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Magazine Volume 17, Number 6 September/Octo September/October ber 2013
Carl Jackson
Elliott Rogers Andrew Rigney JC Baxendale Guitars Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
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CONTENTS
Flatpicking Guitar
FEATURES
Carl Jackson & “Amazing Grace” Flatpick Profile: Elliott Rogers & “Little Teardrops” John Baxendale and the Colorado Guitar Company CD Highlight: Andrew Rigney & “Double or Nothing”
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Magazine COLUMNS Volume 17, Number 6 September/October 2013 Published bi-monthly by: High View Publications P.O. Box 2160 Pulaski, VA 24301 Phone: (540) 980-0338 Fax: (540) 980-0557 Orders: (800) 413-8296 E-mail: highview@atpick.com Web Site: http://www.atpick.com ISSN: 1089-9855 Dan Miller - Publisher and Editor Connie Miller - Administration Jackie Morris - Administration Contributing Editors: Dave McCarty Chris Thiessen
Subscription Rate ($US): US $30.00 ($60.00 with CD) Canada/Mexico $40.00 Other Foreign $43.00 All contents Copyright © 2013 by High View Publications unless otherwise indicated Reproduction of material appearing in the Flatpicking Guitar Magazine is forbidden without written permission
Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar: “Munde’s Child” Joe Carr Beginner’s Page: “Cryin’ Holy” Dan Huckabee Kaufman’s Corner: “Old Gospel Ship” Steve Kaufman Taking It To The Next Level: “Precious Lord” John Carlini Nashville Flattop: “Never Give The Devil A Ride” Brad Davis “Gathering Flowers from the Hillside ” Adam Schlenker “You Are My Sunshine” Beppe Gambetta “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” Orrin Starr “Old Time Religion” Dix Bruce “Gnarly” Mike Maddux Sharpening the Axe: “Cottonwood Rag” Jeff Troxel Flatpicking Fiddle Tunes: “Doheny’s Favorite,” “Doherty’s Reel” &“Done Gone” Adam Granger Classic Bluegrass: “Salty Dog Blues” Steve Pottier Practice (Oh Yuck!) Part 2 Dan Crary Chosing A Vocal Coach Kacey Cubero
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Printed in the USA
Reviews: Editor’s Picks Gear
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Podcast We are now broadcasting a new Podcast every month
Interviews, fatpicking tunes, and more. Check it out: http://www.fatpick.com/podcast.html 2
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
The Flatpicking Essentials Series
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 1: Rhythm, Bass Runs, and Fill Licks In the “Pioneers” issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Dan Miller laid out a atpicking learning method that followed the chronological developme nt of the style. This step-by-step method started with a solid foundation in the rhythm guitar styles of atpicking’s early pioneers—a style that includes a liberal use of bass runs and rhythm ll licks, combined with rhythmic strums. Volume 1 of the Eight Volume Flatpicking Essentials series teaches this rhythm style and prepares you for each future volume. If you want to learn how to add interesting bass runs and ll licks to your rhythm playing, check out this 96-page book with accompanyi ng CD. This book and CD are available in spiral bound hardcopy form, on CD-Rom, or as a digital download.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 2: Learning to Solo—Carter Style and Beyond
Hardcopy: $24.95 Digital: $19.95
The second book in the Flatpicking Essentials series teaches you how to arrange solos for vocal tunes by teaching you how to: 1) Find the chord changes by ear. 2) Find the melody by ear. 3) Learn how to arrange a Carter Style solo. 4) Learn how to embellish the Carter Style solo using one or more of the following techniques: bass runs; hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, & bends; tremelo; double stops; crosspicking; neighbori ng notes; scale runs and ll-licks. Even if you are a beginner you can learn how to create your own interesting solos to any vocal song. You’ll never need tab again! This material will also provide you with the foundation for improvisat ion. This book and CD are available in spiral bound hardcopy form, on CD-Rom, or as a digital download.
Hardcopy: $24.95 Digital: $19.95
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 3: Flatpicking Fiddle Tunes Flatpicking and ddle tunes go hand-in-hand. However, in this day and age too many beginning and intermediate level players rely too heavily on tablature when learning ddle tunes. This becomes a problem in the long run because the player eventually reaches a plateau in their progress because they don’t know how to learn new tunes that are not written out in tablature, they do not know how to create their own variations of tunes that they already know, and it becomes very hard to learn how to improvise. Flatpicking Essentials, Volume 3 helps to solve all of those problems. In this volume of the Flatpicking Essentials series you are going to learn valuable information about the structure of ddle tunes and then you are going to use that information to learn how to play ddle tunes by ear, and create your own variations, utilizing the following a series of detailed steps.
Hardcopy: $24.95 Digital: $19.95
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 4:
Understanding the Fingerboard and Moving Up-The-Neck
The fourth book in the Flatpicking Essentials series teaches you how to become familiar with using the entire ngerboard of the guitar and it gives you many exercises and examples that will help you become very comfortable playing up-the-neck. With this book and CD you will learn how to explore the whole guitar neck using a very thorough study of chord shapes, scale patterns, and arpeggios. You will also learn how to comfortably move up-theneck and back down using slides, open strings, scale runs, harmonized scales, oating licks, and more. If you’ve ever sat and watched a professional players ngers dance up and down the ngerboard with great ease and wondered “I wish I could do that!” This book is for you!
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 5:
Hardcopy: $29.95 Digital: $24.95
Improvisation & Style Studies
Are you having trouble learning how to improvise? To many atpickers the art of improvisation is a mystery. In the 5th Volume of the Flatpicking Essentials series you will study various exercises that will begin to teach you the process of improvisation through the use of a graduated, step-by-step method. Through the study and execution of these exercises, you will learn how to free yourself from memorized solos! This Volume also includes “style studies” which examine the contributions of the atpicking legends, such as Doc Watson, Clarence White, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Pat Flynn, and others. Learn techniques that helped dene their styles and learn how to apply those techniques to your own solos.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improvisation Part II & Advanced Technique
Hardcopy: $29.95 Digital: $24.95
Flatpicking Essentials, Volume 6 is divided into two main sections. The rst section is Part II of our study of improvisation. Volume 5 introduced readers to a step-by-step free-form improv study method that we continue here in Volume 6. The second section of this book is focused on advanced atpicking technique. We approached this topic by rst having Tim May record “advanced level” improvisations for nineteen different atpicking tunes. Tim selected the tunes and went into the studio with a list of techniques, like the use of triplets, natural and false harmonics, note bending, quoting, alternate tuning, syncopation, twin guitar, minor key tunes, hybrid picking, advanced crosspicking, string skipping, etc. There are a ton of absolutely awesome atpicking arrangements by Tim May in this book, with explanations of each technique.
Hardcopy: $29.95 Digital: $24.95
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 7: Advanced Rhythm & Chord Studies Flatpicking Essentials, Volume 7 is a 170 page book, with 67 audio tracks, that will show you how to add texture, variety, and movement to your rhythm accompaniment in the context of playing bluegrass, ddle tune music, folk music, acoustic rock, Western swing, big band swing, and jazz. The best part of this book is that it doesn’t just present you with arrangements to memorize. It teaches you how you can create and execute your own accompaniment arrangement s in a variety of musical styles. Don’t rely on the arrangements of others, learn a straight-forward and gradual approach to designing your own rhythm accompaniment.
Hardcopy: $29.95 Digital: $24.95 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
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Flatpicking Essentials
EDITOR'S PAGE Gospel Tunes Hello everyone, and welcome to the last issue of our seventeenth year of publication! We are proud to have the extremely talented Carl Jackson on our cover this issue. Carl has recently released a new CD on which he plays solo guitar on twelve Gospel hymns, and uses a different guitar on each cut. In keeping with the theme of Carl’s recording, I asked my contributors if they would submit a Gospel tune, if they felt inclined to do so. Several of them did send in Gospel tunes. So, if you like to play Gospel music, I think you will really enjoy this issue. Even if you don’t play any Gospel music, I think you’ll still nd plenty in this issue to keep you busy. Enjoy!
Workshops in Winfeld, Kansas Every year at the Walnut Valley Festival in Wineld, Kansas, part of the event is a pre-festival full-day guitar workshop that is held on the Wednesday before the festival ofcially starts on Thursday. This year the event runs from the 19th through the 22nd of September, with the pre-festiva l workshop held on Wednesday, the 18th. This year Tim May and I will be teaching the pre-festival atpicking guitar workshop. In the morning we are teaching a workshop on improvisation (An Approach to Improvisation on Guitar) and in the afternoon we are teaching a workshop on how to create interesting solos (Building Interesting MelodyBased Solos). If you’d like to nd out more about these workshops, or pre-register for them, go to the Walnut Valley website (http://www.wvfest. com/), click on “Special Events,” then click on “Workshops.”
2014 Jam Cruise In January of this year I went on the 2013 Jam Cruise that left out of Long Beach, California, and went to Catalina Island and then down to Mexico. It was so much fun, I’m going to do it again next year and I’d love for you to consider joining me! You’ll have four days of workshops and jamming, plus all of the other events that are available on the cruise ship, for a very reasonable price. There are even pre-cruise concerts, workshops, and jams on the Queen Mary in Long Beach the weekend before the cruise ship leav es. To nd out more about all of the events, see the ads that appear in this issue (pages 14 and 59), or visit the cruise2jam website: http://cruise2jam.com/
(800) 413-8296 www.flatpickingmercantile.com 4
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Flatpicking Guitar Digital Academy Flatpicking Guitar Digital Academy is an amazing self-contained software environment where you can browse, purchase, instantly download, and enjoy high quality atpicking video titles. You get every bit of the quality of a DVD, and in some cases better! We currently offer over 70 atpicking guitar titles from Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Homespun, Mel Bay, Accutab, and more! Learn instantly from Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Bryan Sutton, David Grier, Tim Stafford, Wyatt Rice, Dan Crary, Norman Blake, Tim May and many others. And we will continually be adding new titles!
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Study with your Flatpicking Heroes Instantly, at Home, High Quality, on your Computer! Over 70 Video Titles Now Available!
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
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Carl Jackson Carl Jackson could easily be included on the list of the most successful musicians to come out of the bluegrass world. He has worked with so many of the top bluegrass and country music artists that it would probably be easier to list the bluegrass and country stars with whom he hasn’t worked; that would be a shorter list. His professional career now spans almost 50 years and throughout he has been one of those “triple threat” guys who can sing, can write, and can play just about any stringed instrument he puts his hands on. He started touring as a member of Jim & Jesse’s Virginia Boys when he was only 14 and just before turning 19 hit the road with Glen Campbell for twelve years. He has won two Grammy awards, multiple IBMA and Dove awards, has charted singles under his own name on the Billboard Country Top 100, and has had literally hundreds of his songs recorded, with sales approaching fty million units. Not bad for a banjo picker from Mississippi! Although Carl started out his musical life as a banjo player, he has probably spent just as much time during his career playing the guitar. His latest CD release, Grace Notes, is of particular interest to acoustic 6
guitar fans. The new CD features Carl playing solo guitar on old familiar hymns, using a different acoustic guitar on each cut. Although this is a ngerstyle project, much of what Carl plays can be adapted to the atpick or hybrid styles and it is such beautiful guitar music that anyone who is a fan of the acoustic guitar will love this recording. We’ve wanted to feature Carl in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine for years and this new CD gave us the perfect opportunity. Born in 1953, Carl Jackson grew up in Louisville, Mississippi. His father, Lee, loved bluegrass music and performed with Carl’s two uncles, Pete and Sock, in a band called the Country Partners. Carl was fascinated with the banjo and by the age of eight he was learning how to play that instrument. Carl remembers, “Uncle Sock was taking banjo lessons from Bud Rose, a member of Carl Sauceman’s Green Valley Boys, and I decided to go along with him. Bud later gave me a few lessons and then, after he’d moved back to East Tennessee, he’d send me a tape now and then.” Carl started learning to play in the styles of
by Dan Miller
popular bluegrass players like Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, and Allen Shelton. Not long after he started learning how to play the banjo, Carl was invited up on stage to perform with his father ’s band. His father played the guitar and sung lead and baritone vocals. Carl describes his father as a ne rhythm player who could also play Maybelle Carter style leads. When Carl joined the band, Uncle Sock played the bass and sang some lead vocals, Uncle Pete played the mandolin and sang tenor, and Carl played the banjo and learned to sing harmony as well. When Carl was about 12 or 13 years old Jim & Jesse McReynolds were playing a show at a local schoolhouse and Carl’s father took him to the show. Afterwards, they went backstage, met the McReynolds brothers, and Carl played some banjo for them. Jim & Jesse said that they liked what they heard and so Carl’s dad said, “If you are ever needing a banjo player, I’d love it if you would consider using Carl.” Not a lot of time past before the McReynolds brothers called Lee Jackson and asked if he’d be willing to trust them with his boy. Carl said, “By then my Dad and Mom had
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been around them enough to trust them. I could not have landed in a better position.” By the time Carl joined Jim & Jesse he had learned how to play in the style of Earl Scruggs and Allen Shelton and was just starting to explore the chromatic style of Bill Keith. On some of the tunes, like “Border Ride,” “Standing On The Mountain” and “Feudin’ Banjos,” Carl played the solo that he had learned from Jim & Jesse recordings. On other songs he stepped out and played his own arrangements. Carl said, “They let me be myself. I tried not to overplay.” By the time Carl started playing with Jim & Jesse, he had also become interested in learning how to play the guitar in the style of Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed. He bought a nylon-string Martin guitar and started learning how to play ngerstyle. Carl said, “I spent hours on Jim & Jesse’s bus learning Chet and Jerry licks.” When asked how he juggled being on the road with a touring band and going to high school, Carl said, “The principal at my high school told me that if I made good grades I didn’t have to come to school all the time. He said I could show up when I wanted.” In the summer months Carl would live at Jim & Jesse’s home near Nashville since the majority of their shows were during the summer festival season. By the time Carl finished high school he felt like it was time to move on from his work with Jim & Jesse. Although he left the band, he always maintained a great relationship with the McReynolds brothers and gives them tremendous credit for his success. During his years traveling the roads with Jim & Jesse, Carl had the opportunity to play at festivals which also featured bluegrass legends like Ralph Stanley, the Osborne Brothers, Bill Monroe, and many more. He had actually met Earl Scruggs even before he was with Jim & Jesse. When he was still playing with his father’s band, they opened for a Flatt & Scruggs show in Jackson, Mississippi. Regarding having the opportunity to play on stage with Jim & Jesse and meet all of his bluegrass heroes when he was a teenager, Carl said, “I felt blessed to be with those folks. They were good guys and it was a lot of fun.” At one festival Sonny Osborne walked up to Carl with a small Master lock in his hand and put the lock on one of the brackets on Carl’s banjo. Carl said, “That lock is still on that banjo to this day!” After Carl left Jim & Jesse he played the guitar for the Sullivan Family band for almost a year. A young Marty Stuart, ve Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
years Carl’s junior, was also in the band. Marty grew up in the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi, which is about 25 miles from Carl’s home in Louisville. The rst time he met Marty, Carl and his father were at a jam session with the Page family in Philadelphia. He said, “Marty showed up at the house and he didn’t know a whole lot at that point, but he was like a sponge. After that night, I (but especially my Dad) spent many hours with him and it wasn’t long before he could play more on the mandolin than I could. It burned in him. I love his mandolin and guitar playing and I think he deserves every bit of the success that he’s had. We are still very close.” When he was with the Sullivan Family, Carl was still playing fingerstyle guitar and wearing his banjo thumb pick and ngerpicks. To play single-note lead lines he would simply use the thumb pick and index nger. Carl left the Sullivan Family when he decided to move to Ohio and form a band with picking buddies Keith Whitley, Jimmy Gaudreau, and Bill Rawlins. They were going to call themselves The Country Store. The band performed two trial gigs, but then another opportunity caused Carl to leave that band before it really got started.
