# Music by Genre > Jazz/Blues Variants, Bossa, Choro, Klezmer >  Getting into blues mandolin

## CDVA47

Any thoughts on the best way to cut one's teeth on blues mandolin? Books to read and play through, artists to listen to, etc.?

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## neal

http://www.jimrichter.com/
Page may be a little slow, but hey, so's blues sometimes.

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## Hans

Ry Cooder, Johnny Young, Martin, Bogen and Armstrong, Yank Rachel.

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## brown akers

Mandolin Blues - From Memphis To Maxwell Street
by Rich Delgrosso - Hal Leonard Corp.
Great book of not only tunes but the history of Blues in America, basic blues theory, performance notes on the tunes and the players, including all the performers Hans listed above. Rich is well known as one of the very best contemporary blues mandolin players. The 8-bar and 12 bar examples and the various blues scales are great for starting out but there is some really complex stuff that should challenge anyone - highly recommended.

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## Wendell Jeong

> Any thoughts on the best way to cut one's teeth on blues mandolin? Books to read and play through, artists to listen to, etc.?


I'm just learning some blues scales now.   It has taken me about a year and a half to get there.   I play guitar and the 5 note minor and major blues scales are much easier to locate and remember on the guitar.  The stretch accross the fret board is much bigger on the mandolin.  What I did was to record some 1, 4, 5 twelve bar on my guitar and loop them so I could play to the chords over and over.   I did this in Am and Em.   The Gamblers Blues song in the Hal Leonard Fretboard Maps book also helped to give me an orientation to a 3 chord blues progression in Gm.   If you are familiar with St James Infirmary, the chords are basically Em B Em C B.   The 2nd time thru end on the Em, the notes to the melody are almost all the notes in a standard blues progression in Em.  I hope this helps as this was very frustrating to me not to be able to play the same progression as I could on my guitar.   

Wendell

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## JeffD

> Any thoughts on the best way to cut one's teeth on blues mandolin?


Get locked up in prison, have your wife and your mistress and your girlfriend meet you during the same visitation hour, and find out your cell mate knows your wife.

 :Crying:

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## Rick Schmidlin

> Mandolin Blues - From Memphis To Maxwell Street
> by Rich Delgrosso - Hal Leonard Corp.
> Great book of not only tunes but the history of Blues in America, basic blues theory, performance notes on the tunes and the players, including all the performers Hans listed above. Rich is well known as one of the very best contemporary blues mandolin players. The 8-bar and 12 bar examples and the various blues scales are great for starting out but there is some really complex stuff that should challenge anyone - highly recommended.


This book is a must, rich in history and Richs playing is great. :Mandosmiley:

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## mandozilla

What everyone else said and listen to Bill Monroe too!  :Grin: 

 :Coffee:  :Mandosmiley:

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## Shelby Eicher

O.K. Learn how to play your 213 - 7th chords, there are 2 of them. Learn your turn arounds and leave out the zippy-do-da notes. That's it. The rest is to challenge yourself to not to sound like a white suburbananite. Oh, and listen to the classics - Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Taj Mahal, Big Bill, etc. That's the best advice I can offer you. 
Shelby
P.S. You could always try a cool Blues name like Les White or Lame Willie Johnson but it won't make you play better.

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## bluesmandolinman

> The rest is to challenge yourself to not to sound like a white suburbananite.


 :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing: 

actually that´s not the rest but the major part  :Cool:

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## Steve Cantrell

Jim Richter has some good blues turnarounds on his site right now, and quite a number of Youtube videos with some of his blues techniques. He's an excellent blues picker that blends some elements of the Monroe style into his playing--at least to my ear. Definitely worth a listen, and probably a good person to seek some advice from.

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## Mike Herlihy

> The rest is to challenge yourself to not to sound like a white suburbanite.


I know about the blues last night my Château Blanc '68 was supposed to be served slightly chilled! It was room temperature! :Mandosmiley:

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## Perry

There's all types of blues mandolin. Starting with the originals (Yank, Carl, Ted, Johnny) is a good foundation. If you are thinking of the old style of blue mandolin I think THE most important thing is to listen to the originals and then try and mimic them; you don't really need TAB for this and even if you had the TAB you would still need to listen to the music and try and get your fingers to mimic the sound you are hearing; this nuance can not be TABBED. 

