Vol_2_No_2

Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

January/February January/Febru ary 1998

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Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Magazine


CONTENTS FEA FE ATU TURE RES S

Flatpicking Guitar

Charles Sawtelle Flatpick Prole: Debbie Bridgewater Ronnie Grifn Guitars Columnist Prole: Steve Pottier Masters of Rhythm Guitar: Martha Adcock Deering Six String Banjo Wineld ‘97

Magazine Volume 2, Number 2

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COLUMNS

Expanding Your Musical Boundries Craig Vance Beginner’ss Page: Flatpicking Casualties Beginner’ Casualties Dan Huckabee Flatpick Rhythm Guitar: Charles Charles Sawtelle Joe Carr Flatpicking & Folk/Acoustic Folk/Acoustic Rock John Tindel Kaufman’ss Corner: “Soldier’s Kaufman’ “Soldier’s Joy” Steve Kaufman Nashville Flat Top Brad Davis Break Time: Improvise or Plan? Chris Jones The O-Zone Orrin Starr Avalon A valon - Part 2 Dix Bruce Music Theory: Mastering the Fingerboard Mike Maddux Guitar Making: Playability Don Gallagher Flatpicking Fiddle Tunes: Tunes: Two Two Good Tunes Tunes Adam Granger Exploring Bluegrass Bluegrass Guitar: Improvisation Improvisation Steve Pottier Eclectic Acoustic: “Heavy Trafc Trafc Ahead” John McGann The Vintage Voice Bill Bush Avoiding A voiding Injuries Mike Maddox

January/February 1998 Published bi-monthly by: High View Publications P.O. Box 51967 Pacic Grove, CA 93950 Phone: (408) 643-9026 Fax: (408) 643-9027 Orders: (800) 413-8296 E-mail: highview@atpick.com Web Site: http://www.atpick.com ISSN: 1089-9855 Dan Miller - Publisher and Editor Mariann Miller - Sales and Advertising Contributing Editors: Dave McCarty Bryan Kimsey Subscription Rate ($US): US $22.00 Canada/Mexico $27.00 Other Foreign $32.00 All contents Copyright © 1998 by High View Publications unless otherwise indicated Reproduction of material appearing in the Flatpicking Guitar Magazine is forbidden without written permission Printed in the USA

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DEPARTMEN ARTMENTS TS

Letters New Release Highlight: Richard Bennett Cover Photo by S. L. Reay Reviews Flatpicking Guitar Magazine


53 58 62 1

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EDITOR'S PAGE I am very excited excited to have have my guitar hero, Charles Sawtelle, on the the cover cover of this issue. In some ways Charles is responsible responsible for the existence existence of this magazine because he is the player who most inspired me to want to become a atpicker.. While I have listened to and admired his music for the past fteen atpicker years, I have only recently had the good fortune to come to know Charles personally.. I must say that the man behind the guitar personally guitar is equally as inspiring as the music coming out the front. front. He is a generous, humble, positive, goodnatured man who, by example, has taught me as much about what it is to be a quality human being as his guitar licks have taught taught me about being a guitar guitar player.. To me, player me, that is the best kind of hero to have. I am extremely proud to announce announce the publication of our new book The Bluegrasss Guitar of Charles Bluegras Charles Sawtelle. If you are familiar with Charlesʼ playing and are a Hot Rize fan, you are going to to love this book. The biographical and interview sections of the book are far more extensive than that which is presented here in this issue and each of the 27 solos is preceded by the transcriberʼss technical advice on the solo as well as a discussion of Charlesʼ transcriberʼ style in general. If you are not familiar with Charlesʼ guitar work and you are a bluegrass player, the transcriptions in this book will open you up to a whole new and exciting world of atpicking.

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If you have glanced through the table of contents or ipped through the pages of this issue already, already, you might have noticed a few changes. First and foremost is that, unfortunately, unfortunately, we donʼt have a column by Scott Nygaard in this issue. Scott has recently started a full time time job working with with Acoustic Guitar Magazinea nd is concentrating his efforts there. Based on the feedback we have received from readers, Scottʼs Sc ottʼs column was one of the favorites and we will all miss his presence in the magazine. We want to thank Scott for the hard work he has done for us and wish him the best of luck in his new job. Even though he will no longer be a regular columnist, we do hope to feature Scott on our cover in the near future and we will certainly try and keep everyone informed of his activities. activities. Starting in the next issue issue we will be welcoming Beppe Gambetta as a feature columnist in Scottʼs place. You may also notice that our music theory expert, Dave Bricker, does not appear in this issue due to a hectic schedule at his work place, however, Mike Maddux has stepped into ll his shoes in this issue with a great article on scale practice. Dan Miller Editor and Publisher

T he J J L LD G u D i t t ar ! ! H an d d c c r ra f t t e e d d b y T o o n n y in e n e s ( 4 s 42 3)3 V i 2 7 8 8 - - 6 63 2 5 5

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The

Bluegrass Guitar Style of

Charles Sawtelle 27 Great Flatpicking Guitar Solos

In addition to the tablature and standard notation of 27 Sawtelle solos, this book also includes: • Detail Sawtelle biography • An in-depth interview with Charles • Section on Charles’ rhythm style • Charles Sawtelle Discography • The rst ever Slade biography • Notes on each solo transcription • Dozens of photographs

This is a “must have” book for all Hot Rize fans and serious students of bluegrass guitar.

Ever since the band Hot Rize burst onto the bluegrass music scene in the late 1970s, Charles Sawtelle has been acknowledged as one of the most exciting and innovative guitar players in bluegrass music. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine now provides you with the opportunity to study Charles’ dynamic, bluesy, syncopated style in great depth with the release of The Bluegrass Guitar Style of Charles Sawtelle. This new book provides you with 27 of Charles’ solos to the following songs: From Hot Rize Hot Rize( Flying Fish FF 70206) Blue Night Empty Pocket Blues Nellie Kane Durhamʼs Reel From Hot Rize Radio Boogie( Flying Fish FF 70231) Ainʼt Gonna Work Tomorrow Wild Bill Jones No Brakes The Sweetest Song I Sing From Hot Rize Hot Rize in Concert (Flying Fish CD FF 107) Goinʼ Across the Sea Sally Goodin Sugarfoot Rag Shady Grove From Hot Rize Untold Stories( Sugar Hill SH-CD-3756) Are You Tired of Me My Darlinʼ Bluegrass Part Three Shadows in My Room Donʼt Make Me Believe From Hot Rize Traditional Ties( Sugar Hill SH-CD-3748) If I Should Wander Back Tonight Frankʼs Blues Lost John Leather Britches From Hot Rize Take It Home( Sugar Hill SH-CD-3784) Rocky Road Blues A Voice on the Wind Gone Fishing The Bravest Cowboy The Old Rounder From John Rossbach Never Was Plugged ( Alcazar ALC 126) The Tennessee Wagoner East Virginia

The Bluegrass Guitar Style of Charles Sawtelle will be available in mid-January 1998.

To order, send

$19.95 plus $3.00 Shipping and Handling to: High View Publications P.O. Box 51967 Pacic Grove, CA 93950 or call

1 (800) 413-8296 to order with Mastercard or Visa


January/February 1998

3

Charles Sawtelle The Bluegrass Mystery When I rst heard Charles Sawtelle play the guitar what immediately captured my attention was not the notes that he played, but the ones he didnʼt play— the ones he left alone. He chose to give his notes a little elbow room and he allowed the guitar to breathe, and that was refreshing. Once these tasteful bits of silence caught my attention, I then discovered that the real fascinating aspect of a Sawtelle solo is the unpredictable way he resolves that silence. It might be a urry of notes, it might be a sustained bend or slide, it might be a highly syncopated run, or even just a single ringing note and then more silence, you just never know. Charlesʼ solos are always original, inventive, and full of surprises and at the same time they tastefully complement the song, the vocalist, and the other instruments. This is not an easy thing to do, but Charles always pulls it off masterfully. The Charles Sawtelle style of guitar playing is something that all aspiring bluegrass guitarists would do well to spend time studying. The range of left hand techniques he employs, his brilliant use of time, and the dynamics of his right hand attack, both in his lead and rhythm playing, are like that of no other bluegrass guitar player. He has his own voice and his own style. There is no one else who plays quite like him. However, studying Charlesʼ style of guitar playing must go beyond the mechanical aspects of left and right hand technique because the most distinctive part of his style is the feeling. Charles speaks with his guitar. He plays from the heart and communicates an emotion. While his characteristic spontaneity and unpredictably can often convey a sense of intensity, excitement, and/or humor, Charles is equally as adept at lling the listener with the sweet emotion of a love song or haunting expression of a bluegrass ballad. His guitar can speak the words of the song and thus convey an emotion which sinks into your heart and soul. You do not just hear Charles Sawtelleʼs music, you feel it. Aspiring pickers might ask, “How do you learn that ʻfeelingʼ from tablature?” Well, you can learn the notes from tablature, but with a Sawtelle solo, learning the notes is 4

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only a small part of the journey. Charlesʼ playing is full of the subtlest aspects of timing, tone, phrasing, and dynamics that are very hard to grasp if you are trying to learn from a piece of paper. To capture what Charles does, you listen closely, allow the emotion of the song to sink into your bones, and then play from your gut. The Sawtelle guitar style is about taking risks. Charles has never been afraid to play “in the moment” or explore boundaries. He is a very gutsy and intuitive player. Hot Rize banjo great Pete Wernick says, “His

whole idea of the way he hears the melody and his phrasing is a love for straight traditional bluegrass coupled with an almost alien be-bop willingness to invent something new that has never been heard on planet earth before. When he goes into the experimental mode, there is always a feeling of suspense which really grabs the listener and is more than just music, it is entertainment because you know he is going exploring.” Hot Rize bassist, Nick Forster, adds, “As a soloist, Charles has found that perfect balance between absolute



terror and resolution. Every time he took a solo it was like ʻMy God, he is going to crash and burn! This is going to be ugly!ʼ But then he would pull it off at the end somehow. It was like you are in this steep dive and everyone is on the edge of their seat. It is wild.” While lead guitar playing will always bring a hot player a lot of attention, something that is even more important to the bluegrass band is the guitar player ʼs ability to provide back-up and rhythm in support of the vocalists and the other instruments. In this roll Charles has always exhibited the ability to masterfully provide the band with solid support, tasteful embellishment, and a colorful air that always enhances the overall sound. Regarding Charlesʼ rhythm work Pete Wernick states, “One thing that is really neat about his rhythm style is that he creates a really good pulse. He knows where the pulse is, but he doesnʼt do a lot of thrashing. In fact, he never thrashes. He likes to punch individual notes and will put in really nice little phrases that are not note blitzes, but are well phrased statements that are always in coordination with the other musicians. As another player in the band, one of the things I always appreciated is that I never felt like he was stepping in the way or cluttering the canvas for me to paint my picture. He is always very supportive that way.” Nick Forster had this to say about Charlesʼ rhythm playing: “Charlesʼ mike technique was a big part of the dynamics of what made Hot Rize distinguish itself in the bluegrass world. He really worked the guitar mike aggressively. He wasnʼt afraid to stand two feet from the guitar mike while he was playing rhythm on some passages and then lean into it to punctuate phrases to create a little extra drive.” Tim OʼBrien, the Hot Rize lead vocalist, fiddle player, and mandolin player, adds, “We always made sure that his guitar mike was as loud as it could possibly be because his dynamic range was giant and it was important to let him use that whole range. Sometimes it was like he was not even there, only the members of the band could hear him, and then he would come in with some real exposive thing. He had really great mike technique. Pete and I tried to keep the rhythm pretty straight ahead and Charles would keep things more interesting. He was the punctuation, and in a lot of ways, the main back-up instrument that you would notice.” Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

When Bryan Kimsey and I interviewed Charles Sawtelle at the 1997 Rockygrass festival and we asked about the Clarence White inuence, Charles said, “The rst time I heard a Clarence White tape, I couldnʼt get out of bed. I would hear his stuff and I wouldnʼt be able to talk. It was music that was so good that I couldnʼt listen to it all at once, it was so powerful for me. It was a huge deal.” To which I replied, “I know what you mean. I had that exact same reaction the rst time I heard Charles Sawtelle play!” Surprised, Charles said, “I canʼt believe that!” To which Bryan said, “I can.” I think that the majority of bluegrass guitar fans would echo Bryanʼs response. Hot Rize was one of the most successful, inuential, entertaining and popular bluegrass bands of the 1980s. Wearing suits with wild vintage ties and playing traditional style bluegrass music, yet giving it a fresh sound that was all their own, Hot Rize excited both the traditional and contemporary bluegrass audiences. All of the members of Hot Rize are not only top rate musicians, they are also tremendous entertainers with an appeal that crosses all boundaries. Charles was not only an integral part of the band musically, his professional and artistic sense, both on stage and behind the scenes, contributed greatly to the bandʼs success. Pete Wernick explains, “A really important inuence of Charles in our band is that he always had a keen eye for craft. He would not accept certain things that were aky. It might be that you didnʼt shine your boots or that the speakers that we used at gigs were not properly painted, he would just say stuff like, ʻThat isnʼt pro. We have got to be pro if we are going to do anything in this business.ʼ He was always a master at putting his nger right on some concept that might be kind of elusive and clearing away the clutter to let you know what is the most important thing in a situation. I have always appreciated that.” Tim OʼBrien says, “Hot Rize was a really special vehicle for Charles. The band was kind of designed to work around his guitar style. We were of the opinion that we should emphasize stuff that was unique about us. One of those things


was to give Charles free reign on his solo to do whatever he wanted. We were kind of engineered to part the waters for Charles when he wanted to do his thing. When his solos came, we just kind of let him go and stayed out of his way and supported that as best we could. He was an amazing architect of the sound of Hot Rize. He was kind of a wild card in our band. People would gasp when he played.” Pete Wernickʼs former Country Cooking bandmate John Miller gave Charles Sawtelle the nickname “The Bluegrass Mystery” after hearing Hot Rize play a gig in Seattle. The name seems tting, but no one in the band can really say exactly why. Perhaps it is because Charles is unpredictable, or as Charles says himself, “I like to leave a little mystery.” Nick Forster says, “He canʼt describe what he does. He doesnʼt know.” Pete Wernick says, “You never know what Charles is going to do and the fun part of it is that a lot of times he doesnʼt know either.” Tim OʼBrien says, “He was the bluegrass mystery because his solos were mysterious. He would always keep you guessing. You never really knew how he was going to get to the end of the solo, but he always did. It was amazing.” Perhaps the “mystery” is the way Charles Sawtelle can be so innovative, unpredictable, and original, and yet still somehow t so perfectly into the traditional sound of bluegrass music. But, then again, to the thousands of fans who made Hot Rize one of the most popular bluegrass bands of all times it is really not a mystery at all, it is just great music.

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Hot Rize - (left to right) Pete Wernick, Nick Forster, Tim O’Brien, and Charles Sawtelle

The Early Days Charles Sawtelle was born in Austin, Texas, in 1946. His father was in the oil exploration business and thus the family moved quite often. In fact, Charles says that they lived in a trailer that they pulled behind the family car. In the early 1950ʼs the Sawtelles moved to Colorado after a short stay in Wyoming. From there they headed north to Canada, then back to Colorado. Around the time Charles was of college age, his parents moved back to Canada, but Charles stayed in Colorado to attend college in Ft. Collins where he earned a bachelorʼs degree in ne arts. Charlesʼ interest in music started when he was in high school in the early sixties. He says, “My brother started bringing home records by Josh White, the Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, and others that had acoustic guitar on them, and I really got to liking that kind of music.” One day Charlesʼ brother brought home a guitar. Charles says that it was a terrible guitar, but he tried to learn how to play it anyway. He states, “I never really could play it because the action was real high. I didnʼt get very far.” A short time later, Charles heard a Leadbelly record and immediately wanted a twelve string guitar. Recalling the experience, Charles said, “Leadbellyʼs music just blew my mind. It was so amazing.” Eventually Charles found a classmate in high school who was willing to sell him a spruce top 12 string Stella guitar from the 1920ʼs. Charles says, “It was a nice one. I had it for about a year or so and tried to learn how to play like Leadbelly. I even bought a record that Pete Seeger had out called, “How to Play the Guitar like Leadbelly.” 6

When asked how he transitioned from Leadbelly to bluegrass, Charles answered, “In 1963 I met this guy, Joe Hammonds, who was about my age and played banjo. His mom and dad played in a little family band called “Edie and Eddy and the Lehigh Valley Boys.” Joe played banjo and I played guitar and we would hang out and play. He taught me a bunch of Flatt and Scruggs, Monroe, Stanleys and stuff like that.” Joeʼs dad, Eddy, also spent some time with Charles and taught him how to play songs like “Jimmie Brown the Newsboy,” “Under the Double Eagle,” and “Wildwood Flower.” Charles recalls that the rst bluegrass record he heard was the Flatt and Scruggs Mercury album that featured songs like “Roll in My Sweet Babyʼs Arms” and “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” He says, “I wore that album out.” Later he got the Foggy Mountain Jamboree album and says, “That was a very powerful record.” During those early years Charles says he was inspired by Lester Flatt, Carter Stanley, and Maybelle Carter. He credits these early heroes as inuential in his development of a uid and loose wrist motion. He states, “Maybelle Carter, Lester Flatt, and Carter Stanley all had this real uid wrist and I thought that was cool.” At this point in his guitar picking career Charles was still using a thumb pick and finger pick like Lester Flatt and Carter Stanley. He says, “Back then when people ʻatpickedʼ that meant that they picked like Lester Flatt, who used a thumb and nger pick. When bluegrass people used a atpick, they called it a ʻstraight pick.ʼ A lot of country people still use that term. People would ask me if I ʻatpickedʼ the guitar and

I said ʻyes.ʼ Then when I pulled out the nger pick and thumb pick they thought I was nuts. We were just talking about different things.” The seed of bluegrass music and guitar playing that was planted by the Hammonds family grew and blossomed for Charles Sawtelle when he discovered the Denver Folklore Center in Denver, Colorado. Opened in 1961 by Harry Tuft, the Denver Folklore Center was a meeting place for local and national acoustic musicians. Locals, such as Charles, Mike Kropp, Fred Weisz, Pete Wernick, Tim OʼBrien, Nick Forster, Mark Silber, Frank Edmonson, and others, either worked at the store or hung out there to play music on a regular basis. National gures such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Winter also came by when they were in town. In addition to selling instruments and accessories, repairing instruments, and selling record albums, the Folklore Center also had a concert hall. Charles says, “That was an important location and a vibrant time. We would all go down there, hang out and play music. Harry (Tuft) was like a guru and father gure to a lot of us.” When asked about the Folklore Center scene during the sixties and early seventies, owner Harry Tuft said, “One of the nice things about the Folklore Center was that there was a really nice community of people hanging out there. There were a lot of people you could count on as Folklore Center friends. It was kind of an unofcial community center. Charles and the Hot Rize guys were a real strong part of that.” In addition to those musicians who hung out at the Folklore Center, Charles also credits his college roommate, Ross Schneider, for helping him with his atpicking skills. He says, “Ross helped me work through some Doc Watson stuff like ʻLittle Sadieʼ and ʻBlack Mountain Ragʼ back when I was stuggling through that stuff. He turned out to be a terric guitar player.” When asked about his rst experience performing, Charles explained that there was a bass player named Mary Stribling who worked at the Folklore Center who helped him organize a band with banjo player Jerry Mills and mandolin player Skip Barnes. The group began playing at the Folklore Centerʼs open mike night and were eventually hired to play some gigs around town. Later, Charles played in a Ft. Collins based band with a group of guys from college. The band was called “Monroe Doctrine” and featured Charles on



guitar, Dick Schroeder on banjo, Kerry Craig on ddle, Wayne Beasley on mandolin, and Steve Carnes on bass. When asked about the band, Charles said, “We were sort of a hippie newgrass group.” When the members of Monroe Doctrine graduated from college they decided that they wanted to continue to play music together so they took the show on the road and played throughout the Midwest. Charles stayed with that band for three or four years. In about 1974 Charles took a job as manager of the instrument sales department of the Denver Folklore Center. During this period of time he was able to develop an incredible knowledge of both new and used guitars. Charles said that having so many guitars, strings, picks, and other accessories at his disposal in the store gave him the opportunity to continually experiment with different guitars and guitar set up. When asked about Charlesʼ tenure as store manager, owner Harry Tuft says, “There were really two people who built the business on my behalf. One was Charles and the other was a guy named David Ferretta. David had been manager earlier on and Charles took his place when he left. They both built up not only the new business, but the vintage business as well. Charles was so knowledgable, it was common that people would come in and seek his advice. When you have someone like that, as a result, you attract more business. Charles was instrumental in building both the new and vintage sides of the business. I think the thing that is most impressive about Charles is his honesty. You always get a very straight response from Charles. I am indebted to Charles in ways that I am sure I could not ever repay. He brought so much to the business and he personied exactly what I was hoping the Folklore Center would represent.” Shortly after Charles began working at the Folklore Center, Pete Wernick moved to town. Charles and Pete began playing together at the concert hall every Tuesday night with Warren Kennison on the mandolin. A short time later Tim OʼBrien moved to town and Charles, Tim, and Pete began playing together, with various bass players filling the fourth spot, and calling themselves the Rambling Drifters, or the Drifting Ramblers, which ever suited their fancy on a given night.

Hot Rize The band Hot Rize was formed in about 1977 with Tim on mandolin, Pete on banjo, Charles on electric bass and Mike Scap lling Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

the guitar spot. About four months later, Scap quit the band. When Peter Wernick proceeded to look for another guitar player, Charles said, “Why donʼt you let me play the guitar and weʼll look for another bass player.” Charles explained, “Nick (Forster) was working at the Folklore Center, in fact all four of us worked there. Pete and Tim taught there, I worked there, and Nick was in the repair shop. He was such a good musician, we said, ʻWhy donʼt you play bass.ʼ” Hot Rize hit the road and took the bluegrass world by storm. Over the next twelve years they played every major festival, traveled to foreign countries, recorded nine albums (three as the Trailblazers), played on TV and radio programs, including the Grand Ole Opry and Austin City Limits, and inuenced a whole generation of bluegrass players. Not only was their music and stage show inventive and exciting, they also were one of the rst bands to travel with their own soundman, Frank Edmonson, and sound equipment. The degree of all around professionalism showed that they took the music seriously and it paid off. Charles Sawtelle, who has an extensive knowledge of sound equipment and was a sought-after sound man in Denver, had a great inuence on the bandʼs professional sound quality. Nick Forster says, “Charles was a pain the butt making us carry in PA gear every time we would go to every little club. He would always insist that we use our sound system, which was ultimately the right decision.” In an interview conducted by Frets Magazine in April 1986, Charles was quoted as saying, “Traditionally, bluegrass performers have tended to overlook sound systems, while still being very concerned about the sound of their instruments. I think Hot Rize was one of the first bands, along with New Grass Revival and the David Grisman Quintet, to have a full time sound person coming along on the road.” Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, the alter ego traditional country and western band that “traveled around in the back of the Hot Rize bus,” also added a very entertaining dimension to the Hot Rize show. When asked about how the Trailblazers came to be, Charles said, “The Trail-


blazer thing happened because we had been doing a lot of those kind of tunes when Mike Scap was with the band. We had Tim on guitar, Mike Scap on guitar, Pete on steel, and me on electric bass. Nick was so good at that style, I just said, ʻWell, Iʼll play bass on that stuff and Nick and Tim will play guitar and Pete will play steel.ʼ We started doing a radio show every Wednesday morning in Boulder on KGNU in about 1979 and we decided to call ourselves the Trailblazers. One morning we realized that if someone were just listening to the radio they would not be able to tell that it was the same band as Hot Rize. We were all playing different instruments and it sounded like a completely different band. So we started introducing ourselves as the Trailblazers.” Although Hot Rize continues to perform at occasional reunion shows, the band stopped actively touring in 1990. When asked why the band came off of the road, Charles said, “I think it was a combination of events. One was that Tim wanted to establish his own identity. He has this enormous talent. He is a great songwriter and singer. He is an exceptionally talented guy that needed to explore what he can do and we all supported that. I feel that we also just kind of got tired of it. We had been doing it a long time and we had done everything that we had wanted to do. We played the Opry and Austin City Limits, had been to several foreign countries, and

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had played every major festival in the United States. I think, at least from my point of view, we had reached most of our goals and we all wanted to get away from it for a while. We have all maintained our close friendship. It turned out to be a healthy thing for everyone.

The Future After Hot Rize stopped touring, Charles spent some time producing, working in the studio, and performing with his friend Peter Rowan. He also started his own band “Charles Sawtelle and the Whippets” in about 1993. The band members are Charles on guitar, Jim Runnels on banjo, Fred Zipp on mandolin, Dan Mitchell on bass, and Richard Greene on ddle. Charles also performs with Richard Greene and Peter Rowan on occasion and he contributed to Peter Rowanʼs recent release Bluegrass Boy. He was also featured on several cuts on John Rossbachʼs 1996 release Never Was Plugged . As most bluegrass and atpicking guitar fans know, Charles Sawtelleʼs involvement in music over the past few years has necessarily been limited as he is currently struggling with leukemia. In February of 1997 he under went a bone marrow transplant. Charles was diagnosed with the leukemia in December 1994 after struggling the better part of a year with bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis. For several years he took an experimental drug hoping that it would work, but while the symptoms went away, the leukemia didnʼt. The decision to undergo the bone marrow

transplant was a very difcult one, but he nally decided to go through with it and is currently recovering from that procedure. Although he still does not currently know if the bone marrow transplant was completely successful, Charles maintains a very positive outlook. He says, “There are some positive sides to this whole thing. It really changed my life. I realized, in a huge way, how important it is to have good friends. This is about the most important thing to me now. People have been wonderful and there has been such a show of love. I realize how short life really is and how ridiculous it is to get hung up and involved in petty stuff. Life is too powerful to get hung up on that stuff.”

