and had a very sophisticated playing style for his time with wonderful slide and hand and palm muting. Neil Harpe of StellaGuitars.com drew the amazing art shown above. I have been going through a reinvention of my own playing for several years and part of my reconstruction is learning songs from my home state of Georgia. This song is part of the 1930s recordings captured on Folkways RBF15 which showcases the Atlanta blues greats of the 1920/30s. This song is in open D tuning and can be played on any guitar but a tricone national really does nail the same tone he has.

Tune to D A D F# A D . Which means tuning the first and sixth string down one whole step, the third string half step down, second string whole step down. I've provided a video, slow MP3, fast MP3 and a photo of my home made tablature. If people enjoy this and master these first 8 bars I might work up more of it in following posts or in future lessons. I am actually working out all these notes one step ahead of you and this is the song I am working on at this moment. I thought I would share. Keep in mind that in this sample of him I only captured one go around in this song. He actually speeds up to a very hopped up dance speed as the song goes on. I really suggest buying this CD RBF15 from Folkways to hear the magic of the whole tune. Mostly it's his timing and touch that makes this song so great. The actual licks are not that hard. Doing them right is hard. He also slips in some very subtle stumbling bass notes that are reminiscent of Blind Blake but not as pronounced. As I study the finer details of his playing I find more tiny pieces of magic throughout. I never in a million years thought I could play this stuff but once you begin creating a few sweat beads on your forehead it starts getting easier and making perfect sense. Why I have been avoiding open D and G tunings for so long? Well I really wish I'd started earlier and I hope you will NOW

Play Normal Speed sample of Tampa Red

Play SLOWED DOWN Sample of Tampa Red




Now these tabs are not perfect but all the notes are there. The hammer on with two fingers on the 2 and 5 string with the ring and middle finger are hard to hear until you come up to speed in the first 4 bars. I break it down and repeat it many many times.


If enough people work on this and it has a lot of interaction we might take it to the next stage. Otherwise this is just a nice intro to Tampa Red




===============
PART 2 addition 16-DEC-05

This should give everyone some slide to work on. This is the first main riff he comes too. I explain it well in the video.

Tampa playing just this lick slowed down in MP3

Click to play explanation and demo of this slide lick.




===============
ADDED PART 3 - 19-DEC-2005

This is one of the coolest licks in the tune. I think it's pure genius. Almost a Blind Blake type of stumble with a twist.

[SteveMcBill]

Wahoo Little Bro,

Really enjoyed that - Tampa Red really rocks and this is an excellent intro !!

More please !!

Steve

[Slack]

Great intro (and pic) of Tampa Red.   I'm not sure how many of us are beyond this level -- but figuring out all the variations that Tampa does is a challenge for most anyone!

We're going to open up a general lesson board soon and I hope you post more of these.

 Thanks LB.

[uncle bud]

Great lesson LittleBrother. Paul Rishell has taught this tune when he's been out teaching at PT. I've worked on it on and off for several years, never really getting it completely down. Nice sound comin' off that National tricone of yours, too. Just out of curiosity, when you're doing the 3, 2, 0 on the high E string over the IV chord, you're fretting it with the free 3rd finger. Do you think Tampa ever got these notes with the slide? I don't have a recording handy right now to check, but have wondered in the past and tried both ways. Getting them with the slide is certainly a trickier stretch.

[LB]

Hi Uncle Bud,

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll have to watch for Paul Rishell. You know that has crossed my mind some notes could be played with slide. My skills are not good enough to try yet but I am keeping those ideas on the table. I find when I keep revisiting things they eventually seem possible. Back to the wood shed

LB

[Parlor Picker]

Many years ago, the great British blues picker, Steve Phillips put forward the theory that Tampa Red had a short slide on his ring finger (like a wedding ring, but considerably longer) which allowed him to still bend that finger and fret with it.  That way he could fret with all four fingers (and the thumb over the top I guess if he wanted) and still play slide notes on the top string with the diminutive appendage.  Steve reckoned it was the only way to get all the right notes - with either fingers or slide.

It's an interesting concept, but don't ask me to justify it, as I'm no slide player myself.

[blueshome]

Great lesson - don't put yourself down!

Re: Tampa playing with the slide on the ring finger -  there is a photo around with a short glass slide on his pinky. 

It's not too hard to get those notes on the 1st string in the IV of this song with the slide, and in trying to play much of his stuff I've never found slide on this finger a handicap, in fact it makes some of the picked runs easier for me. I did notice that Paul Rishell uses his ring finger for them.

However, I know plenty of players who use the slide on the ring finger pretty well, although I have noticed that they all seem to have large hands - anyone else observed this?

Certainly in many other songs he is fretting cleanly with slide as well as hammering on and pulling off with it.

Phil   

[uncle bud]

Yup, that photo's attached here. A little hard to see (click on the photo, it gets bigger) but it's there as blueshome notes.

I gave it a go last night and actually had more trouble fretting with the finger than the slide! And yes, good point, he certainly does hammer-ons and pull-offs with it. He is not a flashy slide player, just has astonishing control.

Re. slide on the ring finger. I think I hear a vein throbbing in Steve James' head...

[GerryC]

Here's a photo of the aforementioned Steve Phillips, who generally uses a small glass slide on his ring finger - you can just make it out on this pic. Steve did a great version of BWD on his first [vinyl] album The Best Of Steve Phillips, which is currently unavailable; however, Steve told me a while back that his first two albums (Steel Rail Blues is the second) would eventually be re-issued on CD. Meanwhile, he has revisited BWD on his latest album, Solo. This is terrific and is available via www.stevephillipsmusic.com

Cheerily,

Gerry C

[pbyhre]

Hey LittleBrother,
Thanks for all the effort you put into this!  The tab, audio, and video files are a HUGE help to wannabe guitar players like me.  If you go to the trouble of doing this for more of the song, I can guarantee you that you'll have at least one more interested student.

Thanks again,
Pete Byhre