Hi,
The song of the week is 'A Memory Of You' in the key of A.


Recordings
Jim & Jesse - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebC9IQNkj7E

Bobby Hicks and Friends - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLppdfvyW1c

'A Memory Of You' is just one of many lesser-known Bluegrass songs that can be easily introduced into almost any Bluegrass jam, even when none of the other jammers have ever heard or played it before, because nearly everything about the song is ordinary, typical, and predictable for a Bluegrass song. 

If you are not familiar with this song, try playing along with one of the recordings before opening the attachments and before reading the rest of the song of the week write up, to see how much of the chord progression and the melody you can pick up by ear. Try improvising a break while playing along with the recording and see what happens.


Progression 
The chord progression used to play 'A Memory Of You' is the one that is the most common of all progressions in Bluegrass: 

1144
1155
1144
1511
(V7 on the basic chord progressions handout)

Other common Bluegrass standards that use this same progression include:
Bury Me Beneath The Wiilow
Wreck Of The Old '97
Your Love Is Like A Flower
I'm On My Way Back To The Old Home
I Still Write Your Name In The Sand
Y'all Come
Lost And I'll Never Find A Way
Come Back Darling
If I Should Wander Back Tonight
Why Did You Wander
I'm Waiting To Hear You Call Me Darling
Back To The Cross
Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
Hold Watcha Got
True Life Blues
Road To Columbus
Flint Hill Special
Black Mountain Rag (C - Part)
Rose Of Old Kentucky (verse progression)
Blue Moon Of Kentucky (verse progression)
Tiny Broken Heart (verse progression)
Little Annie (verse progression)
White Dove (verse progression)
Cry, Cry Darlin' (verse progression)


Melody
Singers should observe that the melody for the chorus differs from the melody of the verses in measures 2 through 5. In these 4 measures, where the verse melody descends, the chorus melody ascends, and vice versa. 

In the attachments I have given the melody for the chorus rather than for the verses, because it feels to me more instinctive to use the chorus melody of 'A Memory Of You' as the point of reference for creating melody-based breaks, even though with most songs, one would typically use the melody for the verses rather than the melody for the chorus as the point of reference for creating melody based breaks when the chorus and verse melodies differ from each other. 


Pickup Notes
When played in the key of A, the first (full) measure of the melody begins with a C# note. On the Jim & Jesse recording, Jesse uses the following three pickup notes to lead into the C# note to start his intro break on the mandolin: E, F#, A, played as quarter notes. (Compare this with the similar - key of B equivalent - but more elaborate pickup measure, used at the beginning of the banjo intro break on the Bobby Hicks and Friends live performance of A Memory Of You.)

Other songs that, when played in the key of A, have a C# as the first melody note in their first (full) measure, and for which this same pickup phrase will work well, include: 

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone 
Beautiful Brown Eyes
Blue Ridge Cabin Home
I'll Fly Away
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
Canaan's Land
A Few More Seasons
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand
Little Cabin Home On The Hill
Love Me Darling Just Tonight
Wild Mountain Flowers For Mary
Will You Be Loving Another Man
Your Love Is Like A Flower
Ashes Of Love
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms  

Transposed to each of the 7 other Major keys that songs may be played in at the jam, the pickup phrase and the note it leads to become:

key of G: 
D, E, G, leading to a B note
key of Bb: 
F, G, Bb, leading to a D note
key of B:
F#, G#, B, leading to a D# note
key of C:
G, A. C, leading to an E note
key of D
A. B. D, leading to an F# note
key of E:
B, C#, E, leading to a G# note
key of F:
C, D, F, leading to an A note


Song List
20 songs were played at last night's jam: 16 from the main list, 3 from the additional songs list, and 1 that is on neither list:

Angeline The Baker - D
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - D
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - B
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - G
A Memory Of You - A
Nine Pound Hammer - G
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - C
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (played twice) - A & G
Canaan's Land - G
Little Cabin Home On The Hill - A
Your Love Is Like A Flower - G
Fireball Mail - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Shortnin' Bread' in the key of A.

Recordings
David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN6u9FnCOrE  

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1NKw99Anlo  

Ron Block - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFUvwpqPb8E

Hillary Klug - key of D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsefjHKdmFM


Keys
On the current main song list for the beginner jam, the keys of G, A, C, and D are all given as options for playing Shortnin' Bread. 

In attachments, I have provided melody sheets in standard notation and mandolin tab for the keys of G and A. For the key of C, on fiddle and mandolin, lower the fingerings for the key of G down one string. For the key of D, on fiddle and mandolin, lower the fingerings for the key of A down one string.

For banjo and guitar, I have provided melody sheets in the keys of G, C, and D. For the key of A, capo the 2nd fret and play as if in G.

While most fiddle tunes have only one key in which they are traditionally played in (e.g., 'Angeline The Baker', 'Liberty', and 'Soldier's Joy' are 'D' tunes; 'Boil The Cabbage Down', 'Cripple Creek', and 'Old Joe Clark' are 'A' tunes), some have two, or even three different keys  associated with them (e.g., 'Miss McLeod's Reel' - G and A, 'Fisher's Hornpipe' - D and F, 'Golden Slippers' and 'Turkey In The Straw' - G, A, and D.)  However, in the case of Shortnin' Bread (and also 'Buffalo Gals'), it would not be odd for the tune to be played at a jam in any of the four most fiddle-friendly keys: G, A, C, or D.


Progression
Both parts of Shortnin' Bread use the same chord progression:

1  1  1  5/1 

That is, three measures of the 1 chord, followed by half a measure of the 5 chord, followed by half a measure of the 1 chord. The progression is played four times to get through one complete round of the AABB form.

In the key of G: 1 = G; 5 = D.
In the key of A: 1 = A, 5 = E
In the key of C: 1 = C, 5 = G
In the key of D: 1 = D, 5 = A

This progression shows up frequently in fiddle tunes in which each part is only 4 measures long. Other tunes besides Shortnin' Bread that use this progression for at least one of their parts include 'Cotton-Eyed Joe' (both parts), 'Cripple Creek' (B-Part), 'Cumberland Gap' (both parts), 'The Eighth Of January' (B-Part), and 'Sally Goodin' (both parts).


Melody
The notes that make up the melody for Shortnin' Bread form a scale that is called the Major Pentatonic Scale. The Major Pentatonic Scale consists of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of the Major Scale. The following chart shows the notes that make up the G, A, C, and D Major Pentatonic Scales.


                    1     2    3     5     6     (8 = the same note as 1, but an octave higher)
                    do   re   mi   sol   la   (do)
Key of G:     G    A    B     D     E    (G)
Key of A:      A    B    C#   E     F#  (A)
Key of C:      C    D     E    G     A    (C)
Key of D:      D    E     F#   A     B    (D)

Like in the melodies for many other AABB fiddle tunes, the two halves of each part of Shortnin' Bread begin the same way as each other, and both parts end the same way as each other. Notice on the attached melody sheets that  measure 3 of the A-Part is identical with measure 1 of the A-Part, that measure 3 of the B-Part is identical with measure 1 of the B-Part, and that measure 4 of the B-Part is identical with measure 4 of the A-Part.

Besides these commonplace repetitions within fiddle tunes, there are even more points of similarity within and between the parts of Shortnin' Bread than is typical for fiddle tune melodies. The 2nd measure of the A-Part is almost the same as the 1st and 3rd measures of the A-Part, and the 2nd measure of the B-Part is identical with 1st and 3rd measures of the B-Part. 

Finally, the only difference between the 1st and 3rd measures of the B-Part on the one hand, and the 1st and 3rd measures of the A-Part on the other hand, is which octave the G note is played in that starts the measure. There is very little in the melody of Shortnin' Bread to learn and memorize, for the tune is about as repetitious as what an AABB tune can be, while still having well-defined parts. The prominence of the high G note in the A-Part coupled with the absence of this note in the B-Part is enough to make the two parts readily distinguishable from each other in terms of a 'high part' and a 'low part'.