The Interview In the following interview, conducted at the Rockygrass festival in Lyons, Colorado, Charles Sawtelle talks about his music and his guitar style: Your guitar playing has a real powerful and distinctive crosspicking style. Has that been there since the beginning? Yes. I have always played the guitar that way. With Hot Rize, it seems to t. When I play with Peter Rowan, for example, I might play a bit differently. I listened to Ralph and Carter and George Shufer a lot. Then Iʼd see people like Doc Watson doing it. What about Clarence? Clarence, wow! That is a whole different book there. There were not many recordings of Clarence except for Appalacian Swing

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Charles Sawtelle and the Whippets (with guest ddler Laurie Lewis) - (from left to right) Laurie Lewis, Dan Mitchell, Fred Zi pp, Charles Sawtelle, and Jim Runnels 8

and Sounds of Bluegrass America and those were the only two albums you could nd with Clarence besides the Tut Taylor album and the New Dimension in Banjo in Bluegrass with Weissberg and Brickman. We all had those records. People would also go to the Kentucky Colonels shows and tape them. Occasionally someone would bring you one of those tapes. We all thought Clarence was God. The rst time I heard one of the those Clarence tapes I couldnʼt get out of bed. I would hear this stuff and I wouldnʼt be able to talk. It was music that was so good that I couldnʼt listen to it all at once. It was too heavy it was so good. It was like eating a huge banana split. I could listen to a little bit of it and I would just get overloaded it was so powerful for me. It was a huge deal. Clarence was the guy. He changed the way guitar was played. Those guys that Clarence studied like Joe Maphis and James Burton had those licks, but when Clarence played it was different. As far as I am concerned, nobody has ever gotten close to that. Like I feel that no one has ever gotten close to Earl Scruggs on the banjo. The feeling and power and importance of Clarenceʼs playing is pretty heavy. I never got to see him live, but I listened to those tapes an awful lot. I am friends with Roland and we have talked about Clarence, so I feel like I know him and he really had a huge affect on my life. He was a powerful musician. Doc Watson had the same effect on me when I rst heard him. When Doc started playing no one had heard anyone play the guitar like that. It was all new stuff. No one even knew you could play the guitar like that. No one ever thought of that. All of the sudden there was this guy and it was like the atomic bomb going off. It must have been the same with Earl Scruggs when he started playing with Monroe on the Opry. That was the effect Doc Watson had. So he really turned things around. He turned Clarence around too. When Clarence heard Doc it really blew his mind, then he turned around and proceeded to blow everyone elseʼs mind. Doc and Clarence are really the only guys I actually studied.

Your use of time and your syncopation, do you think a lot of that came from listening to Clarence? I do. I think a lot of that came from Clarence. Originally it was conscious. I tried to learn a lot of that stuff from Clarence. But also I think some of the syncopation comes



from listening to Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Don Reno.

How about the bluesy feel that we hear in your playing, where does that come from? I think a lot of that comes from Bill Monroe, Roy Nichols, who played with Merle Haggard for years, and Freddy King. I used to also listen to an awful lot of blues and I really wanted to play the blues at one time. But when I discovered Monroe I realized that it was all the same thing. There is not much difference between Howlinʼ Wolf and Bill Monroe, there is the same kind of feeling. And then I got interested in Freddy King and Sonny Boy Williamson and the acoustic guys like Blind Willie Johnson, Son House, Sleepy John Estes, and Mississippi John Hurt. I really enjoyed listening to those guys and I think those guys had an inuence on me. But from the bluegrass point of view, I think the guys who were most inuential were Bill Monroe, Chubby Wise, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, and Clarence White. I also was inuenced by Norman Blake and Edd Mayeld. Don Reno and Scotty Stoneman have great syncopated styles and of course Scotty inuenced Clarenceʼs style a whole lot. How did you move from trying to learn those Clarence White and Doc Watson licks to creating something of your own? After awhile I abandoned the Clarence thing. Although I really appreciated it, and I still do, I just didnʼt want to be a guy that played like Clarence or like Doc. I wanted to do something different. That is when I really let the inuence of electric players like Freddy King and Roy Nichols creep in. Chubby Wise was a big inspiration to me. He had a fantastic tone and he had a way of just suspending time. The economy he plays with is so terric. I get real tired of sixteenth note solos. The acoustic guitar can have this wonderful sustain sound. Chubby did that a lot on the ddle. He might play four bars of just one note and it would sound really cool. I also appreciated Vassar Clements and Curly Ray Cline, I would listen to that stuff and think, “Wow, that is really cool.” I would try to translate that feeling to the guitar and try to make the guitar sustain a lot more than most people do. I would hit a note and try to make it last a long time if Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

I could and I tried to think about different ways of how to do that. If Iʼm playing around the house, or playing solo, I try to play something that people can relate to as guitar music. If you were to play ten ddle tunes for your grandmother, for example, by the third one she would be falling asleep. The music doesnʼt make any sense to them. I prefer to play tunes that are guitar like. So I will play Carter Family tunes like “Little Moses” or “Wildwood Flower,” something that can be understood. Iʼd play some kind of tune that has rhythmic structure to it. It is cool to play that other stuff if you have a band. But when you are by yourself, it can get really boring for everyone, real quick.

When you say you let the blues inuence creep in, were you copying their licks, or just allowing the feel and emotion of their music to inuence you? The emotion and feeling. When someone like Freddy or B.B. King play their solos, they almost make time stand still. You can just feel the emotional content. It is almost like they are squeezing the music out of a tube instead of playing it with the guitar. Chuby Wise is another good example. Listen to his solo on “Canʼt You Hear Me Calling.” It is so simple and expressive and you can hear every word, not just the melody. The same is true with Earl Scruggs on the banjo, you actually can hear the words in his solo along with the melody and you can understand exactly what he is saying musically, even if he doesnʼt adhere to the melody in a precisely literal manner. I can play a lot of ddle tunes in a fairly literal way, but I usually donʼt because what I am going for is the essence of the tune rather than the literal melody. I think a lot of that comes from playing in bands that have a lot of soloists. Usually by the time the guitar player solos, three or four other people have played the tune and the meldoy has expanded. So what I try to go for is the essence of the tune, or what would be the words if it was a vocal number, even though it may not be the exact melody. A lot of times, I will just try to play something that someone has not done yet. If it is my turn to take a break and the banjo,


ddle, or mandolin have just played a lot of da-da-da-daʼs, I will try to break it up. I think about Chubby or Vassar a lot when I do that. I learned a lot listening to ddlers and saxophone players, they do the same thing. I also like to leave a little mystery. The blues guys were good at that. “You Don't Have to Move a Mountain” is sort of a good example of what Iʼm talking about because the solo just sort of ends. You wait for the real ending and it never comes. You hear the rhythm section chunking along and then it is time to sing again. A lot of people would put another little nishing lick in there, but I left a hole. Blues guys do that sort of thing all the time. It is like reading a story as opposed to seeing the movie. It lets the listener ll in their concept of what should be there.

How do you get such a good tone out of your instrument? I have thought a lot about tone and I try to play with good tone, and I am not always successful at it either. But one thing I do is sit and play ddle tunes really slow and be conscious of the tone. I think, “Does this sound good?” If the answer is “Not really.” I try again. A long time ago I had learned some scales and I would play those scales endlessly and be very conscious of the tone. I would change hand position and things like that. I would ask anybody who came through town how they were doing it and if I thought their way was better, then I would try to change. 9

I think part of the tone I get is the big neck on my guitar. I like a big thick neck and I like at least 1 and 3/4” at the nut (for more information about Charlesʼ guitars, see sidebar on page 11). I think a thick neck makes the guitar sound different. Banjo players talk about this all the time. Some argue that the walnut neck of an RB4 sounds better than the mahogony neck RB-3, or that maple is even better, because the wood of the neck is denser. When I got my herringbone is when I switched over to the preference for thick necks. I was playing a ʻ44 D-18. Mid-forties D-18s have pretty thin necks. When I rst got the ʻ37, I gured that I would just have the neck shaved. Then one night I woke up from my sleep in the middle of the night and I thought, “You know, classical and emenco players have guitars that are 2 inches wide at the nut and those guys play great, it is me that has to change.” I also have my action a little higher than most atpickers, that is part of the tone too. I like a loose guitar. I like when they will give a lot. On the guitars that give, you can have a higher action.

Do you vary your right hand position relative to the bridge in order to vary the tone? Yes, I sure do. I go all the way from up against the saddle to the end of the ngerboard. I also change whether Iʼm playing with down strokes or up strokes. That is real important to me because a down stroke denitely sounds different than an upstroke, especially if I am trying to play a bluesy solo like a slow Bill Monroe tune, for example. So you donʼt stick with a down-up-downup rule of thumb? No. If Iʼm going for a Monroe kind of sound, it will be all down strokes like Chuck Berry. I learned that from Bill Monroe and blues guys. It is a cool thing. I guess I am more interested in getting the right tone than I am in getting certain kinds of notes. One of the many things that has always impressed me about your playing is the incredible dynamic range that you get and, as a result, the expressiveness and emotion that comes across. Is that something that you consciously worked to develop? In most forms of music, the dynamic range is part of the expression of it. I guess I have always been interested in the expression and I think that a lot of the stuff 10

I learned from listening to old blues records and classical music. They do that a lot. They play a sweet part one way and a loud part another way. It makes it more emotional I think. So yeah, I do that on purpose.

How about your power? I think that just comes from playing with full tilt bluegrass bands. You kind of have to cut through. The best thing that can happen to a guitar player is to be in a band that is sensitive to the guitarʼs volume. I was really lucky being able to play with Hot Rize because those guys really know how to back off and let the guitar come through. And then I try to play something that will come through. What do you think about in terms of rhythm playing? First of all I try to really be coherent with what is going on and try not to mask whatever is happening or get in the way. I think I play a little more percussively if the mandolin player drops out with their chop. The banjo has this great open sound that sounds really good against that big G chord that has that D note in it from fretting the B string on the third fret. If the banjo is playing an open sound, Iʼll get behind that. I really try to listen to what the other instruments are doing and I try to complement them rather than hide them. I noticed that in your live shows, you really use the distancing of your guitar from the mike to add a dynamic range to your back up playing. It sounds so great when you step up to the mike with one of the those big full chord strums or bass run embellishments as a ll in to a vocal pause. Did you guys ever work that stuff out in rehearsal or where you always just going by feel? We didnʼt really rehearse any of that stuff. It just sort of all happened. From the very rst we all had the same idea of what we wanted to sound like and we developed it. What we played was spontaneous most of the time. A lot of people have used the word “unpredictable” when describing your lead style. Do you approach rhythm playing in the same way? Yea, I do. Tonally, I will vary the placement of the pick between the bridge and the sound hole to get different sounds. I attack the guitar differently depending on what I think will sound good with the rest of the

band at the time. It is not just a root-strum thing. Sometimes, for example, I will play rhythm on the rst three strings with an upstroke like a Mexican guitarist would. It accents the beat, but in sort of a backwards way for bluegrass. Nick Forster taught me that. It comes in handy on a lot of Peter Rowan songs like “The Free Mexican Air Force,” and some other ones as well. Most of the time I wonʼt make the decision about where to put the capo until just before we play the song. Some tune that is in C, I might capo at the third fret and play out of the A chords, or for a tune in G, I might put the capo at the third fret and play out of E position. A lot of times that stuff comes back to me from listening to the old records. You will hear guys play certain tunes in certain capo positions, and I will do it like that. I think that in “Panhandle Country” Edd Mayeld played it out of A chords capoed on the third fret. It makes the timbre a little different and it blends in better with the other instruments. I try to get away from the idea that everything that is in A has to be capoed at the second fret and played out of the G position. You end up playing a lot of the same licks all of the time even though you donʼt want to. If it is a really fast tune, it helps me to do that because I think faster out of G. But I kind of think about where to put the capo a lot.

What kind of strings do you like? I like the bright bronze medium gauge GHS strings on the dreadnoughts, but on the 000ʼs, 00ʼs and those smaller body guitars I like the phosphor bronze lights better. What kind of pick do you use? I use the 1.14 mm Dunlap 500s. I usually play with the point and I sand a bevel into it. Sometimes when I play those big guitar strums at the end of gospel songs, I will switch around and play with the rounded edge of the pick. What plans do you have for the future? I have been enjoying playing with this band here in town called the Whippets. What really made that happen was R ichard Greene playing with us. Richard plays ddle with us most of the time now. The Whippets is a pretty straight ahead bluegrass band and, as you know, I am a little bit more experimental with the guitar solos and stuff. With Richard it kind of works



better because we can go out and get on the edge a little bit and the other guys can stay inside. Bluegrass is really a ddle based music. Monroe was so inspired by it. He always had good ddlers. You never saw Monroe without a ddle player. The banjo is the essence of it, but the ddle is too. Without that, you donʼt really have a bluegrass band. I tried to have a four piece bluegrass band, but the ddle is what made it fall into place.

Do you do quite a bit of improvising on stage? Yes, I do, and that is why I could never really succeed as a Nashville session guy. It is really hard for me to play the same thing twice in a row. I get kind of bored after about three times. What do you think about when you are improvising? Chord structure? Melody? I think about the chords. I think about what the song is about. If I am going to record a song, I want to know what the words are. I want to know what the song is about. A lot of times you will hear a sad song played in bluegrass and the instruments are not paying attention to the words. Sometimes when I am teaching students, I will hear this real jazzy banjo chorus on a sad song like “Memories of Mother and Dad.” Iʼll ask, “Well, what is this song about?” They say, “I donʼt know.” I say, “Have you ever listened to the words?” Theyʼll say, “No.” This is a really sad song about a guy losing his mom and dad and it is a true story about Bill Monroeʼs father and mother. It contains the line, “There is a little lonesome graveyard, on these tomb stones it does say, on motherʼs ʻgone but not forgottenʼ on dadʼs ʻweʼll meet again someday.ʼ ” If you go to Rosine, Kentucky, to the family graveyard, their tombstones are there and that is what they say. It is heavy. A lot of times people are not aware what the song is about. I try to think what the song is about and what it is saying and how can the guitar keep saying it without interrupting the ow. I also try to be conscious of what the other instruments are doing. If the banjo just did this real hot lick thing, I will either take up where he left off and keep the hot lick going, or I will make it different so that it will stand out a little bit and make Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

it more interesting to the audience. I try really hard to sound good even though I donʼt always succeed. But my goal is to try to play stuff that sounds good, is a little different, and gets the message across. I also tell my students that if they work out a really difcult break that can be played no faster than 115 beats per minute and then get on stage and the banjo player gets excited and rips it off at 130, donʼt try to take that break because they are going to op. People out in the audience arenʼt going to say, “He almost pulled it off.” They are going to say, “He doesnʼt sound very good.” But if he plays something simpler that he can play, then the audience is going to think it was pretty good. I try hard to be really aware of that. If there was a solo that I might usually crosspick, I wonʼt always do it that way if the tempo is too fast on stage. Iʼve got a limit to the speed that I can crosspick and I know what it is. I would rather sound good than try to go for the hot lick. When I am improvising I try to play a solo that sounds good. I try to get good tone. I think about the chords and the tempo. Iʼll also think, “Well, did I play this lick in the last ve songs?” If so, Iʼll try something else. I try not to repeat licks. I also try to be conscious of where the capo is, meaning that if we play a few songs in a row in D, I might play one of them in open D and then the next in C position with the capo at the second fret in order to provide some variety. So I am conscious of that stuff. I canʼt always pull off a perfect solo, but I try my best.

When you went into the studio did you have some idea of what you were going to play on a given solo, or was it improvised there too? I think that about 80 percent of the time it was improvised. I might have been more successful if I had of played the same thing exactly the same way every time, but I never have been able to do that (laughs). Have you ever been in the middle of a solo and found that you were lost? Yes, that happened last night when we played “Empty Pocket Blues.” We hadnʼt played that song in so long I had kind of forgotten it. I went way out on that one last night. But Peter Wernick once taught me something that is really good to think about. He said, “You know the best baseball players that ever lived only hit the ball 4


Charles Sawtelle’s Guitars

Although Charles Sawtelle has owned many guitars over the years, the guitar he used on all Hot Rize recording, save one, is his 1937 Martin D-28. Charles says, “This D-28 is slightly special because it has a 1/16” wider ngerboard than the standard 1 and 3/4”. It is 1 and 13/16” at the nut. It might have been a special order.” Charles continues, “I have had a lot of herringbones, but this is the one I have always kept. It is a lot more beat up than the others and the bridge is not original. The bridge on it now is a little bigger than standard. It had 120 inches of cracks and a set of nylon strings when I got it.” Charles has owned this particular D-28 for over 20 years. He purchased the guitar for $1000 from a guitar repairman named Stan Thrush. At the time he did not have that kind of money, so he boug ht it on layaway. He paid $100 a month for eleven months (to include the tax). Thrush held onto the guitar until it was completely paid for and then when Charles nally did get it he took it to Rick Kirby for repairs and didnʼt get it back from him for another 12 months. Charles says, “Everyone thought I was completely nuts for paying $1000 dollars for a guitar that I didnʼt play for almost two years. They thought it was a huge mistake. But Iʼm glad I did it now because it has kind of become ʻmy guitar.ʼ ” When asked why he prefers to play this guitar over the others he has owned, Charles said, “I always felt like this guitar was a really good one for playing with Hot Rize because it sounded good with Peteʼs banjo and Timʼs mandolin. It seemed to work sonically somehow. I canʼt describe it, but I really think that, in a band situation, certain guitars, banjos, and mandolins blend well together. Although the D-28 was Charlesʼ guitar of choice with Hot Rize in the studio and in the majority of the live appearances, he has also, on occasion, played one of two sunburst D18s that he has owned (both 1936) and a 1937 D-18 (he always took two guitars on the road). He still owns the ʻ37 D-18 and one of the ʻ36 sunbursts. He says that he used the ʻ37 D-18 on about half of the cuts on Hot Rizeʼs last album.

11

times out of every ten that they went to bat. If you can play the guitar and play half as good as you think you want to, then you are doing pretty good.” I try my best to play perfectly, but I realize that I donʼt have to be perfect.

I also try to be more guitar like in that I play a lot more on the low strings than I think most people do. The guitar is the only instrument on stage that has got them and I gure, “Why not use them?” If I play up there on the fth fret of the high E string it is going to sound more like the mandolin or the banjo, you are in the same tonal spectrum. Those two low strings are what makes the guitar sound like a guitar. You have this incredible sound that no one has but the bass and hopefully he doesnʼt play up that high. Another thing a guitar can do really well is crosspick. It sustains more than mandolin and banjo and can get this nice sound. In that regard George Shufer was a real inspiration to me, he is terric.

Do you have any advice for people trying to play Charles Sawtelle style guitar? Try to play from your heart. I try to play what I feel. I try to make it guitar-like. The guitar doesnʼt move at the same speed as some of the other instruments. It is kind of a slow moving instrument compared to those mandolins and ddles. The sound wave comes off of a mandolin really fast, but it kind of takes a while to develop on the guitar. Some people donʼt take the time to let that tone develop just a little bit. Norman Blake has this great thing where he lets the guitar develop its tone.

from the Hot Rize live album. This one is full of “Sawtelleisms,” and like all Sawtelle solos, will be difcult to master unless you listen very closely to the recorded source. Watch the timing, especially on the slides and bends. For those of you not familiar with false harmonics, there is a short explanation of this technique on the following page. Enjoy! For those of you who want to explore the Charles Sawtelle style of bluegrass guitar in greater depth, Flatpicking Guitar Magazine has recently published a book of twenty-seven Charles Sawtelle guitar solos. This book also includes a section on Charlesʼ rhythm style and an extensive biographical/interview section. Call (800) 413-8296 to order.

Below we have provided a transcription of Charles Sawtelleʼs break to “Shady Grove”

Shady Grove Recorded Source: Hot Rize, Hot Rize in Concert , Flying Fish (LP FF 315 and CD FF 107)

Arrangement Charles Sawtelle Transcribed by Beppe Gambetta

Capo 5

# & 44 Ó Œ œœœ œœœ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ G

1

S

H

0 0 0 3

0 0 0 3

0

0

0

2

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

2

4

3

3

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œœ ˙ D

6

G

S

3

4

0

# & œœœ 11

0

2

0

5

0

2

0

0 2

0

0

2

4

0

2

4

2

0

0

4

1 2 0 0

3 4

3

0

. œ œ œ . œ œ . œ œ . œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ . . . . S

H

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

*2

4

3

5

3

*5

*3

*5

*3

*4

0

* = false harmonic

12



# j j & œ #œ œ nœ œ 16

D

2

3

# &

H S

P

2 0

0

2 0

j

j 21

3

œ ˙ œ œœœœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ

œœ ˙ ˙

P

P

H

Shady Grove (con’t)

G

0

2

3

4

3 5 3

S

4 2 0

P

2 0

0

2

0

1 2

œ œ œ œ œ # œ Œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ nœ ˙ œ #œ œ

E min

G

D

H

P

1

0

0

3

1

2

0

0

˙ # &

˙

œ ˙

3

5

3

26

2

0

2

2

4

0

4

G

2

3

2

2

0

0

3

œ œJ œ . œ œ # ˙ . J

2

˙

S

5

3

5

7

5

3

4

4

BEND

˙ # # œ & 30

4

3 X X

œ œ. œ. œ œ. œ. œ ˙ . . . . D

5

BEND

3

5

3

4

G

2

2

0

˙ 0

X = muted string

* False Harmonics: In this tab we have placed an asterisk next to the notes that Charles plays as a “false harmonic.” Most of you know that a “harmonic” sound is achieved by placing a nger of the left hand lightly, almost hovering, on any string over the 5th, 7th, or 12th fret. The pressure is very slight and when the string is picked with the right hand, there is a resultant chime-like sound. The “false harmonic” effect is achieved with the same dampening touch, however, it is done with the right hand. The left hand fully frets the string. When the pick pushes through the string, the middle nger of the right hand simultaneously dampens the string (Charles uses the middle nger, other players, such as Beppe Gambetta, use the thumb). To get the proper effect, you need to experiment with the position of the right hand relative to the bridge. This distance will vary depending on which fret the left hand is playing. Charles says that he got this technique from Rock and Roll players and that you have to fool around with it for a while to get the correct right hand placement and feel. Charles recommends that you, “Explore and nd out where they are.”



13

Expanding Your Musical Boudries by Craig Vance Anytime you move forward or change something that youʼve been doing for a long period of time, thereʼs usually a small element of trepidation. This applies to musical styles also. You might be quite happy dabbling along with those cool ddle tunes, and thereʼs absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, there will likely come a time when some other style or sound w ill tweak your ear and pique your interest. After all, if you run out of challenges you will eventually begin to lose interest in playing the guitar.

USING RADIO AS A TOOL If you are aspiring to become a career musician you should be as flexible and adaptable as you possibly can. You and

Learn the tunes and solos of your choice, in any format. The Original Custom Transcription Service All styles and instruments: atpicking, ngerstyle, chord solos, melody, improvisation; other instruments (horns, woodwinds, piano, etc.) transcribed for guitar, mandolin, etc. I can also create custom arrangements. Private lessons via U.S. mail. Berklee graduate, professional recording and performing artist. Tab and/or standard notation. Details and tips on the Web:

http://world.std.com/~jmcgann

John McGann P.O. Box 688-FM Jamaica Plain, Ma.. 02130-0006

(617) 325-6853 14

your fellow musicians can take your music and sound to the next level by trying some different musical avorings. There are several tools available to help you. Tablature, cassette tapes, instructional videos, etc., but if your budget doesnʼt allow you to purchase these things, thereʼs another great tool that really can help you. The radio. I know what youʼre probably thinking, “How the dickens can the radio help me with my guitar licks?” Turn your radio on, and ip it to a pop station. I know... youʼre probably wondering why I would steer you away from your atpicking heroes and turn on some junk on the radio. And what can you learn from the likes of Hootie and The Blowsh, or Blues Traveler anyway? Well, youʼd be surprised. Iʼm not suggesting that you have to rush right out and buy the stuff. Just spin the dial until you nd a song that has a decent progression, grab your guitar and try to gure out what key the song is in, and start guring out the chords. Once you get a few hints about what is going on, try tossing in a few licks in certain places. Itʼs new to you and can only help you locate fresh areas of your ability. It has been there all along just waiting to be discovered. Next, spin that dial and nd a jazz station. Now thereʼs a REAL challenge. In some ways youʼll nd that you can be a bit more improvisational, but you may have a bit of a tougher time locating the right chords. A typical jazz pattern can wander around for quite a while before it makes any sense to a new ear. But if you can nd a light jazz station, they tend to play milder and not so erratic jazz. I wouldnʼt want to get you trying to play along with an improvisational horn section that sounds like the entire band is tumbling down a ight of stairs. Thatʼs free form jazz, and they usually take the weirdest possible route through the improv section of the tune. Thatʼll just frustrate you, but jammin g to a mild jazz tune can really sharpen your ability to improvise and is

very helpful in locating patterns up the neck of the guitar. Check out different types of music and just goof around. Thereʼs nothing out there that CANʼT be played, so take the challenge. Eventually you will probably attempt to interject some new daring ideas into your picking style.

BEING CAUTIOUS I do advise a cautious approach to doing this, for sake of embarrassment to you and possibly your audience. Take it a little at a time. Just because you jammed along with Clapton or Miles Davis on a radio station, it could be dangerous to go off wildly jamming out a 15 minute guitar solo on stage. The old adage, “Donʼt x it if it ainʼt broken” tends to apply here. The last thing you want to do is turn off your audience. So slip those little nuances in there with a respectable amount of discretion. Keep in mind that if you want to grow and nurture your guitar playing and technique, that you will have to subject yourself to genres of music that you may have no interest in. Doing so will turn you into a well-rounded guitarist. It will also keep you forever coming up with new ideas so your licks never become stale. Donʼt be afraid to climb out on the limb, just remember to jump before you hit the ground.

