Re: Tater on the Cafe
And I agree with Val and Nelson, but wonder jest when you might find the time to do it, the gig/workshop calendar is looking mighty full these days. It was great to read about all your projects, love the ones with the Mississippi connection. Has anyone done the numbers on the size of the bluegrass market, usa and world, and what portion of that market are likely to make book purchases? I think I would want to know that before getting my pencil out. With the marketing numbers known, one can then begin to consider how much an effort might bring in. There are lots of books on the market already, I wonder, how well they sell, if money is being made or ..not. Mike your writing style is delightful, fresh, clear, direct, and friendly. I think most books are improved by having a good editor, yours would not have to work too hard. G On Mar 22, 9:47 pm, Val Mindel vmin...@gmail.com wrote: I agree with Nelson on the book idea, Mike, but I think you should do the writing. You've got a great written voice, and it would be a shame to dilute it ... val On Mar 22, 1:11 am, Nelson nelsonpeddyco...@knology.net wrote: Tater, I am going to revoice an early statement. We are due a book from you. The Monroe Style, Elements of The Monroe Style, My Take on Monroe, Analysis of Monroe's Style are all titles that get my idea across. In the golf world, lots of guys make good money writing books and doing TV work analyzing the golf swing of Ben Hogan, arguably a Monroish influence on the modern golf game. I think such a book from you would sell well, and become the authoritative work on the subject. It could even be developed with a workbook (sold separately) that you could structure lessons from or a DVD (also sold separately) that illustrate the points you make in the book. Given the short amount of time that I have spent in lessons with you makes me wish I had a comprehensive text on the subject of the elements of Monroe's playing. Given your history with Hartford, too, it could lead the way for a road stories and playing philosophy book on your own style. I might even know a very good candidate for a ghost writer if you were to go that route and need to interview some for the task. I know at least one or two others out here agree with me. Nelson On Mar 21, 11:30 pm, Don Grieser adobeinthepi...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks, Mike. Doesn't sound controversial to me, but then I'm just an enthusiast. As always, thoughtful and eloquent. Good on ya! --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Tater on the Cafe
Wow, I'm disappointed that Bill abbreviated the list of upcoming projects in his published article. I had no clue about the work with EC. I was able to find a clip of a Letterman performance with EC, Rosanne Cash, Larry Campbell, and Todd Phillips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF1txVDFDck Looking forward to checking out your additions to his upcoming album. Was this your second time working with T Bone Burnett as a producer? You must be on his short list of go-to mandolin players after your tasty playing on the Oh, Brother... soundtrack. All of the projects you mention sound really exciting. Can't wait to hear em! -Jake On Mar 21, 11:06 pm, mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com wrote: And do you suppose, Mr. Sandstone, that my professional reputation should be able to stand repeated forays into the hinterlands of telling the truth as I see it? I mean, there IS such a thing as karma. There seems to be a point where it all is meaningless in the scheme of things anyway, and all the motions made outside applying one's trade for the sheer joy of it are only an exercise in going backwards. I suppose I could publish my answers without the questions. No harm there. Very well... Bill, Thanks for your questions. I'll make an effort to be economical in my answers... 