New YouTube Video: Right or Wrong as Charted by Eldon Shamblin

[Leon Grizzard]

A couple of years ago friend of mine, Jesse White, gave me copies of a collection of seven chord charts, in Eldon Shamblin's own hand, prepared for his student Buster Redwine. It's taken me too long, but I finally have most of them videoed, and put this first one up on YouTube. I have a previous video on this tune, based on Eldon's instructional video but on this one there is no doubt about how he said to play it, and I indeed had a few mistakes in my first one. Hope folks find it helpful.

I swear I retune before every take, but a few bits are pitchy. Maybe it's my left hand doing it. I was too wore out to redo it.

 

[bendingtens]

This is amazing. Thank you!

 

[Engine Swap]

Yes- thanks for sharing!

 

[telekaster1999]

Great work! Thanks for sharing.

 

[scook]

Fantastic! Very much appreciated!

I’m digging that Tele too!

 

[Smokin OP]

Thanks Leon! Always love your swing lessons.

 

[goonie]

Thought it was going to be the Joe Jackson song! Great chords in that one too.

Edit:my bad, that songs called Right And Wrong.

 

[Whoa Tele]

Thanks. Great lesson

 

[Harry Styron]

Thanks to Leon’s teaching, over several years I’ve learned to play a few songs using Eldon Shamblin’s grips. As much as I love it, playing this way annoys people that I jam with, because they think I’m changing chords, when I’m really, as Leon explains, only changing the bass note.

 

[Stan Martin]

great job as always Leon.

 

[gtroates]

Thank you Leon! As always great job, presenting and performing.

 

[Leon Grizzard]

Thanks to Leon’s teaching, over several years I’ve learned to play a few songs using Eldon Shamblin’s grips. As much as I love it, playing this way annoys people that I jam with, because they think I’m changing chords, when I’m really, as Leon explains, only changing the bass note.

I agree. This style is does not work so great for anything except old school western swing. Or Texas Fiddle style accompaniment, but I use the grips and moves a lot; just not as bass note-chunk. Everyday Eldon.

Whit Smith has a great video on this, playing le pompe, or what seems to me like le pompe.

 

[klasaine]

Great vid Leon. All your stuff is top notch!

@Harry Styron ... yeah, a lot of this great stuff doesn't work all the time and sometimes rarely. It's all situational and player dependent. I have found that just using only a tiny bit of it can be really great at adding life to a bridge section or maybe the last two bars of a chorus, etc.

 

[Leon Grizzard]

Thanks to Leon’s teaching, over several years I’ve learned to play a few songs using Eldon Shamblin’s grips. As much as I love it, playing this way annoys people that I jam with, because they think I’m changing chords, when I’m really, as Leon explains, only changing the bass note.

Great vid Leon. All your stuff is top notch!

@Harry Styron ... yeah, a lot of this great stuff doesn't work all the time and sometimes rarely. It's all situational and player dependent. I have found that just using only a tiny bit of it can be really great at adding life to a bridge section or maybe the last two bars of a chorus, etc.

This stuff works great as arpeggios, or as kinda chord melody rhythm guitar. Walk ups and walk downs with bass strings involved instead of playing thirds on the middle strings. Since most of the grips with bass notes on the low E skip the A string you can get a clean sound on a walk up or walk down.

 

[Harry Styron]

I agree. This style is does not work so great for anything except old school western swing. Or Texas Fiddle style accompaniment, but I use the grips and moves a lot; just not as bass note-chunk. Everyday Eldon.

Whit Smith has a great video on this, playing le pompe, or what seems to me like le pompe.

Whit is great with the Hot Club of Cowtown and as teacher. Another great player in this style is Joey McKenzie, formerly of Quebe Sisters, and here with Western Flyer:

 

[John Harrison]

Thanks for this!

 

[buster poser]

Thank you sir. I’ve been at jazz the last year or so now in service of working up to Eldon and am just now getting my sea legs under me via Ment Morris’s (excellent imo) paid and free materials.

This is really something else, charted by the man himself. Very helpful for me at this exact moment in my little journey and very well played. Thanks again!

 

[Leon Grizzard]

Thank you sir. I’ve been at jazz the last year or so now in service of working up to Eldon and am just now getting my sea legs under me via Ment Morris’s (excellent imo) paid and free materials.

This is really something else, charted by the man himself. Very helpful for me at this exact moment in my little journey and very well played. Thanks again!

Ment Morris is a fine young man and excellent teacher.

 

[buster poser]

Ment Morris is a fine young man and excellent teacher.

Indeed, I started with some Whit and struggled through a few of his arrangements before realized I didn't have some requisite knowledge under me. Spent some time getting there (Mickey Baker, jazz lessons/workshop, etc), found Ment somewhere along the way and am really happy I did. As a teacher, he crystallized a few things for me, and man what a player.

He's got two Eldon courses and is doing a yearlong thing on Western swing broadly I'm pretty excited about. Finally getting those faster changes under me feels good.

Anyway, it's obviously not a common or broadly applicable style, but I grew up hearing it from my grandmother, and it's a mountain I've wanted to climb for a while. I'm really glad people who know how to do it help keep it alive so us rooks can develop.

 

[historicus146]

A couple of years ago friend of mine, Jesse White, gave me copies of a collection of seven chord charts, in Eldon Shamblin's own hand, prepared for his student Buster Redwine. It's taken me too long, but I finally have most of them videoed, and put this first one up on YouTube. I have a previous video on this tune, based on Eldon's instructional video but on this one there is no doubt about how he said to play it, and I indeed had a few mistakes in my first one. Hope folks find it helpful.

I swear I retune before every take, but a few bits are pitchy. Maybe it's my left hand doing it. I was too wore out to redo it.

You are a treasure Leon!