Given the circumstance, the other guys in the band understood why Carl chose to leave. When Carl left, multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Arnold lled his spot. While growing up, Carl was a huge fan of Glen Campbell. Campbell had a popular television show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and Carl had learned how to play many of his tunes. In fact, one of the songs that Carl sang in the Jim & Jesse show was the Glen Campbell hit “Gentle on My Mind,” which was written by John Hartford. Carl said, “Some of the kids at school signed my yearbook, ‘We’ll see you on the Glen Campbell show some day!’” In the summer of 1972, Country Store band mates, Carl and Keith Whitley, went to the Ohio State Fair to see Campbell perform. At the time Larry McNeely was playing banjo in Campbell’s band and as Carl and Keith were walking to their car after the show, Carl saw McNeely standing alone backstage and took the opportunity to introduce himself saying, “Hello! My name is Carl Jackson and I love your playing.” To Carl’s surprise, Larry said, “Carl Jackson!!! I love your playing too!” and invited Carl to come back the next day and pick. The following afternoon, after Carl and Larry
Carl Jackson performing in Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop in 1963
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Carl Jackson performing with Jim & Jesse in 1970 had a chance to pick together, Larry said, “Do you play the guitar, too?” Carl responded that he did and Larry said, “I’m thinking of leaving the band, how’d you like to have my job?” Only a few minutes later, Larry introduced Carl to one of his heroes… Glen Campbell. Campbell asked Carl to play a few tunes on the banjo, like “Foggy Moutain Breakdown,” “Rocky Top,” and particularly, “Little Rock Getaway.” He then asked for Carl to play some guitar and even wanted to know if he could play Jerry Reed’s intricate, “The Claw.” He could, and did. Maybe that sealed the deal because the next words out of Glen’s mouth were, “How much do you want to make?” to which Carl jokingly replied, “A million dollars!” Carl joined the band and, with no rehearsal, performed with them in Nebraska at the State Fair only a short time after their rst meeting in Ohio. The band then left almost immediately for a tour in Australia. Carl moved to California and stayed in Glen Campbell’s band for twelve years (1972 to 1984). During a typical Glen Campbell performance Carl played guitar, banjo, mandolin, and ddle. He also sang tenor vocals. Although Carl said that he usually played guitar for 65 to 70 percent of the show, Glen would always feature his banjo playing in every show. In fact, the marquee at Glen’s shows included the tag line “featuring Carl Jackson.” Carl would play three or four banjo numbers in every show with Glen introducing him as “The World’s Greatest Banjo Player.” Although 8
Glen Campbell’s Good Time Hour television
show had gone off the air just a few months prior to Carl joining the band, the prediction of Carl’s high school classmates wasn’t totally off the mark! During his years with Glen Campbell, Carl had the opportunity to travel around the world playing music next to one of the most popular performers of the day. He appeared on numerous television and radio programs and had the opportunity to meet a long list of celebrities, including John Wayne, Ginger Rogers, Sonny and Cher, Bob Hope, Burt Reynolds, the Smothers brothers, and many more. During those days he also met Emmylou Harris. The two became friends and have worked together many times over the years. Although Carl rst asked Glen if he could have a million dollars for the job, he now says, “I wouldn’t take a million dollars in trade for the experiences I had with, and because of, Glen.” Those same Campbell years also saw Carl writing songs and recording solo projects. He recorded two albums for Capitol Records ( Carl Jackson: Banjo Player and Old Friends) and he recorded three albums for Sugar Hill Records ( Banjo Man: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs, Song of the South, and Banjo Hits). Between traveling the world with Glen Campbell and recording solo projects, Carl kept quite busy and was achieving great success, especially for a musician still in his twenties. When asked about Glen Campbell’s guitar playing, Carl said, “Glen is brilliant on the guitar. His solos were more jazzy
than bluegrass. He was really into Django Reinhardt. When we appeared on the Midnight Special with George Benson, I think Glen really surprised George with how well he could play. I learned a lot about guitar playing from Glen. There are certain licks that I play that I got directly from him. His solos on songs like ‘MacArthur Park’ and ‘For Once In My Life’ were phenomenal.” Carl said that when he rst joined Campbell’s band, Glen was playing about 50 percent of the time on a nylonstring guitar and the other 50 percent of the time on a steel-string acoustic. Later Glen also started playing electric 6-string and 12-string guitars. Carl was a big part of the Glen Campbell show. He played twin guitar parts with Glen on songs like “Bonaparte’s Retreat”; he played the guitar intros and traded solos with Glen on songs like “Wichita Lineman” and “Try A Little Kindness”; he played the banjo on tunes like “William Tell Overture” and “Classical Gas”; and much more. Throughout his 12 years as a member of Glen Campbell’s band, Carl continued to play the guitar with his ngers. It wasn’t until after he left the band that he started getting interested in atpicking. He said, “I had heard that Jerry Reed had gone to using a atpick and so that got me interested in it. I always loved bluegrass, but had never used a atpick on the guitar. But I always like what Glen did with a pick and what guys like Tony Rice were doing in bluegrass. Now I love playing with a atpick!” Today Carl plays atpick-style guitar when he performs with the Last Minute Mountain Boys, a group of Nashville players who get together to perform at Nashville’s Station Inn on each of the middle Mondays of every month. Members of this band include Carl Jackson (guitar, banjo and vocal), Larry Cordle (guitar and vocals), Mike Bub or Dennis Crouch (bass), Aubrey Haynie (ddle and mandolin), Larry Atamanuik (drums), Val Storey (vocals), Catherine Marx (keyboard), and Doug Jernigan (pedal steel guitar). The band plays both cover and original tunes in the styles of bluegrass and traditional country. When Carl was young and traveling with Jim & Jesse, he remembers hearing atpickers like Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Dan Crary, and a young Tony Rice and loving what they were doing on the guitar. But, he said that when he was younger he always felt that he could do anything that he wanted to do on the guitar with his ngers and ngerpicks. Now Carl says, “I realized
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that while I could get all of the notes with my ngers, the notes just don’t sound the same. There are tones and textures that you can get with the atpick that you can’t get with your ngers or ngerpicks.” Regarding his choice of playing with his bare ngers, or ngerpicks, or a atpick, Carl said that it all depends on what sound best ts the song. Carl left Glen Campbell’s band in 1984 because he got his own record deal on Columbia. He said that he had aspirations of being a touring artist with his own band and he did achieve some success along those lines. Between 1984 and 1985, he charted a couple of singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the old Lefty Frizzell tune “She’s Gone, Gone, Gone.” He started touring and he appeared on a few television shows, like Nashville Now. Unfortunately, while Carl wanted to continue playing more traditional styles of music, his record label was pushing him to go more in the commercial direction. He said, “I wasn’t happy with that and I didn’t want to do it. I have always believed that an artist should do what they do and let the people come to them.” Although it looked as if Carl’s career recording and performing under his own name wasn’t going to gain solid footing, the “songwriting door swung open.” Shortly after Carl had joined Glen Campbell’s band and moved to Los Angeles he wrote a song called “Letter to Home.” He wrote the song for his mother, father, and sister. Carl said, “After I moved to Los Angeles I wasn’t real good about writing letters back home to Mom and Dad and my Mom gave me a lot of grief about that. So, I got this idea that I’d try to make it up to them in a song.” Glen Campbell recorded the song in 1984 and it became a top ten hit. Carl then thought, “This is what I need to be doing.” From that point forward he started focusing more on writing and producing than he did recording and performing with his own band. At rst Carl’s main focus was songwriting. He signed with Polygram Publishing in the late 1980s and started making song demos. Musicians and labels in Nashville were so impressed with the quality of Carl’s demos that people started asking Carl to produce. Carl has been extremely successful as a songwriter. His songs have been recorded by artists such as Glen Campbell (“Letter to Home”), Wild Rose (“Breaking New Ground”), Pam Tillis (“Put Yourself In My Place”), Garth Brooks (“Against The Grain”), Trisha Yearwood (“Lonesome Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
Dove”), Diamond Rio (“Close To The Edge”), Patty Loveless (“You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are”), Steve Wariner (“The Same Mistake Again”), Vince Gill (“Real Lady’s Man”), Daron Norwood (“My Girl Friday”), and Rhonda Vincent (“I’m Not Over You”). Additional artists who have recorded Carl’s tunes include: Mike Snider, The Seldom Scene, Charly McLain, Nancy Sinatra, The Chuck Wagon Gang, Bobbie Cryner, The Lewis Family, Keith Stegall, Tony Rice, Red Steagal, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, lllrd Tyme Out, The Rarely Herd, Alecia Nugent, Continental Divide, The McCarters, The Country Gentlemen, Mark Newton, Johnny Paycheck, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Mel Tillis, Bradley Walker, Jim & Jesse, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Jon Randall, Ricky Lynn Gregg, Mountain Heart, Terri Clark, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Joe Dife, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Carl’s work can even be heard at baseball and football games as he has penned theme songs and jingles for the California Angels (“California 9 to 5”, “Dreams,” and “Something To Shout About”) and the Ole Miss Rebels (“‘Neath The Oaks In The Grove”). Carl’s “Little Mountain Church House” was voted the 1990 International Bluegrass Music Association “Song of the Year,” and
a more recent version by George Hamilton IV was a 2005 Dove Award nominee for “Bluegrass Song of the Year.” On February 25th, 1992, for his album with John Starling entitled Spring Training, Carl was awarded his rst Grammy. A few months later he received a Dove Award for southern gospel “Song of the Year,” “Where Shadows Never Fall”, recorded by Glen Campbell. The beautiful ballad, “No Future In The Past,” recorded by male vocalist of the year Vince Gill, was a huge songwriting success for Carl and was named the #1 “Country Song of the Year” for 1993 by Radio & Records Magazine. In 1998, after hearing Carl’s demo, Garth Brooks decided to include the Jackson spiritual entitled “Fit For A King” in his Sevens project. A poll conducted by Bluegrass Unlimi ted Magazine several years ago found Carl as having written eight of the top 200 bluegrass songs of all time. In the producing world, Carl has had the “great pleasure” to work with a wide array of artists from Bering Strait to Jim & Jesse to Bobbie Cryner—whose rst effort on Sony Records received the honor of “Best Country Album” of 1993 in USA Today. Carl has more recently produced projects for Shawn King, Jennifer Wayne, Bradley Walker (2007 IBMA “Male Vocalist of the Year”) and Alecia Nugent, as well as hot
Carl Jackson performing with Glen Campbell in Australia, 1972
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Carl Jackson with Tony Rice new country sweethearts, Joey + Rory. He is also the producer of the critically acclaimed tribute to the late Gram Parsons called The Gram Parsons Notebook , available on Shell Point Records. In 2003 Jackson produced Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers – a tribute to Ira and Charlie Louvin. The CD is a collection of duets featuring such artists as James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart, Del McCoury, Pam Tillis, Rhonda Vincent, and others. In addition to producing the record, Carl sang duets with Merle Haggard and Linda Ronstadt. He also played guitar, mandolin, banjo, and percussion. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, Livin’, Lovi n’, Losi n’ won the Grammy Award for “Best Country Album” and James Taylor and Alison Krauss won the Grammy Award for “Best Country Collaboration with Vocals” for their duet on “How’s the World Treating You.” In 2004, the album also won the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award for the “Recorded Event of the Year.” In October of 2011, another project that Carl produced was released to rave reviews. This project, Mark Twain: Words & Music tells the life story of Samuel Clemens and contains musical performances by Emmylou Harris, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Bradley Walker, The Church Sisters, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Val Storey, Vince Gill, Joe Dife and Ricky Skaggs, as well as 10
narration by Garrison Keillor, along with Jimmy Buffet, as the voice of Huck Finn, and non-other than Clint Eastwood, as the legendary Mark Twain. Carl even performs a song himself, entitled “Safe Water,” co-written with Jerry Salley. If you are not yet impressed with the long list of Carl’s work, just wait, there is more! Carl sang, and produced all the harmony vocals—save one song—on Merle Haggard’s release, The Bluegrass Sessions. On that recording Alison Krauss joins Carl to sing “Mama’s Hungry Eyes”. Additionally, Carl lends his talents to the critically acclaimed Brad Paisley project, This Is Country Music, singing harmony on the title track, as well as “A Man Don’t Have To Die”, along with Sonya Isaacs. That same project also features Carl, along with Marty Stuart and Sheryl Crow, on the bluegrass gospel classic, “Life’s Railway To Heaven,” not only singing some high lonesome tenor, but also soloing on ve string banjo. And if you want to hear Carl play some hot guitar, you can listen to him pick with Steve Wariner, Mark O’Conner and Jimmy Olander on “Hap Towne Breakdowne” on Wariner’s instrumental album, No More Mr. Nice Guy. Carl’s latest project, Grace Notes , released in early 2013, is a solo guitar recording of Carl playing a collection of old hymns on twelve different acoustic guitars. Classics such as “Wayfaring Stranger,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “When They Ring Those Golden Bells” are performed in Carl’s ngerpickin’ style, with bare ngers (no
picks). Carl’s father thought it would be a good idea to play each song on a different guitar from both Carl’s and his father’s collections. Carl’s father had owned a music store from 1976 through about 1988 and had always done instrument repair on the side. Over the years both he and Carl have built up an impressive guitar collection. The recording includes the story behind each instrument in Carl’s own words. The new CD was inspired by tunes that Carl like to play while sitting around at his parents’ home and picking for his own enjoyment. The new recording of hymns is something that Carl’s parents had always wanted him to record. With all of the other projects lling Carl’s time, this one took about ten years to complete because it was “mostly on the back burner.” Carl said, “I nally got it done with a nudge from my Dad. He told me, ‘You’ve got to do that guitar album.’ I nally nished it, but unfortunately Mom passed before I got it done.” Guitar enthusiasts will be interested in the guitars that Carl selected to use on this project, so here is a list: 1957 Martin D-28, 1931 Harmony parlor guitar, 1932 National Duolian, 2012 Recording King, another 1957 Martin D-28, 1961 Martin D-28, mid-1800s Martin parlor guitar, 1940 Martin D-18, 1929 Martin 00-21, 1968 Ovation Glen Campbell Deluxe Balladeer, 2012 Long Custom Dreadnought, and a 1943 Martin D-28 Herringbone. A booklet accompanies the CD with words from Carl about each guitar and Carl includes spoken word stories about each guitar on the CD. With fty years in the music business, Carl has gained a lot of experience in all aspects of music. When asked what advice he would give to musicians who are just starting out, Carl said, “I would give them the same advice that my Dad gave me when I was young. He stressed that I should never play faster than I can play cleanly. He told me that if I would learn to play it clean, then the speed would come. He also told me to always be the best I could be and he said that if I wasn’t going to do it right, I shouldn’t do it at all. That made sense to me even as a kid and I still follow that advice today when I’m writing songs. I won’t settle until I get it right. Mark Twain said that the difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Adding to his father’s advice, Carl said, “Students tend to try to do more than they are capable of doing right away. I think that if they learn to take their time and focus on
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
learning the right technique, they will be better off in the long run. I would rather hear someone play nice and clean at a moderate tempo then try to play at a faster tempo and fall all over it.” He also recommends that students listen to everything they can and learn from everyone, but don’t copy them. He said, “You are never going to sound exactly like someone else. Everyone has subtle differences. You can learn from someone else, but also put your own thing in along with what you learn. Then it will become your style.” On December 26th, 2011 the state of Mississippi honored Carl with an ofcial Country Music Trail Marker in his hometown of Louisville. The marker, which highlights Jackson’s career, is located near the historic Strand Theatre. Carl performs his annual Home for Christmas concert every December in the very building where he used to see movies as a kid, not to mention being born on the third oor of the building, which housed a clinic back in 1953. During his sixty years on this planet Carl Jackson, a Mississippi Music Hall of Fame member and 2012 Governor’s Award recipient, has been able to steadily and consistently perform at the highest levels of achievement. His dad told him that he should do it right and he has denitely followed that advice. At a time in life when many careers start to slow, Carl continues to write, sing, pick, and produce at the top of his game. We wish him continued success and we thank him for sitting down by himself in front of a microphone with twelve ne acoustic guitars and recording old hymns. Listening to his new CD will remind us all why we fell in love with the sound of the acoustic guitar.