1) So far, the main obstacle or roadblock as you called it, to learning Monroe style seems to be the right hand technique of the style. Many people have a hard time using tremolo as the main exponent to creating melody, to keeping the right hand moving and not giving in to the temptation to playing somewhat erratic right hand patterns. I have found that the fiddle kinship with Monroe's right hand technique seems to require that the right hand keep moving and making the motions, even when the string is not struck, sort of a phantom stroke to keep the notes emphasized the right way. The tendency in people not used to using this technique is to change pick direction only on the next note in the melody. There is sort of a going backwards in time that needs to be done, back to the time in string bands when fiddles were the main instrument of choice rather than electric guitars, when a bow stroke or tremolo was the means of playing a sustained tone rather than striking a note once and counting on an amplifier to do the rest. One of the other primary changes in thinking needs to come with an understanding of using chord voicings to find melody and harmony rather than using a more linear approach, playing more out of boxes rather than running lengthwise up and down the fingerboard. But to me, the hardest part and also the smartest part of the style is how Monroe could suggest passages to the listener without actually spelling the idea out. Dealing with abstract melodic ideas is a bit more challenging to understand I think. As far as mastering the style, I don't know that it's possible to really accomplish that feat in one lifetime. There's so much to know and really, I've only begun to scratch the surface myself. 2) I think that Monroe would be very proud to know that his music has maintained so much interest in the modern day that entire camps are devoted to better understanding and use the style he created. 3) You have made a number of references to blues licks in your questions so far. Sure, there is a lot of blues in Monroe's music. I think that it's one of the ingredients that I like the best, if not the one that effects me strongest. You refer to modern players as being very smooth and polished and I'll agree with your comments. I will say that I do not agree that Monroe was always ragged and without polish. I suggest you listen to a lot more Monroe. There are plenty examples of his work that show impeccably clean technique. What you will NOT find is careful music. I do not think that perfection is necessarily the object of expression. Squeaky clean and careful music bores me anyway. I would rather have music that shows commitment and emotional content than all the spit and polish in the world. To each his own, I guess, but I'd rather the music I listen to be unpredictable. I wouldn't presume to know what was going through Monroe's head when he played. I'm sure that some of the Bluegrass Boys could more accurately describe his thought processes and intentions than I could. I'm sure Kenny Baker could. He's quoted as saying he knew what Bill was trying to do. I'd sure like to know what that is myself. I do think that Bill allowed his muse to take him wherever it led, that his take on melody was that of an impressionist and that he presented the melody the way he felt at any given time rather than working up a solo and recreating it note for note every time. There is ample evidence that there were outlines that he went by, but I think that he just used the outlines as a guide. His output is chock full of random phrasing, whether it be from day to day or show to show or
High tech making the most of lessons.
Hi there I guess I may be behind the curve here, but this may help someone: I got the Cam Studio thing that Steve suggested working, and it produces about 500 mb of avi video for one Tater class. I've been fiddling around with this and you can then pretty much do whatever you want with it - all with Freeware - so that you can relive every embarassing second of your lesson, or even work on the difficult bits: There's a program called 'Handbrake' which will convert the avi file into a file suitable for putting on your video compatible ipod, and there's a program called 'Switch' which can convert the avi file from the lesson into a wav file. Once you have the wav file, you can use 'Audacity' to edit out the nasty bits where you are utterly failing to get the intro to Roanoke, or talking about the dodgy behaviour of some Bluegrass Boys, and just keep the meat from the class. Once you have done that, and 'normalised' it to get the volume up a bit, you can use 'Switch' again to convert your edited wav file to an Mp3, and get it onto your ipod, or use the Windows Media Player to slow it down. If you then add a backing track from a Hypnotherapy Practitioner you will be able to put the essence of Taterbuglesson on repetition all night and wake up knowing it all... I think all these programs are easy to find and use, but if anyone needs a hand, please shout. Also this is all for Windows. Probably on a Mac you just plug in your mandolin and it learns it for you.. Best Robin --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: anyone record a vinyl record?
