From: spb0457@zeus.tamu.edu (SubGenius)
Subject: Re: Looking for a Blues riff
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 20:12:00 GMT

Felter <CWF102@psuvm.psu.edu> writes...
>Any help would certainly be appreciated on the following matter... I need a
>simple blues riff to write a song to.  It's not in any way a serious song.  It
>is entitled "The Low Down and Dirty, Evrybody Hates Me Blues".  It's an attempt
>at humor on my part.  I've got some lyrics written down, but I need a tune.  If
>anyone could jot down a tab of a "I've got those (blah, blah, blah) Blues" kind
>of song I would be forever grateful.
>-stymie

+------------------------------------------SubG--------------------------------+
Depends.  Here's a couple of my favourite blues tricks.

The stereotypical intro:

|---9------8------7----5-
|------------------------ ...or a similar riff elsewhere on the fretboard.
|-9---9--8---8--7---7--5-    This bit can be played once or twice, then
|------------------------    another blues cliche:
|------------------------
|------------------------


|--5--5--6--
|--5--5--6--  Or any of the kindred sounds.
|--5--5--6--
|--4--4--5--
|-----------
|-----------


Yer basic rhythm bit can be played about a skillion ways.  Here's a couple:

|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|  
|-------------------------|-------------------------| ...you get the idea. 
|-------------------------|-7--7--9--9--7--7--9--9--| Again, the pattern can
|-7--7--9--9--7--7--9--9--|-5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--| be moved almost anywhere.
|-5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--|-------------------------|


|------------------------------|------------------------------|
|------------------------------|------------------------------|  ...ditto.
|------------------------------|-2-2--4-4--2-2--4-4--2-2--4-4-|
|-2-2--4-4--2-2--4-4--2-2--4-4-|-0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0-|
|-0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0--0-0-|------------------------------|
|------------------------------|------------------------------|


|------------------------|------------------------|
|------------------------|------------------------|
|------------------------|-2--2--2--2--2--2--4--2-|
|-2--2--2--2--2--2--4--2-|-0--0--3--4--0--0--0--0-|  ...and yet again.
|-0--0--3--4--0--0--0--0-|------------------------|
|------------------------|------------------------|


One of my favourite repeated figures is:

|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|-4/5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-|-1/2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|-----------------------|
|-4/5-5-7-5-5-7-5-5-7-5-|-1/2-2-4-2-2-4-2-2-4-2-|-1/2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-1/2-2-4-2-2-4-2-2-4-2-|
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|

..u.s.w.

For soloing, I generally build around one of the scales, like:


|-------------------------------------5--8-|
|-------------------------------5--8-------|
|----------------------5--7--8-------------|
|----------------5--7----------------------|
|-------5--6--7----------------------------|
|-5--8-------------------------------------|

The similar scale in the tenth position is one that I use a great deal,
also (more or less, just add 5 to all the numbers above).




Off the top of my
head,
Yours etc.,





SubGenius
Newsgroups: alt.guitar