Those blues songs sound alike

[smilnJackB]

How can I prevent my blues repertoire songs from sounding too much alike? #I play mostly key of G songs. #With my style of playing and singing, some of the songs sound pretty similar. #I do throw in a key of D or E song and add some harp and a bluesy Gospel song or two. #What can I do to mix it up? # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif Jack

[bluesmandolinman]

I think there are plenty of options :

1. Slow/sad or uptempo/goodtime
2. Open chords or closed position
3. various shuffle styles !!!
4. change between 8 , 12 or 16 bars
( or whatever someone like Big Joe Williams would take as a measure 13 1/2) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

5. Try different tunings - open tuning or octave tuning ( if you have more than one mandolin at a gig - otherwise tuning s*cks)
6. try Mandola !

I understand your issue because I am challenged with a similar situation. Nevertheless I think there are enough variations in the Blues to be able to play a 20 song 1 1/2 hour gig without sounding all the same.:;):

Enjoy yourself and play with self convidence http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Michael H Geimer]

I don't know if this will help or hinder but ...

I once knew a mandolin player who worked off the idea that there are only three (3) Bluegrass songs.
a) Fast ones
b) Slow ones
c) Waltzes

Well ... I thought his playing often sounded redundant, since he was pulling his licks from a rather generic all-purpose bag-o-tricks.

My take on the issue is that every song is truly unique in how the melody and lyrics sit on top of these common forms. So, if we can isolate and accent the melody and storyline we have a better chance at making each song distinct from the last one.

Good luck ... it is a tough one.

- Benig ... who nevertheless often sounds the same from song to song.

[arbarnhart]

Do you have a local blues organization doing jams? Check for one and go to a jam. They mix it up a lot.

What do you listen to and play?

[JimRichter]

The idea of slow vs fast, Texas shuffle vs. Memphis shuffle, etc. is good, but really (and I think someone touched on it) the key is finding/developing the hook.

Prior to playing mandolin in my current blues duo, I played electric guitar in a band called The Forecasters which very much was inspired by the playing of South and West side Chicago guys like Lefty Dizz, John Primer, Magic Slim, Magic Sam, Hound Dog Taylor, etc. #Now, most of those songs have bass patterns that we call the "lumpty lump." #For example, the bass line for a G chord would be G G D D F F G G. #That pattern would then be played over the IV and V chords. #Very straight Chicago type bass pattern. #Well, as cool as a groove as that is, it gets to sounding the same after awhile.

The key then is to develop arrangements (that's the operative word). #Just like horn lines, develop a riff for the lead instrument(s) which is the signature riff of the song. #Work out stops in the song, etc. #

One of the things I hate about singer-songwriter or some folk type rock music is that it starts sounding the same. #Somehow someone thinks a big jangly strumming guitar is a hook. #It may have a distinctive melody, but the melody can be lost in very cliched arrangments. #I have a friend here in Indiana who is a very talented songwriter, but is unfortunately too influenced by Petty and Dylan. All his songs start up with this band swell lead by a Hammond organ. I can't stand listening to his album cause I can't get passed the arrangements. The same is true of bluegrass. #The songs that really stay in my head are the one's with the hook (either in riff or melody--maybe something like starting the song with the Chorus instead of a verse, or in the OBWAT version of Man of Constant Sorrow where you start on the tag line). #

There are holes in my logic, but varying a set list is good, but that becomes a bit cliched as well. #It basically becomes: #this is our fast song, this is our slow song, this is our Excello type song, etc. #It's possible to have a night of similar material but have it all sound different. #Part of that is also just maturing as a musician. #I haven't quite got there yet, but I have the understanding.

Jim

[bjc]

Two suggestions: 1)Chord substution and 2) slide

[ira]

well said all. varying rythmic patterns, keys, lyric content and "hook"/riff are all essentials. i have seen many a blues performance, and amazed at how different songs can sound. but remember, if you are playing a single genre of music without blending a bit, to some degree there will be a similarity to your tunes due to all in same genre, same people playing them (we all develop our own style to some degree- regardless of talent level), and instrumentation. thats why when you hear many songs on radio, cd, etc... you can often tell who it is immediately.
take the time to figure out the little things that make your tunes a tad different.

btw jim- its all subjective so not throwing a flame here.
imho- singer-songwriter folk stuff is no different than any other genre in terms of the ease of slipping into monotony. listen to a don white who can take you from tears to hysterical laughter in minutes, play a ballad and then a doowop song (yes-=just him and a guitar in a coffee house). depends on who the musician is.

peace all.

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[ira]

well said all. varying rythmic patterns, keys, lyric content and "hook"/riff are all essentials. i have seen many a blues performance, and amazed at how different songs can sound. but remember, if you are playing a single genre of music without blending a bit, to some degree there will be a similarity to your tunes due to all in same genre, same people playing them (we all develop our own style to some degree- regardless of talent level), and instrumentation. thats why when you hear many songs on radio, cd, etc... you can often tell who it is immediately.
take the time to figure out the little things that make your tunes a tad different.

btw jim- its all subjective so not throwing a flame here.
imho- singer-songwriter folk stuff is no different than any other genre in terms of the ease of slipping into monotony. listen to a don white who can take you from tears to hysterical laughter in minutes, play a ballad and then a doowop song (yes-=just him and a guitar in a coffee house). depends on who the musician is.

peace all.

