Topic: Miller's Breakdown

[banjochris]

I would say Dresser Drawer is in drop-D tuning, tuned low – even though the pitch is low, a first-position D chord has a super distinctive sound with that third on the top, and he does the "Big Road" riff from that to the G7 (just 1st fret of the 1st string) quite a few times.

The closest I can get with the triplets at 1:36 is that he's maybe sliding from the 6th to 7th fret of the 2nd string while also playing the open 1st, then resolving to 7th fret/2nd string and 5th fret/1st string.

The dissonant chord I think might be playing the 2nd fret of the 2nd string (sliding in) along with the open 3rd and 1st, then resolving to the A note on the 3rd string and still playing the 2nd and 1st open. But I think there's probably more to it than that.


Bad Night sounds like it's in C standard to me, with that chord being something like:
3-2-3-0-0-3, or maybe 3-X-3-0-0-3.

Chris

[Forgetful Jones]

Hello all-
For the first song, I think he's in Dropped D tuning down a little bit, playing in D position. At points in the song I think I heard the familiar sound of a D shape chord on the upper strings drop down a fret and return back up.

The second song sounds like it's in C standard. Around the :46ish mark I think I hear him play the familiar change to an F chord.

Had to do this without a guitar handy, and I'd need it to take a guess at the more specific questions.

Thanks for the re-boot of this series, John. In your reveal I'd be interested in how you figured out the answers to your own questions. Can you identify those fingerings with your ears alone, or do you use your guitar to work it out?

Cheers!

[Old Man Ned]

I'm also hearing "Dresser Drawer Blues" in Dropped D tuning about a half step low. For the two brushed triplets he played in the treble around 1:36 I'm hearing this as the D shape chord on the first 3 strings moved up 3 frets.
For the dissonant chord he hits in the treble at 1:56, open 3rd and 2nd strings with 1st string held at the 2nd fret?

I too think "Bad Night Blues" is played out of C, standard tuning.
Not getting anything conclusive for the V7 chord though other than I'm hearing the 1st string, 3rd fret.

All the Best
Ned

[blueshome]

Fancying Vasterpol for the first, the second leaps out as being in C.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
It's been over a week since the last response to the Mott Willis puzzlers so I'll post the answers now.

For "Dresser Drawer Blues":
   * Mott Willis' playing position was D position in dropped-D tuning, as several of you had it. As Chris noted, the sound of the I chord  when playing in D position in dropped-D tuning is very distinctive, placing the third of the chord on top at the second fret of the first string. More often than not, too, when going to the IV chord, that second fret of the first string resolves down by half-step to the first fret of the first string, giving you the seventh of the IV chord, G7. Mott Willis did that very move several times over the course of his rendition.
  * For the triplets that Mott Willis played in the treble around 1:36, he employed an unusual "big hand" move that I'd not heard used before. For the first note of the first triplet, he brushed the tenth fret of the third string, the seventh fret of the second string and the open first string, playing three chromatic notes, E, F, and F#, simultaneously. For the remaining notes of the triplets he fretted the second and third strings at the same frets but changed the open first string to the fifth fret of the first string. So, he was voicing the fifth of his D chord, A, at the fifth fret of the first string, the major third, F#, at the seventh fret of the second string and the minor third (or #9), F, at the tenth fret of the third string. Having the major and minor thirds on adjacent strings is what gives the sound such an abrasive "rub".
   * The dissonant chord Mott Willis played at 1:56 is very much akin to the voicing described above, except it is over the V7 chord. For that chord, he voiced the minor third of the chord, C, at the fifth fret of the third string, the major third of the chord, C#, at the second fret of the second string, and the flat seventh, G, at the third fret of the first string. This is another "big hand" voicing, and I think the fact that Mott Willis chose at various points in his rendition to play both his I chord and his V7 chord with simultaneous major and minor thirds a semi-tone apart is indicative of a very clear intention, and "big ears", hearing something in his head that would not occur to most players and seeking it out repeatedly.

For "Bad Night Blues":
   * Mott Willis' playing position was C position in standard tuning, as a number of you had it. He opens the piece with an extravagant bend of the second string at the third fret, bringing it almost up to the pitch of the open first string. His playing there sounds very Lonnie Johnson- influenced to me.
   * I think the V7 chord, G7, that Mott Willis played at :14--:16 is fingered very much like a B7 chord at the base of the neck moved up one fret and moved one string toward the bass, 3-2-3-0-0-3. Bo Carter very much favored that G7 voicing which puts the seventh on the fourth string.