The Flatpicker’s Guide to Old-Time Music by Tim May & Dan Miller
www.atpickingmercantile.com 800-413-8296 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
Although this new book by Tim May and Dan Miller will teach you how to play 11 old time ddle tunes, with variations and suggested rhythm ideas, the extra added value in this 160-page book (with 2 audio CDs), is the 50 pages of focused instruction on old-time rhythm playing. This material will not only help anyone learning how to play in an old-time music ensemble, it will help any atpicking guitar player who plays with a small ensemble (duo or trio that does not include a bass) learn how to play solid rhythm with an interesting array of bass note selections, bass walks, and bass runs. This is a “must have” addition to any atpicker’s library!
September/October 2013
11
Amazing Grace
Audio CD Track 3 G
Arranged by Carl Jackson Transcribed by Alois Kleewein
G7
= 160
0
D B G D G D
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Amazing Grace (con’t) D
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 4: Understanding the Fingerboard & Moving Up The Neck The fourth book in the Flatpicking Essentials series teaches you how to become familiar with using the entire ngerboard of the guitar and it gives you many exercises and examples that will help you become very comfortable playing up-the-neck. With this book and CD you will learn how to explore the whole guitar neck using a very thorough study of chord shapes, scale patterns, and arpeggios. You will also learn how to comfortably move up-the-neck and back To Order: down using slides, open strings, scale runs, harmonized scales, oating licks, and more. 800-413-8296 If you’ve ever sat and watched a professional www.flatpickdigital.com players fingers dance up and down the ngerboard with great ease and wondered “I www.flatpickingmercantile.com wish I could do that!” This book is for you! Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
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14
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
œ
Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar
œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ H.O.
by Joe Carr
0 0
1
2
0
2
0
3
“Munde’s Child”
Here is an arrangement of an original banjo piece by 5-string master Alan Munde. “Munde’s Child” appeared originally on the 1986 album Alan Munde - In The Tradition (on the Ridge Runner label, RRR0035). The title is a clever pun on the old English nursery rhyme that begins with the phrase “Monday’s child is fair of face.” The tune was recorded in the Waylon Jennings studio at South Plains College on Oct. 31, 1985. Ed Marsh was the engineer. It was included in 1994 on the compilation CD Alan Munde: Blue Ridge Express on the Rounder label. It is currently available on iTunes or directly from Alan. Alan remembers: “You [Joe Carr] used the school’s 1951 Martin D-18 and I used my Stelling Staghorn. I wrote it while I was living in California, so that would have to be around
1974. Other than Slim (Richey), you were probably the only one I knew who could make all the holts and grips to play along.” “It seems to me, you and I went into to the studio and cut it as a complete take with no overdubs. We may have tried a few times, but did get a complete as-you-hear-it take. I think it sounds pretty damn good and holds up well after all these years.” I always enjoyed learning Alan’s compositions maybe because he uses such a rich harmonic pallet. Certainly, this tune gave me a chance to play many of the chord types I had learned over the years. It is a jazz waltz and it certainly does have all the holts and grips! “Holts and grips,” by the way, was a humorous way Alan and I referred to guitar chords in a mock country boy manner. The reference may have originally come from country comedian and guitarist George Gobel.
The album Blue Ridge Express has 20 tunes and is a great bargain at $15 directly from Alan. Included are many bluegrass standards as well as six Munde compositions including the favorite “Peaches and Cream.” A number of classic, hard-to-find instrumentals (including “Bluegrass Express,” “Remington Ride.” and “Sockeye”) are here played by a variety of great musicians including David Grier, Sam Bush, and others. The CD and banjo tab is available from almundesbanjocollege. com. If nothing else, buy “Munde’s Child” for 99 cents on iTunes! You can even hear a little sample for free. [Editor’s Note: We were unable to get a recording of this tune for our audio companion. If you want to hear the tune, please go to iTunes and listen to the short clip, or download the tune as Joe suggests.]
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine & SimpleFolk Productions Present:
J o sh
An dy
C hr i s
Williams, Falco & Eldridge Live at the Station Inn “Guitarmageddon” In this one-hour DVD Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and SimpleFolk Productions present three of today's top young flatpicking guitarists performing together in a live concert setting at the “World Famous” Station Inn in Nashville, Tennessee. Josh Williams, Andy Falco, and Chris Eldridge perform in a trio setting, as duo pairs, as solo performers, and with a full bluegrass band (with guests Cody Kilby and Mike Bub). Guitar players will appreciate the left and right hand close-ups that are prevalent throughout this DVD.
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
15
Munde’s Child A m11
T A B
D7
3 5 5
3 5 5
3 5 5
3 5 5
5
5
5
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G dim
G M7
3 5 4 5
A m7
Arranged by Joe Carr
3 5 4 5
3 5 4 5
3 5 4 5
G M7
D 7b9
B m7
C dim
E m9
3 4 4
3 4 4
7 7 7
7 7 7
7 8 7
7 8 7
3
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B m7
7 7 5 7 0
7 7 5 7 0
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3 4 3
3 4 3
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3 4 3
3 4 3
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D7
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A m11
D 7b5
3 5 4 5
7 9 9
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5 7 7
5 7 6
3 5 5
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B M7
2 3 4 4
2 3 4 4
2 3 4 4 2
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1
D M7
3 2 3
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3 2 3 1
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
3 2 3
6
3 3 3 5
3 3 3 5
September/October 2013
Munde’s Child (con’t) A m11
D 7b5
D7
D.S. al Coda
31
3 3 3 5
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6
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G
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D 7b5
6 5 6 5
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G M7b5
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3 3 4 5
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And also. . .
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www.granger-music.com 1 • 800 • 575 • 4402 granger publications • box 270115 • vadnais heights, mn 55127 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
17
Gcdgcdgcdgcd
Beginner’s Page
gcdgcdgcdgcd by Dan Huckabee
Cryin’ Holy “Cryin’ Holy” is a certied bluegrass standard that has been recorded by many of the legendary bluegrass bands. I’ve always favored the Ricky Scaggs mandolin break from the New South album, so, I’ve borrowed just a touch of this guitar solo from Ricky’s mandolin solo. This solo is one of the tunes from my latest instructional DVD/Book called: Gospel Favorites For Bl ueg ras s Guit ar . The course is also available for download, and if you don’t want the whole course, you can choose any individual song, just like iTunes. This solo is all in rst position and is easy to learn when you read the tab and follow the slow and fast versions from the CD that
18
accompanies this issue of the magazine. If you buy the course, it will come in the video rather than audio format. I’ve created it in such a way that you will be able to really punch it, so you should turn a few heads after you have had enough time to really master it. As always, keep your pick directions alternating and your powder dry. You’ll see my ad for this course in the back of this issues and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. folks@ musicians-workshop.com or 512 328 5055.
www.atpickingmercantile.com 800-413-8296
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Cryin’ Holy
Audio CD Tracks 4 & 5
Arranged by Dan Huckabee G
Capo 4th Fret
# 4 & 4Π1
œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ S
S
Œ
T A B
# &
œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 1 3 3 2 4 4
3 4
1 2
H
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6
œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ #œ nœ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ H
0
H
0 2
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# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œœœ & œ œ 10
0 3
1
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September/October 2013
0
H
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0 0
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
œœ œœ œ
S
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œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ nœ # & œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ D
3
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3
2
2
14
3
3
1
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2 0
3 0 0 0 2 3
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ 3 0 0 0 2 3
3 0 0 0 2 3
3 0 0 0 2 3
˙˙ Ó ˙˙ Ó 3 0 0 0 2 3
19
Kaufman’s Corner The Old Gospel Ship
Hi friends, and welcome my corner of the magazine. Since this is a gospel issue, I thought I would snag two birds with one stone. This tune – “The Old Gospel Ship” – is a great beginner piece that I used to use when I was teaching private lessons. If the folks didn’t want to work on a gospel song, I would teach it as the theme to the movie Dillinger. (The difference being that the Dillinger version had an eight-measure B part that went to F: F/F/C/C/F/F/G/G7. Maybe another time we’ll look at that add in.) I wrote out two versions, one for my beginners and the second for those who want more crosspicking stuff. The first version is played mostly out of two chord shapes: the full C chord and the “Wildwood Flower” C chord. The one when you hold the 2nd string, 1st fret, rst nger C (see the rst measure) and the 3rd string 2nd fret second nger A and allow the 1st string to ring open (See measure 2). Hammer-on to the A in measure 2 and repeat throughout the song. There are lots of hammer-ons in this arrangement. One thing to keep in mind is that in the key of C, G, and sometimes A, the 2nd fret when fretted, is almost always a legal hammer-on. In some of the arrangements that you already know, change the solid 2nd fret melody or back-up note to
by Steve Kaufman
a 2nd fret hammer-on fret note and see how it ts. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble on this solo. Have fun. The second version is a little tougher but you knew that was coming. This one kicks off with a great intro lick starting on the + of 1 upbeat and it’s a hammer-on to boot. Count out 1+2+3+4+ 1 then on the + of 1 (up-swing) start the run with a hammer-on and go! Next you have to get the rhythm of the crosspicking: Da da Da da Da da DA. Da da Da da Da da DA. Be sure to use alternate picking all the way through the rolls: DUDUDU D DUDUDU D etc. You will also notice in some measures the last notes are eighth notes so keep that pick alternating and you will smooth this puppy out quickly. Measure 7 is a little tricky, with a pull-off and hammer-on in the middle of the eighth
notes. Pick and hit all the notes until the timing is felt and heard better. Then apply the pull-off and hammer-on and keep the picking in the proper directions. Watch out and use the arrows for pick direction. Measure 14: You will nd a sixteenth note pull off. This pull-off (two notes) is your down-swing or the rst eighth note’s time. The C note on the 5th string has to be your up-swing. The pull-off is extremely fast and crisp and only gets a half-beat. Fun stuff – have a great time with this tune and let me know how it treats you. See you at Kamp in June! Bye for now, Steve Kaufman www.atpik.com www.palacetheater.com
FGM Records Presents:
Andy Falco Sentenced to Life With the Blues This is a long awaited recording from one of the top young atpickers in Nashville, the Infamous Stringduster’s Andy Falco, and includes some of Nashville’s most outstanding bluegrass performers in support, including Josh Williams, Cody Kilby, Adam Steffey, Luke Bulla, Jason Carter, Andy Hall, Noam Pikelney, Jim Van Cleve, Andy Leftwich, Alecia Nugent, Rob Ickes, Tim Dishman, and more.
Call 800-413-8296 to Order
www.atpickingmercantile.com 800-413-8296 20
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Old Gospel Ship
Audio CD Track 7
Melody
Arranged by Steve Kaufman
œ œ œ 4 &4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ C
0 1 0 2
0
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3
C
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G7
5
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0 1 2
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œœ œ œ
œ œ &œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ C
1 0 0 0
0
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œœ œœ œ
G7
0
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1 0 0 0
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œ &œ œ œ œ C
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0 1 0 2
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0 1 2
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0 1 2
2
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1 0 0 0
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œœ œ œ œ œ
œœ œ œ œ œœ œ
0 1 0 2
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 2
0
C
0
2
3
2
3
2
œœ œ œ
œœ œ
G7
3
œœ œ œ œ
3
9
0 1 0 2
0 1 0 2
3
œ œ œ œ œ œ &œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ C
œœ œ œ
C
3
2
C
0
2
0
1
0 1 0 2
(C) 2013 Steve Kaufman Enterprises Inc 800-FLATPIK Single Song Downloads at www.flatpik.com
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
21
Taking It To The Next Level: “Precious Lord” Accompaniment by John Carlini
“The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.” — Duke Ellington
when you listen to each other the result is musical synergy. The sheet music here makes this available for you to play with another guitarist. I transcribed the melody part as Bill phrased it. That is the reason for all those eighth note triplets. Though it is in 4/4 time, each beat be at is sub-divided into 3 parts. Count, “One, and, ah, Two, Two, and, ah, Three, and, ah”. ah” . There will be times when it does not exactly sync with Bill’s phrasing, and that’s OK. Ultimately, his phrasing is the way to go. The music is a close approximation. If you try playing along you will experience that. The chord part just happened as I listened to Bill’s voice. Again, it is a guide. Feel free to personally express the part.
When Dan Miller told me that that this this issue of FGM was focused on gospel music, I called my friend, Bill Robinson, and we decided to record something appropriate. That is how this version of “Precious Lord” came to be. My job here was to accompany. To accompany a vocalist requires listening on the highest level and playing chords and linear material that are both complimentary and unobtrusive. We each know the piece, and we had a plan for an arrangement, but from there it was pure listening and reacting. When you are fortunate enough to have a Bill Robinson to accompany, and
I must confess that I played this ngerstyle! I could have used a atpick and the part can certainly be played with a pick. It’s just that once we got started it felt more natural to use my ngers. I hope hope you you enjoy enjoy listening listening to and and playing, playing, “Precious Lord”. Please visit John’s web site (www. johncarlini.com) to sign up for the latest performance performance and teaching info and acoustic music news. John is now giving live oneon-one lessons on guitar and 5-string banjo using Skype technology. More info is available on the web site.
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43 guitar solos of Favorite Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Gospel Songs! Aimed at beginning beginning and intermediate guitarists, this book is packed with songs, solos, and techniques that every guitar player should know. Carter style solos, back up guitar parts, crosspicking solos, harmony parts, ddle tunes for gui tar, & much more! Solo list and complete details online.
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Precious Lord
Audio CD Track 9
Slow
Arranged by John Carlini and Bill Robinson
q = 603 3
3
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
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September/October 2013
By Brad Davis The Devil and Dynamics When Dan Miller told me that this issue was going to feature Gospel music, I thought, “What perfect timing!” I have just recently released a new Gospel recording, through Bluegrass Valley Records, titled Walk On Faith. This is my rst Gospel recording and I had a lot of fun writing and recording these tunes. You can check out the CD on my website (www.braddavismusic. com). This song, “Never Give the Devil A Ride,” is an mid-tempo tune and I split my guitar solo with the mandolin and six-string banjo. The mandolin and six-string banjo play a straight and fairly sparse eighth-note solo together, and then I jump in and double time my guitar solo with a stream of sixteenth notes. I play a mixture of alternating pick strokes and “double-down-up” pick strokes as you will see indicated in the tab. If you listen to the recording you will hear that just after I nish my solo, I bring
the energy of the song way down to just a rolling banjo playing when the vocal comes back in. Then the energy slowly builds back up when the mandolin chop, and then the guitar re-enter the song. In arranging the song, I thought it would be effective to build the energy with the sixteenth-note solo, and then bring it way down with just the banjo and vocal. All of the instruments and energy don’t come back in until we reach the chorus. I think this style of arrangement gives a nice dynamic feel to the tune. In bluegrass music we tend to always want to keep the energy high and the notes ying. Sometimes though, it is nice to lay way back and bring the energy down, especially after a real fast and furious solo. Dynamics can be used to great effect both within your solo and in the song arrangement as a whole. Try playing around with the dynamics the next time you arrange a solo, or arrange the groove and feel of a new tune or song for your band.
www.atpickingmercantile.com 800-413-8296
The Bluegrass Guitar Style of
Charles Sawtelle In addition to the tablature and standard notation of 27 Sawtelle solos, this book also includes: A detailed Sawtelle biography, An in-depth interview with Charles, A section on Charles’ rhythm style, Charles Sawtelle Discography, The rst ever Slade biography, Notes on each solo transcription, and Dozens of photographs. A must for all Sawtelle and Hot Rize fans!
