Monday, December 28, 2009

Clyde Davenport


This is a three part field recording I made with legendary Kentucky fiddler Clyde Davenport in 2008.

J.W. Green Music Files

These files represent a field recording that Mr. Green and I made together in November of 2009.

He is using a fiddle he made circa 1982 and I am using a Martin D-18. We are sitting at his kitchen table jamming as we have for the past three years on a Thursday evening with his wife Dorothy looking on.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Monday, December 21, 2009

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

Niel Gow's Lament

The lament is for the death of his second wife.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Loch Laven Castle

I Will Arise-Twin Fiddles

October Waltz

Last Nights Joy

Softy and Tenderly

Over the Waterfall

Shannandoah

The West Texas Waltz

Tom Hepple's Polka

I got an email from a fiddler in Northumberland who said he was surprised someone from the US sounded so authentic. Ha ha!!

The Girl I Left Behind Me

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

As the Deer

Thursday, December 10, 2009

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean


Well not really, she actually lies over the state line in Alabama.

This is an old Scottish song and the photo of my eldest grand daughter.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Hector the Hero

A Scottish Melody

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Greasy Coat

A well know "crooked" fiddle tune.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

El Shaddai


El Shaddai means God is almighty and one of several names or God in the Old Testament used by the Jewish/Hebrew nation of Israel.

Silent Night


I am using an Eastman oval hole mandolin, a John Arnold 12 fret dreadnought guitar, and a J.W. Green fiddle for this Christmas classic.


Monday, September 7, 2009

Waltzing Matilda

The unofficial national anthem of Australia

Friday, September 4, 2009

Hurt


I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Hard Times Movie Theme Song


This tune is from a 1975 Charles Bronson movie, Hard Times.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Old Gospel Ship-Wildwood Flower Medley

Wildwood Flower:
The original title was "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets". The song was written in 1860, with words by Maud Irving and music by Joseph Philbrick Webster (1819-1875).

"I'll twine 'mid the ringlets of my raven black hair,
The lilies so pale and the roses so fair,
The myrtle so bright with an emerald hue,
And the pale aronatus with eyes of bright blue"

Sunday, June 21, 2009

I Am a Pilgrim


Just me and the Martin on this one.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Milk Cow Blues

Mattie Groves


17th century English ballad

Sunday, June 7, 2009

S.M. Lockridge's Sermon: Do You Know Him?


This is a sermon by the late S.M Lockridge in a video format. This is the entire sermon. There are other versions with a musical background, but I chose this one because it was the live presentation and you will be able to hear the congregation in the background. 

Monday, May 25, 2009

Loch Lomond


First published in 1841, this is thought to be a song written at the time of the Jacobite Uprising in 1745.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Calum Sqaire

A sad Gaelic tune

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Bunessan


This Scottish-Gaelic melody was used to by Mary MacDonald 1789-1872 for here hymn Child in a Manager, then later in 1931 for the hymn, Morning Has Broken.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Charmaine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charmaine_(song)"Charmaine" is a popular song written by Erno Rapee, with lyrics by Lew Pollack. The song was written in 1926 and published in 1927. However, Desmond Carrington on his BBC Radio 2 programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913.

The song was originally in waltz time, but later versions were in common time.

I am using a 2003 J.W. Green fiddle.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Sweet Sunny South


This song is played using a Claw-Hammer picking style with a technique called Drop Thumb that I learned from Mr. Clyde Davenport.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Flat Pick Guitar-Arkansas Traveler

I am using a Martin D-18 guitar on this recording. I use a Fender medium tri- corner pick with one of the edges rounded off. 


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

J.W. Green-Fiddlemaker


I met J.W. Green three years ago. He and I have become very good friends. He began making fiddles as a past time 30 years ago and has become a sought after maker among locals and other who have been fortunate enough to find one of his 100 or so instruments available. 

Pictured are three of his fiddles. The one on the left is a black stained fiddle using Euro tone woods front and back. The middle red fiddle is a 5 string version from West Virginia Red spruce. The blonde fiddle is my favorite fiddle with a top from John Arnolds 450 year old Red spruce. 

He was a career pipe contractor with Daniels construction company and spent a year in Saudia Arabia building a city

J.W. has few tools except a table sander, small band saw, a table saw, and a worn out planer. These are truly hand wrought fiddles. 

He occasionally has one or two available so contact me and I will put you in touch with Mr. Green. 

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Pachabal Canon

I am using a Horner mandolin and violin with Martin D-18 backup

Monday Waltz

This is a waltz that I composed one Monday morning two a couple of years ago.

The Four Marys

A Scottish children's ballad played with traditional fiddle and guitar

Monday, March 30, 2009

Windy and Warm

Here is a little Merle Travis style of finger picking where you play the alternating bass with the thumb and the melody with the first finger. Later players like Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed expanded on this style. 


The Fundamentals

A thorough concentration on the fundamentals is a mainstay for any venture, corporate and individual. That axiom is never more true than is how we approach a musical instrument or a specific genre of music. There are not short cuts, by the way. 

Skills development is sometimes not that most fun aspect of learning to play music, but it becomes essential if the players wishes to play the music they enjoy the most. 

Our brains capture an idea before our muscles do. This is why we practice slowly leading up the the normal tempos. If we practice too fast, our muscle memory never has the chance to play the tune or song correctly giving every note its full measure of time. 

