Topic: Mississippi John Hurt's Guitar Style--Queries and Tips

[Johnm]

Hi Matt,
"Blue Harvest" was played out of E position, as you surmised.
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

Funky Butt was discussed a page back and several years ago. I've listened to it for years and not paid much attention, but I just realized it's John Hurt's version of Buddy Bolden's Blues.

[Rivers]

Hmm, you're right, and I hadn't noticed either.

[snoot]

I was looking to learn Frankie, but couldn't find any tabs that matched the 1928 version, so I tabbed the beginning myself. He plays it with a capo on the 4th fret, and is slightly below standard pitch.

It's just a handwritten scan, thought it might be of use to people here so here it is

It's a bit scrappy, sorry.

I think he plays a lot of open strings along with the main melody to fill it out, but I've left those out for the most part.

[Annabel]

Hello everyone,

I just started learning Spike Driver's Blues off of John Miller's instructional video (excellent, very clear instruction and a relief from that tiring thumb F chord on Freight Train!). John plays it precisely (thank goodness!) for teaching purposes, and he doesn't mention it in the video, but when I listen to the footage of John Hurt playing it, it sounds like he's hitting extra strings besides the specific bass notes and melody notes to give it an almost strumming quality. Am I hearing/understanding this correctly? It almost sounds like he has a driving rhythm player strumming behind him as he plays.

Here's the video:

[Norfolk Slim]

Its subtle, but I certainly agree on that recording he is pushing the thumb through a little and catching some 3rd string when playing the fourth- especially, perhaps, on the c chord sections.

Funnnily enough I'm working on this one at the moment as well.  One of those tunes I've always enjoyed but never got round to getting into my fingers. 

[orvillej]

You're exactly right, he doesn't just hit a single string always but will roll his thumb across two or even three strings at times. It does give a driving sound that does, indeed, sound like two guitars playing. Just one more awesome thing about Hurt's playing!

[Annabel]

Great! Glad to know my hearing for this music is improving! John Hurt is a joy to listen to.

[Annabel]

Hi everyone,

I'm learning "You Got to Walk that Lonesome Valley" from John Miller's DVD and I'm curious about the muted notes in measures 5, 7, & 9 (see attached screenshot?I tried inserting it directly into the post but couldn't figure out how) I've carefully watched and listened to the video of MJH performing the song (see )and he does it over and over again, so it can't be a mistake as I had originally thought. Any theories as to why he did it that way? I've tried substituting some bass notes that make sense in place of those muted notes and it sounds fine that way to me too, but I want to give his way a fair shake first to see what I can learn from it.

Cheers,
Annabel

[orvillej]

Just a guess (since we can't know why he did anything, because he's not here to ask), but it looks like those muted notes are taking place while he's playing the high notes on the first string. Perhaps the angle of his picking hand changed slightly causing the muted notes. That, or the way he moved his left hand to hold the fretted notes and inadvertantly dropped his fingers down a bit to cause the muting with that hand. I think the most important thing to glean from it is the power of the rhythm he gets with his thumb and the fact that the occasional muted notes still have a percussive quality that maintains the flow of the rhythm. Thruout the course of the entire piece it's the flow of the rhythm that's most important and the muted notes don't interrupt that at all.

[Johnm]

Hi Annabel,
I suspect that John Hurt did the muting because he wanted the little clicky articulation and the rhythmic weight that picking the muted string gave the rendition, but he did not want the pitches he would have gotten if he had fretted the muted notes so that they sounded.  John Hurt was not altogether averse to his treble taking his bass for a ride, and in some instances, e.g., "Spider, Spider", he ended up with some really wonky sounds by utilizing that approach.  I think he just didn't think it would be suitable for "You've Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley".  As Orville noted, the muted notes don't impede or weaken the rhythm in any way.
All best,
Johnm

[Annabel]

Thanks, Orville and John. It's a sound that's going to take a bit of getting used to for me, I tend to like it better with the bass notes added in, but I've learned it both ways so I can experiment with it. The muting is certainly is a good way to keep the rhythmic drive going while avoiding certain bass notes. Thanks for mentioning Spider, Spider, John. I'm listening to it as we speak. It's interesting that it's also a song that uses traveling, which I guess is one of the primary situations where one might encounter unwanted or inaccessible bass notes.

[uncle bud]

I like when Hurt does this, and his bass is often more irregular then his overall style would initially suggest.

[Mr.OMuck]

Hi Annabel, a good thing to look at is how John Hurt holds his guitar and what's going on in his shoulders and his whole body movement. Its all in a coordinated groove that adds a propulsive quality to his playing. It may sound silly but its a good thing to try to imitate while practicing. It may open some doors for you.

[Annabel]

Thanks, Mr. OMuck. I noticed that and I do try to move like him, though I'm obliged to do it at a slower tempo for now.