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

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

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

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of B. (The song starts at the 8:27 mark in the video):
Jason Homey and the Snake River Boys, IBA Open Mic, 2/26/19 - YouTube


Jam Videos
Here are four youtube jam videos I have made for Nine Pound Hammer. In the one listed second, I am on guitar in the key of B.
Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com)


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

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


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


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

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


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

These notes are:

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


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

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

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


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


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

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


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


Song List
21 songs were played at last night's jam: 15 from the main list, 3 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
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
I'll Fly Away - A
Mama Don't Allow - A
A Memory Of You - A
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - Bb
Nine Pound Hammer - B
Soldier's Joy - D
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Down The Road - G
In The Pines - E
Liberty - D
Are You Missing Me - G
I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore - G
Wildwood Flower - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason


Sheet Music:
Nine Pound Hammer - banjo tab in B
Download File

Nine Pound Hammer - guitar tab in B
Download File

Nine Pound Hammer - mandolin tab in B
Download File

Nine Pound Hammer - melody in B
Download File

A Chord Fill-in Licks
Download File

B Chord Fill-in Licks
Download File

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

Here are three jam videos in which I have recorded Nine Pound Hammer in the key of B: one with me on banjo, one with me on mandolin, and on the bottom one (which I recommend starting with), I am on guitar.
Beginner Bluegrass Jam Songs - Idaho Bluegrass Association

But, an easier way to access the jam videos for Nine Pound Hammer is to click on
Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com)
and then scroll down on the list to the video you want, and it will take you right to the point in the video where the preamble to the song starts. (Note: If no instrument is specified beside the song title, then on that video I am playing guitar.)

Below the three jam videos (in the first link), there are two song of the week write-ups for Nine Pound Hammer. The top one is the most relevant to read through, since it deals with playing Nine Pound Hammer in the key of B, whereas the bottom one is a song of the week write-up for Nine Pound Hammer in the key of A.

But the most important part of the song of the week write-ups is the listening material: the youtube links to recordings of the song. I highly recommend listening both of the recordings:

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

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

Also, here is a band recording (from a couple years back at the Bluegrass Open Mic) in which I am playing banjo on Nine Pound Hammer

Jason Homey and the Snake River Boys, IBA Open Mic, 2/26/19 - YouTube
The song starts at the 8:27 mark in the video.

For a copy of the jam handouts, and an explanation of the handouts, here are the PDF files that can be downloaded and printed off. There are 5 attached files total. (four at the bottom of the page, and one - the Main Song List - that comes earlier than at the bottom of the page)
Idaho Bluegrass Association - Beginner Bluegrass Jam Songs

15 songs were played at last night's beginner jam: 12 from the main list, and 3 from the additional songs list:

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Buffalo Gals - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - G
Cripple Creek - A
Down The Road - A
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - Bb
I'll Fly Away - G
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Nine Pound Hammer - B
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Jambalaya - D
A Memory Of You - G
Old Joe Clark - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason