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Country Blues Licks and Lessons / Re: Miller's Breakdown
« Last post by Johnm on Yesterday at 08:39:43 PM »Hi all,
The Spark Plug Smith and Arthur Pettis puzzlers have been up for a good while, so I"ll post the answers. I think these are both trickier identification puzzlers than most that have been posted in this thread, and the Pettis track I think is particularly a tough ID.
For Spark Plug Smith's "Motherless Boy":
* His playing position was A position in standard tuning. The give-away comes at :26 of his rendition, where, while playing in his I chord he alternates between the root of the I chord on the fifth string, and a low V note om the sixth string. Such an alternation would not be possible if he were playing in G position in standard tuning, since the lowest available note for G position in standard tuning would be the open sixth string, E, which is a VI note relative to G.
* In the tenth bar of each verse, I believe he moves a closed E7 position, 2-1-3 on the fourth, third and second strings up two frets intact for a momentary F#7 chord. This move is much as Chris described it.
For Arthur Pettis's "Quarrelin' Mama":
* His playing position was G position in standard tuning. The very beginning of the tune makes A position implausible, for he is hitting a sustaining V note in the bass while sliding into a D shape on the first three strings up the neck. In G position, that V note would be the open fourth string, which requires no fingering and makes the slid D position at the seventh fret no problem at all. Were he playing in A position, he'd have to hold down the seventh fret of the fifth string, E, while sliding into that D position on the first three strings at the ninth fret--highly unlikely. He could still be plausibly playing in Spanish tuning at this point, though.
At :06 he crosses strings from the minor third to the major third and resolves down to the root. In G position, that's third fret of the third string to the open second string, resolving to the open third string. In A position, everything would be moved up two frets, a pretty reachy and awkward proposition. Immediately after that, he's going back and forth between a V note on the second string and a bVII on the first string, while alternating between the third and fifth in the bass. in G position, you have that covered simply by fretting, X-2-0-0-3-1. At :25, he slides up from a VI note to a major VII note resolving into the I note on the next higher string. In G position, that's going from the second to the fourth fret of the fourth string and resolving into the open third string. The resolution into the open third string is what makes the lick plausible--in A, it would be a slide from the fourth fret of the fourth string to the sixth fret, resolving into the second fret of the third string, which would be a tough move in any event, but really rugged at the speed at which he plays the lick. Banjochris made many of these same points in his post on the song.
Particularly in the third verse accompaniment, there is a lot of stuff being played in the bass that sounds like Spanish or possibly DGDGBE tuning. but I believe that the piano is hitting those occasional low V notes in the bass over the I chord. Pettis also has a couple of fills that really sound like Clifford Gibson playing in Spanish in the treble. I think this was a really tough identification. I do believe that Pettis was playing in G position in standard tuning, primarily on the basis of what he does in the treble, which lays out beautifully in G position in standard tuning (though it would be the same there in DGDGBE tuning). In listening to this cut, I definitely found myself wishing it had been a solo track. The piano is under-recorded and has just enough volume to confuse things, and the tuning of the harmonica to the guitar and piano is pretty dire.
Arthur Pettis was criminally under-recorded, I think. I don't at all feel like the extant recordings of him give a complete picture of what he did and could do. He's unusual, too, in his ability to be an absolute android at playing like Bill Broonzy--that is so rare in this music.
Thanks to all who participated, and I hope that you enjoyed the songs.
all best,
Johnm
The Spark Plug Smith and Arthur Pettis puzzlers have been up for a good while, so I"ll post the answers. I think these are both trickier identification puzzlers than most that have been posted in this thread, and the Pettis track I think is particularly a tough ID.
For Spark Plug Smith's "Motherless Boy":
* His playing position was A position in standard tuning. The give-away comes at :26 of his rendition, where, while playing in his I chord he alternates between the root of the I chord on the fifth string, and a low V note om the sixth string. Such an alternation would not be possible if he were playing in G position in standard tuning, since the lowest available note for G position in standard tuning would be the open sixth string, E, which is a VI note relative to G.
* In the tenth bar of each verse, I believe he moves a closed E7 position, 2-1-3 on the fourth, third and second strings up two frets intact for a momentary F#7 chord. This move is much as Chris described it.
For Arthur Pettis's "Quarrelin' Mama":
* His playing position was G position in standard tuning. The very beginning of the tune makes A position implausible, for he is hitting a sustaining V note in the bass while sliding into a D shape on the first three strings up the neck. In G position, that V note would be the open fourth string, which requires no fingering and makes the slid D position at the seventh fret no problem at all. Were he playing in A position, he'd have to hold down the seventh fret of the fifth string, E, while sliding into that D position on the first three strings at the ninth fret--highly unlikely. He could still be plausibly playing in Spanish tuning at this point, though.
At :06 he crosses strings from the minor third to the major third and resolves down to the root. In G position, that's third fret of the third string to the open second string, resolving to the open third string. In A position, everything would be moved up two frets, a pretty reachy and awkward proposition. Immediately after that, he's going back and forth between a V note on the second string and a bVII on the first string, while alternating between the third and fifth in the bass. in G position, you have that covered simply by fretting, X-2-0-0-3-1. At :25, he slides up from a VI note to a major VII note resolving into the I note on the next higher string. In G position, that's going from the second to the fourth fret of the fourth string and resolving into the open third string. The resolution into the open third string is what makes the lick plausible--in A, it would be a slide from the fourth fret of the fourth string to the sixth fret, resolving into the second fret of the third string, which would be a tough move in any event, but really rugged at the speed at which he plays the lick. Banjochris made many of these same points in his post on the song.
Particularly in the third verse accompaniment, there is a lot of stuff being played in the bass that sounds like Spanish or possibly DGDGBE tuning. but I believe that the piano is hitting those occasional low V notes in the bass over the I chord. Pettis also has a couple of fills that really sound like Clifford Gibson playing in Spanish in the treble. I think this was a really tough identification. I do believe that Pettis was playing in G position in standard tuning, primarily on the basis of what he does in the treble, which lays out beautifully in G position in standard tuning (though it would be the same there in DGDGBE tuning). In listening to this cut, I definitely found myself wishing it had been a solo track. The piano is under-recorded and has just enough volume to confuse things, and the tuning of the harmonica to the guitar and piano is pretty dire.
Arthur Pettis was criminally under-recorded, I think. I don't at all feel like the extant recordings of him give a complete picture of what he did and could do. He's unusual, too, in his ability to be an absolute android at playing like Bill Broonzy--that is so rare in this music.
Thanks to all who participated, and I hope that you enjoyed the songs.
all best,
Johnm
