Blues acoustic "solo" repertoire

[NormanKliman]

Originally Posted by NachoA

...could be recorded by Lomax in that old car?

I’ve read it was recorded in 1941 at Clack’s Grocery because it had electricity. According to this source, the store was in a town called Lake Cormorant, in the northwest corner of Mississippi. The grocery is no longer standing, and Lake Cormorant is very near a community called Clacks. Check it out on Google Maps.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by NachoA

Hi all, well I'm building my first blues repertoire, just me, guitar and voice. I thought it would be easy, we all know tons of tunes, but now I don't know how.

Are there some rules, minimun of songs or any advice? These are some of the chosen ones:

Kindhearted woman E
Nobody knows you when you... C
Walkin blues open G
From 4 til late C
Me and the devil G
It hurts me too D
Im tore down C

Im worried about working in a boring repertoire, guitar and voice could be, because of the dificulty of singing and playing to get a decent interpretation of both. A borrowed list could be apreciatted. Thanks in advance

I notice you've already got a fair mix there: an 8-bar blues (It Hurts Me Too) as well as a tune some would say is not a blues (Nobody Knows You) - but only because it's not a 12-bar! (It's perfectly comfortable in a blues repertoire, and has the advantage of being well-known even among non-blues fans.)

You have a lot of Robert Johnson already, so maybe don't need any more.

No one seems to have mentioned Big Bill Broonzy yet, and he has a huge repertoire to choose from. Key to the Highway and Trouble in Mind are two more 8-bars, but IMO you need some more variety of tempo. Something like All By Myself (even if you have to strum it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzbL8tpGIZ4

or something equally jolly from Blind Blake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8aR4wwJs-0
- and another different chord sequence of course.

or a nice one-chord groove like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx29hxvjPfk

Here's a couple which both feature a very unusual minor IV chord:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_MzmRRVB2w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKfy2W70Qg

Cannonball Blues is another nice one with an unusual form:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqgNSDlVRHE
Tom Rush called his version Solid Gone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD0fROXfDIY

Then there's old ones like this, with jazzier sequences (belongs with Nobody Knows You...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ6w5IlqhSk

It's also important sometimes to have a blues about feeling good!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2ViFwbC0Q
Here's Alexis Korner's version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=judlNuoG454
Or this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAPqGZNtXTE
- if you can manage that whistling, you've got the gig cracked.

[NormanKliman]

I'm guessing you've already got more than you bargained for from this thread. Here’s another that I forgot to mention. I posted about it here some time ago, just to say how much I liked it, and I ended up learning it a few days after that. I’m too lazy to change the guitar’s tuning (it’s in open G), but this one really started to haunt me, so I tuned up and it took all of 15 minutes to learn it from the video.

The video's cued to 9:28 (can't seem to embed it) to the song I learned: Skinny Woman. I think the rest of what he plays is pretty similar, and none of it looks very difficult.

https://youtu.be/BLF-f4kUtAw?t=568

[blue]

Just an overall bit of advice. Lots of artists have songs are extremely similar if not identical in terms of chord shapes and progressions.

As an example you say you know Sweet Home Chicago. Robert Johnson's Sweet Home Chicago is the same song as Kind Hearted Woman Blues So even if you know a different version of Sweet Home, you know "that version" of Kind Hearted Woman.

We think of them as guitarists, but they were singers who accompanied themselves on guitar. You can find the same thing with Charlie Patton, and a host of others. Much like them you can build up a HUGE repertoire, by looking for sibling songs, or at the least cousins. You already know how to play them. You just don't realize it. Edited to add 32-20 blues it's really similar to kindhearted woman.

[yaharadelta]

You might want to approach your list from this perspective, I'd suggest a couple of online sites that cover a ton of acoustic blues songs. Browse them and see what songs speak to you that match your playing style and your vocal style.

Daddystovepipe - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtX...JNTT-Uw/videos
100's of blues videos, some of them are broken out in a lesson format, the man
has a vast knowledge of blues players and styles.


Elijah Wald https://www.elijahwald.com/songblog/
A lot of classic acoustic blues, some folk, he doesn't do anything in a lesson format, but the videos give you a good clean look at the fretboard and what he's doing.

[NachoA]

Originally Posted by NormanKliman

I’ve read it was recorded in 1941 at Clack’s Grocery because it had electricity. According to this source, the store was in a town called Lake Cormorant, in the northwest corner of Mississippi. The grocery is no longer standing, and Lake Cormorant is very near a community called Clacks. Check it out on Google Maps.

I love all this "stories" actually I'm reading a lot of blues literature in English, this could be another interesting post, is hard to find good book in other languages.

