I heard and saw RL play this from a few feet away, and though it sounded simple, it was anything but. You've broken it down and shown how it works. Way to go!
Damn.... Zappa is alive and well! Kidding! Seriously though, great lesson. Would love about a million more RL lessons. Doesn't matter the song. I'd just love to learn more from you
Glad to give you proper respect. So many electric players think a few cords, a bunch of effect pedals and a shredding guitar solo and that's blues. There is so much subtle feeling, depth and history in it. People covering this song must 'get it.' It's not just get up there and rip a solo in it. Blues like classical, must be treated with the proper respect. Watering it down for a rock audience is one of the greatest insults people like Samantha Fish and the commericalized ilk do.
Definitely the most concise tutorial of this track that I've found on here.Breaks that rhythm down beautifully.You Yazan,have the edge over the others and what's more is this tutorial will basically teach you the meat & spuds of that Delta/Hill country blues style halfway across the board.Grazie!
Also,conveying how to 'feel' that blues by movin to the beat.Sounds simple,and it is,to explain and understand....although execution takes the 3p's,practice,patience and passion.Oh and a little determination.I nearly skipped this video just coz you looked like a Sacha Baron Cohen character...my bad lol Yopus is effective bruv!
Can't thank you enough, Yazan, this tutorial is a real treasure to me. Being an immense fan of RL I was sat listening last night to this track wondering how I could ever get that rhythmic get-up-and-dance kind of sound. This lesson provides the means. Being a leftie too this is a rare treat. Really appreciated - bring on the bleeding!
Really cool! It's a testament to R.L's genius that a whole new finger style was created here to replicate R.L.'s style. Nicely done. I love the song. Upon careful listening R.L. and Fred McDowell reveal a percussive downstroke with index finger. It's a critical aspect of the poly-rhythmic beat. I haven't seen anyone get it yet.
i think so yes, thats that distinctive sound RL burnside produces ( poor black matty ). Couldnt figure it out, but RedMantis said it. I think it is how they got this beat going
I agree that RL did use his index finger for the downstrokes. This is very hard to see in vids of him playing but you can hear clearly(especially in studio recordings) that the bass with the thumb is more of a drone on almost each beat(sometimes skipping the 1), not just the 1 and 3. This makes it impossible to do the downstrokes on the 2 and 4 with the thumb while keeping the drone going. This is not the case with Fred McDowell, though. He uses his thumb to play the bass on 1 and 3 and that same thumb for the down stroke on 2 and 4. This is clearly visible in the vids here on RUclips. This version, although played differently, is amazing nevertheless!!
Yeah you can see in the footage RLs index goes straight up and down, but this is the closest thing i seen to being exact plus some extras, you earned the sub
Brilliant lesson Yazan, been working on playing this for a while now. Think i'm almost there thanks to this! Checked out your album Your Crooked Part. have to say its absolutely brilliant, inspires me even more to try out my own stuff using this method as a foundation. Cheers!
Hi Thanks for this. I played with R.L. from 82 - 94. Mostly Harp, but some guitar. I've played this many times, but it's very cool to see hear you breaking down this song. And, how you approach teaching it. Kinda strange hearing it in A though. Anyway good job. Hope you put more R.L. stuff up. I'd like to play more of his songs on guitar.
Just come across your channel. Just getting in to burnside technique. Its hard! Love your style. Im gonna get at it. I play this so different at mo. Great voice btw!
Looks like Sacha Baron Cohen doin his best Frank Zappa impersonation! Every word this guy utters is relevant to the cause.Not just some beginner who's showing off a bit.
The only Guitar Picker on the net who figured out the original lick....thanks man...always thought it's played in vestapol, now i understood...great job
Thanks so much for sharing this. RL is one of my favorite musicians but I hadn't realized he didn't use his ring finger for fretting. Very cool observation.
I like this approach. The way I have always done it is I pick with the thumb and index finger and I get the percussive sound by punching the strings using the bone right beneath the fingernail with my middle and ring fingers. I'm surprised at how much damage it did to the thumb though considering I've always skin picked and have decent sized calluses already. Makes it almost like I burned my thumb. Of course punching them had the same effect at first. You have the option for more sound punching it since you can angle it to hit the wood as well when you want but it is a trade off since you get better control of the index finger this way. Plus less likely to damage a nicer guitar by mistake. Which is what sent me out looking for an alternative approach in the first place. Thanks for taking the time.