This CD is a great introduction

http://www.amazon.com/Mandolin-Blues.../dp/B000003ORG

All the sources mentioned above are good. Also Steve James who I think nails his blues tremolo has (2) DVD's on Homespun; the first one is a great all around introduction to blues mandolin. Ry Cooder also really gets the old blues sound going in his playing. Rich DelGrosso's last album has some really great playing on it.

And finally for a bit of a different take on blues mandolin this booklet has some really cool ideas in it. 

http://www.astute-music.com/shop/pro...roducts_id=116

Here's the author playing one of his tunes:

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## gda(v)e

> Mandolin Blues - From Memphis To Maxwell Street
> by Rich Delgrosso - Hal Leonard Corp.
> Great book of not only tunes but the history of Blues in America, basic blues theory,


...

Rich does workshops throughout the country.  If you get a chance to attend, I highly recommend it.  He's an excellent instructor and his classes are really fun.

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## CDVA47

This is a fantastic list - I clearly have my work cut out for me! Many thanks, all.

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## bluesmandolinman

> And finally for a bit of a different take on blues mandolin this booklet has some really cool ideas in it. 
> 
> http://www.astute-music.com/shop/pro...roducts_id=116


That´s Michael Reichenbach who is here on the cafe too.
He has another publication I would recommend : Variety of Blue
Check his website : http://www.mandoisland.de/eng_index.html

Indeed some cool ideas. Very different approach to Blues Mandolin.

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## hank

Check out the thread 10 blues turnarounds in E. Jim and Rich are planning a workshop together.   :Chicken:  :Chicken:  :Chicken:  :Chicken:  :Chicken:

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## Mandostringer

I'm in an americana band with a STRONG emphasis on blues. Our guitarist is a fingerstyle country blues guitarist (a la blind willie McTell). Obviously, no one's going to learn any style of music without listening to it intensly. However, I have found that (assuming yer ear is experienced at learning that way) the best way to learn new styles is to closely assymilate with an experienced player in that vernacular. It gives you the opportunity to hear (and see) how certain phrases are placed, and the different inflections that are indigenous to certain musical and geographical contexts. In short: Find some blues cats and jam with 'em. I'm a blues purist, but I find these various delta style blues idioms to be particularly well suited for the mandolin (and just a stones throw away from some good ol' honky-tonk!) also, if you know how to read sheet music, there's all sorts of great transcriptions of Rev. Gary Davis and the like out there. It'll definately give you your beginners mind back as it takes some VERY creative interpretation to adapt some of those drop-tuning dead-thumb licks to a mando's range, but the opportunities are endless!

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## Don Stiernberg

Don't forget Rich DelGrosso also writes a column on blues mandolin for Mandolin Magazine, in addition to renowned workshops, excellent recordings and performances, and private lessons via computer.
 Check out his site and one way or another he will lead you blues on the mandolin. He performed with the masters, learned his lessons well and is a great guy who can get the music over every which way.

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## ald

Rich DelGrosso and Jim Richter, in their different ways, are the best thing since sliced bread, as far as blues mandolin are concerned

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## Ken Olmstead

Rich is *THE* authority when it comes to blues mandolin! He is a great teacher and a truely nice guy. He has hung out and played/learned first hand from many of the greatest blues mandolinists of all time! His book would be a great starting point and if you want to eventually be the "real deal," lessons from him over the internet is truely an advantage of modern technology! May do it myself...

Mr. Richter is no slouch and judging from his videos on the subject, is an excellent teacher as well!

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## journeybear

> ... The rest is to challenge yourself to not to sound like a white suburbananite ...
> P.S. You could always try a cool Blues name like Les White or Lame Willie Johnson but it won't make you play better.


I'm sorry - who's playing the blues these days? White suburbanites! I say, embrace this, as Martin Mull did:

I woke up this afternoon
Saw both cars were gone.
Said I wake up this afternoon
Saw both cars were gone.
I felt so low down deep inside
I threw my drink across the lawn.

