Introduction
Arthur Blake became Blind Blake who achieved legendary status in Piedmont Blues.
His complex guitar skills earned him recognition and influence among many musicians.
His intricate fingerpicking style set him apart.
Piedmont Blues originated as a regional music style within the southeastern United States.
This musical style features ragtime rhythms alongside melodic patterns created through fingerpicking techniques.
The fusion of folk music with blues rhythms and ragtime patterns produces an exclusive sound.
Audiences were captivated by Blind Blake’s recordings throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
He gained attention through his flawless vocals combined with exceptional guitar skills.
“Diddie Wah Diddie” and “Police Dog Blues” stand as timeless musical classics.
Visualize the image of a guitarist whose fingers perform with both exact precision and graceful movement.
That’s Blind Blake. Blind Blake’s enduring impact continues to motivate both musicians and blues fans today.
Blind Blake’s life story provides a gateway to understanding Piedmont Blues.
Through his music Blind Blake creates stories that express happiness alongside sadness and strength.
Explore the impactful years of his career and discover his lasting musical achievements.
Blind Blake’s Early Life and Background
Blind Blake gained fame as a blues and ragtime guitarist.
Blind Blake was born in Jacksonville, Florida, around 1896.
It is uncertain whether he was born blind or developed blindness later in life.
He died in Chicago in 1931.
His deep love for music originated from listening to street musicians and dancers.
It would have grown even more if he had not faced blindness.
Early jazz and ragtime served as primary musical influences that shaped the unique guitar style which became his signature approach.
Through self-teaching at an early age, he developed into a first-rate fingerpicking guitarist.
Blake pioneered a distinct musical style through rhythmic beginnings that evolved into a complex and intricate piano-like ragtime approach.
Blake moved to Chicago during the promising era of blues and jazz in 1920.
During this time, he gained attention from the Paramount record company.
This led him to start his recording career.
His early life showed a strong interplay between rebellious behavior and dedication to music.
His early life experiences led him to become a pioneering figure in blues and ragtime music.
Blind Blake’s Musical Style and Techniques
Blind Blake pioneered the Piedmont blues style.
This rich offshoot evolved from ragtime.
He was masterful at what he did.
In particular, he showed off his highly elevated fingerpicking.
He employed novel techniques using the entire guitar neck when many blues guitarists played the instrument like a banjo.
Fingerpicking Style
His left-hand thumb plays the bass line on his guitar.
His fingers play the melody, imitating a ragtime keyboardist.
Every single note and ornament is clearly fingerpicked.
It gets amazing when he plays the bass line and melody simultaneously.
It sounds like two guitars are playing, but it’s really just one musician.
I know there are probably two to three thousand different ways to play those four bars.
Each permutation involves the fingers, thumb, thumbnail, and palm of the left hand.
But that’s kind of the point.
Notable Techniques
Blake’s thumb played steady alternating bass lines, a technique fundamental in the development of the Piedmont blues sound.
Syncopation: He used syncopation to provide rhythmic complexity and interest by emphasizing certain notes on unexpected beats.
Independence of the thumb: At its largest setting, his thumb could move up and down independently of his fingers.
This allowed him to maintain a steady unchanging bass line.
Meanwhile, his other fingers played much more ornate melodies.
Though it is sometimes identified with later musicians such as Merle Travis, this interplay of bass notes is crucial.
It is a vital part of Blake’s dynamic sound.
It helps define his musical style.
Distinctive, unbroken, plucked melodic lines also come over the top.
Guitar Skills
Perhaps Blind Blake was the most technically accomplished blues guitar player ever.
He, most of all, managed to play bass strings, chords, and melody simultaneously.
His long rapid runs and overdubbing of different sections were second to none.
Compare the opening of his ‘Shimmy She Wobble’ (‘Diddie Wa Diddie’, 1927)
. Compare this with Peter Green’s guitar-playing in the Fairport Convention version of ‘Me and Ginny Jones’ (1969).
Notice how they share similarities.
Note also the slide in the second bar of Lee Conley’s ‘St Louis Blues’ (1928).
This slide is echoed exactly on his southern rag (1928).
Blake’s legacy amongst folk and country guitarists is vast.
In summation, Blind Blake’s use of fingerpicking, syncopation, and thumb independence greatly contributed to his music.
He also elevated the guitar’s importance in this era of ‘old-time’ music.
These elements all enhanced the strength and power of his guitar playing.
He not only helped to define the subgenre of Piedmont blues.
He also helped guitarists everywhere gain greater respect and appreciation.
Blind Blake’s Key Recordings and Achievements
Blind Blake (who may have started out playing mandolin) was the pre-eminent ragtime blues guitarist.
His intricate fingerpicking laid the foundations for many others.
Recordings of his technique and songcraft showcase his creativity.
Perhaps the most impressive is a piece called ‘West Coast Blues’ or ‘West Coast Rag’.
It is an astonishing tour de force of ragtime guitar technique.
The piece features single-note lines interspersed with double-stopped eighth-note attacks.
‘Diddie Wa Diddie’ is a light-hearted exercise.
It is good-natured, lyrical, and brilliantly playful.
It remains one of the most entertaining rags.
‘Southern Rag’ shows his rhythmic verve and experimental guitar approach.
Many of his best songs are collected on two albums.
One is Blind Blake Vol 1: 1926-1927.
The other is the companion set, Blind Blake Vol 2: 1927-1928.
He hit a high note on Blind Blake Vol 1 with ‘Early Morning Blues’.
Blake explored a diversity of styles.
When he broke through a stylistic barrier just right, it created an unforgettable performance.
Blake recorded well over 80 sides for the Paramount label in his career.
He helped to marry the genres of ragtime and blues.
He also foreshadowed developments in jazz and later rockabilly.
