The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

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VikingBlues
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The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

More upbeat stuff from Viking I'm afraid. :yikes:

I've been trying to get the hang of modes and while working on a few Aeolian BTs one of them (by David Wallimann) got right under my skin. I knew I had to try to get a song out of it. I had a poem called "The Dead Bird" where the mood would fit, but I couldn't get the music and words to fit.

Last night I listened to some of Wagners Gotterdamerung - you can't beat easy-listening! When I woke up this morning the BT was in my head and the rhythm of the words in the way they would fit was there too. The recording was a bit hurried before I went to work and before I lost the idea from my head. So it's a bit rough (especially the vocal) but I think it's caught a mood - I'm too close to it to know. :icon_whoknows:

I'm on the Hagstrom Viking Deluxe - mostly just blues scale but with a few bits of Aeolian thrown in here and there. The slide guitar in the background is David Wallimann - I really like the musicality of a lot of his BTs. Chords are Gm7, F9, Gm11, Gm9.

Hope some of you like it.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9196054
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Blindboy
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by Blindboy »

I like this... :clap: Great mood piece. Nice playing, sounds like you are getting a grip on that modal stuff. I haven't a clue about modes. (I think I use some kind of mode for some jazzy things, but I don't know what it is. :icon_whoknows: )
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

Blindboy wrote:I like this... :clap: Great mood piece. Nice playing, sounds like you are getting a grip on that modal stuff. I haven't a clue about modes. (I think I use some kind of mode for some jazzy things, but I don't know what it is. :icon_whoknows: )
Thank you Blindboy. With the skill of the likes of yourself and Bluesinbflat on the real blues front the rest of us have to find refuge in things like modal mood stuff to avoid being seen as obviously substandard!! :alright:

I think there's maybe a Chris Rea (the recent blues man reborn, Chris Rea that is) influence on my take on this BT - 12bar might be able to comment on this as I know he likes his stuff. :icon_whoknows:

I've spent 40 years of playing guitar getting nowhere on getting to grips with anything to do with modes. :motz: Then a few weeks ago I encounter teaching on modes by David Wallimann on Jamplay and his YouTube channel, and suddenly I find there starts to be some sense to it. I'm still a long way from knowing any of the "why's" of it but at least the "how's" are possible. If a BT is Dorian, Phrygian or Aeolian (the minor modes) I can now play along with it without needing to refer to anything. The key to that has been the illustration by David of these three modes in their close relationship to the minor pentatonic, which has become my natural home.

I'm much less certain on the major modes - Ioanian, Lydian, Mixolydian - but then I'm not too hot on major pentatonic either. I need to work at hearing the difference between the modes though so I can know that a BT is, say Aeolian, without needing to be told that it is. :think:
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Bluez2move
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by Bluez2move »

That was a mood trip, 2 say the least :D

Nicely done, and the poem fit right
in2 the scheme of the BT :cool:
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weelie
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by weelie »

VikingBlues wrote: I'm much less certain on the major modes - Ioanian, Lydian, Mixolydian - but then I'm not too hot on major pentatonic either. I need to work at hearing the difference between the modes though so I can know that a BT is, say Aeolian, without needing to be told that it is. :think:
Really moody track there! I like it. Some of Chris Reas more moody stuff (God's great banan skin and what not) is like that, yeah. Though of course he plays slide.

Mixolydian should be snatch if you just think of it as Dorian but one changed note, playing the note four frets up the root, not three frets up. When you play regular blues with major chords, it equates to playing the major third of the I chord when that chord is playing.... I think everybody does that in blues. I see it as playing notes of the chord. (Yes, I am one the people that probably shouldn't be talking about this stuff, as I am no pro). Bending or sliding form b3 to 3 is very common is regular blues (of course you might not always bend up to 3, just almost there, but still).

My timing is *way* off on this practice take of a blues classic, and I didn't think I'll ever post it... but here it is... as you could say the riff is Mixolydian... root, third, fifth of the I chord, and bass plays root third fiffth root (or flat seventh, for the IV chord). http://www.box.net/shared/8h1zx15x68
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

Bluez2move wrote:That was a mood trip, 2 say the least :D
weelie wrote:Really moody track there! I like it.
Thanks guys - I'm glad the moody bit came across OK. I felt I caught that not bad so I didn't want to lose that by trying to fix the technical flaws. :D
weelie wrote:Some of Chris Reas more moody stuff (God's great banan skin and what not) is like that, yeah. Though of course he plays slide.
There's quite a few "moody" ones on his Road to Hell and Back Farewell Tour too - "Where the Blues Come From", "Stony Road", "Somewhere Between Highway 61 & 69", spring to mind. And yes 99% slide playing by him - usually on an Italia, which is an unusual choice for someone as high profile. I just wish I could catch that feeling of stillness that he and his group get live - that feeling of being on the edge of something or the moment of quiet before the storm. I think I maybe did a lot of quite heavy vibrato on the track to hint at a slide sound.