Also, this is a good read: The Blues Explained

Finally, I _did_ try a blues name, Mandolin Steve, and it's only gotten me so far.  :Mandosmiley:  Seems people have a hard time pronouncing "mandolin" for some reason. And people are always asking me, "What's your last name?" To which I reply, "Steve."  :Wink:  No one seems to get it.  :Frown:

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## JonZ

I think if anything this list illustrates the dearth of blues mandolin learning material.
Rich Delgrosso is good, but I dont like how a lot of the songs in his book are in the style of exercises, created by Rich, rather than actual songs by a blues artist (at least thats the impression I getcould be wrong)
Steve James is also good, but you get about 5 songs per DVD.
James Reichman is good (and free!), but content is limited.
Compared to how many materialssongbooks and methodsare available for bluegrass and old time mandolin, the pickins are pretty slim when it comes to the blues. I think a 50 Blues Tunes Every Suburban White Boy Should Know would fill a great demand. (In fact I recommended just such a project to Steve James, and it sounded like it was in the works.) I know that when I bust a blues tune at our local jam, everyone lights up: Hey, no chopping!

For now I use my little Tascam DR-1 to slow down the original recordings and learn from them.

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## JimRichter

Thanks to those that recommended me.  It's much appreciated.

Some clarification:  

Rich and me aren't doing a workshop together.  I'm sponsoring him for a mandolin camp here in Bloomington, IN the weekend of December 4/5th.  More details to follow.  It's too early to send out a notice yet.  Will do so early August.  However, there will be a gig that weekend where I will lead (on guitar) his backing band.  That'll be a blast.

About Blues Mandolin (as a genre of mandolin music)--A treatise by Jim Richter:

I think  there is an inherent problem in the discussion of blues mandolin.  

Because, as someone said, blues mandolin is such a small nook of the mandolin playing universe (especially in terms of education), it is easy to consider blues mandolin as one cohesive style.  Not true.

If I get into a jam with Blues guys (or maybe I just want to discuss Blues music), I need to be specific about the style of Blues I'm playing.  Because, again, all Blues is not the same.

For example:  west side Chicago, south side Chicago, Memphis, Delta, North Mississippi, West Coast Swing, Texas, Swamp (Excello), Piedmont, country blues, rock-blues, Kansas City, etc.,

All those styles of Blues are very different--some are similar, but each has its own different interpretation of the blues shuffle, how time is manipulated, choice of blues scale, etc.  

The trapping of Blues Mandolin, as I said, is that it is a style firmly rooted in the country blues playing of Carl Martin and Yank Rachell, and its only as modern as Yank's later playing and especially the playing of Johnny Young.

Rich--more than any other player--has the deep blues history, the teaching chops, the apprenticeship with the masters, and the name recognition.  And this is no knock to Rich, his playing stays firmly rooted in blues mandolin repertoire, especially the playing of Johnny Young.

What has been said about Rich can be said about Steve James or Ry Cooder, but in a much more limited sense.  James, I think, is a much better National steel player than mandolinist, and his style is rooted in country blues.  Cooder is rooted in country blues.

Gerry Hundt totally has the Chicago Johnny Young style down.  

Bert Deivert--excellent blues mandolinist rooted in traditional and established blues mandolin style.  

As far as myself, my overwhelming drive has been to *broaden* what one understands blues mandolin to be.  It is more than the playing of Yank Rachell or Johnny Young.  And, no offense to Rich because I love him as a person/player/educator, it can go beyond his Hal Leonard book or James' DVD.

I love horn players and the guitarists influenced by horn players:  Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Hollywood Fats, Jr. Watson, Rick Holdstrom, Kid Ramos, Freddie King.  I love the slinky west side playing of Magic Sam and Otis Rush.  I love the swamp/Texas rock of Jimmie Vaughn and Slim Harpo.  

In my playing I strive to introduce new ideas and concepts to blues mandolin playing, while still having a respect for tradition.  I love Diving Duck, but I'd rather play Robert Cray's Phone Booth or Freddie King's San-Ho-Zay.

