Hi all,
we will continue to jam during the summer on 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). And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp). 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). A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :)
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Hi all,
we will continue to jam during the summer on 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). And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp). 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). A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :) Hi all,
we will continue to jam during the summer on 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). And a bonus feature - if you click the box under the comment area, you'll get notified when others comment (rsvp). 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). A new blog post (with the jam date as title) will show up every Monday. Have fun jamming :) Hi everyone,
The song of the month for June will be 'Canaan's Land' (a.k.a. 'Where The Soul Never Dies') in the key of F. I'll be at the jam on Wednesday, June 8th to lead it. Recordings Here are three versions of Canaan's Land to take a listen to. The third one is not a bluegrass version, but the vocal arrangement is so good that I couldn't help but include it here. Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice (key of E) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_mJxXFxcy4 Jim and Jesse (key of G) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV44JL1ktng The Oak Ridge Boys (key of F, final choruses modulate to the key of Bb) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV7RhC9ZGfk Jam Videos Here are some youtube jam videos I have made for Canaan's Land: Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) Harmony & Lyrics I advise getting solid on one of the first two versions first provided in the recordings section, to the point that you can clearly distinguish between the lead part and the tenor harmony part, and then you may wish to study the third version for additional harmony parts and ideas. Canaan's Land is an interesting song to sing harmony on. The set of lyrics used for the harmony part(s) on the chorus, and on the repetitive parts of the verses, is different from the set of lyrics used for singing the lead part (i.e., the melody). Here is how the two sets of lyrics line up with each other for the chorus. You may find it helpful to practice this with one of the first two recordings and/or with one the jam videos. Lead: No / sad / fare / wells / no / Harmony: Dear / friends there'll / be no / sad fare / wells, there'll Lead: tear / dimmed / eyes / where / Harmony: be no / tear-dimmed / eyes / where / Lead: all / is / love / and the / Harmony: all is / peace and / joy and / love, and the / Lead: soul / never / dies. / / Harmony: soul of / man never / dies. / / The repetitive parts of the verses (lines 2 and 4 of each verse) line up in the same way as line 4 of the chorus. I know 5 verses for Canaan's Land, but at jams I usually only sing 3 of these: Verse 1 is given on the melody sheets provided at the bottom of this write-up. The non-repeating parts of my second verse are: (line 1) The love light beams across the foam (line 3) It shines to light the shores of home The non-repeating parts of my third verse are: (line 1) A rose is blooming there for me (line 3) And I will spend eternity Additional Verses: 4th verse: (line 1) I'm on my way to that fair land (line 3) Where there will be no parting hand 5th verse: (line 1) My life will end in deathless sleep (line 3) And everlasting joys I'll reap Progression The chord progression is the same as for 'Gathering Flowers From The Hillside', 'Fireball Mail', 'Bringing In The Georgia Mail', the original version of 'I'm Goin' Back To Old Kentucky' and the verses of 'Feast Here Tonight': 1111 1155 1111 1511 In the key of F: 1 = F and 5 = C. Melody Notes The melody uses the Major Pentatonic Scale, and therefore, in the key of F, it contains no notes that are not also part of the C and Bb major scales. F and C are closely related keys, F and Bb are closely related keys. But, C and Bb are not closely related keys. The 5 notes of the F major pentatonic scale are: F, G, A, C, and D. (The 7 notes of the C major scale are: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The 7 notes of the Bb major scale are: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, and A. Each of these scales share 6 notes in common with the F major scale, but the C and Bb major scales only share 5 notes in common with each other. The 7 notes of the F major scale are: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, and E.) Guitar: Capo Options The two most common options used by bluegrass guitar players for playing in F are: 1) Capo 5 and play as if in C. In the key of C: 1 = C and 5 = G; and 2) Capo 3 and play as in D. In the key of D: 1 = D and 5 = A. In the files, I have included 2 melody sheets for guitar, one written in C and the other written in D. Banjo: Capo and Tuning Options On banjo, there are many ways to play in the key of F, but I think that for 'Canaan's Land', played in Scruggs-style, the 3 best options are: 1) Capo 3 and tune the 5th string up to a C note (i.e., use your 10th fret spike if you have one, or, if not, then use your 9th fret spike and then tune up the extra half-step to a C note manually). and play as if in D. See banjo tab #1 in the files below. 