Lead lines: 'Green Onions' Booker T
With
Joe GlossopJoe Glossop breaks down the lead lines to “Green Onions” on Hammond organ, working through the F blues scale, the slip-off phrasing, and catching the backbeat late.
What's in the course
45 lessons (3h 0m) · 1 free
01. Performance: 'Green Onions' Booker T
3:01
02. Tones: 'Green Onions' Booker T
3:08
03. Playing the tune: 'Green Onions' Booker T
8:21
04. Lead lines: 'Green Onions' Booker T
You are here4:43
05. Bassline: 'Green Onions' Booker T
2:01
06. Performance: Jimmy McGriff - All About My Girl
3:43
07. Keyboard view performance: Jimmy McGriff - All About My Girl
3:43
08. Tones: 'All About My Girl' - Jimmy McGriff
4:01
09. Intro: 'All About My Girl' - Jimmy McGriff
2:10
10. Playing the head: 'All About My Girl' - Jimmy McGriff
2:58
11. Bassline: 'All About My Girl' - Jimmy McGriff
1:52
12. Ending: 'All About My Girl' - Jimmy McGriff
1:51
13. Improvisation and comping: 'All About My Girl' - Jimmy McGriff
4:38
01. A Change is Gonna Come' - Sam Cooke
7:46
02. Keyboard View: 'A Change is Gonna Come' - Sam Cooke
1:20
03. La La means I love you' - Booker T
5:39
04. Keyboard view: 'La La means I love you' - Booker T
2:25
05. Groovin' Booker T & the MGs
4:57
06. Keyboard view: 'Groovin' ' - Booker T & the MGs
1:15
07. Time is Tight' - Booker T & the MGs
5:31
08. Keyboard view: 'Time is Tight' - Booker T & the MGs
1:39
09. 'The Girl from Ipanema' - Antonio Carlos Jobim
6:17
10. Keyboard view: 'The Girl from Ipanema' - Antonio Carlos Jobim
2:36
11. Blues based on 'Blue Bash' - Jimmy Smith
7:59
12. Keyboard view: Blues based on 'Blue Bash' - Jimmy Smith
3:24
13. Walk on the Wild Side' M series jam - Jimmy Smith
6:44
Lesson transcript
Understanding Lead Lines in F Blues Scale
So let's talk about the lead lines. It's basically almost all F blues scale. The only note that might be in there that isn't part of that is your G.
Key Elements
- A couple of slips that he does don't include maybe things from the scale, but we'll get to that in a second.
- The third harmonic is on there, which gives you a little extra sort of attack on the top of the note.
Phrasing and Technique
There are a lot of slips in this, and the phrasing is very intentional:
- It's all about slipping off notes and the way he's pulling it back.
- If you're playing it straight, you could go one way, and sometimes he does that, but sometimes he might go another.
- It's very much about trying to catch that backbeat as late as possible.
Demonstration
From the top, I'll do it without the bass now. As you can see, there's a lot of kind of putting notes in between your blues scale that aren't really included. But it's just an in-between kind of flourish.
- The D is in there, so that's your six included.
- And obviously, you're going up to your G; you got your six and your nine in there.
Repetition and Slips
There's a lot of repetition:
- E flat to F there, all slipped off each other.
- Slipped from the E flat to the F, and then slipped from the E to the F.
There's nothing that's out of bounds, really, but the main focus is that blues scale stuff. You can use any note to sort of get there.
After the Guitar Solo
So, in the second round after the guitar solo, a lot of the same kinds of things come into play.
- Phrasing is key. It's all about the dragging back.
- It's kind of a shade off playing it straight.
So there you have it, your lead lines.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Joe Glossop is a keyboard player from Sheffield who has made his name on the Hammond organ. He currently holds the organ chair in Tom Jones's touring band, and has played with Van Morrison and James Hunter, as well as on piano and Rhodes. His courses get the real Hammond sound out of any keyboard - drawbar registration, the Leslie, the walking-bass left hand, and the comping and soloing vocabulary of the soul-jazz, blues and rock organ traditions, from Jimmy Smith to Booker T.
