Hi,
The song of the week for the next beginner jam (Thurs. May 23rd, I am not available to host a jam tonight at the Pioneer Building) is 'Gathering Flowers From The Hillside' in the key of G.

​
Recordings
Here are a few versions of Gathering Flowers From The Hillside to take a listen to. The first one is just good old straightforward traditional bluegrass. The second one is from an old-school country artist I have always enjoyed listening to whose music could be described (albeit somewhat anachronistically) as somewhere between country and bluegrass. And the third one is the version that I learned the song from.

Earl Taylor & Jim McCall - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmzbEGefFBc

Wilma Lee Cooper - key of C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKrXivVNF8o

Hylo Brown -  key of F
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YK1Sv9oft4


Jam-Friendly Songs
'Gathering Flowers' is just one of  thousands of simple and straightforward bluegrass songs that, for that very reason, tend to work well at almost any bluegrass jam, irrespective of how many people at the jam have ever played or even heard the song before. Keep your ears open for these types of songs if you are looking for ways to more rapidly increase your repertoire of songs to introduce into the jams you play at. 

See if you can identify the chord progression for 'Gathering Flowers' by listening to the versions given in the links below, before you take a look at the attached melody sheets. What other songs do you know, or recall playing at the jam, that use either the same chord progression or a closely related chord progression? How much of the melody can you figure out by ear before looking at the attached melody sheets? Do you recognize certain parts of the melody as being the same, or almost the same, as parts of the melodies to other songs that you are more familiar with than this one?  


Lyrics
The lyrics I use for the chorus are as follows:

I've been gathering flowers from the hillside,
To wreath around your brow;
But you kept me waiting so long dear,
That the flowers have all withered now.

The words in italics are the ones that I find people quite often deviating from when singing harmony along with me on the chorus.


Harmony
Just like in Foggy Mountain Top, a previous song of the week, each musical line of the melody for Gathering Flowers starts with the same note: a D note when in the key of G, which is the highest note in the melody. The syllable that coincides with the beginning of each musical line of the chorus is shown in bold type below. On these syllables, the tenor harmony note is a G note when in the key of G, and the baritone harmony note is a B note when in the key of G.

I've been gathering flowers from the hillside,
To wreath around your brow;
But you kept me waiting so long dear,
That the flowers have all withered now.


Endings
For songs like Gathering Flowers From The Hillside that use a progression that ends with two measures of the 1 chord, and in which the last syllable is sung at the beginning of the first of these two measures (which includes the overwhelming majority of the non-instrumental songs on the current main list and additional songs list), it is common for a two-measure ending lick to be played on the instruments during the last two measures of the progression when the song is going to end. In most cases, this means the last two measures of the final chorus (or, for songs that don't have a chorus, the final verse) of the song. 

In the attachments, I have included a chart of simple two-measure endings in the key of G for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo, and bass that will work for all of the songs that fit into this category, except for the ones played in 3/4 time.

Notice that the last note played in each of the endings coincides with the beginning of the second half of the last measure. (For 3/4 time songs, appropriate ending licks would have their last note coincide with the beginning of the last measure.)


Progression
The chord progression for 'Gathering Flowers' is:

1111
1155
1111
1511
(Prog. V1 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 the relation between the progression for 'Gathering Flowers' (V1) and the progressions used to play 'Mama Don't Allow' (V2), 'Foggy Mountain Top (V6), and 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow' (V7). V1 simply stays on the '1' chord in all the spots where these other progressions have a '4' chord. In all four of these progressions, the locations of the '5' chords are the same (measures 3 and 4 of line 2, and measure 2 of line 4), and in all these progressions, measures 1 and 2 of lines 1, 2, and 3, and measures 1, 3, and 4 of line 4 have the '1' chord.


Melody 
The melody of Gathering Flowers shares a lot in common with the melody of Foggy Mountain Top. The only places where the two melodies significantly deviate from each other are from the second half of measure 2 through to the first half of measure 4 in lines 1 and 3. Refer back to the melody sheets in the attachments in the song of the week write-up for Foggy Mountain Top:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/foggy-mountain-top  


Breaks  
Remember, the melody sheets provided here in the attachments are just that and nothing more. They do not show you how to play bluegrass-style breaks on your instrument. So, why do I include the melody sheets in the song of the week emails? Because, to a significant extent, creating a break that sounds like it belongs in the song (and this is especially true of intro breaks, i.e., the break that is played before the singing starts and which identifies what song is being played even before the singing starts, or in the case of an instrumental, just simply the first break) involves surrounding the melody notes in the song with appropriate choices of other notes: and, in order to do this, one needs to have a fairly clear idea of what the melody of the song is. 

There are countless ways to play a break for any given song, and how one plays a break for a song depends upon several factors, including stylistic preference, level of technical ability on one's instrument, and even things of the nature of what tempo the song is being played at. But, once one is past the very beginner stages of learning to play 'lead' parts, attempts should be made - with the help of a teacher if need be - to play in a way that involves more than just copying on one's instrument the melody of the song as sung. 

Disclaimer: Even at the most advanced levels, being a bluegrass musician or jammer does not always involve being able to play breaks. There are many top-notch bluegrass guitar players, for instance, who only play rhythm (backup). Becoming a great bluegrass rhythm guitar player can be just as challenging as - or possibly even more challenging than - becoming a great flatpicker.  


Fill-ins
There are four dead spaces in the melody of each verse and chorus of Gathering Flowers that are long enough for a fill-in lick to be used to fill up these spaces.
These occur at the end of every musical line, starting in measure 3 of the line and ending in measure 4 of the line, which is the same location within a line that a fill-in fits into the progressions for all the previous songs of the week that I have discussed the use of fill-ins in connection with.  Here is a summary of most of the songs of the week so far in which fill-ins fit into one or more of their lines:
                                                                                          line 1        line 2       line 3     line 4
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains       no fill        no fill        no fill    fillin (1)
& Beautiful Brown Eyes chorus

Nine Pound Hammer, Little Birdie, I'll Fly Away     no fill         fillin (1)     no fill    fillin (1)
& Way Down Town

Beautiful Brown Eyes  verses,                                     no fill         fillin (5)     no fill     fillin (1)
Bury Me Beneath The Willow, 
All The Good Times Are Past And Gone  
& Foggy Mountain Top                                                                            
 
New River Train  & Mama Don't Allow                       fillin (1)        fillin (5)     no fill     fillin (1) 

Gathering Flowers From The Hillside                        fillin (1)       fillin (5)     fillin (1)   fillin (1)

The numbers in parentheses refer to the chord that is called for at the time of the dead space in which the fillin lick is played.

Gathering Flowers provides more opportunity than any of the other songs for practicing fillins, and since there is room to fit three fillins on the 1 chord in each verse and chorus, it also provides a good opportunity for practicing varying your choice of fillins, if you know how to play more than one fillin for the 1 chord.

For G and D fillins (the 1 and 5 chords when in the key of G), refer back to the attachments in the song of the week write ups for I'll Fly Away and Mama Don't Allow:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/ill-fly-away 

https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/mama-dont-allow


Pickup Notes
Concerning Pickup Notes into a break for Gathering Flowers. Instead of playing only the 2 pickup notes (B and C) that are sung in the vocal melody (see the attached melody sheets) to lead into the first complete measure of your break, it is often more effective at jams to add a 3rd quarter note, a C#, after these two notes, especially if you the one kicking off the song with an intro break. The chromatically ascending sequence of pickup notes: B, C, C# to lead to a D note on a G chord is commonplace on good Bluegrass records (good examples of this are at the beginning of the banjo intro break and at the beginning of the fiddle break on the first youtube link given here for Gathering Flowers). Three-quarters of a measure, rather than just half a measure, worth of pickup notes gives everyone at the jam a better sense of what the tempo of the song will be, so that they can all start playing backup confidently behind the person playing the intro break at the beginning of the first complete measure of the break. This is a good case in point illustrating how it is sometimes better to make modifications to the melody as sung, rather than to follow the melody slavishly, when creating melody-based breaks. 

Note: Many melodies do not have any built-in pickup notes leading into their first complete measure; in these cases one needs to create a pick-up measure to have an effective intro break for the song. This can be done by borrowing pickup phrases from other songs in which the first full measure of the song starts with the same note and same chord as the song in question, or one can learn common generic pickup phrases used on Bluegrass records for each specific situation: e.g., a generic pickup phrase leading to a B note on a G chord, a generic pickup phrase leading to a C note on a C chord, etc.


Song List
16 songs were played at last week's jam: 12 from the main list, and 4 from the additional songs list:

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow (played twice) - G & C
Cripple Creek - A
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
Mama Don't Allow - A
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
New River Train - F 
Nine Pound Hammer - A 
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Liberty - D
Lonesome Road Blues - G
Long Journey Home - A
Will You Be Loving Another Man - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
I will not be available to host the Wednesday and Thursday jams this coming week (May 15 & 16). For the week after that, the song of the week for the intermediate jam will be Gold Watch And Chain in the key of Bb (Wed. May 22nd), and the song of the week for the beginner jam will be Gathering Flowers From The Hillside in the key of G (Thurs. May 23rd). I will try to send out the song of the week emails early next week.

I invite all of you to join me in Weiser, ID at Weiser Banjo Camp for the evening jams on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of next week. (May 16, 17, & 18). We are in need of many guitar, bass, mandolin, fiddle, and dobro players, and singers, of all levels of jamming experience and ability (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), to balance out the large number of banjo players who will be at the jams. 

Jamming starts at 7:30pm on Thursday. May 16th, 7pm on Friday, May 17th, and 8:15pm on Saturday, May 18th. There will be several different jams going on at the same time on all four floors of Slokum Hall, and, weather permitting, there will also be outdoor jamming.

Jamming starts later on the Saturday due to the banjo masters concert being held from 7 to 8pm, which you are also invited to attend if you would like to.

The Weiser Banjo Camp is held at the same location as the annual National Old-Time Fiddlers Contest & Festival. The address for Slokum Hall is 2235 Paddock Ave. Weiser, ID 83672 

For more info on the Weiser Banjo Camp: go to  https://weiserbanjo.weebly.com/
Weiser Banjo Camp & Contest Information
"This camp provides a very unique opportunity for banjo players of all skill levels to work directly with regional and nationally known instructors in a very casual environment.
weiserbanjo.weebly.com

In the attachments are the song lists for the instructor and volunteer-led jams that will take place during the first hour of evening jam time on the Thursday and Friday evenings.

