I must sit down and watch your complete lesson but in the meantime... I've just watched THAT video again and Sam is playing with bare thumb and first finger although it can appear that he is holding a pick. Single chord boogies are great to play but it needs the MAGIC to really make them work! Keep up the good work... I always enjoy your lessons.
As far as I know Magic Sam always played with his fingers. On the live YT version you can see that he has big hands and thick finger tips which gives the illusion that he's holding a pick when he plays 2 adjacent strings with thumb and index. (More below) If you listen to the studio version with headphones you can clearly hear the second guitarist on the right track as schumanhuman says below. Mighty Joe Young is playing some of the bass note stuff that that you think Sam is playing (around 14:20 in your video). Listen again and you'll probably hear it now. In the live version on YT he's clearly sliding that A7 riff. Even though that live version varies from the studio one it's the best ways to get an idea what position he shifts to on the various parts. Sam had big strong hands and could hold that A on the 2nd fret do all kinds of things that I'll never be able to do with my skinny little hands. There's a live version on "Live at the Avant Gard" that's very close to the studio version. He's playing with just bass and drums as he usually did, so there's no other guitar to confuse things. I highly recommend that album. It's the only live album of his that has relatively high quality. And, surprisingly, it was recorded by a High School kid with a couple of mics, a Y-cable, and a tape recorder. One more thing. The 2nd guitarist, Mighty Joe Young, cut 2 or 3 albums. I had one. It only had 5 songs on it with long solos. One song "Five Long Years" is 9 minutes long. The guy was a absolute monster Blues guitarist and very good singer. I don't no why he's never gotten any recognition. Are you familiar with him? Anyway, you did a terrific job on this, Dave. You have one hell of an ear. I'll certainly never be able to play it, but I'll keep trying.
@@charne911 Not sure what you're implying. The audio quality on "Live at the Avant Gard" is very good. There are a few other live recordings that have been released that are very low bootleg quality.
@@philjackson6040 Thank you. I'm the "High School kid" who made the recording. "Not so surprising" that it's a good recording. That's what I'm implying. :-)
@@charne911 Holy crap! That's incredible! Is it true you just used 2 mics and a Y-cable? I have to tell you that that is my favorite Blues album. It's in my car CD player right now. I never get tired of listening to it.
@@philjackson6040 five or six EV664 mics -- multiple y-adapters. Had no mixer or place to monitor the recording as it was getting to tape, so relied on previous experience in the room to place the mics. Sam consented to my recording and was very cooperative. I wrote the liner notes on the package. Delmark was extremely supportive in getting it to be the release I wanted.
Thanks so much man I nailed the first part months ago and can’t really get the rest to be fluid. So thank you, I recently , like within the week, went through TH-cam and saved all the videos of kids playing it without tutorial . I was going to sit down and study them soon. Kinda funny you just uploaded this (; so thanks again can’t wait to do your lesson I hope you follow all the way through with this. Big fan of RAW heavy rock and this definitely goes into that playlist to learn . ! Thanks man
Damn, this is like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach, I get bits of it but then it all falls apart, great lesson I guess I just need more (and more) practice.
My 2 cents. This sounds pretty accurate but on the original recording I'm definitely hearing 2 guitars, the lead is on the left channel the rhythm on the right and it has a slightly different drier brighter sound. If you pan the track it is more obvious between the 2 parts but as far as I can tell both play the same or v similar bass notes but the lead part I think maybe just hits the open A string when the higher note riffs come in, whereas the rhythm guitar continues with the more elaborate boogie pattern. At 1m40 ish the 2nd guitar drops out for about a minute and the left speaker 'lead' guitar is panned centre, so it might confuse some into thinking there was only one guitar throughout. It's still tough to play even if there was a 2nd guitar though.
Thanks a ton! I suspected as much since I saw the album credits (just got the vinyl copy recently). I listen mostly on my computer speakers (not the greatest). I'm going to go try the vinyl and see if I can hear what you are hearing. That makes so much sense.
@@OldSchoolBluesGuitar I mostly listen on so so computer speakers too but to analyse it I used a free audio programme called Audicity, recorded the original track into it from youtube and it then gives you the wave pattern which you can pan but to some extent even just visually you can see what's going on. It's also a good tool for slowing down and looping parts to make them easier to learn.
Watching the live version of him playing it on Earl Hooker's guitar, it looks like he 's playing the A7 double stop while playing a monotonic bass. As for the album version, it definitely sounds like he's playing what you demonstrate what you do here with the full A7 chord.
You can also mute the D string with the top of your index finger. That way the E won't ring out and is also easier to play. You can check on my channel if you like.
I remember listening to Magic Sam play Lookin Good at one of his dates in the Avalon Ballroom San Francisco on March 27-29, 1969. Magic Sam did this song with his fingers. This was also the first time Mick Taylor was introduced as the new lead guitar with John Mayall although Mick may have played with John earlier. Bo Diddley and Otis Span were also on the bill. Pretty historic event and I had no idea how historic it was at the time.
I just downloaded and tried out the free version of Transcribe. How could I have missed this? Thanks so much! This is going to make what I do SO much easier and accurate!
I just used Transcribe to break down my first solo - Johnny Ace's "Yes, Baby" - not sure who it is on guitar yet, but the program is worth a million. I slowed it to 50% and could hear everything plain as day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Solid gold!
@@OldSchoolBluesGuitar Thats great I'm glad your enjoying. It really helps me, I use it all the time. Make sure you checkout some of the tutorials on youtube to get the most out of it. Jennifer Batten does a good tutorial.
Suggestions for improvement! Maybe you can have a short demo at the beginning for reference :) Also, can you do Freddie King’s Shuffle? His most viewed video and I still cant do it.
Apologies if I came off as rude! I really appreciate the lessons and I wish for you to continue to succeed. In terms of content, it's all really good! I mentioned my suggestions of improvement first because we can always make great content greater! If you keep this up and continue to use the suggestions, you'll have the best content of blues lessons in TH-cam.
@@princessdeleon9566 Ok, and I really appreciate your honesty and openness of your response. It's just that this guy does so much for free on TH-cam. His attention to detail is incredible. I'd like to see a performance first too but the counter argument to that is to get off our arses and listen to the original recording and that's what we should be doing anyway. I'm surprised that this teacher (sorry I can't recall his name right now) is still doing free stuff. He has done some courses on Freddie King, Chuck Berry and BB King on Udemy which are like no other courses I have seen with respect to detail and pure love of his subject. We as blues guitar fans are so lucky to have him on this planet. He's one top teacher and person. Anyway, thanks for your response. You've made my day better too. All sorted now. Have a good day and get on with honing your blues chops and and knocking out some wicked riffs man.
@@princessdeleon9566 I didn't take it as rude at all. I NEED and WANT constructive criticism and suggestions. That's how you get better. So many people I know can't take either without being offended. I agree - the full demo at the start would be nice. I don't do it for a couple reasons: (1) I want you to listen to the original! (2) It takes more time to memorize the whole thing and play it all the way through without f'ing up. And, (3) I don't have any way right now to make and/play backing tracks. I am working on that, but it will probably be a couple of years - after I retire from my job - IF all goes as planned - which it NEVER does. Anyway, thanks - no offense taken!!!
This is a really tough tune to keep all the parts going and keep it in time. I imagine you've seen the old black & white video of him playing Earl Hooker's Les Paul copy, and he manages to keep it together on one guitar, and it isn't even his guitar! There's a reason he was called Magic Sam! For us mortals, it's a lot harder! You've made a good effort, and I think you're pretty close! I would imagine on West Side Soul it's Mighty Joe Young holding down the rhythm while Sam does all the other stuff.
![ค้าง (STILL) - GEMINI [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ftxx3hk5vkU/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you , very helpful. More vids please.
I must sit down and watch your complete lesson but in the meantime... I've just watched THAT video again and Sam is playing with bare thumb and first finger although it can appear that he is holding a pick. Single chord boogies are great to play but it needs the MAGIC to really make them work! Keep up the good work... I always enjoy your lessons.
I'll watch again. Thanks!
Yeah all recordings of him playing he's playing with his hand, almost a slapping style vs "fingerstyle"
As far as I know Magic Sam always played with his fingers. On the live YT version you can see that he has big hands and thick finger tips which gives the illusion that he's holding a pick when he plays 2 adjacent strings with thumb and index. (More below)
If you listen to the studio version with headphones you can clearly hear the second guitarist on the right track as schumanhuman says below. Mighty Joe Young is playing some of the bass note stuff that that you think Sam is playing (around 14:20 in your video). Listen again and you'll probably hear it now.
In the live version on YT he's clearly sliding that A7 riff. Even though that live version varies from the studio one it's the best ways to get an idea what position he shifts to on the various parts. Sam had big strong hands and could hold that A on the 2nd fret do all kinds of things that I'll never be able to do with my skinny little hands.
There's a live version on "Live at the Avant Gard" that's very close to the studio version. He's playing with just bass and drums as he usually did, so there's no other guitar to confuse things. I highly recommend that album. It's the only live album of his that has relatively high quality. And, surprisingly, it was recorded by a High School kid with a couple of mics, a Y-cable, and a tape recorder.
One more thing. The 2nd guitarist, Mighty Joe Young, cut 2 or 3 albums. I had one. It only had 5 songs on it with long solos. One song "Five Long Years" is 9 minutes long. The guy was a absolute monster Blues guitarist and very good singer. I don't no why he's never gotten any recognition. Are you familiar with him?
Anyway, you did a terrific job on this, Dave. You have one hell of an ear. I'll certainly never be able to play it, but I'll keep trying.
Not so "surprisingly!"
@@charne911 Not sure what you're implying. The audio quality on "Live at the Avant Gard" is very good. There are a few other live recordings that have been released that are very low bootleg quality.
@@philjackson6040 Thank you. I'm the "High School kid" who made the recording. "Not so surprising" that it's a good recording. That's what I'm implying. :-)
@@charne911 Holy crap! That's incredible! Is it true you just used 2 mics and a Y-cable? I have to tell you that that is my favorite Blues album. It's in my car CD player right now. I never get tired of listening to it.
@@philjackson6040 five or six EV664 mics -- multiple y-adapters. Had no mixer or place to monitor the recording as it was getting to tape, so relied on previous experience in the room to place the mics. Sam consented to my recording and was very cooperative. I wrote the liner notes on the package. Delmark was extremely supportive in getting it to be the release I wanted.
That's nice ! Workin on it. Thank you
Great Lesson as usual
Great guitar lesson I will definitely going to learn this piece thanks!
Thanks so much man I nailed the first part months ago and can’t really get the rest to be fluid. So thank you, I recently , like within the week, went through TH-cam and saved all the videos of kids playing it without tutorial . I was going to sit down and study them soon. Kinda funny you just uploaded this (; so thanks again can’t wait to do your lesson I hope you follow all the way through with this. Big fan of RAW heavy rock and this definitely goes into that playlist to learn . ! Thanks man
Damn, this is like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach, I get bits of it but then it all falls apart, great lesson I guess I just need more (and more) practice.
I love your lessons and - thank you - but I agree that a brief demo of what you'll be teaching would be a plus.
Listen to the original. I am working on having backing tracks so I can do just that.
Fun Fact: Singer/Harp player James Harman who we lost not long ago had Sam's Strat.Kid Ramos may own it now.
My 2 cents. This sounds pretty accurate but on the original recording I'm definitely hearing 2 guitars, the lead is on the left channel the rhythm on the right and it has a slightly different drier brighter sound. If you pan the track it is more obvious between the 2 parts but as far as I can tell both play the same or v similar bass notes but the lead part I think maybe just hits the open A string when the higher note riffs come in, whereas the rhythm guitar continues with the more elaborate boogie pattern.
At 1m40 ish the 2nd guitar drops out for about a minute and the left speaker 'lead' guitar is panned centre, so it might confuse some into thinking there was only one guitar throughout.
It's still tough to play even if there was a 2nd guitar though.
Thanks a ton! I suspected as much since I saw the album credits (just got the vinyl copy recently). I listen mostly on my computer speakers (not the greatest). I'm going to go try the vinyl and see if I can hear what you are hearing. That makes so much sense.
@@OldSchoolBluesGuitar I mostly listen on so so computer speakers too but to analyse it I used a free audio programme called Audicity, recorded the original track into it from youtube and it then gives you the wave pattern which you can pan but to some extent even just visually you can see what's going on.
It's also a good tool for slowing down and looping parts to make them easier to learn.
