Members Herr Masel Posted March 3, 2006 Members Share Posted March 3, 2006 I've been playing alot of fingerstyle lately, slide, country, blues etc. and I'm improving. I can't believe how much fun all these styles are. But I was listening to this tune by Lonnie Johnson and it completely floors me. I can sort of grasp what he's doing but he's going really fast. I hope you know this tune so that you understand what I'm talking about... you can hear it here, it's the show called sophisticated blues guitar. In fact if you haven't heard it the entire program is great, and there are three other ones you can hear/download for free. Anyway, I can't really hear what his thumb is doing, I guess it's the ragtime piano style, but at his speeds I'm having trouble keeping up. I guess the only way to "educate" your thumb is by practice, so I have something to work towards. What amazes me most is the melodies, sounds like superimposed pentatonics and maybe some regular Dm (I think he is tuned in open D but not sure), but the way he strings seemingly unrelated notes together is amazing, I still can't entirely figure out how to play with that feel this piece has. I guess I didn't really ask a question, but if anyone could explain a little about what he's doing I'd appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted March 3, 2006 Members Share Posted March 3, 2006 Quite by coincidence I am reading a book which has info on this. "Jazz Guitars" , edited by James Sallis 1984 This song played by Lonnie Johnson is explained. Here's the Intro chords: Edim - D#dim - C#dim - Bdim - F#7 - F#7 - B7 The F#7 - B7 chord change is a favorite of Johnsons (per this book). The choruses are briefly detailed in this book. It is mentioned that Johnson plays odd numbers of measures. I'd look for this book in your local library or possibly it is available at a bookstore. This book is an anthology of the development of Jazz guitar. Quite interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Herr Masel Posted March 5, 2006 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2006 Thanks, I listened to the radio program again and he mentioned that Lonnie is tuned in regular tuning with the low E dropped to D, which explains stuff. I was trying to play it with a more lead playing approach as you usually do with open tunings, rather than play chords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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