Music Lesson

So after. Now shake that thing.

So we're back onto that idea.

I think he may have been aiming for that E flat, but on the recording, I hear that he's just hitting a knee twice. That's neither here nor there, but I think that's kind of what happened.

Last Chorus

Okay, so those are all things that we've heard before.

And then for the very last chorus, which is kind of the peak of the tune, this is where the sort of climax of the dancing would happen, he plays this right up at the top of the register, which we haven't been to before.

High Register

• He saved that high register bit for the end of the tune.
• This is where the frenzy would be happening.

There's more triplets in there as well, adding a level of complexity and intensity to it.

New Material

He also brings in this little chromatic thing, which he hasn't done before in the tune.

• There's this kind of new material for the ear to listen to.
• That little bit adds variety and interest.

Then, we have a kind of strange ending. It's not at the end of the 12-bar form.

Ending

He does it after coming down from the F chord.

• I'm not sure why that is.
• Maybe the idea of the 12-bar form hadn't fully crystallized at that point.
• Or maybe it's because the recording had to be a certain length before they ran out of wax on the cylinder or something.

I'm not exactly sure what the recording process was.

Anyway, he finishes it sort of halfway through the 12-bar, not at the end of the 12-bar.

And then, there is a very simple turnaround ending, just very simple. There's no big flourish, none of that. No, just very simple.

Conclusion

So there you go. That is pretty much as far as I could work it out from the record, what Pine Top Smith played on his 1928 recording.

So, yeah, good luck playing it! I hope these tips have helped.

And as always with this music, which is improvised music, take these ideas and do your own things with them.