The Blues

In "Sweet Home Chicago" Robert Johnson (excerpt at [732KB]:

I have also created a Flash 6 file for "Sweet Home Chicago" that plays the song and graphically shows the changes as they happen. To view this file, you will need to get the latest Flash reader software. Right-Click (PC) or Control Click (Mac) on the image when it comes up, and select "play" to start the sound. Select "Rewind" then "Play" to hear the song again. Select "Loop" to play the song repeatedly.

Robert plays another blues classic change. He replaces the I chord in measure 2 with a IV chord, changing the grid to:

Now the modifications to the grid are almost complete. note also the loping bass notes Robert plays in the background. This is basic Blues Backup 101. We'll have more on that later. Most bluesmen will also change the I chord in measure 4 for a I7 chord to give the tune a little extra push and excitement (remember we said seventh chords could replace major chords). so now the blues grid is up to:

and this is pretty mush how it is played most often.

Muddy Waters in "Hootchie-Coochie Man" modified the format by adding 8 measures of I chord before switching to the IV chord. An excerpt of the tune is at (1.2MB):

I have also created a Flash 6 file for "Hootchie-Cootchie Man" that plays the song and graphically shows the changes as they happen. To view this file, you will need to get the latest Flash reader software. Right-Click (PC) or Control Click (Mac) on the image when it comes up, and select "play" to start the sound. Select "Rewind" then "Play" to hear the song again. Select "Loop" to play the song repeatedly.

He in effect made a new form, but still blues:

Now the matrix is a 16 bar blues, and that will occasionally come up in playing. Note also the cool little riff he plays during the first eight measures. Try to pick it out by ear, because you can use it a lot when you play the blues.

Little Walter's "Blue Mood" sounds an awful lot like Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man." An excerpt of the tune is at (644KB):

I have also created a Flash 6 file for "Blue Mood" that plays the song and graphically shows the changes as they happen. To view this file, you will need to get the latest Flash reader software. Right-Click (PC) or Control Click (Mac) on the image when it comes up, and select "play" to start the sound. Select "Rewind" then "Play" to hear the song again. Select "Loop" to play the song repeatedly.

Here the form is modified to take four extra measures of the original measures 9 and 10 repeated two more times to form:

And giving us another 16 bar form of the blues. This one is not as common as the "Hootchie-Cootchie" changes.