So, in my opinion, to advance blues mandolin playing--especially in terms of education and repertoire--it necessitates moving ourselves beyond the style of Johnny Young.  Take the time to transcribe a BB King or Guitar Watson solo for mandolin to get you rethinking position, note choice, how to get sustain without use of tremolo.  

As I've told several Blues-purists (many of whom are my friends), blues is not a museum piece.

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## hank

"In my playing I strive to introduce no ideas and concepts to blues mandolin playing, while still having a respect for tradition." 


Jim am I misreading the word new where no is located?

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## Eliot Greenspan

I think I read once that Rev Gary Davis said he was just trying to approximate what the piano was doing. He made it his own. Others (Jorma included) tend to copy Rev Gary like a museum piece. But then listen to what Barry Mitterhoff does on mandolin on top of/along w/ Jorma. Beautiful stuff. And hell, I think he's coming out of a bluegrass/klezmer background, from what I can tell.

In addition to all that's been said before and above, just get down and play, whether out jamming w/ friends or strangers, or playing along to records... or record an endless background track of a simple 12 bar blues and accompany yrself.  

p.s. add on to the well-deserved praise for Jim, Rich, Steve, et al, and Yank, Johnny Young, Howard Armstrong, Carl Martin, etc before them

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## JimRichter

> "In my playing I strive to introduce no ideas and concepts to blues mandolin playing, while still having a respect for tradition." 
> 
> 
> Jim am I misreading the word new where no is located?


yep, corrected it.

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## JonZ

What Jim says is all well and good, but I think us beginners need more foundational materials before we start pushing the edges of the envelope. I started with the basic traditional repetoire in old time and bluegrass and am now just nudging the envelope here and there occasionally. Steve Kaufman has published approximately 3872 songs every mandolin player should know, but there are probably less than 30 blues songs available from Rich, Steve and Jim (God bless 'em) combined. 

For some of us being able to play like Yank or Johnny would be worthwhile goals. For those with loftier goals, learning to play like Yank or Johnny would give you a great foundation to go further.

More repetoire for us book-learners is definately needed. :Crying:

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## lespaul_79

If you have Netflix, they have the Steve James double DVD on Blues Mandolin. Great stuff. 

I agree with all the above mentioned. Don't forget about Monroe, who could be the 1st blues mandolin player. Perhaps I need to read the Blues Mandolin book from Rich Delgrosso.

Dawg can play them good ole blues too.

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## JimRichter

When I say I want to expand repertoire, it doesn't mean actually adding individual songs.  Again that defeats want I want to do.  

I'm trying to show that anything you want to do is accessible.

I hate songbooks.  I'm more interested in teaching concepts you can use to create your own repertoire.  That's where something like Nile's Fretboard Roadmaps or Ted's Getting into Jazz Mandolin are great books because they teach you a way to look at the fretboard conceptually.

I'm not looking to add another tune to a list that includes Diving Duck.  I'm looking to deconstruct the list.

And, this is accessible to the beginning student.  

When I teach a new student, I find out what they want to study and use this as a starting point.   If someone wants to learn Neil Young on the mandolin, I'm not going to start with Bill Monroe and make them learn Blue Grass Stomp.  I may very well take notions from Bill Monroe to teach them, but I'm not going to make them learn his tunes.   The same is true in blues:  if I want to learn to play like BB King, I don't have to start w/ Robert Johnson.  It's great to know who Robert Johnson is, his contribution, etc.  But I don't have to study his style of playing.

The "notions" are basic concepts that can be taught in a variety of situations:  box patterns, double stops, etc.  

Rather than learn a tune, I'd rather show a beginner box patterns like on my website (or in Niles book or Ted's book) and work those into the song they want to learn.

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## Perry

> If someone wants to learn Neil Young on the mandolin, I'm not going to start with Bill Monroe and make them learn Blue Grass Stomp.


Indeed; give them the fishing pole and not the fish. 

Also that fella Sam Bush can play some mean blues; check the other thread where he starts with coincidentally, Bluegrass Stomp, but takes it many other places.

Gerry Hundt; boy he does got that Chicago sound down!

