The Blast Alliance

Ever sung in a choir where they told you to sing up when the notes go up and sing down when the notes go down? If you want to be told how to sing well, you want to realise that music isn’t nebulous.

When the notes go up one must know how far to go up and that’s where “knowing intervals” is very important. Singing lesssons in the UK are still not always regulated so you want to be sure you find a good teacher.

Did you ever have somebody tell you that if you need to learn the intervals all you have to do is match the interval with the opening notes of a well known song? If you can reply yes to any of these questions, I have another for you, “Do any of these things work?” Intervals are awfully clean cut. You have to be able to understand sound and sing intervals. Singing music is poles apart from just singing one interval at a time. Particularly when sight-singing, one must be in a position to sing each interval after another without stopping.

How could anybody execute sight singing exercises if one must be continually pondering the 1st phrase of a song? Sight singing practice should be done just like language. Originally, you hear the words or the music, and afterward you assert the words or sing the song! The way that you learned language was to communicate first and then read and then to put it in writing. Music is the same way.

At first , you listen, then you sing, then you’re educated as to what the music “looks like” that you’ve been singing. That’s step one to reading. Then you can write the tune and then you can start to go back and “sight read” or “sight sing” that which is known to you! Now, so long as the music lessons are made for your level and so long as they progress in sequence, you can simply find out how to sing better.

Sometimes in a vocal music lesson, one doesn’t get sequential sight singing practice. Now and then, a singing teacher may suggest certain sight singing volumes, but how can one hear what one is having a look at unless they have first been trained? That’d be like exclaiming to a Mexican, here’s a Chinese book, go and read it.

Chris Barber’s Jazz Band with the beautiful Otillie Patterson on vocals brought the sound of New Orleans to British traditional Jazz buffs in the late fifties and early sixties. This was just the beginning of a wave of new sounds that culminated in what came to be known as the British Blues Boom! On Banjo was the great Lonnie Donegan who became the Godfather of Skiffle a year or two later. All of the early musical melting pots were springboards for the next generation of musicians and within a couple of years the Music scene was to change forever.

My first exposure to the blues was on Barber’s wonderful L.P. New Orleans Joys. I forget all the titles now but the haunting sounds stirred up strange sensations and led me a few years later to a life long passion for the Blues as I am sure it did with many young kids at the time.
The year 1962 saw the birth of several Blues gigs in London Clubs, notably the Famous Marquee which made its home in Wardour Street, Soho. The great Alexis Korner was to prove to be a nursery slope for what was to come. Cyril Davies on Harp, Dick Heckstall- Smith on the most wailing of saxophones, Mick Jagger (yes that one!) on vocals to name but a few. I guess that first Album recorded live at the Marquee…Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, started the trickle which very rapidly gathered momentum and soon the Blues was the talking point of all young music heads.

Playing at the Marquee shortly after, in 1963 was the man destined to become the Godfather of British Blues… John Mayall…. John’s famous band, The BluesBreakers went onto fame and fortune as many musicians joined and left in quite a procession over the next couple of years. John celebrated his 70th Birthday a couple of years ago and is playing as well as ever. This gives lie to the notion that life is over at forty and its all downhill from there on. The list of John’s prot©g©es is a who’s who of the music business; a good proportion of whom are still playing today. John McVie, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce of Cream, Eric “Slowhand” Clapton, Peter Green, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Taylor and many more.

The band that I believe was the turning point at this time was undoubtedly The Yardbirds, whose incredible energy and enthusiasm were absolutely unparalleled on stage. My first exposure to this Juggernaut was on a Monday morning at school one time when some friends told me about this amazing band that they had seen at the Marquee who had a Guitarist that was simply unbelievable. The Year was 1963, the man in question (well he was only 18 years old!) was Eric Clapton.

