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We will keep it going during the summer 2023, if you come!
Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 9pm at Ansots in the Pioneer Building (downtown Boise). 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). 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). Bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others post. A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :)
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We will keep it going during the summer 2023, if you come!
Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 9pm at Ansots in the Pioneer Building (downtown Boise). 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). 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). Bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others post. A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :) We will keep it going during the summer 2023, if you come!
Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 9pm at Ansots in the Pioneer Building (downtown Boise). 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). 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). Bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others post. A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :) We will keep it going during the summer 2023, if you come!
Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 9pm at Ansots in the Pioneer Building (downtown Boise). 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). 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). Bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others post. A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :) Hi everyone,
I'll be at the intermediate jam on Wednesday, Feb. 8th. The song of the month is 'Homestead On The Farm' (a.k.a. 'I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home') in the key of A. Bluegrass History and Recordings Homestead On The Farm was recorded by the Carter Family in 1929, but in bluegrass circles, this song tends to be more closely associated with Mac Wiseman, who first recorded the song more than 20 years after the Carters. On the points where Mac Wiseman's arrangement differs from the Carter Family's arrangement of the song (chord progression, melody, etc.), bluegrass players have tended to follow Mac. Mac Wiseman played guitar and sang harmony on Flatt and Scruggs' Mercury Sessions recording of 'We'll Meet Again Sweetheart', which was one of the very first records Flatt and Scruggs made together after they left Bill Monroe's band. And, in the role of lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Mac Wiseman was Lester Flatt's immediate successor in Bill Monroe's band. Mac, for instance, is the lead singer on the original 1949 Bill Monroe recording of the popular bluegrass standard 'Can't You Hear Me Calling'. Here are two of Mac's recordings, and one live performance, of Homestead On The Farm: key of Bb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6uxNzkH1Vc key of A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBzQXXDC6w4 key of A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82_0ui4taWI Progression, Form, and Arrangement The chord progression I use for Homestead On The Farm is the same as the one that Mac Wiseman usually used: Verse: 1411 1144 4411 2255 Chorus: 1411 1144 4411 2511 (In the key of A: 2 = B. The '2' chord is a whole-step higher than the 1 chord, so in the key of Bb: 2 = C; in the key of G: 2 = A, etc.) Notice that the verse ends on the 5 chord, instead of the 1 chord. This requires the verse progression to be followed by the chorus progression in order for the song to sound resolved. Since the verse ends with one being left hanging on the 5, the chorus may easily come across as though it were simply the second half of a really long verse. For this reason, the parts of the song (breaks, verses, choruses) are usually arranged in such a way that the verse progression is never played twice back to back without the chorus progression intervening. A typical jam arrangement of the song is: Intro break - played over the chorus progression, (so that the intro break sounds resolved) Verse 1 Chorus Break - played over the verse progression Break - played over the chorus progression (by a different instrument than the one that played the immediately preceding break) Verse 2 Chorus Break - played over the verse progression Chorus If more breaks are needed than this, another break over the verse progression followed by another break over the chorus progression may be inserted right before Verse 2, and/or another break over the chorus progression followed by another break over the verse progression may be inserted right before the final chorus. 