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Author Topic: Bo Carter's Guitar Style--Queries and Tips  (Read 50019 times)

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Offline Rivers

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Bo Carter's Guitar Style--Queries and Tips
« on: February 14, 2004, 01:48:36 AM »
Anyone play this? I stumbled into the main theme just now and it sounds good on 6 string banjo, G-up the neck to B flat Dim. I have it on vinyl but my turntable is bust.

Any insights gratefully received pertickly the second time he plays '...babe I want you to know', what's the chord on 'know'? What tuning is he in?
« Last Edit: October 29, 2012, 05:58:22 PM by Johnm »

Blind Willie Pace

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2004, 06:08:57 AM »
I can tell you that the tune is played in open G tuning...it is difficult for me to explain any more than that without the use of pictures.  Main chord is G string 7th fret-B string8th fret-e string-9th fret   the second chord-the "know" chord is G str-9th fret-B str-8th fret-E string 8th fret.  But honestly there is no simple way to explain this tune coz it is literally played up and down the neck.  It is, like a lot of Bo Carter's songs, more harmonically sophisticated than you'd think just listening casually.  I can always email you a scan of the chord positions for this one if you'd like.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2004, 09:36:21 AM »
Hi,
I think Bo actually played "I Want You To Know" in his slightly altered version of Open G--DGDGBE.  Seeing Sam Chatmon play in this tuning a lot made me realize that it was what Bo used for virtually all of his Open G sounding stuff.  It works great because the top four strings are the same as they are in standard tuning so all the shapes there remain intact from standard.
The place you are asking about, Mark, goes from a D shaped G chord at the seventh fret, then holding your position with your ring finger on the eighth fret of the second string, switch to the sixth fret of the first string with your index finger, and the ninth fret of the third string with your little finger.  Lemon used this same sequence of chords in the up-the-neck portion of "Rabbit's Foot".  The remainder of the tune is pretty much just moving A7 and D7 shapes up the neck.
All best,
John

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2004, 10:33:25 AM »
I'm gonna live dangerous and side with JohnM's ear. ;D For some reason I thought John taught this on his Bo video but went and checked and it's not on it. Paul Rishell did teach this at Port Townsend in Bo's altered G tuning. It's quite simple this way, everything falling under one's fingers nicely. Once you try it you'll never go back.

Oh, and welcome to weeniecampbell.com Blind Willie! (just noticed the first post indicator)
« Last Edit: February 14, 2004, 10:35:23 AM by uncle bud »

Offline GhostRider

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2004, 10:48:37 AM »
Hi Rivers:

Some years ago, Woody Mann took a stab at tabbing "I Want You to Know" out in this book "Six Early Blues Guitarists" (originally "Six Black Blue Guitarists"). I don't know if this book is still in print. If it is not, I could scan the TAB into a file and post it, if your interested. It would at least give you a starting point.

Great song BTW.

Also, in Johnm's comment he intimates that "Rabbit's Foot" By Blind Lemon is played in Open G or some variant thereof. I have always played it in Open G (I learned it from S. Grossmans TAB in "Ragtime Blues Guitarists), but elsewhere I was informed it is in Standard A. Any comments?

Alex

Offline Johnm

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2004, 12:04:20 PM »
Hi Alex,
I expressed myself poorly re Lemon.  I should have said he played the same lick up two frets in A standard tuning.  The left hand on the lick is exactly the same in "I Want You To Know" and "Rabbit's Foot" is exactly the same, except that it is two frets higher in "Rabbit's Foot".  Apart from "Jack o' Diamonds", I don't think Lemon ever played anything in either Spanish or DGDGBE, although he did several pieces in A standard position tuned low.
All best,
John

Offline GhostRider

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2004, 12:30:23 PM »
John:

Thanks for the clarification.

BTW I listened to First Degree Blues (on vinyl) last night for the first time in a few years, and it still sounds great.

Alex

Blind Willie Pace

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2004, 03:33:42 PM »
I guess I've been playing this tune for so many years in open G (as tabbed by Woody) that I can't fathom learning it any other way. Oh well, I can't argue with Mr. Miller, he's my idol anyway.  This could have been all cleared up John, if you had put out a Bo Carter book 20 years ago!!!!!
I have never stopped listening to your early work on Blue Goose and Rounder.  I went so far as to master them from vinyl onto my hard     drive so I could burn myself some travelling cd's for the car.(way before their Japanese release).
Another Bo Carter tune that is played with all the similar positions is "The Law's Gonna Step On You".

