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Roving Gambler

11/10/2018

0 Comments

 
Hi,
The song of the week is 'Roving Gambler' in the key of A.

Recording
Here is my favorite version of Roving Gambler:

Peter Rowan - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe1hlelnwg8

Progression
The progression I use for Roving Gambler is:

1111
1141
11511

If it helps, you may wish to think of this progression as consisting of the first half of the progression for Long Journey Home (or Gotta Travel On) followed by the last line of the progression for Wildwood Flower (or Leaning On The Everlasting Arms. or Molly And Tenbrooks). 

Other songs that have been played at the jam in which a three-line (as opposed to the much more common four-line) progression is used include Rocky Road Blues, Shuckin' The Corn, Molly And Tenbrooks, and the short form (12 measure) version of Worried Man Blues.

The progression given here is the same as that used for the breaks on the recording (minus extra measures of the 1 that go by between the ending of a break and the beginning of the next verse), but not for the verses. On the recording, there are extra measures of the 1 chord at the ends of both lines 2 and 3 in the verses. I keep the progression the same for both the verses and the breaks (once again, not counting any extra measures of the 1 that I might allow to go by between the ending of a break and the beginning of the next verse).

Form & Arrangement
The arrangement I use for Roving Gambler when leading it at the jam is based upon the recording: seven verses, no chorus, with two verses being sung back to back between breaks, with one verse left over to end the song.  

Both the form and the arrangement I use for Roving Gambler are nearly identical with the form and arrangement used on the original Bill Monroe recording of Molly And Tenbrooks, a song that has occasionally been played at the jam, except that Molly And Tenbrooks is sung with 9 verses instead of 7, and makes use of a tack-on ending. See to what extent you can detect the similarities in form and arrangement between the two songs. 

Molly And Tenbrooks - Bill Monroe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pK3kfq4y6Q

A third song with a similar form and arrangement to Roving Gambler and Molly And Tenbrooks is the version of McKinley's Gone (a.k.a., White House Blues) found on Flatt & Scruggs' Folk Songs Of Our Land album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxD1g2I4FN8

The practical advantage of learning to group songs together based upon similarity of form and/or arrangement is the same as the practical advantage of associating songs with each other that have similar progressions or the same progression as each other. It reduces the number of distinct pieces of information to keep track of when learning new songs, or when trying to follow along on new songs that come up at a jam, and this enables one to more quickly and easily expand one's repertoire.

Melody
The melody of Roving Gambler consists of the notes of the Major Pentatonic scale which are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of the Major Scale (A, B, C#, E, and F# in the key of A;  G, A, B, D, and E in the key of G, etc.) The first two lines (first 8 measures) of the melody of Roving Gambler are similar to the first two lines of the melody of Long Journey Home, except that the melody goes higher in Roving Gambler in measures 3 and 4 of line 1 than what it does in measures 3 and 4 of line 1 of Long Journey Home. The second lines of the two songs are similar enough that I often use exactly the same notes/licks in a melody-based intro break for the second line of Roving Gambler as the ones that I typically use for the second line of an intro break for Long Journey Home. Keep in mind that good melody-based breaks often do not follow the melody slavishly, but take some liberties with it.

Harmony
Although Roving Gambler does not have a chorus, it does have repetitions in its lyrics. In these spots, namely, the third (last) line of each verse, it is common for harmony to be sung. The third line of any given verse repeats twice the lyrics that make up the second half of the second line of that verse. (Note: Molly And Tenbrooks has a similar type of repetition at the ends of its verses, but in that song it is not customary for harmony to be sung on the last line of the verses.)

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Roving Gambler - banjo tab
Download File

Roving Gambler - guitar tab
Download File
​
Roving Gambler - mandolin tab
Download File

Roving Gambler - melody in A
Download File
0 Comments

Roving Gambler

1/27/2018

0 Comments

 
Hi,
The song of the week is 'Roving Gambler' in the key of A.

Recording
Here is my favorite version of Roving Gambler:

Peter Rowan - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe1hlelnwg8

Progression
The progression I use for Roving Gambler is:
1111
1141
11511

If it helps, you may wish to think of this progression as consisting of the first half of the progression for Long Journey Home (or Gotta Travel On) followed by the last line of the progression for Wildwood Flower (or Leaning On The Everlasting Arms. or Molly And Tenbrooks). 

Other songs that have been played at the jam in which a three-line (as opposed to the much more common four-line) progression is used include Rocky Road Blues, Shuckin' The Corn, Molly And Tenbrooks, and the short form (12 measure) version of Worried Man Blues.

The progression given here is the same as that used for the breaks on the recording (minus extra measures of the 1 that go by between the ending of a break and the beginning of the next verse), but not for the verses. On the recording, there are extra measures of the 1 chord at the ends of both lines 2 and 3 in the verses. I keep the progression the same for both the verses and the breaks (once again, not counting any extra measures of the 1 that I might allow to go by between the ending of a break and the beginning of the next verse).

Form & Arrangement
The arrangement I use for Roving Gambler when leading it at the jam is based upon the recording: seven verses, no chorus, with two verses being sung back to back between breaks, with one verse left over to end the song.  

Both the form and the arrangement I use for Roving Gambler are nearly identical with the form and arrangement used on the original Bill Monroe recording of Molly And Tenbrooks, a song that has occasionally been played at the jam, except that Molly And Tenbrooks is sung with 9 verses instead of 7, and makes use of a tack-on ending. See to what extent you can detect the similarities in form and arrangement between the two songs. 

Molly And Tenbrooks - Bill Monroe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pK3kfq4y6Q

A third song with a similar form and arrangement to Roving Gambler and Molly And Tenbrooks is the version of McKinley's Gone (a.k.a., White House Blues) found on Flatt & Scruggs' Folk Songs Of Our Land album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxD1g2I4FN8

The practical advantage of learning to group songs together based upon similarity of form and/or arrangement is the same as the practical advantage of associating songs with each other that have similar progressions or the same progression as each other. It reduces the number of distinct pieces of information to keep track of when learning new songs, or when trying to follow along on new songs that come up at a jam, and this enables one to more quickly and easily expand one's repertoire.

Melody
The melody of Roving Gambler consists of the notes of the Major Pentatonic scale which are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of the Major Scale (A, B, C#, E, and F# in the key of A;  G, A, B, D, and E in the key of G, etc.) The first two lines (first 8 measures) of the melody of Roving Gambler are similar to the first two lines of the melody of Long Journey Home, except that the melody goes higher in Roving Gambler in measures 3 and 4 of line 1 than what it does in measures 3 and 4 of line 1 of Long Journey Home. The second lines of the two songs are 
similar enough that I often use exactly the same notes/licks in a melody-based intro break for the second line of Roving Gambler as the ones that I typically use for the second line of an intro break for Long Journey Home. Keep in mind that good melody-based breaks often do not follow the melody slavishly, but take some liberties with it.

Harmony
Although Roving Gambler does not have a chorus, it does have repetitions in its lyrics. In these spots, namely, the third (last) line of each verse, it is common for harmony to be sung. The third line of any given verse repeats twice the lyrics that make up the second half of the second line of that verse. (Note: Molly And Tenbrooks has a similar type of repetition at the ends of its verses, but in that song it is not customary for harmony to be sung on the last line of the verses.)

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Roving Gambler - banjo tab
File Size: 353 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Roving Gambler - guitar tab
File Size: 365 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Roving Gambler - mandolin tab
File Size: 315 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Roving Gambler - melody in A
File Size: 350 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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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