First lesson in a long time

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Old-time practice group 1

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a group who encourage and motivate one another to stick to, and get the most out of, our practice time

14 Members, Created 5/7/2014 -

Administrators: skiptomylou (owner)

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From laertes22 on 8/4/2014 6:14:30 AM

Practice wise, I have been working on the same group of tunes-Angelina Baker/Angeline the Baker, Colored Aristocracy, Cluck Old Hen, the cuckoo.

Last Thursday I had my first lesson since I've been back playing (which means probably my first lesson in like a year or year and a half). Living in a strictly Bluegrass section of south Carolina, I never had any luck finding a local clawhammer or old time teacher and have taken both my fiddle and banjo lessons online with Dan Levenson. Dan travels and tours a lot, so we basically work out to do a lesson whenever we both have time (this works out well for me, too, as regularly scheduled lessons don't work well with my schedule).

Dan had me play some stuff for him. I was expecting to be told I had picked up some bad habits, or my rhythm was sloppy, or that my clawhand or bowing was off. I was instead told that I played every note correctly as written...but that that did not make it music. He asked me what version of the songs I was playing and then asked me to hum/sing the song. Then he asked me if that sounded like what I played. On fiddle, he asked me if what I played felt "natural". So, my assignment is to have my playing be more natural and more expressive, and not just notes on a page. Honestly, I felt like this was way over my head ability wise, but Dan seemed to think I was up to it, so I will give it a shot. So, I have to pick a song or couple songs to work on and listen to a bunch of different versions, so it's not the same every time, and kind of make the song mine., not just what is written on the tab. In addition to songs I have tab for, I am supposed to be working on figuring out the melody note of a song and fleshing it out into a full song (including coming up with my own picking/frailing patterns, drop thumbs, HOs/POs, slides, etc.). So yeah, that's what I have going on. And I'm going to be pretty busy with that for a while.

-Genford

3 Comments
	Zischkale says: 8/4/2014 1:50:39 PM Have you checked out any of Dan's tunes of the week? How's the instruction there compare to taking lessons with him? Sounds like he's got good playing advice, though I think playing note-for-note isn't necessarily an inherent sin. The expression can still be there. I'm definitely working on the same thing--I love playing arrangements of tunes but want to make sure I'm not just rote memorizing them--that I can add my own subtleties. But I'd say you definitely have the skill to put together a tune from melody up. Definitely look at those Clawhammer Core Repertoire videos--pretty unique, I don't know any other learning materials quite like 'em. Maybe find a tune you've never seen tab for (or no one's tabbed it yet), and look for the core melody notes there, and sketch 'em down (it's a big help to me to write the notes). You got it. At the end of the day, just make sure you're feeling it. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with playing something note-for-note. I'd much rather hear expressive and skillful mimicry than something original but cold.
	laertes22 says: 8/11/2014 9:41:46 AM Thanks, Aaron! I have bought Dan's tunetorial for Angeline the Baker, but ironically have not gotten to watch it yet. As soon as I do, I'll let you know. This week I've been trying to be more "musical". Note for note is not bad, but having had a week to process and to play, I definitely kind of got into a "groove"-even playing it the way it is rhythm, I got a little "swing" or "syncopation" on some songs and something clicked. I was basically playing the "midi" version of a song, but it didn't have life in it. Now, even playing the same notes, it sounds more alive and expressive. I'm currently working on a banjo version of Blackest Crow/As Time Draws Near. I never found a banjo tab for it, so I just made it up by ear based on the fiddle version I know. It is definitely not the Tommy Jarrell version, but it's mine and I kind of dig it. I have to sit down and try to make a video one of these days. :)
	Zischkale says: 8/15/2014 8:13:12 AM Yeah, sounds like you're on the right track. You listen to a lot of good tunes, so at some point they'll influence your playing, even when you aren't purposefully mimicking them. I think some clawhammer tunes sound pretty cool played very straight, but most of the time you'll want a little swing in there. That may be what Dan is talking about. Definitely go with your own rendition on songs, too. That's why all the old timers sound so distinct from one another. Video don't have to be perfect, I started posting with audio files, you may do a few brief audio files just to get your feet wet. Even the act of recording takes and posting tunes is a learning experience in and of itself, it sort of forces you into performance mode from practice or noodle mode. Either way, enjoy it! I've been listening to a lot of the county records clawhammer albums for inspiration this week.
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