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September/October 2013
25
Never Give The Devil A Ride
Audio CD Track 10
Written by Brad Davis
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New Standards for Flatpicking Guitar Original Flatpicking Guitar Tunes Performed in Duo by Many of Today’s Top Pickers Call 800-413-8296 www.flatpickingmercantile.com
26
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Flatpick Profle:
Elliott Rogers by Dan Miller
Elliott Rogers’ ability to write captivating songs, sing strong lead vocals, and play both rhythm and lead guitar make him a desirable choice for any bluegrass band. The fact that Elliott has spent the last six years as a member of the Alan Munde Gazette speaks highly of Elliott’s talents. When a bluegrass banjo legend like Alan Munde selects someone to ll the role of lead singer, songwriter, and guitar player in his band, you know that the guy is no slouch. Regarding Elliott’s role in his band, Alan Munde said, “Elliott knows that in a band circumstance you don’t have to play everything all the time and he manages to nd the right holes and the appropriate times to put in the guitar runs and the guitar sounds. He knows when to play full chords and when to back off and just play pieces of chords. He knows when to lay back on the rhythm so that all the other instruments can come out. Sometimes the guitar can be a little overwhelming and take up space from the other instruments, but he knows how to leave the other instruments plenty of space to do their thing. Additionally, playing in either a duo or a trio setting with Elliott, he is able to expand his playing to ll up parts and make a fuller sound. In summary, he knows how to play the guitar appropriately in a band circumstance, but can also do so in a duo or trio.” Elliott Rogers grew up in a military family and so when he was young the family moved around a bit, but for the majority of his young life he lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother was a piano teacher and had given lessons to each of his four older sisters. When it came time for Elliott to learn how to play the piano, he thought of it as a “girl’s instrument’ and didn’t want to learn how to play it. Instead, he wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Elliott said that when he was very young there was a Sears cowboy guitar around the house, but it was un-playable. When he was Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
in sixth grade, his parents bought him a new Stella guitar from the post exchange on base. It was 1968 and Elliott wanted to learn how to play like the Beatles, so they also bought him an Easy Beatles songbook. When asked about learning from that book Elliott said, “I was doing good until I hit the F chord. That slowed me down.” Elliott stayed with the guitar through high school and began playing the music that he enjoyed hearing on the radio from artists like Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt. He said that he was attracted to good musicianship combined with good songwriting. Elliott was not at all familiar with bluegrass music until sometime around his sophomore year in high school when he and some buddies snuck into a bar in Golden, New Mexico. A bluegrass band—the Big River Boys—was playing in the bar. Elliott said, “It was 1973. The musicians in the band were all longhaired guys and a bunch of hippie kids were dancing to the music. The mandolin player had a bottle of liquor in his back pocket and it was a very wild scene. I looked at what was going on in there and I thought, ‘That is what I want to do!’” Shortly after his experience in the New Mexico bar, Elliott attended a bluegrass festival in Colorado where he was able to see bands like Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys and Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys perform. He said, “At the festival there were hippies, older cowboys, business professionals, and farm workers all playing music together and getting along. I loved it so much that after I got back home I signed up to take a few banjo lessons from Wayne Shrubsall.” Elliott did not know who Wayne was at that time; he had just heard from some friends that this guy Wayne taught banjo lessons at a music store. When Elliott walked into his rst banjo lesson he recognized Wayne as the banjo player from the Big River Boys. Even though he took a few banjo lessons, Elliott continued to work on his
September/October 2013
guitar playing and was inspired by Doc Watson’s picking on the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album. After joining the Army in 1975, Elliott continued playing and singing music. Stationed at Ft. Hood, in Texas, he made friends with another soldier in his company who knew how to play the banjo. They started picking together and eventually found someone to join them on bass. The trio began performing in and around Austin, Texas. That group lasted about a year and broke up because the banjo player was transferred to Germany. The Austin music scene was booming in those days and Elliott continued to play music with anyone who he could nd. He met now-famous singers and songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Blaze Foley, Calvin Russell, Darden Smith, and Nancy Grifth. Elliott actually sang some vocal parts on Robert Earl Keen’s rst recording and played with Townes Van Zandt for a short time. In 1979, when his Army enlistment was up, Elliott left the Army, but stayed in Austin. Elliott oated around the Austin music scene and kept busy by forming a band with his bass player friend from the Army. The two called themselves “The Ramblers” and hired themselves out as a back-up band for songwriters. That job led to Elliott hosting a songwriter’s night every Tuesday at an Austin club called the Soak Creek Saloon in 1985. He ran that gig for a year, playing behind talented singer/songwriters like Townes Van Zandt. Elliott also formed a small band that would open for many of the songwriters who performed at Soak Creek. The group consisted of Elliott on guitar, 27
a bass player, a ddler, and Elliott’s wife, Janice, on harmony vocals. After a ten-year stay in Austin, Elliott decided to move back to Albuquerque. As soon as he landed in town he looked up his old banjo teacher Wayne Shrubsall and asked about forming a band. They recruited mandolin player Claude Stephenson and added Elliott’s wife to form the core of the band. That band, Elliott’s Ramblers, performed together for 23 years. During the early years they went through a number of bass players until Janice learned to play the bass. Wayne Shrubsall is a musicologist and has been a contributor to Banjo Newsletter over the years. Claude Stephenson is the state folklorist for New Mexico and has played music all over the Southwest. The band recorded several projects over the years, but Elliott says, “Our main CD was one that we recorded in 1996 called ‘Til Love Comes Around .” That CD was produced by Charles Sawtelle of Hot Rize. Regarding his time with Sawtelle in the studio, Elliott said, “It was amazing working with Charles. He was very good at telling you that you weren’t doing something quite right in a very nice way. He was very patient. It was nice to be around him. I learned a lot.” Two years after the band recorded their ‘Til Love Comes Around CD Elliott recorded a solo CD titled Coming Back To You. Elliott said, “Coming Back To You really wasn’t a bluegrass CD. There was a guy who liked my songwriting and wanted to produce a CD of my original music and used some studio musicians.” Elliott started writing songs in high school and has written ever since. Many of his songs have been recorded by other singers and bands. In 2005 Elliott and his wife decided that they wanted to move back to Texas and started making preparations for the move. Shortly before that time Wayne Shrubsall was invited to teach banjo at Camp Bluegrass. Wayne and Alan Munde had recorded an album together in 2003 and were good friends. After Wayne experienced
Camp Bluegrass he told Elliott that he needed to go down there, so the next year Elliott went as a student. Then, the next year, he volunteered to work at the camp leading the slow jams. Joe Carr and Alan Munde, the camp directors, liked the way Elliott worked with the students so much that they have hired him to come back each year as a guitar instructor. In 2006 Elliott got an interesting call from Steve Smith, who is the mandolin player in the Alan Munde Gazette and an instructor at Camp Bluegrass. Steve told Elliott that the band was looking for a guitar player and asked if Elliott wanted the job. Elliott accepted the offer and moved back to Texas shortly thereafter. He and his wife found a home in Driftwood, Texas, literally just down the street from where his wife Janice had lived when Elliott rst met her. As luck would have it, Driftwood is very close to where Alan Munde currently resides. As if fate was smiling on them in making the move, it turned out that Jill Jones, a singer who had recorded a few of Elliott’s songs on her solo projects, also lived in the same neighborhood. Elliott and his wife formed a band with Jill called 3 Hands High. So, in making the move back to Texas, Elliott ended up living very close to all of his musical collaborators. As if that wasn’t enough Elliott said that guitarist Slim Richey also lives in his neighborhood. He said, “It is a great neighborhood full of musicians and artists. Everything fell into place when we moved back here.” When asked about his learning process back when he rst started learning how to play bluegrass guitar, Elliott said that he started learning by listening to Doc Watson and Dan Crary records and trying to gure out what they were doing. He has always been self-taught on the guitar. When he teaches guitar lessons he likes to work with beginners and emphasizes smooth chord changes. He said that his main goal in teaching beginners how to play the guitar is not so much about the technical aspects of playing as it is about keeping the beginners
excited about what they are doing. He said, “I want them to be excited enough about playing the instrument so that they can get past the frustrating and awkward parts of learning how to play and get to the fun parts. I start them with simple three-chords songs and work to keep them excited about learning.” When asked about playing in Alan Munde’s band (which also includes Steve Smith on mandolin, Nate Lee on ddle, and Bill Honker on bass), Elliott had to admit that when he rst joined the band he was a little bit intimidated by the level of musicianship. He said, “I was motivated to practice really hard to get my chops up. The other band members made me feel at home and were very interested in working on my songs, so that made me more comfortable.” The song that Elliott chose to tab out for this issue was recorded for The Alan Munde Gazette’s CD Made to Last , released in 2008. The tune, “Little Teardrops,” was written by Elliott back when he was in the Army. Elliott currently plays a Collings D1A that he has owned for seven years. He said that it is the best guitar that he has ever owned. If you’d like to nd out more about Elliott Rogers, check out either of the band’s web sites, 3handshigh.com or alanmundegazette. com. Or, if you really want to know a whole lot about him, register to attend Camp Bluegrass (www.campbluegrass.com) in Levelland, Texas, next summer and spend some time getting to know him and hearing him perform with the band!
DocFest: A Musical Tribute to Doc Watson and his musical partners Merle Watson and Jack Lawrence featuring Many of Today’s Top Pickers Call 800-413-8296 www.flatpickingmercantile.com 28
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Little Teardrops
Audio CD Track 11
G
Written by Elliott Rogers
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
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29
Gathering Flowers from the Hillside by Adam Schlenker Gathering Flowers from the Hillside
When I began putting together the arrangements for my Family Tree album I knew I wanted it to showcase my inuences while presenting the music in a way that was unique to my experiences. I have been fortunate to nd myself in many diverse music situations over the years, covering a large variety of genres and styles. These experiences, musicians, songs and styles are the make-up of my musical Family Tree. The arrangements are an array of solo, duo, trio, and quartet performances that I believe represent my past and present.
30
I first learned “Gathering Flowers from the Hillside” from a Clarence White recording. On that recording it’s titled “Masters Bouquet.” The melody jumped out at me instantly and I can never get enough of Mr. White’s crosspicking! I’ve played this tune off and on throughout the years but it really seemed to t on this record. For my arrangement I tried to tip my hat to both Clarence White and Norman Blake, two of the biggest inuences on my atpicking. I made no intentional direct references but instead tried to make these inuences felt more than heard. Along with using the fundamentals of C position, there are a few techniques I focused on in this arrangement. First, I wanted to leave the melody alone, as much I could. Second, I developed the crosspicking in different directions, forward and backward. The arrangement seen here is a two-pass compilation of ideas from the Family Tree recording. On the audio recording that accompanies this issue, you’ll here the melody version, the compilation version, which is tabbed out on page 32, and then you’ll here the full version from my CD. The rst pass of the compilation version uses a forward approach to the crosspick patterns where the second uses a backward approach. I lled things in with the toggle technique, alternating a melody note with a note from the chord on an adjacent string. The easiest places to see the two pick directions are in measures 29 and 45 (shown on the next page as examples 1 and 2). The forward pattern starts on a lower string, then moves toward the treble strings (ex: D-G-B). The backward pattern typically starts on a lower string, to play a melody note, then reaches down into the treble strings and works back toward the middle strings (ex: D-B-G). Alternate picking (DU DU) can still be used in these situations but I personally use quite a bit of the rest stroke approach
(DDU or UUD). Be willing to explore the options but ultimately you need to nd what works for you and be consistent. I didn’t limit the crosspicking to measure length patterns. For the most part, it’s merged into the melody and toggle in smaller segments (see measures 26 and 41, also shown on the next page as Examples 3 and 4). To make the phrasing more interesting and create a more syncopated feel, I added a sixteenth-sixteenth-eighth-note phrase throughout. The trick is to pick down on the rst sixteenth note, hammer-on the second one, then pick an upstroke on the eighth note. See measures 22 and 38 (shown as examples 5 and 6 on the next page). The final technique I use to build the arrangement is the toggle. This is an alternate picking technique where you pick down on one string then up on another. These are often adjacent strings but do not have to be. This technique works great to maintain the feel and rhythm of an arrangement, sort of like a building a metronome into the arrangement. See measures 44 and 26, shown as Examples 7 and 8 on the next page. When it comes to using pick patterns other than all alternating, there is the risk of over-thinking it. I approach these techniques by following the direction of the pattern. I pick in the direction of the notes I need, then pick the opposite direction on the last note in the sequence (DDU or UUD). By practicing these options you can create a natural reaction to the patterns and not get bogged down by thinking about every note you play. Have fun, explore and let’s keep these atpicking techniques moving forward!
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Audio CD Track 12 & 13
Gathering Flowers from the Hillside Melody
Capo 3rd Fret
Arranged by Adam Schlenker
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
ww ww 0 1 0 2 3 3
September/October 2013
You Are My Sunshine by Beppe Gambetta
My latest work The American Album is totally dedicated to the American Roots Music and to the traditional art of the flatpicking guitar. If you move in this direction you can compose new music that follows the traditional aesthetic, you can research and revive old music that for different reasons is forgotten, or you can give a new life to a known standard with an arrangement that reflects your own personality. In the album I moved in all these three directions and, being a big fan of old romantic melodies, I took the challenge to rearrange the beautiful “You Are My Sunshine.” The song has only one short melody line (verse and chorus are basically
the same) and this leaves you with a small “territory” to work on. Moreover the melodic line is so beautiful that you feel embarrassed to touch it and change it and this forces you to work more on different kind of embellishments—arpeggios and strummings—that can generate variations to the sound. In order to find a richer sound I experimented the melody in many different keys and tunings and I nally landed on the DGDGAD tuning that seemed to offer me a lot of possibilities. I worked the arrangement adding a short “refrain” between verses in order to add some extra breath. I added here and there some new chords, trying to generate variations without (hopefully)
being outrageous and I took the liberty to change one note to the melody, in the place where you go “…my only…” I went a whole step down instead of half step because in the slow mood it sounded better. I played the melody four times through: plain melody, simple arpeggio, tremolo style, strumming style. Here is the transcription of the rst two parts, if the pickers will be interest we will publish the other two. Ciao
Become A Better Rhythm Player. Take Orrin Star’s Workshop In The Comfort of Your Home. Call 800-413-8296 to Order
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
35
THE
O
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
“Swing Low Sweet Chariot” is an African-American gospel tune that has long been part of the folk and bluegrass repertoires. I sing this one in the duo shows I occasionally do with Leon Morris (played it in D and capoed up three). Instead of full solos I like to play turnarounds: instrumental breaks framed on just a line or two of the progression. Turnarounds are a common feature of many bluegrass gospel arrangements. In songs like this one—in which the verse and chorus share the same chord progression—they add variety and keeps thing moving. I’m going to cover three different turnarounds for “Chariot.” And let’s begin by looking at the rst verse: D G D I looked over Jordan and what did I see? E A Coming for to carry me ho - ome D D7 G D A band of angels coming after me Bm A D Coming for to carry me home
Our rst turnaround is framed on the last line of lyrics. This is by far the most popular framework for a turnaround. And in this instance it means that we’re playing
- ZONE by
Orrin Star
Bm to A to D as we sing “Coming for to carry me home.” The turnaround itself is not so much a statement of the melody as it is a ddle-like burst of eighth notes that dances around it. It starts with a two-note intro that leads into the B note and ends (as many mandolin turnarounds do) with a hard hit on the root note (D) followed by some emphatic strums. Like all turnarounds this one can also be used at the top of an arrangement as an introduction—or as an ending. They are versatile little fellows. Our second turnaround follows the same form as the rst but starts up the neck and features a longer “trail-off”: notes tagged on the end of a solo that extend it for an extra measure or so. Trail-offs provide the most regular setting in bluegrass for bursts of pure licks. Top ddlers and mandolin players really go to town on them. Because of its extra length I think this second turnaround would be a great candidate for use as an ending. It also features some of my current favorite licks. And any left-hand laggards (or Django emulators) should be gratied that no pinky use is required or advised. Pay particular attention to the two accent notes in this one; they are essential.
