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Turkey In The Straw

3/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Hi,
The song of the week is the old-time fiddle tune 'Turkey In The Straw' in the key of G. The melody sheets attached here show the form (AABB) and chord progression for the tune.

Recording
Here is an excellent Bluegrass performance of Turkey In The Straw to listen to: some pretty advanced playing going on here at a relatively high speed (in excess of 140 beats per minute) for a fiddle tune played with so many melody notes per measure.

Berline, Crary & Hickman - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_jOlT7RAY

Melody & Breaks
The melody sheets attached here for fiddle, mandolin, and guitar do not require anything to be added to them to make intermediate level breaks for Turkey In The Straw. They contain a good balance of quarter and 8th note, and very few of the melody notes are lingered on long enough to lend themselves well to the typical Bluegrass embellishments. The version of the melody given here, played as is as a break, is suitable for an intermediate level player to work with for getting his playing on the tune up to speed. Aim to get up to 120 beats per minute. (2 clicks, not 4 clicks, of the metronome per measure). 

While you may need to eliminate a few notes here and there at first in order to be able to play your break up to speed, be careful not to take too many notes out: otherwise, your break will start to sound more like a beginner level break rather than an intermediate level break. With enough repetitions through the break, isolating and looping the passages you find most difficult, paying attention to your right and left hand technique, seeking to eliminate any and all unnecessary motions of the fingers that could slow you down, and pushing your speed with the help of a  metronome, your ability to play at faster tempos will improve.

The first banjo tab attachment contains almost all the same notes that are given on the melody sheets for the other instruments. It is a melodic-style arrangement. Unless you already play in melodic style, I recommend referring instead to the second banjo tab attachment which contains a skeletal version of the melody that can be used as a guide for creating a Scruggs style break by putting rolls and left hand techniques (slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs) around the most essential or main melody notes of the tune.

Strong Beginnings & Endings
Also in the attachments is a chart of 8 potato intros and double endings that will work well for Turkey In The Straw, since the use of these types of beginnings and endings are the most effective ways to begin and end most fiddle tunes at a bluegrass jam.

Since it is crucial to get a tune off to a good solid start, for this affects how the whole song will be played, be sure to practice not only your 8 potato intros, but also the transition from the 8 potato intro into the beginning of your break. It is important to be aware that if you choose to begin your break with the two 8th note pickups written on the melody sheets, you will need to play these in place of the last quarter of the last measure that makes up your 8 potato intro, otherwise your timing will be off and the tune will get off to a bad start.

In practicing 'tack-on' endings (e.g., the double endings given in the attachments) that are played after the last note of the tune proper, be careful to hold the last note of the tune for exactly the right length of time before starting into the ending. And the same goes for the last note of the first half of a double ending. For otherwise, your timing will be off, and there are few things more anticlimactic at a jam than people being out of time with each other in playing their final note or chord for a song. 

For Turkey In The Straw, this means, among other things, that the last melody note played needs to be held as a half note before starting into the double endings given here. The reason why this melody note is written on the melody sheets as a quarter note instead of a half note is simply because the melody sheets show how long the last note would need to be held if one were to go into the beginning of the break again after playing the last note. They do not show what needs to happen in order to transition into a tack-on ending, for no tack on endings are given on the melody sheets. 

For figuring out the timing involved in going from an 8 potato intro into the beginning of a break, and the timing involved in going from the end of a break into a tack-on ending, just remember that, with the exception of specific spots in 'crooked' tunes (e.g., Down The Road, Clinch Mountain Backstep), all measures of a song, from the first full measure onward, need to be of equal duration. 

Song List
16 songs were played at last night's jam:

Blue Ridge Cabin Home - G
Clinch Mountain Backstep - A
Cry, Cry Darlin' - B
Homestead On The Farm - E
In The Pines - E
Liberty - D
Little Willie (played twice) - B & A
Lonesome Road Blues - B
Reuben - D
Turkey In The Straw - G
Wreck Of The Old '97 - D
Lonesome Feeling - C
How Mountain Girls Can Love - C
Cherokee Shuffle - A
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Light At The River - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Turkey In The Straw - banjo tab 1
Download File

Turkey In The Straw - banjo tab 2
Download File

Turkey In The Straw - guitar tab
Download File

Turkey In The Straw - mandolin tab
Download File

Turkey In The Straw - melody in G
Download File

​


​8 Potato Intros in G
Download File

Double Endings in G
Download File
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    ​Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2019 - 2021

    Was weekly on Thursdays
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    started Jan 2017
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  • Home
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    • 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