2) Tune the 2nd string down to an A note, tune the 3rd string down to an F# note, capo the 3rd fret, then tune the 5th string up to an A note (i.e., use your 7th fret spike), and play as if in D. Your 'open' strings will now register on your tuner as the notes belonging to the F chord: AFACF. See banjo tab #2 in the files. 3) Play in F without a capo, but tune the 5th string up to an A (i.e., use your 7th fret spike) so that the 5th string is tuned to a note that belongs to the '1' chord. Of these options, I prefer the 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd option allows one to use more open strings than the other options, and favors the use of slides and pull-offs to the same degree as key of G Scruggs-style playing. The 3rd option allows one to play a break within the first 3 frets of the banjo. When played in F, Canaan's Land contains no chords or melody notes that do not also frequently show up when playing songs in the key of C. So, if you are accustomed to playing in C, but not F, without a capo, I suggest that Canaan's Land might work well for you as a way of introducing yourself to playing in F without a capo. Happy Pickin', Jason Canaan's Land - banjo tab 1 Download File Canaan's Land - banjo tab 2 Download File Canaan's Land - banjo tab 3 Download File Canaan's Land - guitar tab 1 Download File Canaan's Land - guitar tab 2 Download File Canaan's Land - mandolin tab Download File Canaan's Land - melody in F Download File Hi everyone, The song of the month for May will be 'Down In A Willow Garden' (a.k.a. 'Rose Connelly') in the key of F. I'll be at the jam on Wednesday, May 11th to lead it. Down In A Willow Garden was recorded by most of the first and second generation big names in bluegrass, and has been recorded many times since then both by bluegrass and non-bluegrass artists. Well-known non-bluegrass singers who have recorded the song include The Everly Brothers, Art Garfunkel, and more recently, Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer of the pop-punk band 'Green Day') with Norah Jones. For those interested in the history of the song, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_in_the_Willow_Garden Recordings The following recordings are representative of the range of ways that first and second generation bluegrass artists played and sang Down In A Willow Garden. Flatt & Scruggs - key of F https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxtjPCELO9A Reno & Harrell - key of G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbnQofztEtw Charlie Monroe - key of Ab (very sharp, almost A) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZGj7m2bcJ4 The Osborne Brothers with Red Allen - key of G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW-0ko2Mdoc Ralph Stanley - key of G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkivwchjXeg Jam Videos Here are four youtube jam videos I have made for Down In A Willow Garden. Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) Progression The chord progression I use for Down In A Willow Garden is the same as the one on the Flatt & Scruggs and Osborne Brothers recordings: Verse 1 1 1 6m 1 1 6m 6m 1 1 1 6m 1 5 1 1 Chorus 6m 6m 1 6m 1 1 6m 6m 1 1 1 6m 1 5 1 1 In the key of F, 6m = Dm. On the Reno & Harrell recording, as well as on the Ralph Stanley recording, the 6 (Major) chord is used in place of the 6m, and on the Charlie Monroe recording, there are some spots where a chord change away from the 1 chord is implied by the melody, yet no clear chord change occurs on the guitar. Sandwiching 6 Major chords between 1 chords was common in the early days of bluegrass (the original 1949 Flatt & Scruggs recording of Foggy Mountain Breakdown is likely the most well-known example of this), but is hardly ever done in bluegrass nowadays. The nearly universal current practice is to use 6m chords (or in some cases where it will work, 4 chords) in such spots. Nearly all chord progressions one is likely to encounter for 'Down In A Willow Garden' at bluegrass jams that differ from the one I have written out here involve the use of the 4 chord in place of one or more of the 6m measures. The most common spots for the 4 to be used are in the last measure of the 3rd line of the verse and the chorus, and in the first two measures of the chorus. Here is an example of the 4 being used in all of these spots, and also in the 4th measure of the 1st line of the chorus: The Lonesome River Band - key of B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZaKcBHWxPM The reason why the 6m, 6(M), and 4 chords all work for the measures that I use the 6m in is because the main melody note (in most cases, the only melody note) in those measures is the 6th note of the Major Scale, and all three of those chords contain that note. In the key of F, that note is a D note, and the D note is part of the Dm, D, and Bb chords. Furthermore, the D note forms a dissonance with only one of the notes of the F chord (the C note), and only a mild dissonance at that. This helps to account for the fewer number of changes away from the 1 chord in the Charlie Monroe version. 