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Chapter 2: Blues Meets Guitar: A Match Made in Musical Heaven
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rhythmic alteration, or rubato, but it’s generally thought of as a phrasing
technique. It’s been described as lazy, devil may care, or cavalier, but it
sure makes the notes sound more bluesy.
The groove that sets the pace
Groove is often used informally to mean “on the mark” or “in sync with,” but
the term refers to the meter, rhythmic feel, tempo, and the instruments’ role
in providing the accompaniment, or backing figures. Several different grooves
exist within the blues:
A shuffle is a type of groove that uses triplet eighth notes with the emphasis
on sounding just the first and third notes played at a medium tempo.
“Sweet Home Chicago” is an example of a song in a shuffle groove.
A slow 12/8 blues (the “12/8” refers to the time signature) is another
type of groove that’s also based on three-note groups, but the tempo is
slower and all three notes of the beat are pronounced. “Stormy Monday”
is a song in a slow 12/8 feel.
A straight-four groove is where the eighth notes are evenly spaced apart,
rather than in the long-short scheme of a shuffle. “Johnny B. Goode” is in
a straight four.
Jump is another groove that is an uptempo shuffle, but it requires a
slightly different approach in phrasing and rhythm.
Given the infinite forms of expression the blues takes, it’s nice to know that at
least from a technical standpoint, only a few grooves need to be mastered to
play most of the blues music out there.
Dissecting an Acoustic and an Electric
Anatomically speaking, guitars come in two sexes: acoustic and electric.
Since solidbody electric guitars do not make sound acoustically, but through
electronics, they have more chromosomes — er, components — than do
acoustics. Some of the functions of these gizmos aren’t even obvious until
you plug in and start messing around with them. So electric guitars may seem
more complicated at first, but really, you learn very quickly what all the stuff
does, and it’s more about technique than anything else.
It’s true, though, that about the only thing that can go wrong with an acoustic
is that a string breaks. On an electric, there are more moving and electronic
parts that are subject to failure, so you have a little more to keep track of on
an electric. And all guitars, being made of wood and moving parts, can go out
of whack and need periodic adjustment to keep them humming and happy.
TEAM LinG