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Hi, There will be no beginner jam next week. The next beginner jam will be held two weeks from now, on Nov. 1st. The song of the week will be Little Birdie in the keys of Bb and C. I will call it in Bb before the intermission at the jam, and then in C after the intermission. Recordings Probably the most well known version of this song within bluegrass circles is Ralph Stanley's, on which he plays clawhammer (old-time) style banjo instead of the more common (for bluegrass) 3 finger style. Ralph's version of the song is 'crooked', meaning that there are extra half measures in the progression. This makes his version somewhat hard to learn or to play along with. Making things even more difficult is that the breaks do not follow exactly the same form as the verses. Here is a link for Ralph's version of the song. But this is not the version that I will use at the beginner jam, since it is not very jam friendly. Ralph Stanley (key of D) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80if-yp-tdc Here is a slower version of the song, and one in which the form is not crooked, and in which the form is the same for both the verses. the choruses, and the breaks. Notice that Ralph Stanley's version has no chorus. His first verse is used as a chorus in the version below. The Cartys (key of D) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkgi6k9LsPY This is pretty much how I intend on playing the song at the beginner jam, except that there will be no chorus, only verses, as in the Ralph Stanley version. Here is another version of Little Birdie which you may enjoy (and which, unlike the previous links, has a 3 finger style banjo break): Spinney Brothers (key of B) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk139nLQ2so Progression As it is played at the jam, the chord progression, for both the verses and the breaks is: 1155 5511 1155 5511 (first half of Prog. V9 - played through twice - on the basic chord progressions handout) In the key of Bb: 1 = Bb; 5 = F In the key of C: 1 = C; 5 = G Transposing in Whole Steps Fiddle and mandolin players, and players of other instruments on which a capo is not normally used, may find this section helpful. C is a whole step higher than Bb. The notes of the Bb and C Major Scales thus correspond with each other as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bb C D Eb F G A C D E F G A B The melody of Little Birdie uses only 6 of the 7 notes of the Major Scale. The 4th note of the scale (i.e., Eb note when in the key of Bb; F note when in the key of C) does not occur in the melody. The preceding chart also shows the relation of the 1, 4, and 5 chords for the two keys, but here they are in isolation from the rest of the information: 1 4 5 Bb Eb F C F G The 1 chord consists of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the Major Scale. The 4 chord consists of the 4th, 6th, and 8th (=1st) notes of the Major Scale The 5 chord consists of the 5th, 7th, and 9th (=2nd) notes of the Major Scale Here is a chart showing these relationships: 1 3 5 4 6 1 5 7 2 Key of Bb Bb D F Eb G Bb F A C Key of C C E G F A C G B D 'To capo or not to capo' For playing in the key of Bb, bluegrass guitar and banjo players almost always capo to the 3rd fret so that they can play with the same fingerings they would use for playing in the key of G without a capo. (With the 5th string on banjo spiked/capoed/tuned up to a Bb note.) The two most common options for bluegrass guitar and banjo players for playing in C are either to play in C without a capo, or put the capo on the 5th fret so that they can play with the same fingerings they would use for playing in the key of G without a capo. When the 2nd option is chosen by a banjo player, the 5th string is spiked/capoed/tuned up to a C note. The capo 5 option for playing in the key of C will produce a brighter, crisper sound than the no capo option - especially on banjo. You may find this quite desirable for some songs you play (especially up-tempo hard-driving breakdown type songs), but less desirable for other songs in your repertoire (e.g., slow songs that have a relaxed feel to them). To get maximum benefit from our song of the week exercise of playing Little Birdie in both Bb and in C, I recommend that guitar and banjo players who know how to play in C without a capo do so when playing Little Birdie in C at the jam while it goes through the song of the week cycle. One advantage for guitar players who choose to not use a capo when playing Little Birdie in C is that the melody can be dropped an octave lower onto the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings of the guitar, and a satisfying Carter-style break can be created from this. For guitar players who may wish to give this a try, I have included a low octave key of C melody sheet in the attachments written in guitar tab. Transposing in Fourths The information below is immediately relevant for guitar and banjo players, and players of other instruments for which it is common to capo to the 3rd fret for playing in the key of Bb. But, since there are other songs that are played at the jam in both the keys of G and C, this information is also relevant for players of instruments for which a capo is not used. C is two-and-a-half whole steps (or five half-steps) higher than G. The resulting interval is called a fourth, because it spans four consecutive letters of the musical alphabet (G, A, B, C). The notes of the G and C Major Scales thus correspond with each other as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 G A B C D E F# C D E F G A B The melody of Little Birdie uses only 6 of the 7 notes of the Major Scale. The 4th note of the scale (i.e., C note when in the key of G; F note when in the key of C) does not occur in the melody. The preceding chart also shows the relation of the 1, 4, and 5 chords for each of the three keys, but here they are in isolation from the rest of the information: 1 4 5 G C D C F G The 1 chord consists of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the Major Scale. The 4 chord consists of the 4th, 6th, and 8th (=1st) notes of the Major Scale The 5 chord consists of the 5th, 7th, and 9th (=2nd) notes of the Major Scale Here is a chart showing those relationships: 1 3 5 4 6 1 5 7 2 Key of G G B D C E G D F# A Key of C C E G F A C G B D Happy Pickin', Jason
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Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
Songs regularly called at the Beginner Bluegrass Jam and links from Jason's "Song of the Week" emails. (from Renee)
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