2 Chord Review The root note of the 2 chord is one whole step higher than the root note of the 1 chord, and is named using the letter of the musical alphabet that immediately follows the letter that is used to name the 1 chord. Therefore: In the key of A, 2 = B In the key of Bb, 2 = C In the key of B, 2 = C# In the key of C, 2 = D In the key of Db, 2 = Eb In the key of D, 2 = E In the key of Eb, 2 = F In the key of E, 2 = F# In the key of F, 2 = G In the key of Gb, 2 = Ab In the key of G, 2 = A In the key of Ab, 2 = Bb In chord progressions, the 2 chord is almost always followed by the 5 chord. More on the '2' Chord Just as one may substitute a dominant 7th chord (usually called just simply a 7th chord) in place of a major chord when a 5 chord is called for (e.g., D7 in place of D when playing in the key of G; G7 in place of G when playing in the key of C), so the same is also true for '2' chords (e.g., B7 in place of B when playing in the key of A; D7 in place of D when playing in the key of C; E7 in place of E when playing in the key of D). Notice on the Mac Wiseman live performance included here, Mac is playing a B7 instead of a B: and this is common practice for bluegrass rhythm guitar when a B chord shows up when playing in any key without a capo in which the B chord functions as the 5 chord (key of E), the 6 chord (key of D), the 3 chord (key of G), or, in this case, as the 2 chord (key of A). However, B7 in place of B would not work well if the B chord were functioning as the 1 chord (key of B), except when used as a transitional chord to lead from the 1 to the 4 (in the key of B, one might for instance play the first half of the I'll Fly Away progression as: BBBB7EEBB), and would not always work well for the 4 chord either (key of F#), and would almost never work for the b7 chord (key of C#). Most bluegrass rhythm guitar players need not concern themselves with this since most of them would never consider playing in any of these keys without a capo, and the two latter keys are not among the 8 Major keys that bluegrass songs are commonly played in at jams. But, it is good for all to be aware - regardless of which instruments they play - that there are only certain chords for which it is safe to habitually substitute dominant 7ths in place of majors. When playing in the key of G in standard G tuning, banjo players may often automatically play a dominant 7th in place of a major for the 2 chord (in the key of G, an A7 chord in place of an A chord) without being consciously aware that they are doing so, for the 5th string - the short string - on the banjo is tuned - when in G tuning and when not capoed - to a G note (banjo players rarely ever fret this string), and this is the very note that when added to an A chord makes it into an A7 chord. (This same A7 chord will also often show up in place of an A for the 6 chord when banjo players are playing in C without a capo.) To make any major chord a dominant 7th chord, all that one does is add to the chord the note that is a whole step lower than the note that has the same letter name as the chord: this is the b7 note/scale degree on the Nashville Number System Chart handout. I think it sounds best if only some of the players at any given time, rather than all at the same time, in a band, or at a jam, use the dominant 7th in place of the major when playing over 2, 3, and 6 chords. On 5 chords, I like to hear the dominant 7th used even more sparingly. Happy Pickin', Jason Sheet music: Homestead On The Farm - Melody in A Download File Homestead On The Farm - Banjo tab Download File Homestead On The Farm - Guitar tab Download File Homestead On The Farm - Mandolin tab Download File Hi everyone,
I'll be at the intermediate jam on Wednesday, Jan. 11th. The song of the month is 'Are You Missing Me' in the key of G. Recording Jim & Jesse - key of G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Phh1fvTFb8 Jam Videos Here are three youtube jam videos I have made for Are You Missing Me. Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) Progression The progression for the verses and breaks is: 1411 5511 1411 5511 The progression for the chorus is the same as that for My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, and the verses of How Mountain Girls Can Love and Columbus Stockade Blues: 1111 5511 1111 5511 Notice that the verse and chorus progressions differ from each other only by two measures. For helping to get the song off to a strong start at the jam, the main thing to remember about the verse progression is that there is a change to the 4 chord in the second measure of lines 1 and 3. Melody & Harmony The melody for the chorus has little in common with the melody for the verse, and is not nearly as straightforward as the melody for the verse. Each line of the chorus starts with a different melody note (disregarding the nonessential grace notes that the first and third line begin