Old Joe Clark

Hi everyone,
The song of the week is 'Old Joe Clark' in the key of A.

Recordings
The Grascals
The Grascals Ol' Joe Clark HD - YouTube

Carolina Bluegrass Express
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYu_FdJWDs0

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys 
Old Joe Clark - Jason Homey and the Snake River Boys - YouTube


Jam Videos
Here are three youtube jam videos I have made for Old Joe Clark. I recommend starting with the one listed first. In that one, I am on guitar.
Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com)

Form & Arrangement
'Old Joe Clark' is a two-part fiddle tune traditionally played in the key of A. The form of the tune is AABB.  This means that each part of the tune (called the A-Part and the B-Part respectively) is played through twice before going on to the next part.

Like most of the fiddle tunes played at the beginner jam, Old Joe Clark does have lyrics, but, more often than not, Old Joe Clark is played as an instrumental at Bluegrass jams. It is more common at Old-Time jams for lyrics to be sung for  fiddle tunes.


Progression
The chord progression for the A-Part is:
1     1    1     5
1     1    1/5  1

The chord progression for the B-Part is:
1     1     1     b7
1     1     1/5  1

In the key of A:
1 = A
5 = E
b7 = G

With the capo in the second fret, the chord shapes become:
1 = G
5 = D
b7 = F

Note: the way that many people, myself included, play the F chord on the guitar looks very similar to the fingerings used for the C chord. So, if you are following a guitar player for the chord changes for Old Joe Clark while at the jam, it can be helpful to keep in mind that there is no '4' chord in the progression.


The b7 Chord
A quick way to determine what the b7 (flat-seven) chord is for any given key is to think of it relative to the 1 chord. The b7 will always be one letter lower and one whole-step lower than the 1. Make it a point to remember this.

For each of the 8 Major keys we play in at the jam, the b7 chord is:
Key (1)     b7
G              F
A              G
Bb            Ab
B              A
C              Bb
D              C
E               D
F               Eb

It is called the b7 (flat-seven) chord because the root note of the chord is a half-step lower than the 7th note of the Major scale (flat means a half-step lower).  E.g., The G Major Scale consists, in order, of the notes: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#. The 7th note of the G Major Scale is therefore F#. The note that is a half-step lower than F#, and uses the same letter in its name as F#, is F. Therefore, in the key of G, the b7 chord is F.


Intros & Endings
The most effective way to kick-off most AABB-form fiddle tunes, including Old Joe Clark, at a jam is not by playing a pickup measure consisting of three quarter notes to lead into your intro break, but is by droning in a straight but rhythmic manner the root note of the key that the tune is in (often together with another one of the notes that also belong to the 1 chord) for four measures to lead into your intro break.This is called in bluegrass and old-time circles the '8 Potato Intro'. 

It is also customary in Bluegrass circles to end most AABB-form fiddle tunes (as well as most fast instrumentals) with a tack-on 'double ending' that is played, not in place of the last 4 measures of the tune, but rather immediately after the last measure of the tune has been played. 'Double' refers to the ending being 4 measures long rather than only 2 measures long. Most of these types of endings consist of two 2-measure length ending licks played back to back.
 
See the files at the bottom of this write-up for some beginner-level examples of 8 Potato Intros and Double Endings for the key of A.


Melody
The melody of the tune is based upon the mixolydian scale.  This scale is in all respects like the major scale that we are all familiar with (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do), except that the seventh scale degree ('ti') is lowered by a half step. 

The result is that a mixolydian scale always has one less sharp (or one more flat) in it than the major scale that shares its same letter name.  Since the A major scale has 3 sharps (F#,C#,G#), the notes of the A major scale being, in ascending order of pitch: A B C# D E F# G# A, the A mixolydian scale (like the D major scale) has 2 sharps (F#,C#), the notes of the A mixolydian scale being: A B C# D E F# G A.  Since the G major scale has 1 sharp (F#), the G mixolydian scale (like the C major scale) has no sharps.  The G major scale is: G A B C D E F# G.  The G mixolydian scale is: G A B C D E F G.


Breaks
The four melody sheets provided here in at the beginning the files section at the bottom of this write-up give only a very basic version of the melody. Put some filler notes around the melody (e.g., rolls on banjo, shuffle rhythm on the other instruments, etc.), make use of double stops (especially on fiddle and mandolin), slide into some notes, etc., and this will suffice for a beginner-level break for Old Joe Clark. However, quite a few more notes can be added to the basic melody, many of which may be considered as melody notes instead of as mere filler notes. If you already know how to add these into your breaks for Old Joe Clark, don't hold back in doing this at the beginner jam. If you aren't already doing this, but would like to find extra melody notes to add into your breaks for Old Joe Clark, take a look at the fiddle, mandolin, and guitar break examples I have provided in the files section below the melody sheets to get some ideas.


Song List
19 songs were played at last night's jam: 12 from the main list, 4 from the additional songs list, and 3 that are on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - G
Angeline The Baker - D
Beautiful Brown Eyes - G
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - B
Little Birdie - Bb
Long Journey Home - A
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Sweetheart, You Done Me Wrong - C
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Before I Met You - C
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
In The Pines - E
Lonesome Feeling - G
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms - Bb
Wildwood Flower - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Sheet Music:
Old Joe Clark - melody - banjo tab
Download File

Old Joe Clark - melody - guitar tab
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Old Joe Clark - melody - mandolin tab
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Old Joe Clark - melody - basic in A
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Old Joe Clark - fiddle break 1
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Old Joe Clark - fiddle break 2
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Old Joe Clark - mandolin break
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Old Joe Clark - mandolin break 2
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Old Joe Clark - guitar break 1
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Old Joe Clark - guitar break 2
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8 Potato Intro in A
Download File

Double Endings in A
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