How To Play Ragtime Blues Guitar - Blind Blake and Blind Boy Fuller Lesson plus Ragtime History

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 124

  • @TheWashboardResonators
    @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Support us by clicking the description above and...
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    Thanks all!
    ❤️❤️❤️

    • @ukulelewoodshed6694
      @ukulelewoodshed6694 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Thanks Martin! That was 40 mins of pure joy foR me. I’m just getting started with this style … been playing some John Hurt stuff that feels quite accessible for now (especially as there is so many resources for his songs). I’m seeing a lot of similarities here so I’ll definitely have a bash at Blind Blake next as I love his tunes. Thanks again…would love to see more songs in this style.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@ukulelewoodshed6694 Excellent! I’ll be doing more song based lessons. Shorter but more in-depth.
      John Hurt is a great way to get into fingerpicking. More of a ‘songster’ than a blues or ragtime guy but it’s all in there somewhere even if only a little.
      Visited his grave in 2006. A bizzare adventure.

    • @udayanmustafi3963
      @udayanmustafi3963 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      🎸

  • @albert-1850
    @albert-1850 18 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    great Martin...thanks!

  • @dgrebin
    @dgrebin ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Great lesson Martin!
    Did I see a bunch of sawdust fall out of the sound hole at the 8:20 mark?

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yep! I clearly hadn’t spun it around since getting it back from being repaired years earlier!

    • @kpdelaney6460
      @kpdelaney6460 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      lmao yeah I noticed that too

  • @vincentdesiano4861
    @vincentdesiano4861 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I love Blind Blake, but you got the gift!

  • @plutogamstrumframe
    @plutogamstrumframe 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Fantasticlesson I have all Bind Blake and Fuller music couldn’t play them

  • @ben9948
    @ben9948 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    i love the lesson & ironic outfit!

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Nothing ironic. Was cold that day and the loft studio was always chilly.

  • @NoOne-kr4jc
    @NoOne-kr4jc 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Blake's syncopation was great. He had great stamina and a fine aggressive and controlled thumb. Would have been nice to see him in actual film so we could have studied him. Fun fact, Blind Boy Fuller was a student of Reverend Gary Davis.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Three of the great ragtime guitarists there! Davis didn’t think much of Fuller!

  • @gibby6904
    @gibby6904 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Very nice lesson.....I love the small body Washburn.....great shape for its age....I find the Blake "stumble" to be one of the more difficult fingerstyle techniques.....yes Stefan calls it the stumble.....been playing fingerstyle for 30 years and still its tricky...Blake is fantastic!

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It’s a great guitar. TH-cam compression doesn’t do it any favours!

    • @daveguitarnowski4402
      @daveguitarnowski4402 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      My favorite of the ragtime pickers for sure! What a great lesson. I had it kinda, but you clarified a few things. Thanks Martyn!

  • @2011BIRR
    @2011BIRR 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    great! thanks for this BB-teqnique! 😎

  • @liamdowling8077
    @liamdowling8077 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    What a great video. Am inspired.

  • @joshnova9163
    @joshnova9163 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Terrific lesson. Engaging, creative, and insightful historical context

  • @kennikuhlmann-clark9860
    @kennikuhlmann-clark9860 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Finally a person who says capo as 'kah-po' instead of 'cape-oh'.... But how wide is the fretboard on that guitar? Looks like it might have a 1.85" nut width, but videos can be deceiving.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I’d say it’s ‘quite wide’ but not sure exactly. ‘Cap-oh’ indeed!! 🎯🎼🎯

  • @wheninroamful
    @wheninroamful 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I clicked 'like' as soon as i started the vid; because you never fail and i love your vids. (Also, in all seriousness, i heard Ragtime was when a musicians lady was "on the rag" and he didn't want to be home if she was hard to be around, so he'd go off and hang with his friends and jam with them; i.e.... "Hey Blake, what you doing o'er 'ere?"..."Well, it's ragtime, so i thought i'd escape o'er 'ere with my guitar"....