The melodic content of many of the breaks on the recordings given here deviate significantly enough from the version of the melody I have provided in the attachments to warrant comment. The most commonly recurring differences involve little more than a reversal of the order in which two consecutive melody notes are played. For example, to reproduce a close semblance of the implied melody for the A-Part in the banjo breaks on the David Parmley and Ron Block recordings, all one needs to do is to play, when in the key of G, E notes in place of the D notes, and D notes in place of the E notes, or when in the key of A, F# notes in place of E notes, and E notes in place of F# notes. When playing breaks for Shortnin' Bread at the jam, I tend to make use of both types of versions of the melody, freely mixing them together with each other in a variety of combinations, much as I did in my banjo breaks on the Snake River Boys recording.


8 Potato Intros
On the Snake River Boys and the Hilary Klug recordings the tune starts with an 8 Potato Intro before the first A-Part is played. This is a highly effective way to start most fiddle tunes at jams.

An 8 Potato Intro consists essentially in droning in a straight but rhythmic manner the root note of the key that the tune is in (often together with another one of the notes that also belong to the 1 chord) for four measures to lead into an intro break.

In the attachments, I have included sheets that show good ways to play on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo, 8 Potato Intros for the keys of G and A. I have also included on these sheets, simpler (unfortunately, also less effective when both are played correctly) ways to play this type of intro on each of these instruments for those who are new to playing this type of intro, and may have difficulty playing the more developed forms of the 8 Potato Intros with the right feel and with rock-solid timing. 

For 8 Potato Intros in the key of D (and for banjo and guitar, the key of C also), refer to the attachments in the song of the week write up for Soldier's Joy:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/soldiers-joy 

For 8 Potato Intros in the key of C on fiddle and mandolin, drone C and E notes together, with the C being the lower of the two notes. This can be done on either the fourth and third strings (5th fret on the fourth string and 2nd fret on the third string on mandolin), or on the second and first strings (3rd fret on the second string on mandolin, and open first string).

Playing with the right feel and timing are crucial to making the 8 Potato Intro an effective jam tool. If anything at all goes wrong with the timing or feel of the 8 Potato or with the transition from the 8 Potato into beginning of the A-Part, the whole purpose for using it is thereby defeated.


Double Endings
On the recordings of Shortnin' Bread given here, there are an extra 4 measures played at the end of the tune after the final B-Part. These are called 'double endings', for they consist of two 2-measure length ending licks played back to back. 

For most songs that use a progression that ends with two measures of the 1 chord (e.g., songs that use any of the progressions in row V, W, or X on the basic chord progressions chart), it is common for a two-measure ending lick to be played on one or more of the instruments over the last two measures of the progression to end the song. Most AABB tunes, however, do not use progressions that end with two measures of the 1 chord, and the last melody note in their parts almost always occurs at either the beginning or in the middle of the last measure of the progression, rather than at the beginning of the second to last measure of the progression. For these reasons, ending licks for AABB fiddle tunes almost always are played after the last measure of the final B-Part rather than during the tail-end of the final B-Part.

In the attachments, I have included examples of double-endings for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo suitable for most key of G and key of A  fiddle tunes.

For double endings in the key of D (and for banjo and guitar, the key of C also), refer to the attachments in the song of the week write up for Soldier's Joy.
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/soldiers-joy 

For key of C double endings on fiddle and mandolin, take the fingerings you use for the key of G double endings and lower them by one string, so that you will have C notes in place of G notes, A notes in place of E notes, G notes in place of D notes, etc.


Song List                                                                                                          
17 songs were played at the jam on Thursday: 13 from the main list, 2 from the additional songs list, and 2 that are on neither list:

Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Buffalo Gals - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - G
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
I'll Fly Away - Bb
Little Birdie - Bb
Mama Don't Allow - A
Nine Pound Hammer - A
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - C
Jambalaya - D
Wild Mountain Flowers For Mary - E
She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain - D
You Are My Sunshine - B  

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
I will not be available to lead the beginner jam for the next two Thursdays. The next beginner jam will be held on Nov. 7. 
​The song of the week will be 'Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong' in the key of C. 

Recording
This song was written by Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt, and was recorded in 1947 by the original bluegrass band, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, which at that time consisted of: Bill Monroe on mandolin. Lester Flatt on guitar, Earl Scruggs on banjo, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard Watts on bass. On this song, as on most of the songs that Bill Monroe recorded with this lineup, Lester sings lead, and Bill sings the tenor harmony, i.e., the harmony part that is pitched directly above the lead part.  

Here is a link to the 1947 recording: key of D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L668QuLYOnE
Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys - Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong
Recorded and released in 1947 (Columbia 20423). Written by Bill Monroe & Lester Flatt. Lead vocals: Lester Flatt ----- Tenor: Bill Monroe.
www.youtube.com


Progression
The chord progression and the melody for this song are both very simple. It is the same chord progression that is used for 'Blue Ridge Cabin Home', which is regularly played at the jam, and for many other standard bluegrass songs.

1144
5511
played through twice for a complete verse, or a complete chorus.

In the key of C: 1=C, 4=F, 5=G.
In the key of D: 1=D, 4=G, 5=A


Melody
The melody consists of only 5 notes. In the key of C, these notes are, from lowest to highest, G, A, B, C, and D. In the key of D, these notes are: A, B, C#, D, and E. Many of the melody notes are lingered on for a good length of time, so this song could make a good place to start for learning to pick up melodies by ear, and/or to make a first attempt at singing harmony.


Feel and Tempo
As you listen to the recording, pay close attention to the feel of the song, before making an attempt to play along with it. Because the song has a different feel to it than most of the songs we play at the jam, I strongly recommend playing along with the recording after having listened to it a few times through. It is a slow song (about 84 beats per minute on the recording), and, at the jam, I may choose to play it even slower than the speed it is at on the recording. 

Be careful not to push the beat on this song - be mindful of this when practicing along with the record: otherwise it will tend to end up gravitating too much towards the tempo ranges that we play a lot of other songs at the jam, and, at the same time, will lose its distinctive feel. If you are a guitar or a bass player, it may help you to maintain the right feel on this song if you dig in a bit more deliberately than usual into the first bass note you play in each measure while playing rhythm. Breaks (on all instruments) will also tend to work better for this song if one accents a little heavier than usual your first note at the beginning of every odd numbered measure, and additionally, also if one accents a little more than usual the last note of a fill-in lick coinciding with the beginning of an even numbered measure. 


Breaks
On the record, the breaks within the body of the song are only half the length of a verse, and the intro break is even shorter than that. At the jam, however, we will play full-length breaks (i.e., breaks that last the same length of time as one verse, in this case, as in most other songs sung at the jam, this is 16 measures). 


Note to Mandolin Players
If you are a mandolin player, and you have found yourself copying the non-melody based break that Bill Monroe plays after the 2nd chorus of the song, and you wish to use it as part of a full length break for the song at the jam, something you might try doing is to play the first half of your break in a melody-based manner, and then, for the second half of your break, play along the lines of how Bill plays it on the record. Transposing from D (the key that the song is played in on the recording) down to the key of C involves lowering the notes a whole step, which is the equivalent of 2 frets.


Note to Banjo Players
While many banjo players will tend to capo to the 5th fret when a song is called in the key of C, I suggest trying to play this song without a capo.  If you are a banjo player who has little or no experience playing in C without a capo, this song, because of its slow tempo, simple chord progression and melody, can make for a good place to start to learn to play in C without a capo.  After having worked out the song in C, then, if you wish to play along with the recording in D, all you need to do is the same thing that you would ordinarily do for playing in the key of A, namely, capo to the 2nd fret and spike, capo, or tune up your fifth string to an A note.


Song List
22 songs were played at last night's jam: 17 from the main list, 4 from the additional songs list, and 1 that is on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Angeline The Baker - D
Beautiful Brown Eyes (played twice) - G
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - G
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - G
Foggy Mountain Top - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - A
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - G
Nine Pound Hammer - G
Old Joe Clark - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - C
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Amazing Grace - G
Little Cabin Home On The Hill - A
Paradise - C
This Little Light Of Mine - A
Turkey In The Straw - G  

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Beautiful Brown Eyes' in the key of G. At the jam next week, it will be played first in 3/4 time, and then in 2/2 time.


