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    "Off-topic"/Free-form discussions > "Rag, Mama, Rag" goes Scat.

    In the song "Rag, Mama, Rag" sung, in this version, by Blind Boy Fuller, it is played in the "Piedmont Style" of the "Blues" popular in the more northern states and heard commonly on "Blues" recording from Okeh Records. The "Piedmont Style" can be heard by the guitar from its layered strumming of the guitar notes. In the song the guitar is accompanied by, what sounds like, a washboard adding to the layered sound already being played. There is also synchopation in the song easily heard when Blind Boy Fuller sings the word "rag" multiple times during the song.

    When Blind Boy Fuller sing the song "Rag, Mama, Rag" the verses stay the same in sound only breaking away from that pattern when he talks some of the parts in and out of the song. He is able to keep the beat of the song in the parts when he is more talking the parts and only singing little bits of the song because he plays the same chords over and over again. the major consistency of the song comes from his never ending strumming of the some notes. When he actually sings the verses, he stick to a simple beat and does not change it. The rhythm sings to the beat of A A A'A'' BB'CD. the Bs Cs and DS are the different times he sings the word "rag".

    Lastly Blind Boy Fuller also added in the singing style of "Scat" around the length of 1:27-1:34 in the song. "Scat" is improvides random vocals sung and could be used as instrumental solos during song, like in "Rag, Mama, Rag". The History of "Scat" goes back to traditional African music contrubuting to the "diasporic" movement in American music. In this version of the song "Rag, Mama, Rag" the use of "Scat" is broughten to life.

    Oct 15, 2009 at 4:59 AM | Registered CommenterSarahFerro