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Soldier's Joy' in the key of D.
Soldier's Joy is one of the more popular traditional fiddle tunes in Bluegrass circles, but one will hear it played not only at Bluegrass jams, but also at Old-Time jams, at square dances, contradances, and even sometimes at Irish sessions. 


Recordings
Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys (guitar & fiddle breaks) (starts at 3:50) - key of D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyZWC5CVdaI
 
Larry Rice and the Bottom Dollar Boys (mandolin, fiddle, Scruggs-style banjo: tuned GCGBD, & guitar breaks) - key of D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzZ2tSENgTY

Earl Scruggs & John McEuen: a good example of Scruggs-style banjo and Clawhammer banjo being played together. Scruggs' banjo is tuned GCGBD; John McEuen's banjo is tuned GCGCE. Note: since there is no fiddle or mandolin here, they get away with playing Soldier's Joy in C (no capo) instead of D (capo 2).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5OKxPE59Bo


Form & Key
Soldier's Joy follows the most typical form for traditional fiddle tunes: AABB (can be thought of as: verse, verse, chorus, chorus, if this helps), with each A-Part and each B-Part being 8 measures long. (Total: 32 measures).  Like most traditional fiddle tunes, there is only one key that it is usually played in: in this case 'D'.


Progression
The chord progression that we use at the beginner jam for Soldier's Joy is the one that I have heard most frequently at Bluegrass Jams and on Bluegrass recordings of the tune. It is:

A-Part:
1    1    1    5
1    1    1/5 1
(Prog. Y1 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout. This is the same progression that is used to play the A-Parts of Old Joe Clark and O Susanna.)
 
B-Part
1    4    1    5
1    4    1/5 1
(Prog. Y7 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout. This is the same progression that is used to play the A-Part of Boil The Cabbage Down.) 
In the key of D: 1 = D; 4 = G; 5 = A. 


'To capo or not to capo'
Many banjo players and some guitar players prefer to play Soldier's Joy in D by capoing to the 2nd fret and then playing it as if in 'C'. For this reason, I have included both key of D and key of C melody tabs for banjo and guitar in the attachments. 

If you have the capo on the 2nd fret for playing Soldier's Joy in D, then your chord shapes need to be the same as those for playing in the key of C without a capo: 1=C; 4=F; 5=G.


Banjo Tunings
Note: On banjo, no matter which of these two options you choose: capo  2 or no capo, you will need to raise your 5th string up to an A note (i.e., spike/capo your 5th string to the 7th fret) in order to be able to play an effective Scruggs-style or Clawhammer-style break.

Most Scruggs-style banjo players who prefer the capo 2 option tune their 4th string down a whole step so as to retain access to the lowest melody note in the tune when playing within the first 5 frets. (This is called 'C tuning': without the capo the 4th string will be tuned down to a C note. With the capo on the 2nd fret, the 4th string will then register as a D note when not fretted. See the attachment: 'BBJ - Soldier's Joy - banjo tab C tuning'.)  
Most clawhammer banjo players play Soldier's Joy either by tuning to Double C tuning: GCGCD or Open C tuning: GCGCE, and then capo to the 2nd fret in order to be playing in D. I have included a Double C tuning banjo melody tab in the attachments.


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 Soldier's Joy 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.  


Melody 
Soldier's Joy is one of those tunes which - in one and the same version - is often played both with so many melody notes that there is little room left for additional 'filler' notes (i.e., as many as 8 melody notes per measure), and with the bare minimum of melody notes necessary to retain the identity of the tune (no more than 3 or 4 melody notes per measure).

In my many years of experience with listening to hundreds of versions of this tune and playing it in a wide variety of jam situations, I have found that in playing Soldier's Joy, Bluegrass and Irish fiddlers and melodic (Keith) style banjo players tend towards trying to squeeze in as many melody notes as possible, while Scruggs-style and Clawhammer banjo players and Dobro players tend to play as few melody notes as necessary.  Old-Time fiddlers, mandolin players, and flatpickers tend to fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

For fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, I have included in the attachments melody tabs with 'few melody notes' and melody tabs with 'more melody notes'. 

The interval between the lowest pitched melody note and the highest pitched melody note for Soldier's Joy is wider than for any other song on the current beginner jam song lists. There are only two other songs on the lists that come close to having such a wide melodic range, and both of these are AABB form fiddle tunes: Cripple Creek and Liberty.

In ascending order of pitch, the melody notes for Soldier's Joy are:

                 do  re    mi    fa   sol   la    ti     do      re      mi     fa      sol    la
                  1     2     3      4     5     6      7     8(1)   9(2)  10(3)  11(4) 12(5)  13(6)
Key of D:  D    E     F#   G    A     B    C#    D      E       F#      G      A       B
Key of C:  C    D     E     F     G     A     B     C      D       E         F      G       A
The notes in italics are absent from some versions of the melody.

In some versions the highest note of A-Part is 10(3), whereas in other versions the highest note of the A-Part is 12(5). In the B-Part, the lowest melody note is 5, which is in contrast with the A-Part which consists mostly of notes 1,2,3, and 5, thereby making the B-Part the overall higher pitched part of the two parts that make up the tune.

Notice where repetitions occur within the melody. These are all fairly typical for AABB form fiddle tunes in which each part is 8 measures long. There are not only several measures in the tune which are identical with at least one other measure in the tune, there also, in some versions of the melody, halves of measures that are identical with other halves of measures. 


Breaks
If you are not ready for a 'more melody notes' type version, then, to the extent that you are able to, try to add some filler notes to a 'few melody notes' version. 

Even for the 'more melody notes' versions, filler notes should be added in at least some spots so as to avoid playing half notes. Whenever you play a half note (or a note or even longer duration) in a break, you are decreasing your degree of control over the tempo and feel of the tune at that point. 

I have not included 'more melody notes' tabs for banjo, since that would take us well beyond Scruggs-style and traditional Clawhammer banjo into the realm of Melodic and Single-string style playing. If you are a three-finger style player, fill in the blanks with the Scruggs-style picking patterns you know how to play when these are feasible to use around the melody. If you are a clawhammer player, fill in the blanks with 'bum-ditty' figures and - if this is part of your playing - a few rhythmic drop-thumb figures here and there when they fit.


Double Endings
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 D fiddle tunes. These are called 'double endings', for they consist of two 2-measure length ending licks played back to back. 

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 


Song List
21 songs were played at last night's jam: 18 from the main list, and 3 from the additional songs list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow (played twice) - G & C
Cripple Creek - A 
Down The Road - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Little Birdie - Bb
Mama Don't Allow - A
New River Train - F
Nine Pound Hammer - B
Shortnin' Bread - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town - E
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Long Journey Home - A
Old Joe Clark - A
Worried Man Blues - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Mama Don't Allow' in the key of A. 

Be prepared also to play Mama Don't Allow in the key of G during the first half of the evening at the jams, since both the key of A and the key of G are specified for the song on the main list.
In the attachments, I have included melody sheets for the song in both A and G.

Once Mama Don't Allow has completed its song of the week cycle, it will become more likely that others will want to lead the singing on it during the second half of the evening, in which case it could be called in the keys of Bb, B, C, D, E, and F as well.


Recordings 
The two recorded versions of Mama Don't Allow given below are very different from each other. The first, from Flatt and Scruggs, is a straightforward Bluegrass studio recording arrangement of the song, featuring only three lead instruments (banjo, fiddle, and dobro), while the second, from Doc Watson, has more of a jam feel to it, and, in addition to featuring traditional Bluegrass instruments (mandolin, banjo, guitar, etc.) it also includes and features some instruments that are not among the first instruments that usually come to mind when one thinks of Bluegrass (drums, piano).

Flatt & Scruggs - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfXlI6Fz4j0  

Doc Watson - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ODoOHoNyQ  


Progression 
The chord progression for Mama Don't Allow is:

1111
1155
1144
1511

(Progression V2 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.)  
In the key of A: 1=A; 4=D; 5=E
In the key of G: 1=G; 4=C; 5=D.

This is a very useful progression to know by heart, for it is very common. It is the same progression that is used to play the well-known folk songs 'When The Saints Go Marching In', 'She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain', 'Froggy Went A Courting', and some versions of 'Red River Valley'. Three other songs that I believe are especially well worth familiarizing oneself with that also use the same progression are: 'The Crawdad Song' (a folk song adapted to Bluegrass that has tended to be popular at previous incarnations of Beginner jam in some of their phases), 'Will You Be Loving Another Man' (a classic Bluegrass song from Bill Monroe, very well-known in Bluegrass circles), the verses and breaks, but not the choruses, of 'Why Don't You Tell Me So' (a classic Bluegrass song from Flatt & Scruggs, also very well-known in Bluegrass circles).

I highly recommend making it a point to associate a particular song (or a small group of songs) with each progression on the basic chord progressions handout, that you are really familiar with whenever this is possible. Songs that you have known and, better yet, sung since childhood, and/or songs that were the first song example(s) of a particular progression that you learned to play on your instrument(s) tend to work best for this purpose. 

For a progression on the chart that you do not yet have a direct useful point of reference for, you might find it helpful to think of the progression in terms of its relation to a progression that is similar to it that you are able to easily associate with a particular song or group of songs.


Use of Fill-ins in Backup Playing
While listening to the recordings provided here, observe that the instruments not only take turns doing breaks, as determined by the lyrics, but also take turns being featured as the dominant backup instrument behind the vocals.  As soon as the name of the instrument is mentioned in the first line of the verse, this is an opportunity for that instrument to play a fill-in lick during the two measures of 'dead space' that occur in the vocal between the last syllable of the first line of the verse and the first syllable of the second line of the verse.  Two measure length 'dead' spaces' occur also after the last syllable of the second line and after the last syllable of the fourth line; so, in each verse there are three different spots where the appropriate instrument can announce its presence by playing a fill-in lick in anticipation of its upcoming break.