[NachoA]

Thank you all for the answers, I'm overhelmed!
Today my idea was to post a final setlist, but after the last post I think it will be a provisional or the first one. Here it is:

- kindhearted woman E
- me & the devil open G o A std
- from 4 til late C o E capo#3
- boom boom E
- catfish blues E
- sittin on the top of the world OPEN G
- nobody knows you when you´re C
- im tore down G
- come in my kitchen open G
- it hurts me too open G
- walkin blues open G
- key to the highway E
- cocaine blues C
- deep river E
- coffe blues A
- house of rising sun Am
- shotgun blues (lightnin') E
- love in vain G
- crossroads blues open G
- stormy monday G

As I said I have to check the new post and hear a lot of music this weekend and maybe complete or change.
I would appreciate it your comment what do you think, they are not ordered, and dont know if there are too many and I have to leave some out and change them.
There are too a couple the I dont consider blues, but I think it would be good for the less bluesy public.
Im a big fan of Clapton and I think that he did a lot for the blues, connecting both black and white blues fans and musicians.
This has been a nightmare to me because has tons of old blues recorded and I dont want to Claptonize the idea. Is important to go to the roots.
Feel free to comment and give ideas,
and once again thanks to all.

[NachoA]

Originally Posted by JonPR

I notice you've already got a fair mix there: an 8-bar blues (It Hurts Me Too) as well as a tune some would say is not a blues (Nobody Knows You) - but only because it's not a 12-bar! (It's perfectly comfortable in a blues repertoire, and has the advantage of being well-known even among non-blues fans.)

You have a lot of Robert Johnson already, so maybe don't need any more.

No one seems to have mentioned Big Bill Broonzy yet, and he has a huge repertoire to choose from. Key to the Highway and Trouble in Mind are two more 8-bars, but IMO you need some more variety of tempo. Something like All By Myself (even if you have to strum it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzbL8tpGIZ4

or something equally jolly from Blind Blake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8aR4wwJs-0
- and another different chord sequence of course.

or a nice one-chord groove like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx29hxvjPfk

Here's a couple which both feature a very unusual minor IV chord:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_MzmRRVB2w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKfy2W70Qg

Cannonball Blues is another nice one with an unusual form:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqgNSDlVRHE
Tom Rush called his version Solid Gone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD0fROXfDIY

Then there's old ones like this, with jazzier sequences (belongs with Nobody Knows You...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ6w5IlqhSk

It's also important sometimes to have a blues about feeling good!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2ViFwbC0Q
Here's Alexis Korner's version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=judlNuoG454
Or this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAPqGZNtXTE
- if you can manage that whistling, you've got the gig cracked.

You're right, I have a RJ serious problem, he is one of my essential pillars.
I'll check all your post and I'll work on it.
Thank you for your time, amazing post!

[NachoA]

Originally Posted by NormanKliman

I'm guessing you've already got more than you bargained for from this thread. Here’s another that I forgot to mention. I posted about it here some time ago, just to say how much I liked it, and I ended up learning it a few days after that. I’m too lazy to change the guitar’s tuning (it’s in open G), but this one really started to haunt me, so I tuned up and it took all of 15 minutes to learn it from the video.

The video's cued to 9:28 (can't seem to embed it) to the song I learned: Skinny Woman. I think the rest of what he plays is pretty similar, and none of it looks very difficult.

https://youtu.be/BLF-f4kUtAw?t=568

I love this guy! I try to learn it, but I have the feeling that at the moment my skills wont let me play a decent singing preformance, Ill save it for later, thank you very much!

[NachoA]

Originally Posted by blue

Just an overall bit of advice. Lots of artists have songs are extremely similar if not identical in terms of chord shapes and progressions.

As an example you say you know Sweet Home Chicago. Robert Johnson's Sweet Home Chicago is the same song as Kind Hearted Woman Blues So even if you know a different version of Sweet Home, you know "that version" of Kind Hearted Woman.

We think of them as guitarists, but they were singers who accompanied themselves on guitar. You can find the same thing with Charlie Patton, and a host of others. Much like them you can build up a HUGE repertoire, by looking for sibling songs, or at the least cousins. You already know how to play them. You just don't realize it. Edited to add 32-20 blues it's really similar to kindhearted woman.

Thats the crux of the matter! These days with all your post I have learned a lot, and I have realized of that, you can use as a strenght the alike between songs.
Thanks for your advice.

[NachoA]

Originally Posted by yaharadelta

You might want to approach your list from this perspective, I'd suggest a couple of online sites that cover a ton of acoustic blues songs. Browse them and see what songs speak to you that match your playing style and your vocal style.

Daddystovepipe - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtX...JNTT-Uw/videos
100's of blues videos, some of them are broken out in a lesson format, the man
has a vast knowledge of blues players and styles.


Elijah Wald https://www.elijahwald.com/songblog/
A lot of classic acoustic blues, some folk, he doesn't do anything in a lesson format, but the videos give you a good clean look at the fretboard and what he's doing.

Thank you! I knew both and are gorgeous! Daddystovepipe has a amazing vision of the classics, and i had forgotten about Eliah, didnt know his web, I will gig ito it on these days.
Thanks for your time!

[NachoA]

Hi! I just find this, amazing! At the moment unreachable, but still working on my list, adding and removing everyday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycbx...1ifRn&index=19