Reverend Gary Davis - Blues Guitar Master

Reverend Gary Davis - Blues Guitar Master

Gary Davis born in South Carolina in 1896 was a blues musician proficient in the technique generally named Piedmont, which is the main ragtime style.

Although we often use the the overall description 'ragtime' guitar, there are other categories within, for example, piano style ragtime picking and ragtime blues. The ragtime blues style originated because guitarists tried to emulate the joyful dance sound of the playing style created by Scott Joplin and others. Guitarists in that time were enthused by the alternating 'bum-chick' bass patterns and general syncopation.

In that part of the South, when The Reverend was starting his playing career, the accepted guitar master was a man named Willie Walker, who picked incredibly precisely and very rapidly, a bit like Blind Blake. Gary Davis picked up several tunes up from Walker, including Cincinatti Flow Drag and Make Believe Stunt. That encounter was possibly vital to the growth of Davis' style, without doubt expanding his range and song list. By his own account, the Reverend 'was scared o' no guitarist' by the time he was 30 years old.

Although a master in ragtime picking, he could expertly play in any style and in all keys with equal panache. After he was ordained to be a reverend, Davis would not perform the old blues pieces, and favored gospel songs spreading the word of the Lord. He also sported several party pieces in his song list. Singers in those years performed on the street, private gatherings, and any where they could get a few coins, a bed or a plate of food. It was essential that they varied their playing and provide tunes attractive to different kinds of listeners.

Davis used a big body Gibson acoustic guitar, chosen for its rich, profound basses and penetrating higher notes - great for making his music heard beyond street noise. Additionally, he wore finger picks, which act like a natural amplifier and protect the fingers from becoming sore when playing for a long period, as entertainers did back then. He used a big plastic thumb pick pushed high up, close to his hand, and a stainless steel on the fore finger.

Incredibly, he only used one finger to pick the guitar strings, which doesn't seem possible, bearing in mind the complexity of his music. The thumb might jump all over the strings, never being content to play only the bass strings. The thumb may also pick out of time and double up on the beat, which represents incredible control. Another hallmark movement was his single string run work. He would pick a single string alternately using his fore finger and thumb in rapid[quick fire succession at lightning speed, singing at the same time!

Many master guitarists picked with just a single finger (Doc Watson, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Boy Fuller) but no one was as slick and creative as Gary Davis. His songs were really creative including a large variation in chord sequences utilized. A lot of ragtime blues songs have a standard chord sequence depending on the key used, and they sequences are significantly more involved than a standard blues chord sequence in An or E, but the Reverend further extended the progressions giving a new plateau of musical diversity.

Reverend Gary Davis has been a fountain of inspiration for a great many guitarists over the years and his legacy will always be with us.

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