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Hi, This week's song of the week is known by many names. Some of the most common of these (in Bluegrass circles) are: 'Reuben', 'Reuben's Train', 'Old Reuben', 'Lonesome Reuben' and 'Train 45'. This was the first tune that Earl Scruggs, when he was about 10 years old, played with 3 fingers (up to that time he had been a 2 finger style picker) Over the years, Earl recorded Reuben many times, and each time he always managed to find some new and interesting way to play it. There are numerous different versions of 'Reuben', - and even whole other songs that are based on 'Reuben' (e.g., 'Ruby' by the Osborne Brothers) - but they are all based on what is essentially the same simple repetitive melody (8 measures. Only 4 melody notes in many interpretations of the melody. See the attached melody sheets.) In Bluegrass circles, Reuben is almost always played in the key of D, with the banjo tuned to an open D major chord ('D tuning': F#DF#AD, or ADF#AD). The chord progression is: 1111 1511 which is the second half of Progressions V1, V3, V5, and X1 on the basic chord progressions handout. In the key of D: 1=D and 5=A. Note: Most interpretations of the melody do not imply any chord change at all: so it can be difficult at first trying to hear where the 'A' chord fits into the progression. If you are uncertain about when to change to the 'A', then just stay on the 'D'. It is better to play a 'D' over the measure of 'A', instead of playing an 'A' in the wrong spot. The tune has a strong 'drony' character to it. To help contribute to this feel of the song, I recommend that guitar and banjo players avoid using a capo for this tune. Some guitar players like to lower their low E string to a D, so as to further enhance the drony feel of the song. Although Reuben is often played as an instrumental, it does have lyrics. (Actually, there are several different sets of lyrics for Reuben.) But even when lyrics are used, the tune often still remains mostly instrumental. The singing can be thought of as a kind of 'vocal break'. What that means in a jam context is that, when it comes time for you to play your break, you have the option of singing your break instead of playing it. Just two short verses, or a verse and a chorus is all you need to do a 'vocal break' for Reuben. You can use whatever lyrics from whatever version you like, or you can make up your words for the tune. Because the melody is simple and repetitive, and mostly stays on one chord, jamming Reuben makes for a good opportunity to develop one's improvisational skills. (When improvising over Reuben, one can often get away with ignoring the 'A' chord altogether.) Indeed, Reuben is the kind of tune that, when played without variation, gets monotonous quite quickly. Yet, when one adds just enough variation into the mix, Reuben is the kind of tune that can be jammed on for 10 minutes or more without it getting monotonous. One can take one's first steps towards improvisation (making up a break on the fly) by creating variations on the melody. There are many ways to do this. Examples include adding in extra notes between melody notes, taking out notes, altering the rhythm of the melody, and taking a measure or two of the melody and simply repeating it over and over again. If you wish to get a little bit more adventurous, you can try creating variations that drift in and out of the melody. For getting started with doing this, I would like to point out that one can get a lot of mileage out of including 'C' notes in your variations. Lingering on 'C' notes works quite well for improvisation on this tune if you find yourself out on a limb while your hands are trying to find where to go to next on the fretboard. And, if you are new to improvising, there will be many, many times when you will suddenly find yourself 'out on a limb'. In order to become a good improv player (or even to do any kind of improv at all), one must be willing to take risks. Flatt and Scruggs (banjo, fiddle, and dobro breaks) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqci8CdgkzU Earl Scruggs, Marty Stuart, Mark O'Connor (banjo, fiddle, dobro, and guitar breaks: very improv. oriented) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-TMdFzH_PA Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys (banjo, fiddle, and guitar breaks: simpler than the breaks on the two preceding links)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMydc293aVU The Dillards (Vocal, banjo breaks, and a simple mandolin break) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-MTmErL1Og Happy Pickin', Jason
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