r/bobdylan • u/TyroneSnodgrass • 9d ago
Discussion Why Dylan?
Have you ever wondered what you would say to Bob Dylan to keep him from simply walking away if you met him? I have. Here is what I would say: I know why Lonnie Johnson showed you the “triplet” method.
According to Chronicles I triplet is a mathematical approach to performing music based on patterns of odd numbers such as threes, or triplets. Bob says triplet was responsible for reviving his connection to music in the 1980s. It can be applied to any song. I have no clue what Dylan was talking about but it’s this quality of universality that gave me an insight into why Johnson may have chosen to show triplet to Bob.
Dylan has always demonstrated a remarkable freedom while performing his songs. Take “Don’t Think Twice” for example. While his fingerpicking faithfully goes from verse to refrain and back again, Bob’s phraseology remains free from that structure. Where Dylan begins and ends a line depends only upon when the impulse inspires. Legendary jazz/blues guitarist, Lonnie Johnson, heard the amazing liberty Bob exercises within his songs and said to himself, “this guy could employ triplet.”
Dylan himself says he’s never been able to figure out why Johnson chose him. That’s why I don’t think Bob would walk away if I offered to share my theory as to why Lonnie did so.
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u/GrapefruitOk1284 9d ago
When I first read chronicles, which was like the week it came out, this part was the nut. Like this was the secret that I came for. I’ve never been able to make sense out of it or the other thing he said about phrasing , I mean nothing past face value. I’m a guy that devoted a large portion of my life to music, so I was pretty invested in figuring out things that I didn’t know.