Craig Vance is currently the lead guitarist for The McKrells, an upstate New York based band which features a unique musical blend of Celtic, American folk, bluegrass and country. Craig began his career as a solo act playing warm-up sets for such noteworthy performers as Doc nad Merle Watson, the Country Gentlemen, and Berline, Crary, and Hickman.



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Beginner’s Page

by Dan Huckabee gcdgcdgcdgcd Flatpicking Casualties When I was in my rst bluegrass band in the early 70ʼs, we lost a member to a very dangerous musical disease…”public embarrassment”. Weʼd gotten a gig to play informally at a private party, and really practiced hard to be ready for it. Well, our banjo player lit into “Randy Lynn Rag” and when the stops got around to Cinco (our mandolin player), he completely froze up leaving total silence in his “stops”. We were all embarrassed for Cinco and embarrassed for the whole band. Looking back on it, I doubt if the people in the little living room even noticed, but we thought they did. Nevertheless, that was the last time Cinco ever touched a mandolin. Years later I got to thinking about that incident, which made me wonder if it had been caused by anything technical. After giving it careful thought, I realized it could have been avoided. In this issue we are going to deal with an extremely important aspect of the craft of atpicking…. “The transition from rhythm to lead”. First of all, the techniques are drastically different, physically. The motion that occurs when playing “rhythm” originates from the elbow. Itʼs not easy to reach the distance from the rst string to


the sixth string when the hand is braced on the guitar because most peopleʼs wrists just wonʼt move that far. The wrist should be exible, and essentially move in the opposite direction from the elbow, but the mileage is covered from the elbow. The motion that occurs when playing “lead” should come from the wrist entirely and the large muscle at the base of the thumb (the pollicis brevis) should be braced against the saddle. This causes the elbow to be inactive. This column isnʼt to teach those techniques, but my column in the September/October 97 issue deals with right hand technique for lead. You can check out my video for details on right hand technique for rhythm. The point to this column, is that shifting from rhythm to lead is awkward! You are literally switching your playing style “on the y”. So I nally put the pieces together as to why Cinco vanished from the music scene, and now all I had to do was develop an antidote. This was a no brainer. I developed an exercise, tried it out on my students, and it worked. The concept is embarrassingly obvious…Practice switching from rhythm to lead. In my column in the July/August 97 issue, we learned a nice little solo for “Red Haired Boy”. Now all weʼre going to do is edit out an excerpt from that solo, and


rotate rhythm then lead, then rhythm, then lead, over and over. Iʼve shortened the solo intentionally to get you more practice at switching. Now your right hand will get faster at adjusting from the “elbow technique” to the “wrist braced technique” and back again. This is similar to practicing changing from one chord to another. Another analogy is in swimming. Iʼm on a masters swim team. Iʼm not a talented swimmer but I beat a guy recently at a swim meet because Iʼd taken the time to practice my “ip turns.” When I hit the wall I made an efcient turn to head back down the pool in the other direction, while he turned without ipping. He was faster than me, but I won the race with efcient transitions. I hope youʼll take the time to work on this little exercise and that the results will save you from possible “public embarrassment”, and keep you from ever missing a beat. The way Iʼve rearranged “Red Haired Boy” (see the following page) was simply to play the lead to phrases 3 and 4 (measures 4 through 8), followed by playing the chord progression of phrases 3 and 4. Repeat this as many times as you can stand it, and feel the contrast of your lead and rhythm technique. If youʼve got a practicing mate, (any instrument) you can practice this exercise together for even better results.

15

Red Haired Boy Exercise Play the second half of the verse to “Red Haired Boy”, as shown below, alternating between the lead and rhythm parts. Lead G C G D 1

œ œ œ # œ œ œ 4 œ œ œ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœœœœ Œ œ & 4 œœœ œ . Œ 0

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Rhythm

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . . 5

G

C

3 0 0

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3 0 0

3 0 0

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G

0 1 0

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D

3 0 0

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3 0 0

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G

2 3 2

3 0 0

3

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16



Flatpick Prole: Debbie Bridgewater Reed Texas Flatpicking Pioneer by Joe Carr Doc Watsonʼs early recordings in the late 1960s helped to popularize atpicking ddle tunes on guitar. By the early 1970s, a few talented musicians in the North Texas area such as Robert Davis of the Cross Timber Boys and later the Stone Mountain Boys, and Lonnie Craft of Earl Garnerʼs group had learned the new style and were magnets for anyone who wanted to learn the mysteries of atpicking. For the most part, however, atpicking was heard only rarely at bluegrass festivals and shows in the region. Sometime in the early 1970s, I was at a bluegrass festival somewhere in North Texas watching a guitar contest. The contestants were mostly men in their 30s and 40s — a group who made up the bulk of bluegrass musicians at this time. Then a teenaged girl, dwarfed by her herringbone D-28 guitar, stepped up to the microphone and played blistering versions of “Salt Creek” and “Dusty Miller.” I thought she was the best I had heard all day and the judges agreed. First prize went to Debbie Bridgewater of Hurst, Texas. I was intrigued. Who was this Debbie Bridgewater? She was young (I was twentytwo or so at the time), pretty (in those politically incorrect times I noticed things like that) and one of the best atpickers I had heard. I later found out that the Bridgewater family was very involved in the Texas bluegrass music scene. R. Lee Bridgewater, Debbieʼs father, started ddling when he was very young. Leeʼs grandfather, an old time fiddler, promised a ddle to the rst grandchild who learned how to play it. Lee got the ddle. Lee continued to ddle throughout his youth and into the armed forces where he served in Europe. During this time he met fellow serviceman, Ralph Sloan, who was a clog dancer from Tennessee. The ddle and dance duo was a popular act and a lifelong friendship was forged. Sloan later formed the Tennessee Travelers, a popular clog dancing team that was a regular feature of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Back in the states, Lee and his new wife Betty, started a family which would include Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

a boy and two girls. Debbie, the youngest of three children, showed musical talent at an early age. A cherished family story tells how at age three, Debbie would go to the piano and try to pick out the music she had heard at church. Her older sister took piano lessons at the time and after the in-home lesson, Debbie would pick out, by ear, the music her sister had been playing during the lesson. With help from her father, Debbie continued developing on the piano. By age 10, she was able to “chord along” with her fatherʼs ddling in the bass/chord accompaniment style preferred by Texas old-time ddlers. In the following years, Debbie played behind her father at ddle contests all over North Texas. Debbie Bridgewater, July 1974 The piano was a popular choice hand addressed each one. With this involvefor accompaniment at Texas ment, the Bridgewater household became ddle contests in those days and Debbie focused on bluegrass music. Regular jam remembers that Elsie Burger played piano sessions in the Bridgewater home attracted backup for ddlers all day long at these many talented musicians. Some of Debbieʼs events. Because there wasnʼt always a rst bluegrass band experiences came when piano, R. Lee decided that Debbie, now Johnny Lucky, who played with the Lambert 13, should learn to play guitar. Beginning Brothers band at the time, invited Debbie with a small Yamaha guitar and instruction and her Dad to perform on stage with them from her father, Debbie quickly learned all periodically. the chords and Texas ddle accompaniBy this time, Debbie was known for ment style. She also developed the strong her strong rhythm guitar playing, but she rhythm attack which would serve her well in had not tried to play any lead. Debbie bluegrass music. She soon graduated to her credits Lee Bridgewater, Johnny Lucky and second guitar — a Martin 00-18 followed Johnny Thompson with encouraging her shortly by a full sized D-28. to begin atpicking. Thompson came to Bluegrass music was getting more the Bridgewater house for jam sessions organized in Texas and Oklahoma during and gave Debbie live recordings of various these years and festivals started springing atpickers including Texas musicians Joe up all across the region. Very quickly, the and Lang Scruggs. Debbie remembers Bridgewaters became bluegrass music fans particularly enjoying the picking of Wayne and started regularly attending festivals, Stewart. Using a reel-to-reel tape recorder shows, and jam sessions. Lee and Betty to slow the music to half speed she learned Bridgewater became involved with Paul the licks one by one. The rst Dan Crary and Sue Vaughn and others in the founding record made a big impression and she of the Texas Bluegrass Music Association soon added several of those tunes to her — an early organization that reported on fesrepertoire. It was Thompson who located tival and upcoming bluegrass events. The Debbieʼs trademark 1944 Martin D-28 — newsletter was duplicated on a mimeograph the guitar she still owns and plays. machine in the Bridgewater home and Betty


17

Boy,” “Dusty Miller,” and “Black Mountain Rag.” Lee Bridgewater soon had to make room on his fiddle trophy shelf for his daughterʼs growing collection of contest ribbons and trophies. About this same time, a whole crop of young bluegrass musicians had started popping up around the region. A partial list would include Gerald Jones, Joe Carr, and Dan “Supergrass” 1974-75: Gerald Jones - banjo, Huckabee in the North Debbie Bridgewater - mandolin, Texas area, and Bobby Joe Carr - guitar Clark, Vince Gill, Bill Perry Jr., Greg Kennedy and Jimmy Giles from Oklahoma. There Debbie started playing in various area were many others as well. The inux of bluegrass bands, including the “Cross young people into the music, while excitTimber Boys,” a North Texas band that ing, was met with mixed feelings from the included Robert Davis, Johnny Lucky, Lee bluegrass community. While some saw the Bridgewater and Debbie. Shortly after interest of young people as a chance for the she graduated high school, Debbie played music to grow, others saw the “New Grass” with Johnny Thompsonʼs group, “Birds inspired music of these young players as the of a Feather,” in the Austin area. The “ruination” of bluegrass music. group included Thompson on banjo, Lisa Shortly after I got out of school, my Rogers (another dynamic female bluegrass picking friend Gerald Jones and I were musician) on mandolin and Debbie on freshly out of a band. At Jonesʼ suggestion, guitar. Though short lived, this band gave we went to Lee Bridgewaterʼs Music store Debbie experience playing with musicians in Richland Hills (a community adjacent closer to her own age. to Fort Worth) to meet with Debbie and During this period, Debbie was compethopefully pick some with her. We were ing in guitar contests throughout the region. soon going to the store several times a week She was attracted to these events by her own and we eventually decided to form a trio. competitive nature and a desire to show Debbie played mandolin when I played everyone she really could pick. Female guitar and we switched instruments when bluegrass musicians were few and very far we wanted Debbie to flatpick a tune. between in those days. Debbie remembers Debbie and I shared lead and harmony her contest tunes included “Salt Creek,” singing. With few female bluegrass models “Billy in the Lowground,” “Red Haired

18

to draw from, Debbie started singing in her own clear natural voice. She particularly liked the singing of Linda Ronstadt and introduced several of Ronstadtʼs songs into the bandʼs repertoire. After much thought and many rejections, we decided to name the band “Supergrass” (we were young and modest) and we adopted the Superman emblem as our group logo. We played everywhere we could, including band contests, church suppers, and college coffee houses. Working in this band gave me the opportunity to watch a good atpicker closely and my understanding of atpicking really came during this period. After all too short a time, the band dissolved (who can remember the details?) and we went our separate ways. A short time later, Debbie married and began to raise a family. As her family grew, she found less and less time for her music. Today she is busy with the demands of her two teenaged girls and their six horses. She plays some by herself at home and occasionally with her father. Now that her children are almost grown, she is looking forward to a time when she can get more involved in music again.

Equipment: Debbieʼs main guitar since the early 1970s is a 1944 Martin D-28 Herringbone. She uses medium gauge strings and medium to heavy triangle picks. She remembers playing with tortoise shell picks until they were so thin they would break. She now primarily uses plastic picks.



Flatpick Rhythm Guitar

œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ

œ

H.O.

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by Joe Carr

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The Fascinating Rhythm Style of Charles Sawtelle Charles Sawtelle forged a place in bluegrass music history as a member of the supergroup Hot Rize. His massively large sounding guitar was an integral part of the groupʼs driving traditional/innovative sound. Often referred to as the “Mystery Man of Bluegrass,” Charlesʼ rhythm and lead guitar playing are truly dark and mysterious. He is one of the most interesting acoustic rhythm guitarists. Charles will often play songs in surprising positions to get unusual sounds. He particularly likes open E and will capo at third fret, for example, to get a unique sound in the key of G. While playing live with Hot Rize, Charles would drift in and out of the microphone — moving in for a strategic bass run, moving out to help emphasize the vocals. This movement helped the group get a sound similar to the classic one microphone approach. A former professional sound engineer,

Charles always achieved a great live guitar sound. Using high quality microphones and studio equalization devices, Charles could reproduce the great sound of his big Martin in any hall and at high volume, avoiding the need to plug in. Charles obviously loves the acoustic guitar and his style shows what it can do best. Listen for his use of low sounding open voicings and driving bass runs. His style reflects a knowledge of the early stylists of old time country and bluegrass music and an appreciation for rhythmic innovators such as Clarence White, blended with his own musical personality, resulting in an immediately identiable sound. “My Little Darling” features Charles in the Key of E with a blusey introduction. The nal lick of the introduction is echoed throughout the tune and serves as a signature phrase. Notice the use of the G natural note which, in the Key of E, is the

atted third of the chord. This minor third contributes to this solosʼ decidedly blue sound. The other recurring note responsible for the blue sound is the D note (open 4th string) — the atted seventh. “Tennessee Wagoner” features Charles in a duet situation with mandolinist John Rossbach on Rossbachʼs CD Never Was Plugged . In this duet, Charlesʼ rhythm is straighter and more notey than it might be in a full band situation. The key of C is vastly under-used by many guitarists. (OK admit it. How many of you always capo at the fth fret to play in C?) Open C is full of great sounding licks and this transcription has quite a few. Now go dig out those Hot Rize albums, turn up the channel with Charlesʼ guitar and soak up the music of one of the most fascinating rhythm stylists in bluegrass music.

My Little Darling

Transcribed by Joe Carr

Written by John Huchinson

Rhythm guitar break as played by Charles Sawtelle on “Hot Rize in Concert”

## 4 Œ # # & 4 œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ nœ œ nœ œ #œ œ nœ œ nœ #œ œnœ œ nœ œ ’ œ ’ nœ œ nœ œ œ Œ ’’ ’ 1

2 2 2

= strum chord

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Intro

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My Little Darling (con’t)

## # # & ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ nœ nœ œ ’ ’ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ## # # & œ œ œ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ #œ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ nœ œ œ œ œœ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ## # # & #œ œ nœ œ nœ œ œ nœ nœ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ ’ œ œ œ nœ nœ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ ## # # & œ’ ’ œ’ œ œ’ ’ œ’œ ’œ’ ’œ’ ’œ’ nœ nœ œ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ## # # & ’ œ ’ ’ œ #œ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ ’Œ Œ nœ œ nœ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’Œ Œ 6

Verse

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Tennessee Wagoner

Transcribed by Joe Carr Traditional Rhythm guitar break as played by Charles Sawtelle on John Rossbach’s “Never Was Plugged” C

G

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G

& 44 œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ ’ œ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ ’ œ ’ œ # œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ 1

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& œ ’ œ ’ œ ’ ’ œ œ œ œ œ ’ œ #œ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ 0

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& œ œ œ œ œ ’ œ œ ’ ’ œ œ œ œ œ ’ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ 0

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& œ ’ œ #œ œ ’ œ œ œ œ œ œ ’ œ œ ’ ’ œ ’ œ œ œ œ œ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ 3

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3


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23

Grifn Guitars During the twelve months that proceeded the 1997 National Flatpicking Championship in Wineld, Kansas, this yearʼs champion, Allen Shadd, had either won or placed second in three nationally prominent contests (Wineld 96, Merlefest 97, Kaufmanʼs Camp 97). In each of these contests he had won a high quality guitar built by a nationally prominent builder. Each of these guitars would have been the prize possession of most any flatpicker. However, every time Allen stepped on stage at his next contest, he always carried a Grifn guitar built by Ronnie Grifn of Waycross, Georgia. When asked why the Grifn is his guitar of choice, Shadd states, “I had been hearing about Ronnie for two or three years before I ever saw any of his work. Everybody kept telling me how good he was. Finally, I was at a festival and somebody asked me to play their guitar. They brought me one of Ronnieʼs little parlor guitars. We looked at this tiny little guitar and said ʻAinʼt it cute.ʼ But then I hit a chord on it and said, ʻMan this thing thinks its a dreadnought!ʼ Then they brought a dreadnought. Soon after that I found a reason to go to Ronnieʼs shop and I got to know him a little better and see some of his work. I am a big skeptic and I had heard so many good things about him, I didnʼt think anyone could be this good. What I found out was that people were telling the truth. All his guitars are really consistent and they all sound great, and I have not seen a better set up man anywhere. He will tweak it out to just what you want so that you can milk the most out of it.” Ronnie Grifn started playing music when he was ten years old and played mostly bass or drums in various bands through his high school years and beyond. During those years he had always enjoyed working on his own instruments and those of his fellow band members as a hobby. He says that he never really considered it as an occupation 24

Ronnieʼs main volume of work has always been in the repair end of the business. Even today, he only builds about 4 to 6 guitars a year. Most of his instruments are custom ordered. He says that it is rare that he ever builds a guitar for inventory. He has gained a great reputation in the Southeast for being able to build a guitar that is exactly what the player has ordered. In the following interview, Ronnie talks about some of the methods and techniques that he uses to help insure that his guitars are consistent and that the players who order them are completely satised:

because he didnʼt know there was such a thing as a guitar craftsman or luthier. While browsing at a shopping mall in Atlanta in about 1976 he ran across the Irving Sloan guitar building books. He says, “Through those books I actually found out that there was a craft, and there was a legitimacy to it. I have pursued it with a vengeance ever since.” For the most part, Ronnie has been a full time luthier since that day in 1976 when he spent all the money he had with him to buy the Irving Sloan books. Ronnie explains, “For ten years (1976 through 1986) I was putting in full time hours in the shop, but I also worked another job that consisted of mostly second and third shift work. During the daylight hours, or whenever I was off, I was working on instruments. In 1986 I quit my job and went into building and repair as my only source of income.”

How did you approach the design and construction of your guitar when you started out to build them? When I rst started building I was building electric guitars and n e dbasses. When I started doing o h acoustics I already had years of R n repair work replacing tops, backs, a t Sand sides, neck work and all of : o t o that. Through that repair work I h Phad a pretty good idea of what did and did not work. I knew what stood the test of time and where instruments failed. Having a repair shop I also had the opportunity to handle a lot of great vintage guitars. Through that I started to see a consistent thread. I started digging into why one era guitar, or one builderʼs guitar, sounded better than another. I took all that information when I started building and tried to process it and incorporate it into my instruments. What I was hoping for was something that basically plays better, sounds better, and looks good. I didnʼt want to do anything drastic. I wanted to learn to be consistent and I wanted to learn how to produce what the customer wanted. In your deadnought style guitar, what are some of the things that you decided would work for you? The biggest thing to consider is that wood is such a variable material. If you



take wood and you consistently shape all pieces the same, and you have a variable material, you are going to end up w ith variable results. The only way I could come up with something that would work, and being that I had a percussion background, I do a lot of tap tuning. I go a lot by the way the body sounds. Every piece of wood is different, so you have to treat them differently. I do not pre-scallop bracing. On the body I am looking for a kind of a percussive tap tone. There is a ring to the body. It is very similar to tuning a drum head.

So you tap the side and back assembly as well as the top? Yes, I tap at every step along the way. I will not necessarily tap the sides by themselves, but I do tap the side and back assembly in order to get it to generate the kind of reective tone that I want it to have. What kind of adjustments do you make in order to get the kind of reective tone out of the back and sides that you are after? I will adjust the height and shape of the bracing. I will determine whether the bracing is rounded, or come to a point. The shape of the back bracing on my guitars will vary quite a bit. But I guess that I have gotten to a point where if it is a Brazilian guitar, or a Mahogany guitar, or a Walnut guitar, I generally know where I am headed. I know what sound I want and I know what the basic shape of the braces will be for each of these different kinds of side and back woods. Then I ne tune from there. In a Mahogany versus a Brazilian Rosewood, for instance, what would the general shape variations of the back braces be? In a mahogany, generally I will go with a wider brace that has a rounder top to it. With the Brazilian you are looking at a little narrow brace with more of a peaked top. That is real general and subject to the piece of wood. You can probably nd more consistency in Mahogany and East Indian than you can Brazilian. I spend a lot of time on the voicing of the body itself. I want to get the tap tones and resonance I am after in the body before I move on to the top. I also spend a lot of time truing the fretboard surface because I am also after more consistent results in the playability.


How do you brace the top? I generally use a pre-war Martin style bracing pattern. But there are also a lot of variables there. If I am building for inventory, I am going to do what I want to hear. If Iʼve got a customer describing things to me, it is going to tell me if the brace will be an inch from the sound hole or two inches from the sound hole, whether the span of the braces is tight or fanned out a little more, and other similar variables. There is nothing that is hard and fast. It all depends on what the customer wants. It depends on the playerʼs right hand attack, his string choice, and a lot of other considerations. When you are interviewing the players, do you have a list of questions that you go through in order to try and pull out of them what they are looking for? Yes, we sit down and talk and I also will watch them play. I will see what they are doing with the right hand, how much force they use with the left hand, and all of that. I ask them what they are looking for and then I have to decide what is feasible. Based on these interviews, do you make suggestions regarding woods? It depends. Some people are very knowledgeable and will even bring in their own wood. If not, I have wood that they can choose from. I have a good supply of Brazilian, East Indian, Mahogany and Walnut.

youʼve got too much and have to back off somewhere. Typically I like the good old unbleached cow bone that I get from slaughter houses and cut up myself.

What do you use for the bridge pins? I like unslotted ebony pins. I like the unslotted pins because sometimes the slotted pins can cause problems, especially the plastic ones. If the plastic starts to push back, the string ball starts working into your bridge plate. You have to get the ball of the string under the bridge plate fully so that the bridge plate can hold it. If it is only under there partially, then it can steadily eat away little bits of wood. I have had a lot of repair jobs come in where the ball end has worked its way through the bridge plate and soft wood and is resting right on the bridge. How many different guitar models do you make? I make three. I make a pre-war 00 body size with a twelve fret body that Iʼve modied so I can use a fourteen fret neck, a standard dreadnought patterned off of pre-war instruments, and a jumbo size. I donʼt do many of the jumbo size. It is mostly the dreadnought and the 00. Contact: Ronnie Grifn 304 Blount Rd Waycross, GA 31503 (912) 285-8053 Photo: Stan Rhoden

What kind of wood do you like for the top? I like German Spruce tops. Sometimes I will use Sitka if there is a particular tone someone is looking for, but in general I prefer German Spruce. But it will depend on if the guy is a parking lot picker, if he is someone that is going to record, or if he is going to be in front of a mike with a PA system . . . these are all variables. What do you like to use for the nut and saddle? I like bone. I donʼt like ivory and donʼt use it. The fossilized stuff is really neat and it looks good and I have that if someone wants it. But sometimes if you outfit someone with fossilized ivory nut, saddle, and bridge pins,


Allen Shadd in front of the Grifn shop with his Grifn 00 size guitar 25

Flatpicking & Folk/Acoustic Rock by by John John Tindel Tindel

The Inner Musician Youʼre sitting around a small campre or perhaps someoneʼs living room with 3 or 4 other guitar players, doing that circle jam thing. “Old Joe Clark” is on its third time around and youʼre next in the line-up to solo. Youʼve already covered the melody pretty efciently the rst three times and this time around you want to astound your friends with something a little off the beaten path, a little daring, perhaps. As your turn approaches you frantically review all the licks and runs you can think of that would apply to the song but your mind perversely goes blank at the critical moment, forcing you to sheepishly plunk through the melody once again. If this has ever happened to you, it could be an indication that some attention to your improvisational skills could be in order. Can one learn to be a great improvisor or is it an inborn gift, doled out to the lucky few? Who knows, really, but while youʼre pondering the question it canʼt hurt to work on some things that might help sharpen this elusive skill. Improvisation : “to make, invent, or arrange offhand.” In many ways, the act of improvisation involves a slight shift in mind-set, a blurring of boundaries in which all of the varied styles of music at your disposal merge and blend and bubble to the surface, controlled, just barely, by your “Inner Musician,” on a subliminal level. But be warned; with this guy in charge, anything can and will happen, if youʼre brave enough to follow his “lead” (pun intended). At any moment the theme music from “Bonanza” or “ the Flintstones” might come out wildly juxtaposed with the opening line from “Rhapsody in Blue.” Or you might amaze even yourself with a passage of such lyric and melodic power that youʼll be left wondering just where it came from. One of the best rewards of all is painting yourself into the proverbial 26

corner, skating over onto thin ice and then miraculously saving yourself with panache and grace. Mr. Inner Musician Man to the rescue once again! He is your friend. Help make him strong and free him from the connes of your subconscious mind. Try to set aside time in your practice sessions for the care and feeding of your creative side. I know that so many of us with busy schedules these days tend to be very goal-oriented in approaching our evershrinking rehearsal hours. Allot some time at the beginning or end of your session, 15 or 20 minutes, to let your mind and your ngers wander where they will. Just as doodling in the margins of the newspaper while on the phone will sometimes result in interesting designs, “musical doodling” can also be helpful in tapping into the power of the improvisation muscles just under the surface. Sometimes distraction techniques such as driving your car while playing (just kidding), chatting on the phone with guitar in hand, or even, dare I say it, channel surng, can be useful by occupying a chunk of your conscience mind while letting subterranean ideas bubble forth. Hereʼs a fun exercise to try if you can round up 2 or 3 other players to interact with. Pick someone to start off by playing a short sequence of notes, a loop or phrase with some kind of melodic content. Its best for whoever starts to leave holes, rests for the other players who will layer in their lines. That line is repeated exactly as, one by one, the other players add another line to the rst one. Sort of like building a short story from a group of people each contributing only one sentence. Each player tries to come up with an interesting rhythmic or harmonic counterpoint to the original. Once it gets back around to the originator, lock into a groove on those parts another 4 times without changing. Then everyone nod and the next player to the right starts a phrase, which can be in either

a different time signature or key, and the building process starts again, one person at a time. Progress around the circle in this manner for awhile and youʼll be amazed at the permutations and twists that occur and how far from the original lick you end up. As well as being fun, this little drill is great at honing oneʼs “listening to others” skills, spontaneity and fast thinking, as well as planning ahead for when your turn comes back around. As an added bonus, keep your tape recorder rolling. One never knows when a killer groove might come percolating through or discover some nifty song building ideas drifting around in there somewhere. Here is a chord cycle thatʼs great for improvising over (top of next page). Grab a friend and take turns backing each other up on this. On the verse parts you can explore jamming in E minor mode, with all its dark and haunting open strings, which then resolves in the chorus section with a sense of resolution. Feel free to play the rhythm chords at any speed or style you prefer, theyʼll work ne from hip-hop to bluegrass to rock to ngerstyle, or all of the above. Just try to stay loose and open and receptive to that small voice that lives inside all of us, the Inner Musician. John Tindel plays guitar and piano in the Santa Cruz, California-based trio RST. He plays Martin guitars, or any other ones he can get his hands on. He also enjoys sub jecting the unsuspecting world to his views on guitar playing and life in general.



