If anyone cares to, go to "Remember the Cross" and "That Home Above" by the Monroe/Flatt/Scruggs/Wise/Rainwater band. One is clearly B, the other B flat. But, they are both clearly played out of A. There are a number of other noteworthy cuts, "The First Whippoorwill" for one, that are played out of one key but are clearly not pitched in that key. So, did fucking Bill Monroe (to quote fucking Gaudreau) tune up or capo up? It's not tape drag. As Terry Bullin once said,"Well, maybe he did it in the studio but surely he wouldn't have done it out in public." It's just silly. If the situation requires a different voice and the capo provides it, use it. When did it become against the rules to use the tools?
I started using a capo now and then due to saving time and aggravation in the studio. Also, open tunings. I'd really love to use more open tunings. Listen to the cut on Dr. Ralph's recording of "Lift Him Up". That's tuned open, but there were a few songs where we tuned open only to have TBone say that he'd like to go up a half step. Now, retuning 8 strings on a mandolin every which way and expecting it to settle down in a few minutes is just unreasonable. Slapping on a capo is not, especially when time is money. As for working up solos and improvising... I think that maybe we can go back to "the Father" one more time and consider this approach. Over the years, if I listen to songs that Monroe did over a number of decades, such as "Uncle Pen", "On and On", "Bluegrass Breakdown", etc, what I hear is a script, a framework over which variations are applied. I'm not talking about the construction of the song so much as I am the construction of his solos in the song. It seems that he worked out a solo that served as the basic pattern to follow, but changed small aspects of it occasionally as his whim dictated. But the basic "script" was predominantly the same. This may be helpful, maybe not. Just thought I'd throw it out there. I had a short conversation with Russ Barenburg the other day and the subject of improvisation came up. He said that he occasionally has people ask him about improvising, as do I. It's really an individual learning experience and there doesn't seem to be any one way to approach it or teach it. He said that to him it is ridiculous to assume that it is possible to whip out an improvised solo that rivals something that requires one sitting down and working it out and learning it over the course of say, several months. But that seems to be what some people assume they will be able to do with a few "rules". I think that it is easy to overlook the fact that the sound our heros have/had did not just appear overnight but took sometimes a lifetime of blood, sweat, and tears to acquire. There is too much impatience in us all. I think that Eric has a valid point, that being each song deserves a look to see what the best approach is. I agree with Eric too (Who is this Eric guy? He seems to know a lot of stuff...) regarding using tunings and capos, if a person wants a specific sound, go where it is regardless of how you need to get there. As John Hartford used to say (and I know I've quoted him saying this before...), "This is art and there ain't no damned rules." Be bold, be yourself, be honest. The audience can spot a phony from the back row. Puhtater On Nov 17, 6:46 pm, [email protected] wrote: > Ron Spears tells a very good Jimmy Gaudreau capo story. At a gig somewhere, > Jimmy put a capo on his mandolin and Ron > gave him the "hairy eyeball" as only Ron can do and Jimmy got right in Ron's > face and says "I ain't fucking Bill Monroe." > Might even be true. > > Clyde Clevenger > Just My Opinion, But It's Right > Salem, Oregon > Old Circle > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Don Grieser" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:36:23 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific > Subject: Re: Thinking more outside of a Jam > > I saw Jimmy Gaudreau use a capo on his mandolin at a bluegrass > festival. It sounded great. It's a tool. Use it for a certain sound or > effect but not because you're too lazy to learn to play in Bb or B. > Monroe style players play out of closed positions anyway even when > they don't have to, right? -- 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=.
