Soul/R&B/Blues players.

CTN

CTN

The Drama Dude
I decided I wanna start a sorta 60s, 70s soul/R&B/Blues band.

I'm pretty familiar with blues since it's basically how I taught myself to play guitar before moving on and playing metal all the time basically. And although I know I really like soul and old school R&B, I've never really played it on guitar.

I need some advice on tackling these genres and songwriting specially from a rhythm guitar perspective.

Hit me!
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

CTN said:
Hit me!
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That's a good place to start -- listening to The Godfather, James Brown.
His various guitarists over the years have defined rhythm playing. Guys like Jimmy Nolen and "Catfish" Collins (Bootsy's brother).

Of course, there's so many to choose from, like Cornell Dupree, Eddie Hazel, Skip Pitts or Steve Cropper... I could go on all day.

Initially, you may be surprised how intricate some guitar parts can be.
This is 3 rhythm guitars, locking together, but always letting the bass and drums stand out:



According to an old Guitar World (V1, #2 or #3; I had it long ago) one of the players on this track (the 2nd one in, doing the low part) was Nile Rodgers.
Of course, he's got a few words to say about getting a groove going.

Nile Rodgers said:
One day, following a gig in Miami, Nard [Bernard Edwards] got me to trade in my prized jazz guitar, a hollow-bodied Gibson Barney Kessel, for a sleek solid-bodied Fender Stratocaster, the six-string equivalent of trading in a Range Rover for a Porsche. The local act that opened for us played on our equipment, and their guitar player sounded better than I did on my own amplifier. Nard convinced me it was the guitar that made the difference. His soul-man makeover plan was working.

He came to my room to admire my new guitar and showed me the style the other guy had played on my amp. He fingered the chords with his left hand, and his right hand would continuously play sixteen notes to the bar while accenting the main parts of the rhythm. He called it "chucking." Bernard used to be a guitar player before he switched to bass, and one lesson was all I needed. For the next few nights straight, while my roommate pursued all manner of trysts, I was having a love affair in the bathroom with my new ax. In just a few days, I'd emerge as a chucking funk guitarist who knew more jazz chord inversions than most of my R&B counterparts.
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(Emphasis added)

Hope this gets you started.
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.




The chop is explained at the top of this part:



 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

curtis mayfield, james brown, old detroit motown... good things to check out
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.



Over the past year, and hopefully continuing into 2015, I've been working through a few blues books I have. They have very simple licks, but I find that I can expand on them or just keep them as is for my bag of tricks. It's a lot more satisfying than trying to learn some billion-note solo that I forget right after I learn it.
 
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Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

LLL said:
Also, lots of 70s TV theme songs have the funk. wakka-wakka guitars and all.
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Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

Learn your triads and chor extensions... Robben Ford would be good to check out.... Al Green as well...
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

I hear an awful lot of those Hendrix style double stops and kinda chordal riffing in many soul tunes. That and stunningly good (not necessarily complex) bass riffs.
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

GuitarStv said:
I hear an awful lot of those Hendrix style double stops and kinda chordal riffing in many soul tunes. That and stunningly good (not necessarily complex) bass riffs.
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Indeed, Hendrix got his chops playing with the Isley Brothers and even played a bit with Little Richard.
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

SnakeAces said:
Indeed, Hendrix got his chops playing with the Isley Brothers and even played a bit with Little Richard.
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True. Prior to that, many times he played local clubs outside Fort Campbell KY (about 150 mi. south of me here) during his Army days. That's where he met Billy Cox, later one of the "gypsys" in his post-Experience band.

He had enough cred (and chops) to win the fabled Apollo Theater Amateur Night prize. This led to his Isley gig, and also to recording with Don Covay.
Here he is in a 3-guitar rhythm section, with Bob Bushnell and Jimmy Johnson. Bernard "Pretty" Purdie is holding it down on the drums.

(this record label is the UK pressing)


+1 to TwilightOdyssey. 70's US TV was quite funky.
These two by Jack Elliott:


Baretta theme: Dave Grusin
Sanford & Son: Quincy Jones
White Shadow: Mike Post
Theme from SWAT: H'wood session guy Barry DeVorzon.

The session guys both on Baretta and SWAT were people like James Jamerson (when Motown Detroit shut down, he tried to make a go of it in L.A.), Ray Parker Jr., Jay Graydon and Dean Parks.

Quincy Jones threw down some hardness... Sanford & Son, Ironside, the original Bill Cosby Show.
He was using players like Dennis Coffey and Wah Wah Watson.

Speaking of Dennis Coffey (an actual Motown Funk Brother), you have to get to this.
His post-Motown solo breakout hit:
 
Re: Soul/R&B/Blues players.

GuitarStv said:
I hear an awful lot of those Hendrix style double stops and kinda chordal riffing in many soul tunes. That and stunningly good (not necessarily complex) bass riffs.
Click to expand...
There were a few guys using double- and triple-stop playing and slides in their comp work. Cornell Dupree, Steve Cropper and Skip Pitts come to mind.

Check out Skip here, on an Isley album track:
 
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