Little Blue Volkswagen

Is anybody here who can help to play this?

There is no sheet available. I think it’s quite simple harmonically, but I can’t seem to play it. So I need some help with it.
Jochen

Hi @Jochen :wave:

This recording is a 12 bar blues in the key G.

The chord progression goes something like this:

From what I can hear there are 2 instruments in the recording - a piano and also an organ.

There’s possibly a 3rd musician who is the vocalist. It’s hard to tell if the vocalist is also playing the piano or organ.


The Style Of Playing

You are correct that it’s simple harmonically-speaking, as it’s just the 12 bar blues form, but this style of performance is quite challenging to play (walking bass and syncopated comping right hand) as it requires hand independence and a solid grasp of the blues form with walking bass.

The closest lesson that I could suggest for you, would be this study on walking bass lines by Jon Cleary:

If you check out chapter 4 of that lesson entitled “Slow & Fast Demonstrations”, the style of your recording is somewhere in between Jon’s 2 demonstrations.

Jon in playing walking bass lines in octaves in this lesson, and I don’t believe that’s what the piano player is doing in your recording of “Little Blue Volkswagen” - instead I’d check out Steve’s Chicago Blues course highlighted below which contains single note bass lines.

However, the general ‘feel’ of the performance, and how the syncopated right hand fits with the bass line is similar to Jon’s demonstrations in the lesson above.

Your recording is not a slow blues, it’s not a boogie-woogie, it’s somewhere in between.


Suggested Courses For You

If you are interested in learning this style of playing (walking bass and syncopated right hand comping with some right hand blues licks), I’d suggest the following courses… here listed in order of difficultly for you:

1) Chicago Blues Course with Steve Flynn

2) Boogie-Woogie Course with Steve Flynn

3) Blues Masterclass Course with Jon Cleary:


Check out the lesson and course links above, and once you have a basic grasp of this style of playing, I would then try to emulate and play along with the “Little Blue Volkswagen” recording.

I hope that helps!

Yes, that helps. Thank you so much for your help!!

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