In the recorded versions, most of the fill-in licks used are not among the simpler ones to learn to play. In addition to the melody sheets for Mama Don't Allow, I have included in the attachments some easier fill-in licks for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo to help you get started with using fill-in licks in your playing if you do not already do so. The licks are intended to start at the beginning of the 3rd measure of lines 1, 2, and 4 of the verse: the A licks for lines 1 and 4 when playing in the key of A (G licks when playing in the key of G), and the E licks for line 2 when playing in the key of A (D licks when playing in the key of G). 

Each lick ends at the beginning of measure 4 of the line, at which point you can simply go back to doing whatever kind of thing you were doing before you started the fillin, whether that be simple rhythm playing on the guitar or mandolin, roll backup on the banjo, or something else. 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 measure begins. 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.

Bluegrass songs typically contain at least 2 'dead spaces' in each 16-measure-length verse and in each 16-measure-length chorus that are long enough for a fill-in lick to be used during them. Depending on whether there are pickup notes leading into the next line of the song, these 'dead spaces' will last anywhere from one measure to two measures. These are always opportunities for fill-in licks to be played by a lead instrument.  On bluegrass recordings, you may notice that the lead instruments usually take turns being featured as the dominant backup instrument.  This same thing occurs also at jams. Mama Don't Allow is a good song to use to start to get the hang of doing this, for the lyrics of song draw attention directly to the fact that that is what is going in the backup, and so there need never be any doubt in this song as to which lead instrument should be featured at any given time.


Singing and leading the song at the jam
The lyrics of Mama Don't Allow are among the easiest to learn of all the songs on the two songs lists provided for the Beginner Jam, and once learned, the lyrics are not easily forgotten.

However, the one thing that can sometimes be challenging about remembering the lyrics to this song is that one needs to keep track of which instruments one has mentioned in each verse so far, so as to not leave any instrument out that is represented at the jam, and so as to not over-feature any of the instruments. 

It helps to keep track though if one makes it a point to call each instrument type in the order in which one first encounters each type of instrument, going clockwise around the circle starting from the person who played the intro break for the song until one runs out of other instruments to call and one finally calls the name of the instrument on which the intro break was played. This is the system that I use for calling breaks on most songs at the jam.

As traditionally played at jams, the bass player is given a break on Mama Don't Allow, whereas for most other songs this is not done. 

(Bass breaks for this song are not usually melody-based, so I have not included a melody sheet for bass in the attachments.)

For this song, I don't usually call the breaks as each verse is ending. The person singing the verses is calling the breaks simply by virtue of singing the name of an instrument in any given verse. The only times when I have felt a real need to call a break on this song when someone else was singing it, is when either: a) I had failed to mention before the song started that the verse 'Mama don't 'low no bluegrass music round here' (or something similar to this) is - at least in the context of how our jam operates - a way of calling a collective 'everybody' break, and it seemed doubtful to me that enough people had caught on to this in time before the collective break was about to begin; or b) it was obvious that people were not catching on to which instrument was named by the person singing. 

This latter scenario occurs almost any time, for instance, when a singer abbreviates mandolin as 'mando': many people mistake this for 'banjo'. So, even though it is not as easy to squeeze a three-syllable instrument name into the verses as it is to sing a two-syllable instrument name, it is best to always sing 'mandolin' instead of 'mando' for the mandolin verse.


Melody & Breaks
As I sing it, the melody of Mama Don't Allow consists of 6 notes. In ascending order of pitch these are:

                  5    6    1    2    b3    3
Key of G:   D    E   G   A    Bb    B
Key of A:   E    F#  A   B    C     C#
Key of Bb: F    G    Bb C    Db   D
Key of B:   F#  G#  B   C#  D     D#
Key of C:   G    A    C   D    Eb   E
Key of D:    A    B    D   E    F     F#
Key of E:    B    C#  E   F#   G    G#
Key of F:    C     D   F    G   Ab   A

The b3 note is not part of the major scale. It is borrowed from the minor scale, and is commonly referred to as a 'blue note'. This note occurs during the second of the two 4 chord measures in line 3 of the melody. When the b3 note is added to the 4 chord a (dominant) 7th chord is created. (E.g., adding a C note to a D chord results in a D7 chord; adding a Bb note to a C chord results in a C7 chord.)

With the exception of the 4 chord measures in line 3, there is not much to the melody of Mama Don't Allow. So when creating a break for this song, try to do more than just merely shuffle (or on banjo, roll) through the melody. Make use of fill-in licks, and any other licks you know that will fit over the chords being played. These other licks need not always imply the melody. Notice that in many of the breaks on the recordings, licks are used that have little or nothing to do with the melody of the song.


Pickup Notes
Use the same set of pickup notes to lead into a break for Mama Don't Allow that you would use for starting into a break for Down The Road. Refer back to the 'Breaks and Backup' section of the song of the week write-up for Down The Road: 
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/down-the-road  


Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys
Here is the performance of the 6th through 10th songs of the week for the new beginner jam (Buffalo Gals, New River Train, Bury Me Beneath The Willow, I'll Fly Away, and Little Birdie) that I did on Tuesday with Brent King (guitar), Doug Jenkins (fiddle), and Bernie Reilly (bass) at the Bluegrass Open Mic at Liquid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJAtP8irWYs  


Song List
16 songs were played at the jam last week: 12 from the main list, 1 from the additional songs list, and 3 that are on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road (played twice) - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
Little Birdie - Bb
Mama Don't Allow - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town (played twice) - E & G
Old Joe Clark - A
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - A
Lonesome Feeling - G
Red River Valley - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
There will be no beginner bluegrass jam on Thursday, April 25th. The next beginner jam will be held on Thursday, May 2nd. The song of the week will be 'Mama Don't Allow' in the key of A. I will send out the song of the week write-up next week.

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Foggy Mountain Top' in the key of G.

​
Recordings
Earl Taylor & Jim McCall - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYPV958N0_g 

Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, & Ricky Skaggs - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M06bCshmjQc&list=PLrKc0UaxjO0BfsX2Y0PFFr3q_G85nX7PY&index=3  


Progression
The chord progression for Foggy Mountain Top is the same as the chord progression for the previous song of the week 'All The Good Times Are Past And Gone', and is one of the most common progressions in bluegrass:

1141
1155
1141
1511
This is Prog. V6 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout. 
In the key of G: 1=G, 4=C, 5=D.

Other bluegrass songs that use this same progression include:
Light At The River  
Live And Let Live
I'll Never Shed Another Tear
On And On
Purple Robe
That Home Far Away
Little Cabin Home On The Hill - verse prog. only
Before I Met You - verse prog. only
Cabin In Caroline - verse prog. only
Gonna Settle Down - verse prog. only
Little Girl Of Mine In Tennessee - verse prog. only
Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane - verse prog. only
Hallelujah, I'm Ready To Go - verse prog. only
Lovesick And Sorrow - verse prog. only
Greenville Trestle High - verse prog. only
Memories Of You - verse prog. only
Watermelon On The Vine - verse prog. only
Keep On The Sunny Side - chorus prog. only

For people who are much less familiar with bluegrass than with certain other genres of music, some good points of reference for this progression might include: 
Amazing Grace
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Crazy Arms
Why Should We Try Anymore
Jesse James - verse prog. only
Cotton Fields - verse prog. only
My Old Kentucky Home (some versions) - verse prog. only

Note: With the exceptions of 'Hallelujah, I'm Ready To Go' and 'My Old Kentucky Home', all the songs listed here in which only the verses of the song use the V6 progression, the progression for the chorus is Prog. X6 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout:
4411
1155
1141
1511

Progressions V6 and X6 tend to show up together with each other in the same song much more frequently than any other pair of progressions on the basic progressions handout. 

For the initial phase that the beginner jam is now in the middle of, with an occasional exception occurring when one of the AABB form tunes is sung (e.g., O Susanna), I have not included any songs on the song lists that use a different progression for their chorus than for their verses, but this will change when the jam enters into its next phase in September.

Compare the progression for Foggy Mountain Top (V6) with the progression for another one of the songs on the main list, 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow':
1144
1155
1144
1511

Notice how similar these two progressions are. They differ from each other only in two of their measures, namely the last measure of line 1 and last measure of line 3.

Part of the practical value of observing how certain commonly recurring progressions are similar and different from each other is that by taking note of this, one can help oneself to avoid certain common mistakes.

In my years of jamming experience, I have noticed that a lot of people tend to be more familiar with prog. V7 than with prog. V6. At large jams, whenever a song that uses prog. V6, I have found that it is typical to find at least one person playing prog. V7 for at least the first round or two through the progression. I count this as being one of the top half dozen or so errors involving wrong chord changes that occur at jams.  Yet, the opposite case - namely, someone playing Prog. V6 during a song that uses Prog. V7 - rarely ever occurs at jams. 

Another way to put this is that when the first three measures are 114, there is a much greater tendency to assume that the fourth measure will stay on the 4 instead of going back to the 1.

This assumption should be avoided, because songs with the 'Foggy Mountain Top' (V6) progression are very common in bluegrass, even if not quite as common as songs with the 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow' (V7) progression.

[More recently, I have also noticed that the mistake of playing the V7 progression in place of of the V6 progression is less likely to occur when a song is played in 3/4 than when a song is played in 2/2 (cut common) time. This is why I did not draw attention to the commonplace error of substituting V7 in place of V6 in the song of the week write-up for All The Good Times Are Past And Gone.]


Pickup Notes
On the Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, and Ricky Skaggs recording of Foggy Mountain Top, notice Doc's choice of pickup notes to lead into the first complete measure of his intro break on guitar: G, B, C, which ascend to a D note. This is the same series of notes that the melody of 'When The Saints Go Marching In' begins with, and is much more effective for starting a break than if one were to use the D half-note as a pickup that is written on the attached Foggy Mountain Top melody sheets. 

