Red Haired Boy (FAST)

Well this is a long time coming, and I am really pleased to be posting this.

Attached below is recording of me playing Red Haired Boy at the “fast” level – according to my taps at this online metronome it is around 123bpm.

My first blog post that mentions the Brad Davis DVD is November, 2008.  I remember when I first got the DVDs I thought there was no way in hell that I would ever be able to play with the fast level – at least not note for note.  It is really cool that not 9 months later I am able to play along with it.

Now I still have a long ways to go, obviously.  I can’t really play this fast with the rest of the songs on the DVDs.  Also, 123bpm is not the fastest that people play in some jams around here in Dallas – they are typically 130-150.

How did I get here?  In my opinion there are some key factors that helped -

• Slow, intentional practice.  The Brad Davis DVDs are great because the slow level is really slow.  In just about every practice session I would start out with the slow and made sure I played it PERFECTLY;
• This blog – recording my progress and being able to look back at what I have done has been key.  When you get into a rut or plateau the journal helps you pick out things you forgot about and keep things fresh.  It also held me accountable when I was not practicing consistently or being lazy;
• Form – I started taking lessons via webcam with Taterbug a couple of months ago, and he immediately identified a flaw in my left hand form.  I took two months to slow things down and fix it, and now I see there would be no way I could play this fast before hand.

I want to give some credit to the mandoliniana blog for reminding me how important it is to look at yourself in the freshest, most honest mirror possible.  Also thanks to flatpicker650 for nudging me to do this and go public with it.

So, here is the clip.  In the recording I am listening to the DVD through headphones.  Its not the best I have ever played it, and its not the worst.  I always like to improvise out the Part B of Red Haired Boy, and I especially like what I did on this take.  There is a little of my stuff, and some classic Monroe licks.  Thanks and please leave comments!

Audio Clip: Red Haired Boy (Fast)

Filed under: Music & Mandolin Meditations, Music Clip, My Journal, Practice Session Notes

Lose the Ego

I have been super busy lately.  Life, life and another dose of life.  But I have been able get in some good mandolin practice and have even gotten to a couple of jams.  And of coarse I have been plugging away with taterbug.

My practice sessions have recently taken an interesting change – for the better.  I went through about a 2-3 week period where I was really lost, but now I have nailed down a really great practice regime.

Through my lessons with taterbug I have been building a good cateloge of Monroe style licks in all keys.  I am really trying to take these licks and positions and integrate them into my mandolin vocabulary.  So, I have been playing along with some recordings of jams and applying the licks to them.  I will take a lick that is in C and transpose it to G, or A or D and try it against several different songs.

I am also working on playing the melody, and playing what is in my head.   This has been a real turning point for me lately in my playing.  In the past I feel that I was reaching for notes that I knew would not be out of key, while not really thinking about the melody I was playing.  This makes for solos that start to all sound alike and that do not represent the melody.  Playing the melody has been something that does not come very naturally to me, and so I really have to work on it.

Another aspect I have been working on is the ego.  In a lesson with taterbug I mentioned how I froze up in jam and how that tension really affects my playing for the worse.  I feel that my playing at home and alone is much better than when I am in front of people.  His response was that playing in general becomes so much easier once you loose the ego.  He really just mentioned this in passing but it struck a chord with me.

The fact is that I am so worried about “sounding good” that it handicaps me.  My own ego is my belief that I should sound good, and that other people should recognize that.  I get so nervous worrying about what other people will think.  Loose the ego and you loose the nerves.  Who cares what other people think!  Have fun!

So I have been happy with the progress I have been making and I feel that my practice sessions will lead to more progress.

Below is a clip from a recent jam.  I like this solo because I had some really good ideas in it.  I used some licks that I have been learning and applied them really effectively.  But this clip is also an example of my ego getting in the way and my need to loosen up.  This solo could have been really good, but my tenseness gets in the way.  When I listen to it, I can really hear my musical idea and my insecure ego battling it out.

Loosen up, play raw, have fun.

05-07-2009 Bluebell Irving clip

Filed under: Jam Reflections, Music & Mandolin Meditations, Music Clip, My Journal, Practice Session Notes

Taterbug Smack Down

The previous two weeks were pretty stale for me on the mandolin front.  I got in two good days of practice in L.A., but that’s about it.  It showed during my lesson with Taterbug on Tuesday.  He had given me the assignment of creating my own solo to “When You Are Lonely” using some of the licks and ideas from our previous work – I didn’t really have anything to show for.  I couldn’t even play the solo off the score very well.

Mike was very cool about it – there was no such smack down at all really.  But he did want me to try again and bring something “to convince him” at the next lesson.

In truth this is what I needed.  I needed more time with the piece and more time to practice.  As I told Taterbug, I am just starting to get into the meat of the thing.

