Having "the blues", to play it with "feeling" !

Rigsby

This subject comes up a lot in other forums. I'm interested to hear your opinions on it. While there could be some truth in it, I dont believe it's essential. I dont believe all good blues musicians have major upheavals in their lives, apart from the normal ups and downs. Besides, if it were true, then a musician would have to try and "become" sad right before a gig, in order to play well. Miles Davis said when asked this, "I'm rich, my mama's good lookin' and I can play the blues". Also, how would "sad" musicians cope with the more uptempo happy "blues" songs.

I think it's a case of trying to identify with the song (regardless of your frame of mind) and putting your own stamp on it.

herbieflowers

Nah, you gotta be Negro or you ain't got soul!

Murphyt

I think when it comes to playing a cover you have to feel something for the song and like you say put your own stamp on it, I don't believe you have get low down every time you play the song, but you should have played it at least once with some emotion and found the way you like playing it and try to replicate that for each live performance, at least try to reach in and pull something out of yourself that replicates the original feeling.

When it comes to writing a song it's kind of the same except you should really be feeling the song when creating it regardless off whether its upbeat or sad, but the thing to do is find how it plays best for you and replicate it on stage. I think anyway!

Rigsby

Thanks for your input Murphyt. I agree with you. With blues in particular, it needs to be played with feeling. I've seen lots of good (technically) blues bands who can play a song perfectly, but they are only going through the motions and the feeling does not come through. While it's great to see/hear a blistering blues guitar solo played at break neck speed, I think the key to playing with this elusive "feeling" (apart from your state of mind) is to keep it simple. IMO, with blues, a little is a lot.

herbieflowers

It's not enough for it to be played with "feeling" (which is a tad arbitrary), imo. The listener has to be able to connect somehow, I've seen lots of guys / bands play with feeling, blues or otherwise, and sometimes, it just doesn't do it for me.

Rigsby

herbieflowers wrote: »

It's not enough for it to be played with "feeling" (which is a tad arbitrary), imo. The listener has to be able to connect somehow,

The listener has a better chance of connecting when it's played with feeling than when not IMO. Of course, if blues is not a person's cup of tea, they wont connect no matter how it's played.

Murphyt

I think you will only play with feeling if you are connected to the music, and if this is the case then the listener will become connected unless of course as rigsby stated its not their cup of tea in the first place. The thing is to be honest and enjoy what you are doing, you can pretend to feel it by pulling faces or worse syncronising a jump (rock style of course you dont see too many blues jumps), which I have seen done and sweet holy god its awful, but if you cant enjoy it then you are going through the motions and I see enough of that in work without going to a gig to see it.
In another point it is easier said than done to put the feeling into it, personally I play few gigs and its hard to get my attention away from making a mistake instead of playing like I would in practice or more so at home where you can really lose yourself, I suppose thats the key to be relaxed enough to lose yourself and hopefully bring the crowd with you, I heard someone once say "get out of your own way and jam".

Rigsby

Murphyt wrote: »

In another point it is easier said than done to put the feeling into it, personally I play few gigs and its hard to get my attention away from making a mistake instead of playing like I would in practice or more so at home where you can really lose yourself, I suppose thats the key to be relaxed enough to lose yourself and hopefully bring the crowd with you, I heard someone once say "get out of your own way and jam".

Agree 100%. I play bass in a blues band myself, and you are right, it is hard sometimes when doing a gig, to just relax and let the music flow. I suppose it just comes naturally to the blues greats because generally they started playing when they were very young.

Setun

I was in a quartet once, when I heard the critiscism: "Your guitarist is too white!" What an odd thing to say.

Anyway, I do think that some people do have an aptitude for playing improvised music, as the blues often is. Adding in syncopated short riffs in response to a vocal line, or changing the snare rhythm, or walking the bass, you need to be able to listen to what's around you and spontanteously break from what you were playing. I think that happens most naturally when you're in the middle of a great gig, you're completely relaxed, and you're just enjoying the music as it happens. Then you can't help but play with feeling

Murphyt

Yeah its true that it requires a naturally ability to improvise but i think before you can really relax you need to play a good few gigs so that you can forget about the technical parts and also get used to having people looking at you (at least hopefully there are people looking at you), once you are comfortable infront of people then your natural abilities and feelings will come through.

The colour thing comes up far too often in blues and jazz etc, total pile of poo, everyones soul is the same colour (purple ha!) regardless of the mundane shade of the outer shell.

stevejazzx

Rigsby wrote: »

This subject comes up a lot in other forums. I'm interested to hear your opinions on it. While there could be some truth in it, I dont believe it's essential. I dont believe all good blues musicians have major upheavals in their lives, apart from the normal ups and downs. Besides, if it were true, then a musician would have to try and "become" sad right before a gig, in order to play well. Miles Davis said when asked this, "I'm rich, my mama's good lookin' and I can play the blues". Also, how would "sad" musicians cope with the more uptempo happy "blues" songs.

I think it's a case of trying to identify with the song (regardless of your frame of mind) and putting your own stamp on it.

I would agree with you somewhat but just add in one thing - inflection. The way some people play and feel a certain note at a certain time. The feeling you can get into a note by plucking it in a certain way at a certain distance from the bridge etc. There's a massive difference in how people play the same notes! even in classical music. But in blues it's the association a players mind make upon hearing what he is doing - and by association I mean that music can kind of pull emotions out of you you never really thought had and make you relate notes and sounds to certain moods etc. That's what it's all about I tihnk, the real great players therefore are always able to quickly get in touch with with they feel.

Stratocaster

Great posts! I have been lucky enough and have a good few gigs under my belt.
The thing with playing in front of people is tough at first every song seems like 20mins and the less people there is looking on the harder it gets. Over time that goes away and it really is'nt a big deal, mistakes will continue to be made. Its best not to do the whole "cliche" look to the person who made the mistake! that just highlights the problem to everyone attending and the bands confidence will lower, just laugh it off and pay no attention. The chances are the people will hardly notice.

As you get confident and comfortable you tend mess about a bit and try new things, sometimes it can be even out of boredom due to repetition of the same songs. I think thats when the real feeling starts to come out. Your concentration will shift from "whats the next chord" to "that chick looks good" or "wonder whats for dinner later". Thats when you got it, your minds freed up and you play according to thoughts during each moment.

I've over come the whole playing infront of people but I find the hardest place to insert feeling into a song is in the studio....

As soon as the record button is pressed, all I have learned, everything I know, all my feeling, the whole lot out the window!

Murphyt

I know the feeling when it comes to recording, even just some simple recordings I have made with the band just so we have something to work on, I will have some new song I'm working on and it lets say requires a certain rhythm or its played a definate way and when the record button is hit I lock up a bit and concentrate entirely on the fact that it's being recorded instead of getting the groove. Practice practice practice I suppose.

squibs

Looking at one of the original masters, BB King - his thing is to mix major (happy) and minor (sad) pentatonic scales into one hybrid scale that he uses on much of his stuff. The thing - is he plays happy blues and sad blues with the same scale - and sometimes the inflection he puts on a song will make it sound jaunty one night and lost the next. It's the damndest thing.

Stratocaster

squibs wrote: »

Looking at one of the original masters, BB King - his thing is to mix major (happy) and minor (sad) pentatonic scales into one hybrid scale that he uses on much of his stuff. The thing - is he plays happy blues and sad blues with the same scale - and sometimes the inflection he puts on a song will make it sound jaunty one night and lost the next. It's the damndest thing.

Correct and right, major pentatonic over the I chord, then minor pentatonic over the IV and V chords then finish the licks off with a sixth string root note 12 frets up. Thats the BB King formula.