Good work. I especially appreciate it because I'm a left-handed player, too. Watching right-handed tutorials can get confusing. I'm definitely going to work on this song. I've already started writing my own lyrics. (I'm more of a lyricist than a player.)
Great lesson but I have one suggestion. Perhaps start the video with a fade in / fade out using the footage from 10:46 to 11:20? That way you give a brief demonstration of what you are going to teach. Well done and very excellent lesson, I learned a lot, thank you for posting!
More a technical question: I've got an old archtop (Airline guitar, 60's) but the action is WAAAY high. How do I go about adjusting the action on this guitar?
That is a question for a guitar tech. My archtop has some screws by the bridge that can be turned to raise or lower the bridge, maybe yours has something similar?
Basically you can put a ratchet in the sound hole and adjust the truss rod and that may help if its out of whack, but other than that you can actually replace the bridge piece and file it down before gluing it in, and if the nut is high you can do the same there. This is not stuff you just want to do on your own, take it to someone who does this regularly and has the proper measuring tools. Outside of that though, you already have the perfect guitar to play slide on. High action is great for slide, check out some of the stuff that Stefan Grossman teaches on that.
+benjamin trancart Thanks for the kind words... If you want to hear more singing, check out Yazan's records at music.yazan.co -- We'll be releasing his version of PBM eventually, along with some other blues favorites
Man hey!it sound easy then you try and try and try and come up with something that is the best you can do but is not the real thing...you leave it for a while(like 3 year) then boom it’s so easy. Thanks to you. Trick is,one step at the time 👌
Yazan: "I have always been a righty, but play guitar lefty for some mysterious reason. After playing guitar lefty for so many years I can now write with both hands"
I'm the same way with harmonica, I play "backwards" from what is the normal way of playing but I play guitar with a right handed setup. I guess musicians are just weird that way.
![Poor Black Mattie Cover (RL Burnside) [] Rob Europe - Gibson LG1 - Zoom L12](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2ELBJ9Oe9yM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Poor Black Mattie Cover (RL Burnside) [] Rob Europe - Gibson LG1 - Zoom L12](/img/tr.png)
thanks for the lesson, zappa
I heard and saw RL play this from a few feet away, and though it sounded simple, it was anything but. You've broken it down and shown how it works. Way to go!
Thanks for watching Mark!
Damn.... Zappa is alive and well! Kidding! Seriously though, great lesson. Would love about a million more RL lessons. Doesn't matter the song. I'd just love to learn more from you
maybe someday... thanks for watching
Hi Frank Zappa
Nice tutorial, helped me a lot
:)
Frank who? :) Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Zappa plays Burnside!
Anybody else notice Zappa?
Great lesson! Can you do Jumper Hanging On The Line?
I sure could... just give me a little bit
really enjoyed the lesson listen to RL all day you put a smile on a old blokes face thank you ..
Glad to put good feelings out there! Thanks for the kind comment
Thanks for keeping the REAL blues alive!
That is a huge compliment, thank you Stephanie!
Glad to give you proper respect. So many electric players think a few cords, a bunch of effect pedals and a shredding guitar solo and that's blues. There is so much subtle feeling, depth and history in it. People covering this song must 'get it.' It's not just get up there and rip a solo in it. Blues like classical, must be treated with the proper respect. Watering it down for a rock audience is one of the greatest insults people like Samantha Fish and the commericalized ilk do.
Excellent lesson. Thank you for the visual aspect of this tutorial.
Excellent teaching Yazan, I wish you would some more vids, you are a great teacher ..
Thanks Gary, it's been a rough few years but I think I am finally getting ready to be able to produce more of these
When you started out the lesson sayin' it's all in the rhythm, I knew:
He gets it ;)
Great lesson
Thanks Uncle Brizz! I'm glad you get it too :)
This is the most comprehensive music lesson offered on youtube. Thank you Yazan!
