If it weren’t for our African American brothers and sisters we wouldn’t have many things, including music, in the US. African Americans are an INTEGRAL part of American culture. Citing the great Morgan Freeman: “Black history is American history...” Beautiful videos! Love the Reverend’s style!

I turned 18 lately and am german and I m playing and learning to play the blues and ragtime.... it s just the most honest music

If you feel the blues in your soul and it inspires you, play it.

Preach on Reverend preach on!!!

"The blues are universal." Well said, very well said indeed, Reverend! Keep on picking and strumming, because playing guitar keeps us young at heart!

Hello from Ireland! Man your so good

Well, there is a song called Children's blues from Leadbelly, that tells you how universal it is. Even a child can have it... And the song is pretty nice I think... Btw, many blues songs go about this feeling anyone can have. Someone's are closer to it than others...

Wow thank you! It’s a question in the back of my mind every so often. I can’t help my love for the sound of this music though. So inspiring.

Thank you

Preach

Thank you Rev. I'm still playing "Little Red Rooster" on slide guitar the way you taught me at the ranch so many years ago.

Thank you sir! I’m so glad I found you through TrueFire!

What kind of guitar are you playing? How about a rundown of the guitars on the wall? Thanks.

Great stuff, love these lessons

Thankyou!

Preach Rev!

Well said.. Thanks!

Great video, sir. Great playing too. 🙏

Great stories. Thanks

Good lesson, thanks! But, what about when groups like Led Zeppelin stole music, then called it their own? That can't be right. I think both jazz and blues are some of the best examples of true culture in the United States.

Good songs, you mind listing the song names Rev.? I'm not really familiar with them, but would like to learn them on guitar. Thanks

reverend, you are a cultural treasure

I saw this little girl playing Mozart just beautifully despite the fact that she has no idea what it was like to live in Europe in the 1700s.

👍🎸

I like to sing the play the blues, do I have the rights? I look at the songs as a story not my story but a story that needs to be told.

I’m of the causation persuasion and I love black people and I love the blues

Thank you. Btw I always thought the line about “dark” women might have been a poke at his wife or maybe a bit mischievous. I wouldn’t sing it either.

I mean, if you’re not doing it in a disrespectful way then you’re fine. The greats will always be the greats though and Blues is a broad spectrum. That being said I don’t like joe Bonamassa’ as “blues” I just don’t find him all that interesting outside of his ridiculous guitar collection. I play blues, my own style, it’s what I default to when I blank out or just wanna play. I feel it in my soul and can play it with emotion, and to me that’s what’s it’s all about. Easy to play, hard to feel

One of my biggest heartbreaks is that black culture fell away from the blues. I always feel blessed when I'm around another person who loves the blues but unfortunately its becoming a lost art. I'll be passing it along to my children one day

@ronj9448

3 жыл бұрын

They didn't fall away - like all living arts - it grew and changed.

@tomasschuman6576

3 жыл бұрын

@@ronj9448 the vast majority of blacks, male and female, aged 10 - 45, listen to rap/hip-hop and not the Blues. That's a fact.

@ronj9448

3 жыл бұрын

@@tomasschuman6576 Right - the music grew and changed. Part of blues picked up harmonic sophistication of military bands and became Jazz. Blues also went to R and B with the influence of Gospel . Later with electronic changes, the form changed to funk. It grew and changed like my original post.

@ronj9448

3 жыл бұрын

oh and rap is its modern incarnation. You can listen to current black culture or you can listen to historical, frozen in time, black cultural music. Bach and Mozart were incredibly talented classical musicians but nobody will mimic that style because it was done just so well. So they try new things, in new areas. Same goes for Reggae. Its heyday was the last 60s - you can listen to that period only or to the changes that came afterwards. Many lament 50s R'n'R or 70s "Classic Rock". You can but it changed -with or without you.

@tomasschuman6576

3 жыл бұрын

@@ronj9448 Its not a human being, it's not a singular being that's evolving either. Its music and when different elements are incorporated, it becomes something entirely new. So no, rap and hip hop are not the samething as the blues; and if that's the natural course of it's "evolution", why has it devolved into a computerized and soulless genre that degrades women and promotes gang violence?

Don't sing that fourth verse if you don't feel it. Why sing what you don't feel?

This is one thing Frank Zappa definitely had wrong. He said something like just because you learned blues note for note doesn't mean you should perform it (he was referring to white people). I think some white people (and I'm one) like him thought such 'reverse racist' comments would make him more popular with black people. Shame but you nailed it!

I'm of Italian descent and when I see a black person singing opera I get really angry. Especially if it's in Italian! See how ignorant that sounds. As far as music goes musicians respect other great musicians. There's a lot of great music that mixes around and everyone plays music learned it from somebody meaning we all steal and borrow.