Welcome to the home of the NCFBS Beginner’s Blues Circle
We are very happy to announce that we will again host the NCFBS Beginner’s Blues Circle on Monday, 27 July. Once again the good folks at B-Side Vintage (601 S Main St, Gainesville, FL 32601) will be providing a meeting place for us. The Circle runs from 6:30 – 8:00 pm, and will focus on the materials listed below. If you have any questions please direct them to drjules@ncfblues.org. If you’ve got any tunes you’d like to learn, please do the same.
This Month’s Material
After a bit of reflection, we decided to pick three classic blues tunes that are perfect for jams: Robert Johnson’s Sweet Home Chicago, the Elmore James tune It Hurts Me Too, and Jimmmy Reed’s Baby What You Want Me To Do. Below are links to the original recordings on YouTube. Lothar & I will provide instructional video commentary on these tunes in the near future. I’ve also added a video for beginning bass players who would like to learn some blues patterns.
| Link | Commentary |
|---|---|
| Sweet Home Chicago - Robert Johnson | Note that the original lyrics do NOT match most of the modern versions. Most of the cultural references in his original versions are lost to most modern listeners. |
| Sweet Home Chicago - Cover | Lothar & I made this video for y'all to play along to, with notations about the key, chord changes, & turnaround. |
| It Hurts Me Too - Elmore James | This tune was originally by Tampa Red, but James was one of the first pioneers of electric slide (along with Muddy Waters). Many people have covered this song, including Eric Clapton on his From The Cradle album. |
| Baby What You Want Me Do - Jimmy Reed | This tune is cool, not just because it's a the embodiment of a classic blues shuffle, but also because you can hear Jimmy's wife singing in the background to help him remember the words. Jimmy was famous for his consumption of adult beverages. |
| Baby What You Want Me To Do - Cover | Lothar & I made this video for y'all to play along to, with notations about the key, chord changes, & turnaround. You can also observe Lothar's soloing strategy from two angles. |
| 6 Basic Blues Bass Patterns | Here's a video laying out 6 basic blues lines for Bass. On-screen tab included! |
| Blues Bass Turnarounds and Walkups | Here's an additional bass video about how to put the pieces together in a more interesting manner. |