I'd like to think so too :) Thanks for the kind comment Brett
Definitely the most concise tutorial of this track that I've found on here.Breaks that rhythm down beautifully.You Yazan,have the edge over the others and what's more is this tutorial will basically teach you the meat & spuds of that Delta/Hill country blues style halfway across the board.Grazie!
Also,conveying how to 'feel' that blues by movin to the beat.Sounds simple,and it is,to explain and understand....although execution takes the 3p's,practice,patience and passion.Oh and a little determination.I nearly skipped this video just coz you looked like a Sacha Baron Cohen character...my bad lol Yopus is effective bruv!
Thank you for the very gentle and groovy lesson Yazan.
Thank you for your kind comment!
Wow !! Excellent !! Im fan of Hill Country Blues and this is one of the most accurate interpretations ! Congratulations !
Thank you Ramiro, I agree with you :)
XD
By far the best RL tutorial on RUclips. Thank you for this Yazan
That is a high compliment, there is a lot of good stuff out there! Thank you Rob
Can't thank you enough, Yazan, this tutorial is a real treasure to me. Being an immense fan of RL I was sat listening last night to this track wondering how I could ever get that rhythmic get-up-and-dance kind of sound. This lesson provides the means. Being a leftie too this is a rare treat. Really appreciated - bring on the bleeding!
Haha yes Peter just make sure to rest your finger if it gets sore! Thanks for your kind words and for watching!
This is definitely worth watching all the way through, thanks!
you have a great sound and approach! the singing blows me away. thanks so much.
WhereTheSouthern CrossesTheYellowDog Thank you for the kind comments!
Hi Yazan, great lesson you have a talent for playing and teaching, thank you very much!
Thank you for watching and for the kind words Andrew!
Your deadpan delivery is awesome big up and thanks for the lesson
Thanks for watching, and your avatar is awesome -- big fan of The Wire
Thanks for such a dedicated lesson ... appreciate your generosity
Thank you!! I followed this for about a month every day and night til sunrise. Thumb and fingers will be sore but worth every second.
That's the way to get after it, keep it up
Just wanted to say how fantastic this lesson is.. really well broken down. And fantastic played.. great job!
Really cool! It's a testament to R.L's genius that a whole new finger style was created here to replicate R.L.'s style. Nicely done. I love the song. Upon careful listening R.L. and Fred McDowell reveal a percussive downstroke with index finger. It's a critical aspect of the poly-rhythmic beat. I haven't seen anyone get it yet.
Do you mean they stroke the strings with their nail?
i think so yes, thats that distinctive sound RL burnside produces ( poor black matty ). Couldnt figure it out, but RedMantis said it. I think it is how they got this beat going
I agree that RL did use his index finger for the downstrokes. This is very hard to see in vids of him playing but you can hear clearly(especially in studio recordings) that the bass with the thumb is more of a drone on almost each beat(sometimes skipping the 1), not just the 1 and 3. This makes it impossible to do the downstrokes on the 2 and 4 with the thumb while keeping the drone going. This is not the case with Fred McDowell, though. He uses his thumb to play the bass on 1 and 3 and that same thumb for the down stroke on 2 and 4. This is clearly visible in the vids here on RUclips.
This version, although played differently, is amazing nevertheless!!
Yeah you can see in the footage RLs index goes straight up and down, but this is the closest thing i seen to being exact plus some extras, you earned the sub
one of the best lessons on the net. thank you.
Thanks for watching and for the kind comment, we are glad you got something out of it
J'aime bien cette version de Poor Black Mattie de RL Burnside, plus lente mais ça passe très bien. thanks you !
fuck i thought it was black mattie by frank zappa
+james deroc Wouldn't that be cool if it was
Excellent lesson!!!! Thx so much!!!!!!!
Excellent. Thank you!
Brilliant lesson Yazan, been working on playing this for a while now. Think i'm almost there thanks to this!
Checked out your album Your Crooked Part. have to say its absolutely brilliant, inspires me even more to try out my own stuff using this method as a foundation. Cheers!
Thank you Gregor for the kind comments, I would love to see your take on the tune! --Yazan
Thank you for sharing. You look just like Yazan.
Pretty badass song. Top notch job on the teaching style. Bravo.
