B.B. King & Eric Clapton - Three O'Clock Blues (GT)

PLAY } BLUES

ON THE CD

TRACKS 8-9

BB King & Eric Clapton Three O’Clock Blues Richard Barrett guides you through a great re-working of BB’s breakthrough hit with hints and tips on improvisation, plus a smattering of blues history and a full play-along backing track! ABILITY RATING Info Key B major Tempo 78 bpm CD TRACKS 8-9

Moderate Will improve your… Phrasing Timing Improvisation

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hree O’Clock Blues was originally recorded by bluesman Lowell Fulson in 1946, then covered by BB King in 1951. More than any other song, it is responsible for catapulting BB into the international spotlight. Interestingly, recording. There had been a few previous releases produced by Sun Records’ legendary Sam Phillips (pre-Elvis), but sales had been relatively low. However, sound recording – reputedly made in a makeshift studio at Memphis YMCA – and the raw electricity of BB’s combined vocal and guitar performance, caught the record buying public’s imagination in a big way. Three O’Clock Blues became a live favourite throughout his long career. Checking out the track listing of BB’s 2000 collaboration with Eric Clapton, Riding

consecutive 24-bar solos, but the way they but never stepping on each other’s toes. The Riding With The King version clocks in at over eight and a half minutes, much of it very minimal (as it should be) during the vocal sections. Clearly something had to give,

THE BACKING TRACK COULD MAKE A GREAT LAUNCH PAD FOR YOUR OWN IMPROVISATIONS, IN THE SPIRIT THAT BB AND ERIC PLAYED

one tune, we’ve opted to transcribe all 48 bars of Eric and BB’s soloing in full, but leave the comparatively sparse verses to your imagination. If you’re determined to take the plunge and learn the whole track note for

scale patterns provided below. This would certainly be the spirit in which BB and Eric approached the session. Though committing their improvised lines into writing has many of the phrases push and pull against the tempo, giving a very ‘elastic’ and expressive feel that also carries over to the string bends and vibrato – especially in BB’s case. After all, he has done perhaps more than any other guitarist to introduce this than a little interesting to hear how unusual his phrasing is, compared to the scores of imitators that came later. Perhaps the biggest lesson to be taken from analysing this piece is not the notes themselves, but the rhythm and spacing of the phrasing, lots of pauses (a transcriber’s dream!) and the feeling that these guys are really listening hard to each other, and reacting to each other’s playing moment by moment. It also sounds like they’re having fun – the most important thing of all to remember, whatever you’re playing! 5

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tune appears on the running order. It’s not the only version he recorded as a duet with Clapton – giving us an unparalleled opportunity to compare and learn from these two masters at work. Not just the two

reiterated in the solos – as you’d expect from players with such established vocabularies.

Most of us would admit we add vibrato automatically – perhaps indiscriminately – to bends and held notes. Once you’ve got the hang of this notoriously tricky technique, it seems a pity to waste the opportunity to show it off. But listening back, no longer carried away in that moment, there may be times when you long to hear a pure sustained note for a change. A young Eric Clapton would apparently record many of his practice sessions, then listen back to evaluate the fine details in his playing (including when or when not to add vibrato). Don’t forget that the speed, depth and frequency of your vibrato will probably be unique to you, so don’t feel you have to meet any particular criteria. Listening to how great vocalists use vibrato can be a salutary lesson to us guitarists.

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alternatively make a great launch pad for your own improvisations, using the Blues

TECHNIQUE FOCUS Bends and vibrato

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We’re talking about two different players and approaches here, but there are several factors that apply to both. Neither Eric nor BB favour a particularly boosted bass or treble – most of the action is happening in the mid-range, though Eric’s Strat neck pickup tone is understandably brighter than BB’s humbuckers. Eric’s tone is slightly ‘pushed’ if not distorted, while BB’s Lucille sounds clean and a little compressed. You can hear the natural room sound, but both guitars have had a subtle, longer delay added.

THREE O’CLOCK BLUES { BB KING & ERIC CLAPTON

K MAZUR / GETTY IMAGES

Here King plays Lucille (ES-355) and Clapton a vintage Gibson L-5CES

TRACK RECORD The original Three O’Clock Blues is on BB’s debut album, Singin’ The Blues. Another classic is Live At The Regal from 1965, a huge influence on many up-and-coming blues and rock guitarists of the day. And have another listen to Eric’s playing on John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers’ Beano album from 1966. Between these three albums, you’ll find enough blues phrasing ideas to last a lifetime!

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PLAY } BLUES

ON THE CD

TRACKS 8-9

Three O’Clock Blues Music and lyrics by BB King and Jules Bihari. © 1952 Powerforce Music, USA/Careers BMG Music Publishing Inc. Universal Music Publishing MGB Limited. US/UK Reproduced by kind permission of Music Sales Limited. US/CAN reproduced by kind permission of Hal Leonard Corporation All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.