Blake was one of the first guitarists to fully exploit complex and effusive guitar solos.
His songs served as standards for later blues and jazz artists.
He embraced every method to give the guitar a tone and presence not found among earlier unamplified players.
Despite (mostly) posthumous obscurity, he is remembered as one of the most influential artists in history.
Generations of modern artists recall him in conversation.
Blues, ragtime, and jazz musicians have adopted and spread his singular guitar style.
His recordings live on as reference material for existing and aspiring guitarists.
His influence on recorded blues and ragtime is recognized.
Other musicians still use Blake’s music to teach and inspire.
His recordings are required listening on the ‘blues circuit’.
They represent the heart of American vernacular music from the beginning of the 20th century.
Blake is the father of our guitar gods.
His music is the first step toward a great many styles you hear today.
No recordings of Blake definitively suggest this.
However, it is possible he made cameo appearances on his manager’s records.
He may have appeared on records of other artists of the period.
This includes Louis Armstrong, who sang ‘It Takes Two to Make a Sweet Gypsy’.
Still, his definitive recordings of his most influential songs are remarkable.
His achievements place him securely among the greats of music history.
He is an apparent influence on both blues and ragtime.
Even today, he continues to warrant praise from many listeners.
Blind Blake’s Influence on Other Musicians
In the 1920s Blind Blake excelled as a master of ragtime and blues guitar.
His fingerpicking technique served as an influential foundation for musical innovation across numerous genres during the following decades.
Blind Blake delivered a collection of complex finger-picking techniques to Reverend Gary Davis.
Davis was a teenage musician who integrated them into his unique gospel blues style.
Davis shared his simple melodic guitar techniques with a generation of musicians.
This group included both Bob Dylan.
It also included Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead.
The guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, associated with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, stands as another significant follower of Blake.
In his acoustic performances Kaukonen delivers special honoring to Blake’s complex playing techniques.
The slide guitarist Ry Cooder identifies Blind Blake as essential for his development in blues and roots genres.
The distinctive style of Blake extends beyond individual artists to influence complete musical genres.
The ragtime-inspired patterns featured syncopated rhythms and off-center time signatures.
These patterns merged with the emotional depth of Blues music.
This fusion occurred before the golden era of 78rpm recordings and continued even later.
The foundation of Piedmont country blues emerged from blending the open, chord-driven style of Piedmont hill country blues.
It incorporated the bright sounds of southern acoustic styles influenced by ragtime.
The Piedmont blues style became essential to the modern interpretation of blues music.
He converted an entire style.
The Piedmont style features a driving tempo that never dominates while incorporating syncopation throughout.
Many blues and folk guitarists have analyzed his playing style and adopted his techniques as their own.
Any fingerstylist who wants to follow in his footsteps can access that path through Blake’s recordings.
Every serious blues guitarist advancing their skills should listen to ‘West Coast Blues’.
They should also listen to ‘Diddie Wa Diddie’. These tracks serve as essential for their musical development.
Blind Blake maintains his status as an essential figure in blues history.
This is due to his musical impact.
Additionally, the continued presence of his mysterious name on his record labels contributes to his enduring legacy.
Blake’s rapid fingerstyle technique serves as a constant (and playable) source of inspiration for today’s guitar enthusiasts.
It challenges musicians attempting to surpass him. Many attempt to play his steel strings.
Blind Blake’s Challenges and Later life
Blind Blake had many struggles.
Being visually impaired made everyday tasks difficult.
He was a great guitar player, and musician, with a fingerpicking style that was distinct from anyone else.
But his personal life was often a mess.
He had trouble supporting himself financially as a working-class African American.
This challenge persisted throughout much of his career.
With the advent of the Great Depression in the US, his economic struggles multiplied.
Professionally, Blake was busy.
Between 1926 and 1932, he recorded more than 80 tracks.
These tracks were a blend of ragtime and blues, both then in vogue.
Scott Joplin greatly influenced Ragtime.
Blake’s blues provided inspiration to many future musicians.
His fame rode the ups and downs of popular taste, diminishing as musical appreciation changed again.
He found it difficult to catch on to new trends.
His earnings and opportunities tapered off.
Unfortunately, his last years were not well-known.
We don’t know much about his final years.
We have only heard about health issues in his later years.
It is known that he died in 1934.
His death remains a mystery.
We don’t know much about it.
Herein lies a slight but important shade of distinction.
Despite these difficulties, Blind Blake is still with us.
He remains one of the greatest ragtime guitar stylists.
He left an innovative technical legacy.
His records continue to inspire musicians.
And it’s common to hear his story celebrated as an artistic triumph over an almost unimaginable adversity.
His music is still studied and enjoyed today
. His contribution to the American music history is vital.
Future Blues and Ragtime artists stood on his early mastery.
Blind Blake overcame his blindness and left behind a lasting impact.
His music lives on in fans worldwide and continues to inspire musicians as well
Conclusion
Probably the biggest influence on the blues is Blind Blake, the master of Piedmont Blues.
He developed an alternating bass style.
He played with the thumb on the back of the neck and fingers on the strings.
This technique became a trademark of Piedmont Blues.
Blake recorded around 80 tracks from 1926 to 1932.
Blake had an original style that synthesized ragtime, blues, and jazz.
He influenced a number of future blues musicians.
Guitarists hailed him for his characteristic complex techniques.
His work continues to be essential listening for blues fans.
Although his brilliant career was short,
Blake set the bar high in guitar playing.
His influence on blues, jazz, and folk music can hardly be overestimated.
Blind Blake lives on as someone who was a gifted musician, and a pioneer.
He is a sacred presence in the canon of blues histories.
His music endures as something to enjoy.
The sound of the Piedmont Blues still has a lot to thank him for.