Whipping Post Guitar Lesson | A Dorian Mode | What To Play For Solos

Whipping Post Guitar Lesson
We see a combination of Rock and Blues in Whipping Post. Most of the Allman's tunes are based on Rock and Blues.
Is there folk and southern rock mixed in? I don’t hear it.
What the Allman’s created with Whipping Post, Liz Reed, Les Bres in A minor and to some extent Mountain Jam, was innovative. It was a new sound taking place as a departure from southern rock.
With Whipping Post came a new landmark in Post Beatles sound. Of course this was happening all around with Cream Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Zeppelin, Beck and most of Prog rock. They all had their burst of innovative nuance that took rock in multi-various directions.
What made Whipping Post distinct was the A Dorian and A Melodic Minor juxtaposing the hard blues element. Put that all in a fast 6/8 or 12/8 shuffle and you got a whole new sound.
Liz Reed and Les Bres stayed in that A Dorian sound along with Hot Lanta. Those tunes did not incorporate the blues as Whipping Post did.
What they all have in common was the long jam potential.
Whipping post seems to be one of the longer pieces with more developed stretching out of time as each performance succeeded one another.
This third dimension to is shared with Mountain Jam. They both stretch out into what might be a Grateful Dead influenced idea. In Classical music the Cadenza was used somewhat to elaborate on the theme with an extended improvisation. The recitative was an operatic device that stepped out of the current time signature making use of Rubato; a kind of moving in and out of a steady beat.
Whereas Dead fans call it “Space Music”, Allman Bros fans called it “Jamming”.
Opening with an interesting switch as far as rock rhythms go, Whipping Post’s Intro is an 11/4 time signature.
It then reverts to a more standard 12/8. Which is still unusual for Rock at any time. You will find blues in a slow 12/8. But Whipping Post uses a fast kind of shuffle.
It is in A Minor. A minor, B minor sus4, C major.
It repeats those chords as the blues lyrics guide you into Greg's vocalese turmoil.
Suddenly after a few minor repetitions it breaks into a D7 to an E7. Blues leads escalate the momentum.
Then the famous “Tied to the Whipping Post” regaled with a pentatonic lick created an iconic statement. Two choruses precede a solo.
A third vocal chorus is followed by another guitar solo and then the break into the long jam.
The guitar solos are remarkable; clean, fresh, well phrased.
Because of their collaborative attitude the original band sounds like a collective single heart beating. During the long jam you are invited into a luxurious space supported by some fabulous bass and drums.
The piece recovers from this hiatus by the vocals slipping back in as bluesy as ever. The ending is a threshold of minor chords brushing against the illumined night.
This tune is a worthy study and every guitarist should sit there and learn from the guitar solos.
That is what the next few videos will cover. I hope I can bring light to the subject and do it justice.

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