Thanks Mike! I like the idea of you and Joe Newberry playing together, I really like his music (I've heard it on Myspace). Maybe a recording of you two would be possible? I would surely appreciate that music I'm sure!
/Jonas 22 mar 2009 kl. 04.06 skrev mistertaterbug: > > 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 version to > version. A couple of things suggest themselves to me. One part of it > seems to be an evolutionary process in regard to melody. The other > part seems to suggest that there are a fair amount of notes and > phrases that can be rearranged or deleted completely without really > effecting the overall impression of the melody being played. > > 4)Yessir, I do have a signature model pick with Red Bear called the > "Taterbug Special". Dave Skowron suggested the idea and sent along a > sample in the mail one day and from there we've worked on making a > pick size/shape that I like. I'll say that they're just about right > now. I don't use any one thing all the time, though I have used the > last pick I got from Dave pretty much exclusively. I have a few > tortoise shell picks around that people give me and I like them fine, > but I don't use them much because they cost too much and require some > amount of maintenance. I have other things I'd rather be doing. > > I have a couple of the Blue Chip picks and they seem to be really fast > and clean, but they're sort of like the tortoise; I really can't get > enough good out of them to justify the price. I do know that a lot of > folks like them. As for Monroe, no, I don't think he had a stash of > tortoise shell picks laying around for special occasions. I've heard > too many people say that he used this pick or that pick. After a > number of years of speculating on everything "Monroe" that I could get > hold of, it seems to me he played with just about anything he had in > his pocket that came his way. I think his focus was more on music he > was making and not on equipment and gadgets. He sounded pretty much > like Bill Monroe no matter what pick or string or mandolin he had in > his hands. If you listen to his recordings close, I think you'll hear > a number of different mandolins being played there. > > 5) Right now I'm using a couple Gilchrist mandolins, an F5(#536) and > F4 > (#565), and a Duff H5(#13307) mandola. The F5 I have now is the fourth > one of Steve's I've owned and by far the best suited for what I like. > The F4 was sort of an experiment on Steve's part in that he used the > same woods that he uses on the F5's to build it. I think there are a > couple other modifications, but minor. Steve told me that he was > completely satisfied with the way it works. The Duff 'dola is made > from PA maple I think. Not sure really, but I do know that Paul's > instruments rank with some of the best these days. This one is the > traditional Gibson scale, made onto an H4 box design with f-hole top. > Paul's making another with 17" scale to give it a bit more mandolin- > like "pop". I reckon that'll be an experiment too. I've got a couple > more things I bang on around here, a late 30's Kalamazoo Oriole and an > Old Kraftsman florentine and a Kay electric I got from TBone Burnett. > Fun stuff with their own voices. It takes a number of different voices > to get it all done for me. I suppose that's because I'm not quite good > enough a technician yet to get it all out of one box. > > 6) You must have talked to Dawn Bradbury. She's quite an accomplished > musician(piano) in her own right. The webcam lessons idea was > presented to me by Brian Ray, an ex-Apple employee and self-proclaimed > expert on all things orange(including mandolins...I keep telling him > that "orange" is a fruit, not a mandolin). Currently, I have over 160 > people on the webcam contacts list. Of those, about 30-35 of those > take lessons weekly. Some of the others take twice a month and a few > others take occasionally. When I'm not on the road I usually spend > from about 8am-8pm weekdays giving webcam lessons. I start about 8am > and go until just after noon and break for a few hours, then resume > around 3p-4p and go through the evening until 8:30-9pm. Most people > take 30 minute lessons, but I do have a couple who take for an hour. > Really, I think 30 minutes is about max, but it depends on what the > request is. > > The webcam idea works pretty good as long as there's plenty of > bandwidth to go around and each person has a reasonably up-to-date > computer. Audio/Video chat uses a lot bandwidth and the computer > equipment needs to be able to process the info fast, do it's pretty > much limited to cable and ethernet. Sometimes even then it's a > crapshoot. On a good day, it's almost like watching television, though > there is lag time, so there's no jamming capability. On a bad day some > of my customers look like a Jackson Pollack painting and the lag time > is seconds, not fractions of a second. It can get pretty awkward. But, > I'll have to say that we've all sort of gotten used to the > shortcomings of the technology and just keep moving on, plus, the > quality has improved over the last couple years. Even with the > improvements, some folks just never quite get the hang of it or can't > get comfortable with the technology and back out. > > It's interesting that you ask what I think Monroe's reaction would be > to the webcam conference idea because that topic has come up quite a > few times. I think we're unanimously agreed that he'd probably recite > his now famous phrase "it ain't no