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[bjc]

Substitution...dang-gone fingers don't work well on the fretboard either

[JimRichter]

Ira

I don't take it as a flame, cause I agree w/ you. Don't think I expressed myself as well as would have liked (thought I definitely was verbose). There are guys who could just sit, sing, and play guitar and I'd be transfixed. But again, a lot of that goes into the maturity of the artist. Someone like Willie Nelson who has a very unique beautiful voice could keep me with the way he phrases, punctuates a line, or really expresses the meaning of a song. And this is on top of his songwriting. The key here is that he is unique enough as a performer that his uniqueness is what carries the tune and keeps us coming back. For those of us not so talented, we have to put a lot more work into other areas!

Jim

[smilnJackB]

Thank you for your suggestions. I can put some to use. I don't have the knowledge or skills to use it all. I checked a blues site and learned the chord pattern for 8 bar blues. I'd like to learn a song or two in 8 bar. The main thing I will do right now is tweak my song order to separate similar sounding songs and work on getting the emotion into the songs. And have some fun! Jack

[arbarnhart]

8 bar? I figured 12 bar was the rut (it's the one I am in). Go out to Weenie Campbell's juke box (http://www.weeniecampbell.com/juke/playing.php) and listen to a few tunes and try to play along. Go look at the blues midi files at sternton.com (http://www.sternton.com/midi/blues.htm). You can download some to listen to and play along.

[mandocrucian]

Blues is as much about groove as it is the melody or the lyrics. And as previously mentioned it isn't all just the 12-bar structure.

Want variety? #Just get some "Best of" compilations of artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, BB King, Junior Wells (harp), Little Walter (harp), etc.

Or look to the acoustic bluesmen: Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, Cephas & Wiggins, Robert Johnson, Mance Lipscomb, Sleepy John Estes.....

That's mostly guitar players, but if you want to move into piano, there's vintage stuff from folks like Peetie Wheatstraw, Memphis Slim, Sunnyland Slim, Piano Red, Pete Johnson. #Which can lead you into the New Orleans guys like Prof. Longhair, Fats Domino, Dr John

And there a lot of 12-bar stuff in other roots genres, like rockabilly (Carl Perkins, Johnny Burnette Rock N Roll Trio, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis), country boogie (later Delmore Bros), honky tonk (Hank Sr., early Red Sovine, T Texas Tyler...), jump (Wynnonie Harris, Louis Jordan), and Rock'n'Roll (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley). (Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen managed to hit most of those genres!)

.... and into the Brit Blues bands (orig Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher), psychedelia (Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Dead, Hendrix) and on and on and on.

You could even listen to mando players (Yank Rachell, Johnny Young, Ry Cooder) for material! #

Niles H.
(and this doesn't even touch on the various jazz takes on the blues.)

[TeleMark]

I used to have a Thelonius Monk sampler that had
two blues pieces, one right after the other...
Who's The Lonliest Monk?

Sorry, obscure political quote. Please carry on.

[hellindc]

I think the hook riff is key. You can return to it periodically to give the audience a theme that stays with them and differentiates the song from others.

Also, try changing positions now and then. For example, don't play all your G down in the first position. You can anchor yourself at the G on the A string at fret 10 (make sure you know where the Bb is too).

Finally, learn to play blues in other keys, notably A (Statesboro Blues is great in this key) and, of course, E.

[handpicked]

Hey...if yer still seeking suggestions...here's a couple...

Mix things up on the rhythm parts...like a jazz drummer would... to build tension between verse, bridge, chorus, etc...I'm thinking of the way David & Louis Myers played guitar behind the blues harp virtuoso Little Walter....ba-dat-daaaaaaa-dat-daaaa-bop-bop-bop. versus boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom

cross-picked 7th chords and triads kinda like Scruggs-style banjo backup parts are a way to mix things up....maybe bouncing between a major triad and a 7th triad...

Sliding single note work with a droning open string can be a great way to create a hook....or go for a dramatic basis for a break...like using the open E against notes on the A string when playing in either A or E or even C for that matter...
Have fun.

Mike Rickard

[smilnJackB]

I mixed up my blues rerpertoire so that it stays away from too much of the same sound or tone. #My wife and I perform together and we will start off with 3 songs with me on guitar and harp solo instrumentals and Linda playing mando. #Then a switch to a sadder song with guitar instrumental then another sad tone song with mando doing the instrumental and then a happy song with mando for instrumental again, #etc. etc. varying the mood, the instrumentals and the keys. #Thanks for your help. #
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Jack

[ira]

good luck jack- i'm sure it will sound great. remember there are many types of blues, use em all!!!http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif