Bluegrass, A Whole New World

[Rhomylly]

And it was a new world too. At first I felt like a fish trying to ride a bicycle. I arrived, and the entire parking lot was full of huge, dirty pickup trucks. Clearly real farm trucks all. And no other kind of vehicle. Yeah, my little yellow sports car fit right in...

 

Floyd, New Mexico. Population probably about 200. 15 minutes from Portales. We met in the community center.

 

So I grit my teeth and go in. All men, all tall, all at *minimum* 20 years my senior, with the exception of two boys, 8ish and 11ish, that came in later. Where were all the other womenfolk? BEING AUDIENCE.

 

And, of course, I'm not only the only one with an instrument that has NO strings, but most of them have never even seen a concertina before.

 

But, not surprising, these guys can PLAY. They are GOOD. The real learned-from-the-radio-or-from-Grandpa-as-a-kid players. This is the honest to God handed down stuff. They can't read music. And, though it makes me feel disloyal to say it, they were much more welcoming and accomodating of new musicians than the Irish slow-jam in Columbia. Very encouraging of me, of the boys, and of other new players. MADE us lead something, anything, and let us set the pace, etc.

 

And the coordinator actually apologized that they weren't able to play with me very well on my stuff. I said that, well, they could work on my stuff and I could work on their stuff and eventually we'd meet in the middle. He thought that was a fine idea.

 

5 guitars, 4 fiddle players (all novice and varying in age from 8 to 80), one upright bass and me. No banjos, which I thought was odd. My spouse suggested I take it up...tempting, very tempting...

 

But they could not have been nicer. And I've practically been ordered to come back next time in two weeks. Hopefully I will have something more in their style worked up by then.

 

Thanks much, Bob Tedrow, for giving me the heads-up on the differences between Irish and bluegrass session structure. You were totally right. Plus, they set up microphones and when it was someone's turn to lead a tune, they were expected to go up to the mic. Bob, I am going to take your crossover tune suggestions to heart.

 

I am looking forward to the next time in two weeks...

[Bob Tedrow]

Your comment about women players is interesting. I really had not thought about that.

 

But I should have remembered and mentioned that little cultural oddity.

 

When I was playing banjo full time in the 70's in Northern Colorado and Wyoming there were very few women who were "pickers". A few women did sing and play the bass. There were a couple of good women BG players in the Denver area.

 

Jams (as opposed to sessions) were usually all guys. There is even a term "bluegrass widow" that sums up that scene pretty well.

 

Very few kids too.

 

Perhaps that has not changed in the BG world?

 

 

Now I notice in ITM, a genre I have become quite fascinated with during the last fifteen or so years, it appears there are many more women players.

 

Also I posit the musicianship of the women is equal to that of the men, women in ITM do not merely sing or play the bass. Maybe it is more democratic.

 

I now play music with wife Klari all the time and we go to our kitchen and pub sessions together. Although she took banjo lessons from me before we were married in 1976, we never played much music together until she took up the the concertina (taking it from me in the meantime!)

 

By the way, I think it is important to stop here and mention that today is my birthday.

 

regards,

 

Bob Tedrow

Edited October 4, 2004 by Bob Tedrow

[Guest]

Happy Birthday Bob

 

Cheers

Morgana

[bellowbelle]

Yes, Happy Birthday! Here's a cake for you:

[Jim Besser]

>And it was a new world too. At first I felt like a fish trying to ride a bicycle.

 

Know what you mean.

 

I go to a lot of jams where oldtime and bluegrass are the norm, and sometimes to a huge regular bluegrass gathering where I may have been the first free-reed player ever spotted. ("What's THAT?" a mando player asked the first time I removed my concertina from the case)

 

In those situations, I pull out oldtime standards these guys all know, and that are concertina friendly: Soldier's Joy; Over the Waterfall; Fly Away My Pretty Little Miss; Forked Deer; Cluck Old Hen. They always seem impressed that I'm willing to play their kind of music, and reassured that I'm not going to foist something exotic on them, like Irish. I really enjoy these sessions; there's a huge amount of energy, and you're right, these guys are usually much more tolerant than rigid Irish session players.

Edited October 5, 2004 by Jim Besser

[JimLucas]

...these guys are usually much more tolerant than rigid Irish session players.

How do they compare to tolerant Irish session players?

[Animaterra]

Rhomylly, it sounds wonderful! Good for you for going, and good for those guys for being open enough to welcome you!

 

And Happy Birthday, Bob!

[Peter Stephenson]

Here the bluegrass musicians keep themselves to themselves as they have told me in the past only guitar, mandolin, 5-string banjo, and double bass are allowed, and it is usually women who play the double bass. There are a couple who come to the Sunday lunch session who only do Old Timey stuff but the woman insists that her screechy fiddle style is authentic. The man will play his guitar along with the Irish stuff put plays on the off beat bluegrass style. Perhaps its best if the different styles are kept apart .