                   Pickup Notes
                     1    3    4    leading to  5
                   do  mi  fa   leading to sol              
Key of G:      G    B    C                    D
Key of A:      A    C#  D                    E
Key of Bb:    Bb  D   Eb                   F
Key of B:      B     D# E                    F#
Key of C:      C     E    F                    G
Key of D:      D     F#  G                   A
Key of E:      E     G#  A                   B
Key of F:      F     A     Bb                 C

This is a good case in point illustrating how it is often not desirable to slavishly follow the sung melody when playing a melody-based break. An alternative choice of pickup notes to use to ascend into the D note that the first complete measure begins with is: B, C, C#, and this is the choice of notes that you will often hear played on banjo and fiddle on bluegrass records as pickups to lead into a melody line that starts with a D note on a G chord. These are the very first notes played on the banjo on the Earl Taylor and Jim McCall recording of Foggy Mountain Top (a D note is played along with each of the chromatically ascending pickup notes, which is typical on banjo). These are the same pickup notes I recommended for starting breaks for Bury Me Beneath The Willow in the song of the week write up for that song. Refer back to the section on 'Pickups into Breaks' in that write up:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/bury-me-beneath-the-willow  
 

Fill-in Licks
The places in the Foggy Mountain Top progression where it works well to play a fill-in lick in breaks and in backup playing are exactly the same as the places in the Bury Me Beneath The Willow progression where it works well to play a fill-in lick. Refer back to the attachments and the section on 'Fill-in Licks' in the song of the week write up for Bury Me Beneath The Willow: 
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/bury-me-beneath-the-willow 


Melody
On the melody sheets for Foggy Mountain Top included in the attachments, notice that during the 5 chord measures in line 2 of the progression, the main melody note that is dwelt on is the second note of the Major Scale.


                                      2nd note of the Major Scale (re)  

                     5 Chord      (The fifth of the 5 chord)
Key of G:     D               A
Key of A:     E                B
Key of Bb:   F                C
Key of B:     F#              C#
Key of C:     G                D
Key of D:     A                E
Key of E:      B                F#
Key of F:      C               G

This is extremely common in songs that have 1155 as the second line of their progression. Previous songs of the week for the jam in which this happens are Beautiful Brown Eyes (Prog. W7), Bury Me Beneath The Willow (Prog. V7), New River Train (Prog. W2), and All The Good Times Are Past And Gone (Prog. V6). Upcoming songs of the week for the jam in which the same thing happens are: Mama Don't Allow (Prog. V2), and Gathering Flowers From The Hillside (Prog. V1). 

Of all the songs listed in the Progressions section of this song of the week write-up, only four dwell on some note other than the 2nd note of the Major Scale during the 5 chord measures in their second line: Amazing Grace, Swing Low Sweet Chariot,  the verses of Little Girl Of Mine In Tennessee, and the verses  of Greenville Trestle High. There are even fewer exceptions to the rule than this in the list of songs included in the Progressions section in the song of the week write-up for Bury Me Beneath The Willow, with Wreck Of The Old '97 being the most notable exception. 

Other songs, not yet accounted for here, on the additional songs list that have 1155 as the second line of their progression and conform to the rule include Canaan's Land (Prog. V1), She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain (Prog. V2), When The Saints Go Marching In (Prog. V2), and Will You Be Loving Another Man (Prog. V2).

16 out of the 17 songs on the current main list and additional songs list that have 1155 as the second line of their progression conform to the rule. Amazing Grace is the one exception.


Lyrics & Arrangement
There are two verses sung for Foggy Mountain Top on the Earl Taylor and Jim McCall recording. There are four verses sung for the song on the Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, and Ricky Skaggs recording. In the four verse version of the song, the verses in the two verse version occur as verses 1 and 3. 

Most times that I have sung Foggy Mountain Top at the jams, I have used only the first 3 verses of the four verse version. But, no matter how few or how many verses I end up singing, I almost always have had the song start as: break, chorus, break, verse 1, chorus, etc., rather than as: break, verse 1, chorus, break, verse 2, etc.

The melody sheets in the attachments show the standard set of lyrics for the chorus.


Harmony
Since the starting note for the melody of the chorus is the fifth of the 1 chord (a D note when in the key of G), the starting note for the tenor harmony is the root note of the 1 chord (a G note when in the key of G), and the starting note for the baritone harmony is the third of the 1 chord (a B note when in the key of G). 

The last note for the tenor harmony is the third of the 1 chord (sung a minor sixth lower than the starting note of the tenor harmony), and the last note for the baritone harmony is the fifth of the 1 chord (sung a major sixth lower than the starting note of the baritone harmony), for, as in the vast majority of songs, the melody ends with the root note of the 1 chord.


The Carter Family
A good number of songs that are now in the standard bluegrass repertoire were recorded by the Carter Family in the 20's, 30's, and early 40's before Bluegrass music, in the generally accepted sense of the term, came into being, and their recordings of these songs directly influenced the first and second generation bluegrass artists who brought these songs into Bluegrass. (Both Flatt & Scruggs and Ralph Stanley, for instance, have recorded entire albums consisting of nothing but Carter Family songs, and there are many, many more of these songs scattered here and there on their other albums.) 

The 'pre-Bluegrass' music of the Carter Family bears a similar relation to Bluegrass as what the music of Woody Guthrie has to the 'Pop-Folk' music genre of the 60s. So, for historical reasons, and because I believe that familiarity with the music of the Carter Family is an important part of a well-rounded Bluegrass education, here is a link to the old Carter Family recording of Foggy Mountain Top:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnzjYS1iYJw

Other Carter Family songs that are on the current main list and additional songs list include:
Bury Me Beneath The Willow (the very first song that the Carters recorded)
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (there were earlier recorded versions, but they did not have much influence on how this song is played as a Bluegrass song compared to the Carter Family's version)
Cryin' Holy (a.k.a., On The Rock Where Moses Stood)
Gold Watch And Chain 
Little Darling Pal Of Mine
Worried Man Blues  


Song List
14 songs were played at last night's jam: 9 from the main list, 2 from the additional songs list, and 3 that are on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road (played twice) - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
New River Train - F
Soldier's Joy - D
She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain - D
Worried Man Blues - A
Ashes Of Love - A
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - C
Lonesome Feeling - G

Ashes Of Love
The chord progression used for Ashes Of Love was:
1    1    4/1 5
5    5    5    1
1    1    4/1 5
5    5    5    1    1

...except that the last measure of the progression was omitted a few times.

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'All The Good Times Are Past And Gone' in the key of A.  This song is played in 3/4 time.


Recordings
Flatt and Scruggs - key of A 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LnhLmyOKmM

Jimmy Martin - key of C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBZFUNecJN8  


Progression
The chord progression for All The Good Times Are Past and Gone is:
 
1141
1155
1141
1511
This is Progression V6 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout. Probably the most well-known song in 3/4 time that uses this same progression is 'Amazing Grace'.

In the key of A: 1 = A; 4 = D; 5 = E.
With a capo on the 2nd fret, the chord shapes become: 1 = G; 4 = C; 5 = D.
 

3/4 Time
In 3/4 time (a.k.a. Waltz time), there are 3 beats per measure. On guitar, when playing rhythm, one measure will consist of 'boom-chuck-chuck', i.e., 'bassnote-strum-strum', rather than the more common rhythm for bluegrass songs of 'boom-chuck-boom-chuck'. Notice that this means that in 3/4 time it takes two measures, instead of one, to get through a cycle of root-5 (alternating bass) on guitar (and on bass, if you are playing only one note per measure). For this reason, it can be useful to think of the chord progression in groups of two measures. 


Root-5: Guitar, Bass (and Banjo)
The root note of each chord is simply the note that has the same letter name as the chord. The '5' of the chord is the 5th note of the major scale that has the same letter name as the chord. The first five notes of the A major scale are A, B, C#, D, and E, so when playing 'root-5' over an A chord, this means that you are alternating between an A note and an E note.

There are six major (and six minor) chords for which identifying the 5 involves nothing more than counting up the musical alphabet, without having to worry about sharps or flats. The six are: A, C, D, E, F, and G. So, the 5 of C (counting C  as 1) is G (1,2,3,4,5: C,D,E,F,G), the 5 of D is A, the 5 of E is B, the 5 of F is C, and the 5 of G is D. 


3/4 Time Root-5: Guitar, Bass (and Banjo)
Taking the progression two measures at a time, the first two measures allow one to play 'root-5' over the 1 chord, but the second group of two measures (i.e., the third and fourth measures) allow one to play only the root note of the chords called for there, because the second of these two measures has a different chord than what the first of these two measures does. So, this scenario is similar to what happens in the non-3/4 time songs we play at the jam in which a single measure is split between two chords (e.g., the 7th measure of each of the parts of Boil The Cabbage Down and Soldier's Joy, or the 4th measure of each of the parts of Shortnin' Bread and the B-Part of Cripple Creek.)

The second line of the progression for All The Good Times allows one to play root-5 over the 1 chord and then over the 5 chord. Notice that this means that two root notes over the 1 chord end up being played back to back, one in the last measure of the first line, and one in the first measure of the second line, since the first line of the progression ended with the 1 chord, and there was only time to play the root note of the chord, but not the 5, because the third measure of the first line called for a chord other than the 1 chord.

Notice that on the Flatt and Scruggs recording, an extra measure of the 1 chord is played at the end of each of the breaks before the vocal comes in. The same thing happens on the Jimmy Martin recording, except that after the mandolin intro break, two extra measures of the 1 chord are played before the vocal comes in. When playing this song at the jam, this may or may not happen, so be prepared for either scenario. The safest thing to do here is to just keep on hitting the root note of the chord (on bass and guitar) at the beginning of each of these potential additional measures of the '1' chord so as to guarantee that you will be playing the root note of the chord at the time when the progression starts over from the beginning.  


3/4 Vamp/Chop: Mandolin, Fiddle, Banjo, and Dobro
When playing a 'vamp' or 'chop' rhythm on mandolin, banjo, fiddle, or dobro, a measure of 3/4 time will consist of 'rest-chuck-chuck', which is the same as the guitar rhythm, just without the bass note at the beginning of the measure.


3/4 Rolls (Banjo)
When playing a roll in 3/4 time on banjo, you will have time for a maximum of 6 plucked notes per measure (counted as '1 & 2 & 3 &'), rather than the usual maximum of 8 notes per measure ('1 e & a 2 e & a'), Considered in relation to a roll pattern consisting of 8 notes, this usually involves omitting either the last two notes of the roll, or in some cases, the 5th and 6th notes of the roll, or the 3rd and 4th notes of the roll. If approaching playing in 3/4 time from his angle, make sure that the 3/4 time rolls you create by dropping notes from the standard 8 note rolls don't result in the need to play two 8th notes back to back with the same finger of your picking hand.


