Article in relation to a tribute concert going on: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/arts/music/recalling-curtis-mayfield-souls-genius-of-gentleness.html?_r=1

Nothing super-crazy-enlightening, but this was news to me:

"... but his light touch, airy sound and unusual chord choices gave him great stature among his peers, whom he further mystified by choosing an exotic-sounding open F-sharp tuning for his guitar instead of the standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuning."

I've never tried to play any of his stuff, so no surprise that I didn't know this, but I wonder how this might help explain his really distinct guitar tone... might make it a Curtis day.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

his special tuning and unique guitar sound before he got paralyzed.

I've tried to play with that tuning before... It's interesting, but tricky. Then again, I've never really been much good using alternate tunings in general.

>his special tuning and unique guitar sound before he got
>paralyzed.

That's really interesting. Speaks a bit to how he understood himself as a musician/artist, I think, that he could identify that as something of specific value.

>
>I've tried to play with that tuning before... It's
>interesting, but tricky. Then again, I've never really been
>much good using alternate tunings in general.

Me neither. I'm bad enough on guitar as it is - I'm a piano player, so I think of music in a very linear, consecutive sort of way... the fretboard kind of messes with mind in that sense. Alternate tunings fascinate me because they ask your brain to do a lot at one time (although, like anything, I imagine as you adjust to an alternate tuning it becomes second nature).

They also fascinate me because when you learn first learn the nuts and bolts of music, you (usually) learn about chords as sort of static things: a G chord always has the same three notes, regardless of what order they're played or what registers they're taken from. Obviously, you learn over time that the order and registers make a big difference, but alternate tunings, for whatever reason, really exemplify that in my mind.

Don't know if that made any sense... a little slow this morning...


-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Getting to know my guitar over the past year or so, I've ventured into alternate tunings a bit recently. I really like to make up my own chords in DADGAD, but I tuned up to F# last week and as I was messing about, I made a distinctly Curtis-sounding chord, which I noticed right away. Makes sense now.

~Austin

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i should mess around more with open tunings... I have a feeling that if I'd learned to play on an open-tuned guitar first, I'd actually be a lot better today than I actually am...

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

After all, it's 12 notes we are dealing with. Sure, it's MUCH easier to play some chords in open-tuning than other wise (fuck, some are practically impossible in a regular context). However, I always think in terms of notes rather than finger-settings (blame my bass-player/metal background on that) so I've never bothered, maybe because I rarely play full chords but still... Anyway, I am too mathematical in my approach to chords, scales etc. that alternative tunings just seem like a waste of time to me, I would rather find a way to play the same chords in a regular tuning if it's possible (which it often is even if you might have to change the bass, fifth, third etc. around a bit)...

Props to Curtis, one of my favorite rhythm guitarists ever...

I think it depends on how your brain works, how you learned, and ultimately how you process the fretboard. I think in notes, too - because of my comfort w/the piano - but I find it difficult to translate that to the guitar. With the guitar, I think much more in terms of chord fingerings and scales that I've identified and memorized for my own use...

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

We had a piano in the house growing up and while I'm a LOUSY piano-player, there's simply no instrument that is as good as that one if you want to understand and get a simple overview of the relations between notes and how you build triads and the intervals and scales etc. Shit, just playing the whites will give you a decent understanding of theoretical concepts. Fuck, just *look* at a piano and you (almost) get it...

The guitar by comparison has to me always been more abstract; a regular, say, D-major chord looks totally different from a G in terms of fingering etc. I feel that western music theory has almost been formulated around the piano (or vice-versa) and because of the "static" nature of the piano and it's tuning, it's hard to come to grips with alternative tunings etc, on the guitar, especially if just learning regular chords give you a headache when you think in terms of the piano...

Chi-Town's Greatest.....As you can see below....

my favorite Curtis Mayfield song at the moment is the 1995 version of We the people that are darker than blue that I heard during the dead presidents movie.

and this is a great read on him.

>and this is a great read on him.


The only two people you *could* put over Curtis is Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole....

That's it...

If you trying to put you know who over Curtis, u need some serious treatment...

Because, there's not much that fucks with this...


"Sisters, brothers and the whities
Blacks and the crackers
Police and their backers
They're all political actors

Hurry...People running from their worries
While the judge and the juries
Dictate the law that's partly flaw
Cat calling, love balling, fussing and cussing
Top billing now is killing
For peace no-one is willing
Kind of make you get that feeling

Everybody smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke
Use the pill and the dope, dope, dope, dope, dope
Educated fools
From uneducated schools
Pimping people is the rule
Polluted water in the pool
And Nixon talking about don't worry, worry, worry, worry
He says don't worry, worry, worry, worry
He says don't worry, worry, worry, worry
He says don't worry, worry, worry, worry

But they don't know
There can be no show
And if there's a hell below
We're all gonna go, go, go, go, go

Everybody's praying
And everybody's saying
But when come time to do
Everybody's laying

Just talking about don't worry, worry, worry, worry
They say don't worry, worry, worry, worry
They say don't worry, worry, worry, worry
They say don't worry, worry, worry, worry....."

and you are way out of pocket and line on this.

R.Kelly Number 1 and Maurice White number 2 Curtis Mayfield 3, Chaka Khan 4 and Nat King Cole 5 and that is my order and if you don't like you can Kiss my Black Behind Turkey.

speak for yourself and stay in your lane and you don't speak for me or my ears and what I like Ya Dig?

Curtis Mayfield ain't moved me like R.Kelly sorry to burst your bubble he is high on my list, however I prefer far more ARRUH Songs period and thats that NEGRO

Here's a pretty thorough review of the "Here But I'm Gone" tribute that was held at Lincoln Center. all-star line up for real: Lonnie Smith, Impressions, Mavis, Aloe Blacc, Meshell w/Bilal, The Roots, and others.

http://www.feastofmusic.com/feast_of_music/2012/07/here-but-im-gone-a-tribute-to-curtis-mayfield-at-avery-fisher-hall.html

Sounds like a great night.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~