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Hi everyone, I will resume leading the weekly Intermediate Bluegrass Jams in Boise after Labor Day. But, due to changes in my family schedule, I cannot commit at this time to being at the intermediate jams more than once a month. The jams will be held outdoors at Powderhaus Brewing for the months of September and October, until the weather gets too cold. The jams will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 9pm, starting on Sept. 1st, but the first time that I will be there to lead the jam will be on Sept. 8th. My idea for the intermediate jams is to send out a 'Songs of the Month' email each month, in which I select three songs from the Intermediate Jam Main List (see the attachments) that I will call and lead at the jam for the next time that I am there to lead it. The songs of the month are: Little Cabin Home On The Hill - A Blue Ridge Cabin Home - Bb Old Joe Clark - A Song of the week write-ups, melody sheets, etc., and jam videos for these songs can be found on the IBA website by clicking on the following links: Category: Little Cabin Home On The Hill - Idaho Bluegrass Association Category: Blue Ridge Cabin Home - Idaho Bluegrass Association Category: Old Joe Clark - Idaho Bluegrass Association Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) Remember: on a laptop you can not only slow down youtube videos without affecting the pitch, but you can also speed youtube videos up to 125% (and to 150%) of the original speed by going to settings. In the attachments, I have included two song lists. The first list is called the Main List, and consists of thirty songs that I think might be good for us to focus on for the next four months at the jam during the first half of the evening, or, alternatively, for the first time around the circle. The second list is called 'Point of Reference Songs', and consists of twenty songs that I don't expect to be called very often at the jam, but that I, and others, will likely mention at various point in the course of explaining the songs that we do end up playing more regularly or introducing into the jam: whether that be when explaining the chord progression (e.g., This song uses the same chord progression as 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow', or more briefly put: this song uses the 'Bury Me' progression), or the tempo, the feel/pulse, form, arrangement, scale type, melodic structure, etc., All twenty of these songs are part of the Beginner Jam repertoire. Unlike this second song list, which is keyed to the Basic Chord Progressions chart (included in the attachments here, and also in the Beginner Jam song of the week email that I sent out on Saturday), the first song list is not keyed to the chart. On the Intermediate Main List, I have omitted nearly all mention of commonplace and predictable parts of the progressions for the songs, deciding instead to single out for attention the relatively uncommon and unpredictable parts of progressions for some of the songs. For an explanation of the layout of the Basic Chord Progressions chart and how it relates to song lists that are keyed to it, refer to the email I sent earlier today titled: 'Beginner Bluegrass Jam: Explanation of the Handouts'. Keys marked on the lists in parentheses refer only to the keys that I tend to call the songs in when leading the singing on them. In most cases they are not intended to function as recommended keys. Indeed, for example, I generally expect female singers to choose higher keys for the songs than the ones that I usually use when singing lead on the songs: and, on average (but this depends on the singer, and on the song), a major 3rd or a perfect 4th higher. The tempo markings 'fast' and 'slow' are intended in a relative sense, and for the most part are meant in relation to the tempo range that most other songs tend to get played at the jam on any given jam night, which can depend on any number of factors. Therefore, playing Old Joe Clark 'fast' at the end, or near the end, of the evening at the jam on Sept. 8th might mean that we play it somewhere between 120 and 130 beats per minute, but it also could mean that we play it somewhere between 150 and 160 beats per minute. Playing Little Cabin Home On The Hill 'slow' at the beginning, or near the beginning, of the evening on Sept. 8th will likely mean playing it around the same tempo as on the original Bill Monroe record (which is slower than on many subsequent recordings of the song), but it could mean that we intentionally play it slower than on the original record. Finally, in the attachments, I have included a much more comprehensive Nashville Number System Chart than the charts that are part of the Beginner Jam handouts. The big chart is designed to better show the logic of the number system than what the more practically-oriented condensed Beginner Jam charts are able to convey. Happy Pickin', Jason
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