#CROSSROADS LYRICS ROBERT JOHNSON HOW TO PLAY THAT#
#CROSSROADS LYRICS ROBERT JOHNSON PORTABLE INSTRUMENT THAN#
#CROSSROADS LYRICS ROBERT JOHNSON SERIES OF WHAT#

Asked the lord above 'Have mercy, save poor Bob, if you please'. I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees. I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees. Recording of November 27, 1936.

Crossroads Lyrics Robert Johnson Series Of What

Obviously, Blues songs are in 12-bar Blues form, but so are many Rock songs, Jazz songs, Country songs, Tejano songs, Cajun songs, etc. вЂњThe BluesвЂќ is actually two different things вЂ“ вЂњBluesвЂќ refers to a major genre of American music, and вЂњ12-bar BluesвЂќ refers to the structural form of вЂњThe Blues,вЂќ which can be applied to music composed in practically every other genre and style available. Repeat E7 A7 E7 I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride A7 E7 I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride B7 A7 E7 Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by.The Blues is probably the most significant musical form created anywhere in the world in the 20 th century, and it absolutely came straight out of the Mississippi Delta, which is the floodplain area of the Mississippi River that extends into Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Deliver me out of the mire, and.The sixth Southern musician to be examined in this series of What Makes This Musician Great will be a bluesman that was so good he became a ghost story вЂ“ Robert Johnson.A7 D7 A7 I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees A7 D7 I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees E7 D7 A7 Ask the lord up above for mercy, take me if you please. Robert prays to God on his knees asking for forgiveness of sins while getting saved. Standin' at the crossroad, I tried to flag a ride.This song is about becoming a Christian.

The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where. Johnson performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. 'Cross Road Blues' (sometimes known simply as 'Crossroads') is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Asked the Lord above, Have mercy, now, save poor Bob if you pleaseLyrics.

ItвЂ™s difficult to know which one was first, but Alabama composer W.C. However, we know that Ragtime piano songs began featuring small sections within the composition that were in a 12-bar form, and around 1910, several composers began publishing them. It was not formally composed or written down, but learned and passed along by the memories of travelling musicians, which makes it impossible to pinpoint an exact beginning.

Crossroads Lyrics Robert Johnson Portable Instrument Than

Then, he went away for a while to handle some family business, and when he returned, he was suddenly a master of the Blues guitar. MOZART - Amadeus Intro CANON ROCK STEVE VAI - Crossroads Solo Apr 29.And thatвЂ™s where the ghost story comes in.When he was just a kid in Mississippi, Robert Johnson learned to play the Blues on harmonica, and was known among local musicians as a competent player вЂ“ not great, but not bad. Songs, Tabs From Four Till Late bass Robert Johnson Posted on April 14. It was during the 1920вЂ™s and 1930вЂ™s that those pioneering travelling Blues men were first recorded, and among them was Robert Johnson. However, when the travelling storytellers of the Mississippi Delta began adapting the Blues form in the 1920вЂ™s and playing it on guitar (a much more portable instrument than piano), thatвЂ™s when things really took off. Since Ragtime was a genre of piano, then technically Blues began as a piano style.

Crossroads Lyrics Robert Johnson How To Play That

He recorded three specific original songs that also folded right into the legend вЂ“ вЂњCross Road Blues,вЂќ вЂњMe and the Devil Blues,вЂќ and вЂњHellhound on My Trail.вЂќ The fact that he died young right on the verge of a live appearance at Carnegie Hall only added fuel to the fires of his supposed damnation.I actually have my own theory as to how Robert Johnson was able to go away and come back with insane talent on guitar. From that point forward, Robert Johnson could play the Blues like a man possessed вЂ“ perhaps literally. As the story goes, Johnson met with the Devil down at вЂњthe cross roads.вЂќ He handed his guitar to the Devil, who played it, and then handed it back. And the legend stuck.Trading oneвЂ™s immortal soul to the Devil in return for an earthly treasure is a 15 th century German legend, and it plays perfectly into Robert JohnsonвЂ™s myth. They reasoned that only someone who had made a deal with the Devil could learn how to play that good that fast. This time, the local musicians not only took notice, they were suspicious.