I was really happy to find these recently posted videos of Mott Willis on YouTube (and there are more). I had previously only been able to find one or two of his performances, and had been tantalized by them. On the basis of what he did on these two songs I feel like he is another player from Mississippi who could be considered a sophisticate, along with Hacksaw Harney, Eugene Powell and Bo Carter.

Thanks to all who participated, and I hope that you enjoyed the songs and the puzzles. As for Forgetful Jones' query as to how I figure out the licks in the puzzlers myself, first I determine the playing position/tuning. Then I figure out what Mott Willis was playing by hearing where the notes that he  is playing live in both the chord in which he's playing and in the key in which he's playing. So for the second and third questions in the "Dresser Drawer Blues" puzzler, I could hear that in both instances he was voicing chords with both major and minor thirds, first over the I chord and then over the V7 chord. Then it just involved filling out the third voice in each of those chords, the fifth of the I chord and the seventh of the V7 chord. Being able to hear where notes live in the scale and where they live in the chord that supports them is a really helpful skill to develop, not only for the purpose of figuring out things by ear, but also for improvising and composing. I should emphasize, too, that it is a learned and learnable skill, not something innate which you're either born with or will never have. Work on it, starting with songs you already know, and then go on to songs you don't already know. Like most faculties, it improves with use, and becomes less laborious and self-conscious. After a while, you just do it. Best of luck with it!
All best,
Johnm     

     

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I thought I would continue the revival of this thread for those of you who are interested. On this go-round let's confine the questions to the playing position/tuning that the musicians used to play the featured songs. The first song is an unusual and somewhat surprising cover of Blind Boy Fuller's "1000 Women Blues" by Homesick James. Here it is:



What playing position/tuning did Homesick James use to play his version of "1000 Women Blues"?

The second song is Cecil Barfield's version of "Sugar-Coated Love". Here it is:



What playing position/tuning did Cecil Barfield use to play "Sugar-Coated Love"?

Please use only your ears and your guitars to arrive at your answers, and please don't post any answers before 8:00 AM your time on Tuesday, October 9. Thanks for your participation, and I hope that you enjoy the songs.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any takers for the Homesick James and Cecil Garfield puzzlers? Come one, come all!
All best,
Johnm

[banjochris]

I need to get back and listen closely, but I just wanted to mention, John, that each time I've seen this last post part of my brain is thinking of Cecil Barfield doing a cover of this:

[Johnm]

I know what you mean, Chris. Cecil Barfield is like Robert Pete Williams in that you never have to worry about their covers falling too close the tree. Even Cecil Barfield's cover of "Lucy Mae" has always left me with a feeling of "You can't get there from here!"

[banjochris]

I think Homesick James is playing out of A position but in drop D tuning. If I'm hearing correctly he also plays a barred C at the 5th fret quite a bit, on a slightly unusual application of the "three frets up" principle.
Chris

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any other takers for the Homesick James and Cecil Barfield puzzlers? Come one, come all!

[Prof Scratchy]

I remain bamboozled by both tunes, so am looking forward to the answers!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
It doesn't appear that there are going to be any more responses to the Homesick James and Cecil Barfield puzzlers, so I'll post the answers.

For Homesick James' "1000 Women Blues", his playing position was A position in dropped-D tuning as Chris had it. Note that his home position was not A at the base of the neck, X-0-2-2-2-5(0) but A at the fifth fret, more like X-0-7-5-5-5. Playing the A at that place on the neck made all of the melody notes, which he closely tracked, easily available. A couple of peculiarities of Homesick James rendition:
   * He plays the song in dropped-D tuning but never goes to the IV chord, rather incidentally brushing the open sixth string under his A chords (he played the song as a one-chorder). Perhaps he just liked the sound of that low IV note against his A chord
   * He does utilize quite a lot, especially at the end of the verses, what Chris described as a C chord, the fifth fret of the fourth, third and second strings barred. That is an application of the "three frets up" principle, as Chris noted, just taking the second fret barre of those three strings in an A chord at the base of the neck and moving the barre up three frets intact, which gives him an A minor 7 chord. The move is exactly analogous to the more commonly-encountered movement of a D chord on the first three strings being moved up three frets, but it is seldom encountered in songs in A. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one other song in A that utilized that move, Lil' Son Jackson's "No Money, No Love", though I'm sure that there are other songs that do that, too.