Our last turnaround is framed on two lines of lyrics. It jumps from the rst (“I looked over Jordan and what did see?”) to the last (“Coming for to carry me home.”). (As such it could also be thought of as a halflength solo.) This one cleaves to the melody for the rst few notes before heading into Eighthnoteville. I really like this particular option for “Chariot” as playing over a single line sometimes feels too short. Lastly remember that turnarounds aren’t just for gospel tunes. Any time you’ve got a song with lots of verses or an arrangement which feels as though it’s getting too long they are a dandy option. And it’s also cool to mix and match, using a turnaround for an intro or an ending in an arrangement with full solos in the middle. (As usual it would be useful for you to hear the recording that accompanies this issue. In addition to playing the turnarounds proled I also sing a verse and chorus.) Orrin Star is an award-winning guitar, banjo & mandolin player based in the Washington, DC area. The 1976 National Flatpicking Champion, he has toured and recorded widely, is the author of Hot Licks for Bluegrass Guitar, and performs mostly solo and duo. He offers private music instruction both in person and online. See www.orrinstar.com.
Fiddle Tune Practice Tracks Tune List Disc 1 1. Arkansas Traveler 2. Bill Cheatham 3. Billy in the Lowground 4. Blackberry Blossom 5. Cuckoo’s Nest 6. Fisher’s Hornpipe
Tune List Disc 2 1. Old Joe Clark 2. Red-Haired Boy 3. St. Anne’s Reel 4. Temperance Reel 5. Turkey in the Straw 6. Whiskey Before Breakfast
www.fatpickingmercantile.com 38
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Audio CD Tracks 17-19
Arranged by Orrin Star
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> = accented note
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
39
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (con’t) Turnaround #3 D
G
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Orrin Star’s
Flatpicking Guitar Primer What The Tab Won’t Tell You
A comprehensive introduction to bluegrass lead guitar pl aying by one of America’s top atpicking teachers, this video brings to light vital, yet often overlooked, subtleties that are at the heart of this exciting style—those things that the tablature won’t tell you. Among them: • how to think like a ddler and get the “dance pulse” into your playing • the central role of strums in lead playing (as applied to Carter-style and Blake-style) • right hand fundamentals like: how to properly alternate your pick, how to modify your right hand technique when strumming, performing double-stops, and rest strokes • the role of double-stops and harmonized leads • using lyrics & singing styles to guide your solos Starting with a simple scale and then progressing through eight cool arrangements of classic tunes, this 2-hour video doesn’t just spoon feed you solos—it provides a systematic guide to the thi nking behind and within the style.
Call 800-413-8296 to Order
$24.95
40
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
“Old Time Religion” Crosspicking in G and E by Dix Bruce Let’s look at two different crosspicking solos to the traditional song “Old Time Religion,” the rst in the key of G, the second in the key of E. “Old Time Religion” has a short form: only eight measures in length and its simple melody makes it a good candidate for crosspicking. As you’ve read in my columns and books over the years, I crosspick with two basic patterns. Both place the melody note on the lowest string of a repeating threestring pattern. The melody note is usually followed by two chord tones on higher pitched strings. The rst crosspicking pattern I learned is played on three consecutive ascending strings. For example, the melody would be played on string 4 followed by drone notes on string 3 and 2. I generally alternate pick directions with every note: down-up-downup-down-up. We’ll use this crosspicking pattern on the solos. The other pattern I use is also placed on three strings but not three consecutive strings. For example, the melody would be played on string 4 followed by drone notes on string 2 and 3. After the melody note is played, I skip or cross over string 3 and rst play string 2 followed by string 3. My pick directions for this pattern are usually downup-up, down-up-up, down-up-up. One could argue that the rst pattern is not really a “crosspicking” pattern in the traditional sense of the term because the pick is not skipping or crossing over a string as in the second pattern. It’s just another sound color to me and I like the slightly different sounds each pattern offers. Most solos, if they’re modied slightly, will accommodate either pattern. You should experiment with both and see which you prefer on different solos. Both “Old Time Religion” solos are from my Old-Time Gospel Crosspicking Guitar Solos book/CD set (available from Mel Bay Publications). Both patterns are used extensively in the book. The two “Old Time Religion” solos are not necessarily meant to be played as a medley but there’s no reason you couldn’t arrange it as such. I thought it would be Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
interesting to explore how the melody was played in two different keys. The rst solo is played out of the key of G and it’s fairly easy. The challenging parts will be in integrating the slides into the picking pattern. That happens in the rst full measure and also in measure 4. In measure 5 you’ll need to use the closed position G and C chords, shown below. We’ll capo at the 3rd fret for this solo. The third capoed G solo will sound like it’s in the key of Bb. There’s no particular reason to capo the solo at the 3rd fret, or to capo it at all. I just liked the feel and sound of the solo at the 3rd fret. Try both solos at other locations on the ngerboard. Fretting nger numbers are shown above the lyrics between the standard notation and the tablature staff. G
C
1
1
2 3 4 x
x
r
x
The key of E solo on “Old Time Religion” is a little more difcult to play than the key of G version. But I’m convinced that the only reason is that atpickers tend to avoid playing leads in the key of E. It’s a shame to do that because the key of E on the guitar offers not only the lowest note on the standard tuned guitar but also other very nice timbres and sounds. I hope you’ll give the solo and the key of E a try. As with the key of G solo, some of the chord positions may be new to you and you’ll have to use your pinky here and there to play the patterns correctly. The chords are shown in the next column. In measure 12 we’ll play a brief B chord with the rst nger bar at the 4th fret. From there you’ll use your third nger to reach a few notes that are above the 4th fret. You’ll come back to this B chord in the second half of measure 16. I didn’t use a capo on the recording for the key of E version. Of course you can play either version with or without a capo.
September/October 2013
B
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Dix’s latest CD is “Look at it Rain” with Julie Cline. It’s available from his website, www.musixnow.com/dixandjulie.html, where you can preview all the songs, from iTunes and from CD Baby. Dix’s latest guitar book/CD set are AllTime Favorite Parking Lot Picker’s Guitar Solos and Old-time Gospel Crosspicking Guitar. Recent publications include The Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook series and Gypsy Swing & Hot Club Rhythm, Vol. I & II for guitar and mandolin. Log on to www.musixnow.com for information on new releases and tons of free music, tablature, and MP3s to download and learn.
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Podcast We are now broadcasting a new Podcast every month
Interviews, fatpicking tunes, and more. Check it out: http://www.atpick.com/ podcast.html 41
Old Time Religion
Audio CD Tracks 21-24
G
Arranged by Dix Bruce
D
G
s
2 Gim - me that
T A B
s
2 old
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4 1 1 1 re - li - gion, Gim - me that old -
time
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old
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old
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re - li - gion, Gim -me that
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4 time
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for
4
me.
4
2
Arrangement © 2012 by Dix Bruce 42
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Music Theory:
Mastering the Fingerboard Technical Studies for Flatpickers by Michel A. Maddux
Which Scale Form?
In workshops and emails the question “which scale pattern should I use over bluegrass?” sometimes comes up. It may be that some teachers or guitar methods indicate use the pentatonic scale over blues, or similar advice. This advice seems limiting to me, as it implies that I would never use a major/minor scale form, or chromatic forms to play blues, only pentatonic. I think rather the advice is intended to show a starting place. So where do we go from there? After Pentatonic – Meta-Tonic!
In previous issues of Flatpicking Guitar Ma ga zi ne I have demonstrated seven different major scale forms and forms in every key along with minor forms. That does not mean that you use all seven forms all the time or in every song. The real goal is to nd the sound that you want to present to reect the song that you are playing. In the set of exercises I show the same lick in G and C played in three positions and upper and lower octaves. Grab your guitar and play through the exercises. Be certain to use the positions indicated as the idea is for you to learn to hear and play the notes in different positions.
In most songs and tunes an easy variation is to play the melody in a low position, then again in a higher position. In Exercises 6 and 9 we play a lick in open 1st position G and C. In exercise 7, 8, 10, and 11 we play the same lick in a closed form. This form is shown in G and C, however move the form down two frets from G and you are playing the lick in F. Move it up two frets from C and you are playing in D, or down two frets for Bb, three frets for A and so on. Create a lick of your own and use this type of thinking to nd the notes in alternate positions on the ngerboard. Be sure to nd the lick in all of the keys (or at a minimum, C, D, and G).
Mike’s guitar music can be heard regularly in the Rocky Mountain West. Contact information on recordings, books, and correspondence can be found at www. madduxband.com and at /reverbnation. com/mikemaddux. Search Facebook and YouTube for the latest clips and news.
New from FGM Records
“Gnarly”
The song for this time is one that I wrote to use some of the concepts we have studied. A repeated lick in different positions used to establish the melody. I hope you enjoy adding this song to your musical repertoire. Have fun, and keep on pickin’!
Jane Accurso Untanglin’ My Heart This new recording from Missouri-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jane Accurso also features Brad Davis, Dan Miller, Tim May, and Gretchen Priest-May To Order: 800-413-8296 or
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
43
Maddux Exercises (con’t) Exercise 10: C 5th Position
# ˙ . # œ n œ . œ . œ œ œ & #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ ˙. ... .. .. 23
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# œ n œ . œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ . # œ œ œ # œ œ # œ . ˙. & . . ... .. .. Exercise 11: C 7th Position
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 8: Introduction to Swing & Jazz The eighth and nal book in the Flatpicking Essentials series teaches you how to begin to play swing and jazz tunes in the context of a atpick jam, including how to learn to improvise over swing and jazz chord changes. After presenting how to study and utilize scales and arpeggios in the context of using them as “road maps” for improvisation, this book presents three variations of ten standard swing and jazz tunes. You will learn the basic melody, plus two arrangements of each tune by Tim May. The tunes presented include: Avalon, Bill Bailey, 12th Street Rag, The Sheik of Araby, Rose Room, After You’ve Gone, St. James Inrmary, St. Louis Blues, Limehouse Blues, and I Ain’t Got Nobody.
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
To Order: 800-413-8296 www.flatpickdigital.com www.flatpickingmercantile.com 45
John Baxendale & The Colorado Guitar Co. By Dan Miller Last year when Tim May and I were touring in Colorado, we made a special trip to the town of Littleton because we had heard good things about John Baxendale, his Colorado Guitar Company, and his custom JC Baxendale guitars. I’d played one of his guitars at a festival in Pagosa Springs a month earlier and was very impressed with the workmanship, playability, and sound of the instrument. During our visit to John’s shop, Tim and I had the opportunity to play several more of John’s guitars and we both liked every instrument that we played. These guitars were among the best new guitars that I’ve had the opportunity to play. I recommend that if you are in the market for a new guitar, you put the JC Baxendale guitar on your list of possible candidates. You could say that John Baxendale was born into the world of acoustic guitar building. His father, Scott Baxendale, started building guitars for Stuart Mossman in Wineld, Kansas, in 1974 and worked with Mossman until 1977. After leaving Mossman, Scott moved to Nashville in 1978 to work repairing and restoring guitars for George Gruhn. After spending some time in Gruhn’s shop, he then moved to Texas. In 1982, John Baxendale was born in Garland, Texas. In 1985 Scott Baxendale bought the Mossman Guitar Company and moved it to Garland. He sold the company four years later, in 1989. After splitting up with John’s mother, Scott moved to Colorado. John stayed in Texas with his mother. After John’s mother was tragically killed in an auto accident, John moved to Colorado to live with his father. During his high school years John became interested in woodworking, but studied more about how to build furniture than musical instruments. In 1996 John began working on guitars with his father in a small shop that Scott maintained at the Denver Folklore Center. In 1998 Scott opened the Colfax Guitar Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
Shop in Denver where he continued building custom guitars and performed repairs and restorations. John helped his father get the shop up and running, worked there during his high school years, and took over full responsibility for the shop’s repair work in 2001. John ran the repair department of his father’s shop from 2001 until 2009. During that time he repaired in the neighborhood of 4000 guitars. John also started building guitars at the rate of about one per year. By 2009 he was ready to step out on his own and started the Colorado Guitar Company with a partner. Scott Baxendale sold the Colfax Guitar Shop in 2010 and moved to Athens, Georgia, where he continues to build, repair, and restore guitars. One very interesting aspect of Scott and John’s work, a practice that the Baxendales continue to this day, is repairing and restoring old Kay and Harmony student
September/October 2013
model guitars, which were built between the 1940’s and late 1960’s. Scott started John working on these old guitars back in 1996 as a way to help John learn about guitar construction and repair. They buy old Kay and Harmony guitars on-line or at yard sales and then rebuild them. They remove the back, re-brace the back and top, re-set the necks, re-fret the ngerboard, and replace the bridge. John said, “The back, side, and top wood that was used on these guitars is all good, they were just poorly designed and poorly built, so they sounded thin and boxy. After we rebuild them they sound way better.” John said that over the years he has rebuilt about 50 old Kay and Harmony guitars. I had the opportunity to play one of the rebuilt Harmony models a few years ago at the Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival in Denver and I was quite impressed with the sound and playability. Since opening his own shop in Littleton in 2009, John has continued to spend the majority of his time repairing instruments. He has built an average of about four to ve custom guitars per year since going out on his own, with plans to increase those numbers in the future. When asked about how his acoustic guitar design differs from the standard Martin design, John said that after repairing, restoring, and rebuilding guitars, and examining them closely, he believes that a guitar will sound best if the back and sides are rigid and the top is allowed to be the prominent driving force. Therefore, he builds his instruments with thicker wood on the back and sides and he laminates three of the back braces to make the back more reective (an idea that he got after working on old Larson Brothers guitars). He feels that the rigidity of the back and sides of his guitars is one of his aspects of design that make them sound consistent and balanced. In addition to providing more rigidity on the back and sides of the guitar, John has also made slight changes to the typical 47
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Fairfax, VA - September 5-6-7-8 Mando/Guitar Workshops - Concert 707-849-4889
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Martin top-bracing pattern. He said, “My bridgeplate ts tight against the X-brace and diagonal tone bar and I laminate the transverse brace the sits under the ngerboard in order to keep the neck angle from changing over time.” John makes his bridgeplates out of a thin and stiff piece of Brazilian rosewood because he likes using a very resonant piece of wood. Even though he makes small changes to the standard Martin designs, John said, “I’m not trying to reinvent the guitar. I think the best designs have already been made. I try to emulate those designs and make small changes in order to build the best guitar that I can.” Most of the custom guitars that John has built to date have featured mahogany back and sides and Adirondack spruce tops. He does, however, also like to use Indian and Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides and has used both Engleman and Sitka spruce tops. He likes to use an ebony bridge, although he has also used Brazilian
rosewood. His saddles are bone unless the customer species otherwise. All of the guitars that he has built to date have been custom orders. He has built 12-fret and 14-fret Dreadnoughts, 12-fret 000, and OM style guitars. He said that he has also built a few guitars with Gibson body styles, but he prefers to work with Martin body styles. If you are in the market for a new guitar, or want to check out a rebuilt old Harmony or Kay guitar, I’d recommend that you look at the work being done by John Baxendale. He said that although he typically likes to maintain traditional aesthetics, he also enjoys working with his customers to achieve a unique look and design. John is producing some ne acoustic guitars. You can nd out more about JC Baxendale Guitars and The Colorado Guitar Company by looking at their website: www.coguitar. com.
