The Ragtime Guitar Of The Singing Reverend
Frequently it's the small points which guitarists incorporate which
create all the difference. A lot of of us have played Candy Man by Gary
Davis, for a long time, with varying levels of success. I've played it
for years, and then I decided to take a finer look to see what's
happening in the picking patterns.
Of course, we perceive that
he applied just one finger and his thumb for his right hand finger picking,
but this is just the start of his genius for blues music. Loosen up your fingers and let's go ...
One Of The Last Greatest Guitar Giants
Reverend Gary Davis was unusual in quite a few respects. The
complexity and playful richness of his music is legendary, and we could
think ourselves to be quite fortunate because his skills remained
undiminished in his later years. Not like a lot of blues men, who
stopped playing and restarted once they were 'discovered' again, Gary
Davis by no means stopped playing.
It was still his habit to play the blues
in the streets around Harlem till he became in vogue once again, after
that started to record and play small and large gigs once again. He was
additionally really willing to educate virtually anybody that asked
him, it would seem, and so the abilities have been passed on to young
guitarists like Stephan Grossman and many others.
Before we
have a closer look at the Reverend's finger work, watch the online
video below and pay attention to a little advice about guitar picking
from the Rev Davis himself. Let the Master talk a little about how to
learn the blues.
Online video - A Few Suggestion From Reverend Davis
First of all, Reverend Gary Davis used the thumb and index finger of his right hand
to create all of these incredibly complex sounds. Of course, his
finger may move swiftly and seemed to move independently from his
thumb. He also utilized picks, sometimes helps to be far more accurate. As far as I know, he never used dropped D tuning.
He was quite proficient in any key, both major or minor, but it wasn't
this fact that exemplified his music (for me.) The timing of his bass
rhythm were rock solid, as you may expect, and he could break out of the
alternating bass pattern at will, either to double time and create
syncopated rhythms, or to generate lightning quick single string runs.
For the latter, he would pick a string alternately with his thumb and
finger, as though he were employing a plectrum. It was extraordinary
enough, but he typically sang at the same time which is a great
technique - have a go sometime!
His thumb would also leap
across to the high strings when needed, to finish a run or a phrase,
giving the impression of more than one finger being applied. The
consequence was a unique experience of ragtime guitar performance which
has certainly not been equaled.
In the short embedded video clip below, I investigate a couple of of these techniques.
For the last part of the article, we take a close up glimpse at
Candy Man. It's a very desirable piece and is additionally one of the
Reverend's simplest songs. After closer examination, it's not so
straightforward after all! It's best to approach the Reverend's
techniques with a similar basic technique, which is, use just your
thumb and one finger for picking the strings. That may possibly imply
that we need to begin quite slowly, but this is the way you will
produce the genuine sound, which is what it's all about.
You'll instantly recognize the standard Candy Man riff, but pay
attention to those small jumps made by the thumb and finger. These
jumps, collectively with the bass alternating on two strings, define the
tune. Get pleasure from it and take it easy.
(There's a mistake in the tab - let me know if you uncover it!)
Author: Jim Bruce
Date: 2014-07-07
Category: Music
Online video - Candy Man - Gary Davis Fashion
