Analytical blog Oct 31st
264-320
As I am coming towards the end of my BB King autobiography titled Blues All Around Me, I have begun to think about the differences in phrasing between Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and BB King. What I have noticed after reading about their approaches as well as listening to their music is that they are all so different. Not only in their lifestyles, but in the way that they produce music. Each musician seems to have a completely different idea on how music should be created and what it should sound like. In my opinion, this has to do with their backgrounds as well as who they are in general. Clapton was raised well through a good school system with a lot of family tension. Clapton did not experience many limitations in what he was trying to do, other than those created by his relationships with people. Mainly, Clapton was a musician with an idea that began his own career and did his own thing. Jimi on the other hand had a lot of limitations since he was a black man in a society where he was not supposed to become a celebrity. Yet due to his wild and new ideas, Jimi sparked the interests of everyone and overcame limitation. BB King took the same route that John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and other black blues artists took in his time. That is, traveling to Memphis to get signed by a blues label and produce music. However, BB befriended all and managed to outlast the careers of all his peers. He also put out loads of music which aided in the survival of his career. He then overcame the civil rights movement and became a world wide celebrity.
As far as these musicians music is concerned, there is a lot to be said about why they succeeded they ways that they did. Yet they all succeeded for very different reasons. When first looking at Eric Clapton, it may not be clear as to what lead to his success. There was and still is nothing out of the ordinary about him. He dresses very similar to those who play the same style of music that he does. He does not play a niche style of music either. However, what Clapton does do that has given him such a long run of fame is to stay simple. One thing about Clapton's music that a lot of other musicians don't have is sheer simplicity. With this simplicity, his music can easily connect to almost anyone. On top of this, Clapton grew up listening to big blues players like BB King. These musicians featured a lot of simple songs that could really effectively connect with the listener. BB King deployed simplicity too. But something else that he did that Clapton did not, was connect with his audiences at his live shows. BB played life so frequently for the majority of his career. At each show, he would talk to his audiences and tell them stories. He would also ask them to aid in singing some of his songs. This really allowed a lot of people to be part of the music. I think that this idea came from when he worked on the plantations. There was never just one person singing. It was always many people, feeling the music together, adding a deeper layer to what was happening. Jimi Hendrix was once again difference. Jimi created his own style of music and completely destroyed all of the societal roles that he faced. It was Jimi's extreme uniqueness that brought him to fame and caused for his music to be made legendary. Also, a lot of people from his time could relate to his music. His music was very drug influenced. It worked the same way that getting high on LSD and other forms of drugs did. It was wild, random, and very psychedelic.
The big picture on what I have learnt from reading about these three musicians is that there is many ways as a musician to communicate your ideas. It does not only have to be in the forms of phrasing and chordal ideas. It can also be in dress, the way you act, what you say and how you say it. I think that this is the best part about music. It has absolutely zero limitations. When you be yourself and express yourself freely through music, you have the chance to really connect with others.
Here are some pictures of BB, Jimi, and Eric Clapton.
Here is Clapton and Jimi at dinner. They are clearly going through a healthy phase in this picture....
As I am coming towards the end of my BB King autobiography titled Blues All Around Me, I have begun to think about the differences in phrasing between Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and BB King. What I have noticed after reading about their approaches as well as listening to their music is that they are all so different. Not only in their lifestyles, but in the way that they produce music. Each musician seems to have a completely different idea on how music should be created and what it should sound like. In my opinion, this has to do with their backgrounds as well as who they are in general. Clapton was raised well through a good school system with a lot of family tension. Clapton did not experience many limitations in what he was trying to do, other than those created by his relationships with people. Mainly, Clapton was a musician with an idea that began his own career and did his own thing. Jimi on the other hand had a lot of limitations since he was a black man in a society where he was not supposed to become a celebrity. Yet due to his wild and new ideas, Jimi sparked the interests of everyone and overcame limitation. BB King took the same route that John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and other black blues artists took in his time. That is, traveling to Memphis to get signed by a blues label and produce music. However, BB befriended all and managed to outlast the careers of all his peers. He also put out loads of music which aided in the survival of his career. He then overcame the civil rights movement and became a world wide celebrity.
As far as these musicians music is concerned, there is a lot to be said about why they succeeded they ways that they did. Yet they all succeeded for very different reasons. When first looking at Eric Clapton, it may not be clear as to what lead to his success. There was and still is nothing out of the ordinary about him. He dresses very similar to those who play the same style of music that he does. He does not play a niche style of music either. However, what Clapton does do that has given him such a long run of fame is to stay simple. One thing about Clapton's music that a lot of other musicians don't have is sheer simplicity. With this simplicity, his music can easily connect to almost anyone. On top of this, Clapton grew up listening to big blues players like BB King. These musicians featured a lot of simple songs that could really effectively connect with the listener. BB King deployed simplicity too. But something else that he did that Clapton did not, was connect with his audiences at his live shows. BB played life so frequently for the majority of his career. At each show, he would talk to his audiences and tell them stories. He would also ask them to aid in singing some of his songs. This really allowed a lot of people to be part of the music. I think that this idea came from when he worked on the plantations. There was never just one person singing. It was always many people, feeling the music together, adding a deeper layer to what was happening. Jimi Hendrix was once again difference. Jimi created his own style of music and completely destroyed all of the societal roles that he faced. It was Jimi's extreme uniqueness that brought him to fame and caused for his music to be made legendary. Also, a lot of people from his time could relate to his music. His music was very drug influenced. It worked the same way that getting high on LSD and other forms of drugs did. It was wild, random, and very psychedelic.
The big picture on what I have learnt from reading about these three musicians is that there is many ways as a musician to communicate your ideas. It does not only have to be in the forms of phrasing and chordal ideas. It can also be in dress, the way you act, what you say and how you say it. I think that this is the best part about music. It has absolutely zero limitations. When you be yourself and express yourself freely through music, you have the chance to really connect with others.
Here are some pictures of BB, Jimi, and Eric Clapton.
Here is Clapton and Jimi at dinner. They are clearly going through a healthy phase in this picture....
I guess that's one of the major negative stereotypes about being a musician that I hope you'll stay away from...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I am about to do my next few blogs on some more musicians I would like to learn more from ( I have really found these blogs to be helpful in my playing as they have really made me look at music in a different way!) Some of these musicians had a big deal about being anti drug which is really good!
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