Thank you for watching
Hi
Thanks for this.
I played with R.L. from 82 - 94. Mostly Harp, but some guitar. I've played this many times, but it's very cool to see hear you breaking down this song. And, how you approach teaching it. Kinda strange hearing it in A though.
Anyway good job. Hope you put more R.L. stuff up. I'd like to play more of his songs on guitar.
Possibly one of the best guitar lessons ever! Thanks!
What high praise, thank you
Nice clear and concise really appreciate it!
Very very good video. Thanks very much indeed for the exercises to reveal just what to do for this top dog song.
I'm so glad it was helpful! Thank you for the comment
Wonderful thx from a rl fan from france!!!!!!
Thank you for watching Jerome!
GREAT VOICE!!
Definitely helped me put the last piece of the puzzle together. I knew he was using his thumb to down stroke! Thank you so much! Bless you brother.
So glad to hear it, thanks for the blessing :)
Just come across your channel. Just getting in to burnside technique. Its hard! Love your style. Im gonna get at it. I play this so different at mo. Great voice btw!
thanks...been trying to figure this out
great playing, great voice. thanks!
Thanks for the compliments!
Awesome, thank you! This is the best breakdown of Hill Country Blues I've seen on YT.
Glad you think so! Thanks for watching
what an amazing tutorial, man
Excellent lesson!
Looks like Sacha Baron Cohen doin his best Frank Zappa impersonation!
Every word this guy utters is relevant to the cause.Not just some beginner who's showing off a bit.
Thanks for the good lesson!!
Thank you for watching!
Thank you sir. I will work on it.
Love it...thank you!!
My pleasure, thank you Jude
Tough one to pull off but you made a fine fist of it chief. Thanks for the sharing.
My pleasure Alexis, glad it was useful
You’re a great teacher!
you're a smart student ;)
The only Guitar Picker on the net who figured out the original lick....thanks man...always thought it's played in vestapol, now i understood...great job
Thank you for watching Jan
Thanks so much for sharing this. RL is one of my favorite musicians but I hadn't realized he didn't use his ring finger for fretting. Very cool observation.
I could make a few more videos on just this song in RL's style, going into more detail... Thanks for watching and commenting Graham
Videos showing RL playing a lot of times he just used his index and middle finger to fret. Thumb and index fingers to pick.
Man what a great lesson, thanks so much
Thank you for the encouragement, glad you found it useful
superb..it's all in the detail
Thank you for watching!
I like this approach. The way I have always done it is I pick with the thumb and index finger and I get the percussive sound by punching the strings using the bone right beneath the fingernail with my middle and ring fingers. I'm surprised at how much damage it did to the thumb though considering I've always skin picked and have decent sized calluses already. Makes it almost like I burned my thumb. Of course punching them had the same effect at first. You have the option for more sound punching it since you can angle it to hit the wood as well when you want but it is a trade off since you get better control of the index finger this way. Plus less likely to damage a nicer guitar by mistake. Which is what sent me out looking for an alternative approach in the first place. Thanks for taking the time.
+J D Well thanks for the insight! It's always cool to hear how other people approach getting the sound.
very good
Thank you Max!
Subbed, because you also added alot of techniqical attention which can be used in a lot of blues really in your lesson.
Thanks! We're glad you found it useful
Awesome, Thanks
Superb! Thank you ;)
Thanks for watching!
lesson nice, and then you began singing wow! that moves indeed
+Guido Rollard Thank you for watching and for your kind comments!
Thanks, that was great.
AMAZING
very nice
Brilliant. Thank you.
Thanks for watching! -Yazan
Wow, thanks for the insight on how to play this. I'm sure RL is smilin' down on you.
Man that thought just put a smile on my face :) thank you for watching!
Cool lesson 👍
Thanks for watching
That was awesome!!!
You are awesome! Thank you for watching and for your kind words Dean, I'm glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for that one !!
Thank you for watching!
Good work. I especially appreciate it because I'm a left-handed player, too. Watching right-handed tutorials can get confusing. I'm definitely going to work on this song. I've already started writing my own lyrics. (I'm more of a lyricist than a player.)
Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful!