Recordings
Gibson Brothers - key of Bb - 2/2 time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IupOvRqFqSo

Arthur Smith Trio - key of G - 3/4 time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZqWNuJPd6o

Red Allen (Beautiful Blue Eyes) - key of G - 2/2 time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhPgbKqwNkc

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of G (first break, verse, and chorus in 3/4; remainder of the song in 2/2); starts at 5:16.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1NKw99Anlo  


Time Signature
Beautiful Brown Eyes is one of a handful of songs that may be played at a bluegrass jam in either 3/4 (waltz) time (1-2-3: boom-chuck-chuck rhythm on guitar) or in 2/2 (cut common) time (1&2&: boom-chuck-boom-chuck rhythm on guitar). In the attachments, I have included two sets of melody sheets for Beautiful Brown Eyes, one in 2/2 time, and one in 3/4 time.

The classic example of a bluegrass song played in both 3/4 time and in cut common time is Bill Monroe's 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky'.  Bill originally recorded the song in 3/4 time.  But after Elvis Presley recorded his non-3/4 time version of the song  (which the Stanley Brothers later copied), Bill recorded it again, playing the first half of it in 3/4 time and the second half of it in cut common time. 

Bill Monroe: 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpiqdN2lJk 

Elvis Presley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7M0CmkJ-2o

The Stanley Brothers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g67Y9Q15cNU 

Bill Monroe: 3/4 & 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSRlegwWnoc 


Other examples of songs for which there are both 3/4 and non-3/4 versions include:  

The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band Bill Monroe 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATc22oHWitg  

The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band Hylo Brown 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbwk6Ka5HQc


How Mountain Girls Can Love (Stanley Brothers 2/2;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqhZxvsxTs

How Mountain Girls Can Love  Gibson Brothers 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bVc0u3dvoI  


Down In A Willow Garden (banjo solo: first in 3/4 and then in 2/2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iudBMZgsPDM    


Streamline Cannonbali Hank Snow 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9vNUJJX6-k  

Streamline Cannonball Doc Watson 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Ri4YBDnt4

Before I Met You
Paradise
I'm Thinking Tonight Of The Old Folks (a.k.a. Dixie Home)
Philadelphia Lawyer
I Never Will Marry
Dark As A Dungeon 

Progression
The chord progression for Beautiful Brown Eyes is:

1144
1155
1144
5511
This is Prog. W7 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.
(In the key of G: 1=G, 4=C, 5=D)

This chord progression differs by only one measure from the most common chord progression in bluegrass, namely the progression that is used to play 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow', 'Come Back Darling', 'I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand', 'A Memory Of You', 'Wreck Of The Old '97', etc.:

1144
1155
1144
1511
(Prog. V7 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.)

In order to avoid accidentally playing Progression V7 in place of Progression W7 for Beautiful Brown Eyes at the jam, some may find it helpful to remind themselves before the song starts that in the last half of the progression for Beautiful Brown Eyes, the 4 chord is followed immediately by the 5 chord (instead of returning to the 1 chord first before going to the 5 chord).   


Melody
The melody, as I sing it, consists of the first 6 notes of the Major Scale. 

                  do  re  mi  fa   sol  la
                  1    2    3    4    5    6
Key of G:   G   A    B    C   D   E
Key of A:   A    B    C#  D   E   F#
Key of Bb: Bb  C    D   Eb  F   G
Key of B:   B    C#  D# E    F# G#
Key of C:   C    D   E    F    G   A
Key of D:   D    E   F#  G    A   B
Key of E:   E    F#  G#  A    B  C#
Key of F:    F    G    A   Bb  C  D  
 

Harmony
I welcome all to sing harmony with me on the chorus of the song. Since the starting note of the melody is the 3rd note of the Major Scale (a B note when in the key of G), and the progression starts with the 1 chord (a G chord when in the key of G), the starting note for the tenor harmony (i.e., the harmony part directly above than the melody) is the 5th note of the Major Scale (a D note when in the key of G), and the starting note for the baritone harmony (i.e., the harmony part directly below the melody) is the 1st, or root, note of the Major Scale (a G note when in the key of G). For, together, these three notes make up the 1 chord (a G chord when in the key of G.)

The last note of the melody for Beautiful Brown Eyes, like for most songs, is the 
root (1st) note of the Major Scale, and, also like in most other songs, the progression at this point in the song calls for the 1 chord to be played. Therefore, the ending note for the tenor harmony part is the 3rd note of the Major Scale (a B note when in the key of G), and the ending note for the baritone harmony part is the 5th note of the Major Scale (a D note when in the key of G). 


Breaks
When the melody for the chorus of a song differs from the melody for the verses of the song, it is much more common for melody-based breaks to follow the melody for the verses, rather than the melody for the chorus. However, since the verse and chorus melodies for Beautiful Brown Eyes do not differ much from each other in versions in which there is a difference, it is of little consequence whether one bases one's break on the verse melody or on the chorus melody. Examples of both types of melody-based breaks are found on the recordings. For example, the first two breaks on the Gibson Brothers recording are based upon the chorus melody, whereas the third break (the guitar break) is based upon the verse melody. 


Pickup Notes
Beautiful Brown Eyes starts with the same melody note as My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, and the progressions for both songs start with the 1 chord. Therefore, the same set of pickup notes that I suggested for starting an intro break for My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains in the song of the week email from four weeks ago will also work for starting an intro break for Beautiful Brown Eyes. (Using three quarter notes for a pickup measure of an intro break works just as well in 3/4 time as it does in 2/2 time.) Refer back to the section on 'Pickup Notes' and the melody sheets in the song of the week write-up for My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains:

https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/my-homes-across-the-blue-ridge-mountains  


Song List
17 songs were played at the jam on Thursday: 14 from the main list, and 3 from the additional songs list:

Angeline The Baker - D
Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - C
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - B
Foggy Mountain Top - G
I'll Fly Away - A
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - A
Long Journey Home - G
Mama Don't Allow - G
Nine Pound Hammer - B
Old Joe Clark - A
Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - F
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - A
Amazing Grace - G
Little Cabin Home On The Hill - A
Wreck Of The Old '97 - D

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
New Start Time for the Jams
Revitalize Juice Bar has gone back to closing at 5pm. So, starting this coming week, we will go back to starting the jams at 6:30 instead of 7.


Song of the Week
The song of the week is 'Leaning On The Everlasting Arms' in the key of A.


Recordings
The Grascals - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsByGPoBBtQ

Solid Blue - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpHf0hn6otk

I suggest first listening to, and playing and singing along with, the slower and simpler arrangement by the Grascals to get the basics of the song down pat, before moving onto Solid Blue's faster and more complex arrangement. But, be sure to listen to Solid Blue's version, since their arrangement of the song comes much closer to how it has been played and sung at the jam.


Progression
The chord progression that is used on the Grascals' version of Leaning On The Everlasting Arms is:

1144
1115
1144
1151
(In the key of A: 1=A, 4=D, 5=E; In the key of G: 1=G, 4=C, 5=D; In the key of B: 1=B, 4=E, 5=F#.)

The progression is a bit unusual when compared with the progressions for most of the other 1-4-5 type songs that are regularly played at the jam.  The 5 chords all occur a measure later than what one would ordinarily expect to be the case.
For this reason, both lines 2 and 4 are often played as 5 measure lines in bluegrass versions of the song. This is how it is played on Solid Blue's version of the song, so as to allow for 2 measures of the 5 chord in line 2 (11155) and 2 measures of the 1 chord at the end of line 4 (11511), since this allows for fillin licks to be played by the instruments since a pause is thereby created in the vocal before the next line starts.

1144
11155
1144
11511

The pauses in the vocal that result from adding the extra measures also allow the singers a moment to catch their breath in preparation for the next line. The faster the song is played and sung, the more desirable it becomes to put in these extra measures.

The way that I like to play the song is to keep line 2 as a 4- measure line, while extending line 4 to being a 5-measure line.  The resulting progression is:
1144
1115
1144
11511

This is how we played the song last night, and is how we'll play it when I lead it this coming Thursday. So, when two or more breaks occur back to back, keep in mind that we are using a 17 measure form for the song instead of a 16 measure form; otherwise, the beginning of your break (especially if you play pickup notes into your break) will overlap with the fillin licks that others may be playing at the very end of their break (or at the end of the chorus that occurs before your break).