Understanding the history behind the music helps me interpret the  composition in the era it was produced is another fundamental. More than once someone has commented that my recordings sounded old or old timey. I feel the reason is that when I play a song like The Battle Cry of Freedom, I try to put myself in the 1860's and what was happening during the Civil War. What is interesting about this song is that it was the campaign song for the  Lincoln-Johnson presidential bid for re-election, but I see a sadness and sobriety resulting from how the nation was torn apart and so many lives lost. 

In my opinion, if one wants to learn a musical instrument and to become a true musician they should consider maintaining a focus on the fundamentals as a key to success. They should look for an instructor or teacher that will provide them with the resources needed to develop and hone these skills. 

Monday, March 23, 2009

Digital Library of Appalachia

This is a extensive archive of  old time and traditional recordings.

Once you click on the link, type in the tune or song that you are interested in hearing in the top right corner and then click "go". Click on the title of the tune or song, then click where is says, "click to display item". This will bring up the music file. 

Thursday, March 5, 2009

You Should Learn How to Play a Banjo

One of my favorite instruments to play is the banjo. The ones I prefer are the open-back variety that are used to play Old Time or traditional Appalachian music with. If you click on the title you will hear a recording I made using a Civil War type of banjo which has a calf hide for the top or head and no frets like a fiddle or bowed instrument. I had this banjo made by Noel Booth from near Waynesville, North Carolina. The pot or round part of this banjo has a diameter of thirteen inches which is two inches larger than most banjos. This larger pot provides a deeper tone than a smaller one. 

Old time banjo is played by picking the string downward rather than how you would pick a guitar or how Blue Grass player. There are several YouTube instructional videos available to teach yourself some basic in case you are interested. 

Open-back banjos are not expensive. You can obtain a good sounding one for less than $500 and have a lot of fun in the process. 

Banjos have gained negative notoriety because those playing them are often depicted as uneducated and backward. This is unfounded as the ability to make music that sounds pleasing is not something just anyone can accomplish. 

The song I recorded is Sweet Sunny South by the way. 


Sunday, February 22, 2009

CMM Quarterly Special Edition: Mark Boucher

I was invited by Mr. Mark Boucher to highlight the building practice of Charles Jean Horner. Please find all of the informative articles and photographs using this link. 

A December 2006 Charles J. Horner F5 Mandolin ( July 9, 1923 Triple-Side-Bound/Fern) is featured on the cover. 

Buying a New Musical Instrument

New and experienced  Old Time musicians alike are in search of a better musical instrument. Whether it be a fiddle, mandolin, guitar, or banjo, the interest exists. The modern player can choose between brands like Martin and Gibson, lesser known brands like Collings and Huff & Dalton, the custom builder, and the foreign sourced manufacturers like Recording King and Eastman strings. 

The focus of this post is to help you make a good decision. I will list several things that my experiance tells me you should consider before making your final decision on a musical instrument. 

1. The instrument should be set up properly with new or newer strings before you evaluate how it sounds and performs. 
2. Take an experienced player along if you do not have the experiance to judge for yourself.
3. Never buy something site unseen without a grace period.
4. Notice the lightness of the instrument the first time you pick it up. I have never played a heavy instrument that had the sound I prefer.
5. I like an instrument that resonates or vibrate upon being strummed or bowed. This tells me it is alive and unbound by too many braces.
6. Don't assume that the branded products are going to be better than the foreign made. Price does not determine quality in every situation
7. Notice how long it take the note to decay after a bowing or pluck.
8. Ask an objective listener to tell you how the instrument sounds as you play it. 
9. Trust your perspective. If it sounds good to you, that is very important
10. Check for structural integrity, i.e. cracks, neck alignment, fret wear, tuner function, bridge stability, etc. 
11. Do not buy into the notion that an instrument will improve over time. A new instrument takes time to settle, but if it does not speak to you when new, it will not become a superb instrument later. 
12. Old wood is not superior to new wood. All woods used in making wooden instrument are aged. Therefore, in some sense all instruments use old wood. It is the construction that makes a musical instrument sound good. As a consumer, if it does not sound good when you are evaluating the product, do not allow anyone to suggest that it will come into its own later. Put the instrument down and keep looking. 

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Tone-wood Sanctuary





These photos are of a man's shop where he stored his supply of spruce, maple, rosewood, and other exotic tone-woods. The Red spruce dates from trees harvested back to 1985 and there are examples of spruce from just about every year until 2002. 


Violin Bow Hair/String Maintenance

I once saw an old time fiddler putting his bow away and using a tooth brush to comb through the hair. I decided to give it a try. I found a very soft, new brush and gently combed through the hair using a flat angle. This both cleaned and separated the hair nicely. I also used the brush to gently clean the strings from rosin buildup. Again this is a gentle process and you should use a new soft brush if you decide to try this. 

Monday, February 16, 2009

The Violin: why I find it so compelling




The idea of making music using strings originally made from sheep intestines strung to a tiny intrument. Then using a stick with horse hair attached to draw across the strings and pine rosin to make the hair sticky is compelling. 

The fretless fingerboard, while adding so much in the way of tones and minuted increments of notes, is also a part of the mystique. 


Saturday, February 14, 2009

J.W. Green Violin Builder


Mr. Green uses the best materials to produce exceptional sounding and affordable violins in the $1-1.5K range.

Mr Clyde Davenport

Clyde Davenport is a legendry Kentucky fiddler whose style is his own. He has been playing for 78 years and has been recorded extensively. He is a National Award Fellow. 

He is the last of a long line of fiddlers who play an archaic solo style. 

Mr. Davenport also builds his own instruments using little more than a pocket knife.