6m or 4? If one sticks mostly to playing D and F notes in one's breaks (or backup on instruments that allow for this) on the 'Dm' measures, and makes it a point to avoid A notes, then one need not be too concerned whether a Bb chord is being played in place of an Dm in some of those measures. Vocals Down In A Willow Garden is most often sung solo, but some of the recorded versions included or mentioned here are sung with harmony either on all the vocal parts of the song (e.g., Osborne Brothers), or only on the choruses (e.g., Reno & Harrell). Breaks Although on most of the recordings provided here, breaks are played only over the verse progression and melody, I find it tends to work better when I lead the song at a jam to have the breaks alternate between the verse and chorus progressions when two or more breaks are played back to back. In this respect, the arrangement we will use for the song is similar to how we almost always play Columbus Stockade Blues at the jams, except that I will usually end the song, not with a vocal chorus, but with two 'everybody' breaks played back to back: the first over the verse progression, and the second over the chorus progression. The only essential differences between the melodies for the two parts occur in the first two measures of the parts, and once one gets past the first two measures of the chorus, the progression for the chorus is identical with the progression for the verse. So, for a chorus break, all one needs to do is to alter the first two measures of one's verse break to make it fit the chorus progression and melody. Melody The melody of the Down In A Willow Garden is Major Pentatonic, which means that it uses only the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of the Major Scale. In the key of F, those notes are F, G, A, C, and D. The melody has an unusually wide range for bluegrass: wider even than (though only by a half-step) the range for the melody of Wildwood Flower. The melody for Down In A Willow Garden spans the same range as the melody for Fireball Mail. In order, from lowest to highest, the notes for both tunes when played in the key of F are: C, D, F, G, A, C, D, F. Notes to Guitar and Banjo Players The attached melody sheets in guitar tab, and one set of the melody sheets in banjo tab are written in the key of C (capo 5 for F). To interpret the preceding explanations for the key of C instead of for the key of F, make the following substitutions of letter names for the notes and chords: Key of F: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E Key of C: C, D, E, F, G, A, B The set of banjo tab melody sheets written in F contain a few spots where the melody has been altered (the first note of line 1 of the verse, the first note of measure 2 of line 4 of the verse, and the last note of line 2 of the chorus), for the reason that the low C note is not accessible when the banjo is tuned to G tuning. When the low C note occurs in the melody in an F or Dm chord measure, I have raised it to a D note. When the low C note occurs in the melody on a C chord measure, I have raised it to an E note. When playing Down In A Willow Garden on banjo in the key of F without a capo, I usually raise the pitch of my 5th string to an A note, since this note is part of the two main chords used in the song, the F chord and the Dm chord, whereas the G note is not. But, if I know in advance that the song will be played with a lot of Bb chords in it, I might choose not to raise the pitch of the 5th string, for the A note forms a severely dissonant interval with the root note of the Bb chord, whereas the G note, while not being part of the F, Dm, and Bb chords, does not form a severely dissonant interval with any of the notes in them. Happy Pickin', Jason
Hi everyone, Attached here are two copies of the new playlist for the first half of the evening for the intermediate jams in April, May, and June. The first copy of the song list is a one page larger print version of the list that gives just a quick note or two on the chord progression for each song. The second copy is a two page smaller print version of the list that gives the chord progressions in full for the songs. The keys that are shown on the list in parentheses simply refer to the keys that the songs are most likely to be played in at the jam, due to which of the regulars and semi-regulars at the jam are most likely to lead the singing on the songs if and when they are called at the jam. This does not mean that these are the only keys that the songs may be played in during the first half of the evening at the jams. Here are some recordings to take a listen to of songs on the new list that have never been included on any previous intermediate jam song lists: Dear Old Dixie Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - Dear Old Dixie - YouTube Footprints In The Snow Footprints In The Snow - YouTube Lonesome Fiddle Blues Lonesome Fiddle Blues (Remastered 2002) - YouTube Sharecropper's Son Sharecropper's Son - YouTube Streamline Cannonball Doc Watson - Streamline Cannonball - YouTube Song of the Month The song of the month for the intermediate jam in the Pioneer Building when I am next there to lead the jam on Wednesday, April 13th, is Wildwood Flower in the key of D. Jam Videos Here are 5 youtube jam videos that I have made for Wildwood Flower: Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) For a 'song of the week' write-up on Wildwood Flower, melody sheets, etc., go to: Category: Wildwood Flower - Idaho Bluegrass Association Happy Pickin', Jason