3/4 Licks
There are many standard (common time: 4/4, or cut common time 2/2) licks on banjo, as well as on the other bluegrass instruments, that have 3/4 time equivalents. The 3/4 time versions of these licks in many cases can be derived from the common time or cut common time lick by omitting a quarter of a measure's worth of the least essential notes of the lick. 

To help illustrate this, I have included in the attachments a chart of A and E fill-in licks for fiddle and mandolin, and G and D fill-in licks for banjo and guitar (capo 2 to raise them to A and E), presented in the context of 2 measures worth of 3/4 time backup playing. 

The two A measures (written as G measures, capo 2, for banjo and guitar) fit the last two measures (that is, measures 15 and 16) of the progression for All The Good Times when played in the key of A. The two E measures (written as D measures, capo 2, for banjo and guitar) fit the last two measures of the second line (that is, measures 7 and 8) of the progression for All The Good Times when played in the key of A. To see the relation between these fill-ins and their cut common (2/2) time counterparts, refer back to the attachments in the recent song of the week write-ups for Nine Pound Hammer and Way Down Town:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/nine-pound-hammer 

https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/way-down-town


Ending the Song
In the attachments I have included a chart of 'Waltz Time Endings in the Key of A' which shows simple, but effective, ways on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo to end 'All The Good Times Are Past And Gone', and almost any other song in 3/4 time when played in the key of A. These endings are played for the last 2 measures of the final chorus. They are not 'tack-on' endings to be played after the last 2 measures of the final chorus. The first beat of the first measure shown for each of the endings coincides with the last sung syllable in the song. Each of the endings shown are easily transposable to each of the other 7 major keys that songs are played in at the jam.


Melody
The melody for All The Good Times Are Past And Gone consists of the same five notes that make up the melodies of Down The Road and the B-Part of Cripple Creek. In ascending order of pitch, these five notes are:

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


Fiddle & Mandolin Breaks: Easy Double Stops
When played in the key of A, the melody of All The Good Times Are Past And Gone can easily be harmonized in the context of a melody-based fiddle or mandolin break, by playing the next highest open string together with the string that the melody is being played on. On the A chord measures, play the open E string along with the A, B, and C# melody notes that are played on the A string. and play the open A string along with the E melody note that is played on the D string. On the E chord measures, play the open E string along with the A, B, and C# melody notes that are played on the A string. On the D chord measures, play the open A string while playing the F# and A melody notes on the D string. All of this works well because the A and E notes (2nd and 1st open strings) are notes that are part of the A chord, the A note is also part of the D chord, and the E note is also part of the E chord.


Pickup Notes
The first melody note of the first complete measure of All The Good Times Are Past And Gone is the third note of the major scale, just as is the case also with several previous recent songs of the week, including My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, Beautiful Brown Eyes, and I'll Fly Away. Therefore, the same set of pickup notes that work well to lead into an intro break for those songs will work just as well for All The Good Times Are Past And Gone. Refer back to the section on pickup notes in the song of the week write-up for My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains and for I'll Fly Away:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/my-homes-across-the-blue-ridge-mountains  

https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/ill-fly-away  


Lyrics
I sing the three verses that are on the Flatt & Scruggs recording, and occasionally add Jimmy Martin's second verse to this for a fourth verse.
For the chorus, I sing the set of lyrics that are on the Flatt & Scruggs recording. Notice that there is a difference between the lyrics for the 1st and 3rd lines of the chorus. The first line is the same as the title of the song ('All the good times are past and gone'), but the third line is: 'All the good times have passed and gone.'


Harmony
Since the starting note for the melody of the chorus is the third of the 1 chord (a C# note when in the key of A), the starting note for the tenor harmony is the fifth of the 1 chord (an E note when in the key of A), and the starting note for the baritone harmony is the root of the 1 chord (an A note when in the key of A). 

​
Song List
15 songs were played at the jam on Thursday: 11 from the main list, 2 from the additional songs list, and 2 that are on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Bury Me Beneath The Willow (played twice) - G & C
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - A
I'll Fly Away - G
Little Birdie - Bb
Mama Don't Allow - A
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Way Down Town - E
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - A
Angeline The Baker - D
You Are My Sunshine - A
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane - G
Lonesome Feeling - G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLSInreqjw4

 Lonesome Feeling
The chord progression for Lonesome Feeling is:
1   1   1   1
1   1   4   4
2m2m1   1
2m2m1   1
In the key of G: 2m = Am. Am is the relative minor of C.

Happy Pickin',
Jason
​

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Cripple Creek' in the key of A.


Recordings
Flatt and Scruggs, key of A (the instruments are tuned a little bit sharp):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4sqishGuYw

Butch Robins with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys: key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLZuYpXXgAs


Form & Arrangement
Cripple Creek is a two part fiddle tune (AABB form) that is traditionally played in the key of A.

Just like 'Shortnin' Bread', a previous song of the week, each part of Cripple Creek is 4 measures long.  Each part is repeated before going on to the next part.    

Although Cripple Creek has lyrics, it is usually played as an instrumental in bluegrass circles, and is often thought of as being more of a banjo tune than a fiddle tune.  

On the Flatt & Scruggs recording, Earl Scruggs (banjo) and Paul Warren (fiddle) alternate breaks with each other, with Earl playing the first and last breaks, except that there is one point in the arrangement of the tune in which Earl plays two breaks back to back (AABBAABB) without a fiddle break intervening. 

Before his first break (AABB), Earl plays the B-Part once. This single B-Part (four measures) at the beginning of the arrangement serves the same function as an 8 Potato Intro. After his last break (AABB), Earl plays a double ending (two 2-measure ending licks played back to back, for a total of four measures) to end the tune.

On the Butch Robins with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys recording, the arrangement is as follows:

Banjo:   AABB
              AABB
Fiddle:  AABB
Banjo:   AABB
              AABB
Mando: AAAABBBB
              AAAABB
Banjo:   AABB
              AABB
              Double Ending

Another way to look at the form of Bill Monroe's extended mandolin break(s) on the recording is: AABBBBAABB, with each A-Part being 8 measures long instead of only 4 measures long, since the melody line he plays on measure 3 of the A-Part (which is essentially the same as the melody for measure 1 of the A-Part), differs significantly from the melody line he plays on measure 7 of his break, and the same is true of measures 11 and 15 compared with each other, and of the corresponding measures in the A-Parts that he plays after his first four B-Parts.


Progression
The chord progression for the A-Part of Cripple Creek is:
1    4/1    1    5/1  

The progression for the B-Part is the same as the progression for both parts of Shortnin' Bread:
1     1      1     5/1   
(In the key of A: 1=A, 4=D, 5=E. In the key of G: 1=G, 4=C, 5=D.)

Notice that: a) just like in 'Down The Road', another recent song of the week, the only chord that is played for more than half a measure at a time is the 1 chord; b) the A-Part uses three chords (the 1,the 4, and the 5), whereas the B-Part uses only two chords (the 1 and the 5); and c) the only difference between the progression for the A-Part and the progression for the B-Part is whether or not a change to the 4 chord occurs in the first half of measure two of the part.

The progression for the B Part is typical for fiddle tunes in which each part is 4 measures long (instead of 8 measures long) before it is repeated.  Other fiddle tunes that use the same progression as the progression for the B Part of Cripple Creek and for both parts of Shortnin' Bread include: Cotton-Eyed Joe (both parts), Sally Goodin (both parts), Cumberland Gap (both parts), Black Mountain Rag (A and B Parts), The Eighth Of January (B Part), Sourwood Mountain (key of A, both parts in some versions; other versions use for the A-Part the same progression that is used for the A-Part of Cripple Creek), Ida Red (both parts), Lee Highway Blues (A Part), Fire On The Mountain (both parts, minus the two-measure tag that the last B-Part in the form usually ends with), Four Cent Cotton (both parts), and Hell Broke Loose In Georgia (A, B, and D parts).


8 Potato Intros and Double Endings
Like most AABB form fiddle tunes, Cripple Creek is most effectively started at a jam with an 8 potato intro, and it is customary to end it with a double ending tacked on to the tune after the final B Part has been completed. For examples of 8 potato intros and double endings in the key of A for fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and guitar, refer back to the attachments in the song of the week write up for Shortnin' Bread:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/shortnin-bread  

It is important to remember that any pickup notes that you play for your intro break for Cripple Creek (that is, notes that occur before the first full measure of the A Part) must be included within the last measure of the four measures that the 8 potato intro consists of. It does not work to play 4 full measures of 8 potato intro and then the pickup notes. For instance, if you are using two 8th notes as pickups into the A Part for your intro break for Cripple Creek, you must substitute those two 8th notes in place of the last quarter of the measure of the 8 potato intro, so that your first full measure of the A Part starts exactly four complete measures after the start of the 8 potato intro. 


Melody & Breaks
In the version of the melody given in the attachments, the notes that make up the melody for the A-Part of Cripple Creek are, in ascending order of pitch:
                     5    6    1     2    3    4     5    6    1
Key of A:     E   F#  A    B   C#  D   E    F#  A
Key of G:     D   E    G    A   B     C   D    E    G

The melody for the B-Part uses only the first five (the five lowest) of these nine notes.

Notice that the highest melody note in Cripple Creek (which the A-Part starts with) is nearly an octave and a half higher than the lowest melody note. This is common for fiddle tune melodies, but uncommon for songs sung by Bluegrass singers, for which the interval between the lowest melody note and the highest melody note is rarely wider than an octave plus a whole step (e.g., Bury Me Beneath The Willow: the lowest note being an E and the highest note being an F# - a difference of an octave plus a whole step - when sung in the key of A. or, the lowest note being a D and the highest note being an E when sung in the key of G).

Observe that the melody for the last half of the B-Part of Cripple Creek is the same as the melody for the last half of the B-Part. So, there are only six, rather than eight, measures to learn and memorize.

Concerning the melody sheets attached here: Each sheet has two versions of Cripple Creek on it. The version at the top of the page is the melody as I would hum or sing it. (This is only one of many possible interpretations of the basic melody of Cripple Creek.) With the exception of the banjo tab sheet, the version at the bottom of each page is a more elaborate interpretation of the melody of Cripple Creek, and makes for more interesting breaks on fiddle, mandolin and guitar. When playing guitar or mandolin breaks for Cripple Creek at the jam, I often play something very similar to this.

