Topic: Spreadin' Snake Blues

[GhostRider]

Greetings:

I have a soft spot for this tune, as it was the first old CB tune I tried to rearrange. The original was recorded in 1939 by BB Broonzy in a small combo with piano and drums. The piano takes most of the melodic work.

I tried to retain all the elements of BBB's playing (that I could hear) and work it up to a solo guitar piece.

Again I play too quickly. And Hum! But its got a cool double entendre lyric (autobiographical in my case  ).

Have at me,
Alex

[SteveMcBill]

GR

I REALLY enjoyed that - excellent stuff. A damn good arrangement played exceedingly well. Put a big smile on my face. Thank you.

Steve

[waxwing]

Home sick today so I have a little time to listen more closely, GR.

Your singing and playing continues to become more relaxed. I remember thinking that very clearly at PT last year and it continues here. And that is such a big part of the battle, eh? If you are relaxed, a couple of stretched notes on the top of your range don't bother at all. This one is really great. Can't wait to hear it in person.

There is a little hitch in the IV chord turnaround lick at the end. I can't tell if you are playing the E note on the open E string or the 5th fret of the B string, but you always drop about a third of a beat at that point. I don't know how BBB plays it, but I would suggest trying to do a double pull off on the E string so that you don't have to strike the E note and should be able to smooth out the time. Maybe just a pull off from the F# to the E will do it. It's a tough one and takes a lot of practice to get just a little "pull" from the barre as you take it off and then you have to come right back to get the D note, but it is a lick used by many guitarists. I learned it from Lightnin's Baby Please Don't Go. Hope that feels right to you.

All for now.
John C.

[GhostRider]

Sincere thanks, guys.

BJ: BBB, in the original, plays this riff as a bass run one octave lower. I'm going to try playing it your way and see how it goes. Thanks for the advise.

Alex

[uncle bud]

But its got a cool double entendre lyric (autobiographical in my case  ).

Have at me,

Well, he's spreadin' something, anyway.

Alex - Nice job. I agree with Wax. Smooth out that riff. Also, maybe for variation, throw it into the bass as Big Bill did. I don't know how it sounds since I don't have the original, but I always love his bass riffs.

[waxwing]

Actually, listening again, the lick is in the I chord and no F# is involved. Guess I was "projecting".-G-  But I do think some pull offs could help get the timing better. There just isn't time to strike all those notes.

All for now.
John C.

[Stuart]

Just listened to it as well as to the original. Well done, Alex. As John C points out, you could probably mix things up a bit, but IMHO it's just fine as it is.

[GhostRider]

Hi:

Here's the original (off the Legends of the Blues, Vol. one CD, Columbia CK 46215) for comparison.

Alex

[attachment deleted by admin]

[waxwing]

Right, sounds like he plays that lick in D, capoed up, using the open 4th string similarly to how you are using the open 1st. What seems to make it easier is using the thumb instead of a finger and being able to brush through from the 5th to the 4th, or 2nd to 1st in your case. Using one pull off to the E after the last G keeps the tempo up, too.

Is this the lick: G G E D(brush)E G(po)E D E ? If you played it with the thumb you could switch to a finger right after the pull off and get the bass for the last E.

Boy, I like your version better than the formulaic Chicago combo sound.

All for now.
John C.

[Michael Kuehn]

Really nice job. Enjoy your version a lot.

Mike

[GhostRider]

Thanks, Mike.

Your too kind.

Alex

[GhostRider]

What seems to make it easier is using the thumb instead of a finger and being able to brush through from the 5th to the 4th, or 2nd to 1st in your case. Using one pull off to the E after the last G keeps the tempo up, too.

What makes the bass lick easier than the treble version is that in order to keep the damp on the bass E string, my fingertips are inclined substantially to the strings, making their attack inefficient.

Alex