Way Down Town

Hi everyone,
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

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of E (starts at 3:31)
Jason Homey and the Snake River Boys, IBA Open Mic, 6_25_19 - YouTube

​
Jam Videos
Here are four youtube jam videos I have made for Way Down Town. In the one listed second, I am on guitar, and play the song in the key of E.
Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com)


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#.


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 following set of pickup notes:

E   F#  G#   leading to A (the first melody note).

Transposed to the key of D, the pickups become: D   E   F#  leading to G (the first melody note).
Transposed to the key of C, the pickups become: C   D   E  leading to F (the first melody note).


Fiddle & Mandolin: Easy Double Stops
Notice that, in first position, in the key of E, the melody (see the files at the bottom of this write-up) 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 I'll Fly Away, Mountain Dew, 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 other songs on the song 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 PDF file at the bottom of this write-up 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 banjo tab melody sheet at the bottom of this write-up.
 

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 guitar tab at the bottom of this write-up.


Song List
18 songs were played at last night's jam: 11 from the main list, 5 from the additional songs list, and 2 that are on neither list:
All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - A
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - G
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - A
I'll Fly Away - G
Little Birdie - Bb
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town - E
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Angeline The Baker - D
Before I Met You - C
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane - A
Little Cabin Home On The Hill - C
Old Joe Clark - A
Faded Love - D
Wildwood Flower - G

Happy Pickin',
Jason


Sheet Music:
Way Downtown - melody in E
Download File

Way Downtown - mandolin tab
Download File

Way Downtown - banjo tab
Download File

Way Downtown - guitar tab 1
Download File

Way Downtown - guitar tab 2
Download File

E Chord Fill-in Licks
Download File