Blues Analysis

1 Pages 365 Words

Blues analysis

Lighting Hopkins, Mojo Hand

Blues legend, Sam ‘Lightning’ Hopkins’ long career might be said to have begun in 1920s, but it was not until the blues revival of the late fifties that Hopkins’ music began to reach the white audience. He had a great ability to improvise songs. He didn’t rehearse his songs; he lived them. He made up songs about things he experienced in his neighborhood. When he went into the studio he recorded whatever came into his mind. He recorded a total of more than eighty-five albums and toured around the world. What makes him special among his many contemporaries is his uniqueness; he leaps out and makes you notice him. He’s like no one else. The first thing that strikes you is his voice. It’s like a snicker and a laugh. Then there is his guitar playing. He was a master and had a distinctive guitar style. Hopkins’ emotions are as tightly focused as his guitar playing throughout. He always sounds relaxed. He plays either solo or with a drummer nailing down the rhythm.
One of the favorite songs sang by him, is ‘Mojo Hand’ recorded in New York City in 1960. It is a 12-bar song with six verses and it features very little improvisation. The general pattern (chord progression) of the verse is:
C C
G C
F G C
In this song the most notable instrument is the guitar, which serves as a rhythmic and a melodic beat at the same time. The song starts with the four verses that comply these patterns with some slight differences. After the 4th and 5th verse, a solo guitar is added accompanied with standard chord changes:
C, C - G, C - F, G, C.
When the drums come in, Hopkins takes advantage of their presence to extend his high note runs, leaving the drummer Francis Clay to hold down the rhythm.
Vocal and guitar are both joint perfectly (there is slight distortion, which is for better). The text that is sung with the melody doesn’t synchronize perfectly with the chord changes, b...