I got to jam a bit with my friend Keith this past weekend, and I sang “Blue Yodel #4″ for the first time.  My solo was good, but I was surprised that my yodel was even better.  I feel like my singing in general is improving.

So, I am pretty focused on coming to my next lesson with Taterbug.  In the last couple of days I have been doing a lot of Getting Into Jazz Mandolin exercises, and the practicing “When You Are Lonely”.  I also have been keeping up with Brad Davis.

The only thing missing is a jam – I really am itching to get to one.  I can’t wait for Garland to start up again.

Filed under: Jam Reflections, Music & Mandolin Meditations, My Journal, Practice Session Notes , Taterbug

Mandolin Practice in L.A.

I went out to L.A. this week for a couple of days of training.  I was really looking forward to this trip – not for the training, or for going California – but for the chance to get some alone time with my mandolin.

I did get in some good practice.  My homework from Taterbug from last week was to compose a solo to “When You Are Alone” using the licks and techniques I have learned over the last 6 weeks or so.  I had fun with this, but I also ran through some basic exercises and played some fiddle tunes.

I brought the Carver mandolin with me.  I acquired the Carver mandolin with the express intent of making it my travel mandolin.  Indeed it is a great travel mandolin – it sounded wonderful in that little hotel room.  I know it was the acoustics playing inside a thick walled square, but man did that mandolin sound great.  The Carver mandolin really reminds me of the Dudenbostel that Chris Thile plays on his Mandolin Techniques DVD.  She has a modern sound, but she can get dirty.  She likes a soft touch, but she really loves to chop also.  Probably what most reminds me of Thile’s Dude is this mandolin sounds so good all the way up the neck.

So I had a lot of fun getting to know the Carver mandolin.  I don’t know if I annoyed my hotel neighbors, but no one complained.

The other item I would like to comment on is mandolin travel cases.  I have recently acquired two new cases.  One Alpine Gig bag, and one Presto hardshell case.  I bought the Presto specifically for when I travel, but I have really fallen in love with the Alpine gig bag.  I have used the gig bag exclusively to and from jams the last couple of weeks.  It is light and has great pockets.

So before the trip I convinced myself that I didn’t need to take the Presto.  I figured that the mandolin would be with me the whole time, and besides, I was only going from taxi>airplane>taxi>hotel.

Well I learned my lesson on this one.  Basically the new rule is that anytime you are in situation where someone else will be handling your mandolin, you better use the hardshell case.  Not that anything bad happened, but I did have a incident where a taxi driver tried to pack the mandolin on its head in the trunk.

All in all a good trip, and I got a great idea for a blog post that I will be putting up soon.

Filed under: Music & Mandolin Meditations, My Journal, Practice Session Notes, Traveling Man , Carver

01-27-09 Practice, etc.

I put on some new string today; J74’s.  I dunno but immediately it seems that my mandolin likes these strings.  We’ll have to take a listen.

I have been getting in quick practice here and there.  Playing the slow tempos with B. Davis and playing scales.  I played Ark Trav fast last night and really killed it.  Hopefully I’ll get in some good practice this weekend.

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes

01-25-09 Practice Session

I got in plenty of practice this past weekend.  I am trying to get back in the groove of serious practice with the metronome.

Scales for improv > crosspicking – G – A – D

pattern 1 @ 60 = fun + nice tone

@ 80 = not too shabby

@ 100 = a little sloppy

I also did a lot of work with the Brad Davis videos.  I especially worked on “Whiskey Before Breakfast”…I got to the medium/fast and got frustrated.  On reflection though, I was able to play the B walkdown part at medium/fast, which I haven’t been able to do before, so there’s some improvement.

Before the Brad Davis DVD’s came along, I did a lot of work with the Steve Kaufman Cd’s.  I was curious to see if my abilities had changed much in the couple of months that I have put them down.  I played Arkansas Traveler and I found that I was a little better at the fast version, but I definately needed to improve there.

Next I went back to the B. Davis videos and put in some good work on Black Berry Blossom.  I need to get this one under the fingers.

In another practice session I spent a good hour just on the Patter #4 of “Scales for Improv”.  I did each pattern in G, A, C and D at the following metronome speeds: 60>80>100>120>160>180….I finally started to fall apart at 180.

I need to get to the 200 mark.

Filed under: Music & Mandolin Meditations, My Journal, Practice Session Notes

Action Plan for 2009 and Charley’s Jam

I was able to attend the slow jam at Charley’s this past Monday.  Well over 20 people showed up and it was a great jam.  I think I played the best that I really ever have before.  I was just tearing it up, and I got many complements.  What was I doing?  Simple stuff, really.  Playing a lot of blues notes, Monroe style.  Letting go on the double stops.  Trying to play tastefully, and trying to stay raw.  There were many highlights to the night.  I brought my H2 recorder, but alas, I was again foiled by dead batteries and so I didn’t get a good recording.  That was a real disappointment.

