Hubert Sumlin and "The Shake" - Spoonful Solo

Hubert Sumlin played on all of Howling Wolf’s sides from the mid-fifties to the early sixties and beyond. He’s known for his ‘crazy,’ ‘unpredictable’ style, which includes sharp upwards slides, squawking staccato double stops and chords, and off kilter yet memorable signature licks and fills. But he was also an early master of one of the hardest moves in rock and blues guitar playing: the whole step bend with vibrato sustaining the note at the end, sometimes called a “shake.” Let’s take a look at one of Sumlin’s most well-known solos, from “Spoonful,” where we can see how he employs that shake.

Learning how to do the shake is pretty straightforward, but it takes strength, coordination and a good ear to get it right. Essentially, you have to bend the note up a whole step, using your third finger with the middle and index fingers on the same string behind it for support. You then hold the note out and add vibrato for that big, vocal effect.

 

Listen to the solo and take a look at the video and tab. The solo is only about ten seconds long but it’s packed with bends and vibrato. You will need to be able to control the release of your bends, meaning, if there is no release mark (the downward, curving arrow), the note ends at its peak. I recorded the solo at tempo, slower, and then I demonstrate an exercise that you can do to help develop the technique.

In the exercise (below), bend the note up a whole step as described above, using your index and middle fingers to back up the third finger. Make sure the note is perfectly in tune by matching pitch with the note two frets above the original note. OK, start again. Now, do this very slowly. With the note bent up a whole step (A to B on the G string, in the example), release the note downward one quarter tone while still pressing and then bring it back up to pitch. Repeat this as long as the note sustains.

All of the bends in the tab and the exercise are done with the third finger. Break the solo up into pieces and practice them separately. The first lick is the best for practicing the shake, but make sure to apply the Shake Exercise to the B string shake in measure three. Watch the whole step pre-bend and release at the fourteenth fret in measure five.  It’s crucial to use a pre-bend here to avoid falling behind for the last notes of the solo. Most of the licks from the solo turn up as fills during the rest of the song. See if you can figure them out, and add them in when you play along. 

It’s a really good idea to try to imitate the sound of specific guitar players’ vibratos. In my case, the two that I most remember trying to cop were Hendrix, especially a complex bend-release-bend-shake that he does at the beginning of the Isle of Wight live album, and Clapton’s numerous vibratos and bends in Cream’s epic version of “Spoonful.” I guess you could say I’ve come full circle at this point.

Comments

[James Hannigan]

Great video! That's the sound for sure. I believe we saw Hubert at the Cutting Room??

What Hendrix song is that, Freedom? trying to remember the first track from that album, which I got when I was about 15 probably one of my first few albums of his.

[On Practicing Guitar]

Thanks, Jim! I tried to get a little Hubert Sumlin mojo going. And yes, we did see him at the Cutting Room. The Hendrix tune is Midnight Lightning. I listened to it again and my approximation was a little different in my mind's ear, but pretty close. I think he picked the last note instead of bending into it and adding more vibrato. It's still quite bitchin'. He's just warming up at that point. Back then, anything that said 'import' on it was just like, "Wow!" It's a great cover. I'd paste it in here if I could...

[James Hannigan]

Oh yes, that track; I loved that song and I think it's a relatively unique recording I don't think he performed it often. And i never made the connection with the title Midnight Lightning/Smokestack Lightning or the licks as you point out.

[On Practicing Guitar]

I don't see any connection between Midnight Lightning and Smokestack Lightning, either. Except of course, for the titles! I didn't mean to suggest that and thanks for pointing it out. I've got to go over that. I need to also revisit the Hendrix tune. The Isle of Wight concert is really ragged and I think maybe Jimi's second to last performance. The sound was really off and he wasn't having a good time. You can see he throws his guitar down at the end. The only musical connection for me is this one lick he plays about a minute in, just a nasty, fast vibrato with an extra pick on the end. It's similar to the 'shake' licks that Hubert is playing in Spoonful.