Melody
In ascending order of pitch, the notes that make up the melody of Leaning On The Everlasting Arms are:
                   sol  la   ti   do   re   mi     
                    5    6   7    1     2    3            
Key of G:     D   E    F#  G   A    B       
Key of A:     E   F#  G#  A    B   C#    
Key of Bb:   F   G    A    Bb  C   D        
Key of B:     F# G#  A#  B    C# D#   
Key of C:     G   A    B    C    D    E      
Key of D:     A    B   C#   D   E   F#      
Key of E:     B   C#  D#   E   F#  G#     
Key of F:     C    D    E    F   G    A      
Notice that the 4th note of the Major Scale (fa; a C note when in the key of G, a D note when in the key of A, an Eb note when in the key of Bb, etc.) is absent from the melody.

On the first 4 chord measure in lines 1 and 3 (i.e., measure 3 of lines 1 and 3), the 2nd note of the scale (a B note when in the key of A; an A note when in the key of G, etc.) is dwelt on, even though this note does not belong to the 4 chord.
(In the key of A, the 4 chord is a D which consists of the notes D, F#, A; in the key of G, the 4 chord is a C which consists of the notes C, E, G). The melody note, when added to the chord, creates a 6th chord. The melody note is the root note of the relative minor chord of the 4 chord. The relative minor chord of the 4 chord is the 2m chord. (Bm in the key of A; Am in the key of G.) This note (the 6th, relative to the root note of the chord; B relative to D on a D chord, A relative to C on a C chord, etc.) is the fourth most common note for a melody to dwell on. Of all the notes that are other than the 3 notes that make up a major chord, adding the 6 creates the least degree of dissonance with the notes, considered collectively, of the major chord.
 

Harmony
Notice that in Solid Blue's version, harmony is sung not only on the choruses, but also on the repetitive parts of the verses: i.e., lines 2 and 4 ('leaning on the everlasting arms'). The starting note on these lines for the tenor harmony part is the root note of the 1 chord (an A note when in the key of A). For the baritone harmony part, the starting note is the 3rd of of the 1 chord (a C# note when in the key of A).

Also, notice that in the same version, on lines 1 and 3 of the chorus, the lyrics for the harmony parts are not the same as the lyrics for the lead part. While the lead singer sings: 'Leaning, leaning', the harmony singers sing: 'Leaning on Jesus, leaning on Jesus'. Rhythmically, the way this lines up is as follows:

Lean  -            / ing         / lean  -            / ing
Lean  - ing on / Je - sus / lean  - ing on / Je - sus  

This is the way I like to hear the song sung when I lead it, and everyone at last night's jam who participated in singing harmony on the song at the end of the night did a great job on this, so I am especially looking forward to leading the song next week as the song of the week.

The starting note for the tenor harmony on the chorus is the 5th of the 1 chord (an E note when in the key of A), and for the baritone harmony part, it is the root of the 1 chord (an A note when in the key of A).

In case you have difficulty catching this from the recordings, the lyrics for line 2 of the chorus are: 'safe and secure from all alarms'.


Breaks
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms has a particularly strong melody line. For songs like this, one should be careful about when and how one deviates from the melody when playing a break for the song. You might notice in the breaks on the recordings that deviations from melody-based playing are less frequent than what has often the case in breaks on the recordings for other previous beginner jam songs of the week. 

For beginner level players, I advise them to base their breaks squarely upon the melody. (For help with finding the melody on your instrument, see the attached melody sheets.) This does not mean playing nothing but the melody: by all means one should put the usual frills around the melody notes that are typical in Bluegrass breaks to the extent that one knows how to use them: stuff like (depending on which instrument you are playing): double stops, slides, shuffle rhythms, fillin licks, rolls, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.  

Notice on the recordings, that in the few spots where the players deviate from melody-based playing in their breaks in favor of lick-based playing, they do not linger on any one note for any length of time. Rather, in those spots, they play a rapid flurry of notes. The second half of the guitar break on the Solid Blue recording, for instance, consists mostly of eighth notes. The same is true of the last line (last quarter) of the fiddle break on the Grascals recording. In a song with a strong melody, dwelling on a non-melody note will sometimes work in a break, but more often it will sound out of place in the song.

Song List
14 songs were played at last night's jam: 13 from the main list, and 1 from the additional songs list:
Angeline The Baker (played twice) - D
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
I'll Fly Away - C  
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - A
A Memory Of You - A
Nine Pound Hammer - B
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - D
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Light At The River - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Nine Pound Hammer' in the key of B.


Recordings
Lonesome River Band - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tNA13W2cds

Tony Rice - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u964a0f38s


Progression
The chord progression for Nine Pound Hammer is:
1144
1511

In the key of B: 1=B; 4=E; 5=F#
The B chord consists of: BD#F#; the E chord: EG#B; the F# chord: F#A#C#


Banjo, Guitar, & Dobro: Practicing with a Capo
For guitar, dobro, and especially banjo players who have much less experience playing in B than in G and A: I suggest making it a point to spend some practice time playing with the capo on the 4th fret (with the 5th string, on banjo, spiked/capoed at the 9th fret), for although the fingerings for playing in B will be the same as those for playing in G, the instrument will feel different to play: the frets will be closer together, and the strings will feel a bit tighter; and on banjo, it can get a bit confusing to see the 5th (short) string being located directly above one's left hand when one is playing in first position if one is not used to this.


Melody
In order from lowest to highest, the notes that make up the melody of Nine Pound Hammer are:
                 5    6    1   2   3    5
                 sol  la  do re  mi  sol
key of G:   D   E   G  A   B    D
key of A:    E   F# A   B  C#  E
key of Bb:  F   G  Bb C   D   F
key of B:    F# G# B  C# D# F#
key of C:    G   A   C  D   E   G
key of D:    A   B   D  E   F#  A
key of E;    B   C# E  F# G#  B
key of F:    C   D   F  G   A    C 

These are the same notes used to play the melodies for 'Foggy Mountain Top', 'My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains', 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken', 'Amazing Grace', 'Long Journey Home', and 'Mountain Dew'.

The melody of the chorus of Nine Pound Hammer starts higher than the melody for the verses, but then ends the same way as the melody for the verses. 


Pickup Notes
In the melody sheets attached here, notice that the first three notes of the melody of 'Nine Pound Hammer' are quarter notes, and that they occur before the first complete measure of the tune. (In cut common time, i.e., 2/2 time, as well as in common time, i.e., 4/4 time, 3 quarter notes make up only three-quarters of a complete measure.) Make it a point to remember these notes, because they will be useful for starting your intro breaks for many other songs that, like 'Nine Pound Hammer', also have as their first melody note in their first complete measure the note that has the same name as both the key that the song is being played in, and the first chord played in the song. (E.g., 'Little Birdie', 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken', 'She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain'.)

These notes are:

                  5     5     6      leading to   1   
                 sol  sol   la                        do
key of G:   D    D     E                         G  
key of A:    E    E     F#                       A  
key of Bb:  F    F     G                        Bb 
key of B:    F#  F#   G#                      B 
key of C:    G   G     A                          C 
key of D:    A    A     B                          D  
key of E;     B    B     C#                       E  
key of F:     C    C     D                          F   


Fill-in Licks in Backup & Breaks
The 7th measure of each verse and chorus has only one syllable in it, which is sung at the beginning of the measure. And, the measure that follows begins with a rest. During these kinds of 'dead spaces' within the melody of a song, it is very common for a fill-in lick to be played on one or more of the instruments. In the attachments I have included a chart of simple fill-in licks for guitar, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin that will fit well into measure 7 through to the first quarter of measure 8 of the progression for Nine Pound Hammer when the song is played in the key of B. These same licks are also good to use in measures 7 to 8, and in measures 15 to 16 of your breaks. 

On the attached chart of fill-in licks, notes in parentheses are not really part of the fill-in lick proper and may be omitted if they are inconvenient to get into from what you were doing immediately before the fill-in measures begin. For instance, if you are playing chop chords on the fiddle or mandolin right up to the point where the fill-in measure starts, you may wish to substitute a quarter note rest in place of the quarter note in parentheses that occurs at the beginning of the fill-in lick measure.  Likewise, the notes you play in a guitar break in measures 6 and 14 may lead you more naturally to play the open 3rd string at the beginning of measures 7 and 15 than to play the note at the 3rd fret of the 6th string. When this happens, just substitute the open 3rd string note in place of the lower note shown in parentheses on the chart.