John’s Jam C/aug2

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Em/aug2

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1

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G/B

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4 &4 . 1

Em/aug2

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C/aug2

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G

Verse (play 4 times)

G/B

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Chorus (play 4 times)

.

Visit


on the Web http://www.atpick.com We have a new tab index page

A Workshop On

IMPROVISATION for: Bluegrass Guitar

Good Medicine The new CD from 1995 National Flatpick Champion

14 techniques 39 tunes, 70 breaks

Mark Cosgrove

“ Highly Recommended” says Acoustic Musician Magazine (August, 1996)

Cost: $17.95

“. . . great tone, tremendous speed, and most importantly, his own licks . .” Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

“. . . a powerhouse sound that could knock down a wall . . .” Acoustic Guitar

“. . . hard driving lyricism . . .” Bluegrass Unlimited

(postage paid)

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Write to: Keith Feedman 51111 S. Twin Buttes Salome, AZ 85348 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

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28



Kaufman’s Corner by

Steve Kaufman

I had a call the other day on my 800-FLATPIK number from a student in Any town, USA with a question. He asked what was the best exercise for loosening up the right hand wrist. If you come to one of my workshops, you will nd a good portion of one workshop section deals with the right hand. Creating a large swing so that you can develop pin point accuracy, dynamics, volume, exibility and articulation. You can only practice this technique slowly - around 75 beats per minute. Without going into all of the right hand techniques and styles now (covered in a past Flatpicking Guitar Magazine). Let

me just say that you should get the right hand down ups correct. All numbered beats (1,2,3,4) are hit with down swings and all “+” beats are hit with up swings (unless they are proceeding a triplets). Get this simple approach down and then spend more time learning songs and tunes for the level of which you are.

Soldierʼs Joy This tune (see next page) should be practiced very slowly. Even after you have it memorized and can play it faster. Play it with a wide right hand swing. Hit the string you are aiming for and follow through about 2 inches past the target— this is for both the downs and the ups. Hold down the “C” chord position in the “C” measures wherever possible. This will give you maximum sustain. You want all of your notes to sound like open strings.

This arrangement is a good one for loosening up the right hand and practicing a wide swing. Notice all of the arpeggio work. Another point to this song is the chord structure. You can play it as a three chord song (and should) or you can add in all sorts of substitution and passing chords (shown in the alternate chord line above the tab). Try to come up with some nice connecting bass lines in the rhythm section. Try hitting the bass note of the chord that is on the same string as the next chordʼs bass note when possible. This will give you a smooth sounding bass line. Have fun with this arrangement to a “Standard Bluegrass Guitar Solo That Every Parking Lot Picker Should Know”. Bye for now, Steve Kaufman

Win a Week at Steve Kaufman’s Flatpicking Camp! The Steve Kaufman Flatpicking Camp provides the ultimate atpicking experience for beginners through professionals. It is a full week of non-stop instruction, jamming, and concerts (and a guitar contest!). You now have the chance to attend the 1998 camp (7 through 14 June 1998 in Maryville, TN) FREE! Flatpicking Guitar Magazine , in conjunction with Steve Kaufmanʼs Flatpicking Camp, will award one tuition, meals, and lodging package for the 1998 event featuring classes and concerts by Curtis Burch, Dan Crary, Pat Flynn, Beppe Gambetta, Steve Kaufman, Robin Kessinger, Tim Stafford and Norman Blake (Thursday only). Fill out the entry form below and mail it in. The drawing will occur after the atpicking guitar contest at the 1998 Merlefest event in Wilkesboro, NC. You need not be present to win. *If you are already registered for the camp at the time of the drawing, and you are the winner, your camp fee will be reimbursed to you, so go ahead a nd register now and keep your ngers crossed!

No purchase necessary to enter. Mail entry form to: High View Publications, P.O. Box 51967, Pacic Grove, CA 93950 Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian is responsible for their own accommodation. Winner must provide his or her own transportation to and from the camp.



Entry Form:

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Name: Address: City: State:

Zip:

Phone: 29



31

By Brad Davis BRAD DAVIS IS ENDORSED BY SIT STRINGS/COLLINGS/MARTIN/GRETCH/FENDER/PEAVEY/THUNDERFUNK/GIBSON/ ERNIE BALL/BAGGS/WILKINS GUITARS.

"Marty Stuart Visits The Moon" I've been to the moon and back with my boss and good freind Marty Stuart. The story on this song begins with it's first television debut on TNN. I left Marty in the spring of 94' to stay home with my family and play bluegrass. I came home one winter day that same year from a recording session and the phone rang, it was Marty. He said how are you and your family doing?

He said "I really need you back in the band, would you come back." After some time, I agreed. He said great, I'm doing a TNN television show monday call time is 5pm. We met, hugged and shook hands, it was good to be back. He said he was doing some old songs that I knew-"it'l be a piece of cake!" Minutes before it was our time to play he leaned over and said, Oh! by the way we're doing my new bluegrass song titled "Marty Stuart

Basic Double-down-up technique for the new comers (Ex.1- key of G) These direction indicators are for the d-d-up technique. the second down stroke must be emphasized

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Visits the Moon." I had never heard this song in my life!! I quickly grabbed the bass player Steve and ran over the chord changes. The solo tabbed below is the solo I played that night by the seat of my pants. To order a companion tape for this lesson send check or money order to:BDM Publishing / Box 890 / Madison, TN. 37116. Brad's instructional material can be ordered visa/master card @Junctionstudio.com on the world wide web. Also previous back issues (tape and article booklet) are now available for $7.00.

(the #'s below each measure-1,2,3,4=down stroke movement and the (+) signs= up stroke movement.

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Used by Permission

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part 1a-Am

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Recorded on Marty's MCA record "Love and Luck"

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The End

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About the author: Brad Davis has many years of experience as an acclaimed bluegrass and country guitarist. With several albums to his credit, Brad's most widely heard f lattop guitar work is on the Sweathearts of the Rodeo's new album titled "beautiful lies" on Sugar Hill Records, White Water debute album "No Gold On The Highway" and Brad's new flattop sampler album titled "Climbin' Cole Hill" both on Raisin Cain. Brad's most widely heard electric guitar work is on Marty Stuart's gold record " This Ones Gonna Hurt You" and on Marty's most recent album "Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best." Brad debuted his patented "Brad Bender," the string bender for acoustic/electric guitars, and the unique style it offers, on countless national television shows with the Sweethearts of the Rodeo - bluegrass band. Brad also spent several years on the road with the Forester Sisters. Touring and recording w/ Marty Stuart and White Water, songwriting, record production, and the production of instructional material for Z-TAPE (BDM Publishing) instructional courses are wedged into his tight schedule. Brad's up and coming instructional course is "40 Trick Licks" (for the flattop guitar) and "The Acoustic Speed picking Blue book" featuring his incredible "Double-Down-Up" speed picking technique.

To order companion audio cassette for this lesson send check or money order for $5.00 and address to: BDM Publishing - P.O.Box 890 - Madison, Tn 37116 Att:Companion Cassette

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Break Time To Improvise Or Plan? When a guitar player gets familiar enough with the neck of the guitar, and develops his or her ear sufciently to be able to make up a break on the spot, the world of improvisation has been unlocked. Naturally, it can be a pretty scary landscape if youʼre just getting to know it. The question then arises: Is it best to always improvise breaks to songs, or should breaks be worked out in advance to insure that they have a little more depth or pizazz than what you can come up with on the spot? I should warn you that youʼre unlikely to get the same answer to this question from any two guitar players. Iʼve heard a well known atpicker state that he never improvises because he just isnʼt good at it, and prefers to work out a musically creative break and then stick to it. Others will tell you that the true creativity of bluegrass music lies in the fact that itʼs musicians create music off the top of their heads, the way jazz musicians do. Which is right? Well, unfortunately, because this is art weʼre talking about, there is not an absolute right and wrong here. I happen to admire musicians who can play creative and musical breaks that are completely improvised, that involve note combinations that neither they nor anyone else have ever played before. Clarence White was a master at this, and today Ron Block is an example of a pure improviser. Does this mean that a planned break is uncreative? No, it merely means that the creativity was more deliberate, closer to writing music. Because my improvisational skill is not as developed as I would like it to be, I sometimes will choose a middle ground. If the song involves chord changes or melodic passages that are hanging me up a little bit, I will try to sit down and mess with it, until it seems to ow a little better. I will seldom go back and play it exactly that way on stage, but I have given myself a little rmer foundation to stand on. Iʼve heard musicians advocate planning a break note for note in order to have a back up plan if, on a bad creative night, improvising just isnʼt working out too well (e.g. every break Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

by Chris Jones is sounding like a bluegrass version of “Moon River”). That way you can always veer from the program if youʼre feeling like Mr. or Ms. Free & Creative. Iʼve found that I operate this way on a more informal basis: My breaks tend to evolve over time and fall into a similar pattern. If itʼs feeling boring to me, and I feel good, I can always use what I have as a starting point, but take it in a different direction entirely. If not, Iʼve got something that my brain and ngers are used to, and I can make my variations more subtle or not vary the break at all (I recommend this if youʼre ever stuck playing in a bar where everyone there -including you -- is watching a football game while youʼre playing). In any case, the fact that you may prefer to work out your break to the last note does not excuse you from working on your improvisation skills. Letʼs face it, you canʼt escape improvising to some extent unless you avoid jam sessions for the rest of your life. Itʼs usually frowned on in an informal picking session when you make everyone wait for ten minutes, while you meticulously craft a snappy turnaround to “Banks Of The Ohio”. You need to able to be comfortable enough with your guitar and your ear to able to jump in and take the risk. It is my goal to someday fear nothing in a jam session and know that I can produce what I hear in my head instantaneously and have it be melodic and interesting. Like many guitar players, I have a long way to go to get to this point. When someone says, “Letʼs try one of my originals, itʼs got 16 chords in it and modulates twice. Chris, why donʼt you take the rst break?”, I politely inform the group that I have forgotten that it was my day to change the chips in the hamster cage. Someday, however, Iʼll welcome playing a song like that that Iʼve never heard. Though I love improvisation and think itʼs an essential part of our music, there is also tremendous skill in being able to play something exactly the same way twice. In fact, it can be a good way to exercise your musical discipline and see if you can put


enough feeling and creativity into the same notes to make them sound fresh to the listener and to yourself. There are also certain types of songs, particularly some of the slower ones, that require a very specic melody; once that melody is written or worked out, it needs to be adhered to fairly closely in order for it to sound like that song is supposed to sound. Weʼll discuss the specics of improvising or prearranging breaks, and different ways to approach improvisation in the next issue.

35

Columnist Prole: Steve Pottier by Dan Miller Do you consider yourself an avid Clarence White fan? If so, see if you can match this: Since Steve Pottier rst saw Clarence White play back in about 1971 he has collected no less than 90 hours of live Kentucky Colonels tapes and during one seven year period in his life he went to bed every night of the week with the Kentucky Colonels music playing on his head phones while he fell asleep. Have we had the right guy writing the “Beginning Clarence White Style Guitar” column, or what? Steve grew up in Southern California and rst became interested in learning how to play the guitar in about 1968 when he was in college. He says, “I was at a party and a friend of mine was playing folk guitar and I thought, ʻGosh, I wish I could participate in that.ʼ ” At rst, all Steve was interested in was learning how to strum chords, however, after his friend had shown him some basic chords, Steve recalls, “Of course one thing leads to another and next I wanted to learn how to play the right bass notes and then how to do a bass run and then it just cascaded from there.” That next Christmas Steveʼs friend got a banjo and Steve got a guitar and they began playing together. Steve remembers, “He had this book by Pete Seeger on how to play banjo and he kept saying, ʻI canʼt wait to get to the chapter on bluegrass.ʼ At the time I had zero idea of what bluegrass was.” About six months later Steve attended his rst bluegrass festival and he says he was really taken by the groups of people playing together in the jam sessions. He was astounded that these people, who had never played together before, were making such great music. Sometime after his rst bluegrass festival experience, a local banjo instructor, who was a friend of Steveʼs guitar instructor, recommended that Steve listen to Doc Watson. He went to the local college radio station, listened to “Black Mountain Rag” and said to himself, “I have got to learn how to do that!” When asked how he began to learn to play lead bluegrass style guitar Steve says, “I didnʼt have any peers that were playing lead guitar, so I was slowing down records. But then occasionally I would see somebody 36

that could explain a few things to me.” Steve says that he started out his atpicking guitar journey as a Doc Watson fanatic, wearing grooves in Docʼs records to try and learn what Doc was doing. He remembers that he was especially fond of the “Strictly Instrumental” album because it was more bluegrass oriented than some of Docʼs other albums. While Steve was still in college (he graduated in 1971), a friend told him, “Yea, Doc is good, but you ought to hear Clarence.” Steve says, “Of course I thought that was blasphemy. But then I started hearing Clarence and I could see how good he was.” Steve was also able to see Clarence White play on several occasions when the Kentucky Colonels gave reunion shows at the Ash Grove. He says, “That was a riveting and compelling experience to watch him play. Every time they played I made a point to be rst in line and get a front row seat and I would be the last to one leave.” He says that he never really had much of an opportunity to talk to Clarence beyond a simple greeting and handshake after the show. However, at one point he did ask Clarence if he taught lessons, but Clarence replied that he did not. When asked if he had tried to learn the Clarence White style of guitar playing by slowing down records as he had done with the Doc Watson material, Steve said, “Yes, however, Clarence is a whole different number. When you play a series of eighth notes in a row, the notes are one after the other and the sequence is somewhat predictable. But Clarence would hit a couple notes on the treble strings, then jump down to the low strings, then crosspick or hit a drone note, he would also hit notes on the off beat and it was very difcult to learn at rst. I knew one guy who knew a little bit of Clarenceʼs stuff, so that helped because it gave me some positions and some ideas and some handles on where to start. That is what I have tried to do in

the magazine column. I have tried to give people a place to start. But then of course, from there it requires hours and hours of transcribing at half speed.” In 1973 Steve moved up to the San Francisco Bay area and met some of the local bluegrass musicians, such as Laurie Lewis, Pat Enright, Butch Waller, and Paul Shelasky, and began playing music with them. But he says it wasnʼt until about 1976 that he quit his job at Stanford University and became a full time bluegrass musician. Steve says, “I didnʼt even have a band or anything! But I gured I would give myself the space. I then formed the band ʻDone Goneʼ with Tom Beckeny, Mark Hogan, Sue Shelasky, Don Humpries and myself.” At rst Steve was the lead guitar player in Done Gone, but a year later Sue quit the band and they hired Ed Neff to play ddle and Steve moved from lead guitar to bass. From that point, in almost all of the many bands Steve has played in, he has primarily been a bass player who played some guitar. In fact he has made guests appearances on bass with bands ranging from Jimmy Martin, to the Lilly Brothers, to Vern and Ray. However, in his current band, the Avocado Brothers, with Marty Cutler, Mary Gibbons, and Ken Smith, Steve is the sole guitarist. He has been with this band for about four years now and he says, “This is the rst time that I have ever been in a band where I am the only guitar player.” Steveʼs guitar work can currently be found on four recorded projects. His rst recording was with the Done Gone Band on



which he played mostly bass, but his guitar work can be heard on two cuts. When he was with the band High Country Steve recorded three albums and played a little guitar on the rst two and quite a bit more guitar on the third recording, titled “Sunset on the Prairie.” Then in about 1991, Sandy Rothman and Steve recorded his most well known guitar album, “Bluegrass Guitar Duets.” When asked how the “duets” project came about, Steve said, “Sandy is really a legendary musician. At the age of seventeen he played with Bill Monroe for one summer as the Bluegrass Boysʼ guitar player. He and Jerry Garcia also spent some time in 1964 following the Kentucky Colonels on tour across the country. I had heard him play when I rst moved up to the San Francisco area. I thought ʻHere is a guy who plays just like Clarence.ʼ He had the feel down and everything. But for one reason or another we never actually picked together until about twenty years after I met him. Finally we started playing periodically over at his house. After about a year of that he said, ʻYou should make a record.ʼ And I told him, ʻYou should make a record.ʼ Then we decided to pool our

money and make a record together.” For about twenty years Steve played a 1964 Martin D-18 with high action, GHS heavy gauge strings, and a 2mm thick pick. Now that is bluegrass guitar! But then about four years ago he says he found a 1948 Martin D-28 that he was able to set up with medium gauge strings and play with a 1.14mm Dunlap 500, and he likes the sound. When asked why he liked high action and heavy gauge strings for so many years, Steve said, “I needed it to drive that guitar. I tried putting medium gauge strings on and it lost its guts. I play pretty hard with a heavy pick and so that was what was required to get the tone I wanted out of that D-18. The D-28 doesnʼt require that, it is loud enough and has great tone.” Steve is also currently teaching private lessons on appointment. You can contact him by email at: [email protected]

D av id G ri er

*

Lone Soldier Tab/Standard Notation book

Send $20 Check or Money Order to: 3 Time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year

David Grier P.O. Box 60351 Nashville, TN 37206-0351 *On Rounder Records

"Grier stretches notes that walk, skip and dance off his strings..." LA Times Flatpicking Guitar Magazine


37

THE

O

Tony Rice and the Consequences of Greatness Two recent encounters: 1. After a concert a picker who was there says that he enjoyed hearing me play, and that he particularly appreciated that I ʻdidnʼt sound like Tony Rice.ʼ 2. A gifted sporadic guitar student of mine shows up and announces that he just realized that Tony Rice is simply the best atpicker out there and that he went out and bought all his albums and videos. Both encounters immediately reminded me of an evening almost two years ago when an otherwise amiable night of jamming and talk turned heated when I happened to say something glowing about Tony. My host (also a professional player) would hear none of it; he in fact contended that Tonyʼs inuence was bad for atpicking— that ʻRice clonesʼ so far outnumbered other stylists that the eld was not progressing. I was appalled. Rice is so inuential, I said, because heʼs so phenomenal. Nobody puts a gun to anybodyʼs head and says ʻplay like Tony or else.ʼ Heʼs the guy people want to sound like. We went back and forth for almost an hour before calling it a night. But the issues raised during that argument have stayed with me. Is there too much Tony in atpicking? When does emulation cross the line into clonage? Why has Tony been so inuential? Are atpickers lazier than other instrumentalists when it comes to developing their own styles? Challenging and interesting questions. And deserving of our attention. Imitation isnʼt only the the sincerest form of attery — it is how we learn to play our instruments. It begins as a primal impulse, when we hear somebody playing and go “wow— I want to do that ”. Certain innovative stylists produce the “wow” response in sufcient numbers that they become decisive inuences on 38

- ZONE by

Orrin Star

their instruments. In bluegrass that initially meant Earl Scruggs on banjo and Bill Monroe on mandolin. Both of these players were widely and reverently imitated (and still are today). And they spawned other notable stylists who either emulated them closely (like J. D. Crowe or early David Grisman) or stretched the style (like Ralph Stanley or Bill Keith or Frank Wakeeld). Flatpickingʼs rst Wowmeister came a little later in the form of Doc Watson. Though other ground-breaking players like Clarence White (Riceʼs mentor), Norman Blake and Dan Crary seasoned the stew, in terms of inuence wrought and emulators inspired, Doc was clearly the man. In the 1970ʼs a third generation of players weaves its way into this evolving tapestry of bluegrass stylists. There is Sam Bush and David Grisman on the mandolin. Byron Berline and Richard Green on ddle. Alan Munde and Tony Trischka on banjo. And Tony Rice on guitar. With awesome chops and a syncopated, bluesy Clarence-derived style (not to mention great rhythm playing and singing), Tony Rice blows the atpicking world wide open. His playing is so cool and so ne — and so different — that everybody wants to play like him. He succeeds Doc as flatpickingʼs Wowmeister. And his inuence continues unabated over the the two decades which follow. He is the most inuential third generation player in all of bluegrass. Regardless of how you feel about this reality, it is the reality. In almost every art form there are breakthrough stylists whose work is so compelling that it leads to a stylistic plateau — a place where a style pauses to catch its breath before evolving any further. Consider violin making, for example. Luthiers throughout Europe are trying to build great instruments. But in Cremona, Italy, in the late seventeenth century, our boy Stradivarius starts coming out with

ddles that are soon acknowledged as the best. And his designs and approach are copied and emulated to this day (ie one helluva plateau.) Closer to topic there is the sound of contemporary bluegrass. About a year ago my friend Steve Arkin (banjo player and voracious CD buyer and listener) observed that bluegrass had been ʻperfectedʼ— that modern groups (perhaps best embodied by the Lonesome River Band) had so rened the various vocal and instrumental elements of the music that there was almost no place for it to go; it was gorgeous. In other words, stylistic plateau. I have to agree. When you nd yourself (as I recently did) watching a new band on stage and thinking ʻYup-theyʼve been listening to the Lonesome River Bandʼ you know youʼre on a plateau. And this is the dilemma: plateaus are consequences of greatness. They deserve and inspire imitation and emulation. But we tire quickly of imitators; we want them to bring something more to the table. Itʼs a subtle business though. J.D. Croweʼs banjo playing (one of my favorite things in life) is unequivocally based on Scruggsʼ. Yet nobody labels him (or other Earl-based stylists) as “Scruggs clones”. Why, then, are the many guitarists who copy Tony so readily dismissed? Part of the answer I think is volume: the number of Rice-like players is simply huge. This is in part a function of the fact that atpicking is a younger and less developed form than banjo or ddle or mandolin. As mentioned earlier, Doc Watson appeared on the scene almost a generation later than did Monroe or Scruggs. Banjo players coming of age in the 1980ʼs for example had a much wider range of stylistic mentors than did guitarists. They could model Scruggs or Crowe, Reno or Stover, Osborne



or Stanley, Eldridge or Adcock, Keith or Shelton, Trischka or Fleck. For atpickers, on the other hand, it was Doc or Clarence (who died young), Dan or Norman (whose solo performing style is not always relevant to a band setting) — and Tony (the only third generation guy in the group, save perhaps Mark OʼConnor who mostly ddles). There is also the fact that his style is distinctive to the point of being almost immediately recognizable; after just three or four notes you know. (And he does tend to favor certain licks.) Lastly there seems to be a kind of generational prejudice at work: copy Earl or Bill and you get respect since you are acknowledging early masters; copy Tony and you are a ʻRice-clone.ʼ Hence the peculiar situation atpicking now nds itself in — one in which there is a backlash against the sound of its most inuential practitioner. As already mentioned, this has happened to a lesser but still noticeable degree at the band level, with Lonesome River. But the other bluegrass instruments (save perhaps dobro — and is it really an instrument?*) are not contending with this; you simply donʼt hear young mandolin players being slagged as ʻBush clonesʼ. My feeling is that all of whatʼs happened is natural and appropriate: both the stylistic plateau that Tony produced as well as the reaction against it. Thatʼs how art evolves friends. Those distressed at how popular and inuential Tony is can take heart at some recent signs of diversity: consider that Flatpicking Guitar has now filled eight issues with all manner of articles and tabs—and very few Rice citations. But there is no better atpicker. Copying Tony is an honorable and rewarding pursuit. If you remain content simply to copy, though, you may never develop your own voice and be recognized as a stylist in your own right; people will forever be comparing you with your idol. (And of the hundreds who try, how many actually sound even nearly as good as Tony? ) But we all must follow our own muse in deciding how we want to play. * Joke


Doc Watson Awarded National Medal of Arts by Jim Rouse

The National Medal of Arts is this Countryʼs highest award for artistic achievement. Flatpickers were well represented at a recent White House ceremony where the medal was presented to the Dean of American flatpickers — Doc Watson. Doc had invited my wife Marilyn and I to accompany him to the White House and we were there on Monday morning September 29th for the ceremony. It was a beautiful Fall morning with bright sunshine and blue skies. The ceremony was held on the south lawn of the White House. The United States Marine Band was playing a stirring Sousa March as we exited the east wing of the White House to the garden leading to the south lawn. A small section of seats had been reserved for family members and friends of the medal recipients. We were escorted to our seats by an immaculately uniformed member of the White House military staff. It was now time for the program to begin and we were treated to a splendid performance by Cephus and Wiggins. When they had concluded their performance, the medal recipients were escorted to the stage followed by the President and Ms. Clinton. Among the recipients that morning, in addition to Doc, were actors Angela Lansbury and Jason Robards. Don Henley, of the Eagles, was on hand to receive a humanitarian award for his efforts in saving Waldon Pond. The President, in his remarks prior to presentation of the medal to Doc, said that anyone who considered himself to be a card carrying baby boomer had probably, at some time in life, tried to play the guitar like Doc Watson. I expect that would apply to anyone who would be reading this magazine. Certainly, to my surprise, I found out on a rst person basis that it applied to some member of the Washington press. I would like to share this with you. After the ceremony was completed, the medal recipients met with TV and newspaper people just off the garden on the south lawn. These folks, I am sure, attend many


newsworthy events and are used to talking with celebrities. As I was standing there with Doc as he was being interviewed, a news camera man came over and said he would like to ask me a question. He then leaned over and whispered in my ear “Do you think we could get Docʼs autograph.” If I said that made me smile, it would be an understatement. I turned to Doc as he was nishing an interview and asked if he would mind giving an autograph or two to the press people. Doc has been around, and he said, “Oh my goodness son, youʼve started something.” Well, maybe so, but as we were doing the autographs I thought, “No Doc, you started something back a long time ago when your father made you that banjo from the skin of a pet cat and you moved on from that to the guitar and proceeded to become the greatest flatpicker who ever lived. Later you traveled the world to establish the atpicked guitar as a foundation for traditional American music. You have demonstrated that it is capable of music that nds its way to the inward places of the heart and you have conducted your life with such disarming humility and grace that you have found a permanent place, not only in the history of American music, but in the hearts of music lovers everywhere.” 39

