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Post by tigercpa on Feb 27, 2019 20:30:00 GMT
Yes indeed, Bevo. Thanks for asking. Music friends from near and far have offered to come by for some jamming and I accept every offer. These kind of music friends and this kind of music really can be healing. I've always heard that and now I know. Got dear friends of Mrs. Hen from York County , Pa and Pickens Co. S.Carolina coming soon for jamming and remembering her. ...and I'll be seeing that band in the video in concert in a couple weeks Let me know if you get down to Pickens anytime. Only 15-20 minutes away
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Post by bluehen on Feb 28, 2019 3:13:51 GMT
Sure will cpa. Pickens Co. S.Carolina - home of one of America's greatest athletes of all time...Shoeless Joe Jackson
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Post by bluehen on Feb 28, 2019 3:46:28 GMT
Basically, and very generally, Bluegrass is focused on the performance more so than the material (tune or song) and that's why there are individual 'breaks' by the different instruments. OT focuses more on getting the melody exactly right with everybody grooving together...as one of the interviewed BG guys states " and they ( the OT players ) are very meticulous about that ". Great Bluegrass musicians are much like great jazz musicians in that after playing one round of the basic melody they freestyle with lots of improvising and variations for each successive round. Contemporary OT players value historic accuracy. They strive to duplicate the tones and phrases of the source players - the old dead guys where the material comes from. It's kind of like modern violin makers trying to exactly duplicate what Stradivari and those 1600s Italian makers did. I love both and there are a handful of great players out there that have mastered both. 16 year Kitty is one of them.
You're right , Bevo. One of the first clues to differentiate between the two is banjo playing style. Bluegrassers use finger picks and prefer resonators on the back of their banjos. OT players use their bare thumb and fingers in what is called a 'clawhammer', 'drop thumb' or 'frailing' technique , generally on open back banjos. Just like fiddlers, there are a handful of banjo players that are great at both styles.
Good observation about drive and Rhythm..old time bands will tend to make you tap your feet or dance more than Bluegrass bands.
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Post by bluehen on Feb 28, 2019 4:13:57 GMT
Here's another great Old Time Band ( Foghorn String Band ) that can really groove it. Notice that there is no banjo at all but a mandolin playing the exact melody in unison with the fiddle which gives a different , but still traditional, sound. I play this 'Grigsby's Hornpipe' tune but not this good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BQ-BFwIuHY
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Post by tigercpa on Feb 28, 2019 15:36:25 GMT
Sure will cpa. Pickens Co. S.Carolina - home of one of America's greatest athletes of all time...Shoeless Joe Jackson And home of Clemson University... "Where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness..." as the Alma Mater says
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Post by Bevo on Feb 28, 2019 16:04:41 GMT
Here's another great Old Time Band ( Foghorn String Band ) that can really groove it. Notice that there is no banjo at all but a mandolin playing the exact melody in unison with the fiddle which gives a different , but still traditional, sound. I play this 'Grigsby's Hornpipe' tune but not this good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BQ-BFwIuHYOk... I think I've figured out a sure fire way of telling the difference between OT and BG: When I hear OT, my foot starts tapping immediately. With BG, it usually take 20-30 seconds, or more!
That is some powerful fiddle playing there.
I couldn't help by feel sorry for the poor guitar player. She's basically just holding up a platform for the Fiddle and Mandolin to shine from. :-)
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Post by bluehen on Feb 28, 2019 20:06:23 GMT
Here's another great Old Time Band ( Foghorn String Band ) that can really groove it. Notice that there is no banjo at all but a mandolin playing the exact melody in unison with the fiddle which gives a different , but still traditional, sound. I play this 'Grigsby's Hornpipe' tune but not this good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BQ-BFwIuHYOk... I think I've figured out a sure fire way of telling the difference between OT and BG: When I hear OT, my foot starts tapping immediately. With BG, it usually take 20-30 seconds, or more!
That is some powerful fiddle playing there.
I couldn't help by feel sorry for the poor guitar player. She's basically just holding up a platform for the Fiddle and Mandolin to shine from. :-)
Good observation, Bevo. That guitar gal isn't doing anything slick (like the guy in the first video) but is basically serving as a perfect timing metronome.....which fiddlers really value.
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Post by Bevo on Feb 28, 2019 20:45:07 GMT
Ok... I think I've figured out a sure fire way of telling the difference between OT and BG: When I hear OT, my foot starts tapping immediately. With BG, it usually take 20-30 seconds, or more!
That is some powerful fiddle playing there.
I couldn't help by feel sorry for the poor guitar player. She's basically just holding up a platform for the Fiddle and Mandolin to shine from. :-)
Good observation, Bevo. That guitar gal isn't doing anything slick (like the guy in the first video) but is basically serving as a perfect timing metronome.....which fiddlers really value. When singing a 'rap' song, like Nelly's.... the KEY, I have learned, is to always strongly keep THE BEAT in your head....in your body even. It's a bit of "free styling" with words...but, it always needs to stay on the beat, or it quickly falls apart.
Anyway... listen to most any OT or BG band. It doesn't take long to figure out who the real "star" is. It's the fiddler.
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Post by bluehen on Feb 28, 2019 22:13:27 GMT
Ehhhhh...for old time bands playing tunes, yep, the fiddle rules. But for Bluegrass bands the singers are usually the stars.
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Post by Bevo on Mar 1, 2019 3:13:36 GMT
Ehhhhh...for old time bands playing tunes, yep, the fiddle rules. But for Bluegrass bands the singers are usually the stars. Ahhh… Now we get to the REAL reason you prefer OT! Just kidding, Hen. But, yea.. in my very limited experience with the two, it's clear that BG features vocals much more. Maybe, that's what first attracted me?
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Post by bluehen on Mar 1, 2019 22:32:52 GMT
Oh yeah you got it, Bevo - I can't sing a lick....BG vocal harmonies can be real high level art. There is singing in old time too but it tends to be a bit more primitive in nature. In all the years I've been playing, performing and recording I've only been allowed to sing one little line. It goes " heee heee, hoooo hoooo ". I practiced it for a couple weeks and I think I got it. My total vocal recording career can be found on the Grayson County Daredevils CD 'Staggerin Blues', cut # 13 - 'Coming Up The Pike'. Mrs Hen ( and about everyone else ) never encouraged me to sing.
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Post by bluehen on Mar 5, 2019 1:22:56 GMT
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Post by Bevo on Mar 5, 2019 1:40:01 GMT
LOL Not bad...
I was going to ask if that wasn't you on "Old Sport"?
I love that link... has all the songs on my CD. I love Elle's Waltz... and, several others.
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Post by bluehen on Mar 5, 2019 1:58:21 GMT
Thanks..hee. They were hard lyrics to learn and remember. No that was Kyle on 'Old Sport' . The same guy that actually sang on 'Spring Of 65'
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Post by Bevo on Mar 5, 2019 2:01:13 GMT
Thanks..hee. They were hard lyrics to learn and remember. No that was Kyle on 'Old Sport' . The same guy that actually sang on 'Spring Of 65' I had to listen three times to hear it!
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