Shortnin' Bread

Hi everyone,
The song of the week is 'Shortnin' Bread', played as an instrumental. I intend to lead the tune twice at next week's jam: first in the key of G, and then in the key of D, but I recommend practicing it also in the keys of A and C.


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

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

Flatt & Scruggs - key of G (starts at 0:49)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FgpQyk5ibw

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

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


Jam Videos 
Here are four youtube jam videos I have made for Shortnin' Bread.
Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com)


Form & Arrangement
As played at the jams, and on the Snake River Boys and Hilary Klug recordings and the jam videos, Shortnin' Bread is a two-part fiddle tune.  Each part is 4 measures long, and is repeated before going on to the next part. This form (2 parts each repeated) is called AABB.  'A' stands for 'A-Part', i.e., first part, and 'B' stands for 'B-Part', i.e., second part. But, as you can hear on the other recordings, this is not the only way to arrange the tune.

Since each part is 4 measures long, it takes 16 measures (4x4) to get through a single complete break for Shortnin' Bread, when the tune is played consistently with an AABB form. This is half the length of a single AABB form break for 'Boil The Cabbage Down', 'Buffalo Gals', 'Liberty', 'Old Joe Clark' and 'Soldier's Joy'. For, in those tunes each part is 8, instead of only 4, measures long.


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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

I have included in the files section melody sheets in standard notation and in mandolin tab written in A (in addition to the ones written in G), so that one can easily compare the notes used to play the melody in A with the corresponding notes used to play the melody in G. For the key of A on guitar and banjo, capo the 2nd fret and play as if in G.

For the key of C, on fiddle and mandolin, lower the fingerings for the key of G down one string. For the key of D, on fiddle and mandolin, lower the fingerings for the key of A down one string.

For banjo and guitar, I have included melody sheets in the keys of C and D in addition to the key of G. Another good way to play the tune on banjo and guitar in the key of C is to capo the 5th fret and play as if in G, and another good way to play the tune on banjo and guitar in the key of D is to capo the 2nd fret and play as if in C.


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

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

In the files section at the bottom of this write-up, I have included sheets that show good ways to play on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo, 8 Potato Intros for the keys of G and A. I have also included on these sheets, simpler (unfortunately, also less effective when both are played correctly) ways to play this type of intro on each of these instruments for those who are new to playing this type of intro, and may have difficulty playing the more developed forms of the 8 Potato Intros with the right feel and with rock-solid timing. 
For 8 Potato Intros in the key of D (and for banjo and guitar, the key of C also), refer to the attachments in the song of the week write up for Soldier's Joy:
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/soldiers-joy (scroll down to the very bottom of the page)

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


Double Endings
On all but one of the recordings of Shortnin' Bread given here (and also on the four jam videos), there are an extra 4 measures played at the end of the tune after the final B-Part. These are called 'double endings', for they consist of two 2-measure length ending licks played back to back. (On the Hilary Klug recording, there are only an extra 2 measures played at the end. This is a single ending. But the last 2 measures of her final A-Part sound much like the first half of a typical double ending, and she plays these right before going into her single ending.)

In the files at the bottom of this write up, I have included examples of double-endings for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo suitable for most key of G and key of A  fiddle tunes.

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

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


Song List
20 songs were played at last night's jam: 13 from the main list, 6 from the additional songs list, and 1 that is on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Before I Met You - C
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Down The Road - G
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
Liberty - D
Long Journey Home - A
Mama Don't Allow - A
Old Joe Clark - A
Shortnin' Bread - A
Way Down Town - A
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Wreck Of The Old '97 - C
Angeline The Baker - D
Beautiful Brown Eyes - C
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane - A
I'm Waiting To Hear You Call Me Darling - D
Little Cabin Home On The Hill - A
Lonesome Feeling - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason



Shortnin' Bread - melody in G
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - melody in A
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - mandolin tab (G)
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - mandolin tab (A)
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - guitar tab
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Shortnin' Bread - guitar tab (D)
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - guitar tab (C)
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Shortnin' Bread - banjo tab
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - banjo tab (D)
Download File

Shortnin' Bread - banjo tab (C)
Download File

8 Potato Intro in G
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8 Potato Intro in A
Download File

Double Endings in G
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Double Endings in A
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