    • @wheninroamful
      @wheninroamful 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Also, people don't even know what Blind Blake's real name was... crazy; and unmarked grave for most his death. I found a new podcast which is amazing; called "Music From 100 Years Ago" (music from the US generally) and I have dreamed of having my own podcast somewhat similar. Giving a little history around the song... but the host has 'themes' for each program and since i'm a huge 'pre war blues' fan i scrolled down to 'Blues 1928' or 'Blues 1929" and so forth and he gives some info about Blind Blake, and others like Charley Patton, i never knew.... Highly recommend it if that's your kinda thing to get into... Ragtime is a hard style of guitar playing, for me anyway, but i like challenges!!! Thanks for the vid!

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I’ll check the podcast. Sounds good. Hopefully the video helps!! Thanks. 🎯

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It’s just good old fashioned syncopated fun.

    • @JohnTimothy-m8x
      @JohnTimothy-m8x 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It's probably true.
      I hung around in the French quarter bars a lot in New Orleans and and could definitely notice one and entertainer is rag time.

  • @rickwashbrook4926
    @rickwashbrook4926 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thank you for the information and the history explanation. You play amazing. You get to the root. It is so stellar how you get back to the Rag Time Piano playing and examples thank you!

  • @arifmemovic3383
    @arifmemovic3383 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This lesson is fantastic. It’s amazing that it’s free!!! Thank you very much. I look forward to getting into your band.

  • @gtarick1225
    @gtarick1225 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Jared Harris is such a great actor ;) All kidding aside, awesome video! Thanks fro the post!

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      No idea who that is. Must be cool if someone is referencing them on this channel. 😎

  • @thomaswilleborts6771
    @thomaswilleborts6771 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Great way to play this ragg-time blues with the c and g shape with that cap on!
    I does sounds very good 2 me on both guitars.
    A good thing to practice in the future.
    Thank you,Martyn. 😊
    T.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I hope it helps folks get into this style! I’ll do some more shorter videos on specific songs another time.

    • @gammaraygem
      @gammaraygem 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators That would be great. For now, this one will keep me busy for a while...Cheers!

  • @nationalduo4945
    @nationalduo4945 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great video Martyn….I learned a lot from it….and gotta be loving that guitar…very nice….

  • @jeffhildreth9244
    @jeffhildreth9244 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Excellent. Subscribed
    I have just made and in the process of fitting a new bridge to my 1929 Stromberg-Voisinet decalcomania.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Super cool guitar!! Thanks for the sub too. Everyone is appreciated!

    • @jeffhildreth9244
      @jeffhildreth9244 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators Cheers from Southern Oregon USA

  • @arifmemovic3383
    @arifmemovic3383 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Phenomenal lesson!!!

  • @frankdefranceschi174
    @frankdefranceschi174 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Nice video and well explained! Thank you. I might also add that there are also many ragtime pieces that are played straight and not syncopated. Scott Joplin would call them "my meditations" and were played slow and straight.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Indeed they were. The book I’m holding in the thumbnail goes into that. This is a beginners video and anybody that’s going deep in this stuff would already be way over the need for this video! 🎯

