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Beautiful Brown Eyes in cut time

1/7/2018

0 Comments

 
Hi,
The song of the week is 'Beautiful Brown Eyes' in the key of G, played in cut common time (2/2) rather than in waltz time (3/4).

Recordings
Red Allen (under the title: Beautiful Blue Eyes) - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmeNJx7Ai_g

The Gibson Brothers - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBdHE1NAtMU

Time Signature
When I introduce Beautiful Brown Eyes into the Beginner Jam repertoire, I play it in 3/4 time because I think it is one of the easiest songs to use for acquainting new jammers with playing in 3/4 time. Also, people from non-bluegrass backgrounds who are already familiar with the song are more likely to have heard it played in 3/4 time rather than in cut common time.

However, while most non-bluegrass recordings of Beautiful Brown Eyes are in 3/4 time rather than in cut common time, the opposite is true of bluegrass recordings of the song. 

The first bluegrass version of Beautiful Brown Eyes, or rather Beautiful Blue Eyes (a common alteration of the title and the chorus lyrics in bluegrass versions of the song), that I ever heard was the Red Allen recording provided here. Apart from retaining 'brown' in place of 'blue', my cut time version of the song follows this recording closely.   

My reasons for recycling Beautiful Brown Eyes as a song of the week for the Intermediate Jam are: 1) to draw attention to a much more standard way of playing the song as a bluegrass song than how it has usually been played at the jam up to this point, and 2) to help demonstrate how to convert a song from one time signature to another.

Time Signature Conversion
Beautiful Brown Eyes is just one of many songs for which there are both 3/4 time and non-3/4 time recorded versions. 

I believe the best way to get started with learning how to convert a song from one time signature to another is by listening to examples of the same song played in more than one time signature. For this reason, I have included youtube links for some of the examples given below.

Another thing that could be helpful would be to compare the timing of the melody notes on the melody sheets attached here with the timing of the melody notes on the melody sheets for Beautiful Brown Eyes in 3/4 time provided for the beginner jam, for which, go to: https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/beginner-jam/category/beautiful-brown-eyes

The classic example of a bluegrass song played in both 3/4 time and in cut common time is Bill Monroe's 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky'.  Bill originally recorded the song in 3/4 time.  But after Elvis Presley recorded his non-3/4 time version of the song  (which the Stanley Brothers later copied), Bill recorded it again, playing the first half of it in 3/4 time and the second half of it in cut common time. 

Bill Monroe: 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpiqdN2lJk 

Elvis Presley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7M0CmkJ-2o

The Stanley Brothers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g67Y9Q15cNU 

Bill Monroe: 3/4 & 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXqW6MiyEZo

Besides Beautiful Brown Eyes, there are two other songs on the current intermediate jam list for which I am familiar with both 3/4 and 2/2 versions: Down In A Willow Garden, which is most often played in 3/4 time and How Mountain Girls Can Love, which is almost always played in 2/2. I have only ever heard one 3/4 time version of the latter song: I was surprised at how well the song worked in 3/4 time, but I would strongly advise against trying to introduce a 3/4 time version of How Mountain Girls Can Love into a bluegrass jam, since all the standard well-known versions of the song are in 2/2.

How Mountain Girls Can Love: 2/2 (standard)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqhZxvsxTs

How Mountain Girls Can Love: 3/4 (non-standard)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMUosnwJFpQ

Other songs (not all of these are bluegrass examples) that I have heard both 3/4 and non-3/4 versions of include:
Streamline Cannonball (Hank Snow 3/4; 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEw5nHSrAsc
Doc Watson 2/2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Ri4YBDnt4

The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band (Bill Monroe 3/4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRvdeHL3fIc
Hylo Brown 2/2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbwk6Ka5HQc

Mary Of The Wild Moor (Doc Williams 4/4; 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCkSS0v8Ffs
The Louvin Brothers 3/4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJrKke0sf0s

Before I Met You
Paradise
I'm Thinking Tonight Of The Old Folks (a.k.a. Dixie Home)
Philadelphia Lawyer
I Never Will Marry
Dark As A Dungeon 
Amazing Grace
We Three Kings 

Chord Progression
Just a quick note that Beautiful Brown Eyes as I play it, and as played on the recordings provided here, does not use the Bury Me Beneath The Willow/Wreck Of The Old '97 progression, the most common chord progression in bluegrass, but uses the closely related, but far less common, progression:
1144
1155
1144
5511

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Beautiful Brown Eyes - banjo tab
File Size: 416 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Beautiful Brown Eyes - guitar tab
File Size: 411 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Beautiful Brown Eyes - mandolin tab
File Size: 346 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Beautiful Brown Eyes - melody in G
File Size: 399 kb
File Type: pdf
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


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​Idaho Bluegrass Association
PO Box 6074
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  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond 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
    • SpringGrass 2023 >
      • Springfest 2022
    • Winterfest
    • IBA Concert Series
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • 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