Masters of Rhythm Guitar:

Martha Adcock by Dan Miller

Martha Adcock describes the role of the rhythm guitar player as “providing the heart and soul of the beat.” This being the case, Martha has been the heart and soul of the beat for multi-instrumentalist Eddie Adcockʼs music for nearly twentyfive years. Eddie says, “I have played country, rock and roll, and kind of a redneck jazz style music as well as bluegrass and she can play rhythm for all of it. There are very few rhythm players that I know who feel as at home on a ZZ Top rhythm as they do on bluegrass. Rhythm guitar is her thing. It is something that she wants to do really well and she shows it by her playing. Most people want to be a lead player while they are playing rhythm. She wants to be a rhythm player because she loves it, and that is the best kind of player in the world.” Martha Adcock, whose maiden name is Hearon, was born and raised in Bishopville, South Carolina. Although both of Marthaʼs grandfathers were “home grown” string musicians, she says her motherʼs and fatherʼs generation somehow got away from it. Both Marthaʼs parents were also musicians, however, they favored the pop tunes of the day and the music that was played in church. Her parents were vocalists who accompanied themselves on piano. Her father trained in music at the University of South Carolina and was a studied singer. Martha says, “An interesting thing about my father was that when he was in the University of South Carolina glee club they toured New York and Chicago in 1934. They played on all the big radio shows of the day, including in Chicago Kay Kyserʼs. Kay Kyser really tried hard to hire my father, but he wanted to nish school and come home to take care of the large farm holdings.” Martha began her music study on the piano at the age of ve. When she was eight she attended a summer camp and a friend had a ukulele. She says, “I was completely taken with it. She showed me how to play ʻFive Foot Two, Eyes of Blue,ʼ and I was gone.” In her early teens Martha began an involvement in folk music because she says it was “the only thing that answered 40

the call of the acoustic stringed instruments, and I really loved it.” Martha recalls listening to the music of the Kingston Trio and the Chad Mitchell Trio in particular. By the time Martha was ten, she had persuaded her father to buy her a baritone ukulele which she said suited her better because she liked the deeper tone. Later she moved on to play the tenor guitar and by the time she was sixteen she got her rst full size six string guitar. She recalls, “I always thought that my ngers were too small to get across the ngerboard of a six string guitar, but I found out that they were not.” Her rst guitar was a classical style guitar, but she later moved onto a slotted head Martin guitar. In addition to music, Martha has also always had an interest and talent in art and craft. In the early seventies when she was traveling through Charlotte, North Carolina, she stopped into a music store to buy some picks and strings. They directed her to the shop in the back. This was the shop of C.E. Ward, who Martha says, “was one of the nest crafts people, repair people, and instrument builders around.” Martha expressed an interest in instrument work and was hired on the spot. While working at C.E. Wardʼs shop she says she did some instrument repair, but mostly specialized in inlay work. That training later led her to a job doing inlay work in Randy Woodʼs shop at the Ole Time Picking Parlor in Nashville. However, that job did not last long because a few weeks after she arrived in Nashville, she met Eddie Adcock and was soon on the road running the sound system for Eddieʼs band “IInd Generation.” Eddie and Martha were married in 1976. Although she started out her stringed music career as a folk style ngerpicker, all that was to change in 1973 when she met Eddie Adcock. She recalls “I had been turned onto bluegrass a few years before I met Eddie and had been trying to learn some bluegrass picking, but when I met him

Martha Adcock I discovered the whole world of bluegrass rhythm guitar.” By the Fall of 1974 guitarist Wendy Thatcher had left IInd Generation. Martha moved from the sound board to the guitar spot and has been backing up Eddieʼs banjo and lead guitar work ever since. Their musical partnership has gone from its beginnings in IInd Generation to a stint in David Allan Coeʼs band, to the popular bluegrass band “Talk of the Town” (with Missy Raines on bass and Susie Gott on ddle), to their current group, “The Eddie Adcock Band.” When Eddie was asked how Martha was able to jump into the guitar spot in IInd Generation without much background in the music Eddie said, “I have taught her a lot of rhythms. The fact that she could pick them up immediately has been the wonderful part of it. I have worked with people up to twelve years before and at the end of the twelve year period they still could not do what Martha could do in a few hours.” Eddie continues, “I have seen Bill Monroe grab his mandolin when he saw Martha and go over and play a tune right out of the blue to see if he could throw her because she had never heard the tune before. He gured he could play chords and go somewhere that would fool her. I donʼt believe he ever did fool her. She doesnʼt have to know the tune to play it. If it is bluegrass, folk, rock and roll, or



country, she can play the right chords the rst time even if she has never heard it before. She hears it all and she knows all kinds of fancy chords.”

And Jimmy Martin, he is just so great and powerful. Bill Harrell was also a wonderful player. I loved to watch his hands all splayed out and going that fast.

In the following interview, Martha talks about her rhythm style and the important role a good solid rhythm guitar plays in any stringed music ensemble:

When you rst started learning bluegrass rhythm were you going for the steady boom-chick feel or where you experimenting with other embellishments and strumming patterns? Well, I knew from the rst that I had to get that boom-chick down as a foundation. But I have also, over the years, developed a style that has those embellishments and doing a sort of semi-lead where necessary, or a rhythmic lead. That is as far towards lead as I have gone because Eddie covers those lead bases and he relies on me to provide that on-going beat.

When you were playing folk music where you primarily a nger style player? Absolutely, I had no clue as to how somebody produced very much music with a atpick. I was into all the complexities of ngerpicking. When you started learning how to atpick in the context of hard driving bluegrass music, was it a totally foreign thing? Yes, it was. The whole idea of being hard driving was foreign to me. We were raised to be more or less subtle people. Bluegrass really took me by surprise. The speed of it and the power of it was what attracted me, but I knew it would be a while before I could really produce the bluegrass feel. But I went after that with all of my strength. Was there anything in particular that helped you get there? I think that the best things are listening to recordings and seeing people in person. When I rst became interested in bluegrass the only recourse I had was to find the occasional record. I found Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers. That started me off, but what really began to open doors for me was seeing people in person. Starting in about 1971, when I went to my rst bluegrass festival, I saw the likes of Charlie Waller, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin and people like that who, to me, have never been bettered in the eld of rhythm playing. So you had actually had this experience before you met Eddie? Yes, and Eddie had already left the Country Gentleman when I rst saw them. They had Jimmy Gaudreau and Bill Emerson at that time. Charlie Wallerʼs hand looked to me almost like a machine. It almost did not look like it could produce the power and emotion that it did. There was such economy of motion. He doesnʼt have hands, he has sts. And Mac Wiseman . . . what stylish guitar playing . . . what ease. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

What advice can you give to beginning players who are trying to get a sense of the beat and timing of bluegrass? One thing that all rhythm players need is to have the beat come from within. It is not something that is out front to be pursued. It needs to come from inside. You have to be the heart and soul of the beat so that your lead player knows where he is playing. A metronome is wonderful practice for instilling that inside. I have been using a metronome since I was ve years old. Also, a whole lot of playing with bands helps to develop that within yourself. You also have to be conscious of the fact that there are different places on the beat to play and different styles that require you to play differently on the beat. There are even different styles of rhythm playing within bluegrass. We are of the school that puts the down beat pretty much right on the beat and then the up beat comes a little bit before the beat. What effect does that give you? To quote Bill Monroe, “Play quick, not fast.” That is, that even if you are doing a slow bluegrass tune, it can sound quick and spirited because of the way you place yourself on the beat. When you are playing blues, you are sort of behind the beat and it gives you that kind of a sense of power. Bluegrass can seem a little faster than it actually is because of the quickness in which you can hit those notes. Also, for that reason, a lot of times bluegrass groups will end up a song faster than when it started. That is not necessarily always going to happen, and it is not necessarily the best thing in all cases, but Eddie will


say that a lot of time a good bluegrass tune will end up just a little bit faster than when it started. Heavens above, the worst thing you could do, I guess, is drag one down.

Has your rhythm style changed over the years? I think so. I think the longer you do anything, the more you are aware that there is a great body of it that has yet to be learned or discovered. Hopefully, you keep getting better and you get more attentive to all of the possibilities. That is what I have tried to do and hopefully that will keep on happening. Many people learning bluegrass guitar these days want to jump right into playing leads and subsequently donʼt pay as much attention to their rhythm playing. Do you have any comments to offer regarding the importance of developing a good solid foundation in rhythm playing? I realize that it is an overlooked art. I donʼt know what the key is to get people to understand that it should not get overlooked, unless they were to try it themselves for an extended period of time and discover what people really need from them as a rhythm guitar player. You have to be there for the other band members. You can take a great deal of pride in that without you there would not be much of a band feel. There would just be people playing a bunch of notes wherever on the beat that they might decide to play it. The rhythm guitar player, along with the bass player, is the real foundation. People should know that there is a world out there that they have been ignoring if they donʼt think that rhythm guitar is a challenge and fun. We nd that now since Eddie and I are doing some performing as a duet, people come up to us and say, “I didnʼt know that you were such a good rhythm player.” I guess that in a duet it stands out more and I am able to do a little more. What do you nd is the most challenging about rhythm guitar work? Playing with somebody. The timing and tempo is not the be-all and end-all. When you are up there with somebody and trying to play music with them, you better not insist on “this” or insist on “that” in regards to timing. You have to provide the beat and the bedrock, but what you need to be doing 41

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most of all is to be playing music with the people you are playing with. You do not have the function of keeping them in line, you have to provide a framework for them, yet also know how to go with them. You have to be able to sense the nuances that they are communicating and you have to be able to go with them into that feel. It is a sense that will get more polished with practice, but you also have to use a lot of intuition.

When Eddie is playing lead guitar, does your technique change in comparison to what you play behind his banjo? Yes. I try to stay away from the sound of two guitars becoming muddy and indistinct. I want his lead to be very distinct and my rhythm to be of itself. I donʼt have a different sound, I am just careful about not interfering. Do you drive pretty hard behind his banjo? Yes. But as far as the drive is concerned, I drive just as hard behind his guitar. That is just his style. He plays there right on top of the beat and I am trying to make it sound like I am not dragging. The drive is there no matter what he is playing. But I think I find myself bringing in more subtleties and more little changes when he is playing guitar.

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Do you do many bass runs? Not a lot. I do some runs. But since we have occasionally played as a duet, and once we performed as a three piece band with a drummer, I have developed playing more bass patterns than bass runs. It is important to me to play those bass patterns because even when we do have a bass player, we then have a lot of that powerful feel at the bottom. When we had a three piece band with the drummer, we found that with him playing a heavy kick drum and me playing bass notes, you couldnʼt tell that there wasnʼt a bass there. That was an interesting revelation. So I have learned to play my bass patterns between my strums as if I was the only bass player in the group. Do you necessarily simplify your rhythm technique when you are singing? The early Country Gentleman, just to give you an example, had a lot going on behind their singing. There was a lot of banjo, or mandolin, or whatever. We lean more toward, what you might call, country

style. Which is that there is not a whole lot going on when the singer is singing. It seems to work better for us that way. In consequence, my rhythm also gets a little more basic. It comes from wanting your vocal sound to be as clear as possible without confusing things.

Do you use distancing from the mike to help produce a dynamic range in your back-up playing? Yes, I do. Because we donʼt have a sound person that we carry with us, we try to tell the sound person at the show to get us set and then leave us alone on a couple of songs and let us do our own mixing. Then I use distance to lean in at times to boost the sound of my guitar if I am doing an intro to a song or some little riff in the middle that needs to be heard. Other than that, I try to keep the same distance from the mike to maintain an evenness of level with just small variations from there. What kind of guitar do you play? Right now I am playing a guitar that I have played for about ten years. It is a 1987 Martin D-3532. It is a Shenandoah model. We both got them when we were touring in Europe a lot because they are really good guitars and they are not as expensive as regular Martins. We gured that if something terrible happened to them, it wouldnʼt be like loosing an ancient dreadnought. However, we have become quite attached to them. They have excellent tone and plenty of power and yet we still do not have to treat them like something extremely fragile. What do you think makes a good rhythm guitar? Excellent tone and excellent volume. You can adjust the guitar for your playing style, but if you are going for a certain kind of power and volume, you are generally going to need to have your strings a little bit higher than the lead player. You also want a balanced tone. You want to have plenty of bass, but not be overloaded with it because that can muddy up the sound. You also want plenty of brightness. Hopefully it will have that old bluegrass sound, but, you know, a lot of the sound of a player is in the player themselves. I have seen some very good players sound exactly like themselves on junk guitars. I think that a guitar that is easy to play, and one that you feel most connected with, is important.



Deering: The Guitar Player’s Banjo!? Have you ever wanted to learn to play an instrument other than guitar, but nd that you donʼt have nearly enough time in the day? The Deering Banjo Company has your answer - the six string banjo! I know, you are afraid that this would subject you to an endless stream of banjo jokes from your guitar playing friends. If this is the case, just let them try your new six string and you will probably experience what Janet Deering has seen hundreds of times - their face will light up when they realize how easy it is to become a banjo player and how fun it is to explore the possibilities of this hybrid. Besides the shear fun and excitement of it, the main reason many performers, especially solo performers, are buying six string banjos is that they are nding it easier to get hired for gigs when the banjo is listed on their resume. Also, their audiences nd that the change of instruments during the show adds an interesting and entertaining musical variety. Janet Deering says that many of the guitar players who are out using the six string banjo have reported that adding the banjo to their act has instantly increased their salability as a performer. Janet recalls that ngerstyle guitarist Harvey Reid, who released a CD in 1995 titled “Artistry of the Six String Banjo,” went through the typical guitar player metamorphosis from banjo shyness to full acceptance. She says, “Harvey has had the banjo for ten years. When he rst got it he would only take it around to the local clubs and his friends would tease him and give him a hard time about playing the banjo. Eventually he would get them to try it and it got to the point where every time he would bring it out, no one would let him have it - they would all pass it around and want to play it. At rst he only played it occasionally on stage, but now that he has played it for a while and people have heard it, if he doesnʼt bring it out they say, ʻWhere is your banjo?ʼ” Greg Deering adds, “One of the things that Harvey told us when he got the banjo is that he already knew one of the songs he was going to play on it because the song just never sounded right on the guitar. One of the things that is exciting about the six string banjo is that it is wonderful on some songs and doesnʼt really t on others. It Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

is fun and exciting to see all of that unfold and nd which songs work and which ones donʼt.” Steve Kaufman, three time national atpicking champion and king of the banjo jokes, is one atpicker who owns and uses the Deering six string. Steve has been especially impressed with the tone, clarity and warmth of the instrument. When asked what tunes in the atpickers repertoire he feels are best suited for the instrument, Steve said, “What I found is that you need to pick material that will work with the instrument. On my Deering, I like to play old-time and Celtic music if I am going to play single string stuff. If I am going to crosspick, which also works real well, I will choose material that makes it sound like the ve string banjo.” The six string banjo is not a Deering invention. Instrument builders were making this variety of banjo as far back as the turn of the century and some performers, Norman Blake for one, still use these older instruments. Deering began working on this idea about fteen years ago and the rst six string appeared in their catalog in about 1984. Greg Deering says, “We started building them because our customers asked if we would. One of the basic philosophies that our company is run by is ʻdo what we can to please our customers.ʼ ” In designing his six string banjo, Deering took a look at some of the older instruments, but he was not particularly impressed with their tone, so he made some adjustments and changes. He experimented with various scale lengths, tailpieces, bridge designs, and through his research nally found a good combination. The scale length on the Deering six string banjo is the same as that of a standard bluegrass style banjo (26.25 inches), which is longer than the standard guitar scale length. Greg says, “Guitar players were noticing that there was more of a stretch with the 26.25 inch scale length, but when we shortened the scale, the tension on the strings was reduced and it didnʼt have as much snap in the sound.” Additionally Deering had to make a heavier bridge in order to distribute the load of the strings. They also made the bridge wider to allow for a little bridge compen-


Banjoman Steve Kaufman with his Deering six string banjo sation. The tailpiece was changed so that it could properly withstand the strength of the six strings. Greg says, “Most of the old six string tailpieces were archtop trapeze guitartype tailpieces, which didnʼt lend themselves to the banjo very well. Banjos really like their strings to be held rmly in relation to the head.” Deering uses a standard banjo head on the six string, however, the head tension has to be tighter than on a ve string. Deering offers three standard models of the six string banjo. The lowest price Boston, or B-6, has a mahogany neck and a drum made of steel. This is a good sounding banjo in the lower price range. The Deluxe, or D-6, is a more expensive model and features a bell bronze tone ring, full three ply rim, one piece ange, and mahogany neck. The top-of-the-line production model is the Maple Blossom, or MB-6, which has the same drum assembly as D-6 but features a maple neck and fancier inlay. Always willing to please the customer, Deering also invites custom orders for players who might want to add different appointments than are offered on the standard models. Guitar players in all musical elds are nding that this instrument has its own voice and its own place outside of the role of the four or ve stringed banjos. The six string banjo is an extremely versatile instrument that has found its way into the heavy metal rock of Joe Satriani, the pop music of Rod Stewart, the ngerstyle artistry of Harvey Reid, the folk sounds of John Sebastian, the latin rock of Los Lobosʼ David Hildalgo, and the atpicking of Steve Kaufman. The Deering Banjo Company 7936 Lester Ave , Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619) 464-8252

43

The National Flatpicking Championship: Wineld ‘97 I think that every avid atpicker needs to make it a priority in his or her life to make at least one trip to Wineld, Kansas, during the third weekend in September to attend the Walnut Valley Festival. “Why?” you might ask. Your local festivals have great stage shows, great camping, great jamming, even a guitar contest. Why travel to Kansas? For a atpicker, the jamming in the campgrounds at Wineld is very hard to beat. If you are an avid baseball fan, a trip to Wineld would be analogous to not only attending the World Series, but having the opportunity to participate in batting practice with all of the players everyday before the game. All of the best contest players come to Wineld and they all love to jam. A word of caution though — if you do decide to make that one trip out to Winfield, youʼd better keep the third weekend in September clear on your schedule for years to come because once youʼve been, it is hard to keep from going back. The picking at Wineld starts far in advance of the official first day of the festival. The campground opens a full week in advance and by that time there is already a line of RVs on the road outside the gate that seems to go on for miles. The jamming commences as soon as the rst two RVs full of pickers arrives. This year we arrived on Sunday, four days before the festival was to ofcially begin. The campground was already packed solid and the jamming was non-stop. Although great atpicking can be found at almost any campsite, the place to be this year if you are a atpicker was Van Hunterʼs campground. Most of the contest guys and several of the performers stopped by Vanʼs at one time or another during the week. Thanks for the hospitality Van! The workshop series at this yearʼs Wineld got underway just as it has in years past with a two day workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday given by three time Wineld champ Steve Kaufman. Steve gave both a beginners and intermediate/advanced workshop and, as always, gave a very informative, practical, and motivating two days of hands-on instruction. Additionally, Steve participated in a ʻquestion and answer ʼ style 44

workshop hosted by Dan Crary, which also included atpickers Beppe Gambetta and Andy May. On stage, Dan Crary, Beppe Gambetta, and Steve Kaufman were everywhere and they always brought some surprise guests along with them. The band Nickel Creek, which features hot young atpicker Sean Watkins, came up on stage with Steve Kaufman during one set and Steve also brought up 1995 Winfield champ Mark Cosgrove and 1997 Steve Kaufman Camp champion Allen Shadd (who would also win Wineld this 1997 Champion Allen Shadd receives year). his trophy Beppe Gambetta and Dan Crary did several sets together and also played a special set where well and it was an absolute pleasure to be in the crowd and listen to such talent. When Beppe, Dan, and mandolinist Carlo Aonzo come out on stage dressed in tuxedos and the judges decision came in, the top three were Allen Shadd, Cody Kilby, and Greg introduced the crowd to music from Beppe and Carloʼs new release “Serenata.” Beppe English, in that order. and Dan were also part of a “superjam” The rst, second, and third place winners at Wineld all go home with a top notch Saturday night on the main stage, which included past Winfield winners Steve guitar. The three guitars that were offered this year were a Collings D2H, and Santa Kaufman, Robin Kessinger, and Stephen Bennett along with this yearʼs champion, Cruz Tony Rice model, and a Gallagher Steve Kaufman model. The first place Allen Shadd. The 1997 National Flatpicking Champiwinner gets his pick of the lot and Allen, onship had just over thirty contestants and who had won a Santa Cruz at Wineld last year and had also won a Steve Kaufman everyone played very well. I would not have wanted to be one of the judges this model Gallagher at Steve Kaufmanʼs Camp, chose to take home the Collings. Cody year. Contestants, past winners, and spectators who had been attending Wineld for Kilby, who regularly plays a Santa Cruz, was happy to take another one home, Greg, ten to fteen years or more all commented that this was the toughest eld of contestants then, got the Gallagher. they had ever seen. Mark it on your calendar folks. Its the third week in September and we hope to see After all of the contestants had played two songs each, the judges narrowed down you there next year. Plan to come a few days early and attend Steve Kaufmanʼs two day the eld to ve. This year the ve who made the cut were Mike Maddux from Colorado, pre-festival workshop, nd Van Hunterʼs campground and bring your guitar, and Carl Miner from Oregon, Greg English from Tennessee, Allen Shadd from Florida, and while youʼve got that guitar out, stop by Cody Kilby from Tennessee. Allen and the Flatpicking Guitar Magazine booth, Cody had placed second and third behind weʼd love to pick a few with you! Gary Cook in 1996. All ve of the nalists were asked to come back on stage and play two more songs. The nalists played very Flatpicking Guitar Magazine




45

Avalon - Part 2 by Dix Bruce

Last time we looked at the 1920s jazz standard “Avalon” and learned its chord progression and melody at the bottom of the guitar neck. In this column weʼll move both to upper positions and explore the upper neck in the process. It might be helpful for you to take a few minutes to review last issueʼs column before you dive into this one. Itʼs tough enough to learn something in one position on the guitar much less two or three positions with different keys thrown in for good measure. Still, itʼs vitally important that you be able to play in any key and in any position. You want to feel as comfortable at closed positions above the tenth fret as you do with open string notes at the bottom of the neck. You can help yourself progress in that direction by moving every lick, every melody, and chord progression around on the neck to as many positions as you can think of. Letʼs try it with “Avalon.” By now you know the melody and basic chord progression to “Avalon.” Letʼs move the melody up an octave in pitch and up the ngerboard. Try guring it out note by note before you read it below. Play all closed position notes above the sixth fret. Itʼs excellent practice to sweat it out like this because in the process youʼll train your ear and hands to begin moving things around on the neck. Give it the old college try and check your work on the next page. Eventually youʼll want to memorize the melody in this position and be able to move at will between the lower octave version and this one. Take some time to do that before you move on to the chords. When you can play the melody up the neck with ease, take the extra step of transposing the tune to other keys. Try one half step in either direction, then a whole step, etc. Itʼll really give your hands and head a serious workout. The chords youʼll be working with have exactly the same names as the second set of chords you learned in the last column. The only difference, just as with the melody, is that the chords will be played higher and youʼll use different inversions. Look 46

over each of the chord diagrams below and youʼll notice that you already know some of them from the last column. Weʼre just recycling them and playing them at different positions. As I mentioned before, since all these chord forms use only fretted notes and no open string notes, they are completely moveable. Again youʼll need to memorize the chords and be able to change between them smoothly in order to play a good groove. The exercise of moving around melodies and chords is challenging. No, I take that back, itʼs downright hard! However, mastering the concepts weʼve touched on in these two columns can take you much further than the limits of one tune from the 1920s. Eventually youʼll develop a far deeper understanding of how the guitar works and how it relates to standard music theory. In a practical sense that knowledge can free you to play any song in any key in any position on the fingerboard and to begin seeing music as a beautifully simple system of relationships between very regular parts. If you want to learn more about these types of chords, I suggest Mel Bayʼs “Rhythm Guitar Chord System (MB 93214). Itʼs a great book that teaches all the extended chords in four positions. If youʼd like to practice chording in this style, I humbly suggest two of my own BackUP TRAX CD / book sets (pub. by Mel Bay) of swing & jazz standards: BackUP TRAX: Early Jazz & Hot Tunes and BackUP TRAX: Swing & Jazz . The idea here is to play along with the recorded rhythm section, read melodies and chords progressions in the book, and exercise your swing and jazz playing! (All three books are available from Musix, PO Box 231005, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. e-mail: [email protected])

Chord Chart X 1

C7

Cdim 7

X 2

X

2

Gm 7 X

X

3

F

X 8th fret

1

X 8th fret

1

4

3

Gm 7

X

7th fret

1

4

3

X

8th fret

3

C9 X

1

3 10th fret

2

X 1

4

X 1

D7 2

3

4

Am X

b

7 ( 5)

X 10th fret

3

7th fret

2

X 10th fret

1 2

4

4

X

X

10th fret

1

1

2 3

b

7( 5)

Gm

Gm

2

3

4

Am X

9th fret

4

7

C

X 10th fret

1

b

7( 9)

1

7th fret

2 3

4

3

F X

X

5th fret

1 2 3 4



Octave Up: All Chords

Music by Vincent Rose Lyrics by Al Jolson & B.G. DeSylva

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48



Music Theory: Mastering the Fingerboard; Technical Studies for Flatpickers. Alternate and painful ngerings... by Michel A. Maddux . I can hear the groans coming from the group of atpickers in the corner, “not another article on scales”. Or how about this one, “my mother made me take piano lessons, and I always hated practicing scales. Thatʼs why I quit.”