Hi everyone,
The next intermediate jam that I will be at to lead will be the one held on Wednesday, Mar. 9th. The song of the month for March is 'John Henry' in the key of D. 'John Henry' is a traditional American folk song/ballad that has been played as a bluegrass song, either with or without lyrics, by a wide range of top-notch bluegrass artists. When arranged as a bluegrass instrumental, it is most commonly played as a banjo-feature tune. The three most common keys that bluegrass instrumental versions of John Henry are played in are G, C, and D, and those just happen to be the three keys that are the most convenient for the banjo to play in when a capo is not being used. Lyrics John Henry has no chorus, only verses. If one were to try to collect all the versions of the lyrics for John Henry together that one can find in books, on records, and on the internet, it would not take long before one had way too many verses to sing for a single performance of the song. Most Bluegrass versions of the song that I have heard use at most 5 or 6 of the many different verses that the song has accumulated over the years, though I have tended to include recorded versions of the song here that use more verses than this in order to give more examples of verses used for John Henry. For playing the song at a jam in which sufficient time needs to be given for everyone to get their breaks in, 5 or 6 verses is more than enough to sing, and is, of course, more manageable for memorization purposes. For your own arrangement of the song, I suggest choosing 5 or 6 verses that you like best and string them together in an order that makes sense to you. You may find some of the verses easier to commit to memory than others, and you may also find that putting the verses in one order instead of another makes them easier to memorize. Recordings Here is a variety of bluegrass versions of John Henry to take a listen to, some with vocals, others without vocals: Flatt & Scruggs - key of D instrumental (banjo breaks are based on the melody an octave higher than as written on the banjo tab melody sheet in the files section at the bottom of this write-up.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzxP9h_A_-E Doc & Merle Watson - key of D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SrceTnQyk8 Tony Furtado - key of G instrumental John Henry - YouTube Bill Monroe - key of G (very sharp, almost G#) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9TUaHPRsq0 Hylo Brown (with Earl Scruggs on banjo) - key of B (sung in two different octaves!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPT0pQxfwzQ Bluegrass Youth All Stars - key of A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeHWEDANRG4 The Bluegrass Album Band - key of G instrumental https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Mhg3QRAF4 The Foggy Hogtown Boys - key of E (Unlike the previous versions, this one has 6m chords in it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUS1hAgYWnU Form & Progression The form for the verses (and breaks based on the verses) is 5 lines (instead of the much more common 4 lines) consisting of 4 measures each, making a total of 20 measures. The chord progression I use for John Henry is the most common one (and is the progression that has always been used for the song up to this point at the jam): 1111 1155 1111 1111 1511 Notice that this progression is closely related to V1 on the basic chord progressions chart (i.e., the progression used to play Canaan's Land, Gathering Flowers From The Hillside, and Fireball Mail). In relating the two progressions to each other, one might think of the progression for John Henry as being V1 with an extra 1111 line added between lines 3 and 4 of V1. Alternative progressions for John Henry include: 1111 116m6m 1111 1116m 1511 1111 1155 1144 1111 1511 and. 1111 1155 1144 1116m 1511 In versions that use the first of these three alternative progressions, the melody for line 2 necessarily differs from the version of the melody given in the melody sheet files at the bottom of this write-up.. When the second or third of these progressions are used, the melody in the second part of line 3 need not differ all that much from the version of the melody given in the files. Melody The version of the melody given in the files would be entirely major pentatonic (major scale notes 1,2,3,5, and 