Los Gatos, CA - September 13-14 Guitar Workshop and Concert
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Calgary, Alberta - Oct. 17-18-19-20 Mando/Guitar Workshops - Concert 403-880-2166 or
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Rocky Mt. House, Alberta - Oct. 20 Steve in Concert 403 845 6404
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Springfield, IL - October 25-26 Guitar Workshop and Concert (217) 787-7788
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Westport, WA - November 1-2 Guitar Workshop and Concert 360-268-0111
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Albany, GA - November 8-9 Guitar Workshop and Concert 229-869-2498
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865-982-3808
In the tradition of the great guitars of the 1930’ s
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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Sharpening the Axe by Jef Troxel “Cottonwood Reel” with Harmony Welcome back to my corner of the atpicking universe. Back in June I wrote out a harmony part for a tune called “Cottonwood Reel” for some students at a music camp in Colorado. They performed it at the student concert and it sounded terric with about a dozen people divided between the melody, harmony and rhythm parts. I thought I’d share it with you in this column, along with a short primer on harmonizing a melody. “Cottonwood Reel” is a sweet little tune with some crosspicking in the B-section. It doesn’t get played very often and I hope this arrangement will help bring the tune into the limelight. You should start by learning the melody and chords before going onto the harmony. If you go no further than that at least you’ve added something to your repertoire and our time together will have been worthwhile. Next you could simply learn the harmony part by rote and start playing it along with friends at a jam. It’s a nice way to play the nal chorus of a tune and can include everyone. But to really get the most from this article you’ll want to learn a bit about the process of harmonizing a melody. Understanding a few basic points of music theory will go a long way toward providing what you need to harmonize other songs. There are four chords in “Cottonwood Reel”: C, F, G, and Am. Technically the song is in the key of D since we capo to the 2nd fret, but let’s discuss the chords in the key of C to keep things simple. All four of these chords are “diatonic” in the key of C, meaning they only contain notes from the C major scale (CDEFGAB). All four chords are triads, meaning they contain three notes: a root, a 3rd, and a 5th. The notes of a C major triad are C, E and G (every other note from the scale beginning on C). The F major triad contains the notes F, A and C. G major contains G, B, and D. Finally the Am triad contains the notes A, C and E. Before we begin our analysis of the song let’s dene a couple of terms:
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
Chord-tone: A chord-tone is a melody note that comes from the triad of the chord being played for accompaniment. For instance; if the rhythm player is strumming a C chord, chord tones would include any of the three notes of the C triad (C, E, or G). Passing-tone: A passing-tone is a melody note that passes between chord tones in a step-wise manner. If the rhythm player is strumming C and the notes of the melody move from C to D to E, the D note is a passing-tone between C and E, which are chord-tones
If we analyze the A-section in the melody part, we see that chord-tones are found on the strong beats (beats 1 and 3) in the measure most of the time. This is a common thing to have happen in diatonic music because it ties the melody strongly to the chords. The exception is on beat 3 of measures 3 and 7 (an E note against a G triad – in this case it’s called an “accented” passing-tone). The A-section of the harmony part follows the same pattern. Notice that most of the harmony follows the melody a 3rd below, with exceptions on beat one of measure 4 (in this spot, a 3rd below the melody would result in a non-chord tone on a strong beat), and in the rst and second endings where I opted for some contrasting motion. I also chose to end the phrases on all endings with unison between the parts in order to create a more musical line for the harmony player. In measures 10, 11, 14 and 15 of the B section we encounter the crosspicking part. Every note of the melody is a chord-tone so I also made that the rule in the harmony part. The rest of the B section follows the same general tendencies already discussed for A. From this analysis we can craft a few guidelines (not necessarily rules) for creating harmony parts:
it’s okay to do so. Your ears should make the nal judgment as to whether something sounds good or not. I hope you enjoy playing “Cottonwood Reel” and that members of your jamming circle make it one of their new favorites. I also hope you’ll experiment with harmonizing other tunes, or even making up a harmony above the melody for this one. Feel free to email me with questions or comments, and I’ll catch you next time.
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1) The harmony should mimic the general contour of the melody most of the time. 2) Chord-tones in the melody are usually harmonized by chord-tones. 3) Non-chord-tones in the melody are usually harmonized by non-chord-tones. 4) Exceptions to the guidelines above can be made when musical taste dictates that
September/October 2013
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Cottonwood Reel
Audio CD Track 29
Capo 2
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Arranged by Jeff Troxel
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The new Planet Waves NS Micro Tuner is now available at www.fatpickingmercantile.com or you can call 800-413-8296 to order 50
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Cottonwood Reel Harmony Capo 2
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The Cooper Ecco-G Guitar Stand is now available at www.fatpickingmercantile.com or you can call 800-413-8296 to order Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
51
PICKIN’ FIDDLE TUNES by Adam Granger
photo here
THREE-D Greetings, atpick friends. This time, I present three tunes in a row as they appear in my book and CD set, Granger’s Fiddle Tunes for Guitar . They’re all D tunes, and yet only two of them are in the key of D, kind of like those old riddles that end with, “I am the son of the doctor who treated me, but the doctor is not my father. Who is the doctor?” (Answer: the doctor is my mother. This riddle worked much better when there were fewer women doctors). They’re all straight-ahead reels, the rst two Irish and the third a Southern tune introduced to the atpick world by Norman Blake forty-some years ago. As noted, the rst two are D tunes; Done Gone is a G/Em tune: rst part in G and second and third parts in Em. This dictates that the tune end after the rst part, so as to bring it back to its original key. As a rule, music sounds very unnished if it doesn’t end on both its root note and its root chord.Some rock and pop music deliberately ends on non-root chords and notes, and cajun music will often end on a four chord as the accordion breathes its last gasp at the end of the song or tune. But in the staid ddle tune genre, we almost always expect root endings. Some Thoughts on Flatpicking’s Past and Future Flatpicking’s a funny creature, in that it employs a tech nique that is hundreds of years old—moving a plectrum-type im plement over the strings of an acoustic instrument in a back-andforth manner at a high speed—and yet is considered a new style, and its own genre. Balalaika and bazouki players have employed this technique longer than grannies have been gumming grits, and guitarists such as Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt plied their trades with alternate-picked fast notes on guitars when Doc was but a lad. What Doc did was to adapt this picking to the ddle tune genre, and what a can of big, fat, juicy shing worms THAT opened! His timing in introducing this magic was perfect: bluegrass had just started actually being called bluegrass (1955, give or take, depending on which scholar you read), there were a number of hot acoustic-electric country pickers around, and guitar players in bluegrass bands were champing at the bit to do something besides boom-chick backup. Enter Doc to rock everyone’s world. Shortly after came Clarence White, Norman Blake and Dan Crary, and then, around 1970, the hip Tony Rice, and the stage—and the genre—were set. Wineld came along about then, with its atpick contest (where yours truly “tied for sixth” the rst year), people started making Doc Watson-style recordings, which is to say solo albums full of old-timey songs and ddle tunes played on an acoustic guitar and including hot atpicked solos. Dudley Mur phy and I recorded Twin Picking —the rst twin atpick album—in 1976. More and more bluegrass band guitarists started picking 52
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solos in songs and tunes, and guitar magazines started covering atpicking. I had a atpicking column in the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association’s publication starting in 1975. Then along came Steve Kaufman and Dan Miller, the two most effective promulgators of our genre: Steve with his very successful Kamps and his 58,000 Mel Bay book titles, and Dan with his hundred-plus Flatpicking Guitar issues and his atpicking instructional series. The upshot of this evolution is that we have what is rare in music: a completely open-ended genre. As long as you’re using some kind of a atpick and an acoustic guitar, anything goes. There is absolutely nothing that a atpicker can pick, whether onstage at Wineld or on an album or at a jam session, which would elicit a response of “I’m sorry, but that’s just too far out there,” from another picker. It is, perhaps uniquely, a genre whose practitioners egg each other on, not just in terms of speed (always an im portant part of atpicking), but also content. It’s now not uncommon to hear pickers play at the rate of eleven and twelve notes per second, and experimental, bizarre or eccentric content will always bring compliments, as opposed to criticism, from other pickers. While bluegrass has always had experimenters—the Kentucky Colonels in the early 60s, the electric banjo and bass of the Osbornes in the mid-60s, the Newgrass Revival in 1971—they have had to endure, straight along, a line of criticism from purists who insist that they “play it like Bill played it.” Can anyone imagine someone going up to a Bryan Sutton, or a Steve Kaufman, or a David Grier, and admonishing them to “play it like Doc played it?” Doc, of course, delighted in these innovators, and would be the rst to roll over in his grave at the thought of such proscriptions. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Unless you’re looking for an excuse to use your pinky, the rst two tunes can be fretted out of the second position: rst nger on the second fret, second nger on the third fret and so on. If you do so, there is one rst-fret note in the fourth measure of the B part of Doherty’s Reel where you’ll have to cut back one fret. Done Gone will be ngered our of both rst and second positions. Have at it! Audio CD Track 30
DOHENY’S FAVORITE I
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Adam is planning his fourteenth trip to Wisconsin’s House on the Rock. Its past owner, Alex Jordan, collected two miles worth of curiositiesw that no one else at the time (mid-20th Century) saw any value in, and which, of course, now are invaluable. It’s an amazing legacy of an amazing man, and Adam and his son Austin, obviously, can’t get enough.
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September/October 2013
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Classic Bluegrass by Steve Pottier
“Salty Dog Blues” A true bluegrass standard, “Salty Dog Blues” is most famously associated with Flatt & Scruggs, with credits to Wiley and Zeke Morris. However, the song goes back further than that according to Wikipedia. It stands out in bluegrass mainly due to the VI-II-V-I (in this case E-A-D-G) chord progression. Another song with a similar progression is “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down,” also part of Flatt & Scruggs’ repertoire. Example 1 is a fairly easy rst position break. Although I only play on the 2nd and 3rd strings, I visualize an F shape at the 3rd fret, and it’s easy to see where the notes are coming from. The hammer-on to the 5th fret is just a minor bit of straying from the E chord, as the next three notes are straight out of the chord. For the A, it’s just a G run transposed to the key of A, then a bass run
down to D. The D lick is a Scruggs-like banjo lick transposed to guitar, and leading back to open G on the 3rd string and another G run. All of this should be easy for almost everyone who has tried playing leads. It works well for even advanced players, much as Earl’s low banjo break is pretty easy for beginners and holds up well as a good break for Earl. Not everything that is good is hard!! Example 2 is an up-the neck variation using some of the same ideas from Example 1. It can be played back-to-back with Example 1. This would be the usual case, as “Salty Dog” is such a short form. The lead-in slide is a two-beat slide starting from a note in G (visualizing F shape at the 3rd fret) to another note in G (visualizing a D shape at the 7th fret). I slide with my second nger and play the two high notes with my third nger. I switch ngers and slide with my second nger 7-8th fret. This makes it easier to get the next three notes of the E chord. For the A chord, the rst and second ngers get into position, then hold as the third nger does most of the work. Slide down to the D note, and it’s Scruggs banjo time again. The choke is followed by a G note and an E, even though we’re
technically still in a D chord. (It works for my ear; I think it’s just anticipating the G, which is OK. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) The last lick is clearly G, and gets you back down the neck to start the rhythm again. If I did it again, I would probably make some different choices on this lick. What would you do? Actually, as I play these two examples over and over, I keep coming up with slightly different ways to play them. I like this approach myself—start with a basic framework, something you have down cold, then start messing with it in small ways, keeping the same basic ideas. Maybe more notes here, fewer notes there, a slide down instead of a hammer-on. I’m often intrigued my musicians that do this, like Earl Scruggs or Clarence White or Bill Monroe. Just when I think I know what they are doing and what they will do next, they make some small change that completely changes the way I hear it. That’s their story and I’m sticking to it!
Flatpicking Guitar Workshops
New From FGM Records: Dan Miller Going Though A Phase 12 Tunes 11 Original 9 Vocal 3 Instrumental
With Tim May, Brad Davis, Robert Bowlin, and Jane Accurso 54
Tim May and Dan Miller, authors of the 8-Volume Flatpicking Essentials Guitar Course, are continually touring the country teaching a variety of flatpicking workshops. To see if they will be visiting a town near you, please visit: www.flatpick.com/workshops.
Check Out Tim & Dan’s Fall 2013 Schedule at www.flatpick.com/workshops If you would like to host a workshop, contact
[email protected]
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
Audio CD Tracks 33 & 34
Salty Dog Blues
Arranged by Steve Pottier
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Practice (Oh Yuck!) Part 2 by Dan Crary I hear pages turning; it’s readers passing up the opportunity to read another column on so-called “practice.” That’s because talking about “practicing” is a distraction from my desire to get hot like Tony, cool like David, powerful like Bryan, encyclopedic like Steve, precise like Tim, and monumental like Tommy. ‘Trouble is, the way you practice isn’t actually getting you there. I know this because hundreds, over the years thousands, of you tell me so. I also know the reason: it’s not how Tony, David, Bryan, Steve, Tim and Tommy got there either. If you missed last issue’s rant on things what not to do to learn the guitar, please go back and read that rst. It’s full of all the pitfalls many of us are stumbling into, and it paints a picture of people trying to learn to play, but bogged down in approaches that don’t get ahead, plateaus that go on forever, and a slow, plodding, discouraging journey to guitar nowhere that goes back and forth between periods of all out, broke-out-inhives, screaming frustration on the one hand and a depressing, down-in-the-dumps, resignation to the muck of mediocrity on the other. OK, so I exaggerate a little, but not much, given what people tell me, and it’s a shame, because learning to play a guitar ought to be one of the great adventures of your life. But if you’re struggling with the thing, if it’s more a chore than an adventure, and you feel like you’re missing the joy, then it’s time to gure out something different. Now an important disclaimer: I’m not your critic. I won’t tell you whether I think your playing is wonderful or not, I’m here to take your word for it that you’re not satised with it and provide some help if I can. Referring back to last issue, I said: “for some of you, what I am going to suggest will 1) vastly speed up the process of learning new material, 2) make new material much easier to memorize, and generally move you from the struggling mode into the mode of, you’re a real player who is encouraged about your progress.” And I got you started with an assignment: learn to hum or whistle or sing a tune by just 56
listening to it. Listen enough times that you can get it note-for-note the way it really goes without consulting anything written, just by listening and humming or singing along. Then, next step, just by looking for it, nd the tune on the guitar, and play it slowly, but exactly as you heard it on the CD or radio, or someone who sang it for you. Next, and this is very important, polish up that simple version of the tune, until you can play it, not fancy, not with variations, just straight, as you sang it to yourself, not fast, but (and get this, please) perfect. Have you ever done this? No, maybe not, because you knew that lurking behind the printed version of the tune lay the “real” version that was played by one of those great players we mentioned above. Problem is, yes it’s in there somewhere, but it will take you several weeks or months to get it out of there, and it won’t sound right when you do. Trust me on this: just for the moment forget the tonydavidstevebryantommydoc version, and concentrate on getting some standard atpicking tunes and songs down so you can actually play them, so you have a few tunes in your repertoire, and so you can play these perfectly and simply. Afraid people will look down on you for playing a tune simply, straight ahead, and without ornament? No way… those friends of yours whispering to each other behind their hands are saying, “Wow, listen to how his (or her) playing has improved.” Of course, having a few simple, polished up, perfect tunes isn’t the only thing we need to work on, but it is what the philosophers call the “sine qua non” or “without this, nothing.” That means, there’s still more to do, but rst, you have to do this. Incredibly, this step of learning to sing or hum a simple version, then polishing that basic, simple version is a) employed by every competent professional player, and b) rarely, almost never, mentioned in published guitar methods. You want to get ahead fast? Do it the way the pros do: learn a perfect, simple version of a song or tune by ear, and be able to play that simple version. Then, once you have done that, all hell will break loose and you will not only have one
more good tune, but you will have made seven-league boots strides toward becoming a real player. When you have a tune you can play perfectly, suddenly you will be able to: • Gradually increase speed and precision. You can’t learn to play at a fast bluegrassy tempo on a tune you don’t know; you have to do it on a memorized, simple version of a a tune played perfectly. • Make little changes here and there by substituting a run or other bit from another tune for a couple of measures. The other term for making little changes in a memorized tune is called “making your own arrangement.” • Now, study published versions of this tune. If you learn the tune rst by ear, then the printed page will make, oh, about 238 times more sense. Instead of beginning from scratch with a book, the book becomes a great resource for you to steal (Chet Atkins called it “research”) ideas from other players for this tune that you already know and have memorized. • When your simple, memorized version is up to speed, try it out in a jam session. But try doing something slightly different, substitute a run, syncopate the timing a little, crawl out on a limb and then get back to the memorized version before you hurt yourself. If you do this with a memorized tune, you’ll be able to get back to it after the variation. Dig it my friends: this is called “improvisation.” Note on the last point: The myth about improv is that it’s something you make up on the spot. No, no, it’s little variations you play on a tune you have memorized and can already play. Of course there are complicated versions of improv; we’ll devote a future column to the subject. But real improvisation always begins with familiar, memorized material. If you take my advice here, you can begin teaching yourself to improvise almost immediately. Now back to practice: look what a few memorized tunes, played perfectly, will do for you: they become the platform for
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
September/October 2013
everything else you want to do on the guitar: increase speed and precision, create your own arrangements with small variations, and open up improvisation, known widely as a great mystery, but it really starts with slight variations on familiar material. And I want you to notice one other thing: it may seem tedious to make yourself ear-learn a simple version then polish up the simple version. But these bullet points about the steps to learning traditional tunes on the guitar actually move at light-speed, compared to the plodding, struggling, methods some of us have tried. So now, back to “practice”: I’d suggest you start calling it something different, because the word “practice” sounds like repetition, or even worse, just going over some music, no matter how badly. I’d like to suggest a different kind of learning experience, one with a long-term plan, and also a short term execution of the plan.