Why practice scales, anyway? Scale studies can help you learn velocity (thatʼs Speed, the big ʻSʼ for most flatpickers), fluency, accuracy, and can help you reach up the ngerboard to play that melody in new and different ways. These technical studies can help you with mastering the ʻdown/upsʼ, improvisation, improved timing, and condence. Most atpickers know that you can play in D, C, and G in rst position. Many can play G and D in 7th position, and C in 6th. But how many realize that they can play in any key in any position on the ngerboard? Mastering these forms will give you the response to the mandolin picker who whines that guitarists can only play in other keys with a capo. Just challenge him to pick ʻBilly in the Lowgroundʼ in Eb; of course, then the changes sound funny, but, no system is perfect. The technique of playing atpick guitar is comprised of all of the forms of music, including scales, arpeggios, cross-picking, chords, intervals, and double stops. Part of gaining mastery of the guitar is understanding these techniques and their application in music. Proper study can help you overcome the difficulty inherent to the flatpicked guitar in order to uently and awlessly play ne ddle tunes. In fact, by mastering the forms or patterns that occur on the ngerboard youʼll nd that your playing will grow by leaps and bounds. This set of technical studies begins with the C Major scale. C Major scale forms occur 7 times in 12 frets, and six of the forms are in the same register. (They repeat after that, but on my D28 I quickly run out of frets after 12!). This series of lessons demonstrates the various forms of the scales, discusses how to practice them, and how they work in music;


after all the real objective of doing all of this work is to make music. The rst position C Major form and exercise is included with this article; subsequent lessons will demonstrate some of the remaining major, minor, dominant, augmented, diminished, and whole tone forms.

How to Practice Always practice these forms with a metronome. The scales are written out to the 9th (an octave is the 8 notes in the scale, the 9th is the next note above the octave). By practicing with the 9th you eliminate the need to repeat a note at either the top or bottom of the scale, and the timing of the scale remains constant for practice with a metronome. In rst position the index nger is over the rst fret, the other three ngers cover the next three frets. Second position moves the index nger up the ngerboard to the second fret, third to the third fret, etc... Use strict down/up pick strokes, alternating direction for each note. Emphasize (accent) the first of each group of four notes. Set the metronome only as fast as you can play smoothly, and donʼt be in a hurry. Give these exercises 5-10 minutes every day, and remember: quality before quantity! Use a music stand and practice reading the tab and the notation while you practice the scales. This will have the added benet that your reading will improve. Exercise 1: C Major Scale, First Position The rst example (see the following page) shows the tab and notation for the rst position C scale form. In rst position, you can either play the open B string for the B note (exercise 1A), or 4th fret G string (exercise 1B). Practice it both ways, as it sounds slightly different. When we move this to the closed position form weʼll require your little nger to play that B note. Exercise 2: C Major Acending and Descending Keep the timing steady and use alternating pick strokes. Practice with a metronome; strive for tone and timing. Practice reading the exercise by keeping this page open while you practice. The pinky


gets a workout by using the B (G string, 4th fret). Make certain that all notes are fretted properly; no thups. When you can play this perfectly, increase the metronome speed to challenge yourself. Things that are easy at 104 MM seem pretty hard at 144 MM. Exercise 3: C Major Scale, Second Position Whew, this one is really a pinky workout. Play it in second position, using the ngering shown below the notes. Notice that the root of the scale (C), occurs under the 2nd (middle) nger. Note also that the octave C is under the 4th nger on the G string. I call this one the B form, because in rst position the notes are the B Major scale. In this series of studies weʼll have a practice of naming the forms in the series after the rst position ngering, so that weʼll have some way to relate to and discuss the form. The B form in second position is in the same register as the rst position C scale form, but is the rst of the 5 moveable forms that weʼll study. Move-able means that with the same ngering you can play this form anywhere on ngerboard; that also means that we can now play a major scale in any key! For example, playing this form in 1st position yields the B Major scale, in 3rd position itʼs C#, in 4th position itʼs D, etc... In order to find the key that you want, e.g. Eb Major, put the 2nd nger on the 5th string at the note you want the scale to start. For Eb Major, thatʼs A (or 5th) string, 6th fret. Ok, practice the same exercise that we used for the rst position C. Exercise 4: “Billy In the Lowground” excerpt Now letʼs look at how we might play “Billy in the Lowground,” using the B form of the ngering. The really tricky part here is playing the pinky (4th nger) twice on alternating strings. Focus on playing this smoothly. Move this form up two frets and youʼre playing in D, up one more to Eb, up to 7th position and youʼre playing ʻBillyʼ in F. Next time weʼll continue our study with the ʻDʼ and ʻGʼ forms. Have fun, and keep on pickinʼ.

49

Exercise 4: Billy In The Lowground excerpt

& 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 1

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51

Guitar Making by Don Gallagher

Playability The last thing done in making a guitar is setting up the action. The rst thing noticed by someone when they pick up a guitar to try out is usually how easily it plays. Unfortunately Unfortunately,, an excellent guitar guitar may be downgraded because its playability isnʼt what it should be. A guitar that doesnʼt play the way you like may or may not have problems that would affect your decision to purchase it. it. In choosing a guitar it it is important to recognize when the “bad” playability is something that requires a simple adjustment or is indicative of more basic serious problems. “Action” is a term generally used to describe the height of the strings off the ngerboard. The playability of an instrument involves much more. It involves not only the height of the strings above the fret broad, but also how level the frets and ngerboard are, the angle the neck strikes strikes the body, the degree of bow in the neck, the radius of the ngerboard, the contour or prole of the neck, the width of the neck, and even the size fret wire that is used. When a new guitar has its strings installed, the string string height is adjusted adjusted to a height that is considered comfortable for most people. From this initial setting setting the action can be raised or lowered quite easily to suit an individualʼ individualʼss personal preference. The harder a person strikes the strings, the greater the string oscillation and therefore the more clearance is needed between the string and the frets to prevent prevent buzzing. A person playing a hard driving bluegrass rhythm might prefer a relatively high action to accommodate his strong attack and to maximize the instrumentsʼ projection. Conversely, someone playing melody might prefer a relatively low action to facilitate easier and faster noting. Typically, string height adjustmen adjustments ts are made at the saddle -- the piece of bone located in the the bridge. The saddle may be lifted out and replaced with a taller one to raise the action. action. An alternative method is to place a shim under the saddle to raise it up. To lower the action, the the saddle can be made shorter, by holding a piece of 120 grit sandpaper on a at surface and moving 52

the bottom of the saddle back and forth across it. This technique allows allows the action to be lowered without altering the radius in the top of the saddle. saddle. Two saddles saddles can be made, one set up for high action and one set up for low action, so the musician can easily adjust his guitarʼs action to suit his playing needs. Small les, called nut les, can be used to le down the groves in the nut to lower the strings. Filler gauges, like the ones used to check the gap in spark plugs, are good to use to measure the distance between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string. When ling these slots in the nut , the groves should be angled slightly away from the leading edge of the nut; that is, the edge of the nut that is against the end of the the ngerboard. ngerboard. The string string should strike the nut at the leading edge next to the ngerboard. If the leading leading edge of the nut slot is rounded off so that the string makes contact with the nut behind the leading edge, then a strange buzz can occur as the string vibrates against the sides of the nut. The scale length of a guitar is dened as the distance between the leading edge of the nut and the saddle. The point where the string makes contact with the nut and saddle are the points where the vibrations of the strings are stopped and therefore become the dening points for the effective scale length of that individual string. If the string makes contact with the nut behind the leading edge of the nut, not only can a strange buss potentially occur, but the guitar may discord when noted on that string since the effective scale length in relation to the frets has been altered. The action at the nut can be raised by a simple technique too. Place a drop of cyanoacrylate (super glue) in the nut slot. Lightly sand the top of the bone nut , allowing the bone dust to mingle with the glue. The composite composite formed formed will blend nicely with the appearance of the nut and will be very hard. The nut slot can now be recut to the new desired height. The frets of a guitar should be level. A straight edge laid across the tops of the

frets, with no tension on the strings, should touch the top of each fret. There should be no fret higher or lower than the others. The levelness of the frets can be checked by the player by noting each position up and down the ngerboard and listening for a buzz. A buzz at a fret position position indicates that the next fret up is high. This is not a serious problem. problem. A smooth smooth mill le or honing stone can be moved back and forth across the frets. This process will level the high fret. The crown of the fret can be recurved by using a special fret le. Successively ner sandpaper ranging from 400 to about 1200 grit can be used to remove any le marks and polish the frets. The fret broad can then be refreshed using lemon oil or boiled linseed oil. Guitar makers strive very hard to ensure the frets are level when the instrument is initially made. After the neck is glued into the body, the ngerboard is sanded level using a sanding block that has a mirror image of the radius used in the ngerboard. After the ngerboard is fretted, the frets are leveled using a honing stone or a smooth mile le. A radiused radiused sanding block is again used to sand the frets to ensure they are not only level, but that the surface of the frets is parallel to the surface of the ngerboard. Next, a le is run across the ends of the frets at a 45 degree angle. A fret le is used to recrown the tops of the frets and to also round the ends of the frets. Smooth fret ends feel good when sliding your hand up and down the fret board. String height that becomes progressively higher as it moves towards the body of the guitar could be an indication of a bowed neck. Sighting down the edge of



the neck is one way of seeing the bow in the neck. Holding down a string string at the rst fret and at at the 12th 12th fret and noting the clearance between the string and the frets in-between provides an indication of neck bow. The clearance between the string and the top of the frets should be about the width of a business card. Most guitars have an adjustable neckrod. Adjusting the the bow is is best done by a qualied repairman. repairman. In addition to the the neckrod adjustment there might be some fret leveling needed after the adjustment is completed. completed. This type of adjustment adjustment is easily done, and if needed should not pose a serious deterrent in purchasing the guitar. There are, however, a number of factors that determine the playability of a guitar which cannot be easily corrected.

Letters to the Editor

Editor, While I canʼt recall hearing Orrin Star play, Iʼm sure he is a ne bluegrass musician, but Iʼ ve got to take issue with his column i n the last issue (vol.2, #1). Sure melody is a key component of a good solo. Still I can recall numerous solos that blew me away in which aspects other than melody kept me transxed (Tony Rice, David Grisman, Bela Fleck, Clapton, John Coltrane, David Grier, Albert Ayler, Charlie Parker...I hope Iʼve made my point). Appreciation of any art, is, to be sure, an entirely personal and subjective experience. So much so, that it is almost foolish to debate. This subjectivity is what differentiates art from craft. Still, Starʼs comments directed at his experience with the Andy Statman Quartet deserve particular response. Star accurately describes Statman as “long and deservedly regarded as a brilliant mandolinist and clarinetist.” Again, this can be subject to debate, in my opinion Star is understating Statmanʼs formidable genius on both instruments. Again, thatʼs merely my


The angle the neck joints the body largely determines the boundaries in which one has to operate to adjust the action of a guitar. Noting the height of the saddle protruding above the bridge gives an indication of the neck angle. If the saddle is very high , the neck may be set back too far. If this is the case, and the action is already too low for you, it will be very difcult to raise the action. To correct the problem would require either replacing the bridge with a thicker one, or resetting the neck in the body of the guitar. Either solution is costly. If the saddle is barely protruding above the top of the bridge, and the action is already too low for you, it will be very difcult to lower lower the action any more. The problem might be corrected by sanding off the top of the bridge, recutting the saddle

slot deeper, and then sanding down the height of the the saddle. saddle. If this wonʼt work, then the neck will have to be reset. Again, potentially a very costly operation. If you like all the features of a particular brand and model of guitar, guitar, trying different different ones within that style might help you nd one with the optimal neck angle. There are certain features that affect the playability of a guitar that are design features of specific brands and models. Most companies make a variety of models with different neck widths (e.g., 1 11/16, 1 3/4, or 1 7/8), different neck profiles or contours, and different fret wire sizes. Experimentation will determine for you which of these features best suit you. Taking Taki ng the time to nd the guitar that is comfortable for you to play is well worth the effort.

subjective view. Yet when Star claims that he and his companions were “squirming in their seats,” during Statmanʼs performance as “one long,brooding, free-from exploration followed another,” due to the lack of “NO “N O DETECTABLE MELODIES (Starʼs emphasis)” what this tells me is more of Starʼs inability to understand or appreciate Statmanʼs musical expression. Statmanʼs recent release with his quartet, Betw een Heav en And Eart h, Musi Musicc Of The Jewish Mystics Mystics (Shanachie 64079) is, for me at least, a brilliantly moving experience. Sure, the music speaks to me from some very personal experience, I am Jewish. This music brings me back to a temple in Eastern Europe with my ancestors. A similar spiritual feeling is invoked when I listen to Coltraneʼs landmark Love Supreme (MCA/Impulse MCAD-5660 JVC-467). A Love Supreme orks as an equally Supremew evocative spiritual journey despite any cultural links to Coltrane. Both works are highly personal statements on spirituality that achieve what all great art strives for--they describe the most personal experience in universal terms. Dismissing any artistic expression in the manner employed by Star calls to mind the attacks on Bird and Thelonius Monk during the early days of Bop. Or Steve Allenʼs taking Roy Orbison lyrics to fuel a comedy routine. Itʼs a narrow-mindness, a way of thinking that installs needless barriers when the artist it taking down the walls. Instead of hyperbolic ramblings decrying the lack of melody, Star would have been more honest if he simply said he didnʼt get it and Statmanʼs expression were lost on him. That of course, is just my subjective opinion.

Orrin Starʼs response to this letter is as follows: I guess it takes one hyperbolic rambler to know another. The squirming in the seats thing wasnʼt a ʻclaimʼ — it was a fact. But ne: I didnʼt get it and Statmanʼs expression was lost on me (as well as my neanderthal compatriots).

Joel Stein Sharon, MA


Dan Huckabeeʼs Huckabeeʼs column on right hand technique (Sept/Oct 97) generated a lot of positive and negative discussion on the internet. Here is a short summary: . . . I was just real surprised to see Dan Huckabee make such blanket statements in his column. Really surprised since he is an instructor and such statements strike me as being very inexible. . . . . . Flatpick Mag shouldnʼt run articles that proclaim the last word on technique. For beginners, I imagine this could be very confusing. .. . . . I think itʼs interesting to see the various opinions of the highly accomplished pickers who write for the magazine. . . . . . Dan Huckabee is probably one of the best teachers around BECAUSE he takes a stand about what heʼs trying to teach you. . . I feel that it is FGMʼs responsibility to give us all the information there is out there about this very narrow subject of atpicking. Otherwise it will become “Dan Millerʼs Flatpicking Guitar Magazine” and totally lose the objectivity that we expect of a publication. . . . . . Huckabee's suggestions are really working. .

53

PICKINʼ FIDDLE TUNES by Adam Granger

TWO GOOD TUNES Okay, folks, back to ddle tunes. I hope you took to heart my words about exercises in the last issue, but I know that what you really come slinking down this back alley for is tunes. Those exercises, well, they were sort of like the sociological lecture that used to preceed the hootchiecootchie dance at the carnival sideshow: you, the audience, sat patiently through it, and now you want THE SHOW. Okay, Iʼll give you the show, but I warn you, this time weʼve got something a bit exotic. Don't go running off, now. I said a bit : these tunes donʼt have two heads or anything like that; theyʼre just a bit out of the ordinary. In fact, these are great atpicking tunes that nobody atpicks. They lay well on the guitar, theyʼre fun to play, they sound great, and yet theyʼre not Red-Haired Boy or Blackberry Blossom. Amazing-but-true, there are still hundreds of good fiddle

tunes for us guitarists out there (thatʼs what Grangerʼs Fiddle Tunes for Guitar is all about). I tossed you all some jigs about a year back, and they got a less-than-enthusiastic reception, but these tunes are reels, which is to say breakdowns, which is to say (bluegrass) hornpipes, which is to say. . . In other words, either one of these tunes could be played by a bluegrass band with complete confidence that the Bluegrass Police would leave their citation pads in their pockets. Theyʼre great tunes: they lay square as 32- and 64-bar tunes, respectively; theyʼve got great progressions; and theyʼd translate well onto any bluegrass instrument. In short, they kick! Enjoy these tunes; if enough of us learn them, they could well become jam standards, and maybe you could go down in history as the one who introduced them to your neck of the woods!

The rst thing the experienced ear or, in this case, eye, notices about the Irish reel Sergeant Earlyʼs Dream , besides the fact that itʼs in Dm (quick, name three other tunes, besides Lonesome Fiddle Blues, in Dm), is that it has only one pickup note. That means that weʼll be starting this tune with an upstroke, so as to be picking down on the downbeat (just to remind you, the downbeat is, in this case, the rst note of the rst measure).

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KEY: Dm Dm

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There is a pri mo example of the floating guitar technique in the second measure of the second part. Floating, you may recall, is the practice of using an open string to effect a lateral left hand change. In this case, the left hand moves to the fth fret during the last note of the rst measure 54

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Once youʼve adjusted your biorhythms to accommodate this little quirk, itʼs smooth sailing through the rst part. Not only is it played completely in zone coverage (rst nger, rst fret; second nger, second fret; etc), but there isnʼt any use of the fourth nger at all in this tune! (Those of you who havenʼt been doing your exercises will take particular delight in this.) This has to do with how the rst-position D minor scale lies on the neck of the guitar.

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so that the second nger can fret the sixth fret B string and the index nger can fret the fth fret E string The left hand then moves back down to the rst position during the open E string note which follows the 6 and 5. This gure occurs again in the sixth measure.

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Please note that I recommend, if your hand is large enough, staying in the rst position: I grab the F (sixth fret B string) note with my index nger and bag the A (fth fret E string) note with my pinky. I find this easy—definitely easier than oating (but then again, I canʼt swim).



The Shelbourne Reel is a great French-Canadian tune that I learned from my good friend, the late Joe LaBrosse. Joe was a French-Canadian auto worker from Duluth, Minnesota who played the stufng out of a ddle. He was in his sixties when I met him. I used to back him up at ddle contests around the upper midwest—contests which he seldom lost. He was only ve feet tall, but he stood so erect that he gained an extra eight or nine

inches. I, at 6ʼ2”, but with a pronounced “guitaristʼs slouch”, ended up pretty much seeing eye to eye with him. Anyway, this is one of the tunes Joe played at contests, and he always nailed it, always at about 120 bpm. Joe suffered a stroke in his last few years. Oddly, it didnʼt affect his stunning technique a bit, but he couldnʼt remember the order in which the measures of a tune occurred. It made backing him up a real challenge, but I loved every minute of it. RIP, Joe; this oneʼs for you.

THE SHELBOURNE REEL I

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KEY: Bb (Capo 3)

D

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All right, letʼs take a gander at this tune. Itʼs got four parts—you probably picked up on that already. One of the distinctive qualities of this tune is that itʼs arpeggio-laden. This is hard for the right hand but tends to be easy for the left, because when one is playing an arpeggio one is, more often than not, holding a chord. So when youʼre sorting through this tune, watch for arpeggios, identied by a string of ascending or descending single string notes, nd the accompaniment chord within which each arpeggio falls and make that chord. In almost every case youʼll have the ngering of the arpeggio covered.

D

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Remember how I mentioned that Sergeant Earlyʼs Dream didnʼt use the little nger? Remember all that stuff about those of you who havenʼt been doing your exercises taking delight in that fact? Well, check out the seventh measure of the third part.

For those not used to using their little nger, this will loom as an almost-impossible gure, what with the little nger being asked to fret the fourth fret D string while the rst and second ngers cover their respective frets on the B and G strings respectively. Those solid citizens, however, who have been loyally and faithfully doing their exercises—especially the chromatic

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G

00000000 00000000 0200200• • 40000400 • 00000000 00000000

scale—will sail through this measure like hot coals dropping through jello. One final note: watch same-fretadjacent-string combos, such as occurs in the rst measure of the rst part: They can either be ngered with two ngers or with one (attened) nger. What doesnʼt work is to hop one nger from string to string: I grant you that this works ne at one note per second, but it begins to falter at eight . Okay, thatʼs a wrap on the rap. Until next time, I remain your faithful atpick servant and I urge you, brothers and sisters, to rave on!

Adam Granger has been playing guitar since John Glenn was an astronaut. He just made his 160th appearance on A Prairie Home Companion. He has judged the National Flatpick Guitar Contest in Wineld, Kansas, and has served on the faculties of The Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Camp Bluegrass in Levelland, Texas and The Stringalong Workshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Adam is just nishing his eighth album, a solo atpick guitar album called Solo Plectrum. His book, Grangerʼs Fiddle Tunes for Guitar, is the largest collections of ddle tunes in guitar tablature, and, along with the accompanying set of recordings of the 508 tunes, it comprises the largest source of ddle tunes for atpickers in the world. Adam brings his own gear to gigs and doesnʼt usually whine. His hobbies are ying kites, collecting small stuff, train watching and short-wave radio listening. He has a wife and two kids and feels that, all in all, life has dealt him a pretty decent hand. For a tape of the tunes in this column, send $10 to Granger Publications, Box 26115, Shoreview, Mn, 55126, or call 1-800-575-4402.



55

Exploring Bluegrass Guitar “Improvisation” by Steve Pottier I want to spend a moment to congratulate one of my all-time guitar heroes, Doc Watson, for his richly deserved National Medal of Arts award given to him on September 29. Thanks Doc for giving so many of us so much inspiration. Beginning with this column I will change my focus from Clarence Whiteʼs guitar techniques to more general questions of bluegrass guitar. This issue, I will start a discussion of improvisation. Improvisation seems somewhat mystical and mysterious at rst, so I will begin by trying to make the idea a little less so. Then on to some strategies for developing it in your own playing. Be sure to check Dave Brickerʼs excellent blow-by-blow disussion in the November issue as well. Iʼve really wanted to be able to improvise since I started playing bluegrass. I wanted to be able to hear someone say ʻthis oneʼs in B atʼ and start playing, and when it came around for me to play a break, I would be able to do it, and make it sound like I knew the tune all along. I can more or less do that now on bluegrass tunes and songs. Improvising to me is being able to use your knowledge of melody, style and paths that you transcribed, learned and invented over the years, and put them together on the spot to create something interesting and comprehensible. Comprehensible means that the audience would be able to follow my line of musical thought (in other words, does the line make a sentence or is it just a bunch of words strung together?).

how we comprehend what someone is saying (playing) and how we learn. In fact, I went back to school at one point several years ago to study TESL (teaching english as a second language). Most of the techniques for rapid aquisition of a new language were very obviously applicable to learning music. I think it might be helpful to consider the analogy of music to language in this discussion of improvisation. Sometimes itʼs helpful to explain things with analogies, because it helps to hang your understanding of something new on the understanding of something you know. Keep in mind that analogies are just that — they are not the “thing in itself.”

“...it compares with two people conversing.” - Earl Scruggs in Earl Scruggs and the Five String Banjo.

Language Imporvisation Example Consider the following set of improvisations: 1. Playing set arrangements note-for-note, including use of othersʼ recorded improvisations -- this is not improvisation . 2. Playing set arrangements with minor variations, including using othersʼ recorded licks -- this is the start of improvisation. 3.I f you really want to get into improvisation, you have to start making up more melodic paths on your own. 4. If you really must know, I have a brother who likes to go shing. 5. ʻTwas Brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe. 6. Ich habe eine Idee. Ich denke das eine ganze neue Idee ist besser als die neue Hose. 7. ab abdg abghi ijk ijk ijklkl ac abcb abcbijkl jkl labc

“...What do you have to say about that Merle?” - Doc to Merle Watson as Merle started his break. Iʼve often been struck by the parallels between language and music, including

So, in the above example on improvisation we have: 1)S tatement of a theme. A given “melody” which Iʼve just copied, so no improvisation.

56

2)E ssentially the same idea. Iʼve taken the “melody” or the original expression of the topic and just changed a few “notes.” 3) Here Iʼm departing signicantly from the theme, using my own expression of the theme. 4) I make up my own “melody.” Here I can get far out. Iʼm still using the same language (English or in bluegrass music, people would recognize my playing as being bluegrass). 5) Kinda looks like English, but as you try to make sense of it, you canʼt relate it to anything you know. Context and past experience form the way you nd meaning. ʻCourse you may well nd things in music that captivate you without extracting any meaning: All work and no play makes All work and no play makes All work and no play makes All work and no play makes

Jack a dull boy. Jack a dull boy. Jack a dull boy. Jack a dull boy.

y rudimentary attempt at German/Jazz. 6)M Iʼm about equally bad at both, though I understand more than I can speak in either one. Bringing in ideas wholesale from another genre may be recognized as gibberish by your audience. Style points count. he rst 12 letters of the alphabet played 7)T in scales as I improvise whatever I want in the moment. Some diehards may nd some interest in the patterns that crop up, but on a sushi menu, this would be called “challenging.”