As long as we're mentioning blues players, Orville Johnson lays down some tasty stuff on the "Deceiving Blues" CD.

Jim: nice thread and TAB about turnarounds; I just added one of my favorites over there.

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## JonZ

> .I hate songbooks.


That's interesting. I do a lot of exercises with picking, scales, arpegios, etc., but learning a blues lick in the context of a song seems to get not only the lick, but the concepts behind the lick into my fingers better. So I can take the lick apart and reconstruct it for later use in other contexts. I think it is the musicality of playing songs that makes things stick better for me. A song is the ultimate mnemonic device, you are attaching concepts to something meaningful and memorable.

Plus, I started out as a singer, so I am song oriented. The words are just as important to me as the licks. :Mandosmiley:

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## journeybear

This great mandolin showcase contains a slew of classic blues riffs. Learn this, you'll be well on your way!  :Mandosmiley: 

Sorry, no tab. You realize at some point you're going to _have_ to learn by ear. Might as well get started ...  :Whistling:

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## Soupy1957

> Any thoughts on the best way to cut one's teeth on blues mandolin? Books to read and play through, artists to listen to, etc.?


I just try and migrate to whatever CD's I may have that have Blues on em, or YouTube for videos of Blues, 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw04y_xm1zs

or even the music channel for Blues on my Cable T.V., and play along.  

At the local monthly Jam I go to, there is a blend of music, which includes Bluegrass, Jazz, Old Time, Country, and Blues......I tend to hang with the "Old Time" group, but every once and a while, I'll head to where the Blues is wafting through the din, and play there for a while.

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## hank

All Right Soupy!  That's more like it.  Let's grit our teeth and make some noise.
 :Chicken:  :Chicken:  :Chicken:  :Chicken:  :Chicken:

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## jsboley

I'm still a beginner, but I have had the Steve James videos for some time and think they are an excellent introduction to the blues mandolin: 

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Play-Blu...7154215&sr=8-3

I would also recommend getting some Yank Rachel CDs and reading about him. I've seen Rich Delgrosso and he pretty much pays homage to Yank at every opportunity. Met Jim Richter at a mandolin festival this year and he is a super-nice guy too.

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## ald

We will have have to gang up on Jim Richter and compel him to write a blues book or a DVD something for mandolin (for a handsome reward of course) but not a beginner's book please, one for people like us who can play the instrument to some extent but do not have Jim's creative skills to put what we know to good use. Building upon the lessons, and hints he's already offered us (the box patterns, double stops and so on). 

Jim and Rich are the men as far as I am concerned. Rich also has the voice of course. I dearly love the way Jim veers towards serious sounding blues. Because a lot of mandolin blues performers seems to err a bit on the comical side at times. They appear to have a touch of ragtime or a jugband element that lacks the bite that attracted me to the blues in the first place (Stones to start with,  leading onto oh, I dunno, Josh White, Muddy Waters, BB. King to name a few). Jim's playing definitely has that sharp edge.

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## journeybear

> Because a lot of mandolin blues performers seems to err a bit on the comical side at times. They appear to have a touch of ragtime or a jugband element that lacks the bite that attracted me to the blues in the first place ...


Ain't nothin' funny bout this - except maybe that shirt  :Wink: 



And here's some serious jug band music featuring yours truly - mostly fills, but something like a solo begins around 3:00. And yes, it's a Leiber/Stoller tune, but it's a blues. Just so you understand, though there is a popular conception these days about jug band music being a novelty item (and lawd knows novelty tunes work well), speaking as someone who has been involved in it for a quarter century, it's as serious as you want to make it. 

Hmmm ... not uploading. For the time being go to my myspace page and click on Down Home. Meanwhile, try this other one. No mando - slide tenor steel guitar - but it ain't no joke.

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## Chris Willingham

I just watched the Steve James disc 1 on Tuesday night. I enjoyed it and got quite a bit out of it. There's a fun little blues boogie-woogie on it that I have been playing constantly since. Most of it is applicable to bluegrass, also. Planning on knocking out disc 2 this weekend. 

And thanks for posting the turnarounds, guys!

