Idaho Bluegrass Association
  • 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

Old Joe Clark

10/22/2017

0 Comments

 
Hi,
I will not be at the next intermediate jam. The song of the week cycle will be suspended for the week. I will resume leading the jam on Nov. 2nd, two weeks from now.

The song of the week will be 'Old Joe Clark' in the key of A.

Breaks & Tempos
My intentions in revisiting 'Old Joe Clark' as a song of the week for the intermediate jam are: 1) to provide an occasion for people to review the breaks they have been playing for the most frequently played fiddle tunes at the jam to see if there is anything in their breaks that could use some 'updating' in accordance with the level of playing ability that they have now attained; and 2) to continue where we left off at when Turkey In The Straw went through its song of the week cycle in terms of working on increasing the tempos at which the jam group is able to successfully play standard fiddle tunes.

In the attachments, I have given not only a version of the basic melody, but also two breaks each for fiddle, mandolin and guitar in which notes are added around the basic melody. If the breaks you play for Old Joe Clark consist of little more than just the basic melody, or if you are looking for ideas for other ways to play a break for Old Joe Clark than how you usually play your break, I hope you will find these useful. I have not included any banjo breaks in the attachments because most banjo players who learn to play Old Joe Clark learn to play it with many notes added around the basic melody from the get go.

Better yet, in listening to the breaks on the recordings given below, if there is anything in them that strikes you as something that you would like to add into your breaks for Old Joe Clark, try to learn it directly from the recording. Remember, if you go to settings in youtube, you can slow down the recording to half speed.

The breaks given in the attachments are not as busy as most of the breaks on the recordings provided below, but if you combine the two breaks together, using most of the busy spots in each, then the resulting breaks will come close to some of the breaks heard on the recordings. However, in view of the tempos at which Old Joe Clark will be played at the jam, be careful about how many notes you try to your breaks all at once.

The tempos at which I intend to kick off Old Joe Clark at as it goes through its song of the week cycle are:
Nov. 2nd: 124 beats per minute (2 clicks of the metronome per measure)
Nov. 9th: 128 beats per minute
Nov. 16th: 132 beats per minute

Recordings
Here are some youtube links of good bluegrass live performances of Old Joe Clark that I hope you will enjoy:

Carolina Bluegrass Express: The fiddle breaks are my favorite part of this performance. The basic melody of the tune can be heard very prominently in the banjo break, since the banjo player not only accents the melody notes loud and clear, but also does not put quite as many extra notes around the melody as what a lot of other banjo players tend to do with this tune. In contrast to this, the guitar break is a good example of non-melody-based playing on a fiddle tune. For the final break, the fiddle is playing a harmony part while the melody is carried on the mandolin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYu_FdJWDs0

UK98 Bluegrass Band: good mandolin, banjo and guitar breaks; notice how in the guitar breaks, the A Parts of the breaks consists of little more than the basic melody carried on the low strings of the guitar, which is then contrasted with higher pitched non-melody-based playing for the B Parts. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReZZtchOL3E&nohtml5=False

Gravel Road Bluegrass Band: I really like the breaks these kids play: the basic melody always remains discernable in these breaks, even in the spots where there is a lot more going on than just sticking to the basic melody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0zfsmYjj9E

Progression
A-Part:
1     1    1     5
1     1    1/5  1

B-Part:
1     1     1     b7
1     1     1/5  1
In the key of A: b7 = G. (In the key of G: b7 = F.)

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Old Joe Clark - melody - banjo tab
File Size: 261 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - melody - guitar tab
File Size: 285 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - melody - mandolin tab
File Size: 239 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - melody - basic in A
File Size: 277 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - guitar break 1
File Size: 323 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - guitar break 2
File Size: 479 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Old Joe Clark - mandolin break 1
File Size: 239 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - mandolin break 2
File Size: 431 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Old Joe Clark - fiddle break 1
File Size: 311 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Old Joe Clark - fiddle break 2
File Size: 435 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    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
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

ConTACT US!


ADDRESS:
​Idaho Bluegrass Association
PO Box 6074
Boise, ID 83707

Email

[email protected]
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