Idaho Bluegrass Association
  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond Interview
      • Honi Deaton Interview
      • Dennis Stokes Interview
      • Gary Eller Interview
    • Articles >
      • Glen Garrett - The Golden Years
      • Sammie Bush - came to Weiser
      • Mark O’Connor - My History at Weiser
      • Barbara Lamb - Fiddler Extraordinaire
      • Charlie Simmons -The Idaho Bluegrass Association from 1975 to 1985
      • Idaho's 19th century Fiddlers
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions ​ 1950s & 1960s
      • ​Byron Berline
      • Dave Frisbee
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions from 1970s and 80s
      • Megan Lynch Chowning
      • Fiddle Champion ​in 1990s and 2000s
      • Tashina and Tristan Clarridge
    • Snap Shot - Videos from IBA members
  • Events
    • Calendar (BCBB)
    • Open Mic
    • SpringGrass 2023 >
      • Springfest 2022
    • Winterfest
    • IBA Concert Series
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Songs in 2016
  • Camps & Contests
    • Idaho Bluegrass and Banjo Camp
    • Banjo Contest
    • National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest
  • Idaho Bands
  • Teachers
  • Classified
  • Links
    • General
    • Learning
    • Specific Instruments

YouTube Jam with Jason - 63

6/26/2021

0 Comments

 
​Hi everyone,
Here are this week's jam videos. I'm on mandolin in these. I hope you'll enjoy playing along.

Beginner Jam:
Angeline The Baker - D (112 bpm)
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - A (114)
Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong - C (80)

Beginner Bluegrass Jam 6/26/2021 / Jason Homey - YouTube

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Chord Progressions:

Angeline The Baker
1114
1111
(x4)

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms 
1144
1115
1144
11511

Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong
1144
5511
(x2)

0 Comments

YouTube Jam with Jason 50

3/13/2021

0 Comments

 
Hi everyone.
Here are some more songs with me on banjo to jam along with. I hope you'll enjoy playing these with me.

Beginner Jam:
Angeline The Baker - D (106 bpm)
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - A (108)
Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong - C (76)

Beginner Bluegrass Jam 3/13/2021 / Jason Homey - YouTube

Happy Pickin',
Jason

​
Angeline The Baker
1114
1111
(x4)

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms 
1144
1115
1144
11511

Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong
1144
5511
(x2)
0 Comments

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

10/8/2019

0 Comments

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


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


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

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

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


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

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

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

1144
11155
1144
11511

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Leaning - banjo tab
Download File

Leaning - guitar tab
Download File

Leaning - mandolin tab
Download File

Leaning - melody in A
Download File
0 Comments

    Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2019 - 2021

    Weekly on Thursdays
                   6:30pm

    at Revitalize Juice Bar in the Pioneer Building (6th and Main downtown Boise)
    started Jan 2019
    ​with Jason Homey

    Picture
    Songs regularly called at Bluegrass Jams and links from Jason's "Song of the Week" emails.  (from Renee)

    ​
    All of Jason's Songs
    in alphabetical order

    ​

    Categories

    All
    0 - Song List 2020 Jan.
    2 - Song List 2019 Sept.
    3 - Song List 2019 Jan.
    4 - How The Jam Works
    5
    A Few More Seasons
    Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
    All The Good Times Are Past And Gone
    Amazing Grace
    A Memory Of You
    Angeline The Baker
    Auld Lang Syne
    Away In A Manger
    Beautiful Brown Eyes
    Blue Ridge Cabin Home
    Boil The Cabbage Down
    Buffalo Gals
    Bury Me Beneath The Willow
    Camptown Races
    Clinch Mountain Backstep
    Cluck Old Hen
    Columbus Stockade Blues
    Come Back Darling
    Cripple Creek
    Down The Road
    Foggy Mountain Top
    Forked Deer
    Gathering Flowers
    Gathering Flowers From The Hillside
    God Gave Noah The Rainbow Sign
    Golden Slippers
    Good King Wenceslas
    Goodnight Irene
    Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
    Handsome Molly
    I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore
    I Have No One To Love Me
    I'll Fly Away
    I'll Live On
    I'll Still Write
    I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand
    I'm Goin' Back To Old Kentucky
    I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open
    I'm On My Way Back To The Old Home
    I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
    I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes
    In The Pines
    Jambalaya
    Jesse James
    Jimmy Brown
    Jingle Bells
    Katy Daly
    Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
    Let Me Be Your Friend
    Liberty
    Light At The River
    Little Birdie
    Little Cabin Home On The Hill
    Little Girl Of Mine In Tennessee
    Little Joe
    Lonesome Road Blues
    Long Journey Home
    Lost And I'll Never Find The Way
    Love Me Darling Just Tonight
    Mama Don't Allow
    Molly And Tenbrooks
    Mountain Dew
    My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
    My Main Trial Is Yet To Come
    New River Train
    Nine Pound Hammer
    No Hiding Place Down Here
    Old Joe Clark
    O Susanna
    Paradise
    Poor Ellen Smith
    Rain And Snow
    Riding On That Midnight Train
    Roll On Buddy
    Rose Of Old Kentucky
    She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain
    Shepherds In The Field
    Shortnin' Bread
    Silent Night
    Soldier's Joy
    Sun's Gonna Shine In My Back Door Someday
    Sweet Chariot
    Sweetheart
    Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong
    Swing Low
    Take This Hammer
    The Crawdad Song
    The Prisoner's Song
    There's More Pretty Girls Than One
    The Walls Of Time
    This Land Is Your Land
    This Little Light Of Mine
    Tom Dooley
    Way Down Town
    We Can't Be Darlings Anymore
    When My Time Comes To Go
    When The Saints Go Marching In
    Wild Mountain Flowers For Mary
    Will The Circle Be Unbroken
    Will You Be Loving Another Man
    Worried Man Blues
    Wreck Of The Old '97
    Y'all Come
    You Are My Sunshine
    You Done Me Wrong
    Your Love Is Like A Flower

    RSS Feed

ConTACT US!


ADDRESS:
​Idaho Bluegrass Association
PO Box 6074
Boise, ID 83707

Email

idahobluegrassassociation@gmail.com
Copyright © 2021 IBA.
  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond Interview
      • Honi Deaton Interview
      • Dennis Stokes Interview
      • Gary Eller Interview
    • Articles >
      • Glen Garrett - The Golden Years
      • Sammie Bush - came to Weiser
      • Mark O’Connor - My History at Weiser
      • Barbara Lamb - Fiddler Extraordinaire
      • Charlie Simmons -The Idaho Bluegrass Association from 1975 to 1985
      • Idaho's 19th century Fiddlers
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions ​ 1950s & 1960s
      • ​Byron Berline
      • Dave Frisbee
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions from 1970s and 80s
      • Megan Lynch Chowning
      • Fiddle Champion ​in 1990s and 2000s
      • Tashina and Tristan Clarridge
    • Snap Shot - Videos from IBA members
  • Events
    • Calendar (BCBB)
    • Open Mic
    • SpringGrass 2023 >
      • Springfest 2022
    • Winterfest
    • IBA Concert Series
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Songs in 2016
  • Camps & Contests
    • Idaho Bluegrass and Banjo Camp
    • Banjo Contest
    • National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest
  • Idaho Bands
  • Teachers
  • Classified
  • Links
    • General
    • Learning
    • Specific Instruments