On Practicing Guitar

A NYC Blues Odyssey

The cold winds of February brought along a trio of blues gigs in my hometown, New York City. Two of the hits were over in a New York minute, but there were lots of great musicians and plenty of fun. The venues included the Delancey on the Lower East Side, Big Ed’s World Famous Blues Jam at the Red Lion on Bleecker Street, and Silvana in Harlem, where I played with my band, Saints and Sinners (above, bottom).

 

The first stop was a reunion show with the Fountain of Blues, a tight band I used to play with that features my friend John Birdsall on harmonica. This Thursday night gig was a brisk walk from my crib down to the end of Delancey Street, where the club that bears its name has lost some of its disco/LES cache but still provides a spartan room downstairs with professional sound and some formidable half stacks on the stage.

 

And there were plenty of people on that stage! The crowd was very receptive. I only got to play two songs (see videos above), but they were two of my favorites: The Magic Sam penned, “That’s Why I’m Crying” and the Little Walter classic, “Just Your Fool.” The impressive band before us was Orphan Jane (below). They plied a Kurt Weill inspired, circus and burlesque-friendly sound and stage show that was polished and highly entertaining, and featured some smirking slide guitar. Who says clowns are scary?

 

The following Monday I made my way to the Red Lion for the jam. The crowd was a little sparse at first but it wasn’t long before musicians and fans started to drift in and the house band, minus a few regulars, started to rock out in a funky and committed New Orleans style. There were quite a few Telecaster players on hand and by chance I had brought mine that night. I got up pretty early in the procession of keyboardists, pickers, harp players and more and led a feisty group through “Going Down to Main Street” by Muddy Waters and an original of mine, “Door to Door Blues,” both with Country Joe keyboardist David Bennett Cohen riding shotgun.

My friend Mike Muller played in a number of combos as there was a paucity of bass players. He gave a spirited performance in all of them as you can see from the picture above, which includes Chuckie on sax and VD King on guitar. It was a good night for Chuckie as he fronted the band on a number of tunes and displayed a gritty and soulful tone on the sax.

Daryl Cozzi, the Stax-inspired drummer (below) who plays with me in Saints and Sinners was also on hand as he has started to make the jam more regularly. The set he played with his bandmate in Drop Diamond Karl Markgraf (left, below) on guitar and some totally new acquaintances was cooking and tight – impressive.

I neglected to mention that I picked up an important package from UPS that night, my first pedal board, made by NYC Pedal Boards and naturally shipped to me from Upstate. I started setting it up with an eye towards using it immediately at the Thursday night gig at Silvana, the final stop of my eight-day Blues Odyssey. It was kind of a schlepp for a NYC gig but I brought two guitars, the pedal board and a large backpack, drawing some looks on the subway. However, I wanted to try out the new board plus I had just gotten the electronics in my Gibson SG completely redone by Maggio’s in Brooklyn, where I teach guitar. I also really felt like playing slide guitar and I needed a second axe, my '70s hardtail Strat.

A last minute cancellation allowed us to stretch out a bit so we did two short sets with a mix of originals and covers that included “She Gets Me” from our forthcoming album. We also knocked out a sizzling version of “Money” by Pink Floyd and I was jazzed to find that my Fulltone ’69 Fuzz pedal does in fact work quite well with a Deluxe Reverb. Another tune that came off well was a new original, “World Gone Mad” – I guess you know what that one’s about.

Saints and Sinners L-R: Christian Botta, Daryl Cozzi, Dave Gerstein

We were followed by a power trio called Merrymakers Orchestrina, who played tight 1970s styled blues rock with a classical precision. The sweet mix was aided by the blending skills of soundman Wyatt Mones. Eventually the club was turned over to a dance party and as the couples started to get cozy we headed to the C Train, the Blues Odyssey over, for the moment…

Special thanks to Gary Kiyan and to Dalia for the Silvana pictures and massive enthusiasm! -Christian Botta

Killing Me Softly Basic Chords Review – Chart and Video

“Killing Me Softly (With His Song)” makes for an excellent review and exercise of the basic chords in addition to being a lovely tune with some interesting theory behind it. The song was a number one hit for Roberta Flack in 1973 and with her beautiful vocal and arrangement she crystallized a certain kind of style – folky soul with a hint of Latin.

There are eleven chords in all: G – Em – C – D – Am – A – E – D7 – Am7 – Fmaj7 – B7. You don’t really need the extra 7^th chords, ie Am7 and D7, but they add to the jazzy vibe. The main point is you have to memorize these chords. It’s worth it because you can play many songs with them. You’ll notice that there are three different A chords, and two different E chords, plus two pesky D chords – the way I like to think about the D and D7 chords are that one is a triangular shape pointing towards the body of the guitar, and the other is pointing away from the guitar. You will eventually use them all and here is a great chance to get them down.

You’ll also notice that not all of the chords are listed at the top of the main chart, above. This is simply due to space limitations but it also it serves a purpose – you need to know as soon as possible what an E major chord is, and an E minor chord, and a C chord, etc. They are the ultimate in basic chords. I’ve included a handout of mine that I call, “Basic Chords,” below. These are sixteen of the easiest chords. I’ve heard it said that there are twenty-five chords that you need to play most songs. These are the sixteen easiest and most essential and they would definitely be included in any group of twenty-five.

Take a look at the video. The simple rhythm is used in many songs, and one pattern equals one measure of the song or one chord. Some people refer to it as down – down – up – up – down. I call it the ‘basic syncopated strum’ and you can see a lesson based on it by checking out my post on the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.” There is a chart below. Note how the strum on beat two and a half carries through on beat three, hence 'syncopated.'

The Down-Down-Up-Up-Down Strum Pattern or "Basic Syncopated Strum" is illustrated above.

Make sure that you use the ‘guide fingers’ that are available and also ‘common fingers.’ You can read a primer on guide fingers in my lesson on “Wild Thing.” Some of the available options include the common finger number one (index) that sits on the note C at the first fret, B string and is present in both the Am7 chord and the D7 chord. Do not lift it completely off the string when you go from Am7 to D7. Keep it there! It saves time! Next, you can use the third finger at the second fret of the high E string in the D7 chord as a guide finger to slide to the next chord, G major – the third finger is also on the high E string in that chord, just one fret up. Think, “guide finger, slide finger,” if you want to. These two important techniques are applied right in the first line of the song. You have to apply this theory wherever you can. Where else can you find guide fingers in “Killing Me Softly”? The move from A major to D major is one example, using the third finger on the B string (second line of the song). 

The cover of Roberta Flack's first album on Atlantic Records - Note the jazzy trappings - Oh Yeah!

On a theoretical level, the harmonic progression that underpins much of the song’s gorgeous melody is a circle of fifths – you’ve probably heard of that – for example the Em – Am7 – D7 – G progression of the chorus. (Count backwards from E to A in the alphabet: E - D - C - B - A. Voila! E to A equals five equals a fifth.) Another interesting theoretical device in the song is called a Picardy Third – this accounts for the E major chord at the end of the chorus – the third of the Em chord is raised from G to G#, making the final chord of the phrase and eventually the song major instead of minor, for a more uplifting ending. For more on "Killing Me Softly" click here. Have fun! -Christian Botta