Offline Johnm

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2004, 08:11:00 AM »
Hi all,
In fairness to Alex, Blind Willie, and any of the rest of you who have had experiences like this, I originally played a number of the Bo Carter tunes in Spanish--"Who's Been Here", "I Want You To Know", "The Law's Gonna Step On You", and some others.  "Who's Been Here" should have told me something, because it required a five-fret stretch from an index finger barre.  Generally when you encounter something that hard, the original player didn't do it.  Also, in Spanish, the little runs Bo plays at the end of the bridge in many of these songs have to be free-handed--they fall very awkwardly.  In his G tuning though, you can just do an index barre and work right across the fretboard.  I don't know if I would ever have figured out Bo's G tuning had I not met and spent time with Sam.  Part of the problem is that everything that Bo did in G tuning can be done in Spanish--it is just a Hell of a lot harder.  In this case, what passes for my expertise really amounts to having run into the right person, Sam.
I remember John Jackson talking about how he broke strings like crazy trying to figure out "Police Dog Blues", not being aware that Vastapol tuning existed!  Despite the potential for "wrong" solutions, I still think learning by ear is the best way to learn this music, because even if you make a "mistake", you've just learned something different.
All best,
John

Offline Rivers

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2004, 07:26:28 PM »
Thanks everybody, quality feedback as usual. Will resume, using your ideas, when I get back from work.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2004, 08:22:58 AM »
Hi Alex and Blind Willie,
I got so wound up in the question-answering mode that I forgot to say thanks for the good words.  I'm always glad to hear that someone likes those Blue Goose recordings.  That's getting to be a while ago, you know.
All best,
John

Offline Rivers

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #11 on: February 24, 2004, 09:54:41 AM »
Been working on this intermittently, now in Bo's altered open G tuning. The tips you guys posted were excellent.

Remembered I'd bought the double Document Bo Carter The Essential... CD a while back and not put it in my Audiofile catalog, so I have the recording after all.

There are two versions on the CD, "I Want You to Know" and a faster shorter version with additional lyrics called 'Don't Do It No more'.

For the lyric record:

I Want You To Know - Bo Carter

[intro instr verse]

1. Babe I want you to know, Babe I want you to know
That way you been doing, Lord baby don't you do it no more

2. Babe I want you to know, Honey I want you to know
That way you been givin', Lord baby don't you give me no more

[Bridge]
'Cos I'm a stranger here, just dropped in your town
Ain't none of these women, Lord, turned me down
They're cryin' "Baby, Honey, ...."

3. Babe I want you to understand, Honey I want you to understand
I don't mean you no more good, now please get your 'nother man

[Instr verse 2 times]
[Instr bridge]

[Repeat verses 1, 2, bridge, & verse 3]

Will post some more later on some of the chordal moves I theorize might be going on.

Offline GhostRider

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #12 on: February 24, 2004, 10:39:23 AM »
Howdy:

I was just thinking, Bo's altered Open G tuning (DGDGBE) is the same tuning the Lonnie Johnson used for much of his early work, in the Key of D. I wonder if Bo picked the tuning up from Lonnie's records and then adapted it to the key of G, the same as I've seen some players play (with great effect) Key of A tunes in Dropped D tuning.

Alex
« Last Edit: February 24, 2004, 10:42:45 AM by pyrochlore »

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2004, 08:21:22 PM »
For the lyric record:

I Want You To Know - Bo Carter

[intro instr verse]

1. Babe I want you to know, Babe I want you to know
That way you been doing, Lord baby don't you do it no more

Just poking in on this thread again with a minor lyrical difference:

I hear "That little you been doing..."

Quote
2. Babe I want you to know, Honey I want you to know
That way you been givin', Lord baby don't you give me no more

That little you been givin', Lord baby don't you give it no more


Yves

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Re: Bo Carter's "I Want You To Know"
« Reply #14 on: June 19, 2004, 02:47:41 AM »
I was with Woody a few weeks ago.
Despite he tabbed "I want you to know" in open G many years ago (see 6 black blues guitarists) Woody's now playing this song in DGDGBE tuning.
When we talked about, Woody said that keeping the 1st string in E instead of down to D is much easier as you can keep the same chord positions on the first 4 strings, you can play easily in key of D (as Lonnie Johnson used to do, most of the time) or in key of G as Bo Carter did very often...and it sounds great.

 


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