But, just as often I will play a break that is somewhere about halfway between the basic version of the melody and the more elaborate version of the melody. So, if you find that the version at the bottom of the page is too difficult for you to play at the faster speeds that Cripple Creek is sometimes played at the jam, you might wish to take this approach. By doing this, you can come up with many different ways to play a break for Cripple Creek, and this also makes the tune more interesting when all your breaks on a song don't sound exactly the same as each other.

(Note: Instead of writing first and second endings for the A and B Parts of second version of Cripple Creek on each page, I wrote the last measure of each part as an incomplete measure. This measure is completed by the short pickup measure found at the beginning of whichever part one is going to play next.) 

When playing successive eighth notes on the guitar and mandolin with a flatpick, be sure to make use of alternate picking: for each pair of eighth notes, play the first note in the pair with a downstroke, and the second note in the pair with an upstroke. Dividing the measures into eight equal sections: 1e&a2e&a, the downstrokes belong on the 1's, the 2's and the &'s, and the upstrokes belong on the e's and the a's. 

This system is important to use (for the sake of speed, ease of playing, volume, timing, and feel) not only for passages consisting solely of eighth notes, but also for most passages that contain a variety of different time values within them. For instance, the first measure of the A-Part of Cripple Creek as given in the attachments consists of a quarter note followed by a pair of eighth notes, followed by a quarter note, followed by another pair of eighth notes. These six notes should be played as: down-down-up-down-down-up: the four downstrokes coincide with the 1&2& spots within the measure, and the two upstrokes coincide with the two 'a' spots within the measure. Since no pick strokes coincide with the 'e' spots within the measure, no upstroke occurs between the first two downstrokes or between the third and fourth downstrokes.

For those who find it helpful to listen to a sung version of a tune to get a better sense of the melody, here is a sung version of Cripple Creek that I remember from my early childhood:

Buffy Sainte-Marie - key of Ab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXkM11kp_tg

Since there are no guitar breaks in any of the recordings provided above, here is a guitar teaching video that starts off with a couple of good guitar breaks for Cripple Creek (played in G): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDc7308cURA&list=RDkDc7308cURA

The arrangement is:
8 Potato Intro
Low Register Break (AABB)
High Register Break (AABB)
Double Ending

The second break corresponds with the register in which the guitar tab melody and break sheet provided in the attachments is written.


Banjo: Melody & Breaks
On the banjo tab sheet, the version of Cripple Creek at the bottom of the page is not a more elaborate version of the melody, but is rather a Scruggs-style break that is based upon the basic version of the melody. 

Bluegrass fiddle, mandolin, and guitar players, when surrounding a melody with additional notes, will tend to choose notes that closely neighbor the melody notes on the scale. This tends to make many of the extra notes sound like additional melody notes.  Bluegrass banjo players have less of a tendency to take this type of approach when adding extra notes. Bluegrass banjo players from the Scruggs-style tradition do very little of this, but instead usually use in their breaks not much more than only the most essential melody notes of a tune, and then surround these notes with 'chord' notes (notes that belong to the chord being played at the time in the song), and/or 'drone' notes (usually notes that belong to the 1 chord - e.g., G chord when playing in the key of G, regardless of what chord is called for at the time in the song). These notes are chosen in accord with certain set picking patterns (called 'rolls'), and with little regard to the width of the interval between any two successive eighth notes. The overall effect that this has is to make the notes added around the melody not sound at all like additional melody notes. Their function is comparable in some ways to the function of the strums that occur between melody notes in Carter-style guitar breaks, and in other ways to the function of bagpipe drones.

For banjo players who have not learned yet to do pull-offs or push-offs, or who find these difficult to execute clearly when playing at a jam, I recommend substituting a 2-4 slide on the 3rd string in place of the 2-0 push-off/pull-off written for measure 1 of the B-Part, and substituting the open 3rd string, played as an eighth note, in place of the 2-0 push-off/pull-off written for measure 3 of both parts. 

Even for banjo players who are really familiar with playing Cripple Creek, I recommend picking through the basic melody for the tune if you have never done that before. For, the clearer one's idea is of the melody, all the more natural it becomes to give good clear accents to the melody notes in one's break. However, since the melody as written here has several eighth notes back to back played on the same string, unless you already play single-string style (in which the thumb plays the first note in a pair of 8th notes while the index finger plays the second note in the pair, regardless of which strings the notes occur on), I recommend picking through the melody with a flatpick (guitar pick) just as a guitar or mandolin player would.


Song List
16 songs were played at the jam on Thursday: 10 from the main list, 5 from the additional songs list, and 1 that is on neither list:

Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Little Birdie - Bb
Mama Don't Allow - A
Nine Pound Hammer - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town - E
Long Journey Home - B
O Susanna - G
Old Joe Clark - A
Worried Man Blues - G
Your Love Is Like A Flower - A
Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone - A

'Your Love Is Like A Flower' and 'Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone' use the same chord progression as 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow' (Prog. V7 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.)
Your Love Is Like A Flower - Flatt & Scruggs - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40s6npj9LJw  

Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone - Tony Rice - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfdiZKhMnNI  

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Way Down Town' in the key of E.


Recordings
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Doc Watson - key of D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4boKwvWNZc

Tony Rice - key of D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u326dPx_5U

Doc and Merle Watson - key of E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACAFvj42xY4


Progression
The chord progression for Way Down Town is:

4411
5511
4411
5511
This is Progression W10 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.

Notice that: 1) the progression starts with the 4 chord rather than the 1 chord; 2) the two halves of the progression are identical; 3) the chord changes occur consistently once every two measures; and 4) each line of the progression ends with 2 measures of the 1 chord.

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

The notes that make up the E chord are: EG#B
The notes that make up the A chord are: AC#E
The notes that make up the B chord are: BD#F#

Together, these 7 notes make up the E major scale: (four sharps:) EF#G#ABC#D#.

Notice that on the recordings, there is not even one single instance in which one or more extra measures of the 1 chord are added on to the progression at the end of a break before the next verse or chorus starts. This is typical for songs in which the progression for the verses starts with the 4 chord instead of the 1 chord. 

If one were to allow extra measures of the 1 chord to go by at the end of a break before starting the next verse or chorus, the people playing the song with you would not have enough warning as to when to change from the 1 chord (that the progression ends with) to the 4 chord (that the progression begins with) to smoothly transition from the 1 to the 4, unless you were to consistently allow the same number of extra measures of the 1 to elapse, and inform the people playing with you in advance of that, but that is a rather awkward thing to do at a jam.

Since it doesn't work well to allow a random number of extra measures to go by at the end a break before the next vocal part starts, it is important when leading the song to start singing at the right time, even if one has momentarily forgotten the lyrics: hum, mumble (loudly), or make words up on the fly, until one can remember the lyrics for the part of the verse or chorus that is being played. Failure to start singing at the right time may confuse enough of the people playing with you to the point where the song falls apart entirely.

Other songs that use the same progression as Way Down Town include: Gold Watch And Chain, This Land Is Your Land (both of which are on the additional songs list), Back Up And Push, Rubber Dolly, the B-Parts of Home Sweet Home, Randy Lynn Rag, and Red Wing, and the choruses of  Cash On The Barrelhead, How Mountain Girls Can Love, Montana Cowboy, Shall We Gather At The River, Snow Deer, and Think Of What You've Done.

Progression Side Note
There is one song on the additional songs list (Little Darling Pal Of Mine) that uses the closely related V10 progression (same as W10 except that the last line is 1511 instead of 5511) for which people at jams often mistakenly play the W10 progression (the progression for Way Down Town, This Land Is Your Land, etc.). It seems to me that the two main factors that contribute to this are: 1) The W10 progression is by far more common than the V10 progression, and 2) The melody of This Land Is Your Land is very similar to the melody for Little Darling Pal Of Mine, and of the two songs, This Land Is Your Land is the more well known.

As the new beginner jam progresses beyond its initial phase, and more and more of the regulars expand their bluegrass music listening repertoire, and otherwise increase their familiarity with the bluegrass genre, This Land Is Your Land will be removed from the additional songs list, but the similar-sounding song Little Darling Pal Of Mine will remain on the list (and eventually will likely be transferred to the main list), since it has a closer association with the bluegrass genre than what This Land Is Your Land has.


Closely Related Keys 
This section is especially relevant for people who play instruments on which a capo is not ordinarily used.

The key of E is closely related to the key of A. For they share 6 of the 7 notes in common that make up their major scales. (The A Major Scale has a D instead of a D#.) The A Major Scale has 3 sharps instead of 4: ABC#DEF#G#. For their 1,4, and 5 chords, the keys of E and A have two chords in common, the E chord and the A chord. In the key of A, 1=A, 4=D, and 5=E. In the key of E: 1=E, 4=A, and 5=B.

The key of E (4 sharps) is also closely related to the key of B (5 sharps), and therefore can be used as 'gateway' for learning to play in the key of B, just as the key of A can serve as a gateway to the key of E. A# is the note that the B Major Scale has that the E Major Scale does not have, and of its 1, 4, and 5 chords, F# is the chord that the key of B has that the key of E does not have.
 

Melody
The melody of Way Down Town consists of the same six notes that make up the melodies for Beautiful Brown Eyes, New River Train, You Are My Sunshine, the A-Part of Buffalo Gals, and the B-Part (or chorus) of O Susanna. When listed in ascending order of pitch, these correspond to the first six notes of the Major Scale: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,  or: do-re-mi-fa-sol-la.

When these songs are played in the key of E, the notes that make up their melodies are the very same notes that make up the melodies of All The Good Times Are Past And Gone, Little Birdie, Gold Watch And Chain, Goodnight Irene, This Little Light Of Mine, Worried Man Blues, Your Love Is Like A Flower, and Leaning On The Everlasting Arms when this second group of songs are played in the closely-related key of A. Although the number names of the notes are different for the two keys, the letter names remain the same.

                 E    F#  G# A    B   C#
Key of E:  1     2    3    4    5    6
                 do  re   mi  fa   sol  la
Key of A:  5     6    7    1    2    3
                sol   la   ti    do  re   mi

The key of G is related to the key of D in the same way that the key of A is related to the key of E. So, for banjo and guitar players who habitually capo to the 2nd fret for playing in the keys of E and A, and therefore tend to think in the key of D while playing in the key of E, and tend to think in the key of G while playing in the key of A, the information in this section is just as applicable as it is for players of non-capoed instruments. 

