Finger AND phrase every note like it was your last you'll ever play
Also, check out Albert Collins.. the Iceman!

Quote from: StephenGilesOh wise folks of the Former Colony of the British Empire - do tell me what's special about Texas Blues. I have this vision of some old guy with no teeth, playing an out of tune copy telecaster, sittin' under the X in Texas. In England, blues is blues is blues!

Until fairly recently most indigenous American music had a strong regional identity. During the Big Band heydey, each region had an identifiable style, and this was true for other types of Jazz and Blues. Texas blues has a different style and feel than Chicago blues. The old guy with no teeth image is not  terribly accurate for Texas Blues. Many Texas blues performers were famous for fancy suits and wild stage antics, such as one guitar player sitting on the another's shoulders, while they stroll into the audience with super long cords, trading licks back and forth. Picture this guy with his hair dyed to match his suit instead:



The blues is not monochromatic at all

Kerry M

Hey my band played El Mocambo on the last day of them being in business!
He he. Heritage...

See what it can do. I used to do this alot when I was younger. You can increase your strenght and range by excersizing your vocal chords/it's analagous to body building/strength training.
 Many noteworthy vocalists are not 'good' singers, but can use the voice as an instrument to portray a feeling or attitude [sometimes] more effectively than 'good singers'.
 We had a singer that could hit all the high notes of DIO or AC/DC etc., but sang like he didn't understand what the lyrics were written about...innate ability [range] and technique are secondary to portraying a interesting vibe, IMO.
 Many noteworthy 'singer's...[vocalists] have limited ability in terms of range, even pitch accuracy, these quilities aren't absolutely necessary for an excellent vocal performance.
 Find the ranges you can stretch to hit, and the tones that fit your voice, I'm often told" "Sing This" and reply ...ok...'I'll try it'...always looking for more material I can use and portray vocally, ...and screening for ones I'm well suited for vocally...A "Real' singer chooses his or her own 'territory'.

Quote from: StephenGilesOh wise folks of the Former Colony of the British Empire - do tell me what's special about Texas Blues. I have this vision of some old guy with no teeth, playing an out of tune copy telecaster, sittin' under the X in Texas. In England, blues is blues is blues!

Dude??? That's like saying," Rock is Rock". I suppose if you only like classical or opera, then rock is rock, but if you like rock then you know it comes in a million different flavors.

Your question also reminded of the quote "Talking (or is it Writing) about music is like dancing about architecture".

Texas Blues IS special, as is Chicago Blues, Gospel Blues, Country Blues, Cajun Blues, Gut-Bucket Blues, .................. e.t.c.

If you are a blues fan all the flavors ARE special. There are a thousand great "Texas Blues" bands, many of which are listed in this thread, but I stand by my opinion. If you want to SEE the defining performance of the style known as Texas Blues then SRV "Live at el Macambo" is what you need to watch. He incorporates many styles of blues but the way it is played and performed is very Texas Blues. I urge any guitar player, blues fan or not, to watch this performance.

So StephenGiles, if you are just smarting off then I'm sorry for wasting my time, but if you are really curious then cross that great divide and study up on the many flavors of American Blues.

Here's a great link Harry's Blues Lyrics & Tab  http://blueslyrics.tripod.com/

I point this out because it has a Blues Language Dictionary. http://blueslyrics.tripod.com/blueslanguage.htm#the_blues

I mean do you really know what it means to "Dust my Broom" or what a "Killin' Floor" is? Maybe but how about Ballin' the Jack?

Sorry about getting long winded. I know this is a DIY effects forum and not a music forum. I just have a passion for this stuff.

-RD-

Rain Dog - no, I just try to see the lighter side of life and it always makes me laugh to read about so many different categories of what, at the end of the day, is really one type of music. Having just trawled through the Eurovision Song Contest which was dominated by Balkan disco....well need I say more? Actually, I suppose the bluesness of being hard done by originated in the slaves your side of the pond, and now it is completely mixed up with other roots. My reference to that particular Cream bootleg is for a reason, which is that it was a gig in November 1966 shortly after EC left John Mayall, and to my ears he had reached his peak in power blues guitar. I saw him perhaps 5 or 6 times at the end of 66 and early 67 before his playing changed into the extended solos more usual in Cream out of which came possibly his most famous solo in Crossroads.

QuoteI'm gettin' up soon in the mornin' I believe I'll dust my broom

I always thought this was a euphemism for doing the ‘hand jive’…nudge nudge, know what I mean?!  :wink:

Balkan disco - Well you've got me on that one....