part a 'nuthin", although if > somebody could've gotten him to sit down in front of the camera and > gotten him comfortable with it he might have been at least a little > curious. But this is all purely speculation on my part. I have no > earthly idea. > > 7) As for projects, right now I have a few things on my list that I > want to do, but it seems like there's always more on the list that is > getting crossed off the list. The Nashville Bluegrass Band is still > working up new material, more in the recent past. I think we're to > begin on another recording soon, get the songs we're doing on the set > that are new. I've had a solo recording rumbling around in my head for > a few years, but just haven't felt an overwhelming urge to get it > done. I don't know why. It just doesn't seem urgent somehow. But that > one will basically be all original tunes by me with various > combinations from solo to full band. I would like to put out a duet > recording of Narmour and Smith tunes played on mandolin and guitar to > pay homage to one of Mississippi's greatest duets in the string band > field. I'm looking at probably getting Chris Sharp to play the guitar > on that one. Recently, the fellow who first pushed me towards Monroe's > playing, Raymond Huffmaster, bought back the Randy Wood mandolin that > I brought to Nashville with me in 1977, so we're looking at putting > out a project of tunes played on that mandolin. I'm really looking > forward to going back down to Mississippi and playing tunes with a > bunch of my old friends and influences. I've been wanting to go back > and hang out a while there and just soak it up, and this will give me > the perfect opportunity. > > > I'm still working with NBB as a regular member of that band. I usually > do a few shows a year with David Grier and David Long and have been > doing more solo sets, which is really a test on a number of fronts, > but fun to do regardless. I recently did a show with Joe Newberry, a > very prominent fixture in the oldtime scene. That was a fun gig and > we're talking about doing a lot more of that. There are a couple other > ideas rumbling around in the works, but right now they're only in the > speculation stage. Didn't go to Japan this year, didn't go to > Australia, but that's a couple other things I'm looking at making a > regular yearly thing of. This year, we're touring an Elvis Costello > recording we did last April '08. The tour goes for a couple weeks in > June and a couple more in August, coast to coast. I am happy to be > included on that one. I'm involved with about five camps and > workshops this year and am plugging away at staying on top of all > that. I've had a few nibbles regarding doing some work in Italy before > long, so we'll see. Who knows? I just keep plugging away and I really > don't know what's coming around the bend. > > 8) You ask what the qualities of a good teacher are, what helps > students progress. I think the answer you'd get to that question would > depend on who you ask. I have talked to a number of teachers regarding > their methods of conveying information. Of those outside music, all > were professional educators with degrees in the field. They were > pretty well unanimous in the way they approach teaching information. > Most all those that were involved in music were professional, but were > not necessarily trained as teachers. Methods vary in this group. Non- > musician teachers seem to say that presenting the same information > over and over in different ways is best. Musicians seem to favor the > way they learn personally as it relates to the kind of music they're > in. I find it all very confusing, really. I agree with both groups. > In an ideal situation one-on-one, the teacher knows how the student > learns and presents the information to him/her that way. A group is a > lot harder, mainly because the skill levels vary as do the learning > styles. But, as a bottom line, I think that a good teacher has a > definite purpose or goal in each lesson and follows a logical, > methodical course in getting there. > > I don't know Bill, I just want to feel more connected to what I'm > playing. I'm still working at making sense out of it myself. Can you > show me how to do that? > > > Alright, there's that. > Spuds > > On Mar 21, 11:46 am, Fred <[email protected]> wrote: >> It's simply bad form, old bean, to dangle such dripping red flesh in >> front of us only to hoik it away at the last moment. Give--we want >> the >> unexpurgated version. >> >> mistertaterbug wrote: >>> For instance, there are a few things that would piss off Monroe fans >>> that don't appear in the article... Or should I say, they illustrate >>> once again that a lot of people don't get it. >>> Tater >> >>> On Mar 21, 11:29 am, mistertaterbug <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> For instance, there are a few things that would piss off Monroe >>>> fans >>>> that don't appear in the article... >> >>>> On Mar 20, 1:44 pm, Steve Cantrell <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>>>> It's a good article. That Narmour and Smith project leaves me >>>>> all a-twitter. >>>>> ________________________________ >>>>> From: Don Grieser <[email protected]> >>>>> To: [email protected] >>>>> Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 2:31:13 PM >>>>> Subject: Tater on the Cafe >>>>> For those needing Mo'Tater, he's featured in the Bill Graham >>>>> article >>>>> on the Mandolin Cafe homepage. > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