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## bluesmandolinman

> Because a lot of mandolin blues performers seems to err a bit on the comical side at times.


what ?  :Disbelief:

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## bluesmandolinman

hey journeybear

here is again Mandolin Boogie but with real musicians - ok not as fast as the jukebox but still rocks

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## 250sc

> O.K. Learn how to play your 213 - 7th chords, there are 2 of them. Learn your turn arounds and leave out the zippy-do-da notes. That's it. The rest is to challenge yourself to not to sound like a white suburbananite. Oh, and listen to the classics - Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Taj Mahal, Big Bill, etc. That's the best advice I can offer you. 
> Shelby
> P.S. You could always try a cool Blues name like Les White or Lame Willie Johnson but it won't make you play better.


OK, I have to ask.....What is a 213 - 7th chord?

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## journeybear

> hey journeybear
> 
> here is again Mandolin Boogie but with real musicians - ok not as fast as the jukebox but still rocks


Yes - I've seen that before. Not bad, and nice to know I'm not the only one who remembers this, the B side of "Guitar Boogie," from many, many years ago ... but I chose the original for instructional purposes, because it's got maybe two dozen classic blues riffs all slammed together in one easy to digest package.




> OK, I have to ask.....What is a 213 - 7th chord?


I saw that, and wondered myself  :Confused:  till I got out my mandolin and saw it's one of the basic 7th forms (diminished, really, as it has no root), such as 4657 (E7). If you play 213x that's F7, and I extrapolated from there. But that fingering pattern shows up in 7th chords all the time - like 2243 A7 - so that's th three major barre chord groups.

Go back to the 4657 (E7) for a minute. If you play that 6 as a half-step hammer-on and the 5 as a full-step pull-off ( that is, pinky on 7 then pull of to reveal 5), you've pretty much got the riff from CCR's "Born On The Bayou." Much fun to be had there. Just sayin' ...  :Mandosmiley:

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## 250sc

LOL. Ooooh........A 213 chord.

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## mandopops

I'm enjoying all the Blues Mandolin talk. I used to see Johnny Young around Chicago every so often way back when. I really like him becuz I like his singing as well as his playing. I shared a bill w/ Martin, Bogan & Armstrong couple times also way back when. I like Carl & he's not a straight Blues player.

 Charlie McCoy could play in diverse settings from the McCoy Bros.- to Memphis Minnie-to the Harlem Hamfats, all great. Monroe of course, & his singing isn't just High & Lonesome,he's a Blues Shouter.

Let's not forget the "Great One" Jethro Burns. He loved the Blues. He told me the Blues form "...is perfect, you don't need to mess with it." (A message to the Be-Boppers?) He has Blues in his books, lessons, and recordings. He recorded Dukes' "C-Jam Blues" w/ Homer, Venuti and on his own solo recordings. He did "Corrina Corrina" w/ Steirnberg. My favorite, "Sitting on Top of the World" on F-5 Electric over a straight-ahead shuffle on his "Jethro Burns" LP. He could sit in with the Chicago Blues cats if he wanted.

 That's on Mandolin, of course I love Bird, Coltrane, and the greatest of all Louis Armstrong playing & singing. I love the bend note guitarists from B.B to T-Bone, but also listen to Lonnie Johnson & Charlie Christian. Their lines don't require much bending and sound great on Mandolin.

Howlin' Wolf & Blind Willie McTell. I just had to include their names becuz I love their stuff. That' all.

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## bluesmandolinman

> I used to see Johnny Young around Chicago every so often way back when. I shared a bill w/ Martin, Bogan & Armstrong couple times also way back when.


lucky you !

allways when I read comments like this I am so jealous

I need a time machine so bad

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## ald

"Comical side at times".  A thousand pardons, I  sincerely didn't mean to disparage anybody's taste, tread on anybody's toes. I should have been a bit more careful and said that I personally am not too keen on that jugbandish style even though obviously loads of people are with good reason, no doubt. Comical was ill chosen. Jaunty is probably nearer the mark. Sorry, I meant I like this and of course you like that, which is how it should be.