with). The melody for lines 1 and 3, which one might expect to be similar, are significantly different from each other, and line 4 begins with a uncommon starting note for a line, the 7th note of the major scale (F# note when in the key of G). On the recording, the harmony part is prominent in the mix, and in certain spots, most notably the beginnings of lines 2 and 4, the harmony notes form wide intervals with the melody notes (a major 6th for the beginning of line 2 on the word 'with': the notes are separated from each other by 9 half steps: A is the melody note, and the F# above it is the harmony note; a minor 6th for the beginning of line 4 on the word 'are': the notes are separated from each other by 8 half steps: F# is the melody note, and the D above it is the harmony note). For all these reasons and more, it is very easy to misidentify many of the melody notes for the chorus. So, in addition to the melody sheets for the verse which are intended to give people a good starting point for coming up with melody-based breaks on their instruments, I have also included in the attachments a chorus melody and harmony sheet for the benefit of singers which is based upon the first chorus on the recording. The lower of the two parts shown on the sheet is the melody, and the higher of the two parts is the harmony. Happy Pickin', Jason Are You Missing Me - banjo tab (verse) Download File Are You Missing Me - guitar tab (verse) Download File Are You Missing Me - mandolin tab (verse) Download File Are You Missing Me - verse in G Download File Are You Missing Me - chorus & harmony Download File Hi everyone, I'll be at the intermediate jam this coming Wednesday (Dec. 14) to lead it The song of the month is 'O Little Town Of Bethlehem', played as an instrumental in cut common time (2/2) in the key of G. Recordings Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of G Jason Homey and the Snake River Boys, IBA Open Mic, 12_16_19 - YouTube Mandolin - key of G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAy-O9P7DCw Banjo - key of G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDdwlj42qF4 Jam Video Here is a youtube jam video I made for O Little Town Of Bethlehem. Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) Progression The first half and the last quarter of the chord progression I use for O Little Town Of Bethlehem is the same as the progression used for playing Nine Pound Hammer. 1 1 4 4 1 5 1 1 1 1 4 4 1 5 1 1 6m6m3 3 6m6m3 3 1 1 4 4 1 5 1 1 In the key of G, 6m = Em, and 3 = B. On guitar, it is common to substitute a B7 chord in place of the B chord. This works because the B chord functions here as the 5 of the 6m, just as it does in the B-Part of Blackberry Blossom: 6m 6m 6m 3 6m 6m 4/1 5/1 Em Em Em B(7) Em Em C/G D/G Melody A distinctive part of the melody of O Little Town Of Bethlehem is found in the first two measures of lines 1 and 7, where the melody starts on the 3rd of the 1 chord (a B note in the key of G) then dips down a half step to (an A# note in the key of G), and then returns to the 3rd. Notice that in the second of the three mandolin breaks on the recording (an improvised break that is only loosely informed by the melody), I preserve this part of the melody intact, while freely toying with or deviating from the melody in most other spots. The similarities and differences among lines 1, 3, and 7 of the melody are such that in order to avoid confusing them with each other, you may find it helpful to think of lines 3 and 7 in terms of where the high E note occurs in place of a lower melody note found in line 1. Happy Pickin', Jason O Little Town Of Bethlehem - banjo tab Download File O Little Town Of Bethlehem - guitar tab Download File O Little Town Of Bethlehem - mandolin tab Download File O Little Town Of Bethlehem - melody in G Download File Hi everyone,
The song of the month is 'Blue Ridge Cabin Home' in the key of Bb. I'll be at the intermediate jam this coming Wednesday (Nov. 9) to lead it 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 To fine-tune one's playing and/or to take one's playing to the next level, I believe that there is much to be said for critical listening, and spending some of one's practice time focusing on observing and attempting to copy the nuances found on high quality standard bluegrass recordings of common jam songs. Coming from this perspective, here are some suggestions I would like to throw out there regarding the Bluegrass Album Band recording of our song of the month. 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 into your instrument. Sing along with it also, being careful to copy the phrasing of the lyrics as closely as you can. 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. Happy Pickin', Jason Sheet Music: 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 Bb Download File Hi everyone,
