Blind Blake Ragtime King Biography (born Arthur Blake or Arthur Phelps,
and sometimes known as Arthur Blind Blake (born around 1893, in Jacksonville, Florida; died: 1933) was a prolific ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He is known "The King of Ragtime Guitar". He put out around 80 songs for Paramount from 1926 to 1932. He was an accomplished guitarists of his style with a astonishingly diverse repertoire.
He is well known for his rhythmic guitar sound that sounded like ragtime piano. Unfortunately, here is only one photograph of him existing.
Not a lot is known about Blake. His place of birth is shown as Jacksonville, Florida by Paramount but that its not certain. On one song he lapses into a Geechee way of speaking, which could lead us that he was from the coastal region of Georgia.
Nothing is known of the circumstances surrounding his death and we are not even sure of his correct name. According to some, his proper name was Arthur Phelps, although there is no real, written evidence of this.
The "Phelps" name probably came about after he responded to Blind Willie McTell in a conversation in 1955 in Atlanta, where Blake was never reported to have frequented; neither did Willie McTell ever live in or near Chicago.
However, many of Blake's tracks were copyrighted by the name 'Arthur Blake', and during his recording with Papa Charlie Jackson, "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It", the following words are clearly heard:
pattern of Blake's ragtime guitar in 'Southern Rag'.
Blake's Amazing Guitar Finger Picking Technique
It's not known if Blake was taught by a previous master, or how he formed his idiosyncratic playing style. Of course, many guitar players had a complex and rhythmic guitar technique, but not many were so accurate and quick as Blake.
In his musical presentations, regardless of the key, the formations he used were often strikingly simple. His left hand fretting fingers were good at damping the bass string sound and that movement is vita when finger picking rapidly. It seems to me his picking hand (the right) was the most important, but of course both hands coordinate to make that wonderful sound.His finger picking patterns could be separated into these parts – rolling thumb strikes , rapid finger triplets and single string runs picked with alternating thumb and finger. It’s true that other players had these techniques, but Blake used these techniques continuously throughout his songs, forming complicated and syncopated combinations.
His thumb action in should be a particular subject of students starting to learn how to play blues guitar in the ragtime blues style. Many guitar players know the picking pattern called ‘alternating bass’. However, Blake would roll his thumb between two bass strings, forming two beats instead of one! Also, he could change the picking pattern and reverse it in mid flow, which exemplifies Blake's incredible dexterity.
Blake Songs In The Key Of C
You only have to listen to the Diddy Wah Diddy Lyrics Blind Blake wrote to feel that playful approach that he brought to fingerstyle blues guitar. It's not only very accurate but it's so fast. It's incredibly difficult to copy, but a lot of fun trying!
Typical of Blind Blake lyrics, Diddy throws a cheeky reference to sexual matters without actually saying it, so that his songs were acceptable to all. It sometimes feels as though the words were kind of superfluous and it was the guitar playing that appealed to listeners.
Diddy uses a very standard chord progression structure and the chords themselves are very easy, we play them all the time, but it's the right hand fingerpicking technique that pushes this song into halls of fame.
West Coast Blues
Blind Blake West Coast Blues.mp3