Idaho Bluegrass Association
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      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
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Thursday July 5, 2018

6/29/2018

7 Comments

 
Hi all,
we are on summer schedule and here is how it will work:
If you know you'll come, write your first name and instrument in the required name field in the blog comment below - e.g. Petra (Fiddle). There is no need to fill out anything else (unless you want to tell us, what you are going to call). 

And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp).
This way all can see, if we have enough people for a jam ... or if you are the only one....
The system will work best, if you only comment when you know you will come! (Do not post maybes or no shows).
A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Friday.
​Have fun jamming :) 
​​
7 Comments

Thursday June 28, 2018

6/22/2018

6 Comments

 
Hi all,
we are on summer schedule and here is how it will work:
If you know you'll come, write your first name and instrument in the required name field in the blog comment below - e.g. Petra (Fiddle). There is no need to fill out anything else (unless you want to tell us, what you are going to call). 

And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp).
This way all can see, if we have enough people for a jam ... or if you are the only one....
The system will work best, if you only comment when you know you will come! (Do not post maybes or no shows).
A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Friday.
​Have fun jamming :) 
​
6 Comments

Thursday June 21, 2018

6/15/2018

1 Comment

 
Hi all,
we are on summer schedule and here is how it will work:
If you know you'll come, write your first name and instrument in the required name field in the blog comment below - e.g. Petra (Fiddle). There is no need to fill out anything else (unless you want to tell us, what you are going to call). 

And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp).
This way all can see, if we have enough people for a jam ... or if you are the only one....
The system will work best, if you only comment when you know you will come! (Do not post maybes or no shows).
A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Friday.
​Have fun jamming :) 
​
1 Comment

Thursday June 14, 2018

6/12/2018

4 Comments

 
Hi all,
we are on summer schedule and here is how it will work:
If you know you'll come, write your first name and instrument in the required name field in the blog comment below - e.g. Petra (Fiddle). There is no need to fill out anything else (unless you want to tell us, what you are going to call). 

And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp).
This way all can see, if we have enough people for a jam ... or if you are the only one....
The system will work best, if you only comment when you know you will come! (Do not post maybes or no shows).
A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Friday.
​Have fun jamming :) 
4 Comments

Blue Ridge Cabin Home

6/2/2018

0 Comments

 
Hi,
The jam on this coming Thursday will be the last intermediate jam I host until after Labor Day. When it gets closer to the time that I will resume leading the jam, I will send out a new song list for the final phase of the intermediate jam (Sept. - Dec. 2018). 

The song of the week is 'Blue Ridge Cabin Home' in the key of Bb.

Blue Ridge Cabin Home was originally recorded by Flatt & Scruggs, but in many Bluegrass circles, the Bluegrass Album Band (Tony Rice - guitar, vocals; J.D. Crowe - banjo, vocals; Doyle Lawson - mandolin, vocals; Bobby Hicks - fiddle; Todd Phillips - bass) version of Blue Ridge Cabin Home, released in 1981, has replaced the Flatt & Scruggs version as the primary point of reference for the song.

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - The Bluegrass Album Band - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htxGouge9-g

For the phase that the intermediate jam is entering into, I think it is time for us to focus more on observing and copying the nuances found on high quality standard bluegrass recordings of the songs we are most familiar with playing at the jam. 

Listen to the recording a few times, listening first for the tempo, feel/groove, and overall rhythmic pulse of the song. Pay attention to where each of the instruments and the vocals are sitting in the mix (i.e., relative loudness) at various times within the song, and where they sit relative to the beat. Also notice the tone of the instruments and vocals.

Play along with the recording (without slowing it down). Crank it up good and loud, so you can clearly hear it above your playing, without having to restrain yourself from digging in to your instrument. Sing along with it also, being careful to copy the phrasing of the lyrics as closely as possible. Make sure to allow your playing to be influenced by the recording as you play along with it. Here I have in mind not so much your choices of notes, but the manner and energy with which you play your notes.

Finally, turn the recording off, and play the song by yourself, seeing if you can still channel the same overall feel in your playing that you were able to achieve when you were under the direct influence of the record in listening to it and playing along with it several times over.

