[MUSIC]
Now we come to the blues.
A 12, 8 blues.
So 12, 8 blues is when we can have
the four four feeling 2, 3, 4, but
inside each of those quarter
notes is the triplet so
you got 3, 8 notes
[MUSIC].
So this kind of rhythm is like,
[MUSIC]
in my head the whole time,
[MUSIC]
that's why they call it 12,
8 there's 12 of those
little 8 notes in each bar.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12
[MUSIC]
You've gotta get some blues records,
there's no way around it.
[LAUGH] You've gotta get some B.B.
King records.
You've got to get some
Albert King records.
These things will inspire you.
The way they play 12, 8, is it's an art.
And cuz these tempos are often very slow.
And you really have to
learn how to sit back, and
let each of those eighth
notes have it's place.
Even though the quarter notes
are going like this three, four
[MUSIC]
with a back beat.
[MUSIC]
It really has to do with feeling those
triplet subdivisions or
groups of three-eighth notes,
in 12, 8,
they call it just the three-eighth notes.
But it feels like a triplet to us because
if you're counting quarter notes then you
go triplet, triplet,
in regular four-four it's triplets.
It's the same thing.
So 12,
8 equals quarter notes with triplets.
Just so you know and
this style of music though it comes out of
the originally the soulful gospel music,
church music and blues,
the Delta Blues Men,
if you listen to John Lee Hooker also,
all these different players.
The way they play this kind of 12 8 thing,
it's amazing.
So do some homework on that and
we spoke about the blues,
before in our other blues, about call and
response having sentences while you
play having when your solo using
really different kind of vibratos,
slides, slurs,
expressive vocalizations on the bass
that we hear from great blues singers.
Try to make it sound like B.B King when
he sings also, not just when he plays.
So again, Mississippi Fred McDowell,
the gospel records there,
these kind of things will inspire you
to get the culture of the blues and
the sound, and the inflection,
and the rhythmic syntax.
Rhythmic syntax is all
based on the triplet.
[MUSIC]
And getting free after awhile.
If we can pull ourselves back,
cuz oftentimes we wanna rush when
we're playing these slow tempos.
If we can pull ourselves back and
take our time and keep those triplets
banging away in our head,
we can really lock down this kinda thing.
This is a very good style to practice and
it's really,
I think central to really being
a strong jazz bass player.
Blues by the bay.
[SOUND]
[MUSIC]
Submit a Video