ShoulderTap
You can say that no doubt for me, even i'm right handed
Just earned a subscriber brother
Super......thanks !!!!
You're welcome
love it thank you friend
Thank you for watching!
great lesson thx !!
You're welcome
Awsome by the way.
Thanks
Great lesson but I have one suggestion. Perhaps start the video with a fade in / fade out using the footage from 10:46 to 11:20? That way you give a brief demonstration of what you are going to teach. Well done and very excellent lesson, I learned a lot, thank you for posting!
Thanks for the suggestion Rex, I'll be sure to do something like that for the next one. Thanks for watching and for the kind words!
You're cool man~ thanks for the tuts.
Thanks for watching
good voice
Thanks!
Thanks for the lesson, everything is perfect. By the way, who's photographer is the photograph on your wall? I love it!
Thank you! The photograph is actually from a Bob Dylan LP :)
More a technical question: I've got an old archtop (Airline guitar, 60's) but the action is WAAAY high. How do I go about adjusting the action on this guitar?
That is a question for a guitar tech. My archtop has some screws by the bridge that can be turned to raise or lower the bridge, maybe yours has something similar?
I don't know, but you're right, question better suited for a guitar tech. Great channel dude, keep up the good work!
Thanks for watching!
Sounds like a question for google.
Basically you can put a ratchet in the sound hole and adjust the truss rod and that may help if its out of whack, but other than that you can actually replace the bridge piece and file it down before gluing it in, and if the nut is high you can do the same there. This is not stuff you just want to do on your own, take it to someone who does this regularly and has the proper measuring tools. Outside of that though, you already have the perfect guitar to play slide on. High action is great for slide, check out some of the stuff that Stefan Grossman teaches on that.
Man! Great lesson and voice. A shame you fade the video at the end. Would like to hear you sing till the end of the song.
+benjamin trancart Thanks for the kind words... If you want to hear more singing, check out Yazan's records at music.yazan.co -- We'll be releasing his version of PBM eventually, along with some other blues favorites
"It's Dance Music"!! LOL. Damn right it is, bro!!!
Shake it :)
Hi Yazan, Fantastic lesson - is that a Gibson L50? Just bought one - has such a great feel! Thanks for sharing
I think it is indeed a 1938 Gibson L50. Thanks for watching and for your kind words!
Thanks
It's my pleasure
Cool singin'!
I got more where that came from, thank you
Man! Now I'm in heaven... You Evil! :D
:) :) Thank you Dick
at first I thought this was a bit of a joke... but damn, that how you do alright. Nice one!
Nothing funny about it
Oh baby i love you!!
Aw mama that is a sweet thing to hear, i love you for saying so
@@YazanShows YOU are realy sweet, now i love you even more☺️ Hopefuly one day we meet and play together⭐🎵🎸🎸☀️
@@katrinacerise6221 If you find yourself in the northeast US give me a holler, let's jam :)
@@YazanShows At the moment I live in southern Spain, but I wish that one day I can make it to you. (Most of the time my wishes come true⭐🔮✨🎶)
Man hey!it sound easy then you try and try and try and come up with something that is the best you can do but is not the real thing...you leave it for a while(like 3 year) then boom it’s so easy.
Thanks to you.
Trick is,one step at the time
👌
Remember that RL must have been playing this tune for maybe 20 years before he was even ever recorded :) Thanks for watching
yesssssssss
You're doing a god job man!
Hey thanks so are you
Thank's man!👍
very informative, very comprehensive, very cool lesson from a stylish teacher
I'm glad you got something out of it, thank you for the kind comments!
ShoulderTap putting it into practice as we speak!
Try trimming those string ends before you lose an eye!
This was really helpful, but my thumb hurts.
The pain will stop eventually! Thanks for watching
Zappa
!
OMG!! this is Frank Zappa!
Pretty much
Frank ZAppa is back
He never left
Are you a lefty or is that just the way you learned how to play?
Yazan: "I have always been a righty, but play guitar lefty for some mysterious reason. After playing guitar lefty for so many years I can now write with both hands"
I'm the same way with harmonica, I play "backwards" from what is the normal way of playing but I play guitar with a right handed setup. I guess musicians are just weird that way.