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## JimRichter

I don't hate "songbooks" (fiddle tune books, tab books, etc), per se.  In fact I like songbooks.  However, I've taught too many mandolin students--who started out with someone else--that only knew 10 songs and couldn't do anything else--play back up, improvise, arrange, etc.  Those were the 10 songs in the songbook.  

I believe theory, concepts, patterns, etc. need to go hand in hand with those songs as they learn them.  Sneak them in, if necessary.  Break down those tunes, and show how they work.  

I like tunebooks, however, sometimes, I think they give too much of the answer without explaining how they got it.  I preferred it (and still do) when we used to sit for hours in front of a turntable slowing it down to figure out riffs.  In the process of developing the ear, we learned a lot along the way.

I just want to reiterate, I'm not putting down any of my blues mandolin brothers, as we are a small group and we need to be supportive of each other.  I feel that since  my bag is different than the majority of those discussed, I need to speak a little louder to advance my own perspective on the discussion.  

I definitely don't see any blues mandolin as being comical, but some of the country blues stuff does have a lot of hokum/ragtime to it.  That's not me.  I wouldn't call what I do serious blues, as it's all serious.  

I see myself as a modern day Johnny Young, trying to come up with ideas to stay current among electric urban guys.  Johnny Young played around a lot with Little Walter, and both his guitar and mandolin style sounded like it.  He sounded like he was a natural fit playing amongst Robert Jr. Lockwood or the Myers in the Aces.  His mandolin playing reflected his contemporaries in Chicago.    I'm trying to keep up with those playing contemporary blues today.

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## mandopops

Blues talk. Hokum/Double Entendre style is meant to be comical. That's fine. The alternative term is usually "Deep' Blues. Muddy said that Albert King's blues were "Deeper " than B.B.'s. A good Blues performer could do both. Besse Smith & Charlie Patton were certainly deep blues singers who could also toss in a comic number as well. Blues can be comic &/or good time. Louis Jordan anyone?

 I think Charlie McCoy backing Ishman Bracey is deeper blues than Coley Jones & the Dallas String Band. No put down, just a different style. Now, I've been a stone blues fan for 40 years & love it all from Kansas City to the Piedmont, but when the kazoo rears it's head I can only take so much.

 I like what Jim was saying about Johnny Young. I think of Chicago Blues of that era, as Delta Blues amplified & urban. Yet, I don't think of Johnny in the Little Walter style. I know they played & recorded together, but I think Walter had a new vision.( Were getting away from the Mandolin here) Wolf & Muddy will always have a big piece of my blues heart, I saw them live & loved them, but Walter was different. When Walter was recording w/ Muddy, Leonard Chess kept him on a tight rope, he was playing in that amplified country style. Even "Juke", Walter's 1st hit, was still in the Muddy vein,after all Muddy & band were backing him. When Walter broke out he took The Aces(Louis & Dave Myers w/ Fred Below) away from Jr. Wells & then his approach changed.

 Did The Aces more swinging sophisticted harmonic approach change Walter or vice versa. I think both. Were they different? The story is that when Little Walter & the Jukes were playing the Apollo the audience was blown away, They expected and old-style blues band because of the harp & got a full jump-blues sound. When Robert Jr. became the guitarist it carried on.

 Now, on Johnny's "I Can't Keep my Feet from Jumpin'"LP, Johnny is backed by the same Louis Myers. My point, when you get that kind of back-up it really sets you up & Johnny responds well.

 Last bit. Back when I used to grab my Electric Mandolin & go down to the Southside, The Checkerboard & Theresa's were still around. I was lucky to jam w/ Sammy Lawhorne , one of Muddy's former guitarists, a couple of times. He played in the Louis/Robert Jr. back-up style. Man, did I sound good. I know! Believe me! I know I had lots of help.

 I wish I had a time machine too. Memories fade & at that time too many brews...

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## thesubliminalman

I stumbled into Jim Richter Route 69-blues mandolin on youtube and haven't been the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMs8...aynext_from=PL

Who is this guy, I love this stuff !!!

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## barney 59

> lucky you !
> 
> allways when I read comments like this I am so jealous
> 
> I need a time machine so bad


Most of us that are in the position to make those "way back when" comments are actually jealous of you and need a time machine more!

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