These micro genre's can get pretty ridiculous that's for sure. When asked what music I like I usually say Experimental neo-Pagan Noise Gospel and Honkey-Punk. Then I just smile blandly like I just said something perfectly mundane. I actually do like punked-up country tunes like the stuff Hank III (Hank Williams III) does and as for the other, hopefully it doesn't really exist.

Quote from: Rain DogBalkan disco - Well you've got me on that one....

The Eurovision Song Contest has to be seen to be believed. A good fifty percent of the time you watch it slack-jawed thinking that it can't get any worse...but it always does (last year the UK entry sang the majority of their song in a DIFFERENT KEY to the backing!!!). The other fifty percent of the time you're falling off your chair laughing. I'm reminded of one entry (Greece?) a couple of years ago where the group were dressed like Orwellian thought police and sporadically broke out into military drill-type 'manoeuvres' in time to the...er, 'music'.

A truly awful experience...but I wouldn't miss it for anything!

Hi.
This is a common problem and most people seem to have provided relavent advice.  But can I say that I personally follow a different path.  At one time a fellow named Jimi Hendrix (ok this is not just about Texas blues) was saying the same thing.  He didn't want to copy people, he told people not to copy him.  One guitar teacher I had used to refuse to tech me ANY "licks".  The idea is that to REALLY do something with music, you gotta do it YOURSELF.  BB King says to "fool around with scales, playing them endlessly until something "clicks"".  I think that's a really good idea.

Also, although great blues players had many influences, they usually only did 2 things with them - 1. added something to their own, well-defined style, and 2. got inspiration from the "feeling" and "tone" (ie NOT the notes).

I think Pete Moore said

QuoteWe had a singer that could hit all the high notes of DIO or AC/DC etc., but sang like he didn't understand what the lyrics were written about...innate ability [range] and technique are secondary to portraying a interesting vibe, IMO.

In summary, most guitarists I hear would be better off playing half as many notes, not playing someone else's "licks", and playing every single note with twice as much feeling.

But heck, I'm a really sh** player. :wink:

Half hour programme about Lightnin' Hopkins

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?r2_blueslegends"

My favourite CD by him is Lightnin' And The Blues: the Herald Sessions (Buddha records).  Shambolic, reckless...but perfection is boring and the man could boogie!

A bit of remote viewing helps.
 Also, if you have a surprize experience like seeing your closest partner, your very beloved brothers 'end scene', which involved a stretch of rope, and his face just above the loop facing you...oh yeahhh that'll kick the 'licks' in like you've never heard...I'm talking about a blue that really hurts. WHAM/Notes you don't have a clue about abound...light bulbs pop or turn themselves on...now that's is the kind of blues that seems to make perfect sense, for a moment at least...a collage of related/unrelated phrases that capture absolute horror, and joys of memories.
 With absolutely no doubt it's his spirits influence, finally being able to play the guitar the way it is 'supposed' to be played. You cannot rely on this to pump out hits though !!!
 PLayed for attentive people, the question arises..."What happened there", and questions about the 'event' get asked.
 It's a one shot deal, I tried and tried to reproduce/recreate the 'live band' feel I'd made by myself in the bedroom with the Motif' Workstation and the "haunted' EZ Vibe...[with auto 's weep fade'mode 'mistake] Only one recording I did actually sounded just like a clairvoyant live band keying off eachothers nuanced cues...way beyond coincidence how that turned out...on the first shot, but the  second, third, fourth, fifth  were way 'behind the curve', when compared to the  first multitrack recording of the musical representation of the event...I think I could try a thousand times, and none would equal the take made during the frenetic information flow.
 Oh Yes, an event like this WILL inject Blue directly into you, if you let it, how the hell could I not let it???...It's very hard to describe what happenned there, and there's no way back.
  Just have to wait till a catastrophic event takes place,,,you'll have more blues than you understand or can really deal with,,,with such a powerful flow of positive and negative vibe swings like that, you can't miss.  :cry:
 My advice is: Don't wish for it, it is simply the contrast of the silver lining on a very dark area, something way too real to bejust 'dreamed up'.
 When pain follows everywhere you go, a way to transcend must be found.

Try figuring out some of Scott Henderson's lines. Brainteasing and very tasty. A lot of what he plays is blues based, but his approach is a lot different than the average guitar player. He is one of my all time favorites.