BB King

TINMAN82

This is probably obvious to those that have mastered it and I’ve certainly heard many a comment about his feel in the past.

But my god, BB had a knack for beautiful and unique phrasing, timing and note choice.

I bought the tab book for live at the regal and am working my way through the 24 bars of soloing in Sweet little angel. It’s not “technically” difficult as such but it’s damn difficult to properly match his phrasing and feel.

Lewy

For me he’s first and foremost one of (if not the) greatest blues singers of his time and everything flows from there. His guitar phrasing comes from the fact that he’s singing with his guitar.

TINMAN82

Lewy said:

For me he’s first and foremost one of (if not the) greatest blues singers of his time and everything flows from there. His guitar phrasing comes from the fact that he’s singing with his guitar.

Very true. The seamless way he mixes major and minor pentatonic is awe inspiring.

Justin Sanderco did a mini series on major pentatonic recently which inspired me to learn a bit of BB. It’s opened my eyes for sure.

p90fool

Anyone who tells you it's obvious because they've mastered it is lying.

springhead

Yes, he had a fine singing voice and also sang through his guitar.  I was lucky enough to see him live several times and it was magical on every occasion.  I remember at one gig his piano man was in mid solo and BB threw in a single beautifully timed, twisted, shaken note that really hit an emotional spot and his piano man faltered very slightly.  Hit him as much as it did us out front.

sweepy

There is seemingly a desire to learn the notes and not they way they are created and phrasing, pick control and articulation seem to take a back seat

TINMAN82

springhead said:

Yes, he had a fine singing voice and also sang through his guitar.  I was lucky enough to see him live several times and it was magical on every occasion.  I remember at one gig his piano man was in mid solo and BB threw in a single beautifully timed, twisted, shaken note that really hit an emotional spot and his piano man faltered very slightly.  Hit him as much as it did us out front.

I saw him in Edinburgh in 2011. No doubt his abilities were diminished by that point (in his mid 80’s) but I was just privileged to breath the same air. It’s taken far too long to knuckle down and properly learn some of this stuff. 

HAL9000

In a similar vein,  I've recently been working my way through a handful of Peter Green solos and I think the same thing applies - not too difficult to play all the right notes in the right order but practically impossible (for me at any rate) to even get close to his touch and/or phrasing. Even if I do manage it, I find that five seconds later I can’t do it a second time. Some people's natural sense for things like phrasing is truly astonishing. 

Lewy

Another thing with BB which I think a lot of aspiring blues guitar players miss is that he was very influenced by non-blues music. He cited Django as being his biggest influence from a guitar point of view, and adored Pavarotti. 

Nikc

Surly just an overrated hack - well to this forum anyway.

Not to me

ChuckManual

I have absolutely mastered four of BB's five key techniques. They are; (1) Putting the guitar on, (2) Plugging it in, (4) Unplugging it, and, (5) Taking it off again.

The third aspect (the actual playing) still eludes me however. I've only been trying for forty years though, so...

randella

Lewy said:

For me he’s first and foremost one of (if not the) greatest blues singers of his time and everything flows from there. His guitar phrasing comes from the fact that he’s singing with his guitar.

Aretha Franklin's my favourite - but I totally get what you're saying.  Her piano playing (much underrated) had that swing and phrasing that made her voice so special.

I think some people just have music in them.

guitars4you

TINMAN82 said:

.

But my god, BB had a knack for beautiful and unique phrasing, timing and note choice.

Agree ref the above - The note selection is by far the easier bit to copy - The other parts of the equation  and you could well end up pulling your hair out for years - With this in mind, I'm not so sure we should try to copy his 'soul' - Why not learn the notes and add 'Tinman82's soul - Yes be influenced but be Tinman as well - I also think it sounds better when you do your version of it with your soul, as against struggling to play a bad version with his soul - Hope that last sentence makes sense

I think it is like Sinatra - Easy to learn the words and melody to say NYNY but those who cover it apply their own phrasing etc

springhead

BB said that when he was a boy he had a stammer, and that although his speaking voice as an adult was fine, when playing he could that hear stammer coming out through his playing.  Just one example of the many triggers and factors in a musicians inner workings that contribute to their phrasing.  And odd to think that if you were trying to closely replicate his playing you'd unknowingly (unless you knew that tale) be in some way mimicing a young boy stammering.  That's all getting a bit deep! 

Saw him 4 times I think.  Late 80's in Hammy Odeon was the first and it was fantastic (as were the other occasions), wonderful sound too - 11 piece band perfectly mixed and you could hear every word and note.

HAL9000

springhead said:

BB said that when he was a boy he had a stammer, and that although his speaking voice as an adult was fine when playing he could that stammer coming out through his playing.  Just one example of the many triggers and factors in a musicians inner workings that contribute to their phrasing.

Another example of 'inner workings that contribute to their phrasing' possibly occurs in Ravel's Bolero - you know, the one with that da dadadada da da dadadada rhythm - apparently that beat pretty much matches up with a particular type of heart irregularity that Ravel is supposed to have suffered from.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

ChuckManual said:

I have absolutely mastered four of BB's five key techniques. They are; (1) Putting the guitar on, (2) Plugging it in, (4) Unplugging it, and, (5) Taking it off again.

The third aspect (the actual playing) still eludes me however. I've only been trying for forty years though, so...

Well, take comfort in the fact that he never mastered playing chords, so maybe you're ahead of him in that respect?!

He was obviously just a showboating hack who never put the graft in to learn rhythm playing... 

EricTheWeary

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

ChuckManual said:

I have absolutely mastered four of BB's five key techniques. They are; (1) Putting the guitar on, (2) Plugging it in, (4) Unplugging it, and, (5) Taking it off again.

The third aspect (the actual playing) still eludes me however. I've only been trying for forty years though, so...

Well, take comfort in the fact that he never mastered playing chords, so maybe you're ahead of him in that respect?!

He was obviously just a showboating hack who never put the graft in to learn rhythm playing... 

...although if you watch enough interviews with him you'll see him do some nice jazzy comping. Then there's playing the piano and the drums, having a wonderful voice... 

HAL9000

EricTheWeary said:

Then there's playing the piano... 

Chords? Or just single note runs?

EricTheWeary

HAL9000 said:

EricTheWeary said:

Then there's playing the piano... 

Chords? Or just single note runs?

The only recording that I’m aware of is Nobody Loves Me But My Mother although I gather he could play more than that. Adding his humming bird vibrato was a bit of a challenge...

lukedlb

I highly recommend his autobiography and the documentary about him (which chose not to present his fondness for orgies, which he happily explains in his book). 

OilCityPickups

I was lucky enough to meet him and sit in his dressing room at The Albert Hall ,
 chatting about guitars for about 25 minutes ... He was a total guitar lover ... a humble and amazing man ... and I was hugely privileged to have that experience.