LONG TERM: Write down (no, really) write it down, a plan for the next year. Imagine what kind of player you would be satisfied to be in October, 2014, providing you’re still vertical. Organize your practice around this plan. Stick with it for a year, perhaps modify it as you go along, but get up a real program with numbers and specicity. How many new tunes will you learn in the next year, using the method above? I suggest you tell yourself about six new tunes. How many new songs that you can play and sing? Again, make it about six. That way, you get organized around a 12-month year; I give myself two months to learn “Cattle In the Cane,” so I can play it at Thanksgiving, and so on. Think of some other things you want to work on, improvisation, speed, new chords, etc., etc. Then in the.. SHORT TERM: Organize your daily learning session so that each advances you toward the current tune you’re working on in your annual plan. And do this: write on a pad of paper what your goal is for the next 30 minutes. Make it specic: “I will learn to hum or sing the rst four bars of “Cattle in the Cane.” Or, I will take the chorus of CITC that I can sing or hum, and nd it on the guitar. Here’s why this is important: people are not motivated much by their failures. The research in Communication Studies, Organizational Developent, Management, Leadership, etc., etc. agrees that people are Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
motivated by their successes. Every daily learning session should give you a success that you articulated, put into words before you started. That way it doesn’t have to be long, it just has to advance you slightly toward your long term goal. Plus, if you wrote down the goal for today, you’ll not only progress, but you’ll know that you did. And this is where the real satisfaction and fun kick in: today, every day, I get a little better than I was yesterday, maybe (probably) not much, but enough that if I keep at it, after a couple of weeks, this tune will actually start to sound like something. And here’s an important side-benet: even a little progress will make you look forward to tomorrow’s session: getting a little better is like blood on the trail. It will feel great, you’ll never plateau out again, and I’ll-be-danged, you will be learning the guitar better and a lot faster than you ever did. This method is hours and days instead of weeks and months, progress instead of stuckness, becoming a real player instead of a perpetual struggler. If this sounds like pop psychology, I do not apologize, because it has one great virtue: it works. Not perfectly, not always at the same pace, and it’s sorta’ not exciting or sexy to settle down to a tiny little bit
of progress each day, but it does work. It doesn’t require super talent or many hours of time, just some desire and a little organization. Last, a couple of additional points, things you don’t nd in many instructional sources. Performing is rigorous practice. As you polish up simple, then more complex versions of tunes, nd some place to play them for someone. Do it formally, get an audience or the family, or even a supportive friend to listen quietly while you perform something you’ve polished. Getting up a performance focuses and disciplines everything you’ve put together. Last, consider your motives: the greatest motivation to learn to play the guitar is to love guitar music and the sound of the acoustic guitar itself. I used to ask students coming in for lessons at Marina Music in San Francisco how they got interested in the guitar. Those who said, “I heard a guitar, thought it was beautiful, and I just have to have that sound in my life,” always succeeded, always, 100%. They never failed. So listen to the guitar itself, listen to many kinds of acoustic guitar music, pay attention to that beautiful sound. Listen to it, love it, get hungry for it, and nothing will stop you from playing it for yourself.
Beppe Gambetta New CD Release Tour August 2-4, Kingston, ON, The Canadian Guitar Festival August 10-11, Stockton, NJ, 7th Beppe Gambetta Guitar Workshop August 16-18, Owen Sound, ON, Summerfolk Festival August 25-31, Wasilla, AK, Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp August 29, Anchorage, AK, Snow Goose Theater September 18-22, Wineld, KS, Walnut Valley Festival September 26, Bellingham, WA, The Green Frog September 27, Vancouver, BC, Rogue Folk Club September 28, Winlock, WA, Hope Grange October 4, Portland, OR, St. David of Wales Episcopal Church October 5, Pistol River, OR, Pistol River Friendship Hall October 6, Arcata, CA, Arcata Playhouse October 11-13, Hackettstown, NJ, Folk Project Festival October 17, Columbus, OH, Natalie’s October 18, Cleveland, OH, Nighttown October 19, Lemont, PA, WPSU Studio, Outreach Building October 26, Newtown, PA, Newtown Theatre
September/October 2013
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Choosing A Vocal Coach By Kacey Cubero When I started singing professionally, a family friend asked if I was studying voice. I said I wasn’t at the time and didn’t really think I needed to. Singing had always come naturally to me and I was getting a lot of gigs, so I gured I didn’t need to study. I was young and busy and didn’t realize yet just how helpful voice lessons would be and that I might just have something to learn. And learn I did. I wanted to branch out and eventually I did begin lessons. And since I was singing a bunch, I wanted to make sure I was caring for my voice in a manner that would preserve it. Those lessons were just the beginning of really nding my own true voice. Years later, I am still learning about the voice, as it is a moody and ever changing instrument and requires close attention. Taking lessons and learning about the anatomy and physiology of your voice will help you by leaps and bounds in becoming the best singer you can be. Whether you are a professional singer or just starting out, voice lessons can be a great investment in your technique and performance. Good lessons from the appropriate coach should help you not only improve your vocals but extend your range, control your breathing, take some new chances, improve your performance, explore unfamiliar genres, and ultimately help you in preserving those precious vocal chords.
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There are a variety of teachers out there. So where do you begin? There are many factors to take into consideration. One vocal coach may be great for one student and not for another. For example, if you are in a bluegrass band, you may want to study with a commercial teacher versus a classical one who grooms their students for opera and Broadway. That being said, if you are serious about voice, at some point you may want to study with a classical teacher. A classical teacher will help you to explore areas of your voice you may not use in commercial singing but should teach you the all around anatomy and physiology of your voice and require you to use head and chest voice. A good commercial teacher should teach you these things as well but, as I mentioned earlier, it is helpful in subtle ways to study genres you are not familiar with. The more you explore the capacity of your own vocals, the more you will have to draw from as a performer. The foundation for all singing is basically the same. But if your thing is country, R&B, blues, metal, rock, hip hop, etc., you are going to want to work with a commercial teacher who has experience in that genre. And don’t let a certicate be the only credentials you require in deciding who to study with. Some of the best teachers did not go to school to teach, but they are great at what they do because they have been
out there doing it well. Knowledge from experience is some of the best. Mentors and teachers who have some credits in the areas of voice that you want to study are where you should begin searching when it comes to a coach. The best teacher will combine professional performing experience with years of studying the art and science of voice, along with a track record of students who sing well, and a successful vocal studio. Some basic questions to ask are: Do they teach both method and technique? What kind of education or training do they have? Can they sing and what kind of singing experience do they have? How long have they been teaching? What style do they teach? Where and what have they studied? Who was their vocal coach? What type of performances have they done? Have they recorded anything you can listen to? Have they won any awards? Do they teach anatomy or just do scales and warm ups? Will they help you with your live performance skills? Do they periodically have recitals showcasing their students? Can you bring in material you want to practice? If you are a songwriter, do they have experience in songwriting and will they work on yours with you? Do they have recording experience if you should decide to record something professionally? Some other logistical questions would be: How long are lessons? What about cancellations? Can you record your lessons? Do they explain things as you go along? For example, if you are doing something wrong or learning something new, it is helpful to have a visual of what that is. A good teacher will make sure you understand what it is you are doing and the difference between doing it correctly or not. An average lesson is about 30-45 minutes. How much does it cost? Find out what the going rate is in your area. The most expensive teacher is not always the best one. I have learned this rsthand. But should you nd a great teacher that costs a bit more, then it will pay off for you in the end. The appropriate teacher can advance you in a more efcient
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way than a teacher who isn’t really up to par. So, you may end up spending less because you will need fewer lessons. However, the length of time you decide to spend on lessons really depends on your individual needs and how much you are performing. Some students will stick with a teacher for years as they continue to work on new material and keep up their chops, too, while others may only be in need of a few months of lessons to take them over a hump of some sort and to get them to where they are more comfortable performing and singing correctly. You and your coach will determine this as you move along. Importantly, what is the philosophy of your coach? Do they think you have to be a “natural” to improve your voice? Personally, I believe that all people can sing. We all have the instrument. It’s just a matter of learning how it works and how to use it. Yes, for some that does come easier, but all students can learn something from voice lessons. You’d be amazed how a few voice lessons can help you in your everyday speech and speaking in front of people in general. So get a teacher who is enthusiastic and believes in you. Another thing about the student-teacher dynamic that is extremely important is your comfort level with your coach? Will you be comfortable enough to make mistakes and really be yourself? It is so important not
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
to hold back during a lesson. And are you looking forward to the lessons? Remember, the right vocal coach can take you where you want to go vocally. And the wrong one could potentially ruin your voice and cost you a bunch of time and money. Initially, I like to take the rst lesson to see where a student is at, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what their goals are. Then we map out both a short-term and a long-term plan and then get to work on it. You will know after the rst few lessons if you have chemistry with your vocal coach and if they are tuning into your specic needs. Progress may come quickly or it may take a while. So be patient. But if you stick with it, eventually you should start to see, hear, and feel the difference in your voice and condence. Kacey Cubero is an award-winning vocalist and songwriter. When not on the road, Kacey gives voice and songwriting lessons in Southern California, workshops around the country, and lessons via Skype. To contact Kacey, email her at kaceycubero@hotmai l.com. Visit her website, www.kaceycubero.com, for music and more information.
September/October 2013
Music Theory For Practical People
Who said that music theory books had to be boring? A Great Read Regardless of Your Current Level of Music Theory Knowledge
Call 800-413-8296 flatpickingmercantile.com
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CD Highlight
Andrew Rigney & The Rigneys: Double or Nothing by Dan Miller
A little over a month ago I received an email from Sam Bush’s guitar player Stephen Mougin. The subject line of the email was “Flatpickin’ Monster.” When I opened the email, this is what I read: “I wanted to let you know about Andrew Rigney from The Rigneys. He took second at Merlefest a few years ago and has a bunch of contest wins under his belt, but he’s a MUCH more rounded player than that suggests. We just finished tracking their upcoming album (coming out on Dark Shadows Recording) and I was blown away by his consistency, ideas, and execution.” In my reply I asked Stephen if he wouldn’t mind sending me a copy of the recording once it had been mixed. A couple of weeks later the audio les showed up in my Drop Box. After listening to the record, I’ll have to agree with Stephen’s assessment. There is a new young atpicking talent on the rise, and I think you all need to know about him. After interviewing Andrew Rigney—a nineteen-year-old from Tullahoma, Tennessee—and asking about how he learned to atpick the guitar, I realized that while Andrew certainly put in the hours of hard work and practice, his teacher’s method and approach probably had a lot to do with Andrew’s development. Andrew spent about six years taking guitar lessons from an instructor named Jim Wood. The things that impressed me about Jim’ teaching method were: 1) He told Andrew, “You are not going to take lessons your whole life. You need to learn how to teach yourself.” 2) Jim emphasized “Fundamentals rst.” 3) While Jim taught both rhythm and lead, he didn’t just teach the song. His approach was comprehensive and included the how’s and why’s of what he was teaching along with an understanding of the theory behind what he was teaching. 4) Although Jim’s approach was tune-based, he didn’t just teach one tune after another, endlessly building repertoire. When he taught Andrew a new tune they would work on that one tune for up to two months. They would explore rhythm, melody, solo arrangements, and variations. They would study the classic recording of the tune so that they could explore what others had done with it, and then they would talk about 60
how Andrew might come up with his own arrangements. All of these ideas were given in the context of theory about the song’s key and working with the various scales of the key. 5) Jim encouraged Andrew to attend festivals and enter contests as a way to meet other pickers and get new ideas and inspiration. In spending so much time on each tune, Jim was teaching Andrew how to “teach himself.” The great jazz pianist Bill Evans, when discussing how well a musician needs to know a piece of music said, “’I would rather play one song for 24 hours than play 24 tunes in an hour.’ Knowing a single tune inside and out and exploring it from all angles will not only help you learn the tune, but it will help you learn about the ngerboard and practical music theory, and thus teach you a way to approach and learn from all tunes. With this kind of learning method, combined with his hard work, it is not surprising that Andrew Rigney was able to “blow away” a guitar player like Stephen
Mougin with his “consistency, ideas, and execution.” Another factor that helped Andrew’s development as a player was the support of his family. Andrew originally became interested in learning how to play the guitar after his father, Mark, picked up the banjo and was looking for someone to back him up. Andrew was ten years old at the time. A month after Andrew started playing the guitar his younger brother, Grant, took up the mandolin. A few years later Andrew’s mother, Melissa, got tired of watching the other three family members have all the fun and she joined in on bass. Andrew’s dad, Mark Rigney actually began playing banjo as a teenager. He gave up his beloved Gibson banjo to buy Melissa’s engagement ring in college. He didn’t play again for 17 years. Then Melissa surprised him one Christmas with a banjo under the tree and that is the beginning of this family band’s story. Although the some of the family has been playing music together for close to ten years, they have only been performing in public as a group for about six. During that time they have earned a strong reputation for their skill as instrumentalists and their tight harmony singing. Recalling their early years, Andrew said, “For the rst four of ve years Grant, Dad, and I just played at home. We had no intention of performing for other people. But then for Christmas in 2007 a friend, who owned a coffee shop, asked us if we could play a show at the shop. By the end of 2008 we had played about 40 shows, all booked through word-of-mouth.” The band’s performing schedule has continued to grow and in the past ve years they have recorded four CDs. When the band rst started performing and recording, most of their material was covered from other bluegrass and traditional country bands. Gradually they started writing their own material and seeking out songwriters who had written songs that had yet to be recorded by other bands. Andrew said, “In our live show we play about 65% original material and 35% cover tunes. We play traditional bluegrass, old country, and some ‘Americana’. We arrange all of the cover tunes ourselves. We want people to hear us and recognize our sound.” Their
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newest project, Double or Nothing, is all new material that has yet to be recorded by other bands. When I listened to the new record, I was very impressed with the overall band sound, the variety of the material, the arrangements, the vocals, and the guitar playing. The band has a contemporary bluegrass sound and the recording is one of the best contemporary bluegrass CDs that I’ve heard in a long time. Andrew sings lead on eight of the songs and has a very strong lead voice. He said, “My vocals have come a long way. Stephen Mougin is a great vocal coach. Having him in the studio during recording is such a blessing.” The material that the band selected has a nice range of tempo, feel, and groove, and the lyrics held my interest. There are some fast up-tempo numbers, but the record is not all “in your face” blueg rass. There is a nice mix of slower and medium tempo tunes as well. Andrew’s guitar playing is superb throughout this recording. His leads on the fast tunes are powerful, clean, and interesting. His leads on the slower tunes t the feel and emotion of the song. His playing is tasteful beyond his years. I especially enjoyed his rhythm and accompaniment. On the faster tunes his rhythm really help ed drive the song. On the slower numbers his crosspicking rhythm and fills were tastefully executed and were a noticeable positive addition in support of the song. There are a number of young guitar players who are technically very impressive on their instrument. There are far fewer who play with Andrew’s taste and maturity. Andrew said that he, and the whole band, worked very hard on this new recording. He said, “We really pushed ourselves on this one. I prepared myself for my guitar parts on this record. On the previous records I played almost everything in the moment. Some things came out great, some left me feeling like I could have done better. On this record I planned things out before we went into the studio. I didn’t plan every note, but I experimented to have a better idea about what would work best on each song. So, going into the studio I knew what would work. I am much happier with the guitar work on this record.” When asked about how he approaches coming up with a solo to a new tune, Andrew said, “I always have the melody in the back of my head and then I try different things that I think will sound good and I weed out all the stuff that doesn’t. I try to compliment the song and not be too busy. Stephen Mougin Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
told me to always ‘Play this tune, don’t just play this kind of tune.’ So I try to keep that in mind.” Although Andrew does not sound like a contest style player, he has had his share of contest experience and success. In fact, there are just too many contest achievements to list here in this article. If you are interested in Andrew’s contest experiences, the band’s website has a page dedicated to his contest success from 2007 through 2012. When asked what tunes he liked to use in contests, Andrew listed “Chief Sitting Bull,” “Gallitin Rag,” and “Wild Fiddler’s Rag” as a few of the tunes that he had worked up for contests. He said he chose those tunes because h e felt like they would stand out and be different. With the band’s current schedule, combined with college commitments, Andrew has not entered any contests this year. Andrew has had a long list of musical inuences. He said, “I know it sounds cliché to say that listening to Tony Rice changed my life. But it is true. He was my strongest early inuence.” Andrew also lists Bryan Sutton, Clarence White, and Doc Watson as early inuences, but added that he also likes to listen to Django Reinhardt, Chris Thile,
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Julian Lage, and Charlie Parker. He said, “I try to listen to a broad spectrum of people, but when I play I try to have my own sound.” The most impressive things about Andrew’s guitar playing on the band’s new recording is that, as a whole, he laid back and did not overplay. He added energy and drive when it was needed, like on the tune “Double or Nothing” that you’ll hear on this issues audio, but he didn’t go over-the-top. A lot of young players try to t in every lick they know into every solo and thus are way too busy. I especially liked Andrew’s playing on the slower tunes. On these tunes he really laid back, got in the groove, and really supported the song. He didn’t sound like he was trying to copy other players. Although you can hear some inuences, overall, I think that he is nding his own sound. Andrew is now college, attending Lipscomb University in Nashville. He is studying Environmental and Sustainability Science. He is also currently President of the IBMA Youth Council. If you’d like to nd out more about Andrew Rigney, or the band, you can visit the band’s website: http://www. rigneyfamilybluegrass.com/
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Double or Nothing
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Reviews Editor’s Picks Gear by Dan Miller During the past two and a half years I have been living in an RV pretty much full time and traveling the country teaching workshops, preforming, and setting up the Flatpicking Guitar Magazine booth at music festivals. In 2012 I traveled through 40 states, taught 80 workshops, performed dozens of shows, and set up the booth at 20 festivals. In 2011 my schedule was similar. During that time I have learned a lot about living in a small space and hauling around, and using, guitar gear. In this article, I’d like to share with you some of the gear that I use and let you know why I have chosen to use it. Given my situation, most of the gear that I use must be small, durable, compact, and rugged. In this article I will focus on my tuner (from Planet Waves), guitar stand (from Cooper stands), and guitar strap (from Neotech straps). Years ago our Flatpicking Mercantile website carried a wide variety of guitar gear, which included strings, picks, tuners, metronomes, straps, and capos of all varieties. Eventually it became difcult to keep all of the items in stock and so for many years we have not carried guitar gear on the web site, focusing instead on instructional items. Recently we have decided to start adding guitar gear and accessories back on our site, however, we are doing so in small increments and we are only adding those items that we have personally used and tested extensively. Having used these first three items myself on the road in performances, jams, and workshops, I feel as though I can recommend them highly due to my extensive experience with them. As we continue to slowly add new items to the website, I will ensure that they have all been tested by either myself or someone who I trust to give a thorough evaluation. We will let you know why we like to use the items and we will try our best to provide you with reasonable prices.
