Duane Allman's - Little Martha

Subject: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: JedMarum
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 04:02 PM

I have been playing with this melody for years ... I didn't remember where I'd heard it, but it just kept falling out my D Major tuning stuff ... then one day someone told me it was an Allman Brothers song. So today I decided to search through You Tube and sure enough - I found it!

Here is a clip of Duane Allman playing one his finest melodies,recorded shortly befor ehis death in 1971. The Studio recording is put to a slide show by an Allman Brothers fan.

I see lots of folks have played with this melody, including Leo Kotke. Any Mudcatters play it?

Listen to Duane's guitar work ... so much beauty in the subtle things he does between phrases ... what a fine player!

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: Wesley S
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 04:06 PM

It makes you wonder where he would be now - musically - if he had lived. I got to see him play live three times. Once with Derek and the Dominos. A stellar musician.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: JedMarum
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 05:07 PM

When I listen to what Duane is doing on this piece (and others) I remember that the old joke that says, "Youth and talent will always be overcome by age and treachery!" is just that; a joke! Duane's "brand new" level of virtuosity - his youthful exuberance and talent far outshine all the seasoned, polished, well practiced old pros. There is something irreplaceable about that level of youthful talent - and Duane had it.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: PoppaGator
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 05:44 PM

There's a nice documentary film on recording engineer Tom Dowd that is available for on-line viewing through Netflix (as well as for rental, as a regular DVD which is presumably available elsewhere as well).

Dowd was an incredible technician and musician who recorded many many great artists and was responsible for several generations of technical advances. One of his many accomplishments was the "Layla" album, as well as all the early Allman Brothers Band releases and the rest of the Derek and the Dominoes catalog.

I'm mentioning this here and now because one of the more interesting moments in this wonderful musical film shows Mr Dowd playing back and discussing the tapes of "Layla," isolating Duane's guitar part (slide-guitar harmonies that are fairly deeply buried in the final mix as released), and discussing Duane's great talent.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: clueless don
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 09:35 AM

Forgive me if this has been discussed before, or is available somewhere on the web, but what tuning did Mr. Allman use for that recording of Little Martha?

Don

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: Wesley S
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 10:55 AM

My declining memory tells me that on the original recording that Duane was in open G and Dicky Betts was in standard tuning. But I could very easily be wrong.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: clueless don
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 11:45 AM

Thank you, Wesley S. You mention "open G", and JedMarum in the first post mentioned "my D Major tuning". But what are these tunings? I apologize for my abysmal ignorance, but I would like to know the note value of each string (e.g. standard tuning is eadgbe, lowest to highest, and DADGAD is, surprisingly, dadgad.)

Don

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: Wesley S
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 12:59 PM

Open G would be DGDGBD {dang this is tough at the office without a guitar in my hands}

Open D would be DADF#AD I think.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: clueless don
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 03:12 PM

Thank you!

Don

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: JedMarum
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 05:52 PM

I believe he played it in DADF#AD - or D major.

If he did, it's capoed to at 2 to play in E. Maybe he tuned to open E.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: PoppaGator
Date: 21 Nov 07 - 02:26 PM

"Open D" (major) and "Open E" tunings are really the same, relatively speaking, and the old bluesmen recognized that fact by calling it "Vastapol tuning" regardless of absolute pitch (after a well-known tune played exclusively in that tuning).

To retune from standard to open-D, three strings are lowered in pitch (loosened); to change from standard turing to open-E, the other three strings have to be raised (tightened).

Acoustic players generally prefer the open-D version of Vastapol, preumably because tuning up to open-E often results in prematurely broken strings.

The extra-light strings customarily used on electric guitars seem better able to stretch without snapping, so electric players are somewhat more prone to tune up to open-E.

Another reason to opt for the open-E alternative is that the key of E is far preferable to D when playing blues on the guitar in standard tuning. For a slide-blues player in a band (or even a duo) with one or more standard-tuned guitars, use of open-E tuning is pretty much universal.

As Jed observes, you can tune to open-D and capo up two frets to play in E, but simply tuning to open-E in the first place is easier and, for light-strung electric guitars, not a problem. I'm almost certain that Duane Allman used open-E very regularly.

Subject: RE: Duane Allman's - Little Martha
From: JedMarum
Date: 22 Nov 07 - 09:14 AM

absolutely right, PoppaGator!