Hi, Just before I was about to send this email, I was notified by the management at the Pioneer Building that next Wednesday (April 25th), our jam space at Jenny's Lunchline will not be available for us to use. So, the next beginner jam will be two weeks from now: Wednesday, May 2nd. The song of the week will be 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' in the key of G. Progression Until last night, at the beginner jam, we have used the following chord progression for playing 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken': 1111 4411 1111 1511 This is the same chord progression that is used to play 'I'll Fly Away' and 'Mountain Dew' (Prog. V3 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout). However, when leading the song last night, I modified the progression for Will The Circle Be Unbroken to: 1111 4411 1116m 1511 In the key of G: 6m = Em This how I will lead the song for the next two beginner jams. If you print off one or more of the attached melody sheets, you may wish to pencil in 'Em' in parentheses above the 12th measure (i.e., the last measure of the third line). While I prefer to play Will The Circle Be Unbroken as a three chord song, it often gets played at jams with the 6m chord substituted in place of the 1 in the last measure of the 3rd line. Because of this, I have chosen to introduce this variant progression as an option for playing Will The Circle Be Unbroken at the beginner jam in recycling the song as a song of the week for jam. From now on, when someone calls Will The Circle Be Unbroken at the jam, be prepared for either progression to be used in playing it. I may sometimes ask the person calling or leading the song to specify whether they want to play it with or without the 6m chord. Others times, the person may volunteer this information without being asked. Yet at other times, we will not know whether the 6m chord will be used in the song until we get to the end of line 3 of the intro break. So be sure to keep your ears and eyes open for this, so that we don't end up with a situation in which, throughout the whole song, some people are playing one progression for the song while others are playing another progression for the song. It is especially important for players of the lower-pitched instruments (guitar & bass) to catch on as quickly as possible whether or not the 6m is being used in the progression, since they, much more so than the players of the higher-pitched instruments, are responsible for making it clear what the chord progression is for a song by way of playing a low-pitched root note of the chord when a chord change occurs. In cases where it is not clear which progression is intended by the person leading the song (e.g., when the person leading of the song is also the person who plays the intro break, or when the person leading the song is playing backup during the intro break on their instrument in a manner in which the distinction between the 1 and the 6m is not readily visible or audible), it is best for everyone, including the person leading the song, to copy the chord progression used by the strongest/loudest/most confident rhythm guitar player. Recordings The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - on their classic 3-record 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' album: with Earl Scruggs on banjo, Vassar Clements on fiddle, Doc Watson on guitar, and Mother Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, and Roy Acuff taking turns singing the verses key of A (no 6m chord in the progression) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn8aruzfRAA Here's a version of the song that uses the 6m chord in place of the 1 in the last measure of the 3rd line: Key of G: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQxTop7XtoA 6m in place of 1 The 6m chord is called the 'relative minor' of the 1 chord. The 6m chord shares two of its three notes in common with the 1 chord, and the note that the 6m does not have in common with the 1 chord (an E note when Em is the 6m) does not severely clash with the note that the 1 chord has that the 6m does not have (a D note when G is the 1). So, while one's backup playing is affected by whether a 6m or a 1 chord is being used, especially on the instruments that make use of a lot of complete chords for backup playing, or zero in a lot on the root note of the chord, one need not change what one plays for a break for Will The Circle Be Unbroken when the 6m is put in place of the 1 chord. Sung harmony parts also need not be affected by the presence or absence of the 6m in the progression. Another common variant on the V3 Progression that involves the use of the 6m chord is: 1111 4411 116m6m 1511 This progression is commonly used at jams for playing 'Sitting On Top Of The World'. I have also seen it used occasionally for Will The Circle Be Unbroken. A few other progressions on the basic chord progressions chart that lend themselves well to the substitution of the 6m chord in place of a measure of the 1 chord are: Prog. V4 Prog. V4 variant: 1111 1111 4411 4411 4411 4416m 1511 1511 'You Are My Sunshine' may be played with either of these progressions. Prog. W4 Prog. W4 variant: 1111 1111 4411 4411 4411 4416m 5511 5511 I have heard 'Lonesome Road Blues' played