Going down slow...

[Steve Cantrell]

I just listened to Mike Compton doing this song on a Hartford download from BB. I'd love to try to move this onto mandolin, but I've got zero experience with the blues. Anyone get me started with some chord progressions, etc? Is this like your typical bluegrass song?

[JimRichter]

Goin' Down Slow is a blues standard. #Been recorded by a lot of musicians.

Chords are standard three chords. #Difference is that the lyric pretty much starts on the IV. #I think Mike plays it out of C, so the first chord of the lyric is F. So it basically goes C over the pick up notes, F for a couple of measures, C a couple of measures, F a couple of measures, C a couple measures, G for a measure, F, for a measure, then C until the beginning of the next verse. #I may not have the measure thing down correctly, but the general feel is correct cause it's a IV-I-IV-I-V-IV-I type blues (like Little Red Rooster or Brownsville).


Jim

[JimRichter]

Also forgot to mention that if you go to the videos section of Mike's website, you can watch Mike perform this on tenor and hear Sam Bush take the mandolin solo .

Jim

[Steve Cantrell]

Always helpful, Jim. I think Compton's vocals on it are great, too. He got robbed at IBMA. Your web site work is top-shelf.