Topic: Miller's Breakdown

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I have some new puzzlers for those of you who are interested.  The first is from Tallahassee Tight (Louis Washington), and it is his "Black Snake Blues".  Here is his performance of "Black Snake Blues":



INTRO

I'm cryin', oh-oh, where in the world my blacksnake gone?
I'm cryin', oh, where in the world my blacksnake gone?
I mean, there's some pretty mama done run my blacksnake home

Mama, it must've been a bedbug, baby, a chinch can't bite that hard
Then it must been a bedbug, I mean a chinch can't bite that hard
Then I asked my babe for fifty cents, she said, "Honey, ain't a child in the yard."

I'm cryin', mmmmmm, blacksnake crawlin' all in my room
I'm cryin', mmmmmm, blacksnake crawlin' all in my room
I'm mean some pretty mama better come and get this blacksnake soon

I'm cryin', mmmmm, where in the world my blacksnake gone?
I'm cryin', mmmmm, where in the world my blacksnake gone?
I mean some very pretty mama, now, must have done got my blacksnake home

Now mama, that's all right, that's all right for you
I mean, mama, that's all right, mama, that's all right for you
I mean, now that's all right, pretty mama, 'most any old, any ways you do

Now, you don't know, you don't know my mind
Baby, you don't know, baby, you don't know my mind
You keep your blacksnake worried, and work him 'most all the time

I'm cryin', oh now, blacksnake's crawlin' all in my room

The questions on "Black Snake Blues" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Tallahassee Tight use to play the song?
   * Where did he fret the fill he plays from :26--:29?

The second puzzler is from John Wesley "Mister Shortstuff" Macon, and it is his version of "No Special Woman".  Here is his performance of the song:



INTRO

Love my baby, love my baby, gon' tell the world I --
I'm just, tell the world I do

Tell nobody, tell nobody, what that gal told --
Tell nobody, what that gal told me (Spoken: yeah)

Sugar on the bottom, sugar on the bottom, I'm gon' keep her --
Sugar on the bottom, I'm gon' keep her down (Spoken: Play it, John)

I can stand right here,  gonna stay here, to get my rider --
Stand right here, to get my rider down

Come in here, baby, come in here, baby, tell what's on, on your --
Tell me, baby, what's all on your mind

Roll your baby, roll your baby, like you roll your --
Roll your baby, like you roll your dough (Spoken: yeah)

Lord, I feel, Lord, I feel, like my time ain't long

Keep on rainin', keep on rainin', could not make no --
Keep on rainin', could not make no time 

The questions on "No Special Woman" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Mister Shortstuff use to play the song?
   * What chord normally played in a blues progression is omitted by Mister Shortstuff on "No Special Woman"?

The third puzzler is Tom Bell's "I'm Worried Now".  Here it is:



INTRO

I'm worried now, and I won't be worried long
It won't be long, babe, 'fore I'll be gone

I'm leavin' here, don't you want to go?
I'm leavin' here, baby, don't you want to go?
Just to keep down trouble, Lord, I reckon I better go

If I had wings, just like Norah's dove
I'd fly from here, to the one I love

I'd rather be dead, six feets in my grave
Than to be 'round here, Lord, treated this-a-way

You can always tell when your woman's plannin' to put you down
You can always tell when your woman's plannin' to put you down
Your meals aren't regular and your clothes all layin' around

The questions on "I'm Worried Now" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Tom Bell use to play "I'm Worried Now"?
   * Was Tom Bell playing slide with his guitar in the conventional position or lap-style?  Justify your choice based on the sound of his rendition.

Please use only your ears and instruments to arrive at your answers and please don't post any responses until 8:00 AM your time on Monday, November 14.  I hope you enjoy the songs, and thanks for your participation.

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
If any of the videos posted in the puzzlers are not viewable for non-U. S. residents, here is a fix that Nicholas Dussart provided a while ago and Stuart posted a reminder of:

Have you tried pasting the YouTube URLs into Unblock Videos.com, the site Nicolas Dussart posted last week?

https://unblockvideos.com/

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?action=recent;start=90

Since I'm in the U.S., I can't check to see if it works, but it's worth a try.

All best,
Johnm

[alyoung]

I've tried it. It works. It won't do any good if the video's been taken down, but if it's one of those "non-Americans, stay out" blocks ... well, it just slides round that old wall.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any takers for the Tallahassee Tight, Short Stuff Macon and Tom Bell puzzlers?  Come one, come all!
All best,
Johnm

[blueshome]

Can't get Mr Tight.