occasionally with this variant on W4. Prog. V6 Prog. V6 variant 1141 1141 1155 1155 1141 1141 1511 6m511 Either of these progressions will work well for 'Amazing Grace'. Relative Majors & Minors For each of the 8 Major keys we play in at the jam, here is a chart comparing the notes that make up the 1 and 6m chords with each other: 1 6m Key of G: G (=GBD) Em (=EGB) Key of A: A (=AC#E) F#m (=F#AC#) Key of Bb: Bb (=BbDF) Gm (=GBbD) Key of B: B (=BD#F#) G#m (=G#,B,D#) Key of C: C (=CEG) Am (=ACE) Key of D: D (=DF#A) Bm (=BDF#) Key of E: E (=EG#B) C#m (=C#EG#) Key of F: F (=FAC) Dm (=DFA) Liza Jane - A Note: The old-time tune 'Liza Jane' that was played at last night's jam is a different tune than the '(Little) Liza Jane' that is sometimes played at the intermediate jam. The chord progression used for last night's Liza Jane was: A-Part: 1116m B-Part: 1114 1151 5551 Happy Pickin', Jason
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Hi, The song of the week is 'Will You Be Loving Another Man' in the key of A. This classic bluegrass song was written by Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt during WWII, and then recorded after the war in 1946 by the original bluegrass band, Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, which consisted at the time of Bill Monroe on mandolin, Lester Flatt on guitar, Earl Scruggs on banjo, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard Watts on bass. Recording Here is the original 1946 recording of Will You Be Loving Another Man, with Lester Flatt on lead vocal and Bill Monroe on harmony vocal during the choruses: key of A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dJzPql4AOk Progression The chord progression for Will You Be Loving Another Man is: 1111 1155 1144 1511 (Prog. V2 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.) This is the same progression that is used to play Mama Don't Allow, She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain, The Crawdad Song, and When The Saints Go Marching In. Breaks Notice on the recording how each of the breaks differ from each other. The short mandolin intro break (half the length of a full intro break: it uses the last half of the progression) states the melody of the song in a simple manner, making use of drony-sounding double stops in connection with the main melody notes. In the first fiddle break, there is a lot more going on than what there was in the mandolin intro break, yet the melody is never lost sight of at any point in the break: its influence on the break is there from beginning to end. The banjo break zeros in on only the most essential notes of the melody and fills up the space between them with 8th notes that, for the most part, are notes that are part of the chord being played at the time. Finally, the second fiddle break, after its first four measures, contains almost no trace of the melody at all. The last 3/4 of this break is made up entirely of non-melody-based licks (which have gone on to become standard - one might say 'cliche' - bluegrass fiddle licks), fitted to the chord progression of the song. Happy Pickin', Jason
Hi, The song of the week will be 'Buffalo Gals' in the key of A. Buffalo Gals is the many old-time string band tunes that have made their way into bluegrass. Although there are lyrics for this tune, Buffalo Gals more often than not is played as an instrumental in bluegrass circles. When played as a bluegrass banjo or fiddle tune, the keys of G and A tend to be the keys of choice for this tune. For its song of the week cycle, we will play Buffalo Gals in the key of A, but it is a good idea to also be prepared to play it in G. There are many other titles for this tune, including: 'Alabama Gals' and 'Round Town Gals'. Recordings Flatt and Scruggs (key of G) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3VEYKt9L8M Mike Scott (key of G) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIZs3Rs8B2U&feature=youtu.be For the sake of comparison and contrast, here is an old-time version of Buffalo Gals: 2nd South Carolina String Band - key of D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvykZZjPRZE&feature=youtu.be Finally, here is a good version that I would describe as Old-Time with Bluegrass leanings or tendencies: Idyl Time - key of E (Idyl Time is a local Boise band that plays a mix of Bluegrass and old-time music) See the attachments for the Idyl Time rendition of Buffalo Gals. Form & Progression Buffalo Gals is a 2-part fiddle tune that I have seen played two different ways at jams: some play each part only once through before going to the other part (AB form). Others play each part through twice before going to the other part (AABB form), which is how we'll play it when I call the tune, The chord progression is about as simple and repetitive as it gets. For each part, the progression is: 1151 1151 This is Prog. Z5 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout. (Note: in some versions the B-Part is played using Prog. Z10 instead.) Melody The melody is also quite repetitive. If you take a glance at the melody sheets attached here, one of the first things you might notice is that measures 2,4, and 6 of each part are identical with each other. Other points worthwhile observing to aid in learning and memorizing the tune