Watching the live version of him playing it on Earl Hooker's guitar, it looks like he 's playing the A7 double stop while playing a monotonic bass. As for the album version, it definitely sounds like he's playing what you demonstrate what you do here with the full A7 chord.
They are very different. I also listened to a live version from a bootleg LP - found it on You Tube. It is different in many ways as well. All good!
You can also mute the D string with the top of your index finger. That way the E won't ring out and is also easier to play. You can check on my channel if you like.
I remember listening to Magic Sam play Lookin Good at one of his dates in the Avalon Ballroom San Francisco on March 27-29, 1969. Magic Sam did this song with his fingers. This was also the first time Mick Taylor was introduced as the new lead guitar with John Mayall although Mick may have played with John earlier. Bo Diddley and Otis Span were also on the bill. Pretty historic event and I had no idea how historic it was at the time.
Bo Diddley and Magic Sam on the same bill? Wow that’s a stacked line up
Can you please link the video where you see Magic Sam using a flat pick?
Thanks for the lesson! I really wish you would start by playing lick or the song entirely before getting into the lesson. Keep it up!
Really good lesson. Have you tried using "Transcribe" to slow it down when you're working it out, it's really useful 👍🇮🇪
No, I will look into that!!! Today!!!
I just downloaded and tried out the free version of Transcribe. How could I have missed this? Thanks so much! This is going to make what I do SO much easier and accurate!
I just used Transcribe to break down my first solo - Johnny Ace's "Yes, Baby" - not sure who it is on guitar yet, but the program is worth a million. I slowed it to 50% and could hear everything plain as day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Solid gold!
@@OldSchoolBluesGuitar Thats great I'm glad your enjoying. It really helps me, I use it all the time. Make sure you checkout some of the tutorials on youtube to get the most out of it. Jennifer Batten does a good tutorial.
Suggestions for improvement! Maybe you can have a short demo at the beginning for reference :)
Also, can you do Freddie King’s Shuffle? His most viewed video and I still cant do it.
But I forgot to mention! Great lesson! I enjoyed learning the tune
You are just rude.
Apologies if I came off as rude! I really appreciate the lessons and I wish for you to continue to succeed. In terms of content, it's all really good!
I mentioned my suggestions of improvement first because we can always make great content greater! If you keep this up and continue to use the suggestions, you'll have the best content of blues lessons in TH-cam.
@@princessdeleon9566 Ok, and I really appreciate your honesty and openness of your response. It's just that this guy does so much for free on TH-cam. His attention to detail is incredible. I'd like to see a performance first too but the counter argument to that is to get off our arses and listen to the original recording and that's what we should be doing anyway.
I'm surprised that this teacher (sorry I can't recall his name right now) is still doing free stuff. He has done some courses on Freddie King, Chuck Berry and BB King on Udemy which are like no other courses I have seen with respect to detail and pure love of his subject. We as blues guitar fans are so lucky to have him on this planet. He's one top teacher and person.
Anyway, thanks for your response. You've made my day better too. All sorted now. Have a good day and get on with honing your blues chops and and knocking out some wicked riffs man.
@@princessdeleon9566 I didn't take it as rude at all. I NEED and WANT constructive criticism and suggestions. That's how you get better. So many people I know can't take either without being offended. I agree - the full demo at the start would be nice. I don't do it for a couple reasons: (1) I want you to listen to the original! (2) It takes more time to memorize the whole thing and play it all the way through without f'ing up. And, (3) I don't have any way right now to make and/play backing tracks. I am working on that, but it will probably be a couple of years - after I retire from my job - IF all goes as planned - which it NEVER does. Anyway, thanks - no offense taken!!!
This is a really tough tune to keep all the parts going and keep it in time. I imagine you've seen the old black & white video of him playing Earl Hooker's Les Paul copy, and he manages to keep it together on one guitar, and it isn't even his guitar! There's a reason he was called Magic Sam! For us mortals, it's a lot harder! You've made a good effort, and I think you're pretty close! I would imagine on West Side Soul it's Mighty Joe Young holding down the rhythm while Sam does all the other stuff.
th-cam.com/video/jBLBIxJTgDc/w-d-xo.html
Try starting with the musical idea first… Jesus
too much talking