western swing

[klutzee]

Post some simple I-IV-V western swing type licks for me, will ya'all?
Please!

[klutzee]

C'mon guys......I am trying to get into this style and need some simple stuff to play over simple progressions to get started.
Plaese!!!!!
Thanks

[el_extranjero]

Ok, this is almost certainly going to be considered heresy by some and have me booted out of the forum.... but...

I've found most of Bob Will / Asleep at the Wheel type of stuff is basic Jazz and Blues and can be played in the Minor Pentatonic with Relative notes. Sorry but I can't help with specific licks, but once you figure out what scale a piece is played in building the licks is a bit easier.

[Anonymous]

Which is what makes it so cool! :-)

Anyway... Greg, I'm sorry, but I don't know what to post for "any Western swing licks?" anymore than I would know what to post for "any jazz licks?" There's not one or two or three "licks" that you can play that are instantly identifiable as "Western swing." I could say that Western swing licks tend to center around "inside" versions of chords, like 6ths, 9ths and 13ths, as opposed to more "outside" versions with altered tensions, like flat 9, sharp 9, flat 5, flat 13, etc. But there are practically limitless ways to construct melodies and fills within the framework of the songs – it's really all contextual and stylistic. Learn some of the songs, learn the melodies, learn the progressions, and everything will flow out of that.

I posted this in another thread in the last day or so, but my best recommendation would be to get A) a copy of "For the Last Time" by Bob Wills, and B) a copy of the Amazing Slow Downer. The rest is up to you.

I know that may not seem like much help, but there's no quick shortcut that I know of for learning how to play this style. Best of luck, CS

[Tim Bowen]

I've played a few shows with fellow TDPRI guy rbjr's band, & we've done sort of a Western Swing version of Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)". Ron didn't sing the song, his wife did... also, I prefer to call the tune "You Ain't Woman Enough (To BE My Man)".... Awwwright, enough silliness, sorry...

Anyway, I'm in agreement with Chris S. in that 6ths, 9ths, & 13ths are meat 'n' potatoes. With that in mind, as opposed to throwing out a single note phrase, I thought I'd tab the 4 bar chordal intro that I use for the aforementioned Loretta tune. Basic structure is this:

|-- C -- | -- D -- | -- G -- | -- G -- |

And here's the intro lick. What you want is a steady swing eighth note feel. If you count the tab below, there's not 32 hits; so what you need to do is hit some muted ghost strokes on some of the "ands" in the count, to keep the swing feel chugging along (you'll feel where they should go). Release the tension on the fretted chord & use an upstroke for a percussive muted effect for the ghost strokes (not unlike the "skank" 9th chords used by Jimmy Nolen w/ James Brown, except it's an entirely different feel, obviously). Several shapes here slide a half step[indicated below as (s)] into the target chord, which is a very common move in this music.

--7-----8---8----8---8---9----9-----10--10--10--8----
--9-----10--10--10--10--11--11----12--12--12--10---
--8-(s)-9---9----9---9---10--10-(s)-11--11--11--9----
--9-----10--10--10--10--11--11----12--12--12--10---
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------

--8----8---6-----7--7--7--2----3--2--1--2--2------3--3
--10--10--7-----8--8--8--4-----5--4--3--4--4-----5--5
--9----9---8-(s)-9--9--9--3-(s)-4--3--2--3--3-(s)-4--4
--10--10------------------4-----5--4--3--4--4-----5--5
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------

My introduction to this type music was Roy Buchanan's cover of "Hey Good Lookin' ". I agree that Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys is the place to start - I have "The Essential Bob Wills 1935-1947" (Columbia Country Classics series), which is a great overview. I really couldn't say what the tone recipe is for authentic Western Swing music (Standel amps, maybe?), but I treat it the same way as I do getting a fake archtop jazz tone out of a solidbody - go to the neck pickup, roll off a bunch of high end at the tone control. Sounds pretty cool. I think Eldon Shamblin favored Strats late in his career, but I always reach for my trusty '52 RI Tele for this stuff. Again, I dont know how authentic this would be - but I think harmonically simple, more inside jazz & bebop lines sound real nice. Lots of slurs & slides, not a lot of bends. Swing on...