This coming Wednesday (Oct. 12th), I'll be at the Intermediate Jam in the Pioneer Building to lead it. The song of the month is 'How Mountain Girls Can Love' in the key of A. Recording The Stanley Brothers - key of A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqhZxvsxTs How Mountain Girls Can Love by the Stanley Brothers Studio About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators ... www.youtube.com Arrangement How Mountain Girls Can Love has only two verses, yet on the recording, the Stanley Brothers manage to squeeze in three breaks in addition to the intro break, without two breaks being played back to back at any point in the song. This is done by going straight into the chorus after the intro break, which is then followed by another break before the first verse is sung, and by going into another break and chorus after the second verse and chorus have been sung. The arrangement on the record is: Break Chorus Break Verse 1 Chorus Break Verse 2 Chorus Break Chorus This type of arrangement is worthwhile keeping in mind for almost any fast two-verse song that one may call at a jam. Of course, extra breaks can also be added into a song by doing two or more breaks back to back in certain spots of the song (and we will quite likely also do this when I lead How Mountain Girls Can Love at the jam next week); but, when arranging a song for bluegrass jamming purposes, the more places one can find in the song where it will work to put breaks the better. Progression The chord progression for the breaks and verses of How Mountain Girls Can Love is: 1111 5511 1111 5511 This is the same as the progression that is used for 'My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains', the verses of 'Columbus Stockade Blues', and the chorus of 'Are You Missing Me'. The chord progression for the chorus is: 4411 5511 4411 5511 This is the same as the progression that is used for 'Way Down Town', 'Gold Watch And Chain', and the B-Part of 'Red Wing'. Anticipating the Chorus Because the chorus starts with a different chord than the chord that the breaks and verses start with, it is important to be able to anticipate which part of the song is coming next when playing it with others. Notice that the chorus occurs only four times in the song: after the first and last breaks, and after each of the two verses. When I lead How Mountain Girls Can Love at the jam, I will indicate that the chorus is coming up next by playing either a 7th chord during the last measure of the verse progression, or a slow-moving descending or ascending run during the last two measures of the verse progression that leads from the 1 to the 4 chord. A (dominant) 7th chord is created by adding to a major chord the note that is a whole step lower than the root note of the chord. Adding an F note to a G chord results in a G7; adding a G note to an A chord results in an A7; adding a Bb note to a C chord creates a C7; adding a C note to a D chord creates a D7, etc. The (dominant) 7th chord most naturally leads to the chord whose root note is a perfect 4th higher than the root note of the 7th chord. Thus, A7 leads to D, D7 leads to G, G7 leads to C, C7 leads to F, F7 leads to Bb, etc. In the key of A, the notes I use for a descending run that takes up the space of two measures to lead from the 1 chord to the 4 chord are A, G, F#, E. This series of notes leads down to a D note, the root note of the 4 chord. (In the key of G, the corresponding notes are G, F, E, D, leading down to a C note.) In the key of A, the notes I use for an ascending run that takes up the space of two measures to lead from the 1 chord to the 4 chord are: A, B, C, C#. This series of notes leads up to a D note. (In the key of G, the corresponding notes are G, A, Bb, B, leading up to a C note.) Happy Pickin', Jason Hi everyone,
I hope you have had a good Summer. I intend to be at the intermediate jam in the Pioneer Building on Wednesday, Sept. 21st (start time: 6:30pm) to lead it. For the intermediate jams in September through December there will be no song list. We'll see what songs get played at the jam during that time, and then perhaps on that basis, make a song list for January onward. The song of the month for the Sept. 21st jam will be '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 Jam Videos Here are a few youtube jam videos I have made for Roving Gambler: Roving Gambler – A Roving Gambler – A (banjo, 120 bpm) Roving Gambler – A (mandolin, 120 bpm) Roving Gambler – Bb 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, Bluegrass Stomp, 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 Sheet music: Roving Gambler - melody in A Download File Roving Gambler - banjo tab Download File Roving Gambler - guitar tab Download File Roving Gambler - mandolin tab Download File |
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