09/27/07 – Mandolin Workshop w/ Steve Smith

Last night I attended a mandolin workshop with Steve Smith over at Charlie’s.

I brought my H2 to record the workshop and I was very excited about learning some new things.

Unfortunately I can’t say that I learned anything really groundbreaking.  We focused on some basic major scales and learning tunes by ear.  I think that really the workshop was a little too intermediate for me.  Steve did touch on some interesting double stop positions, but at that point there was not enough time left for him to explain them.

All in all my workshop with Mike Marshall was much more informative.  Steve is a really nice guy though.

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes

09/24-27/07 – Exploring the Space

This week I was really focusing on learning scale patterns and building finger strength. I did this with the goal and hope that it will build picking speed.

I worked with the metronome and the Mandolin Training Camp book.

I also really focused on my tone…and I really enjoyed it.

The dinning room gets great acoustics. The whole room fills with sound, but there is no echo.

I really have been appreciating my mandolin this week. I think that my Weber is an even better mando than I realize. It has such a sweet, full sound…and it’s chop is enormous. This week I discovered what a mandolin’s bark sounds like. My Weber has a BIG bark, and it’s fun to play. I am afraid that I might have set my standards too high with it…oh well!

In practicing the scales, I really focused on getting every single bit of sound out of my mando. It was wonderful…orgasmic even. I went very slowly and just explored all of the sounds. I think this was very useful.

The only downside is that I didn’t get up to very fast speeds.

I’m not worried about this though. At this point I really think that I need to focus on melody and tone. Melody and tone. Melody and tone.

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes

Blackberry Blossom

Go to this website for tab on a Monroe style BBlossom.

Filed under: Blackberry Blossom, Show Notes & Song References

09/23/07 – Weekend Practice Sessions and Northport Jam

I got in some good practice this weekend.

First on BUTN…I read forward a little bit and realized that my issue of position playing and where to root the index finger is addressed later on in the book.  So that’s good to know.

On Sunday I went to a great jam session at Carl’s house on Northport.

Songs we played:

• Old Folks at Home (G)
• Old Home Place
• Dark Hollow (A)
• Long Black Veil (G)
• Old Joe Clark (G)
• Dear Old Dixie (G)

…and a couple others that we picked on.

Going forward I need to practice playing the melody first in my breaks.  Too often I get lost in never-never land.  Play the melody first…then embellish.  I think that I should especially practice this with Old Folks At Home.

I wish I had a recording of Old Joe Clark.  I need to practice playing this tune at a faster pace and with a simpler melody.  Playing the full melody as I learned it at a superfast pace does not work.

Filed under: Jam Reflections, My Journal, Practice Session Notes

Little Maggie

Oh, yonder stands little Maggie
With a dram glass in her hand
She’s drinkin’ away her troubles
She’s a-courtin’ another man

Last time I saw little Maggie
She was sittin’ on the banks of the sea
With a forty-four all around her
And a banjo on her knee

Pretty flowers were made for bloomin’
Pretty stars were made to shine
Pretty women were made for lovin’
Little Maggie was made for mine

Lay down your last gold dollar
Lay down your gold watch and chain
Little Maggie’s gonna dance for daddy
Listen to that ol’ banjo ring

Go away, go away, little Maggie
Go and do the best you can
I’ll get me another woman
You can get you another man

Filed under: Little Maggie, Show Notes & Song References

Nine Pound Hammer

Nine Pound Hammer

This nine pound [G]hammer is a little too [C]heavy
For my [G]size [D]buddy for my [G]size
Roll on buddy don’t you roll so [C]slow
How can I [G]roll [D]when the wheels won’t [G]go

It’s a long way to Harlan
And a long way to Hazard
Just to get a little booze
Just to get a little booze

Oh, the nine pound hammer killed John Henry
Ain’t gonna kill me
Ain’t gonna kill me

There ain’t one hammer down in this tunnel
That can ring like mine, that can ring like mine
Rings like silver, shines like gold
Rings like silver, shines like gold

Buddy when I’m long gone, won’t you make my tombstone
Out of number nine coal, out of number nine coal

I’m going on the mountain, just to see my baby
And I ain’t coming back, no I ain’t coming back

Filed under: Nine Pound Hammer, Show Notes & Song References

09/20/07 – Practice Session with Larry

I had a good practice session with Larry last night in which we focused primarily on my singing. We went through Long Black Veil verse by verse. Larry had me practice singing with good posture and we focused on some sections of the song where I was singing flat.

I did get in a couple of breaks, and Larry noticed my improvement.

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes

09/19/07 – Practice Session Notes

I had a wonderful hour and a half practice session last night.

First on the strings. They were really temperamental for the first 30 min or so. Lots of strange sympathetic ringing and buzzing. But then they settled down and I didn’t notice them. However, by the end of the practice session I DID notice them. Very powerful sound. Of coarse this is just first impressions, but the first description that comes to mind is POWERFUL. I think they will continue to get better as they settle down. If they last for a good while then we have a winner.

One note on the strings…I instinctively switched to my very heavy Red bear pick and immediately liked the sound of it better.  Maybe these strings are a bigger gauge than the previous ones?

I started the practice session working on Arkansas Traveler. My fingers were just all over the place. No control. I rightly realized that I was only practicing on playing it wrong, and so I stopped. I later realized that what I needed was some warm up exercises. I returned to Ark Traveler at the end of the session and was able to jam on it quite fluidly.

Next, I went back to the country licks in BUTN. The lick sounded different to me today.

I also went on to the blues note lesson, and hung out on those for a while. I think I got the feel for hitting that b3 note.

I realized an issue I have with the closed position and Mandocrucian’s presentation of it. The closed position means playing around the chord structure and not playing open strings. Most if not all of the chord structures that I play have my middle finger on the root note. However, the closed position patterns in BUTN have the index finger on the root note.

At first study it seems to me that there are pros and cons of the two approaches. If you start the pattern with the 3 finger on the root then you naturally will tend towards the 3 & 4 strings…not bluegrass or mandolin friendly strings. The pro is that your fingers are already positioned. Planting the 1 finger on the root leads you play the 1 & 2 strings…very bluegrass and mandolin friendly. The downside is that you have to reposition yourself to get there.

So, as always I think that the best way will turn out to be a tastefull compromise between the two. I have a hunch that the “strict chord closed position” will be better for lead in’s and lead out’s, while the “rooted closed position” will be better for overall jamming.

On thing to look for is how the two positions work in relation to other chords in the progression.

Other thoughts…again it is a real pain to not have backup tracks to play over with BUTN.

Finished the session with some Little Maggie jamming and of coarse Arkansas Traveler.

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes

New Blog

Howdy folks.

Please check out my new bluegrass/music blog here.

Filed under: My Journal

Old Slewfoot

High on the mountain, tell me what do you see
Beartracks beartracks looking back at me
Better get your rifles before its too late
The bear's got a little pig and headed for the gate

    He's big around the middle and broad across the rump
    Running ninety miles an hour taking thirty feet a jump
    Ain't never been caught he ain't never been treed
    And some folks say he looks a lot like me

Saved up my money and bought me some bees
Started making honey way up in the trees
Cut down the trees but the honey's all gone
Old slew foot has done made himself at home

  * Refrain

Winter's coming on and its forty below
River's froze over so where can he go
I'll chase him up the gulley and run him in the well
Shoot him the bottom just to listen to him yell

  * Refrain

Filed under: Old Slewfoot