waters

This song is in the School of the Blues House Band Standards list because it shows the typical approach to breaks in a slow blues. Note that this is not a twelve bar progression, but a sixteen bar. What makes it sixteen is the fact that the first line is doubled (8 bars of the I Chord instead of 4). This is a typical treatment for a song with breaks, and a player should listen carefully in bar 4 for any movement to a IV chord or if it stays static... this is an easy place to make an error if you're not aware of the fact that breaks in the beginning of a song could indicate a 16 bar form. continue reading...

It's important to spend time on this standard due to the fact that it's commonly called as the last number of the night. I can't tell you how many times this song was called at the end of a harmonica blowout.

There are two common approaches harmonica players can take...

The easiest is the call and response horn line that James Cotton uses, which is 2 2 2 (2 draw... the root note played three times) after each vocal line of Muddy. This is simple, but catchy and effective. When on the V Chord (bar 9) improvise a V-IV-I lick and turnaround. continue reading...

Pretty cool Muddy Waters Discography compiled by Phil Wight and Fred Rothwell in PDF form (give it a second to load, you'll see a blank screen while it does). I used it last week to research Little Walter recording dates http://www.bluesandrhythm.co.uk/documents/200.pdf