I'll venture A standard for Shortstuff. No V chord.

Tom Bell, High bass G tuning up at A, played on the lap.

[Prof Scratchy]

Out of action right  now with a wrist fracture - but I'll agree with blueshome from what I hear! Can't access the first video here and can't get the 'fix' to work either. Must be doing something wrong.

[Old Man Ned]

I can't get the 'fix' to work either so I'm just going to have to have a crack at Mister Shortstuff's "No Special Woman" and Tom Bell's "Worried Blues"?.

I love "No Special Woman" and listening to it a couple of days back I was thinking A standard, but was really struggling.  I'm a bit more confident on A standard now though after listening again and suggest the E7 is being omitted.

Worried Blues I'm with Open G and suggest played on the lap as the bass strings sound like they are being fretted with the slide in places, which, though I very rarely play slide, would be easier to do with the guitar on the lap?

[Pan]

Hi all,

Here are my guesses,

I managed to listen to Black Snake Blues with YouTube unblocker.

   * What playing position/tuning did Tallahassee Tight use to play the song?
I?m guessing that he?s playing from the A position in standard tuning, capoed up. I think I?m hearing a long A, and the usual open position E7 chord played a lot, and the bass line has the V note as the lowest on the 6th string, if I?m not mistaken.

   * Where did he fret the fill he plays from :26--:29?
That?s a tough one. I?ll guess that he ?s playing a run in thirds, with the 4th string fretted at the 4th fret, and the 3rd string at the 2nd fret; moving down to 4th string 2nd fret with the open 3rd string; then the 5th string at the 5th fret with the 4th string  4th fret; before returning to the long A chord.

The questions on "No Special Woman" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Mister Shortstuff use to play the song?
I?m guessing E position in standard tuning, capoed up. He seems to avoid the major 3rd note of the I chord, and it would be easier in E position, than in A, I think. This would give the open 6th string the lowest root note of the key as well.
   * What chord normally played in a blues progression is omitted by Mister Shortstuff on "No Special Woman"?
The V chord.

The questions on "Worried Blues" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Tom Bell use to play "Worried Blues"?
At first I was thinking of Vestapol, because of the repeating root-octave-5th bassline, but at 1:05 he?s hitting a low V note on the 6th string.. I believe. At the ending chord, the major 3rd note sounds like it?s on the higher 2nd string, instead of the 3rd string, so I'll say Spanish.
   * Was Tom Bell playing slide with his guitar in the conventional position or lap-style?  Justify your choice based on the sound of his rendition.
Being a terrible slide player, I have no clue! Would it be easier to avoid hitting the 6th string in the conventional position?

Cheers,

Pan

[Johnm]

Hi all,
It appears that everyone who intended to respond to the Tallahassee Tight, Short Stuff Macon and Tom Bell puzzlers has done so, so I'll post the answers.

For Tallahassee Tight's "Black Snake Blues":
   * His playing position was Dropped-D tuning, playing in the D position.  He takes a little while to settle into place there, after a kind of eccentric intro, finally landing in his I chord around the :05 mark.  As he begins to sing, he moves the D shape up three frets, reefing on the second string.  At :15, he plays a partially barred D7 out of the A7 shape, fretting 7-7-7-8 on the top four strings.  For his IV chord, immediately following that, he works out of an F shape on the fourth, third and second strings, moved up two frets to 5-4-3 on those strings, a position similarly utilized in dropped-D tuning by Frankie Lee Sims on "Lucy Mae" and Walter Vinson on "Overtime Blues".  At :26, he resolves back to his I chord, hitting the low D note on the sixth string in the bass. 
   * For his fill from :26--:29, he brushes the second and third strings open, then brushes triplets fretting the third string at the fourth fret and the second string at the third fret, takes the position down two frets and brushes another triplet, followed by a triplet brushing the open third and second strings, resolving then to a D chord.

I'm sorry that so many people were unable to listen to the Tallahassee Tight track.  It's a particularly interesting cover of Lemon Jefferson's "Black Snake Moan".  I'll try to avoid using videos that everybody won't be able to access, and I know the kind that won't work.

For Short Stuff Macon's "No Special Woman":
   * His playing position was E position in standard tuning, as Pan had it--well heard, Pan!  Short Stuff opens the cut by playing an alternating bass from his sixth string to his fourth string, hammering on the fourth string at the second fret and ending up after the hammer with an octave alternation going from a I note on the sixth string to another I note on the fourth string.  It's right under the hand, and everything that follows falls into place after that.
   * Short Stuff plays no V chords in the course of the song, and I think everyone who responded noted that.  Well done!

For Tom Bell's "Worried Blues":
   * His tuning was Spanish.  His approach there is similar to Rev. Edward Clayborn's, inasmuch as both players alternate the bass when playing slide and hit their upbeats on the third string.  He differs from Rev. Clayborn in using the slide to fret in the bass, on the fifth string and Rev. Clayborn pretty much did not venture down there with the slide.
   * I agree with everybody who determined that Tom Bell was playing the slide lap style.  The ease and cleanness with which he was able to move between using the slide in the bass and using it in the treble suggest lap style.  It's especially trickier to do slide moves in the bass with the guitar in the conventional playing position.

Thanks to all who participated and I hope folks enjoyed the songs.  I look for more puzzlers to post soon.
All best,
Johnm   

[Old Man Ned]

I'm a bit more confident on A standard now

and it was E standard for Short Stuff Macon's "No Special Woman".......confidence is a dangerous thing!

Thanks for the answers,
Al the best,
Ned

[Johnm]

I know what you mean, Old Man Ned.  My advice is not to base your choice of tuning/position on the pitch at which a rendition sounds, but rather on the sound characteristics of what is being played, and how you could envision the left hand moving to achieve the sounds you hear--independent of the pitch at which the rendition sounds.  It's relatively rare in this music for playing position and the pitch at which a rendition sounds to match up.  I know that in the George Mitchell Collection, I found a tiny percentage of the performances there in which the playing position and key in which a rendition sounded matched up.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I've got some puzzlers for those of you who are interested.  The first is from Black Diamond, doing "T. P. Railer".  Here is his performance of the song:



INTRO

I left Texas with my woman by my side
I left Texas with my woman by my side
Since I've been livin' here, I can't be satisfied

She left me early this mornin', just about the break of day
She left me early this mornin', just about the break of day
You might have seen me huggin' the pillow, ooo-well, where she used to lay

SOLO

She caught that T. P. Railer, left me standin' in the cold
She caught that T. P. Railer, left me standin' in the cold
I didn't mind her leavin', but she taken Number 4

OUTRO

The questions on "T. P. Railer" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Black Diamond use to play the song?
   * Where did he fret the fill he plays from :41--:43?

The second tune is Riley Puckett's "Fuzzy Rag".  Here it is:



SPOKEN:  Well, hello folks, here we are, once again.  I've got several letters and requests wishing to hear me pick the guitar alone.  Now, I'm going to play for you people first, "Fuzzy Rag", now pay close attention to these runs.

The questions on "Fuzzy Rag" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Riley Puckett use to play the song?
   * Where did Riley Puckett fret the run he plays from 2:41--2:43?

The third song is Arthur Weston's "Long Tall Woman".  Here it is:



INTRO

I got a long tall mama, man, she lives out on that hill
I got a long tall woman, man, she lives out on that hill
Yes, you know the little woman tryin' to quit me, well Lord, boys, but I loves her still

Yes, I got a long tall mama, she lives way out on that hill
I got a long tall mama, well Lord, boys, she lives out on the hill
Yes, you know that long tall woman's tryin' to quit me, but Lord, boys, but I loves her still

SOLO INTERLUDE

Oh Lord, boys, but I loves her still

SOLO

The questions on "Long Tall Woman" is:
   * What playing position/tuning did Arthur Weston use to play the song?
   * Where did Arthur Weston fret the opening phrase of his solo, from 1:37--1:43?

As usual, please do not use anything other than your ears and your guitars to arrive at your answers, and please don't post any answers before 8:00 AM your time on Monday, November 28.  Thanks for your participation and I hope you enjoy the songs.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any takers for the Black Diamond, Riley Puckett, and Arthur Weston puzzlers?  Come one, come all!
All best,
Johnm

[Prof Scratchy]

Still out of action with my broken wrist, so will just hazard a guess at the keys: A, C and E standard?

[Old Man Ned]

Only had time to listen to "T. P. Railer" so far.  I'm hearing A standard and the fill he plays from :41--:43 at the 5th fret, sliding into the 6th fret of the 3rd string, something like:
------5---------------------
----5--8b- 5----5-----------
>6-----------7b---7b-------
---------------------------7--
------------------------0----0
------------------------------

Hope to get some time on the other tunes tomorrow.