But for all of the great playing that night at Charley’s, I did leave with some concern.  I noticed that when we started to play a little bit faster, the wheels came off my playing.  In particular we played an Old Joe Clark at a brisk pace, and I just couldn’t reach a couple of notes, and more importantly, I wasn’t as creative.

Now, we were not playing that fast.  It is possible that I was just “out of shape” for playing up to speed, since I didn’t have any legit practice sessions for basically the month of December.  But, unfortunately, I think that it is more the case that I am still not up to bluegrass speed.

So, that brings me to my goals and action plan for 2009.

I want to focus on two things this year; 1) improving my playing speed; and 2) learning Monroe-style licks.

You know, I started this blog in October of 2007.  So, it has been a little over a year since I started playing and practicing the mandolin seriously.  I can honestly say that the progress I have made is astounding.  The great thing about keeping a journal is that you can look back and really see how far you have come.  Conversely, it can hold you accountable for not putting the work in.  But I can say that I have put a good amount of work into the mandolin, and it has duly paid off.

So, I really think that if I put another good year into this, I have the potential of really being a capable mandolin player a year from know.

What is a capable mandolin player?  The goal for me is to able to approach any jam, any playing situation, and be capable of playing tastefully, rightly, and play according to my intuition/soul.  That means being able to play fast bluegrass.  So I want to be able to play fast bluegrass with taste.

To get there I need to work on speed and I need to study a style.

On the speed front, I am convinced that I can drastically improve my picking speed by working on my left hand movement economy.  I think that I move my fingers too much.  I need to work on economy of movement, and first of all work on keeping my fingers low to the fretboard.

I am going to start out working on speed by 1) playing scales to the metronome; and 2) playing along to fast jam songs.  I like working with the metronome for many reasons, but most especially because it provides objective benchmarks to progress.  I have recently found that the Brad Davis DVD’s are great practice for speed.

Next, on to the style front.  This year I want to move a good portion of my practice on to studying the different techniques, licks and styles of great players.  This means that I want to spend more time dissecting solos and transcribing them.   Right now, my favorite mandolin player is Bill Monroe, and I really want to learn his licks and approach.  I want to spend more time this year taking apart his solos and absorbing his style.

Now, I am not going to set any hard goals for myself.  I am not going to say, “I want to have transcribed 5 Monroe solos by July and 10 by the end of the year”.  Equally, I am not going to set a bpm goal on the metronome.

Through all of the hobbies and phases I have gone through I have learned something about myself; things change.  The fact that I have kept this interest going for over a year now is to me a HUGE success.  The key has been to be flexible and not burn myself out.  For example I practiced like the devil for most of October and November.  Then I didn’t practice at all for December…and that’s O.k..

So I guess that the real goal for 2009 is to just to become a better mandolin player than I am now.  If I can look back on this blog a year from now and marvel at the improvements I have made, as I did this year, than 2009 will have been a success.

Filed under: Jam Reflections, Music & Mandolin Meditations, My Journal, Practice Session Notes

Thanksgiving Holiday Practice and Bailey Strap Review

I have to say that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Is is so much less stressful than the other holidays.  No presents, no fuss…just food, football, family and rest.

I got in a lot of practice throughout my 4 day Thanksgiving holiday.  My practice these past couple of weeks has consisted of warming up with the metronome and then hitting the Brad Davis DVDs.

Here are some notes from one practice session:

• scales & crosspicking @ 80bpm (felt good/sounded good); @ 92 (pretty messy); 85 (felt slower, but still messy on the first string and pinky); @ 75 (too slow!); @ 80 (slow and easy.
• played about half of B. Davis vol 2 DVD at all speeds.

I am hesitant to say, but I do believe that I am making some serious progress in the speed department.  At one point over the weekend I got to picking scales comfortably at 100bpm.  That is a new record for me.  I wanted to try myself out in song, and so I popped in the S. Kaufman cds.  I couldn’t believe it but at one point I was playing a fast song and was keeping up.

But, I am going to keep plugging away before I get to excited about anything.  I have to say that it is very motivating to know that the method I am taking may actually be producing results.  And if the progress that I think I have been making sticks, then it is pretty fast progress for basically a month of practice.

In other news I recently purchased and received my new Bailey Strap. This strap is replacing my old El Dorado mandolin strap I bought from Elderly.com.

First, I need to complain about the El Dorado strap.  This product is a pathetic excuse for a mandolin strap and is grossly overpriced.  First, within a month the glue between the upper and lower straps came undone.  The result is basically two straps flapping around on my shoulder.  Also, the strap connector to the tailpin is oversized.  This means there is no security of the strap staying connected to the endpiece.  The result is that I was constantly in fear of the mandolin falling to the ground and I always had to have two hands on the instrument.

