Well, I wanted to thank folks for the good suggestions. Some of the advice was so good, and simple, that I feel kind of sheepish for having not figured it out for myself: memorize the tune. be able to hum the tune. The humming is key, I think, because if you can sing it, then it's a song, right?
I think I've been able to learn the notes easily enough that I haven't given myself enough patience to actually learn the song, if you catch the difference. So anyway, I'm anxious to "hit the books" again. Thanks everyone! erik PS--"Fax me an email" that's hilarious. I might try to just start saying that. On Mar 11, 4:00 pm, Nelson <[email protected]> wrote: > Go high tech grandpa! > > My father-in-law is 80 and he doesn't even know what YouTube is. The > only time he's shown any interest in the computer is asking if I can > "fax him an email" or "show him some of that porn". > > On Mar 11, 3:53 pm, [email protected] wrote: > > > > > I've had this problem for years, pounding tunes into my head from books is > > much like breaking rocks. I've learned some from books, but most of the > > tunes I know now have come from jam session. I've been going to an old > > time jam for the past couple of years with some very good old fiddlers. > > Last week one of the old guys came up with a new tune that we all liked. > > He is in his 80s and still very sharp. Says he can't learn from books as > > he doesn't read music. We asked where he got the tune, which he couldn't > > remember the name of. He says, to the surprise of us all. "Off YouTube". > > > Clyde Clevenger > > Just My Opinion, But It's Right > > Salem, Oregon > > Old Circle > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "MinnesotaMandolin" <[email protected]> > > To: "Taterbugmando" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 7:02:28 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific > > Subject: on the subject of books... > > > Hey all-- > > > I'm curious how others handle this dilemma of mine, or if it's even an > > issue. When I practice tunes out of books (my primary books are the > > Phillips vol. 1, O'Neils music of Ireland and the Fiddler's Fakebook) > > I struggle to make the tune sound "informal." I have a classical > > background, on guitar and the oboe, and it's hard for me to play off > > of sheet music without sounding like a presentation. > > > When I learn a song from a person, I don't have this problem. Same > > with the handful of tunes I've written. But out of the dozens of tunes > > I've worked on out of books, only a few don't sound like a recital > > when I play them. I've actually hit a point where the fiddle tune > > books aren't that much more fun than exercise books, for how stiff > > they can sound under my fingers. I keep coming back to them though, > > because I figure it's good for me to work on 'em anyway. I also got a > > few classical mandolin books so I could read through some sheet music > > and be happy with the "formality" of my playing. > > > I got a hunch the answer to my question is "practice," but I wonder if > > anyone has some other tips or suggestions. > > > I normally don't think of myself as a stiff player, but most of my > > focus is on creating rhythm parts for the original songs my band does. > > > On a related note, how do folks decide to "set" a tune where all the > > information that might be available about it is its title and the name > > of the fiddler the book's author collected the song from? > > > just curious, > > > erik- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