Usually a crowd would gather, and he played and sang for his supper, boarding, and companionship. Upon arrival in a new town, he would head for the barbershop if it was daytime or juke joint if it was night, stand on the sidewalk, and play the Blues. He ranged all over the Delta, going from town to town by hitching rides (cars, trucks, or even tractors), hopping on trains, or simply walking. Rather than continue along that difficult, backbreaking path, he chose to be a travelling Blues man instead.

There are some more sophisticated harmonic structures to consider within the form (if you understand a little music theory), but you can enjoy the Blues for the rest of your life perfectly fine without that. This 3-phrase pattern is repeated throughout the entire song, and if you did nothing but spend the entire song counting the measures and phrases, youвЂ™d still have a productive and rewarding listening experience. Using the lyrics of Robert JohnsonвЂ™s song вЂњCross Road Blues,вЂќ hereвЂ™s an example.PHRASE 1 (A) вЂ“ I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees.PHRASE 2 (A) вЂ“ I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees.PHRASE 3 (B) вЂ“ Asked the Lord above, вЂњHave mercy, save poor Bob if you please.вЂќDo you see it? The first two phrases match, and the third phrase is different вЂ“ AAB. The first two phrases match each other, and the third phrase is different, giving it an AAB form. HereвЂ™s how it works.Any song in 12-bar Blues form has each verse comprised of 12 measures that are divided up into three phrases each вЂ“ 4 measures per phrase.

Most songs in Western music вЂ“ sacred or secular, silly or artfully composed вЂ“ naturally fall into a 16-bar pattern in four phrases. ItвЂ™s just as easy to spot the 12-bar Blues form in songs by Robert Johnson as it is in songs by Hank Williams, Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, The Allman Brothers Band, or even The Beatles.So how does this differ from other musical forms? The difference is in the вЂњ12-barвЂќ part. Perhaps the most magnificent thing about 12-bar Blues is its utter simplicity, and thatвЂ™s why it is so incredibly versatile. King, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and ALL of them. Plus, it works with all the other songs of Robert Johnson, as well as all the songs of Son House, Muddy Waters, LightninвЂ™ Hopkins, HowlinвЂ™ Wolf, Willie Dixon, T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, B.B.

When you are subconsciously expecting a song to flow into that fourth, balanced phrase, itвЂ™s a bit of a jolt when itвЂ™s suddenly not there, as if you had the rug pulled out from under your ears. The Blues are jarring to the senses because they are missing a phrase (three phrases instead of four) and are missing some measures (12 measures instead of 16). Probably more than 90% of all Western music is composed this way, but not 12-bar Blues.

Imagine holding up your hands as вЂњmonster clawsвЂќ as if to scare someone. HeвЂ™s known for innovating the Blues guitar and voice, so letвЂ™s get into that.Robert Johnson played a вЂњsteady bassвЂќ guitar style, which means that the right-hand thumb only picks a singular root bass note, and not a вЂњbass line.вЂќ The rest of the right-hand fingers each pluck an individual string at the same time, which gives the whole right hand a claw-style motion. The composer has always chosen to follow the 12-bar Blues form purposefully and sticks to it throughout the creative process.But remember вЂ“ Robert Johnson isnвЂ™t known for innovating the 12-bar Blues form, since it was already there when he came around. Songs donвЂ™t just spill out of a composerвЂ™s head and randomly fall into an accidental 12-bar Blues form.

In my opinion, this would be a perfectly natural guitar plucking hand position for a former Mississippi sharecropper.Sometimes, Robert Johnson tuned the guitar in non-standard ways, which allowed his left hand to slide around in unique positions on the guitar neck, playing chords and individual melodic notes simultaneously. Cotton pickers learn the necessity of keeping their hands in this claw position in order to pick cotton quickly without getting cut to pieces. The claw hand position allows your fingers to grab onto the soft cotton between the sharp points and pluck it without getting stabbed. My grandmother once showed me how this hand position is vital for picking cotton, because once the petals of the cotton boll open up and peel back, they harden into very sharp points. The whole right hand is held with all the fingers in a specific position as the strings are plucked, and it is very similar to the claw hand position used to pick cotton.