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One of the catastrophic jams I attended (for me not the other participants) had a lot of flatpickers and gypsy jazz people and they played the song “smoke smoke smoke that cigarette” and everyone knew the words. It was the first time I had heard it but it seemed fun. I saw a recording of Grandpa Jones playing it in what appeared to be a clawhammer style. I checked the tab archive and there was not one there. Does anyone know of a version of this in old time or clwahammer arrangement?
What a tremendous opportunity to apply what you've learned in two years and work out an arrangement for yourself!
Short version of how-to:
1: Get the chords. Here's a version in key of A. It's mostly a 1, 4, 5 song, with an out-of-key 2 Major, so you can easily transpose to any key you'd rather play in.
2: Use whatever left hand fingering and right hand stroke you currently know for playing over the chords. What works on one chord in one song will work over the same chord in another song.
As shown in the video you shared from Midwest Banjo Camp where some in your group were playing chords while others were playing melody: just play the chords. But not just one strum or brush per measure. Do whatever multi-part stroke you know how to do. I don't play clawhammer, so please excuse my incorrect nomenclature.
That's how you start.
If you're up for it, you can try to hit melody notes. The first note of a measure and certainly the first note of any new chord will typically suffice.
The point is to realize that each song you've learned so far is not just that one song. It's vocabulary that you can apply to other songs. Will what you lift from one song and drop into another sound exactly like the song you want to play? Maybe not. But it will be musically correct. And it will put you in position to move some notes and sound more like the target song.
Or, of course, someone might come to your aid and tab it out.
Good luck.
In the two versions I came across, there was just basic rhythmic strumming and no attempt to play the melody (which is just a talking blues anyway).
Grandpa Jones plays guitar in this video, but it's in the key of G (G, C, D7). You can use the gear icon on the lower right of the screen to slow the video down so you can play along with it. Grandpa Jones Performs Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette live
In this Facebook video, the fellow plays just the first verse or so, but you can see his strumming to back up the singing. Smoke that cigarette clawhammer banjo style! | Banjo Addict | Facebook
If you need the lyrics (and there are a lot), you can find them at the link that Old Hickory provided.
If you feel that tab with lyrics for a verse and chorus would help you, I may be able to provide that. You actually will likely pick up the tune more quickly with the Grandpa Jones video.
David
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