include: Measures 5 and 6 of each part are the same as measures 1 and 2 of the same part. The B-Part differs from the A-Part only in measures 1 and 5. The notes of the 3rd measure of each part are one scale degree lower than the notes of the 2nd (4th, and 6th) measure of each part. Starting the Tune Buffalo Gals is one of the relatively few AABB-type fiddle tunes that I prefer not to start with an 8 potato intro at a jam, because the first melody note of the first measure is identical with the main note I would be droning in an 8 Potato intro (in the key of A, an A note that is in the same octave as the A note that the melody begins with), thus making it sound unclear where the intro ends and the tune begins. So, I start with three quarter note pickups instead that ascend into the A note (E, F#, G#: the 5th, 6th, and 7th notes of the A Major Scale: these notes are written on the fifth attachment provided here, but not on the melody sheets.) Breaks Buffalo Gals has a fast enough moving melody that one can play a satisfactory beginning-level bluegrass break for it without adding much around the melody. But, because the tune is so repetitive, I can't help but want to vary it up as I go through the phrases that constantly recur in the tune. I have included in the attachments an example of a pattern I make use of on the instruments I play for adding notes around the melody. I call this the checkmark pattern, because if one were to represent the pattern on a graph, the dots would connect to form checkmarks. (See also the additional attachment labeled as 'Buffalo Gals - graph for the first one-and-a-half measures'.) This pattern is made use of sparingly in various spots in some of the breaks played on the two Bluegrass versions of the tune given in the links above. I use this pattern very often on guitar and mandolin, and to a somewhat lesser extent when playing clawhammer (old-time) style banjo, but to an even lesser extent when playing 3 finger style banjo. Scruggs-style banjo lends itself well to other types of note choices that are determined by a repertoire of various right hand picking patterns (rolls), and clawhammer banjo has its own set of patterns that are characteristic of the clawhammer style, but for banjo players who are curious about how the notes given for the other instruments might fall on the banjo when played in 3 finger style and in clawhammer style, I have included banjo examples of the checkmark pattern applied to the first four measures of Buffalo Gals on the attachment. On banjo, this involves some pretty advanced-level playing relative to the much lower level of difficulty in getting the same combinations of notes on fiddle, mandolin and guitar. To grasp the system whereby notes are added around the melody using the checkmark pattern, compare the first four measures of the A Part melody for Buffalo Gals with the 'Buffalo Gals - checkmark patterns example' attachment, breaking both of them down into half-measure chunks. (Note: there are more examples of the pattern on this sheet than what would tend to occur in my playing within any four consecutive measures: I use all these moves in my playing, but I don't usually string them all together back to back.) Within each half-measure unit, observe whether the melody is ascending from a lower to a higher note, descending from a higher to a lower note, or remaining on the same note, and observe whether or not the same thing is happening between the note that ends one of the half-measure units and the note that begins the next half-measure unit. In the first half of measure 1, the melody remains on the same note, but then ascends to a higher note at the beginning of the second half of that measure. In this case, I start with the first melody note, then dip down to a slightly lower note, then return to the note I started with, and then ascend to a note that connects smoothly into the even higher melody note that the second half of the measure starts with. The same idea applies to the second half of measure 1, though, in that case the melody ascends within that unit, rather than just when moving into the next unit: so the fourth/final note of the checkmark pattern that connects into the first note of measure 2 ends up being the same note as the second/final melody note in the second half of measure 1; the melody note in question is displaced in the process, coming an 8th of a measure later in the checkmark pattern example than where it occurs within the unembellished melody. In the first half of measure 2, going into the second half of that measure, the melody moves in the opposite direction: descending instead of ascending. In that case, after the starting melody note, I first ascend to a higher note, then return to the starting note, then descend to a note that connects to the even lower next melody note that starts the second half of measure 2: thus, we end up with an upside down checkmark in this case. Have a happy Easter. Jason
Conversion Chart for Buffalo Gals in A
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Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
Songs regularly called at the Beginner Bluegrass Jam and links from Jason's "Song of the Week" emails. (from Renee)
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