For Cecil Barfield's "Sugar Coated Love", his playing position was G in standard tuning. His accompaniment there is really ingenious, and has an odd sort of "inside out" quality. In his G chord, he alternates from the G note on the sixth string to the E note on the fourth string on beat two, hitting the open fourth string, D, on beat three and returning to E on beat four. He harmonizes that E-D-E movement in the bass on beats two and three by going from the open second string, B, against the E note in the bass and then resolving down to the third fret of the third string, Bb, against the open D string, and most often brushing either the open second string or the open second string and third fret of the first string on the + of beat four. This complex interior movement makes the opening phrase of each verse appear to be rocking between G, C7 with G in the bass, and G minor. When Cecil Barfield goes to the IV chord he alternates his bass between the C at the third fret of the fifth string and the Bb at the third fret of the third string, the seventh of the C7 chord. The over-all effect is quite unusual, sort of like an instrumental tongue twister. I'm so thankful that Cecil Barfield was recorded--he could so easily have been altogether missed, as I'm sure so many musicians were, except by their family, friends and neighbors.

All best,
Johnm

 

[banjochris]

For Cecil Barfield's "Sugar Coated Love", his playing position was G in standard tuning. His accompaniment there is really ingenious, and has an odd sort of "inside out" quality. In his G chord, he alternates from the G note on the sixth string to the E note on the fourth string on beat two, hitting the open fourth string, D, on beat three and returning to E on beat four. He harmonizes that E-D-E movement in the bass on beats two, three and four by going from the open second string, B, against the E note in the bass and then resolving down to the third fret of the third string, Bb, against the open D string, and most often brushing either the open second string or the open second string and third fret of the first string on the + of beat four. This complex interior movement makes the opening phrase of each verse appear to be rocking between G, C7 with G in the bass, and G minor. When Cecil Barfield goes to the IV chord he alternates his bass between the C at the third fret of the fifth string and the Bb at the third fret of the third string, the seventh of the C7 chord. The over-all effect is quite unusual, sort of like an instrumental tongue twister. I'm so thankful that Cecil Barfield was recorded--he could so easily have been altogether missed, as I'm sure so many musicians were, except by their family, friends and neighbors.

Wow, I had an idea it was G, but that's a lot going on!
Chris

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I thought I'd post a couple of puzzlers for those of you who are interested. They're both from William "Do-Boy" (Dubois) Diamond, a musician who had a couple of cuts on the George Mitchell Collection. I recently became aware that he had some additional titles released on the mbirafon label. The first song is "Mississippi Flat", and here it is:



INTRO

You're cryin' babe, I'll be home some day
You stop your cryin' and, girl, and I'm comin' home to stay

Ever since my dear old mother been dead
Rock was my pillow, Lord, and the cold ground was my bed

'Way, just to worry you off my mind
You leave me worried, girl, I'm bein' bothered all the time

Bea, who made your mighty love, Bea?
It ain't none of my business, girl, but you're lookin' good to me

You marry, don't marry no farmin' man
Every day'll be Sunday, darlin', with a dollar in your hand

CODA

Spoken: That's that "Mississippi Flat".

Edited 1/19 to pick up correction from Blues Vintage


For William "Do-Boy Diamond's recording of "Mississippi Flat":
   * What playing position/tuning did he use to play the song?
   * Where did he fret the first four notes of his rendition and how are they articulated?

The second song from Diamond is "Shaggy Hound Blues, Take 2". Here it is:



INTRO

Awake up, woman, and tell your midnight dream
You oughta wake up, woman, then and tell your midnight dream

Well, the sun goin' down and you know what you promise me
Lord, the sun goin' down, girl and you know what you promise me

I got two little puppies, one a shaggy hound
It take all them dogs just to run my baby down

Don't the moon look pretty, shinin' through the tree?
I can see my woman but the girl, she can't see me

CODA

For William "Do-Boy" Diamond's recording of "Shaggy Hound Blues":
   * What playing position/tuning did he use to play the song?
   * Where did he play the first two signature lick iterations with which he opens his rendition, from :00--:03?

Please use only your ears and your guitars to arrive at your answers, and please don't post any responses before 8:00 AM your time on Tuesday, January 9. Thanks for your participation and I hope that you enjoy the songs.
All best,
Johnm