Some Observations: The above example does not really take time into account, that is, we usually think of improvisation as something you do in the moment, that you create something new in full view of everyone watching (listening). If you do it at home and bring it to the gig, itʼs called composing. Really, they are the same process, except you get to apply your editor to the composing. Another aspect of time in improvisation has to do with tempo. As you near the upper



limit of your playing tempo it becomes harder and harder to improvise- thereʼs just less time to react to choices as they appear to you. One commonly stated goal of improvisation is to develop your own sound, your own voice, your own way of expressing things (a highly desirable goal in my opinion). There is a possible conict here, however, and that is style. If you donʼt begin by learning the language of the style youʼre trying to play, be it blues or jazz or country or bluegrass, your improvisations will likely sound out of touch with the music. This is illustrated in example 5 above. But lots of people Iʼve talked to seem to be deathly afraid that they will end up sounding like Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Clarence White or Steve Kaufman. Yeah, right. One of my worst nightmares is going to a bluegrass festival where all the atpickers sound as good as them... All the bluegrass greats that I can think of tried to copy breaks note for note as part of their learning process (the one exception may be Earl Scruggs). Doc Watson had his Delmore brothers, Riley Pucket and Merle Travis. Clarence White had Django, Don Reno, George Shufer, Earl Scruggs, Josh Graves and Lester Flatt. Tony Rice had Clarence and Lester. Jerry Douglas had Tony Rice and Josh Graves. David Grisman has Bill Monroe and Frank Wakefield. Itʼs called standing on the shoulders of giants. Hereʼs Natalie Goldberg from her excellent book ʻWriting Down the Bones:ʼ “A student said, ʻIʼm reading so much Hemingway, Iʼm afraid Iʼm beginning to sound like him. Iʼm copying him and not having my own voice.ʼ Thatʼs not so bad. Itʼs a lot better to sound like Ernest Hemingway than Aunt Bethune, who thinks Hallmark greeting cards contain the best poetry in America. We always worry that we are copying someone else, that we donʼt have our own style. Donʼt worry. Writing is a communal act. Contrary to popular belief, a writer is not Prometheus alone on a hill of re. We are very arrogant to think we alone have a totally original mind. We are carried on the backs of all the writers who came before us. We live in the present with all the history, ideas and soda pop of this time. It all gets mixed up in our writing...” Just substitute “bluegrass” or “music” for “writing” and youʼre there. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

The First Step – Learning Note-forNote Just as a baby begins to learn a language copying sounds, words and sentences he hears from his parents before he starts to put together his own inventions, that is the best way to begin improvisation in bluegrass. Listen as much as you can to the roots of the music- Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs. Listen to all the instruments and voices. This is like listening to your parents voices. Then start copying as close as you can, by tab, by ear and by lessons. This is what builds up your vocabulary to talk in understandable sentences in bluegrass. Then, when you do start making up your own stuff, it will make more sense, stylistically and musically. Advantages to learning breaks note for note: • You nd paths between notes that others have discovered. • You get inside their thinking on a tune. • If you transcribe yourself, you develop your ear, where to nd that note you hear in your head on the ngerboard. • You absorb some style. Playing bluegrass means there are certain stylistic limitations. This is what keeps it from sounding like jazz or rock. Listening and copying (mimicking) is the rst step. Learn the melodies. The more attention you pay here, the more it will pay off in developing your own style. Later, you start abandoning the things that donʼt speak to you, and develop your own ideas. The goal here is foundation. I donʼt want to hear clones, either. Itʼs a good step, but it tells me the clones all need to listen more (as donʼt we all!) and keep digging deeper for something of their own. Roland White says the best way for you to come up with something of your own is to nd the melody as close as you can to being a note for note rendition on your instrument, and learn to play that. Then you just start playing with it, nding your own ways to make it stand out. It will come naturally as you think about it. Learn to (to play what you sing in your head.

about improvisation: • Improvising Jazzb y Jerry Coker- Excellent little paperback. • Writing Down the Bonesb y Natalie Goldberg - On creative writing, but highly applicable to music. Highly recommended. • Free Play- Improvisation in Life and Art by Stephen Nachmanovitch- He is a violinist, and talks about practice as well as improvisation. • Ways of the Hand- The Organization of Improvised Conduct - by David Sudnow now in paperback, itʼs fairly dense reading, but interesting. He tries to document how he learns to improvise jazz piano. • Jazz Player Magazine : comes out 5-6 times a year, with a CD and lots of columns about improvisation. Mostly oriented to horn players, but ideas carry over very well. Steve Pottier [email protected]

M A N D O L I

be continued)

N

Resources: Iʼm in no way a jazz player, but inspiration and instruction for even the most traditional bluegrass can come from many sources. Recommended sources for reading

S


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57

New Release Highlight

Richard Bennett: “Walking Down the Line” Reviewed by Dave McCarty

“He did not have the slightest idea what I was going to do. We met at the studio after both of us had played gigs and said, ʻWhat are you going to do, man?ʼ” Thatʼs how Richard Bennett recalls his rst opportunity to record with longtime friend and major musical inuence Tony Rice. The ve tracks these brilliant guitarists recorded together, added to ve tracks Bennett had recorded for an earlier self-produced project, are now available as Bennettʼs rst real solo CD, “Walking Down The Line” (Rebel 1738, Rebel Records, P.O. Box 3057 Roanoke, VA 24015). The five tracks Rice appears on “Greensleeves,” “Banks Of The Ohio,” “Pallet On The Floor,” “True Love Is Hard To Find,” and “Johnstown Flood” - all were recorded live without overdubs during an impromptu 8-hour recording session. “He did not have the slightest idea what I was going to do,” Bennett recalls now with a laugh. Those tracks, however, reverberate with the musicianship of a great master playing with a onetime disciple who now has emerged as a great player in his own right. Bennett says he especially enjoys “Banks Of The Ohio,” where Rice plays the intro and third solo, while Bennett contributes the second solo and the closing. “We had a real chemistry there,” he says. “The guitar tones there are my favorite. We were really laying back and going for tone and nesse.” Tone and nesse are great words to describe Richard Bennettʼs approach to atpicking guitar. A sideman with “a million” bands including J.D. Crowe and the New South, Bennett has spent years shaping himself into a top-ight guitarist and singer. Although Rice, of course, has been his musical role model during his formative years, Richard says he was also inuenced by his father Floyd Bennett, Doc and Merle Watson, Norman Blake, Clarence White, Lester Flatt, and Django Rienhardt. When asked how the legendary atpicker most influenced him, Bennett answers, “Probably his phrasing. I studied that deep and hard.” In addition to Riceʼs lead work, Bennett says he also feels Rice is the best bluegrass rhythm guitar player ever, adding that he also nds great joy in playing rhythm guitar. 58

Not surprisingly, Bennett employs a similar guitar and setup to Tonyʼs. The newer cuts on “Walking Down The Line” were done with a modied 1946 Martin D-28 which he traded a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model for to the recording engineer on the rst part of the project. “He asked me if I wanted to sell my (Santa) Cruz, and I didnʼt want to. But then he told me he had 16 old Martins and my ears turned the other way!” Bennett says. The guitar he selected wasnʼt even in playable condition, but he chose it because it had exceptional woods. A talented string instrument repairman, Bennett rebuilt the guitar and enlarged the soundhole. “I wanted to leave it original, but most of (the wood around the soundhole) was gone from picking. It was like a ditch, so I couldnʼt leave it,” he explains. The guitar is set up with low-medium action, and carries a fossilized ivory saddle and bone nut. One radical difference is his string choice. “Iʼve been experimented with the DʼAddario EFT-17 semi-at phosphor bronze strings,” he reports. The strings start life as typical roundwound strings, but are then ground down to a nearly smooth nish. “The playability is so much better, and theyʼre dry sounding. The tone is much more robust, which ts this guitar. On some guitars, they just donʼt interact well, but itʼs perfect on this guitar. And they last more than a week, which for me is unheard of. Iʼve laid my regular phosphor bronze strings aside,” he says. Ever since he started playing as a child, Bennettʼs used large, tri-cornered tortoiseshell picks that have enough ex to bend just a little.

On the CD, Bennettʼs guitar sound and style merge beautifully with Riceʼs on their ve tracks together. Riceʼs solos resound with his typically buoyant tone and intuitive note choice, followed by Bennett who often carries a Rice motif into a new direction or adds fresh harmonic or rhythmic insights. The songs here also give the duo a great opportunity to play off each other. Pallet On The Floor features an especially hot split solo the third time around, where Bennett picks up Riceʼs trail and then blazes his own musical pathway over this classic tune. Bennett, along with his wife Wanda, also is an adept songwriter. Half the tunes here are originals, including an excellent folk song called “Johnstown Flood” which originated during a gig in that frequently ood-ravaged city. “I was talking to a guy who picked us up at the airport and I asked him about this big ditch, and he said thatʼs where the town used to be! I started piecing the melody together then, and when I went home we did some research,” Bennett explains. “It just an amazing story, especially the 40-year increments between these devastating oods. Itʼs just too weird.” With a new album featuring such stars as Bobby Hicks, Jimmy Gaudreau, Ronnie McCoury and Scott Vestal already in the recording process, Bennett hopes to truly establish himself as one of the new “name” players in bluegrass. “Iʼm touring under my own name now and just nished a major run. Now I want to continue recording and have there be a demand for my records,” he says. With a headstart like “Walking Down The Line,” that doesnʼt appear to be a problem. Richard Bennett also has a new instructional video, The Complete Bluegrass Guitar Method , send $28.00 (postage paid) to: Richard Bennett, 113A Purcell Dr, Richmond, KY 40475. On the following page, we provide a transcription of one of the breaks from Richardʼs original tune, “Roan Mountain Rag,” which appears on the “Walking Down the Line” CD.



Roan Mountain Rag Transcribed by John McGann Written by Richard Bennett As played by Richard Bennett on his CD “Walking Down the Line” G

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59

Roan Mountain Rag (con’t)

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“No One But You is contemporary bluegrass at its nest...” --Dave Higgs WPLN Brentwood ,TN “This is another CD that I will carry around with me for quite a while” --Al Shusterman KCBL Sacramento, CA Rebel Records P.O. Box 3057 Roanoke, VA 24015 www.rebelrecords.com

60





61

Reviews CD/Audio Tape Reviews David Grier - Panorama 1997 Rounder Records

Review by David McCarty David Grier, the man with the Howdy Doody hair and the “howʼd he do dat!?” guitar wizardry, has released his richest, most complex and sophisticated work yet on “Panorama.” Backed by the always brilliant Stuart Duncan, Sam Bush, Mike Compton, Todd Phillips and Craig Smith, Grier produces 10 startling works ranging from the furious newgrass progression of “King Wilkies Run” to the hauntingly beautiful “Jeff Davis.” Perhaps the most impressive achievement here is Davidʼs chameleon-like ability to reinvent his guitar technique and melodic approach to provide a unique guitar sound on each tune, then using that sound to construct a unique musical vision. On “Forked Deer,” his atpicking carries a robust, traditional sound, while his melodic and rhythmic vision deconstructs the melody, turning it back onto itself like a Mobius curve to nd hidden harmonic dimensions. “Apples and Oranges” nds him playing a ngerstyle-sounding piece based as much in blues forms and true bluegrass, adding yet another musical color to his atpicking pallet. As on his utterly brilliant interpretation of “Old Ebnezer Scrooge” on the “True Life Blues” tribute album to Bill Monroe, David makes superb use of his right-hand string dampening technique on several cuts here, including the “hidden” alternative take of 62

“Chinquapin Hunting” that emerges unlisted at the end of Track Ten. “Dead End” reveals even more stylistic innovations, blazing through a Wes Montgomery-inuenced series of octave licks that effectively fuse atpicking guitar with the break-out sensibilities of the best jazz guitar. Ultimately, though, “Panorama” emerges as something far more fullling and gracious than an album of great atpicking guitar. In his sophisticated interplay with the supporting musicians here, the genuinely moving and memorable melodies on both his original and cover tunes, and his utter command of each note, tone and rhythm emerging from the guitar, David Grier shows the vision and power only the very best musicians in any genre ever achieve. Think of Claptonʼs “Layla,” Clarenceʼs “Appalachian Swing,” Miles Davisʼ “Kind of Blue,” and the original David Grisman Quintet album as examples of the kind of unied musical statement that I believe “Panorama” will one day be viewed as. The Tunes: Impulsive Jeff Davis King Wilkies Run The Skeleton Forked Deer Ticklebelly Hill Apples and Oranges Chinquapin Hunting Pear Tree/Double File Dead End

To order, send $15.00 to: David Grier PO Box 60351 Nashville, TN 37206-0351

Dan Delancey A Few Favorites

Review by Bryan Kimsey Dan DeLancey was featured in last monthʼs Flatpicking Guitar Magazine (V. 2, I. 1), but in case you missed the article, DeLancey is a Kansas City guitarist and “A Few Favorites” is his rst album. Dan is backed up here by Scott Tichenor on mandolin, Linda Thomas on hammered dulcimer, Ronnie DeLancey on bass, and Jim McGreevy on banjo. With this relatively sparse instrumentation, thereʼs plenty of room for Dan to do some picking and he makes the most of the time. Dan is a seasoned contest player, but this is a fairly mellow album, featuring several slower songs along with the up-tempo ones. None of these, except “Redwind” (which sounds a lot like Redwing to me) are any where close to being overworked tunes, and I think youʼll nd some new and interesting tunes to add to your repertoire. There is also one vocal, sung by Dan. DeLancey gets a Dan Crary-ish tone from his 1957 Martin D-21, and uses plenty of triplets and other ornamentation to esh out the melody. Heʼs not an off-the-wall improviser, but sticks pretty tight to the tune, which is a Good Thing, in my opinion. This is an album worth checking out and is further proof that atpicking itself is maturing, as more and more pickers like Dan DeLancey turn out self-produced albums full of great music. The Tunes: The Girl I Left Behind Me Redwind Memories Waltz Uncle Herman's Hornpipe



The Shelter Of Your Eyes Golden Eagle Hornpipe Inspirational Medley Georgiana Waltz Blackberry Rag Clarinet Polka

To order, send $15.00 to: Dan Delancey 7911 Hunter Raytown, MO 64138 (816) 356-1879

Steve Palazzo Home Sweet Home

Reviewed by Mike Wright Over the years Iʼve come to realize that Steve Palazzo and I have very similar tastes in music. We both love atpicked ddle tunes, brother duets, traditional Bluegrass, and ngerpicked rags and blues. Since this CD contains all those and more, performed with virtuosity and authenticity, reviewing it is a very pleasurable experience. Hard-core atpickers will naturally be most interested in the ve atpicked instrumentals that include monster picker David Grier - Home Sweet Home, Road to Columbus, Ragtime Annie, Colored Aristocracy, and Whiskey Before Breakfast. Like David, Steve does a lot of crosspicking. These tunes are as good as you would expect, but they are not the only reason to get this CD. The ngerpicked instrumental solos include One Dime Blues, Weary Blues, and Fuller Blues. These are all old-timey Southern fingerpicking—complex and interesting. There are two Merle Travis songs. Three Times Seven is just Steve ngerpicking and singing, while I Am a Pilgrim is a full Bluegrass band version with three-part harmony vocals, but with Travis-style guitar. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

Palazzo is a very traditional singer. Youʼd never guess that he grew up in Northern California. This doesnʼt mean that his singing is harsh or unrefined—far from it. The vocals are clear and easy to listen to. The harmonies are just right. If youʼre familiar with brother duets like the Blue Sky Boys, you know what I mean. There are also some flatpicked breaks on the vocals. In addition to David Grier, Steve is supported by a number of ne harmony singers and instrumentalists from around the Monterey Bay area: Amy Haberman, Diana Donnelly, and Charlie Rice on vocals; Pat Mahoney on fiddle and vocals; Joe Weed on ddle; Mike Osgood on mandolin and vocals; Joe Kimbro on mandolin and vocals; David Rengers on mandolin; Jim Hilden and Mark McCornack on banjo; and Billy Rudock on bass. Palazzo, who was the rst full time employee at the Santa Cruz Guitar Company, has been a full time guitar teacher since 1989. Over the past few years, he has sponsored many atpicking workshops by the likes of Steve Kaufman, David Grier, and Scott Nygaard. Since 1991, he has played in Homefire, a Bluegrass band that includes Pat Mahoney, Mike Osgood, Jim Hilden, and Billy Rudock. Steve was featured in the “Local Heroes” column in the March/April 1997 issue of this magazine, which included a transcription of his version of Ragtime Annie from this CD.

The Tunes: I Heard the Bluebirds Sing Home Sweet Home The Sunny Side of Life Lonely Tombs One Dime Blues Are You Tired of Me, My Darling Weary Blues Road To Columbus Texas Girl Whiskey Before Breakfast Come Back, Darling Fuller Blues Satised Mind Ragtime Annie Three Times Seven Colored Aristocracy I Am a Pilgrim

Ordering Info: Whifetree Records 331 Union St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (408) 426-7255


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Sammy Shelor- Leading Roll. Sugar Hill. SHCD-3865 Rickie SimpkinsDancing on the Fingerboard. Pinecastle. PRC-1063 Mark Johnson and the Rice Brothers- Clawgrass. Bangtown Records. Mark Johnson and ClawgrassBridging the Gap. Pinecastle. PRC-1069 Reviewed by Bryan Kimsey Hey, whatʼs this? Banjo albums reviewed in Flatpicking Guitar Mag? Thatʼs right, and you want to know why, I suppose. How do the names Tony Rice, Wyatt Rice, Allen Shadd, and Kenny Smith strike you as good reasons? Theyʼre all over these 4 albums and thereʼs plenty of good stuff for atpickers on here, besides the obligatory you-need-to-listen-to-other-instruments appeal. Letʼs start with Mark Johnson since heʼs got 2 albums under scrutiny. Johnson plays banjo with a unique mixture of clawhammer and nger-picking thatʼs neither old-timey nor bluegrass. And it sounds great! Itʼs almost “mellow” banjo, if you can imagine that, but denitely toned down from the usual rip-snorting 3-nger bluegrass banjo. Tony Rice is the main guitarist on “Mark Johnson and the Rice Brothers”, with Wyatt getting some well-deserved spotlight, too. Thereʼs a couple of guitar/banjo duets (“Forked Deer” and “Colored Aristocracy”) and several tunes where the guitar cuts loose (notably “Clinch Mtn. Backstep” with Wyatt and “John Henry”). On Johnsonʼs second album, Allen Shadd is the featured guitarist and Tony Rice is the guest. Shadd gets plenty of opportunity to put his Grifn guitar up front and shows why heʼs such a hot contest player. Rice again plays two duets with Johnson (“Old Joe Clark” and “Cuckooʼs Nest”). There are also some greatly appreciated vocals from Terry Campbell on this album. Both are great listening CDʼs, but Iʼd give the nod to “Bridging the Gap” because we get to hear Allen Shadd, and thatʼs still a rare event. If Mark Johnson is a kinder, gentler banjo, Sammy Shelor is the rebreathing forward-rolle r. The guy has punch to spare and is one hard-driving 5-stringer. I wouldnʼt be surprised if they record with Shelor standing outside the studio and the rest of the band clustered around the mic. 64

But weʼre talking about guitars here, and once again, Tony Rice rears his over-sized soundhole. Whenever Tony decides to take a breather, that other young contest picker, Kenny Smith, sneaks in with some of his patented Big Tone. On second thought, if Shelorʼs standing outside during recording, Kennyʼs probably across the street from him! If I have one complaint about this album, itʼs that Kenny shouldʼve got more air time. Both he and Rice, of course, play great rhythm guitar, although I think youʼll hear Rice a little bit better, being that heʼs such a master at lling in the holes. And nally, there are several vocals on Shelorʼs album, courtesy of Ronnie Bowman, Raymond Matthews, Dan Tyminski, and Junior Sisk. While thereʼs some great guitar playing on this album, guitar is not the focus here. Subliminally, I think I saved the best for last. “Dancing on the Fingerboard” is one of those albums that immediately grabbed my attention, like a lonely F5 mandolin barking across the festival grounds at 3 am. You just know that if heʼs up that late, heʼs going to be good. And thatʼs the way Simpkins album is. It goes without saying that Simpkins is a superb ddler and mandolin player, but when I heard the opening “Oh, What a Silent Night”, I thought “Who IS that guy singing?” and it turned out to be Simpkins. I sure hope to hear more vocals from him in the future. The guitar player here is that Tony Rice fellow again, and he turns in some awesome rhythm and lead work. Thereʼs a fresh version of “Cattle in the Cane” that tears down the fences and lets ALL the cows loose. Thereʼs a new Rice instrumental “Wacahota Station” thatʼs as good as anything heʼs ever done. And thereʼs the “missing” Tony Rice vocal on “He Rode All Way to Texas”, recorded before his vocal problems overcame that tremendous instrument. And nally, there are some great Rice breaks on the slower “Maidenʼs Prayer” and “Ashokan Farewell”, both done with sparse instrumentation so you can really hear whatʼs going on and hear the interplay between the players. Wait…letʼs not forget the war-horse “Sally Goodin” which is transformed here into a wild stallion. Thereʼs a really neat bump toward the end of Tonyʼs break that makes you think theyʼre ending it, but no! The bandʼs just getting their second wind and off they go again, just in time for Wyattʼs guitar break. All in all, a great album. One of the best Iʼve reviewed, as a matter of fact.

The Kentucky Colonels Livin’ In the Past SXCD 60018 Sierra Records

Reviewed by Joel Stein Clarence White is one of the few (perhaps, only) guitarists to radically change the direction of both acoustic and electric guitar. With each instrument, White developed a wholly unique style that inuenced those that followed. Thatʼs a pretty grandiose statement. Both Jimi Hendrix and Django Reinhart (to name two remarkably inuential players) played both acoustic and electrically. Hendrix will always be remembered for his electric work, Django for his acoustic. Clarence Whiteʼs legacy demands the attention of students in both camps. Whiteʼs ground breaking solos and back up playing acoustic playing with the Kentucky Colonels is only one facet of Livinʼ In The Past . As Jerry Garcia states in the introduction they were “the best young Bluegrass band in America” during the early 60ʼs when these performances were recorded. While Whiteʼs innovative takes on tunes like “The Sheik Of Araby,” “Barefoot Nellie,” “Julius Finkbineʼs Rag (Beaumont Rag),” “ Alabama Jubilee,” among others, is inspiring, Livinʼ In The Past showcases all the ingredients that made the Kentucky Colonels a great band. White along with his brother Roland (mandolin), Roger Bush (bass) and Billy Ray Lathum (banjo) form the core of the band. Whether on gospel (“He Said If I Be Lifted Up” or “Get On Your Knees And Pray”) or secular (“If Youʼre Ever Gonna Leave Me”, “Chug-A-Lug”, etc.) the vocal arrangements are as crisp as any of the great Bluegrass bands. Instrumentally The Colonels diplayed complex and compelling musical prowess. Not just from Clarence White. Rolandʼs mandolin playing throughout these performances is as solid and inventive as any player of the era. Bushʼs bass provides a solid anchor. And Lathumʼs banjo, as noted in the liner notes, is often underrated.



Add the ery ddle of ve time national champion, Scotty Stoneman, to the mix and you can hear why Garcia calls them the best. Stoneman is featured on about a quarter of the selections here. Like the best of the brother acts, the Whites vocal and instrumental interplay seems instinctive. “Dark Hollow” is a textbook example of brother singing. Two voices molded in harmony. In a similar fashion, the instrumental interplay of the White brothers is fascinating. On “Julius Finkbineʼs Rag,” for example, the brothers do more than trade solos--they weave them, Rolandʼs pick up notes seem to spring out of the musical statement from Clarenceʼs guitar. Clarenceʼs solid back up is punctuated with riffs and runs enhancing the phrases jumping from Rolandʼs mandolin. At itʼs best, Livinʼ In The Past g ives us a glimpse at what a performance of the Colonels must have been like corny comedy routines from Bush and Lathum and all. Culled from over a dozen performances, Livinʼ In The Past i s a collage of the Colonels output designed to invoke a performance experience. It succeeds. One can almost picture Clarence putting down his famed ʻbone for his D-18 as Bush introduces “Barefoot Nellie.” While the sound and mix leave much to be desired, we can only be grateful for the fans who had the foresight to record these performances and to Sierra Records for nally re-releasing this historically signicant and musically rewarding set.

Instructional Video Reviews "Learn to Play Django-Style Gypsy Jazz Guitar" Taught by Paul Mehling Homespun Video VD-MEH-GT02

Reviewed by Dave McCarty Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

The hot acoustic jazz atpicking guitar music of Gypsy genius Django Reinhardt at rst listen sounds as exotic and foreign as the Parisian cafes of the 1930s where the style rst emerged. Learning the blistering chromatic scale runs, arpeggiated passages based on darkly voiced diminished and augmented chords, and furious tritone chords socked out in a driving, heavily syncopated rhythm has eluded most American players. Thatʼs likely to change with the release of Paul Mehlingʼs exceptional new twotape video series on learning the Djangostyle of atpicking guitar. Mehling, along with Raul Reynoso, Portland-based Pearl Django and John Jorgenson, stands atop the class of Gypsy jazz guitar enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic. As leader of the Quintet of the Hot Club of San Francisco, Mehling has recorded three excellent CD and teaches guitar in the Bay Area. That intimate knowledge, based on hours of intense study of Reinhardtʼs original recordings and endless practice, perfectly prepares him to present this introductory lesson. Starting with the essential fundamental - rhythm guitar - Mehling uses the rst 90-minute video to teach 4/4, 2/4 and “gallop” rhythm styles used to propel this music with such intensity. Using a simple blues progression in Gm, he introduces the student to movable forms of such “jazz chords” as the m6, m7, augmented and diminished. This is an exceptionally user-friendly instructional video, where sitting with guitar in hand as you watch the tape and read the tab booklet pays great dividends. Following Mehlingʼs prescription for understanding rhythm provides the foundation for starting to master the entire Reinhardt style. The second tape focuses on soloing, opening with a strong introduction to playing arpeggios of the major, minor, diminished and dominant 7th chords. In many ways, the right hand atpicking technique has more in common with bluegrass mandolin than traditional atpicking guitar, relying on frequent tremolo passages, double stops and urries of triplets built on hammer-ons and pull-offs. Again, following Mehlingʼs precise, intelligent approach to build the skills needed at each step is critical to achieving control over the nal soloing techniques. At the end of Tape Two, Mehling presents a complete solo based on the popular tune, “Iʼll See You In My Dreams,” showing


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the student how each solo technique heʼs demonstrated is incorporated into the overall style. Worldwide, thereʼs a tremendous resurgence in Gypsy jazz, which is to European acoustic music what bluegrass is to the U.S. As a atpicking guitar opportunity, playing in Django Reinhardtʼs musical footsteps encourages great melodic and rhythmic inventions for all atpickers, as Clarence White, David Grier and many other atpickers have learned. Paul Mehling has brilliantly opened the door to this fascinating music for any atpicker eager to learn this unique and rewarding guitar style.

