This time I am sharing a song that I have played in one form or another for over fifty years , Limehouse Blues . It was written by Philip Braham and Douglas Furber in 1922 and was featured in the musical Charlot ’ s Review of 1924 . I liked the tune the very first time I heard it and the same is true today . Limehouse Blues was introduced to the Bluegrass world through the great Don Reno . Since then many five-string arrangements have been created by many different players . Over the years I have tried to learn from the different groups and genres with which I have played the tune and have worked to improve my arrangement along the way .
In Limehouse Blues like many other tunes , the verse is often omitted . What is being presented to you is a Scruggs style arrangement in the key of G featuring two solos or breaks of the chorus . The first is in the lower positions and the second is up the neck . These are the two most frequent improvisations that I use for the tune . They also represent the way I teach the tune to share it with other people .
The first thing you will notice about Limehouse Blues is that it starts on the IV chord . So instead of starting on G , the chorus starts on C . Since the song has a blues feel the chord you are playing over is a C7 . Next the song moves to a II7 ( A7 ). You finally get back to the I ( G ) chord in measure 9 . This is followed by moving to the III7 ( B7 ) then to the VIm ( Em ), to the II7 ( A7 ) and then the V7 ( D7 ) to complete the first half of the chorus .
The second half of the chorus begins on the IV7 as the first half did and continues with II7 . This time when the tune goes back to the I chord the lead is playing a pickup for the final part of the chorus . Now the changes are I to VI7 to IIm to VI7 back to IIm . Then the song goes to a IVm to V7 to I . To me the IVm has a very distinctive sound that helps this song stand out .
As you are learning to play the arrangement there are some tips that may help you . For measures 1-3 there is quite a stretch required for your left hand . Ideally you can hold down the second and fourth strings with your index and middle finger and reach out to the fourth fret of the fourth string with your pinky without lifting from your base position . This used to be no problem for me , but for some reason these days the left hand is not as limber as it once was . I will remind you that the pinky only needs to go beyond the third fret to get the desired note . You do not have to reach all the way to the fourth fret to successfully play this phrase . Once your hand is limbered up you should be able to make the stretch . For the measures 5-7 and again in 21-23 I use the fifth string as the G note in the A7 chord . This gives you an easier fingering than trying to open the third string in this phrase when the G note is desired .
When learning the tune pay particular attention to the timing in measures 15 and 16 and again in measures 47-48 . Patterns like this break up the constant barrage of notes that can sometimes occur in 5-string arrangements . I find phrases like this fun to play and worth mastering . In a similar vein , measures 4 , 8 and 20 break up the rolls for a measure in the low break . In the high break you can see a way to play through the measures in 36 and 40 . Here the first note is played as a quarter note giving a feeling of ending to the last 3 measures followed by 6 notes of fill . In measures 52 and 56 I have provided the up the neck version of the pinches used in the low break . You can interchange these phrases as you like once you get a feeling for them .
As in other columns I have included a fill lick in this arrangement . It begins on the second note in measure 63 and continues through the first note in measure 64 . Again , the lick occupies one measure of time that would otherwise be indicated by a tied note for one measure . I have also included an ending for you stating on beat 2 of measure 64 and continuing through measure 65 . This can be learned as a standalone and applied in other songs as you choose .
I hope you enjoy the tune . If you have questions or requests you can email me at tomgar @ mindspring . com .
ALL FRETS SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 13