[Ken_Coles]

I did many a bluegrass jam in the State of Indiana (where I lived for years, as that's about the only kind jam around where I was) and they were indeed nice, though I always played my fiddle (as a beginner) and never sprang concertina on them (fiddlers were scarce, and up to 11 dreadnought guitars out of 20 musicians. Boom boom boom). They were comparable to tolerant Irish players: just observe the genre, or be willing to learn about it, and you're in.

[Chris Timson]

In those situations, I pull out oldtime standards these guys all know, and that are concertina friendly: Soldier's Joy; .....

Any relation to the English standard, Soldier's Joy? I have an idea that the tune Redwing is another tune common both sides of the pond, but really I know diddly about bluegrass. Are there many tunes in common?

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

In those situations, I pull out oldtime standards these guys all know, and that are concertina friendly: Soldier's Joy; .....

Any relation to the English standard, Soldier's Joy?

One and the same.

And as I've mentioned before, it's a tune that's considered "native" (though not always with the same name) in many countries, including Finland and Poland.

 

I have an idea that the tune Redwing is another tune common both sides of the pond,...

It is. Do Brits have words to it? There's more than one set of words that's clearly American, not British. The song "Union Maid" (to the same tune) is one, and there's a parody about Charlie Chaplin, but "the original" begins, "There once was an Indian maid," and I'm pretty sure it's not referring to immigrants from Calcutta.

 

Are there many tunes in common?

Quite a few in common, but many more that aren't.

[Chris Timson]

and there's a parody about Charlie Chaplin,

The moon shines so bright on Charlie Chaplin? That's the only version known over here, I believe. Like the Miner's Lifeguard, the parody has completely subsumed the original.

 

Are there many tunes in common?

Quite a few in common, but many more that aren't.

 

I'm most interested, can anyone name some more of the common tunes?

 

Chris

[Boney]

In those situations, I pull out oldtime standards these guys all know, and that are concertina friendly: Soldier's Joy; .....

Any relation to the English standard, Soldier's Joy? I have an idea that the tune Redwing is another tune common both sides of the pond, but really I know diddly about bluegrass. Are there many tunes in common?

 

Chris

I do believe "Soldier's Joy" is the same tune on both sides of the puddle. Here's some history:

 

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/afc/afccc/soldiersjoy/

 

And an interesting collection of fiddle tunes (many with transcriptions) played by Henry Reed of Virginia (USA), recorded around 1966, when Henry was over 80 years old:

 

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/hrhtml/hrhome.html

[JimLucas]

and there's a parody about Charlie Chaplin,

The moon shines so bright on Charlie Chaplin?

Yep, though the version my parents sang differs somewhat from what I've found in print on the internet. But one should expect that with parodies, as with any other "folk" music.

 

Are there many tunes in common?

Quite a few in common, but many more that aren't.

I'm most interested, can anyone name some more of the common tunes?

You'll find some in the references Boney provided. E.g.,

.. Fisher's Hornpipe

.. Rickett's Hornpipe

.. Money Musk

.. The Girl I Left Behind Me

.. Irish Washerwoman

 

And one of my own favorites, "My Love She's But a Lassie Yet", also known as "Seventeen Come Sunday", "Too Young to Marry", and "Jailbait".

 

But one pedantic point: Boney's references were for "Old Timey" sources. Bluegrass grew out of "old timey" Appalachian music, and many of the fiddle tunes are shared, but Bluegrass is not the same thing as Old Timey and more than jazz is the same as the blues. I'd say that Old Timey is like riding to town on a mule, while Bluegrass is like racing to town in a souped-up Chevy.

[Rhomylly]

My plan is: start learning guitar as soon as I have something resembling a lap again (thankfully concertinas only need one kneecap!), but keep bringing the concertina. They were quite intrigued by it. I thought I'd work up "Old Joe Clark" and "Soldier's Joy" first, and "Salty Dog" might be doable. Must find the lyrics to that one, though.

 

Honestly, the guys could not have been nicer or more welcoming of me and my funny instrument. And it was really heartening to see how encouraging they were of the children (and other new musicians!).

 

And the baby really seemed to like the music. She was quite active!

 

Happy belated birthday, Bob

 

I was surprised that there were no banjos.

[JimLucas]

I was surprised that there were no banjos.

Di you check in the dumpster?

[Rhomylly]

LOL, no. Afraid I'd find the rest of the mandolins. There were only 2.

[Jim Besser]

>. I thought I'd work up "Old Joe Clark" and "Soldier's Joy" first,

> and "Salty Dog

 

Those are good ones to bridge the concertina-bluegrass gap.

 

Also, as I think Jim L. mentioned: these duffers all probably know Fishers Hornpipe

 

Cluck Old Hen is just about the easiest tune in the world to play fast on a C/G concertina, and all the oldtime players knowit. Golden Slippers, as well.

 

My band plays for a clogging group, and we have to do Rocky Top for a specific dance; I've worked up a pretty good concertina arrangement of that dreadful tune. Oh yes, blackberry blossom; it's apparently required by law in at least 15 states that guitar and banjo players learn that tune or face imprisonment or confiscation of their instruments.

Edited October 7, 2004 by Jim Besser