Level: 3
Tuning: Standard

Virtuoso D blues improvised around a melody in standard tuning. Not only is Rev. Davis working around a theme but as he invents his way along, he does it with complex counterpoint. On the base, he often sticks to the A and D in the D chord. But then he works the song around a repeated base run: A D F# D, the same run that he uses in G in Crucifixion.

He uses the whole neck, moving the D chord up through the A form, 5th fret (where the song begins) to the G, 8th fret. Though we rarely hear him play blues in this key, it is amazing how intimate he is with it. He sticks faithfully to the progression and weaves the melodic lines through it the way a jazz pianist would. Sliding the D chord from the first to the second fret enables you to play the minor 3rd to the major on the 1st string as easily as with the C chord. This is the middle of the run that falls from the 1st string 5th fret (the V) to the 3rd fret 2nd string, the I. Around the middle of the song he breaks off base and melody picking and works out with single line base runs.

This song is not just virtuosic, it is soulful, bluesy and beautiful.