The Legend was already underway at this stage and I believe Eric was responsible for the huge interest brewing in the Blues in Britain as the Yardbirds became household names on the R n’ B circuit. Many Guitars were sold at this time as young bloods attempted to emulate Clapton, some with success and many without. Probably one reason for the upsurge in Guitar bands as opposed to wishy washy pop sounds of the time was the discovery of the almost forgotten Gibson Les Paul which produced the sound closest to the Chicago Blues of a decade earlier. Eric’s use of this instrument took the Blues to a new height and no-one could escape the flood that was on the way. With the Yardbirds there was a mix of Gibson and Fender guitars in use. Eric initially played a Fender Telecaster with Rhythm Guitarist Chris Dreja using the Gibson 335, but the favourite in years to come particularly in ‘65 and ‘66 was the Les Paul.

In 1963 one of the first Bluesmen to arrive on this side of the Atlantic for a Tour was the legendary Harp player Sonny Boy Williamson who recorded a wonderful live album with the Yardbirds that was not released for several years. The restrained backing that the band provided to Sonny Boy showed them to be tight and controlled but Keith Relf the Lead singer and Harpist was a little put out at having to take a back seat to the Master during the gig. Many more Blues legends toured Britain and Europe in the following years which not only revitalised their own flagging careers but gave the budding white Blues players a chance to learn from the Maestros. These include Howling Wolf and the legendary Son House who had been a contemporary of Robert Johnson in the nineteen thirties. The author was privileged to see Son House play in London in 1970 shortly before he died. He was very frail but he certainly could make that National Steel Guitar sing sweetly!

The Album that preceded the Flood was of course the 1966 rendition by John Mayall entitled simply “John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton” recorded on the Decca label .This album marked the first vocal airing by Slowhand and he chose Robert Johnson’s “Rambling on my Mind” as his debut. The interrelating of Mayall’s gutsy Barrelhouse Piano together with Eric’s Les Paul and his tentative vocals, wrote a piece of Blues History that day in the studio. That Album sums up for me not only the musicianship involved and the passion of the music but the very essence of the British interpretation of the Blues. I have listened to this song so many times now since the first momentous day that it came through the speakers and every time it’s hard to keep the emotions steady.

The Robert Johnson Legacy forms an integral and vital part of the Birth of the Blues in Britain and is responsible for the undoubted vitality of today’s thriving Blues scene on both sides of the Atlantic. There are no Blues Bands past or present who do not owe a debt to Robert Leroy and his magic. His genius and virtuosity with the bottleneck will live forever!

Robin Piggott is a Professional Driving Instructor based in Limerick .Ireland.He was one of the kids referred to in the above article and has been a lifelong disciple of the Blues. If you are thinking of traveling in Ireland please have a look at his web site and blogs.
www.astralmotoring.ie
astralmotoring.blogspot.com

Gold prices are currently high, making it an excellent time to sell your broken jewelry and other scrap gold. However, you might have a hard time knowing whether or not you’re getting a fair price for your gold. Here’s a short guide to finding out how much scrap gold is worth and getting a good deal.

Scrap value is the minimum value that gold should be sold for – the value of the gold itself. Before you sell your old jewelry or other gold items at this price, think about whether or not you could be getting a better price. After all, there are a number of factors that could bring the price up.

Good workmanship could get you a price that’s less than retail, but higher than scrap. Likewise, something that’s antique or bears a maker’s mark may be worth more, as well as any piece with gems set into it. They all have value outside the transaction, and should be removed from any gold piece that is only worthwhile as scrap. Sell precious stones to another dealer.

Once you have determined that the piece has no other value than scrap, you’ll need to know what karat it is. This ranges from eight karat to twenty-four karat, and will tell you what percentage is truly gold. Twenty-four karat gold is nearly pure, and eighteen karat is about seventy-five percent pure.

Eight karat gold is found mostly in Europe, and is too low in purity to be recognized as having much value in the US. This material is about a third gold, and sometimes may tarnish. Nine karat is thirty-seven and a half percent gold, and is found mostly in the UK. The minimum US standard is ten karat, at about forty-one percent gold. This material is chosen for its hard wearing qualities, as it’s harder than pure gold.