West Coast Blues
Added 2019-08-24 19:21:53 +0000 UTCI've spent years thinking about this one, it wouldn't be a stretch to say it's been well over a decade. The key to his sound is the use of the thumb on adjacent eighth notes, usually preceding to, and directly on the beat. To add to the complexity of this move, he is usually pinching an additional upper melody or harmony note to accompany the bass notes. When looking back at all of the transcriptions or arrangements that have ever been made for "West Coast Blues," one of these elements is usually missing. I believe Blake used only three digits on the right hand; thumb, middle, and index. Most of the action will be happening with the thumb and middle fingers, while the index fills out most of the upbeats. Pay attention to the arrows in the tablature. All arrows pointing up are played with the thumb, all arrows pointing down are played with the middle finger. The finger will only play through the number of strings that the arrow is next to, so if an arrow covers the lower two strings and there is a third string above, the thumb will play the lower two while the index or middle plays what is on top. Use fingers that make sense and refer to the video or post a comment here if you're confused.
This transcription corresponds exactly to Blind Blake's recording of "West Coast Blues." I transcribed his recording in its entirety. Please keep this in mind if following along with my video, as I did not play every single variation that is included in the transcription. I used the second take included on the first CD from the "All the Published Sides" collection, CD 1 track 5. In addition to being a completely awesome take, I found this recording to have the best fidelity which made it a little easier to transcribe. This is my first go at Patreon, so bear with me. I may do this kind of thing more or less depending on how much support there is. I would love to see this grow into a large community where we can dig into the finest details of some of the most complex fingerstyle pieces ever recorded, ultimately doing this kind of thing once a month for a true subscription service.
Instructional play through on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu821qrJXPk
Comments
Thank you Kalle. I’d love to hear you play it when you get it worked up!
Andrew Lardner
2021-02-28 21:33:32 +0000 UTCAndy, you've done a remarkable job with the WCB transcription. Over the years I've worked a lot with the tune and I'm totally convinced that you've got it right. Everything is playable and it gives the tune it's characteristic groove once you master the technique. Great work!
Kalle Jämsen
2021-02-28 16:18:58 +0000 UTCI think that is a good suggestion James. That first post was before I started adding the play throughs to each new piece. I’m thinking it would be fun to revisit WCB with a play through as a bonus post when we finally hit my Patreon subscriber goal, hopefully in the next couple months.
Andrew Lardner
2020-10-13 13:18:16 +0000 UTCLet’s see the play through video! Great song!
James Martino
2020-10-12 20:49:14 +0000 UTC
