Topic: Son House's Guitar Playing-Queries and Tips

[Rivers]

I think I have led us both astray, it does not appear to be in either of the Grossman books. Oh well. I learned the basics from a Terry Robb & John Miller Delta Blues class at Port Townsend '97(?) and figured out the rest from the LoC \ Rounder record. Great piece, interestingly if you can play it you can play Sam McGee's Railroad Blues pretty much.

[cc132]

I've decided to finally tackle some Son House.  He's one of my favorite bluesmen - "Jinx Blues" (both cuts) is one of my favorite songs.

I've found a video on Youtube of a guy playing Jinx competently, so I'm going to watch it and try to get it from there...does anyone have recommendations for where else to go?  I'm generally alright with picking up songs by ear, so general Son House-esque technique would be great.  His right hand is...daunting, to say the least.

[LB]

There are a couple of key songs that in my opinion really capture his style and the motions required to play them are pretty easy to understand. Once you learn the sequence of his pick, slaps and how they work into the up and down sweeps-brushes then you are basically there except for playing them a thousand times. I've even gotten to the place I can fit Son House licks into other songs and even with standard tuning. His open D licks transfer nicely to the key of E in standard. Death Letter Blues is in G, Shetland is in D. Those two will really get you on the track. I have created free and paid lessons on those because they do such a great job of nailing his style but if you ever need a nudge, advice on this feel free to ping me. Just to try to energize and motivate you... there is one guy I helped learn this. He said he'd been trying most of his life to play this stuff and he has some issues learning standard lessons, tabs. I managed in no time to get him playing Son House and the simple moves and pieces made sense to him once broken down. Anyway, great path and it will be a nice foundational style for your skillset.

[Mr.OMuck]

If you want to learn to play Son House songs, concentrate on what his face is doing.

[Mr.OMuck]

Face.

[Michael Cardenas]

Don't let them take my magic jacket

[CF]

For a non-slide Son tune, in E, one must recommend his excellent 'Depot Blues' from his LOC recordings in the early 40s. A really cool guitar piece & relatively simple to understand, maybe not so easy to execute.
If you're hoping to sing Son House stuff along to the guitar music . . . well good luck there 

[cc132]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.  I'll look into the recommended songs, and practice my tormented blues-singer face in the mirror.

I'll definitely look at "Depot Blues" - can anyone recommend any other songs in standard? 

[dunplaying]

I have been wrestling with Death Letter for some time and every version of the drive lick that I have seen seems to lack something. I do not have an ear but I think that Son House mutes the 6th string with his thumb at the second fret and mutes the 1st and 2nd strings with his third finger for the first stroke of a seven stroke lick. Upwards for the first then down then an upward strike while fretting the 6th string at the 3rd fret. Then I feel he hammers a partial barre lifts hammers again and finally plays the 5th fret 1st string with his slide.
I think I will get a guitar and check that.
The rhythm I hear as akin to a steam train setting off from the station.
I would dearly love to know exactly what he plays.

[dunplaying]

I knew I would get it back to front. After 6th string 3rd fret , perhaps  with the thumb, open 5,4,3 strings then hammer a partial barre at 3rd then lift and then slide to 5th on 1st.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I merged two threads, one on "Depot Blues" and one on Son House's playing in a more general sense, into a single thread on Son House's playing.
All best,
Johnm

[DerZauberer]

I'm a HUGE Son House fan - and I really enjoy the songs that seem to come "out of nowhere": Many tunes Son recorded can be tracked back to very few "stems" - e.g. Death Letter/My Black Mama/Walking Blues, that's one "family" of songs. Then his basic "Delta Blues that" you find in songs like Levee Camp Blues and many others. I still think the original "County Farm" is probably his best guitar work ever! Nothing really fancy in regards to notes played, and it's deeply rooted in the Patton heritage, but that rhythm with the clean piercing slide lines is so very hard to play.

But... then there are songs like "Pearline" or "American Defense" or "Am I Right Or Wrong" - reminiscent of other artists and songs and styles, but wildly different from the "basic" Son House style. One can only wonder how big his repertoire of these songs was.

Anyhow - the one song where I really have no clue as to what's going on is "American Defense". It sounds like it's in standard, but the waltzy rhythm etc. really throw me off. Does anyone have a clue as to the basic chords?

The only piece of advice I could find here (http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=10274.msg88440#msg88440) is "It's in A position, mostly played out of D7 shaped chords moved up and down the neck." Can anyone light another couple of torches for me to show me the path?

[chickenlegs]

Hey DerZauberer, after reading your post ? had a quick listen to "American Defense" ? hadn't heard it for a long while and never tried to play it before. It's a great tune! Sorta pop, but with a blues feel ? in the shifting 7ths (or parallel 6ths on the 1st and 3rd strings). It seems to be pitched at Ab (if my guitar is tuned to pitch??) I approximated it by capoing at 4th fret and playing out of E position (although Son could have been tuned flat and playing out of A position) using the D7 shape at 4th, 3rd, and 2nd frets from capo, resolving to a 1st position E chord. Haven't sussed out all the details but will put it with the long list of songs I'd like to work on. I'm sure there are many here that could be of more help with the details. Hope this helps some.

[Johnm]

Hi DerZauberer,
Son House did play it out of A position in standard tuning.  He's moving between A and E7 in the first part of the song, opening with parallel sixths on the first and third strings at the ninth fret down to the eighth fret, back up to the ninth fret, resolving to the sixth fret of the third string and fifth fret of the first string (out of an F shape on the top three strings at the fifth fret).  After a similar phrase that goes melodically up to the tenth fret of the first string, he then does a similar move out of E7 (C shape), going from the seventh fret of the first and third strings down to the sixth fret, back up to the seventh fret, resolving down to the fourth fret of the first and third strings (E7 out of a D7 shape).  Get in tune with the recording and you can figure out anything else he does on the tune by ear.
All best,
Johnm 

[DerZauberer]

Great starting points for me guys - given me some homework for the next few weeks. Thank you very much!