So far, the Bailey Strap looks like a huge improvement.  The biggest selling point for me was the leather bead on the tailpiece end that secures the strap to the mandolin.  I am not completely confident in the mechanism yet, but so far I have no reason to think that it won’t work.  I payed for the strap via paypal, sent the seller my color request and size request, and I received the strap in the mail a week later – just in time for Thanksgiving.

The strap is braided with leather strips that smell great.  It is very handsome two colored, and again it smells great.  Besides being handsome, the braids function as providing friction against movement along the shoulder.

My only concern with the Bailey strap is that because it is tapered, the inside leather strips are not tied off.  They are held in place by the tension of the outer strips.  I am afraid that at some point they may lose tension, become unsecured, and then the strap would unwind itself.  I might go ahead and glue the inside strips myself, but I think I will wait and see if this turns out to be a problem or not.

But so far I am quite please with the strap and it is surely an upgrade from the pathetic El Dorado strap.

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes , Product Review, speed

11-23-08 Weekend Practice

Cowboys Win!!

It’s so good to see Romo back in the game.  The team is starting to click again.

I have been playing all weekend, but I got a good solid hor of practice in on Sunday when both the kids were taking naps.

• 1/4 note scales @ 80…argh!!…sloppy
• ” @ 60> 70 = perfect
• ” @ 80…got it > 85 > 90 = killed it!

I was really happy to pick so well @ 90bpm…I could have pushed it more, but needed to take a break.

I have been playing with the Brad Davis Flatpick DVD and I think they are really helping.  These DVD are really well produced.  I enjoy playing at the slow speeds to work on tone and melody, and then letting it rip on the fast tracks.

Also I put on new strings this weekend – J74’s.  Those Bobby Osbourne string lasted a really, really long time…I put them on in August I think.  But Charley’s doesn’t carry them, and I did want to try the J74’s

Filed under: My Journal, Practice Session Notes , new strings, speed

11-15-08 Weekend Practice

I got some really good practice sessions in this weekend…still pounding, pounding, pounding away at the scales and the metronome.  The scales are running off my fingers much easier, and I think that my tone has improved.  I think I have seen some very, very minor improvement in speed.

Most of my practice over the weekend has consisted of metronome and S. Kaufman.

• Scales & Crosspicking  @ 80>100>140>160 – I took it to 184 and was able to pretty much hang with it but my playing was sloppy so I stopped.
• Played with several Steve Kaufman tunes fast and slow.

I recently purchased some back issues of Frets and Acoustic Musician magazines, and in one of them is some transcriptions of Big Mon solos.  In particular I have been looking at the solo to “Letter From My Darling”.  It has some classic Monroe licks and double stops.

I went to the Southwest Bluegrass Club meeting on Sunday.  I got there earlier than I intended and so I had to suffer through the band that was booked to play.  In fact the whole meeting was pretty much a failure because out of the 3 hours I invested, I only got to jam for 25min.

The 25min of jamming was good though.  We played some fast bluegrass songs, and I was able to hang in there.  I don’t think I would have done so well 6 months ago.  I am not saying that my playing is anywhere near where I want it to be right now, but I am seeing some improvement.  I really want to see great improvement by Argyle in March.  So I just have to keep on plugging away.

It’s getting pretty cold here in Dallas (68′), so Sunday morning I made a chili according to the following recipe.  What allured me to this recipe was that the creator is from Dallas and the use of brown sugar.  I also added some cocoa, as I am wont to do.

I think it turned out pretty well, but the wife didn’t like it.  She said it was too powdery, and really I have to agree.  I did have to cut short some of the cooking time, so maybe that had something to do with it.

“Sierra” Chili
Colleen Wallace
Dallas, Texas

Meat – 2-1/2 pounds of chuck mock tender cubed or chili grind.

(1) – Brown in 1/2 teaspoon Crisco with seasoned salt.

(2) – Add 1 can Swanson Beef Broth, 1 8 oz tomato sauce and water to cover meat plus 1 inch (add water as needed).

(3) – Low boil for 1/2 hour and add:
1 tbsp – Terlingua Won Chili Powder
1 tbsp – Granulated Onion
1 tsp – Granulated Garlic
1/2 tsp – Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp – Ground Jalapeno Pepper
1 tsp – Beef Bouillon Granules
1 tsp – Chicken Bouillon Granules
1/2 tsp – Salt

(4) – Slow bubble for about one hour or until meat is tender and add:
4 tsp – Cumin
1 tsp – Granulated Garlic
1/4 tsp – Black Pepper
1 package – Sazon Goya
6 tbsp – Colleen Wallace Chili Powder
1/4 tsp – Brown Sugar

(5) – Slow bubble for 45 minutes

Filed under: Jam Reflections, My Journal, Practice Session Notes , chili, Jam Reflections, recipe, Southwest Bluegrass Club