Oh lordy, does this mean that I don't have to sell my lps? Personally, I prefer the sound of lps even with pops and clicks and such. As for turntables, I've checked around. Some of the modern gear is fetching phenominal prices. mistertaterbug On Mar 17, 12:46 pm, 14strings perrypale...@gmail.com wrote: Vinyl is on its way back! the number of bands releasing their latest on cd and vinyl is on the rise --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Samuel Bayard Books on Ebay
An update: There are four copies of Dance to the Fiddle, March to the Fife on AbeBooks ranging from $223.33(odd price) to $385. Over and out. mistertaterbug On Mar 10, 11:54 am, Don Grieser adobeinthepi...@gmail.com wrote: I'd jump in a time machine today if I could go back and listen to Sarah Armstrong play some tunes. On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM, mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com wrote: Oh, I think you'll live, Perry. I hear that musical literature is a legitimate business expense, especially if you use the material you learn from the book onstage. Go look at some of the early group pages. Lots of book listings there. There's one by a fellow named Ira Ford that's pretty good too, but Mr. Ford was best at writing books on various topics rather than Bayard, who was a full-blown academic. You oughta look into some of R. P. Christesen's books too. One that's interesting reading is Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String by George S. Emerson. I think that Sarah Armstrong comes under the heading of research, don't you Don? G Tater On Mar 9, 9:04 am, 14strings perrypale...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks Tater... I now have a another habit to keep me away from my day job...rare fiddle tune book collecting. Perry On Mar 8, 10:32 pm, Don Grieser adobeinthepi...@gmail.com wrote: Yes, Brother Don has both of them along with some other tunebook gems. If you can't pony up the $ it'll take to bake the Tater, there's a pdf of the Hill Country Tunes book on the outernet here (with a nice picture of Sarah Armstrong, our favorite tune purveyor): http://www.mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes/hct/ This hasn't seemed to hurt the price of the actual books any so I wish they'd do this with more out-of-print tune books. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Tater on the Cafe
+1 on the idea of a book from Mr. Tater. I think it would be very cool to have an instructional book combined with stories from the road with Mr. Hartford and stories about experiences with Mr. Monroe. From: JakeyLee fortpo...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 11:06:54 AM Subject: Re: Tater on the Cafe Wow, I'm disappointed that Bill abbreviated the list of upcoming projects in his published article. I had no clue about the work with EC. I was able to find a clip of a Letterman performance with EC, Rosanne Cash, Larry Campbell, and Todd Phillips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF1txVDFDck Looking forward to checking out your additions to his upcoming album. Was this your second time working with T Bone Burnett as a producer? You must be on his short list of go-to mandolin players after your tasty playing on the Oh, Brother... soundtrack. All of the projects you mention sound really exciting. Can't wait to hear em! -Jake On Mar 21, 11:06 pm, mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com wrote: And do you suppose, Mr. Sandstone, that my professional reputation should be able to stand repeated forays into the hinterlands of telling the truth as I see it? I mean, there IS such a thing as karma. There seems to be a point where it all is meaningless in the scheme of things anyway, and all the motions made outside applying one's trade for the sheer joy of it are only an exercise in going backwards. I suppose I could publish my answers without the questions. No harm there. Very well... Bill, Thanks for your questions. I'll make an effort to be economical in my answers... 1) So far, the main obstacle or roadblock as you called it, to learning Monroe style seems to be the right hand technique of the style. Many people have a hard time using tremolo as the main exponent to creating melody, to keeping the right hand moving and not giving in to the temptation to playing somewhat erratic right hand patterns. I have found that the fiddle kinship with Monroe's right hand technique seems to require that the right hand keep moving and making the motions, even when the string is not struck, sort of a phantom stroke to keep the notes emphasized the right way. The tendency in people not used to using this technique is to change pick direction only on the next note in the melody. There is sort of a going backwards in time that needs to be done, back to the time in string bands when fiddles were the main instrument of choice rather than electric guitars, when a bow stroke or tremolo was the means of playing a sustained tone rather than striking a note once and counting on an amplifier to do the rest. One of the other primary changes in thinking needs to come with an understanding of using chord voicings to find melody and harmony rather than using a more linear approach, playing more out of boxes rather than running lengthwise up and down the fingerboard. But to me, the hardest part and also the smartest part of the style is how Monroe could suggest passages to the listener without actually spelling the idea out. Dealing with abstract melodic ideas is a bit more challenging to understand I think. As far as mastering the style, I don't know that it's possible to really accomplish that feat in one lifetime. There's so much to know and really, I've only begun to scratch the surface myself. 2) I think that Monroe would be very proud to know that his music has maintained so much interest in the modern day that entire camps are devoted to better understanding and use the style he created. 3) You have made a number of references to blues licks in your questions so far. Sure, there is a lot of blues in Monroe's music. I think that it's one of the ingredients that I like the best, if not the one that effects me strongest. You refer to modern players as being very smooth and polished and I'll agree with your comments. I will say that I do not agree that Monroe was always ragged and without polish. I suggest you listen to a lot more Monroe. There are plenty examples of his work that show impeccably clean technique. What you will NOT find is careful music. I do not think that perfection is necessarily the object of expression. Squeaky clean and careful music bores me anyway. I would rather have music that shows commitment and emotional content than all the spit and polish in the world. To each his own, I guess, but I'd rather the music I listen to be unpredictable. I wouldn't presume to know what was going through Monroe's head when he played. I'm sure that some of the Bluegrass Boys could more accurately describe his thought processes and intentions than I could. I'm sure Kenny Baker could. He's quoted as saying he knew what Bill was trying to do. I'd sure like to know what that is myself. I do think that Bill allowed his muse to take him wherever it led, that his
Re: High tech making the most of lessons.