Thanks too Weelie for posting the Mixolydian link and info. I think I'm partly just having to get my ears attuned to the major mode - I've been doing minor stuff almost exclusively for the last year or so and it's become natural to me. Or even natural minor - ha ha. :rofl:
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Bluesmole
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by Bluesmole »

Excellent stuff. Well done VB (& Sandra). I was going to say, " watch out Mr. Rea", but Weelie beat me to it. I, for one, love the tone!!!! :beer:
"Big Bill Broonzy, a white boy's inspiration" (1963), and the Blues ever since.
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

Bluesmole wrote:Excellent stuff. Well done VB (& Sandra). I was going to say, " watch out Mr. Rea", but Weelie beat me to it. I, for one, love the tone!!!! :beer:
Thanks Bluesmole - now if I could just develop a voice like Chris Rea! :roll:
I found the waking up with the song formed in my head exhilirating though - it's never happened before and it could well be the only time. Strange experience!
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12bar
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by 12bar »

VikingBlues wrote:
Blindboy wrote:I think there's maybe a Chris Rea (the recent blues man reborn, Chris Rea that is) influence on my take on this BT - 12bar might be able to comment on this as I know he likes his stuff. :icon_whoknows:
There is - this floating, singing tone has a lot of Rea. And the voice - perfect... :pray: Reminds me of - Nick Cave... :think:
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

12bar wrote:
VikingBlues wrote:
Blindboy wrote:I think there's maybe a Chris Rea (the recent blues man reborn, Chris Rea that is) influence on my take on this BT - 12bar might be able to comment on this as I know he likes his stuff. :icon_whoknows:
There is - this floating, singing tone has a lot of Rea. And the voice - perfect... :pray: Reminds me of - Nick Cave... :think:
Thanks 12bar :D - youk now what it's like when you're too close to a new piece and you don't know whether you can hear what you've played or you're still hearing what it's meant to sound like in your head. I'll need to check out Nick Cave - I only have a minimal knowledge of his work.

I hope the renovations are going well.

A lot of the mood for this piece does come from David Walliamann's BT - I've just sort of tapped into it and tried to add extra mood. He's a talented teacher but also a talented musician which I suppose he needed to be to get an endorsement from Ibanez at age 22 when he only first picked up a guitar at age 15. Don't know how he juggles his own website and teaching with Jamplay teaching and his work with Glass Hammer.

Not to mention how much of the mood comes from Sandra's lyrics. :pray: That kicks your playing ans singing in the right direction.

I do regret there being none of this opportunity I have now to do good quality audio recordings and having access to all these BTs etc for most of my guitar playing life - seems like a lot of my years have been spent wandering in a musical wilderness. :sad:
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HalfBlindLefty
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by HalfBlindLefty »

Sweet and good stuff coming from your side.
I really like this one. Despite your age you keep growing ! (grin)
A long time ago, in the old forum : Registered: Mon, 27 Nov 2006. Wonder were the other old members all went....
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Strummer07
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by Strummer07 »

VB ...this is a lovely track and you and Sandra are turning into a class act !!
I do hope Sandra is contempleting a smell book of her pems and other work

Now I do hope you can take a joke !!.ever since I heard your song ...for some wierd reason I've had this clip almost constantly repeating in my head

[youtube]yuY44PHC0wI[/youtube]

(12bar edit: removed "=")

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :rofl:
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lyric from "Out in The Fields"
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

HalfBlindLefty wrote:Sweet and good stuff coming from your side.
I really like this one. Despite your age you keep growing ! (grin)
Thank you HBL. One day I hope to have a vocal I'm Ok with and a good backing track that I've made myself - well we can all have a dream! :roll:
Strummer07 wrote:VB ...this is a lovely track and you and Sandra are turning into a class act !!
I do hope Sandra is contempleting a smell book of her pems and other work

Now I do hope you can take a joke !!.ever since I heard your song ...for some wierd reason I've had this clip almost constantly repeating in my head

[youtube]=yuY44PHC0wI[/youtube]
Thanks Strummer. :D Sandra's lyrics are a great help to me - although not all her poetry has that rhythmic quality that lends itself to songs unfortunately - I've been going through the "back-catalogue" of poems to try to get some inspiration and I've had to discard the possibility a lot of very good verbal imagery.

I'm afraid the YouTube link on your post seems incomplete and I haven't been able to juggle the web page reference using what there is of the YouTube reference number above. If you want to have a go at re-posting the link, I'm keen to have a chuckle. :big_smile:
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Strummer07
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by Strummer07 »

I Think I am going to have to just give up on embedding youtube links.

Is there anyone more IT inadept than moi !!????


I;ve listened to "Dead Bird" 4 or 5 times and then this suddenly came into my head ..............and it won't go away !!


Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuY44PHC0wI
"Death is just a heartbeat away"
lyric from "Out in The Fields"
Gary Moore 1952-2011
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

Strummer07 wrote:I Think I am going to have to just give up on embedding youtube links.

Is there anyone more IT inadept than moi !!????


I;ve listened to "Dead Bird" 4 or 5 times and then this suddenly came into my head ..............and it won't go away !!


Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuY44PHC0wI
Well - my grin was about wide enough to meet round the back of my head. Nice one Strummer - beautifully sick and funny. :rofl:
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VikingBlues
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by VikingBlues »

Ah well - the "Dead Bird" peaked at #2 in the Soundclick Electric Blues Charts and is now falling off its perch.

It is an ex-hit. Beautiful plumage though. :rofl:

At least it's showed me that my first go, "Clapped Out" wasn't a one off fluke - was it really only in December last yearthat I first let one of my recordings out into public after this sites encouragment? You've all brought me on an amazing journey in such a very short time. Many thanks to you all for that. :D :beer:
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12bar
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by 12bar »

Strummer07 wrote:I Think I am going to have to just give up on embedding youtube links.

Is there anyone more IT inadept than moi !!????
You nearly got it - just the "=" - character doesn't belong to the video ID :alright:
I've edited it. Anyway, I can't see it, it's not availabe in my country. :wall:
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Re: The Dead Bird (a mournful blues)

Post by fredm »

Nice one Vikingblues. I don't know about Chris Rea, the first thing that came to my mind as the vocals came in was "is this Johnny Cash."?

Good stuff.
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