PLAYING TIPS

CD TRACK 8

[Bars 1-8] Eric kicks off with some melodic B major Pentatonic phrasing (B-C#shape 1 B Blues scale (B-D-E-F-F#-A) for the underlying B major chord. D#-F#-G#). The ‘elastic’ approach to rhythm is immediately apparent, given [Bars 9-12] Eric stays in this territory for the next four bars – until the end of the syncopated phrasing in bar 1, then the swung semiquavers in bar 2. It’s the chord progression. The phrasing is a little more constant, with minimal unlikely that two consecutive takes would be identical, so while you want to be pauses and lots of quarter tone ‘blues’ bends, slides and selective vibrato. in control of the bigger picture, allow some room for expression. Some wide These are absolutely key if you want to nail the Clapton feel – much more GUITAR TECHNIQUESflurries 2 5 6then see Eric shift his attention to the bends and semiquaver/triplet important than fancy licks, though if that’s your thing, I refer you to bar 9. Richard Barrett's THREE O'CLOCK BLUES - BB King & Eric Clapton

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THREE O’CLOCK BLUES { BB KING & ERIC CLAPTON BB King & Eric Clapton: Riding With The King - Guitar Recorded Versions. (Guitar Tab, with chord symbols, 152pp, £16.95 ref. AM968242). Authentic transcriptions of all the songs from BB King and Eric Clapton’s Grammy award-winning collaborative album. This excellent songbook includes every track, including Days of Old, Three O’Clock Blues and Come Rain or Come Shine.

PLAYING TIPS

CD TRACK 8

[Bars 13-16] Some rapid alternate picking and shape 4 B minor Pentatonic way up at the 14th fret begin Eric’s second round. You can hear he’s really digging in with the pick on those high notes and exaggerating the staccato hits to emphasise the silent pauses. All that string bending can be hard on the fingers, so be sure to take regular breaks. 2 [Bars 17-20] A pause at the end of bar 17 facilitates a shift to a kind of hybrid

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PLAY } BLUES

ON THE CD

TRACKS 8-9

PLAYING TIPS

CD TRACK 8

[Bars 21-24] For the final four bars of Eric’s solo, he flits between several positions – this acts as a kind of consolidation to wind up his main solo over the chord turnaround. There are an awful lot of useful ideas concentrated into these four bars, so take the time to fully absorb them.

[Bars 24-28] The last note of Eric’s solo leads to the beginning of BB’s. A favourite trick is to punctuate solos with a high exclamatory note (see bar 26 for the high B at the 19th fret). You’ll also hear phrases landing on the 6th (G#) – another BB trademark, though you’ll have noticed it in Eric’s playing too.

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THREE O’CLOCK BLUES { BB KING & ERIC CLAPTON PLAYING TIPS

CD TRACK 8

[Bars 29-32] Shifting positions for the E7, or V chord, the first phrase travels horizontally through shapes 4 then 3 of B minor Pentatonic, with a particularly elastic approach to the tuning. Our version has quantised this a little – not an attempt to ‘improve’ on BB’s performance, it just sounded silly when trying to copy 4 him! There’s some nice pick attack on those later shape 1 Pentatonics too.

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[Bars 33-37] Did I mention those 6ths? Here are lots more of them, as BB builds towards the end of the first round. These licks could be said to derive from the shape 3 Pentatonic, incorporating those extra G#s as a bluesy ‘colour’. This alone can give your playing more of a BB King feel. The use of this blend of shape 3 with added notes has become known as the ‘BB Box’.

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PLAY } BLUES

ON THE CD

TRACKS 8-9

PLAYING TIPS

CD TRACK 8

[Bars 38-41] Sticking with the same position, but adding one of those high root notes at the 19th fret, this section is more about rhythm and pitch variation than knowing lots of licks. Try each phrase and see how closely you can emulate it. This is a great way to absorb new ideas. [Bars 42-45] Here, BB gets things shifting, moving from shape 3 to shape 1, adding the odd major 3rd (D) as he descends to the sixth string. A real bendfest in bar 45 takes us way down to the lower reaches of the fretboard. This is

surprisingly tricky (BB did have some chops!), so take your time. [Bars 46-48] For the final couple of phrases, we’re jumping around the fretboard a little. It’s interesting to compare this with how Eric closes his solo; from the 4th fret up to the 19th for another of those root notes, landing in a shape 1 style phrase, incorporating the home key’s 6th (G#) at the very end. So there you have it – yes, there are always new patterns to learn, but it’s often about being fully ‘present’ when playing the ones you do know.

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