Some specifics worthwhile observing on the recording:
1) The pickup measure, together with the first few notes that come after it, played by the banjo at the very beginning of the song, with attention not so much to the choice of notes being played, but rather to how the notes are being played: timing, tone, attack, degree of sustain, etc.
2) How the band as a whole sounds together with the banjo when the band first starts playing after the pickup measure.
3) The melody-based nature of the banjo intro break.
4) How the banjo and the fiddle take turns being the dominant/featured backup instrument during the vocal parts of the song, and the types of licks that they use when being featured versus when not being featured.
5) Where the instruments overall sit in the mix on the choruses, and how this differs from where they sit in the mix on the verses.
6) What the guitar does during the verses and choruses when there is a pause in the vocals
7) Which parts of the fiddle, guitar, and second banjo breaks are melody-based, and what types of licks are being played in the non-melody based parts of these breaks.
8) What the banjo does at the end of the guitar break right before the last chorus starts.
9) How the band as a whole sounds in ending the song (the last 2 measures).

Other things worthwhile taking the time to do: listen to the recording all the way through with your attention focused on the chop rhythm on the mandolin; listen to the recording all the way through with your attention focused on the bass.

Doug's Tune
Doug's Tune - The Dillards, Back Porch Bluegrass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2o9qodACL8

Here's the whole album, which has several songs on it that we play at the jam or that are similar to songs we play at the jam: Dooley, Old Home Place, Old Joseph (a.k.a., Old Joe Clark), Reuben's Train (a.k.a., Reuben), Banjo In The Hollow (closely related to Cripple Creek), Lonesome Indian (closely related to Cherokee Shuffle), and songs that would work well to introduce into the jam (Somebody Touched Me, Rainin' Here This Morning, Hickory Hollow).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYrzAcbEJE8&list=PL364AB01CC96EEB89

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - Banjo tab
Download File

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - Guitar tab
Download File

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - Mandolin tab
Download File

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - Melody in A
Download File
0 Comments

    Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018

    started as Beginner Jam in Jan 2015
    with
    ​Jason Homey

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

    Songs

    All
    Are You Missing Me
    Auld Lang Syne
    Banks Of The Ohio
    Beautiful Brown Eyes
    Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem
    Big Spike Hammer
    Bill Cheatham
    Blue Ridge Cabin Home
    Canaan's Land
    Cherokee Shuffle
    Cheyenne
    Christmas Carol Progressions
    Christmas Songs
    Clinch Mountain Backstep
    Cry Cry Darlin
    Cryin' Holy
    Devil's Dream
    Dooley
    Down In A Willow Garden
    Down The Road
    East Virginia Blues
    Fireball Mail
    Foggy Mountain Breakdown
    Gathering Flowers From The Hillside
    Gold Rush
    Gold Watch And Chain
    Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
    Head Over Heels
    Homestead On The Farm
    How Mountain Girls Can Love
    I Can't Feel At Home
    I Know You Rider
    In The Pines
    In The Sweet By And By
    I Saw The Light
    John Henry
    Keep On The Sunny Side
    Left Over Biscuits
    Little Cabin Home On The Hill
    Little Darling Pal Of Mine
    Little Maggie
    Little Willie
    Love Of The Mountains
    Love Please Come Home
    Nine Pound Hammer
    Old Home Place
    Old Joe Clark
    O Little Town Of Bethlehem
    On And On
    Over The Waterfall
    Poor Wayfaring Stranger
    Red Haired Boy
    Red Wing
    Reuben
    Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms
    Roving Gambler
    Sally Goodin
    Salty Dog Blues
    Shuckin' The Corn
    Steel Rails
    Turkey In The Straw
    We'll Meet Again Sweetheart
    Whiskey Before Breakfast
    Why Don't You Tell Me So
    Wildwood Flower
    Wreck Of The Old '97
    X-Hits And B-List Songs Of 2016
    X Music Theory
    X New Song List 2018
    X- Song List 2018
    X-Songs Of The Week Of 2017
    X- The Mercury Sessions
    X-The Original And Great Carter Family

    All of Jason's Songs
    in alphabetical order


    ​Archives

    December 2018
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    September 2018
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    June 2018
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    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
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ADDRESS:
​Idaho Bluegrass Association
PO Box 6074
Boise, ID 83707

Email

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Copyright © 2025 IBA.
  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond Interview
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee 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
    • Winterfest >
      • Past WinterFests
    • SpringFest 2025
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Beginner Jam
    • Jason's BIBJ
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2023
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2023
      • 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