6: do-re-mi-sol-la) were it not for the b7 note in measure 2 of line 2 (a C natural note in the key of D; a Bb note in the key of C). Because of the exact spot where this note occurs in the melody, one should avoid playing the typical descending 2 note run C#, B (key of D) or B, A (key of C) in backup for leading from the 1 chord to the 5 chord. If one desires to play a two-note descending run here, just copy the melody at that point: C, B (key of D), or Bb, A (key of C), which just so happen to be the very two notes that one would typically play for the last two notes of the three notes that make up a typical chromatic three-note descending run leading from the 1 chord down to the 5 chord. Sometimes, both in playing breaks and in singing, I will purposely overshoot the melody of John Henry on the last half of measure 1 of line 3 by reaching for either an F natural or a F# note (when in the key of D). Banjo: D Tuning When John Henry is played in the key of D, Scruggs-style banjo players commonly tune their banjo to an open D chord for playing it (F#DF#AD or ADF#AD). D tuning is used on the first two recordings provided here. Notice how much more frequently one can use open strings for grabbing the melody for John Henry in D when tuned this way than what one could if one were tuned to the bluegrass banjo default tuning (G tuning). Guitar: C capo 2 = D Due to both the range of the melody and the specific notes that the melody most frequently lingers on, I find that John Henry in the key of C (no capo) lends itself to a wider range of types of bluegrass guitar breaks than what the key of D (no capo) does. For this reason, I have given a key of C guitar tab melody sheet (capo 2 for D), rather than a key of D guitar tab melody sheet. Happy Pickin', Jason John Henry - banjo tab Download File John Henry - guitar tab Download File John Henry - mandolin tab Download File John Henry - melody in D Download File Hi everyone,
The next intermediate jam will be held from 6:30 - 9pm on Wednesday, Feb. 16th at Ansots in the Pioneer Building (106 N 6th St.) The Pioneer Building is on the corner of 6th and Main in downtown Boise. Ansots is located in the building right next to Wise Guys Pizza. Starting on the 16th, intermediate jams will be held weekly on Wednesday evenings at Ansots, but I will be there only once a month to lead the jams. I will be there on the 16th. The song of the month is 'Little Maggie' in the key of B. Recordings Ralph Stanley - key of C https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXl5YJrVeII Ricky Skaggs - key of B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58fSMNDvxRw Flatt & Scruggs - key of A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkaW2yyO4xQ The Stanley Brothers - key of C Little Maggie - YouTube Progression On the Ralph Stanley recording, the breaks use the progression: 1 1 b7b7 1 5 1 1 (x2) but, the verses use 1 1 1 b7b7 1 5 1 1 (x2) This is how I usually play the song when I lead it at a jam, and this is how I played it on the three youtube jam videos I have made for it: Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com) The melody sheets included at the bottom of this write-up follow the progression for the verses, rather than for the breaks. To read them for the breaks (or for the verses for versions of the song that use the same progression for the verses as for the breaks), skip over the second half of measure 2 and the first half of measure 3 in lines 1 and 3. On the Ricky Skaggs and Stanley Brothers recordings, a 5 is put in place of the second b7, so that the first and third lines of the breaks are: 1 1 b7 5, and the first and third lines of the verses are: 1 1 1 b7 5. On the Flatt & Scruggs recording, both the breaks and the verses use the same progression as the one that is used for the breaks on the Ralph Stanley recording: 1 1 b7b7 1 5 1 1 Arrangement On all four recordings, the arrangement is: break, verse, break, verse, break, verse, etc., with the banjo being the specially featured lead instrument. The banjo takes both the first break (the intro break) and the last break in the song, and gets one more break than any other lead instrument playing on the recording. The song has no chorus, and no harmony vocals on the verses. On the Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs, and Stanley Brothers recordings, there are 5 breaks and 5 verses, and the banjo plays a break after the verse that ends with 'listen to this old banjo ring'. On the Flatt & Scruggs recording, there are 4 verses and 4 breaks. Lyrics On the Ralph Stanley recording, Ralph sings a different second verse than the one that he sang on the earlier Stanley Brothers recording. Ricky Skaggs uses the same 5 verses that are on the Stanley Brothers recording, but inverts the order of the second and third verses. On the Flatt & Scruggs recording, Lester uses the same first and third verses that Ricky uses, but his second and fourth verses are different than any of the verses sung on the other three recordings. To accommodate more breaks at a jam, I have sometimes sung 7 or 8 verses for Little Maggie, and in no particular