Just go one letter backwards on the musical alphabet and one whole step lower to convert the letter names given above for the notes, and you will have the letter names for the notes for the keys of D and G instead of for the keys of E and A. The E's become D's, the F#'s become E's, the G#'s become F#'s, etc.


Pickup Notes
An effective way to lead into a melody-based break for Way Down Town in the key of E is to play the same set of pickup notes that I recommended for last week's song of the week Down The Road when played in the key of A:

                 E   F#  G#   leading to A (the first melody note)
Key of E:  1    2    3                      4  
Key of A:  5    6    7                      1

When Way Down Town is played in the key of E and Down The Road is played in the key of A, they share the same starting melody note (the A note), and the same starting chord (the A chord)

Transposed to the key of D (for Way Down Town) and G (for Down The Road): the pickups become:
                 D   E   F#  leading to G (the first melody note)
Key of D:  1    2   3                     4
Key of G:  5    6   7                     1


Fiddle & Mandolin: Easy Double Stops
Notice that, in first position, the melody is carried on only the 2nd and 3rd strings. It is convenient that the 1st string on the fiddle and on the mandolin is tuned to an E note, for both the E and the A chords contain that note. Therefore, the open first string can be played along with the melody notes that occur on the 2nd string during the E and A chord measures to create double stops.


Fill-in Licks
Way Down Town has dead spaces in its melody on the 1 chord measures that occur at the ends of lines 2 and 4. These are the same spots where the dead spaces occur in  Little Birdie, I'll Fly Away, Nine Pound Hammer, Bury Me Beneath The Willow, Blue Ridge Cabin Home, Foggy Mountain Top, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, All The Good Times Are Past And Gone, and too many songs on the additional songs lists to name here. To fill up some of these dead spaces, try to make use of the simple E chord fill-in licks provided in the attachments when playing your breaks and when playing backup if you do not already have fill-in licks in your repertoire of licks that work for playing over an E chord.


Banjo: Capo 2, Spike 9
I recommend that banjo players try to play this song with the capo on the 2nd fret and with the fifth string capoed, or spiked to a 'b' note, i.e., 9th fret, playing as if in the key of D. This way the melody can be located on the 3rd and 4th strings at the very same locations as is most common for melody notes for songs played in the key of G (or with a capo, A, Bb, etc.) See the attached banjo tab melody sheet.


Guitar: Capo 2 or 4
Guitar players will probably want to capo either to the second fret to play as if in D (1=D; 4=G; 5=A) or to the fourth fret to play as if in C (1=C; 4=F; 5=G). The latter option will work better for those who wish to play a Carter-style break for Way Down Town, but the first option lends itself more easily to the use of 'blue notes' (b3 and b7 notes: in the key of D, these notes are F's and C's: called b3 and b7 respectively because they are each a half step lower than the 3rd and 7th notes of the D Major Scale, namely F# and C# notes) which can also sound good when used in appropriate spots in breaks for this song. Therefore, I have included two melody sheets in the attachments in guitar tab.


Lyrics
The set of lyrics that I sing for the chorus of Way Down Town are printed on the melody sheets in the attachments. 

The three verses I sing for the song begin as follows:

1. Late last night when Willie came home....
2. I wish I was at my sweet Sally's house....
3. Now one old shirt is about all I've got....

Harmony
In the key of E (and in number names, for the sake of transposition to other keys):
                                       Starting note      Ending note    Range of notes
                                                                                            (lowest to highest)
Tenor harmony part:       C#  (6)               G#  (3)            G# - E  (3 - 1)         

Melody (lead part):          A   (4)                E    (1)              E - C#  (1 - 6)
Baritone harmony part:   E    (1)               B     (5)            B - A    (5 - 4)

The tenor part is higher than the melody, and the baritone part is lower than the melody. 

If one lowers the tenor part an octave, so that it becomes lower than both the melody and the baritone part, the resulting harmony part is called in bluegrass circles 'the low tenor'. (Try this for Way Down Town when played in the key of E if you have a very low pitched singing voice.)   

If one raises the baritone part an octave, so that it becomes higher than both the melody and the tenor part, the resulting harmony part is called in bluegrass circles 'the high baritone'. If your vocal range is typical for a bluegrass tenor singer, but the tenor part is already being sung by someone (or, at our jam, perhaps by more than one person, but no one is singing the high baritone), try going up to the high baritone part when Way Down Town is played in the key of E. This is also a good option if you have a really high pitched voice, and you find that the tenor part is a bit too low for you to sing audibly on its lowest notes.


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

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow (played twice) - G & C
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - A
I'll Fly Away - G
Little Birdie - C
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
New River Train - F
Nine Pound Hammer - A
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town - E
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - A
O Susanna - G 
Old Joe Clark - A
This Land Is Your Land - G
In The Pines - A
 
Happy Pickin', 
Jason

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Down The Road' in the key of A.

Recordings
Flatt and Scruggs - key of B (studio recording)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBOl82qXqs

Flatt and Scruggs - key of A (live recording)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc0iFZSeY6A

The Bluegrass Album Band - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UKiNl3e97E


Form
The form of this song is unusual. Except for the last verse of the song (which has a common 8-measure form: 2 lines consisting of 4 measures each: this does not include the two-measure tack-on 'shave-and-a-haircut' ending that follows the last verse), the form for Down The Road consists of 2 lines of unequal length. The first line is the standard four measures that lines in most bluegrass songs consist of, but the second line is five-and-a-half measures long. This brings us to a total of nine-and-a-half measures. 

Add to this the bluegrass tendency to allow one or more extra measures of the 1 chord to go by at the end of a break that occurs right before a verse is sung, and you can end up with ten-and-a-half, or eleven-and-a-half measures, or more, for the length of a break that occurs before a verse.

Notice that on the first Flatt & Scruggs recording given here, the breaks are consistently ten-and-a-half measures long, while on the second recording, even more measures are added to the end of the breaks, but not always the same number of extra measures. However, and this is important to observe, on all the recordings, all the sung verses that are followed by a break are exactly the same length: nine-and-a-half measures. One way to think about this is that the number of beats that go by between the last sung syllable and the first full measure of the break that follows is always the same.

Progression
Not counting extra measures of the '1' that might occur at the end of some of the breaks, the chord progression for the breaks and verses, except for the last verse, of Down The Road is:
1     1/6m  1     5/1
1     1/6m  1     5 1     1
The 'half' measure in the form occurs in the spot where the 5 chord is played in the second line.

If one is counting the beats in the second line in cut common time (2/2), one would count it as: 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,1,2.1,2. Notice the spot where there are two 1s back to back without a 2 intervening between them. On the sheet music attached here (first attachment), I have written the 'half' measure (measure 8) with a time signature of 1/2. And then to indicate that the remaining two measures in the form return to 2/2, I have placed the time signature symbol that represents 2/2 at the beginning of the measure that follows the 1/2 time measure.)

The progression for the last verse is:
1     1/6m  1     5/1
1     1/6m  1     5/1   
after which a 2-measure ending lick is played on the banjo.  
In the key of A: 1=A; 6m=F#m; 5=E

The A (major) chord consists of the notes: AC#E
The F#m chord consists of the notes: F#AC# (it has two notes in common with the A major chord)
The E (major) chord consists of the notes: EG#B

For mandolin players especially: If you find yourself struggling too much with making the quick change from the 1 chord to the 6m chord and back, you may play the 1 in place of the 6m, since there are no notes in the 1 chord that clash severely with the 6m, due to the relationship between these two chords. 

The notes making up the 1 and 6m chords when combined together, result in a 6th chord (e.g., A6: A,C#,E,F#) when the root note is the same as that of the 1 chord, and result in a minor 7th chord (e.g., F#m7: F#,A,C#,E) when the root note is the same as that of the 6m chord. 6th and m7 chords occur frequently in music. In bluegrass they tend to occur more often as the result of an instrument or voice adding the note that turns a major chord into a 6th chord, or a minor chord into a minor 7th chord, to the chord that is being played on the other instruments, than due to all four notes of the 6th or m7 chord being played together on a single instrument.

Banjo and guitar players should capo to the 2nd fret, and then play as if in G.
In the key of G: 1=G; 6m=Em; 5=D


Parallel Majors and Minors
For every major chord, there is a minor chord that shares its same letter name. When a major and a minor chord have the same root note as each other (and hence the same letter name), the minor chord is called the 'parallel minor chord' of the major chord, and the major chord is called the 'parallel major chord' of the minor chord. 

A major chord consists of the first, third, and fifth notes of the major scale that has the same letter name as the chord. A minor chord consists of the first, third, and fifth notes of the minor scale that has the same letter name as the chord. Within the first five notes of these scales, only one note differs, the third note of the scales:

First five notes of the Major Scale: 1   2   3   4   5
                      e.g., D Major  Scale: D  E   F# G  A  (first five notes)
                             D (Major) Chord: D       F#      A
                             
First five notes of the Minor Scale: 1    2   b3  4   5

                      e.g.,  D Minor Scale: D   E   F   G   A (first five notes)
                                      Dm Chord: D        F         A

The middle note (called the 'third') in the minor chord is a half-step lower in pitch than the middle note of the major chord. These two notes clash severely with each other. Parallel major and ninor chords should not be treated as being interchangeable with each other.  


Relative Majors and Minors
There is, however, another set of pairings of major and minor chords, called relative majors and minors, that, like parallel majors and minors, share two of their notes in common with each other, but unlike parallel majors and minors, the notes they do not share in common with each other do not severely clash with each other. Relative majors and minors may sometimes be substituted for each other. 

For every major chord, there is a minor chord that contains within it the root note and the third of the major chord. Conversely, for every minor chord, there is a major chord that contains within it the third and the fifth of the minor chord. When a major chord and a minor chord are related to each other in this manner, the minor chord is called the 'relative minor chord' of the major chord, and the major chord is called the 'relative major chord' of the minor chord. 

One way to find the pairings of relative majors and minors is to take the first and sixth notes of each major scale. In each case, the relative major will have the same letter name as the first note of the scale, and the relative minor will have the same letter name as the sixth note of the scale. For, in every major key, the 6m chord is the relative minor of the 1 chord. 