    • @michaellohr7683
      @michaellohr7683 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think you are confusing "syncopation" with "shuffle rhythm" here. The very essence of ragtime is its syncopation; without syncopation, there will be no ragtime at all. I have the sheet music of Scott Joplin´s Collected Piano Works in one fat volume, and there is hardly any bar in there without syncopation, at least in the pieces referred to as "rags" (there are some marches and waltzes, too, that he composed). Now what Washboard Resonators presents to you as Blind-Blake-style "ragtime" uses not only syncopation (that would go without saying), but also a different underlying rhythmic feel that has become a trademark of blues and then jazz: shuffle rhythm. That means that if you have two eighth notes per one quarter note, the first eighth note is played or held a little longer, which is what gives things its swing feeling. In its extreme form you could say the feeling is one of three eights (triplets) to one quarter note, with the first of two eighth notes occupying twice as much time within the triplet as the second eighth, which is what you get in a slow blues by B.B. King, such as "The Thrill Is Gone". The faster you play such a shuffle the more subtle the duration difference between the first eighth note and the second (it is just barely there in fast modern jazz), but in swing it will always be there indeed, more or less subtle. Washboard Resonator plays the shuffle rhythm all over the place without explaining it - it seems it has become so much second nature to him that he takes it for granted. And since he plays things fast, you hardly recognize that particular rhythmic feel, but it is absolutely crucial for the very lively, jumping effect his playing has. The opposite of shuffle rhythm is "straight eighths" (you will sometimes find that instruction in Real Books, for instance), or simply "straight". Thus the opposite of "straight" is by no means "syncopated", contrary to what you appear to suggest. Scott Joplin wanted to be recognzied as a classical composer of serious music, and not of the kind of sexually arousing kind of fast, jazzy ragtime played in the brothels of his day; that´s why he always asked for his pieces to be played in a slow (dignified) way and straight in the sense of: avoiding shuffle. Classcial European music just does not know swing. When you play Scott Joplin rags fast and with a shuffle feel (which you can), they will still work and sound good, but they will lose their unique selling proposition: their incredible and inimitable elegance. I´m not saying that Blind Blake´s and Washboard Resonators´ music is in any way worse than Joplin´s; they just aim for a totally different effect right from the start, and both their and Joplin´s approaches are absolutely justified and enjoyable in themselves.

  • @tomdoesguitar
    @tomdoesguitar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This is exactly what I was looking for- great choice of essential tunes and licks to get stuck into, I don't think you could find a better overview. It helps that you can play the stuff so well too ;-) thanks very much !

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Thanks! Gets one started in the style. Hopefully, many take it further.

    • @tomdoesguitar
      @tomdoesguitar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@TheWashboardResonators I think there's a lot to dig into there. I'm working on the tunes you suggested already! :-)
      I've been on a big Jerry Reed/Chet Atkins/ Tommy Emmanuel...general fingerstyle buzz for a while but I'm a bluesy electric player really...I think this ragtime stuff might be great to get into!
      I may be getting ahead of myself a bit, but are there any other bluesy ragtime tunes, (maybe some favourites of yours?!) that you'd suggest we could listen to or try to learn once we've got these ones down?
      Cheers Martyn!

  • @dougmackenzie5976
    @dougmackenzie5976 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    You should listen to my good friend, Ari Eisinger. He does Blake better than anyone I have ever heard and I've been playing professionally for almost 50 years.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Big fan of him!

    • @1JesseEns
      @1JesseEns 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      There's also Woody Mann who is in the same field as Ari when it comes to this style.He was a student of the Reverend.

  • @StickMan...77
    @StickMan...77 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Best acoustic guitars for these?

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      No such thing. Any you like. 1920s Stella, Martin 00028 or similar would be my first choice.

  • @keithhoughton4308
    @keithhoughton4308 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'm still struggling with the stumble and I have Steffan Grossman on VHS!

  • @SingleMalt77005
    @SingleMalt77005 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for such a fine lesson. What do you think of Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence?

  • @saramikac8368
    @saramikac8368 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is all fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing.
    A couple questions, I’m having a hard time with that G chord you do for the Blind Blake song. Are you Travis picking the whole time?
    What guitar for maybe under 1000 dollars would you recommend for a ragtime guitar?
    Thanks again!!

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Travis picking is a term that sort of relates. I dare say that ‘Travis Picking’ is actually copying this style of guitar playing.
      As always, slow down the video in the settings and listen hard to that G chord.
      The top line with hammer-ons fall on the notes your thumb plays and inbetween.
      It’s like a roll once you get used to it.
      I like old vintage guitars but they can be problematic or expensive for setup.
      I’d always look for a 12 fret to the body and smaller body guitar.
      Perhaps a used Martin 015, a new Sigma 00028 or the like.