Breaks, Improvisation, and Scales
While the intro break for the song should follow the melody closely enough to make it clear what song is being played before the first verse is sung, Nine Pound Hammer lends itself quite well to lick-oriented improvised breaks that may deviate considerably from the melody. (See especially the second youtube link above for examples of this.) This is a good song to use as a means for practicing any licks that you may have in your repertoire that fit over a line of 1144 or a line of 1511 for the key that you are playing the song in.  

On mandolin and fiddle, a good place to get started with finding suitable notes on your instrument to make use of in licks for improvising over Nine Pound Hammer in the key of B is to run through the B Major, B Major Pentatonic, and B Dorian Scales:
B Major Scale = B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B
B Major Pentatonic Scale = B, C#, D#, F#, G#, B
B Dorian Scale = B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B

On guitar, banjo, and dobro, run through the equivalent G Scales with the capo on the 4th fret to raise your key of G playing up to the key of B:
G Major Scale = G, A, B, C, D, E. F#, G
G Major Pentatonic Scale = G, A, B, D, E
G Dorian Scale = G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G


Fiddle & Mandolin: Double Stops
For fiddlers and mandolin players who do not have much experience playing in B, I have included in the attachments a chart of double stops that will work well in breaks for many songs in the key of B. For best results when using these in a melody-based break, be sure that the melody note is the lower, not the higher, of the two notes in the double stop, and if lingering on a particular double stop, instead of using it merely in passing, be sure that it matches the chord that is being played at the time in the song. For this reason, I have written chord names above each double stop.  


Blue Notes
When playing without a capo in keys that have a lot of sharps in their key signature, I tend to try to find more spots than usual in my breaks for where I can make good use of 'blue notes': flatted 3rds and flatted 7ths (observe that these are the two notes in the dorian scale that differ from the notes in the major scale) but only to the extent these suit the song. The reason for this is that in these keys, flatted 3rds and flatted 7ths end up being notes that frequently occur in the more 'user-friendly' keys of C, G, D, and A. In the key of B, the flatted 3rd is a D note, and the flatted 7th is an A note. Unlike the 3rd and 7th scale degrees of the B major scale (i.e., D# and A#), both of these 'blue notes' (D and A when in the key of B) are part of the major scale for all the keys that I feel most comfortable playing in without a capo.

Nine Pound Hammer lends itself especially well to the use of blue notes in breaks, so even when playing it in keys that don't have a lot of sharps, I still tend to use about just as many blue notes in improvised breaks for the song. In the key of G, the flatted 3rd and flatted 7th notes are Bb and F respectively.


7th Chords
Closely related to the use of blue notes is the use of 7th chords. One can make good use of 7th chords in improvised breaks during a measure of the 1 chord that is followed by the 4 chord, and also during a measure of the 4 chord that is followed by the 1 chord.  7th chords are created by flatting the 7th major scale degree of the chord being played and adding that note to the chord.  E.g., the 7th scale degree of the B major scale is an A# note.  Flatting this note (i.e., lowering it by a half step) gives the A note.  Adding the A note to a B chord results in an B7 chord.  The 7th scale degree of the E major scale is a D# note.  Lower this note by a half step and you have a D note. Add the D note to an E chord and this creates an E7 chord. Adding an F note to a G chord makes it a G7, adding a Bb note to a C chord makes it a C7, etc.


Lyrics
When leading the song at the jams, I usually sing all five of the verses that are included in the Tony Rice performance, but with slightly different wording. To these I often add the 'John Henry' verse that is sung in the Lonesome River Band arrangement, using it as the second to last verse. To lengthen the song even more, I sometimes repeat the first verse at the end of the song.

On the other hand, when I wish to reduce the number of verses, so as to allow for a greater number of breaks to be played without making the song last so long, I may sing only three or four verses, usually leaving out the 'ain't one hammer in this tunnel' verse, the 'this nine pound hammer killed John Henry' verse, and sometimes also the 'when I'm long gone, you can make my tombstone' verse.

The lyrics for the chorus that follows the verse that begins with '(there) ain't one hammer in this tunnel' are different from the lyrics for the other choruses in the song. Instead of 'Roll on buddy, don't you roll so slow', etc.,' the lyrics I sing for this chorus are: 'Rings like silver, shines like gold, rings like silver and shines like gold.' I sometimes also alter the first half of the chorus that follows the 'when I'm long gone' verse to: 'Roll on buddy, pull your load of coal'.


Song List
15 songs were played at the jam on Thursday: 14 from the main list, and 1 from the additional songs list:
All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - G
Angeline The Baker - D
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - D
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - G
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Nine Pound Hammer (played twice) - G & B
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - C
Way Down Town - A
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Jambalaya - C

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Angeline The Baker', a key of D fiddle tune.


Recordings
Sammy Shelor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0BcfHZW5CQ 
 
Alison Krauss (starts at about the 4 minute mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCYsZIQ0FQc 
 

Form & Progression
Angeline The Baker is a standard length AABB fiddle tune. By that, I mean that each part of the tune is 8 measures long, and that there are two parts to the tune, called the A-Part and the B-Part respectively. Each part is played twice before going on to the next part. So this means that each break for the tune is 32 measures long. (8x4) Other tunes on the current song lists for the beginner jam that have this same form are: Liberty, Old Joe Clark,  Soldier's Joy, Boil The Cabbage Down, and Buffalo Gals.

The chord progression is the same for both parts of Angeline The Baker:
1114
1111
In the key of D: 1=D, and 4=G
 
There is no standardized order in which the two parts of the tune are played.

When asking the person leading the tune which part they intend to start with, it does no good to ask: Do you start with the A-Part or the B-Part?, because whichever part is played first is, by definition, the A-Part, and whichever part is played second is, by definition, the B-Part. However, the two parts can be distinguished from one another by calling them the low part and the high part.  Like most AABB fiddle tunes, one part of Angeline The Baker starts on a higher note than the other part, and is overall higher in pitch than the other part.

When I call Angeline The Baker at a jam, I almost always start the tune with the high part. For this reason, in the melody sheets attached here, the high part is written as the A Part and the low part is written as the B Part.
 
Since the chord progression is the same for both parts of 'Angeline', and since, in Bluegrass jam arrangements of this tune (as distinguished from Old Time arrangements), it is usually only one person who plays the lead at a time, the need will rarely arise at a bluegrass jam to know in advance which part the leader intends on starting with. This is just as much the case at our beginner jam: for even though we do collective breaks in which all instruments of the same kind play their breaks at once, the person who starts the tune off gets to play through the form once (AABB) with no one else playing a break along with him. (During the first pass through the tune, everyone else besides the person who kicked off the tune should be playing backup.)
 
Nevertheless, it is important to pay attention to which part the tune starts with, the lower part or the higher part, for each person who does a break on the tune will be expected to play the parts in the same order as the person who kicked off the song.  This is standard practice in bluegrass jams, and this procedure helps to minimize confusion. 
 
The chord progression is unusual for bluegrass in that it does not have a 5 chord. In the key of D, this means that there is no A chord.


Concerning the attached melody sheets
Some guitar players prefer to play 'Angeline The Baker' without a capo, whereas others prefer to play it with the capo on the 2nd fret and then play it as if in the key of C (In the key of C: 1=C, and 4=F)  The same is true of 3 finger-style banjo players, except that they will usually have their 5th string tuned up to an A note (spiked or capoed at the 7th fret) regardless of whether they have a capo on the 2nd fret of their four long strings. I have included in the attachments, guitar and banjo tabs of the melody of the tune written in both the key of D and in the key of C. You might wish to try it playing it both ways, and see which way you like best.

You might notice that there are fewer notes on the banjo tabs than on the rest of the melody sheets. The reason for this is because most Scruggs-style banjo players tend to choose to play other notes in place of the melody notes in these spots that are more convenient to grab in the context of one of the standard picking patterns (rolls) that characterize Scruggs-style playing, but the exact choice of notes in these spots differs from player to player. A similar thing tends to be true also of Clawhammer banjo arrangements of Angeline The Baker.
 
The basic melody for Angeline The Baker is pentatonic. That is, it consists of 5 notes: major scale degrees 1,2,3,5, and 6. In the key of D, that means it consists of the notes D, E, F#, A, and B. (In the key of C, the five notes of the major pentatonic scale are: C, D, E, G, and A.) 
 
