Rich DelGrosso

Blues in the Key of E

Music for this workshop

The key of E is not a common key for mandolins. Unlike the key of G, where the bass note is the lowest note possible, the lowest bass in E starts on the third string. You can't get chords with a rich open bass like you can in G. And, with four sharps in the key signature, you have to be on your toes to catch the right notes when you jam.

But, E is key of choice for blues guitar and I have often found myself jamming with players who like to shuffle on the low strings.

When I started looking for blues mandolin, I found Yank Rachell. His records astonished me. He was working with guitarist Sleepy John Estes and he was playing in E! But when I tried to copy the sound, I was at a loss. There was no way that I could get the same bass notes. And chords resonated like he was using open strings!

I later met with him and learned that he solved the "playing in E" dilemma by re-tuning the instrument one and a half steps down. He tuned his fourth string to E (below G) and then tuned the rest to fifths. The result was that he played in the G-position but it came out in E, and he was playing with some open strings!

I will never forget gigging with him in Detroit. I played guitar and translated for the band. He would announce a song and turn to me and say "It's in G." I would turn to the band and say "It's in E." The key of C came out A. What a great moment of semi-confusion!

The sound created by this tuning is truly different and great for blues, but it's not practical to tune the mandolin down. The strings are slack, and I found I needed to raise the action to avoid buzzing. The strings also did not weather constant tuning and re-tuning, and carrying a second mandolin just for this tuning became a drag. I decided to work on playing E-blues riffs and chords in standard mandolin tuning, and that's what I'm offering this issue of Mandolin Magazine.

With E Jam Blues you will find your fretting hand starting in the second position. For some fiddle-tune players preferring the keys of G, A and D this may be an awkward new position. Your index finger placed on the fourth string, second fret, gets your hand in position at the second fret, not at the nut. If this is your first time, it may seem awkward, but it will help you to play in different positions up the neck.

The first and second measures stress G- and D-naturals: the flatted third and sevenths--or blue notes--in the key of E. Play them strong. The triplets are common to blues shuffles and get you into the rhythm.

By measure six, as the music changes to the IV7 (A7), I've taken the opening melody and placed it an octave above. There are some variations in the pattern. The measure ends on the E, but this time it is placed on the second string. You could play it as the open first string, but it has more feeling if you slide into it on the second string. You may even double it with the open first string and give it more sound!

Coming out of the IV7, I repeat the transition riff I use in measures four and five. Repetition often cements an arrangement together.

Measure 10 walks a line down for the B7. Measure 11 hits hard on the G natural for tension on the A7 chord and then walks it down to the E.

Measure 12 is a classic turnaround in triplet form. You should recognize the sound, as it is common to the blues and all of its descendants, like rock, bluegrass and country.

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