  • @FezzantPlucka
    @FezzantPlucka ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What happened at 8:20?

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว

      It’s probably the sawdust that people mention. My luthier clearly didn’t vacuum it when doing the rebuild.

  • @abloke8834
    @abloke8834 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for this. Big fan of blind Blake. Any chance of some Broonzy lessons? Hopefully see you in Torquay sometime

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      You know what. Yes! Should do a Broonzy lesson. I’m a really big fan. We get to Paignton and Plymouth sometimes. Just booking a tour for later in the year. Join the mailing list to guarantee ticket links! 🎯

    • @NoOne-kr4jc
      @NoOne-kr4jc 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators Mance Lipscomb was another one similar to Broonzy. Snoozer Quinn is another great one but just used mainly a pick on his recordings.

  • @petegalloway2466
    @petegalloway2466 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thanks 🙏🏻 so much for this. Listening to your playing gives me involuntary smiles ☺️ just superb mate!
    I’m just getting into rag as a new learner (aged 50 something). Three years in and it’s starting to come together, with thanks to dudes like you 👍🏻👍🏻

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It’s such a satisfying style. Fun, historical, bouncy and interesting to carry all the parts at once. Hope you get as much from the music as we do! 🎯

    • @petegalloway2466
      @petegalloway2466 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators cheers pal! Will be checking out your music the now 😎👍🏻

  • @alessandrogarzelli7039
    @alessandrogarzelli7039 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very interesting video! 👍🏻
    I followed some lessons of Mark Knopfler about it too.
    Is that a short scale parlor guitar or it has a normal scale?

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Normal scale this one! Damn nice guitar!

    • @alessandrogarzelli7039
      @alessandrogarzelli7039 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators
      Thank you. I'm looking for to test some 630 mm scale parlor, but unfortunately there are few opportunity to find them in the music shops where I live.
      Have good music!
      Ciao! 🇮🇹

  • @magicelliotth
    @magicelliotth 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Is that a vintage Martin?

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      1899 Washburn. Was rebuilt by Mark Knopflers old tech. Is based on a Martin of the era. Very nice.

    • @magicelliotth
      @magicelliotth 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I was going to say it looks like a signature Mark Knopfler Martin Ragpicker…of which only 150 were made (I think.)

  • @doffidofai6184
    @doffidofai6184 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    hey please review leewald duolian golden era bcs that so rare then national i think ,,thank you and happy for ur life

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Never had one of those guitars in my hand so if I do it would be nice to do a video on it!

  • @SergeCeyral
    @SergeCeyral 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Is it your mike (or the YT compression), I dunno, but it's pretty funny that the Triolian is less much responsive (on ragtime pieces, normal tuning) than that small body Martin (copy ?)... On their old recordings, David Laibman & Eric Schoenberg used these incredibly sounding little guitars, too. Very good video, Sir...

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The small body 1899 Washburn guitar is particularly stunning.
      I’d say it’s very full and projects good.
      The Triolian is a beauty but is a tad quiet and thin perhaps.
      The TH-cam definitely compresses and destroys the sound. I’ve recorded loads of videos where you hear big volume changes and you listen back when it’s uploaded and it all is very level.

    • @LUCKYB.
      @LUCKYB. 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You mean TH-cam volume is still in the stone age Ive noticed that . You tube really mess up sound , harmonics .

    • @SergeCeyral
      @SergeCeyral 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@LUCKYB. this is the hidden price to pay : YT is free, but the byte flow rate is poor... Since two decades, Neil Young said a thing or two, about what a good digital recording process should be (sample frequency and dynamic range...)

  • @jdelfield
    @jdelfield 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for this great video. I've been concentrating more on guitar lately (openback banjo is my main instrument) and this was very helpful. Wondering what strings you use on your old Washburn. I have have a similar era Lyon & Healy and I'm always looking for string suggestions. Thanks Again!