The range of 'Angeline' is relatively narrow for a fiddle tune. The range  spans exactly one octave. The lowest note is the 5th scale degree (A), and the highest note is the 5th scale degree an octave higher (A). So, in ascending order of pitch, the notes are 5,6,1,2,3,5: A,B,D,E,F#,A. (In 'C', those notes would be instead: G,A,C,D,E,G.) The range of the low part is even narrower than that. Its highest note is the 3rd scale degree (F#).
 
Tunes with such a narrow range can easily be played in two different octaves on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar (this is not so much the case with banjo). For, these three instruments each have 'A' notes in three different octaves that can be found on the instruments within the first five frets (or, on fiddle, in 'first position').  Most guitar, mandolin, and fiddle players who learn to play Angeline The Baker learn to play it in the higher of the two readily accessible octaves. For those of you who already play the tune, you might try working out a break an octave lower than how you usually play it, as a variation to have up your sleeve when, at a jam, you get called on to play more than one break during the tune. Or, since we do collective breaks at the beginner jam, where all the fiddle players play their breaks at the same time, all the mandolin players play their breaks at the same time, etc., if you have worked out a break in the lower octave, it can be effective to play this while someone else is playing their break in the higher octave. For this reason, I have included in the attachments melody sheets in both octaves for fiddle, mandolin and guitar.
 
One final point about the tune. Unlike most tunes, the last note of the melody does not have the same letter name as the key the tune is played in.  Instead of ending on a 'D' note (the 1st scale degree), each part of Angeline ends on an 'A' note (the 5th scale degree), the lowest note of its range. 


8 Potato Intros
Since the most effective way to start most fiddle tunes at a jam is by playing an 8 potato intro before starting into the first A-Part of your intro break, I have included an attachment that gives 8 potato intros suitable for Angeline The Baker and most other key of D fiddle tunes, for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. 

An 8 potato intro, reduced to its most basic form, essentially consists of droning the note that has the same name as the key of the tune in a highly rhythmic fashion for 4 measures. Accenting the first pickstroke (or, on fiddle, bowstroke) of each measure of the intro is crucial to an effective 8 potato intro, so as to make it unmistakably clear where each of the measures that make up the intro begin and end; it also helps to accent the first pickstroke/bowstroke of the second half of each measure, but this accent should not be quite as heavy as the accent on the beginning of the measure.

Choose a version of the 8 potato intro that works for you, but don't wait until you are at the jam to 'practice' it. Make it  habit to always start most of your fiddle tunes with 8 potato intros when you are practicing at home so that you will be better prepared to effectively use 8 potato intros when playing with others.

If you have pickup notes leading into the first complete measure of your break, you must cut the 8 potato intro short by playing the pickup notes in place of the corresponding part of the last measure of the 8 potato intro, so that you end up with exactly 4 measures worth of music, no more and no less, before the first full measure of your intro break starts.  


Song List
14 songs were played at last night's jam: 13 from the main list, and 1 from the additional songs list:

Angeline The Baker - D
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - C
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - B
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - C
Little Birdie - C
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - G
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Nine Pound Hammer - B
Way Down Town - A
Cryin' Holy - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains' in the key of G.


Recordings
Flatt & Scruggs - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNapvXhcNS8

The Mashville Brigade - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJSbcFYJl6I

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of G (starts at 2:37)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1NKw99Anlo  


Progression
The chord progression for My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains is:

1111
5511
1111
5511

This is Prog. W5 on the 'Basic Chord Progressions' handout. 
  
In the key of G: 1=G; 5=D. The G chord consists of the notes G, B, and D. The D chord consists of the notes D, F#, and A.

Notice that the second half of the progression is identical to the first half of the progression. Therefore, there are really only two lines (8 measures) to memorize. You should not need to look at a written copy of the progression while playing the song at the jam. Take a glance at the progression before the song starts, and just remember that every second line starts with two measures of the 5 chord. All other measures in the progression are 1's. 

Be prepared, however, to add an extra measure or two of the 1 chord to the last line of the progression for a break that occurs right before the singing starts up again, and the progression starts again from the beginning. This is common in bluegrass arrangements of songs. On the Flatt and Scruggs recording of the song, all three of the breaks are played as:

1111
5511
1111
55111

On the Mashville Brigade recording; the first three breaks, the last (fifth) break, and the first chorus are played as:

1111
5511
1111
551111


Melody
In listening to the Flatt & Scruggs recording and/or from looking at the attached melody sheets, notice that the melody of the song has only 5 notes in it. In ascending order of pitch, these are: E, G, A, B, and D. To make the melody slightly more interesting, the banjo, in its intro break lowers the G note in measures 3 and 11 to the D below the E note that is the lowest note in the vocal melody; the dobro break which occurs in the song after the second chorus does this same thing in measure 3, but not in measure 11. On this point, the sung melody on the Mashville Brigade recording coincides with the version of the melody played in the banjo intro break on the Flatt & Scruggs recording.  

Make it a point to remember this sequence of notes, and be sure that you can locate them on your instrument: D E G A B D. There are many songs that, when played in the key of G, have this same range of notes (lowest note D, highest note the D an octave higher) and have no other notes than G's, A's, B's, D's, and E's. Songs like this on the current main list and additional songs list for the beginner jam include 'Foggy Mountain Top', 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken', 'Amazing Grace', and 'Long Journey Home'. 

When transposed to each of the 7 other keys that these songs may be played in at the jam, these notes become:

key of A:    E   F# A   B  C#  E
key of Bb:  F   G  Bb C   D   F
key of B:    F# G# B  C# D# F#
key of C:    G   A   C  D   E   G
key of D:    A   B   D  E   F#  A
key of E;    B   C# E  F# G#  B
key of F:    C   D   F  G   A    C 

On the Nashville Number Charts included in the handouts for the beginner jam, these notes correspond with the numbers 5 6 1 2 3 5.


Melody/Progression Relationship
Notice that in the melody for My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, the only notes that are dwelt on for half a measure or more are notes that belong to the chord being played at the time: G, B, or D notes during G chord measures, and A notes during D chord measures. It is because of those A notes at the beginning of lines 2 and 4, that a chord change occurs at the beginning of those lines, for the A note is not part of the G chord. It is typical, in the key of G, for a D chord to be played when the melody of a song dwells on an A note, for of the 1, 4, and 5 chords for the key of G, namely, G, C, and D, the D chord is the only one that contains an A note. 


Breaks
In the breaks on the recordings, the measures that have only one or two melody notes in them sometimes have what sound like extra 'melody' notes added to them in addition to the many filler notes that are placed around the melody, whereas the measures that have 4 melody notes in them often have one or two of these notes deleted from them, and when not deleted, they sometimes get displaced within the measure.

For a slow-moving melody, as this song has, it will not work well to play for your break only what you see written on the attached melody sheets. In order to maintain good control of the rhythm, tempo, and feel of the song during your break, so that everyone who is playing backup during your break can be following you rather than the other way around, your break needs to consist mostly of eighth notes and quarter notes, not half notes and whole notes. 


Simple Guitar, Mandolin, and Fiddle Breaks
If you don't know what other notes would work to put around the melody, then for lack of anything else to do, keep to the melody notes, but - on guitar, mandolin, and fiddle - change half notes to a quarter note followed by two eighth notes, and for whole notes, do this twice: i.e., quarter, eighth, eighth, quarter, eighth, eighth. To see what this rhythm looks like when written out, refer to the 'guitar break' in the attachment. I have not included a fiddle break sheet or a mandolin break sheet in the attachments, because the guitar break tab suffices to show for the sake of all three of these instruments what the rhythm is that is being applied here to the melody. 


Simple Banjo Breaks
The banjo is a different story than guitar, mandolin, and fiddle (repeating the same note several times in a row in the manner described above doesn't work so well when playing with finger picks), so I have also included a 'banjo break' sheet in the attachments. This is a very basic break (a lot more is going on in the banjo breaks on the recordings than in the banjo break given in the attachments) which is given here to demonstrate how one can take one roll pattern (in this case, the alternating thumb roll) and place it around the melody, turning quarter notes into a pair of eighth notes, half notes into a series of four eighth notes, etc. To avoid the monotony that results from playing nothing but eighth notes in one's break, I have substituted for the roll in a few places a single quarter note followed by a quarter note double stop (called a 'pinch' on the banjo).   


