That "Lift Him Up" cut is one of my favs.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 7:56 AM, Mike Hedding <[email protected]> wrote:
> Alright at the advice of everyone I am going to just be myself then.
>
>  I am keeping my tuner on my headstock and no one is going to stop me!
>
> Mike Hedding
>
>
> On Nov 18, 2009, at 7:53 AM, mistertaterbug <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> 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?
>>
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