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine
The Planet Waves NS Micro Headstock Tuner
When I rst saw this tuner’s predecessor, the Planet Waves Mini Tuner, a couple of years ago, I was very excited about it’s size, but I was curious to see if it was going to be accurate. I was using an expensive tuner (about 5 times the price of the mini tuner) that was bulkier, but I knew to be very accurate. The thing that I did not like about my old tuner was that it was too bulky to leave clipped on the headstock. Therefore, I had to dig it out of the case every time I need to tune up. When I saw the mini headstock tuner, I knew that it would be something that would be small enough that I could leave it on my headstock at all times. Not only was it small, but the bulk of the tuner sat behind the headstock, which also made it hidden from the audience. I did not, however, want to sacrice accuracy. When I bought the mini headstock tuner I placed it and my more expensive tuner on the headstock of my guitar at the same time and did an accuracy comparison. The mini headstock tuner was just as accurate as the other tuner. So, I switched and had been using the mini headstock tuner until Planet Waves released the smaller and upgraded NS Micro Headstock tuner. Designed in conjunction with Ned Steinberger (hence the name “NS”), and even smaller than its predecessor, the NS Mini Headstock tuner’s stealthy, lightweight design allows it to be clipped to the back of the headstock. This allows for the musician to have a full view of the screen while the tuner remains virtually undetectable by the audience. A super-sensitive piezo
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transducer and backlit display give you easy and accurate tuning in noisy stage or jam sessions settings, as well as in dim or brightly lit environments. I have one of these tuners on each of my instruments. I never take them off. That way I never have to go digging in my case to nd my tuner because it is always right there on the headstock. The Planet Waves NS Micro Headstock Tuner main features are as follows: - Low-profile design lets you tune inconspicuously - Super-bright, backlit LCD display is easy to see in dim or bright environments - Multi-color reversible screen ts on top or back of headstock - Solid accuracy and note recognition - Wide calibration Range - Includes a visual metronome - Comes with CR2032 3-volt battery
Neotech Slimeline Strap with Slimlock Connection
My good friend, bandmate, and Flatpicking Guitar Magazine columnist
Brad Davis turned me onto these straps a couple of years ago and I haven’t looked back. You may think that one guitar strap is just like the next, but these straps from Neotech have two features that I absolutely love. The rst, and most important, is the “slimlock” connectors at each end of the strap. These connectors not only lock around your end pin and strap button, but once they are locked, a velcro/leather ap folds down and holds them securely in place. You place the strap connectors over the end pin and strap button, then you pivot a steel cam tting around the end pin and strap buttons (see photo above), then you 63
press the velcro-lined leather ap down in place over the steel cam. I feel very secure in using the slimlock connectors because I know that my guitar will never come free of the strap while I’m playing. I use the ttings that are pictured on my guitar that does not have electronics. There is also a design that allows for the same security when used with a guitar that has an end pin jack. The second feature of this strap that I like is the very comfortable “hi-tech” memory foam that is sewn into the section of the strap that drapes over your neck and shoulder. This material conforms to your neck and shoulder and makes for a very comfortable feel. The material also has a slight bit of grab to it where the memory foam conforms to you shoulder, so that your strap doesn’t slide around. It feels secure and in place in the shoulder area without feeling clingy. The antimicrobial material also allows moisture to dissipate on a hot stage or outside jam. I now have a Neotech strap on my acoustic guitar, my electric guitar, and my electric bass. The biggest problem that I nd with conventional guitar strap connections is that all too often, if your strap gets twisted in some way, the connection can come loose and your guitar starts to fall. Fortunately, whenever that happened to me I was able to catch my guitar before it hit the ground and I never had a real tragedy. But now, since I started using the Neotech strap with the slimlock connectors, I never have to worry about the guitar coming free of the strap.
The Cooper Stand Ecco-G
Here is the Cooper Stand folded up and place in my guitar case There are a lot of good guitar stands on the market and I own several that I like. In this article I am highlighting the one that I use exclusively when I’m on the road—the Cooper Ecco-G. I like this stand because it is durable and because it is so compact that it ts in my guitar case, underneath the guitar’s headstock (see the photo at the top of the next column). When I’m traveling to perform, to teach, or to set up my booth at a festival, I usually have a lot to carry and so the more baggage I can get rid of, the better. Since the Cooper Ecco-G is very light and ts in my guitar case, it is very easy to carry around. I now have a guitar stand where ever I take my guitar and I have a free hand to carry other stuff. When people have seen me using this stand on stage, at a workshop, or at a festival (I always have my guitar at my booth and it is sitting in the Cooper stand), they have asked, because the stand is so small, if I’ve ever had a guitar knocked over when it was sitting in the stand. Although the stand is small and low to the ground, I have found it
to be quite stable and I’ve never had a guitar knocked over in this stand. While it is not quite as stable as some of the larger stands that I own, I nd that as long as I’m careful and set the guitar in a place where it is not likely to receive a real hard blow, the stand does a very good job holding it in place. I’ve been using the stand during all my travels for well over a year and I’ve never had an incident where the guitar was knocked over. The folks at Cooper say that their composite material is intentionally meant to be exible and move with the instrument if bumped. The Ecco-G Stand is fabricated from first run recycled (ABS Composite or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) ABS combines the strength and rigidity of acrylonitrile and styrene polymers with the toughness of polybutadiene rubber. The most important mechanical properties of ABS are impact resistance and toughness. Cooper also makes a wooden stand of the same design. While the wooden stand has a nicer look, I like the cheaper and more durable Ecco-G.
The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads
by Roland White & Diane Bouska with Steve Pottier and Matt Flinner For fans of the legendary Clarence White, this is the ultimate book and CD package. The photo and biographical information are worth the price of this book alone. Not to mention detailed transcriptio ns for 14 Clarence White solos and 2 audio CDs. The best part of this book is the performance notes, practice suggestions, and examples that are provided with each tune. These detailed notes will help students understand the techniques that Clarence is using in each song. A lot of work was put into this project by Roland White, Diane Bouska, Steve Pottier, and Matt Flinner. It is the best Clarence White resource available!
To Order call 800-413-8296 or visit: www.flatpickingmercantile.com 64
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CLASSIFIEDS Classied ads will be accepted for guitar and musical related items @ 40¢ a word, 50¢ a word for bold lower case type, 60¢ a word for bold upper case type. Please call (800) 413-8296 to order, or send ad to High View Publications, P.O. Box 2160, Pulaski, VA 24301
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Instructional Material: GUITAR JAM: Play leads to “Blackberry Blossom,” plus 11 other classics with our back-up band. A fun way to develop timing. Tape and TAB booklet $16.95 ppd. Custom Practice Tapes now available! Choose from almost 400 songs and we’ll play them slow and fast for twice the jamming. Andy Cushing, 6534 Gowanda St. Rd., Hamburg NY 14075 MUSIC THEORY COURSE FOR GUITAR Correspondence Course. Certicate issued on completion. Beginning courses also available. Course outline and enrollment order form for this and other home study courses, write to: Jim Sutton Institute of Guitar, 23014 Quail Shute, Spring, TX 77389 E-mail:
[email protected] Web Site: http://guitar-jimsuttoninst.com 800-621-7669
FREE HAROLD STREETER CATALOG Over 1,000 atpick and ngerstyle tabs and CDs, beginning to advanced. Bluegrass, country, Celtic, Gospel, blues, jazz, and more. LeWalt Publishing, 4930 East Horsehaven Ave, Post Falls, ID, 83854, USA 208-773-0645, www.lewalt.com
GUITAR LICK CARDS: from standard to stellar, 81 licks are isolated on playing cards. Line them up with the same chord progression as your favorite song and voila! It’s a new arrangement! Rearrange the licks for endless variations. They’re inspiring! Available for mandolin and banjo too. $11.50 ppd. per set. Andrew Cushing, 6079 McKinley Pkwy, Hamburg NY 14075
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FLATPICKING MERCANTILE Flatpicking Mercantile has a full line of instructional books, CDs, and DVDs for the atpicking guitar player. Bluegrass, Celtic, Western swing, Gypsy jazz, and more! Check out: www.atpickingmercantile.com
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STEVE KILBY’S TUNE OF THE MONTH Try my subscription service, an acclaimed and detailed method for learning atpicking tunes. Each package features: TABLATURE for LEAD including BASIC and ADVANCED version, CHORD CHART and CD with tune broken down by phrases along with plenty of practice tracks for back-up and lead at different speeds. Subscription price is only $15 per month, plus shipping. For details contact: 276-579-4287 www.kilbymusic.com
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CLASSIFIEDS Flatpicking Essentials Instructional Series Ever feel like you’ve hit a wall in your practice or reached a plateau that you can’t get beyond? We can help you! The EightVolume Flatpicking Essentials Instruction Method, developed by Flatpicking Guitar Ma gaz ine editor Dan Miller, provides you with over 1000 pages of information taught in a specic step-by-step sequence so that your atpicking knowledge and skill sets are complete, with no holes, or gaps. Starting with Volume One (Rhythm, Bass Runs, and Fill Licks), this series teaches you how to develop in an easy to follow graduated method. This course is available as spiral bound books with CD, or as digital downloads. For more information visit www.atpickingmercantile.com or www. atpickdigital.com.
continued
Guitars, Strings, and Accesories: DAN LASHBROOK ACOUSTIC GUITAR SET UP Custom Bridge Pins, Nuts, and Saddles. Neck Re-sets, Fret Jobs, Crack Repairs. Specializing in helping you get the best performance out of your guitar. Occasional high performance guitars for sale.
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EUPHONON COMPANY STRINGS First quality major manufacturer strings in bulk at fantastic savings. Same strings you buy in music stores, without the expensive packaging. Acoustic guitar sets: extra-light, light, or medium: 80/20 Bronze $32.50/ dozen, $20.00/half dozen; Phosphor Bronze $34.50/dozen, $21.00/half dozen. Post paid. Call for price larger quantities. Twelve string, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, special gauges available. Request String Catalog. Euphonon also offers guitar repair and building supplies. Request Luthier’s Catalog. EUPHONON CO. PO Box 100F Orford NH 03777. 1-(888) 5174678. www.hotworship.com/euphonon
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Flatpicking the Blues Book/DVD/CD Course by Brad Davis
Call 800-413-8296 to Order
In this course, Brad Davis shows you how to approach playing the blues using both theoretical and practical methods. You will learn how to play blues style rhythm, learn blues scales at several positions on the neck, and learn how to apply those “blues notes” in a free-form improvisational style over the twelve-bar blues progression. This section increases your knowledge of the guitar ngerboard as it relates to the blues and provides you with a method for increasing your improvisational skills. Brad then examines common blues phrasing, technique, and standard blues licks and demonstrates how to apply them. He also shows examples of licks played in the style of great blues guitarists and even demonstrates how Bill Monroe’s blues licks on the mandolin can be incorporated on the guitar. This course also includes blues ear training. In addition to teaching you how to play straight blues, Brad also demonstrates and teaches how you might take tunes that you may already know from the standard atpicking repertoire and spice them up with blues licks. If you are tired of playing atpicked ddle tunes and bluegrass songs the same old way you will greatly appreciate Brad’s instruction on how you can add excitement and interest to songs that you already play by adding a blues avor.
Visit the Website for More Information and Blues Guitar Lessons www.flatpick.com/blues 68
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