Pickup Notes
On the break sheets, I have also included a pickup measure for each of the 4 instruments. You will need to use these, or something like them, in order to kick off the song effectively on your instrument without having to count into the song. Remember these three notes: D, G, A. These will work well as pickups for nearly any song in the key of G in which the first complete measure of the melody starts with a B note while a G chord is being played.

The corresponding notes for the 7 other keys used at the jam are:

key of A:   E,  A,  B leading to a C# note on an A chord.
key of Bb: F,  Bb, C leading to a D note on a Bb chord.
key of B:   F#, B, C# leading to a D# note on a B chord.
key of C:   G,  C,  D leading to an E note on a C chord.
key of D:    A,  D,  E leading to an F# note on a D chord.
key of E:    B,  E, F# leading to a G# note on an E chord.
key of F:    C,  F,  G  leading to an A note on an F chord.  


Lyrics
The lyrics of 'My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains' are quite repetitive and easy to memorize. For this reason, this is one of the songs I recommend learning to sing to those who wish to lead a song at the jam, but do not have much experience yet in doing so. Other songs on the current beginner jam song lists that are fairly easy to memorize include: Mama Don't Allow, New River Train, Lonesome Road Blues, Long Journey Home, Hand Me Down My Walking Cane, This Little Light Of Mine, and Worried Man Blues. 

For most of these songs, you need not know any more than three verses (in addition to the chorus for the songs that do have a chorus) in order to be ready to sing and play a complete arrangement of them at the jam. Notice that on the recordings of My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains given here there are only three verses sung (plus the chorus), yet, if you were to look online for lyric sheets for the song, or listen to other recorded versions of the song, you would come across some other verses for the song in addition to these three.


Singing from Memory 
It is important to sing from memory when leading the singing at a jam, because, whenever the lead singer is singing, he is the one who is primarily in control of the timing and rhythm of the song. So, he should be singing toward the group as a whole, and his lips should be clearly visible to the group, since the group is supposed to be following him. One cannot lead a song very effectively at a jam when reading the lyrics off a page. If the page is at eye level (for instance, on a music stand), then the page (and the stand) will form a barrier between the lead singer and his fellow jammers. If the page is below eye level (on the ground, or on one's lap), then the lead singer will be looking down, singing towards the ground, instead of towards the group.

This does not mean that one should not bring lyric sheets to a jam. For, even when a song is memorized, it is very easy to forget - in the moment how the 2nd verse (and subsequent verses) of a song starts. So, near the end of the break that comes right before another verse will be sung, it can be useful to be able to quickly glance at the lyrics to remind oneself, if one forgets. Observe, though, that this does not involve looking at the lyrics while singing.

However, instead of referring to a page on which the lyrics are written out in full, it is better to just write out the first line of the 2nd verse, and the first line of each subsequent verse in large print, and then place the page on the floor in front of you. Many guitar players - myself included - will tape smaller versions of these kind of 'cheat sheets' to their guitars for songs that they fear they might forget the lyrics to, so that - if needed - they can take a quick glance at them before starting to sing the next verse. (This will also work for stand-up bass players.)

If one needs to see more than just the beginnings of the 2nd and subsequent verses of a song in order to jog one's memory enough to be able to get through singing the whole song without serious errors, then this is usually a good sign that one does not yet know the song well enough to lead it effectively at a jam, and that one should give it some more practice at home before leading it at a jam.


Song List
14 songs were played at last night's jam: 11 from the main list, and 3 from the additional songs list:

Angeline The Baker - D
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - C
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - A
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - G
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (played twice) - G
Banks Of The Ohio - C
Little Liza Jane - G
Worried Man Blues - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason

My Home's Across... - banjo tab
Download File

My Home's Across... - banjo break
Download File


My Home's Across... - guitar tab
Download File

My Home's Across... - guitar break
Download File


My Home's Across... - mandolin tab
Download File

​
My Home's Across... - melody in G
Download File

Hi,
The song of the week is the 'Long Journey Home' (a.k.a. 'Two Dollar Bill' and 'Lost All My Money') in the key of A.

Recordings
Flatt & Scruggs - key of A (song starts at 2:07)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j36uEgzfer4&list=PL75WHOdULzEkvqS1g3YFtHWFP0Av_Fio4

Rhonda Vincent - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M8j_Ofnstc

Bill Monroe & Doc Watson - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIsDyBxPujM

For reasons of historical interest, I include the following version of Long Journey Home by the Monroe Brothers (Bill Monroe and his older brother Charlie). From 1936, this was one of the first songs that Bill Monroe recorded, and it is played wickedly fast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3mpsorJM2Q  


Progression
The chord progression is:

1111
1141
1111
1511
While this is a fairly basic chord progression, there are relatively few bluegrass standards that use this progression.  I like to think of this progression as being closely related to the more common progression:

1111
4411
1111
1511
(Prog. V3 on the Basic Chord Progressions chart. It is the progression that is used for playing Will The Circle Be Unbroken, I'll Fly Away, Mountain Dew, Cryin' Holy, etc.)

The first, third, and fourth lines are identical in both progressions.  The second line of both progressions is made up of 1 and 4 chords, but they differ from each other as to where the 4 chord occurs within the line and how long one stays on the 4 chord before changing back to the 1.

The main challenge that the Long Journey Home progression presents is that with so many 1s in the in the progression, it can sometimes be all too easy to lose one's place within the progression.  But, if one thinks/feels the song in terms of distinct lines consisting of 4 measures each, then this is less likely to happen. However, if you do lose track of the progression, then the safest chord to play is the 1.  Just keep on playing the 1 while you are trying to figure out where in the progression the song is at. Use the vocal as a guide to help you to feel where each line of the progression begins.


Melody
In ascending order of pitch, the notes that make up the melody of Long Journey Home are:

                    5    6    1    2   3    5
                   sol la  do  re mi  sol
key of A:    E    F#  A   B  C#  E
key of Bb:  F    G   Bb  C   D   F
key of B:    F# G#  B  C# D# F#
key of C:    G   A    C   D    E   G
key of D:    A    B   D   E   F#  A
key of E;    B    C# E  F# G#  B
key of F:    C    D    F  G   A     C 
key of G:    D    E   G   A   B    D

These are the same notes that make up the melodies of Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Nine Pound Hammer, My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, Foggy Mountain Top, Amazing Grace, Mountain Dew, and many other songs.

The first line of the melody of Long Journey Home has much in common with the first line of the melodies for several other songs, including Worried Man Blues, This Little Light Of Mine, Mountain Dew, Sun's Gonna Shine In My Back Door Someday, Paul And Silas, and Gotta Travel On. 


Pick-up Notes
Like Bury Me Beneath The Willow, Foggy Mountain Top, and Gathering Flowers From The Hillside, the first melody note in the first complete measure of Long Journey Home is the 5th note of the Major Scale, but unlike in those other songs, the starting melody note of Long Journey Home is the lowest note in the melody rather than the highest or one of the highest melody notes. When this is the case, I usually prefer to use a descending pickup phrase to lead into a break rather than an ascending pickup phrase. For songs like Bury Me Beneath The Willow, Foggy Mountain Top, and Gathering Flowers, my choice of pickup notes usually is: 3, 4, #4 (e.g., B, C, C# in the key of G, or C#, D, D# in the key of A) leading up to the 5 (a D note in the key of G, an E note in the key of A), but for songs like Long Journey Home, Mountain Dew, Worried Man Blues, I Saw The Light, etc., my choice of pickup notes usually is 6, 6, b6 leading down to the 5.

                     6     6     b6
Key of A:      F#  F#   F
Key of Bb:    G    G     Gb
Key of B:      G#  G#   G
Key of C:      A     A     Ab
Key of D:      B     B     Bb
Key of E:      C#   C#  C
Key of F:       D    D     Db
Key of G:      E     E     Eb


Tempo
Long Journey Home is quite often played at a fast tempo.  While this song would not work very well at a slow tempo, it is not necessary to play it as fast as it has often been played on recordings in order for it to sound right.  So, at the beginner jam, I do not intend on playing it as fast as it is played on some of the recordings provided here, but it will still be one of the faster songs, relative to the speeds that we tend to play songs at at the jam.