Tip: Unless you make use of the order of 5ths (...BbFCGDAEBF#...), so as to be able to skip over the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th notes of the scale, to find the sixth note of a major scale, it is quicker to count backwards down the scale. From your starting note, count one letter backwards on the musical alphabet and one half-step lower (e.g., G-F#, C-B, or Bb-A)  then from there count one letter backwards on the musical alphabet and a whole step (two half-steps) lower (e.g., F#-E, B-A, or A-G). G-F#-E: Em is the relative minor of G; C-B-A: Am is the relative minor of C; Bb-A-G: Gm is the relative minor of Bb, etc. 

Major Chord       Relative Minor Chord     
1                           6m     
Ab   (Ab,C,Eb)    Fm    (F,Ab,C)
A      (A,C#,E)     F#m  (F#,A,C#)
Bb   (Bb,D,F)      Gm    (G,Bb,D)
B     (B,D#,F#)    G#m  (G#,B,D#)
C     (C,E,G)         Am    (A,C,E)
Db    (Db,F,Ab)   Bbm  (Bb,Db,F)
D      (D,F#,A)      Bm    (B,D,F#)
Eb    (Eb,G,Bb)    Cm    (C,Eb,G)
E      (E,G#,B)       C#m  (C#,E,G#)
F      (F,A,C)           Dm    (D,F,A)
Gb   (Gb,Bb,Db)  Ebm  (Eb,Gb,Bb)
G     (G,B,D)           Em    (E,G,B)

The four pairings written in bold are especially useful for guitar, banjo, and dobro players to know. In addition to these, fiddle, mandolin, and bass players will find it useful to know the relative minors of A,Bb,B,Eb, and E. The three pairings written in italics are not likely to come up at the jam, since there are certain keys that we purposely avoid playing in.


Ending
For the last verse, which is eight measures long, rather than nine-and-a-half, it works best if everyone plays their last note at the same time as the last syllable is sung (as on the standard recordings given here). Then the banjo players can add a two measure tack-on ending lick appropriate for the 1 chord of the song (doesn't have to be the same ones that are on the recordings) that everyone else remains silent on except for the on the very last note of the ending. 

This kind of ending is a single ending, for it consists of only one ending lick, as contrasted with the double endings consisting of two ending licks played back to back that are commonly used for AABB-form tunes like Boil The Cabbage Down, Shortnin' Bread, Buffalo Gals, Cripple Creek, Soldier's Joy, etc. For a single ending, you may use either the first or the second ending lick that your double endings consist of. Refer back to the attachments in the song of the week write up for Shortnin' Bread for an example of a double ending on the banjo, which can be turned into two ways of playing a single ending. 
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/shortnin-bread

In the attachments for the current song of the week write-up, I have included a simplified version of the up-the-neck single ending 'shave-and-a-haircut' licks that are played on the banjo on the recordings for Down The Road given here. This ending lick will also work well for the second half (but not for the first half) of a double ending for tunes in G (and with a capo, also for tunes in A, Bb, B, and C.)


Breaks & Backup
When you look at the sheet music attached here for Down The Road, observe that the first measure of the break begins two measures from the time that the last syllable of the verse is sung. Another way of looking at this is that there are two measures of the 1 chord that are played at the end of the verse before the break begins.  If enough of us make it a point to observe and practice this, this will go along ways towards minimizing the confusion that can easily result (due to the unusual form of the song) when Down The Road is played at a jam.

There are two things that one can do to help prevent confusion about when the break begins (i.e., when the form starts over again): 

1) Use three quarter-note pickup notes for leading into your break. For a good choice of pickup notes, see the attachment: 'Down The Road - melody in A': the notes are E, F#, G#: which are located at frets 2, 4, and 6 on the 3rd string of the mandolin, and would usually be represented in guitar, banjo, and dobro tab as 0, 2, and 4 on the 4th string for the key of G, capo 2 for the key of A.) This is the same set of pickup notes that I usually use for starting Buffalo Gals. Refer back to the section titled 'Starting the Tune' in the song of the week write-up for that tune to see the corresponding set of pickup notes for the rest of the keys that we play songs in at the jam, and for a listing of other songs which they will also work well for.
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/buffalo-gals

Dig into your three pickup notes really hard so as to draw attention to yourself, and then dig into the note that comes next (namely, the first note of the first measure of your break) even harder so that there can be no room for doubt as to where the first measure of the form begins.  These three pickup notes should be played during the last three-quarters of the last measure of the form, and they should be spaced apart from each other evenly. 

2) Play a fill-in lick in the measure that contains the last syllable of the verse, and end that fill-in lick on the first downbeat of the next measure. Bring your volume up as soon as after the last syllable is sung, and hit the last note of your fill-in lick really hard (make it 'pop', especially if you are playing a G run on the guitar: the fill-in licks for guitar that are given in the attachments represent three different versions of what is commonly called 'the G-run'). This makes it clear as to where the last measure of the form begins - which is helpful to make clear on account of the half measure that the form contains in its second line, after which some people may find the beat 'flipped around' in their head and/or in their playing.  The first of the three pickup notes into the break begin right after the last note of the fill-in lick is played. But, on banjo, and especially on guitar, it is good to play a fill-in lick at the end of the progression for every break and every verse, except for the last verse, and not just when a banjo or guitar break is going to occur next in the arrangement of the song. 

If you don't already play fill-in licks on your instrument that are suitable to use in Down The Road when played in the key of A, refer to the A-chord fill-ins for fiddle and mandolin, or the G-chord (capo 2 for A) fill-ins for guitar and banjo given in the attachments.


Melody
In ascending order of pitch, the notes that make up the melody of Down The Road are:
                   5     6     1     2     3
                  sol   la    do   re    mi
Key of G:    D    E     G    A     B
Key of A:    E    F#    A     B    C#
Key of Bb:   F    G    Bb   C     D
Key of B:    F#   G#   B    C#   D#
Key of C:    G     A     C    D     E
Key of D:     A     B     D    E     F#
Key of E:     B    C#   E     F#   G#
Key of F:     C     D     F    G     A

The starting note of the melody is the 1st note of the scale (do): the note that has the same name as the key that the song is being played in.


Melody/Progression Relationship
It is the spots where the melody dwells on the 6th note of the scale (the second lowest melody note in the song) that the changes to the 6m chord occur in the progression. 

In most of the other songs played at the jam, when the 6th note of the scale is dwelt upon in the melody (or occurs in close connection with the 1st and 2nd notes of the scale when the melody is in the lower part of its register, e.g., Nine Pound Hammer, Bury Me Beneath The Willow, or with the 4th note of the scale when the melody is in the higher part of its register, e.g., New River Train, the end of the third line of Beautiful Brown Eyes), the 4 chord is played rather than the 6m. 

The 4 chord is absent from the progression for Down The Road because in the places in the progression where it would work well to use it, the 6m chord is being used instead. 

Like the 6 and 6m chords (parallel major and minor), and like the 1 and 6m chords (relative major and minor), the 4 and 6m chords also share two of their notes in common. E.g, In the key of G: 4=C and 6m=Em. The C chord consists of the notes C, E, and G. The Em chord consists of the notes E, G, and B. But I am not aware of there being any special name for the relationship of the 4 and the 6m to each other as there is for the other two types of pairings of majors and minors that share two of their notes in common with each other. If you know a name for this relationship, please let me know. 

When the melody of Down The Road dwells on the 1st or 3rd notes of the scale, the 1 chord is played.

The spots where the melody dips down to the 5th note of the scale (the lowest melody note in Down The Road), which is then immediately followed by the 6th note of the scale, are the places where the 5 chord is played; the change back to the 1 chord occurs right after this, since the melody then immediately ascends back up to the first note of the scale. 

The notes in the half-measures of the 5 chord are also compatible with the 1 chord, but the converse of this is not true; so if one cannot find the right places to play the 5 chord in the progression while the song is being played, it is better to stay on the 1 chord, rather than to end up playing the 5 chord at the wrong time.


Lyrics
On the recordings, there are 5 verses for Down The Road, and no chorus. On the first recording, the first and last verses are repeated after the fifth verse to lengthen the song to 7 verses, with a banjo break occurring before each verse.
On the third recording, the first verse is repeated after the fifth verse and break to lengthen the song to 6 verses. 

Notice that there is no harmony sung on the three recordings of Down The Road given in the recordings section. This is typical in bluegrass arrangements of songs that do not include a chorus in the arrangement.

For the fourth verse (used in some versions as the fifth verse), it is common for the singer to insert either his last name or the last name of one of the people is playing the song with:

Lester Flatt (Flatt & Scruggs):
"Now old man Flatt he owned the farm...."

Tony Rice (Bluegrass Album Band: Bobby Hicks on fiddle):
"Now old man Hicks he owns the farm...."

David Parmley (Parmley & McCoury - see below)
"Old man Parmley owned the farm...."

But, another option is:
"Her old man he owns the farm....", which is how I usually sing this verse.

Some versions of Down The Road have a short five-and-a-half measure chorus that follows each verse. Harmony is typically sung on the chorus, but, just like in the arrangements of the song that do not use a chorus, harmony is not sung on the verses.

Here is one example:
Parmley & McCoury - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtyoeRQKMC0

The progression for the chorus is identical with the progression for the second line of the verses and breaks:
1     1/6m  1     5 1     1  

But the melody for the chorus differs from the melody for the second line of the verses. The most notable spot is in the second half of the first measure of the chorus where on the word 'road', the melody note is the 5th note of the scale above the 3rd note of the scale. This is a higher note than any note that occurs in the melody for the verses.

When Down The Road is played with a chorus, the last verse is not shortened to 8 measures. Instead, the last chorus is shortened to 4 measures.

When played as the song of the week, or when played during the first half of the evening at the jam, the chorus will not be used in the arrangement. But during the second half of the evening at the jam, if the person who calls the song wishes to include the chorus when leading the song, or in asking me to lead the song requests that the chorus be included, Down The Road will be played with the chorus included. 


Song List
14 songs were played at the jam on Thursday: 13 from the main list, and 1 from the additional songs list:
Boil The Cabbage Down (played twice) - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - A
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Little Birdie - C
Mama Don't Allow - G
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
New River Train - F
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town - E
Angeline The Baker - D

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day,
Jason