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It’s a lovely guitar. Had a rebuild including graphite rods and a new bridge and bridge plate. Much beloved now! I have regular DAddarrio 12 gauge PB’s. They’ve been on three years I reckon. Sound lovely.

    • @jdelfield
      @jdelfield 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators thanks for your reply...and all the informative videos.

  • @ORANGETARGETARMORY
    @ORANGETARGETARMORY 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What’s your tuning ?? For blind boy Blake

  • @Watersnake777
    @Watersnake777 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Original Jazz Band, that's Jimmy Durante on piano.

  • @lynncarter4964
    @lynncarter4964 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Can we get a few more blind black musicians on here please.

  • @thomassmith5400
    @thomassmith5400 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Lesson
    11:10 15:30

  • @kxrider70
    @kxrider70 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    *is cool

  • @AndalusianIrish
    @AndalusianIrish 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Rev. Gary Davis taught Blind Boy Fuller all he knew.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Apparently he didn’t think much of BBF. 😵‍💫

    • @AndalusianIrish
      @AndalusianIrish 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators That's what I mean. He said that Fuller only knew one knife (slide) tune when he met him and then he taught him. He was very salty about other musicians but I think it was just his personality. He was very kind to his students. Anyone who writes tunes for guitar in the key of F is either a masochist or a genius. IMHO Gary was the latter!

  • @LonesomeLeftist
    @LonesomeLeftist ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What just fell out of your guitar as you span it around???

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว

      Sawdust from when it was fixed up!! My luthier clearly didn’t vacuum it!!

    • @LonesomeLeftist
      @LonesomeLeftist ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators I was so mystified by the fact zero comments questioned that. For a second I thought you planted confetti in the guitar for some wow effect hahaha

    • @LonesomeLeftist
      @LonesomeLeftist ปีที่แล้ว

      which would've been a pretty cool move ngl

  • @plutomcdougal39
    @plutomcdougal39 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    👊

  • @coopernorman5016
    @coopernorman5016 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    History as circulated in New Orleans says the name Ragtime comes from resting days when houses of prostitution allowed the girls to stop taking clients to bed upstairs but still expected them to entertain customers in the bar or public sitting rooms ... many pluing piano, guitar or banjo ... until their ragtime had passed.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Heard that too.
      I’m going off the book I show in the video and it’s sources. Like any research it’s good to get different sources and check.
      Might do a deep dive into ragtime history one day. This is just a basic guitar lesson with mini history lesson attachment.

  • @jerryholliday5367
    @jerryholliday5367 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I have to ask, what is the shit falling out of the Washburn? Did you have a rat nesting in it? 😆

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It was some surprise sawdust which must have been left from when the neck was reset. Nobody was as surprised as me to see that. 😵‍💫

    • @jerryholliday5367
      @jerryholliday5367 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Great video. I've been struggling with that stumble lick all morning.😆

    • @ben_moy
      @ben_moy ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheWashboardResonators Cracked me up the first time I saw it "1899-made..." (120+ years' worth of dust falls out of the soundhole)

  • @DoktorLorentzBig
    @DoktorLorentzBig 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I think they used open tuning, not standard.

  • @TimotheeLee
    @TimotheeLee ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Say what like about ragtime in the UK but in the US it's piano music invented by Scott Joplin. Pure and simple. Anything else is speculation.

    • @TheWashboardResonators
      @TheWashboardResonators  ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Ha ha ha! So syncopated piano music didn’t exist until Scott Joplin ‘invented’ it!! Ha ha.
      I’ve read so many books on this subject and you could do with doing the same.
      What we gave here is a simple look into 1920s style ragtime guitar with a little historical context so shouldn’t be an issue to anybody. A cursory google of the word ragtime will shed more light for others that want more.

  • @ewanbauld607
    @ewanbauld607 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Fantastic mate Iv'e been Ragging for years courtesy of Stefan Grossman. What guitar have you got there?