Lyrics
One of the things that makes Long Journey Home a jam friendly song is the repetitive nature of the lyrics.  There is not much that needs to be memorized in order to be able to sing harmony on the choruses, and the last line of the chorus is identical to the last line of each verse:

Lost all my money but a two dollar bill,
Two dollar bill, boys, two dollar bill.
Lost all my money but a two dollar bill:
I'm on my long journey home.

The three verses I usually sing start as follows:
1. Cloudy in the west and it looks like rain....
2. Black smoke's a rising and it surely is a train....
3. Dark and it's raining and I've got to go home....

Occasionally I add another verse before the last verse: Homesick and lonesome, and I'm feeling kind of blue....

The repetitive nature of the lyrics also makes Long Journey Home a good song choice for those who wish to lead a song at the jam, but do not have much experience yet singing at a jam, or who have difficulty memorizing lyrics. 


Song List
12 songs were played at last night's jam: all of them from the main list
Boil The Cabbage Down (played twice) - A 
Buffalo Gals - A
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
I'll Fly Away - C
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - G
Nine Pound Hammer - G
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G

Happy Pickin,
Jason

Song of the Week
The song of the week is 'Boil The Cabbage Down' in the key of A.


Recordings
Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys (starts at 13:09)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1NKw99Anlo  

Tommy Jackson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgNU-kBAZ6M

The Grascals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=441sSWWxee4


Form
Like a lot of other traditional fiddle tunes and folk songs that have been absorbed into bluegrass, there are many noticeably different versions of Boil The Cabbage Down. At bluegrass jams, one of the more common ways of playing it is as an instrumental in the key of A with the typical fiddle-tune form AABB, like on the first recording of the tune given here, and that is how we will play it at the beginner jam when it is played during the first half of the evening. Alternate versions of the song are welcome to be introduced during the second half of the evening.

AABB means that the tune has two parts (A-Part = first part; B-Part = second part), each of which is played through twice before going on to the next part.
Like many other fiddle tunes, each A-Part and each B-Part is 8 measures long. Therefore, it takes 32 measures (8x4) to get through a complete break for Boil The Cabbage Down.

On the Tommy Jackson fiddle instrumental recording, Boil The Cabbage Down is played as a three-part tune: the tune is played through twice using the form AABBCC, and then deviates from there, being played as AABBAACCAA.
In contrast to this, The Grascals' vocal version uses only the A-Part of the tune.


Progression
The chord progression for the A-Part (and also for Tommy Jackson's C-Part) is:

1    4    1    5
1    4    1/5 1
This is Progression Y7 on the 'Basic Chord Progressions' handout.

The chord progression for the B-Part is:
1    1     1    5
1    4     1/5 1

This is Progression Y2 on the 'Basic Chord Progressions' handout.
'1/5' means that the measure is split between the 1 chord and the 5 chord.
In the key of A: 1=A. 4=D, 5=E.

Banjo players and most bluegrass guitar players habitually capo to the 2nd fret for playing in the key of A, so their chord shapes will be the same as those for the 1,4, and 5 chords in the key of G, which are: 1=G, 4=C, 5=D.


8 Potato Intros
One of the best ways to kick-off most AABB fiddle tunes at a jam is to drone in a straight but rhythmic manner the root note of the key that the tune is in (often together with another one of the notes that also belong to the 1 chord) for four measures to lead into your intro break.This is called in bluegrass and old-time circles the '8 Potato Intro'. 

On the Grascals' recording of Boil The Cabbage Down, the fiddle starts the tune with an 8 Potato Intro. On the other recordings, and in the mandolin video lesson (see below), a shorter two measure version of this manner of starting a tune is used, which is called a '4 Potato Intro'.

In the attachments, I have included sheets that show good ways to play on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo, 8 Potato Intros for the keys of G, A, and D, the three most common fiddle tune keys. I have also included on these sheets, simpler (unfortunately, also less effective when both are played correctly) ways to play this type of intro on each of these instruments for those who are new to playing this type of intro, and may have difficulty playing the more developed forms of the 8 Potato Intros with the right feel and with rock-solid timing. 

Playing with the right feel and timing are crucial to making the 8 Potato Intro an effective jam tool. If anything at all goes wrong with the timing or feel of the 8 Potato or with the transition from the 8 Potato into beginning of the A-Part, the whole purpose for using it is thereby defeated.


Video Lesson
Boil The Cabbage Down mandolin lesson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaIitAtwS5M 

I recommend this not only for mandolin players, but for anyone who wishes to get a better handle on the melody of the tune and the difference between the A-Part and the B-Part of the tune. You might notice that my version of the melody for the B-Part (see the attached melody sheets) differs a bit from the version of the melody used here, but this kind of variance in interpretation of the melody from one person to the next is quite common within bluegrass and old-time music, especially on fiddle tunes.

Fiddle players should be aware that the mandolin is tuned the same way as the fiddle, so the fingering positions are identical on both instruments. The mandolin breaks in the youtube link - including the one that uses double stops (i.e., two strings being played simultaneously) can be played note for note on the fiddle just as easily as on the mandolin.


Melody & Breaks: Fiddle, Mandolin, and Guitar
In the attachments, I have included the basic melody for Boil The Cabbage Down in standard notation, mandolin tab, banjo tab, and guitar tab. 

For fiddle, mandolin, and guitar players who wish to create simple break based upon the basic melody, I recommend applying a constant shuffle rhythm to the melody. That simply means playing a constant pattern of one quarter note followed by two 8th notes. Two cycles through this pattern is the length of one measure of music in cut time (2/2), and is counted as: 1  &a2  &a. In the attachments, I show what this rhythm looks like when applied to the first 4 measures of the melody for the B-Part of Boil The Cabbage Down (see the attachment titled 'Shuffle Rhythm Example'.)


Melody & Breaks: Banjo
For banjo players who wish to create a simple melody-based break for Boil The Cabbage Down, I recommend applying one type of roll pattern across the board to the whole tune. For this purpose, the two roll patterns that work best to apply to the whole tune are the alt. thumb roll and the forward roll. (See the attachment: 'Fitting Rolls Around the Melody' for examples of this.) 

Remember, on banjo, there is more than one convenient location within the first few frets for some of the notes; in particular, banjo players will often get the B note on the 4th fret of the 3rd string instead of using the open 2nd string, so that they can slide into the B note, and so that they can put an alternating thumb or reverse roll around it. Likewise, they will often get the D note on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string instead of using the open 1st string, so that they can hammer into the D note, and so that they can avoid starting a roll on the 1st string.  

For those who wish to create a more complex melody-based break for Boil The Cabbage, I recommend making use of several different roll patterns: experiment with them to discover for yourself at which points in the break you find that one roll works better than another to carry the melody.


Double Endings
On the Snake River Boys and Tommy Jackson recordings of Boil The Cabbage Down, there are an extra 4 measures played at the end of the tune after the final B-Part. These are called 'double endings', for they consist of two 2-measure length ending licks played back to back. 

For most songs that use a progression that ends with two measures of the 1 chord (e.g., songs that use any of the progressions in row V, W, or X on the basic chord progressions chart), it is common for a two-measure ending lick to be played on one or more of the instruments over the last two measures of the progression to end the song. Most AABB tunes, however, do not use progressions that end with two measures of the 1 chord, and the last melody note in their parts almost always occurs at either the beginning or in the middle of the last measure of the progression, rather than at the beginning of the second to last measure of the progression. For these reasons, ending licks for AABB fiddle tunes almost always are played after the last measure of the final B-Part rather than during the tail-end of the final B-Part.

In the attachments, I have included examples of double-endings for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo suitable for most key of G, A, and D fiddle tunes.

It is typical for the double ending to be played only by, or at least led by, the person who played the final break for the tune. However, at the beginner jams, what tends to happen most often, and usually works better than some of the other options, is for everyone who wishes to play a double ending to do so, regardless of which instrument section played the last break, while the rest of the players play nothing during the double ending, except on the last note of the ending. 

What is played on the last note of the ending by the backup instruments typically includes things such as a single strum on the 1 chord (good for guitars and mandolins, and sometimes for banjos), the root note of the 1 chord being played by itself (especially good on the bass and in the low register of the fiddle), a double stop consisting of two notes of the 1 chord (especially good for fiddles), and a three-note pinch on banjo consisting of notes of the 1 chord 

Happy Pickin',
Jason