order, except for the first verse ('Over yonder stands...), and the last verse (either 'Go away, go away...', or 'March me down to the station'), and being sure to time the banjo verse ('Lay down your last gold dollar...') for when I want to hear a banjo break next. But, more often than not, I sing 5 or 6 verses, and have two or more breaks played back to back between some of the verses. Sometimes I will also end the song with a break instead of with a verse. Melody Most versions of the melody of Little Maggie that I have heard contain only 4 or 5 different notes, two of which are 'blue notes': b3 and b7 (D and A notes when in the key of B; Bb and F notes when in the key of G). The version of the melody given in the files at the end of this write-up is based upon the sung melody on the Ricky Skaggs and Stanley Brothers recordings. Note to Banjo Players Although all the banjo breaks on the recordings are melody-based breaks, the implied melodic content of most of them does not correspond all that closely to the version of the sung melody given in the attachments or to the versions of the sung melody heard on the recordings. In addition to the timing of the melody being altered in several spots (often by way of using the foggy mountain roll in measures that in the sung melody are not made up of a quarter note followed by a dotted half note, or a quarter note followed a half note and then another quarter note), in most of the breaks, for instance, the order of the melody notes in the first two measures of lines 2 and 4 is altered, with (when thinking in the key of G) G notes being put in place of D notes, and vice versa. Happy Pickin', Jason Little Maggie - banjo tab Download File Little Maggie - guitar tab Download File Little Maggie - mandolin tab Download File Little Maggie - melody in B Download File Hi everyone, Song of the Month The song of the month for the upcoming intermediate jam at the Powderhaus on Wednesday, Jan. 12th, is the John Reischman tune 'Salt Spring' in the key of A. (Other songs that I'll end up calling at the jam in January will most likely be very straightforward ones that have been played many times in the past at the jams: e.g., I Saw The Light, I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand, Long Journey Home, but which ones of these types of songs I call will depend on who else shows up for the jam, and what songs have already been called by others before my turns at the jam.) Recordings John Reischman and the Jaybirds - Saltspring - YouTube John Reischman and Eli West play Salt Spring for Get Up in the Cool - YouTube Form & Progression Before the final break, the form for Salt Spring is AABB, with the A-Part being twice as long as the B- Part. The form for the final break is AABBBB. The chord progression for Salt Spring is: A-Part: 1 1 1 1 2m 2m 2m 6m 2m 2m 2m 4 4 4 1 1 B-Part: 4141 4155 (In the key of A: 2m = Bm; 6m = F#m. In the key of G: 2m = Am; 6m = Em.) Melody & Breaks In the attachments, I have included melody sheets for Salt Spring that consist of what my ear hears, after listening closely to several different John Reischman performances of the tune, as being the basic melodic content of Reischman's opening break(s) for Salt Spring. On the recordings, Reischman hammers into many of these melody notes, usually from whatever note happens to be the next lowest note in the Major Scale relative to his target note. E.g., hammering from a B note to a C# melody note, or from an A note to a B melody note, or from an E note to an F# melody note. (In adapting this to the banjo and the guitar, I find myself replacing some of these hammers with slides, when it involves going from one fretted note to another fret note.) Beginning & Ending Notice how the tune begins and ends on the recordings. There is no pickup phrase leading into the opening break. So, unless one chooses to add one in when kicking off the song at the jam, it is best to count into the opening break. An effective way to do this is to count 1, 2, 3, 4, with each number of the count having the duration of a half note. Notice that the B-Part is unresolved: it ends with the 5 chord rather than with the 1 chord, and the last melody note of the B-Part is a note that is part of the 5 chord, and therefore is not the root note of the key that the song is played in. In order to make the tune sound finished, so as to not leave the listener 'left hanging', Reischman plays (in tremelo) a double stop that uses notes of the A chord (the 1 chord), after the last measure of the final B-Part. To lead into this smoothly, he modifies the last measure of the final B-Part, playing a phrase consisting of E, A, B, and C# notes in place of what he usually plays for the last measure of the B-Part. On the recordings, the last two, or last two-and-a-half, measures of the final B-Part are played slower than the rest of the tune, but I don't recommend trying this at a jam, unless everyone at the jam is thoroughly familiar with the tune, and a reminder is given about this before the tune is kicked off. Have a happy New Year! Jason
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