at least it was only his car On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 5:13 PM, mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.comwrote: Thanks for the Bluegrass Boy filter, Robin. I'm sure Bill would've used one of those himself if he'd had access to one. G. Yes, the Mac does learn all this by itself thanks to plug and play. You don't think I *really* know how to play any of this music, do you? Now if I could just get it to put it all in notation it would save me about 500 more entries. You know, our own Brian Ray might be responsible for this handy feature. You know he worked at Apple and was in charge of tearing things up. I think he used to have to go out and polish Steve Jobs' Mercedes with his tongue on lunch break. :-D mistertaterbug On Mar 22, 11:01 am, Robin Gravina robin.grav...@gmail.com wrote: Hi there I guess I may be behind the curve here, but this may help someone: I got the Cam Studio thing that Steve suggested working, and it produces about 500 mb of avi video for one Tater class. I've been fiddling around with this and you can then pretty much do whatever you want with it - all with Freeware - so that you can relive every embarassing second of your lesson, or even work on the difficult bits: There's a program called 'Handbrake' which will convert the avi file into a file suitable for putting on your video compatible ipod, and there's a program called 'Switch' which can convert the avi file from the lesson into a wav file. Once you have the wav file, you can use 'Audacity' to edit out the nasty bits where you are utterly failing to get the intro to Roanoke, or talking about the dodgy behaviour of some Bluegrass Boys, and just keep the meat from the class. Once you have done that, and 'normalised' it to get the volume up a bit, you can use 'Switch' again to convert your edited wav file to an Mp3, and get it onto your ipod, or use the Windows Media Player to slow it down. If you then add a backing track from a Hypnotherapy Practitioner you will be able to put the essence of Taterbuglesson on repetition all night and wake up knowing it all... I think all these programs are easy to find and use, but if anyone needs a hand, please shout. Also this is all for Windows. Probably on a Mac you just plug in your mandolin and it learns it for you.. Best Robin --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: High tech making the most of lessons.
I'm thinking I've got a defective MAC, mine has a really hard time teaching my mandolin anything. I've even tried duck taping it to the MAC overnight . I'm not giving up. I wave the thing all over the place, shake it 'til I'm blue in the face. oh wait, that's the wrong piece of wood. Clyde Clevenger Just My Opinion, But It's Right Salem, Oregon Old Circle - Original Message - From: mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com snip . Yes, the Mac does learn all this by itself thanks to plug and play. You don't think I *really* know how to play any of this music, do you? snip --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: High technology
I use SightSpeed. (www.sightspeed.com) The program is free, however, the recording capability cost $50 per year. Well worth it. It is simple to use. BTW, they have live technical support, they have been helpful each time. Chris --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Tater on the Cafe
Deep, Since you've married, you're a man of many fewer words... :-D I tried your fish curry recipe. KILLER. taterbug On Mar 22, 12:58 pm, diptanshu roy diptanshu@gmail.com wrote: loved the article... --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Italian Mandolin
Found this record called The Music of Gay Italy - Italian Mandolin in a Salvation Army this weekend. I thought it would be cheese, but didn't know it would be cheese of this quality. I uploaded a track from it tonight. http://cdn2.libsyn.com/samjessin/Trieste_Waltz.m4a?nvb=20090323025151nva=20090324030151t=00b07eb58622f7c4a25d3 Mike Hoff --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
