Blues Etude #3: “Lazy Blues” is a slow blues with a walking bass line. Slow blues tunes can be hard to notate. This is because blues musicians usually use free rhythms. In other words, they will play with a superimposed rubato feel. Given this, melodic lines tend to float arrhythmically over the bar lines. In slow blues numbers, the tempo and time signature never waver, but the rhythms do not always divide and subdivide neatly. Instead, the rhythms accelerando and ritardando within the context of the groove. FIGURE 15-4 (see page 228) shows one example of this. To understand this figure, you will need to listen to the CD to hear the gradual speeding up and slowing down of the sixteenth notes.

It's crucial that you know about free rhythms and their use in blues. To do this, you will have to listen carefully to this music (see Appendix A). Virtually all blues instrumentalists use free rhythms. However, since they are confusing on paper, they have been omitted in “Lazy Blues.” For ease in reading and interpretation, all of the rhythms in this piece fit neatly into triple patterns. Still, it's important to perform this etude with a relaxed feel. Don't play these rhythms stiff. Unlike boogie-woogie, slow blues should not sound urgent or rushed. It should sound passionate yet logy, animated yet carefree.

FIGURE 15-4: Free Rhythms

TRACK 69

Be careful of the triplet rolls. In this case, you will play four thirty-second note triplets per eighth note triplet. It's not as difficult as it sounds, but you may want to use a metronome to ensure accuracy. Start by playing stripped-down eighth note triplets. Once you feel confident with this rhythm, simply roll your fingers on the given pitches. You'll find that the pattern should fall under your fingertips quite easily. Make sure you don't lose the pulse of the eighth note triplets when rolling your fingers.