Instructional Book Reviews Wineld Winners: The National Flatpicking Champions

Reviewed by Mike Wright Wineld Winners is a CD-book combination, with fourteen tunes by winners of the worldʼs most prestigious atpicking guitar contest. Thereʼs not much to say about the pickers themselves—they all sound like the champions they are. The CD alone is worth having. The music is varied in style, presentation, and tempo. There are original tunes, standard ddle tunes, swing tunes, classical-sounding tunes, and indescribable tunes. Some are full band numbers, some have just guitar backup, and some are strictly solo. They vary quite a bit in length, too, requiring anywhere from four to eleven pages to transcribe. The accompanying book is a full 8.75” x 11.75”. The transcriptions all include both standard music notation and tablature in 66

large easy-to-read format, as well as tuning info, capo placement, and chords. Frankly, although Iʼve had the CD and book for several weeks, I havenʼt quite got all the tunes down pat yet. Still, the transcriptions do appear to be accurate. In addition to the music, there is a full page of text on each musician. Some of the notes were written by the musicians themselves. The content varies from biographical information to opinions about music and advice on playing. Some of the notes also include information about the tunes. There is also a photo of each picker. The only thing missing is details about accompanying musicians. Of course, many of the musicians played their own back-up. I do have my favorites, but Iʼll let you make up your own mind about that. The Tunes: La Corona - James Gyles (1972) Dixie Breakdown - Mark OʼConnor (1975/1977) Katy Hill - Orrin Star (1976) Greensleeves Steve Kaufman (1978/1984/1986) Dixie Hoedown - Roy Curry (1980/1991) Cotton Patch Rag - Robert Shafer (1983) Greased Pig - Stephen Bennett (1987) Red Cliff - Gary Cook (1988) Augusta Ridge - Peter McLaughlin (1989) Gold Rush - Randy Rogers (1990) Bill Cheatam - John Shaw (1992) Rock Getaway - Jason Shaw (1993) Whiskey Before Breakfast - Mike Whitehead (1994) Angel Foot - Mark Cosgrove (1995)

© 1997 John August Music 3645 Jennine Dr., Suite 208 Colorado Springs, CO 80917 Exclusively distributed by Mel Bay Publications, Inc.

All Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Back Issues are Still Available Call 800-413-8296 to Order



Gear Review

Tor-tis pickguards

Stocking Stuffers Okay, so itʼs too late for Christmas, but maybe youʼve got some extra spending money tucked away for yourself, or maybe you forgot to get your favorite guitar player something and need to make up. Or maybe you just want to go spend some money! In any case, hereʼs a bunch of smaller things weʼve reviewed over the past couple of months:

High Cliff nish restorer, polish, and ngerboard oil

Want to keep your insrument looking good and its bare wood nicely oiled? Check out High Cliffʼs “Miracle Finish Restorer”, “Professional Instrument Polish”, and “Fingerboard Oil”. Iʼve used the nish restorer on my ʻ73 D-28 whose nish I steel-wooled to a at look several years ago and it brought it back to a nice deep shine. Iʼve also used it in several similar cases where something just needed some serious bufng and it works great. After the nish is buffed out, use the “Professional Instrument Polish” to protect the restored surface. The polish is applied, allowed to dry, and then buffed out. It takes a bit of elbow grease to buff the polish, but in the end, your guitar will look better than new. The ngerboard oil is designed to prevent cracking and drying of ngerboards and bridges. I used it on all my guitars and was pleased with the pleasant smell of the oil and the resulting silky feel of the oiled ngerboards. These are all ne products that t quite nicely in a guitar case pocket or Christmas stocking. Available from: Petros Guitars 345 County Road CE Holland, WI 54130. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

by Bryan Kimsey

After nearly a year of looking at it, I decided that I really didnʼt care for the “leopard” pickguard on my Collings Clarence White (see picture in Brad Davisʼ column!). Plus, the stock guard was a little too short and I was beginning to wear out the nish between the pickguard and the bridge. So, I called the String Pull Guitar Shop and ordered a slightly longer dark Tor-tis pickguard. When it arrived, I was impressed at how much like real tortoise shell it looked. (Although Iʼm told that Tony Riceʼs “leopard” pickguard not only looks like tortoise shell, it IS tortoise shell. I still prefer a darker look). I removed the original pickguard with naptha (lighter uid), letting the uid slowly loosen up the old glue, cleaned up the remaining glue, carefully positioned the new guard, and stuck it on using the supplied doublesided tape. The result was a beautiful dark pickguard that is exactly the length I wanted. After a few days, I decided that the pickguard was too thick, so I took it off again and sanded it down. As supplied, it measured 0.060” thick while my original pickguard was 0.030”. Sanding it down reduced the dark look a bit, but it still looks like tortoise and I still like it better than the original “leopard” pickguard. (I took an informal poll on Flatpick-L, though, and virtually everyone likes the leopard pickguards, so I may be a lone weed in a sea of grass.) Before installing the pickguard, I checked it out on my Martin ʻ1935 Reissueʼ D-28 and thought it looked a lot better than the reddish pepperoni-looking pickguard. Iʼll probably be putting a Tor-tis on the Martin in the near future. For details, call String Pull at (703) 978-5479 for details. Tor-tis guards are also available from Luthierʼs Mercantile at 1-800-477-4437 or John Greven at 812-334-2853.


IntelliTouch tuner and Sabine AX-800

Both of these tuners address a nagging problem — how to tune in a jam when your normal tuner picks up everybody but you. The IntelliTouch tuner clamps almost anywhere on your instrument, but most conveniently to your headstock, with a spring-loaded clamp. The Sabine AX-800 (recently upgraded and renamed) attaches via some sticky-note type stuff. I attach mine on the upper bout just north of the neck where itʼs out of sight and easy to see. The sticky stuff doesnʼt leave any residue and is easily cleaned if you drop it in the dirt. Head to head, which tuner is better? Overall, I like the IntelliTouch better. While the Sabine grabs the notes faster and more accurately, the LED lights are nearly impossible to see in natural light. At night, itʼs great, but in daylight, forget it. The IntelliTouch, on the other hand, has a little tougher time getting the note (especially when attached to the headstock of a very resonant instrument exposed to a full-tilt jam or noisy situation), but is always very visible. The LCD readout automatically illuminates when moving from sunlight to shade and works great. Also, the IntelliTouch is the rst tuner that Iʼve used that will tune an upright acoustic bass quickly and easily (we attach it directly to the bridge). The IntelliTouch is available right here from Flatpicking Guitar Mag (800-413-8296), or both are available from any good music store.

Call 800-413-8296 and ask about our Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Hats, T-shirts, and Case Stickers 67

John McGann's Eclectic Acoustic Learning from other instruments

collections. Originally in the key of A, Iʼve arranged it here for the key of G as most bluegrass guitarists would automatically capo at the 2nd fret for the key of A and play in G position. To get the maximum Monroe drive, use all downstrokes except on the triplet passages. Those of you who have played Chuck Berryʼs guitar music will recognize the feel. The ngerings and tablature are just guidelines; you can explore other possiblities as well. There are some chromatic

Iʼve always enjoyed the challenge of taking music from other instruments and applying it to guitar or mandolin. It allows you to break away from cliched patterns and see the instrument from a fresh perspective. Here is a great Bill Monroe solo, on a 12 bar blues form, from the Bluegrass Boys classic “Heavy Trafc Ahead”. I believe it has been rereleased on several different CD

(notes on consecutive frets) passages that use all four left hand ngers, and a few double-stops (two note harmonies) that are unusual for atpicked guitar, but very effective. Play along with the recording and try to emulate the Monroe attitude.

Heavy Trafc Ahead Bill Monroe’s Mandolin Break Arranged for Guitar by John McGann G G7 C

b œn œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ &C G

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Vintage Voice

by Bill Bush

A Delicate Subject Rarely Discussed May I ask you a personal question? Do you have....ahem....gas? A friend of mine has gas so bad that itʼs wreaked (no pun intended) absolute havoc on his homelife and strained his marriage to the breaking point. By “gas” Iʼm referring, of course, to guitar acquisition syndrome, a mental afiction which strikes literally thousands of otherwise sane men and women worldwide every year. Now if you donʼt believe that guitar acquisition syndrome (or “collecting” as itʼs politely called) qualies as a Schedule One Neuroses, then you are simply deluding yourself — which, incidentally, is one of the classic symptoms of the disease. As a service to Flatpicking Guitar readers, Iʼd like to review a few of those symptoms with you here. Uncontrollable Urges. People with gas want every nice Martin (or Collings, Taylor, Gallagher, Santa Cruz or Benedetto) they see — and they want it now.T hey just canʼt control themselves. After awhile, itʼs not enough to own one clean example of, say, a pre-war D-28. They want a D-28 from every single year since 1934 to the present. Or they want every limited edition model. Or every 000-18 built in 1950. Itʼs always one-of-every- something. Iʼve seen this same obsessive/porker behavior manifested among collectors of Elvis whiskey decanters. Delusional Thinking . Gas often causes a complete clouding of rational thought processes. For example, gas sufferers often delude themselves into thinking they are making an “investment” which somehow justies cashing in a life insurance policy or juniorʼs college fund to make the down payment on a 1941 D-45. Now that might be a very smart investment. But gassers 70

know deep down that they have absolutely no intention of ever selling that D-45 — at any price. Funny, you never run into this kind of “investor” down at Charles Schwab. Paranoia. This usually occurs very late at night after an especially costly or unusual purchase. Lucky you. Youʼve literally stumbled onto this cream-puff 1959 D-28 at the ea market with a stunning German silver top. Not a scratch on it; looks almost new. Sure, it was a stretch to buy it from the geezer in the old station wagon, but, hey, how often do you run across a beauty like this? At 2 AM you bolt upright out of a sound sleep, eyes wide open, sweat trickling down your face, a burning question screaming in your mind: why donʼt you run across a beauty like this??!!!!! Did Martin really use German silver tops in 1959? Come to think of it, have you ever seen a Martin with a German silver top? Would you know what a German silver top even looks like? Is it a re-top?!! Is it a real Martin?!! Itʼs the middle of the night so you canʼt call George, or Walter, or Mike. Maybe Scott Chinery is up polishing his collection. Should you call? Nighty nite.

Excessive Prevarication. A fancy word for lying — and oh, can gassers lie! The examples are rich and inventive: • “I donʼt really want the guitar for myself. Iʼd like to donate it to the orphanage to, hopefully, bring some small measure of joy to the little children.” • “No, honey I did not buy another guitar.” • “Hell, I can buy it from Gruhn for half that price!” • “Hell, I can sell it to Gruhn for twice that price!” • “No, honey, I did not buy another guitar.” • “No, honey, I did not buy another guitar.”

friendʼs house so that you can later sneak it into your house under the cover of darkness without your spouse ever knowing it. • Disguising checks sent to Gruhn Guitars, Mandolin Brothers and Elderly Instruments by making phony or cryptic check stub entries: “Gruhn Garage: Transmission Part #19230042;” “Mandolin Appreciation Society: Lifetime Membership;” “Home For The Elderly: Generous Donation.” • Telling the family youʼre “going trout shing” — in Nazareth, Pennsylvania or El Cajon, California. (Youʼre shing, alright, but it ainʼt for trout.) • Giving your wife a $22,000 Gene Autry D-45 Limited Edition as an “anniversary gift.” Other Symptoms. Gas sufferers exhibit so many bizarre symptoms, it would take the AMA years to document and classify them all. Hereʼs a sampling: • Snifng guitar soundholes. • Actually measuring to see if the X-brace crosses exactlyo ne inch from the soundhole in vintage reissues. • Hoarding back issues of Gruhnʼs catalog as if real guitars were actually folded into the pages.

And on and on and oni t goes. Isnʼt having gas wonderful?! God, I love it. Bill Bush is an advertising writer/producer and music journalist whose articles have appeared in Guitar Player magazine, Frets magazine, The Guitar Player Book (Grove Press), Artists Of American Folk Music (Quill Books), and liner notes for EMI/Capitol Records, Folk Era, and Bear Family Records. Heʼs had gas for years.

Lying is usually accompanied by all sorts of devious behavior, including: • Shipping a secretly-purchased guitar to a Flatpicking Guitar Magazine




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How Flatpicking Guitar Players Can Avoid Injuries by Mike Maddox

INTRODUCTION Injuries to joints, tendons, nerves, and muscles are common among musicians. For professional musicians, these injuries can be considered job-related. As for the rest of us, we simply incur injuries in the course of our practice and hobby-related playing. My intent in this brief article is to outline some of the reasons we injure ourselves during atpicking and to describe some of the ways we can avoid such injuries. I have been playing guitar for well over 25 years and seriously studying atpicking for the last few years. While my avocation is the guitar, my profession is that of a human factors, or ergonomics, consultant. The types of injuries we typically see (and incur) as erstwhile musicians are the same injuries with which human factors practitioners routinely contend during the product design process. Medical professionals categorize these injuries as “musculo-skeletal” or “neuro-muscular”, which means they occur to (and in) joints, muscles, nerves, and connective tissue. They include various forms of tendonitis, arthritis, muscle aches, pains, and strains, and nerve conduction problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Many injuries to musicians are similar in nature to injuries that occur in industrial workers who perform simple tasks many times over the course of their work day. As a group, these injuries are called cumulative trauma disorders (CTDʼs) or repetitive stress injuries (RSIʼs). Most of us have experienced, or know other pickers who have suffered various types of hand, wrist, back, and shoulder problems. One of the most common CTDʼs among industrial workers is noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). It probably wonʼt surprise you to know that this is also one of the most common CTDʼs for rock musicians. This was particularly true in the good old days of playing in front of 12-foot high amplier stacks. If youʼve ever experience tinnitus, youʼve had at least a temporary hearing loss. In this article, Iʼll concentrate on the other types of soft-tissue injuries that we more commonly think of as CTDʼs. 72

WHY WE GET HURT Playing a stringed instrument requires a certain degree of manual dexterity, left-right hand coordination, and arm, wrist, and hand strength and endurance. Just about every portable musical instrument must be held in awkward postures for long periods of time. I often think of the violin and wonder who decided it should be held by the playerʼs chin. Our instrument of choice, the acoustic guitar, imposes some severe physical requirements on those of us who play often and want to become moderately procient pickers. To understand why we injure ourselves when we play the guitar, it is important to know, physically, how we play. Whenever we press down on a string, pick a note, or move from one string to another, we have to move one, or more, body part. There are only two ways to voluntarily move a body part - muscles or gravity (or some combination of the two). For ne, controlled movements, such as moving the pick up and down or nding and holding a chord, we can pretty much ignore gravity. For other motions, such as strumming and supporting our picking arm as it hangs over the top edge of the guitar, we are essentially counteracting the force of gravity with various muscles or by propping our arm on the guitar body. Nearly all guitar-related injuries can be traced to one, or both, of two conditions. The rst is overuse. That is, we simply do something too much or too many times or with too much force over the course of days, weeks, months, or years. The second is maintaining tense, static, and unnatural postures. Typically, these conditions combine to cause injuries. For example, I can probably do certain things practically indefinitely if I assume the appropriate posture and playing technique. If I try to do the same things using poor body positioning or technique, then I might start feeling pain after only a few minutes of playing. HOW MUSCLES WORK Our muscles perform most of the work when we play the guitar. However,

muscles are funny things. They can only be ordered to either contract or relax. Contraction applies force, usually across a joint (like our elbow), to a skeletal bone, such as our forearm. Relaxation lessens or releases the force, but it doesnʼt force the muscle to lengthen. Muscles canʼt push, they can only pull. In order to stretch out, a muscle must be pulled by gravity, some external load, or by another muscle. This is the reason that most of our movable body segments are controlled by two opposing sets of muscles. For example, our forearm is exed with our biceps and extended with our triceps. Muscles arenʼt always where you think they should be. Letʼs look at our hand, for example. The small muscles that control the lateral movement of our ngers (you know, to give the old Star Trek greeting) are on the sides of our ngers. Likewise, the muscle that controls our ability to pinch our thumb against the other ngers is located at the base of the thumb. However, all of the muscles that control our ability to ex, curl, and grip with our ngers are in our forearm, not our hand. Our ngers are connected to these muscles by long tendons that pass, along with the median nerve, through a small opening (the carpal tunnel) in our wrist. If these tendons become inamed and swell from overuse, the median nerve gets pinched and we feel the pain and numbness that is symptomatic of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Muscles need oxygen to operate efficiently. They can operate without oxygen (anaerobically) for short periods of time, but for an extended activity like flatpicking, the muscles have to breath. Muscles get their oxygen from the blood that ows through them. When muscles are contracted, they bulge and block the blood vessels within them. They actually choke off their own oxygen supply. This drives them into anaerobic metabolism, which causes lactic acid to accumulate. When the muscle relaxes, blood begins to ow again, aerobic metabolism resumes, and the lactic acid dissipates. The longer a muscle is contracted, such as in holding



a chord position, the more lactic acid builds up. Too much lactic acid causes those painful, burning sensations that long distance runners and amateur guitar players know only so well. Think about this in terms of assuming a “death grip” on your guitar neck while youʼre trying to learn a new lick. In addition to building up lactic acid, with its associated cell damage, keeping muscles continuously contracted has a number of other bad effects. One is known as “visco-elastic creep”. Our joints are stabilized by connective tissue called ligaments. Tendons connect muscles to bones. When we place our joints under continuous strain, such as when we keep our wrist and ngers bent while holding a chord, the ligaments and tendons actually “creep”, that is, the ones that are stretched lengthen slightly and the ones that are slackened shorten slightly. When we eventually relax our grip, the ligaments and tendons donʼt return immediately to their original length. Instead, they stay slightly stretched or shortened, which de-stabilizes our joints and causes us to lose some ne control of our hand and ngers. This is the classic feeling of our ngers just not working the way we know they should.

named William Cumpiano eventually built Zoss an acoustic guitar that is tapered from top to bottom, making it much more comfortable to play. The one thing that amateur musicians, such as myself, notice about really good professional players is the elegant economy of motion they exhibit when they play. We often comment that their playing seems “effortless”. Their movements are very uid and they donʼt seem to be exerting very much force on the strings. They rarely hold a chord for any length of time and when they do itʼs usually to produce some sort of effect, such as ringing notes. As amateurs, we can contrast that with our own style of playing. We are usually trying to learn a new piece or some really cool lick. We concentrate very hard. We hold the guitar neck in a death grip. We carefully pick each note and adopt a tense, static posture. Itʼs no wonder our shoulders begin to burn and our hand goes numb or starts to tingle. Here are four things you can do (or stop doing) that will greatly decrease your chances of incurring a soft-tissue injury as a result of your atpicking. If they seem like common sense, perhaps they are. However, they certainly donʼt seem to

be very common among the pickers with whom I hang around.

Warm up and stretch before you play the hard stuff. Most of us wouldnʼt think about starting any type of really hard exercise routine without first warming up and stretching a bit. The reason we warm up is to get blood owing to our muscles oxygen, remember? We stretch to elongate and relax our muscles. Our tendons require some stretching to behave elastically, which is how we want them to work. This same reasoning applies to the muscles we use for atpicking. We need to get some oxygen owing through those muscles before we start playing fast stuff with lots of changes. We need to stretch our nger, wrist, and arm muscles. How should you warm up? Slowly stretch your wrist and ngers backward. Donʼt overdo it. Stretching should be done slowly and should not hurt. Forget the “no pain - no gain” idea. If normal stretching hurts your hand, wrist, or ngers, you might want to think about not playing for a few days. Flex and extend your arms. Move your shoulders through their full range of

HOW CAN WE AVOID HURTING OURSELVES? OK, so we know some of the reasons we hurt ourselves. What can we do to avoid injuries and still practice and play as much as weʼd like? First, we need to understand that any musician, professional or amateur, can be injured by their technique, practice routine, or even the psychological environment in which they play. The February, 1997, issue of Acoust ic Mu sici an Magazine contains a story about Bonnie Rideout, the only American fiddle player invited to play at The Highland Inheritance program in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bonnie tells of a tyrannical viola teacher who made her so tense that she acquired tendonitis and eventually gave up the instrument and, briey, music. The May/June, 1995, issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine, includes the story of Joel Zoss, a singer-songwriter who was diagnosed with calcic tendonitis in his right shoulder. This was attributed to holding his arm out over the edge of his Martin D-35. He was advised to either give up the guitar or trade his D-35 for a Stratocaster, with which he could hold his right arm much closer to his body. A luthier Flatpicking Guitar Magazine


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motion. Play a song you know well, play it slowly, and strum for a while instead of picking. Donʼt try to do any big stretches with your left hand for the rst couple of songs. Play a few chord progressions that donʼt form a real song. Get the idea?

Adopt neutral postures. Your shoulder, arm, wrist, hand, back, and other body parts have certain positions that are considered neutral. Think of being asleep while floating in zero gravity. In such an environment, all of your body segments will assume their neutral, or preferred, position. To get a avor for neutral positioning, let your arms and hands drop down to your sides so they dangle. Now bend your elbows so your forearm and upper arm form approximately a right angle. See how your wrists are straight, your palms are toward each other and slightly downward, and your ngers are curved? When we hold a guitar, assuming weʼre right-handed, we have to rotate our left forearm so that our palm is upward and we have to hold our right arm out over the body of the guitar. These are not neutral postures. Maintaining them for long periods of time will fatigue our muscles and can eventually cause injuries. One of the most repeated questions at guitar workshops is related to the proper hand position for forming chords. Should we place the end of our thumb against the back of the guitar, as in Figure 1, or should we grab the neck in a power grip, as in Figure 2. Letʼs think about this from a biomechanical point of view. Note that in Figure 1, my wrist is exed, i.e., bent toward the inside of my forearm. When the wrist is exed, the amount of force I can exert with my ngers is much less than when my wrist is straight. In Figure 2, my wrist is relatively straight and I am wrapping my thumb around the guitar neck. This is the same way I would hold a baseball bat or a hammer. With this posture, I can apply the most grip force that I am capable of producing.

Figure 1. Holding a chord using a “pinch” grip. 74

Figure 2. Holding a chord using a “power” grip. Biomechanically, then, this is an easy call. Use the power grip. Should we never use an index nger to bar a chord? Well, letʼs use some common sense. Sometimes we have to bar with the index nger to reach the correct strings with our other ngers. Think about what youʼre doing when you bar a chord. Your index nger must press down not just one string, but up to six. That means you must exert nearly six times as much force by pinching your index nger against the fretboard. When you do this, be aware of the extra exertion this position requires and take it easy.

Use as little force as necessary. Steel-string, acoustic guitars are not easy to play. It requires a lot of force to hold the strings down. If youʼve ever played an electric guitar, you probably immediately noticed how easy it is to hold the strings down. Some acoustic guitar makers, like Taylor, have built much of their reputation on the fact that their neck tolerances and playing forces are more like electric than acoustic guitars. The trick here is to use enough pressure to get the job done, but not much more. Also, donʼt hold down a chord with three or four strings if you are only going to pick a note on one of them. I think this is something that really comes with practice. When you learn a song or tune, the tendency is to assume familiar chord positions. We already know how to close the appropriate strings for these chords and its easy to do it without thinking about it too much. As we get more and more comfortable with the tune, we can start to relax and get out of those full-chord positions. Also, since we learn to anticipate where our next notes are going to be played, our movements should become less jerky. Smooth, owing motions are the hallmark of efcient pickers.



Take frequent breaks and relax. One of the most effective practices you can adopt to avoid playing-related injuries is to pay attention to what youʼre doing and take frequent breaks. Itʼs all too easy to sit down to learn a new piece or practice for speed and then realize that two hours have passed and you havenʼt changed positions, stood up, or stopped playing. Iʼve seen a recently published piece related to musician injuries that recommends allocating 10-15 minutes of each hour to relaxation and stretching. While the actual time will vary, itʼs a good idea to take a short break every half hour, or so. Put down your guitar. Stand up and walk around. Stretch your arms, back, neck, ngers, and wrists. Are you learning a new piece? You should realize that learning a piece typically causes you to be more tense than playing a tune you already know. So practice the new piece for 15 or 20 minutes, then take a break, relax, and play a tune you know well. Did you ever wonder why most musical pieces are only two or three minutes long? From an ergonomic (and a musicianʼs) perspective, it makes a lot of sense to keep tunes to some reasonably short length (Aliceʼs Restaurant not withstanding). Bluegrass music, in particular, tends to contain lots of eighth notes. You can stuff a lot of eighth notes into a 3-minute song. The force to which you subject your muscles is cumulative. That is, you can roughly add all the times you have to fret a note and calculate your injury exposure from that sum. If for no other reason, it makes very good ergonomic sense to skip a few notes as youʼre playing a fast tune. Feel free to use this reasoning as an excuse whenever someone accuses you of slacking off.

Do yourself a favor and forget the “No Pain, No Gain” crap. Learn to pay attention to your body. It will tell you when you should lighten up or take a break. The alternative is to perhaps incur a serious soft-tissue injury. The prevailing medical recommendation for these types of injuries is, at best, complete rest for the affected body part or, at worst, surgery and rehabilitation. I donʼt know about you, but Iʼd prefer to prevent these injuries. I donʼt think they really like having people atpicking guitars in hospital rooms. Mike Maddox has a PhD in Human Factors, is a Certified Human Factors Practitioner (CHFP), and is the principal of Sisyphus Associates in Madison, NC. He is also a atpicking guitar enthusiast and attended Steve Kaufmanʼs First Annual Flatpicking Camp where he tried his best to injure himself by playing long hours without a break.

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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES Nobody goes into a professional or recreational activity thinking theyʼll get hurt. Unfortunately, there are a number of studies that show men seriously underestimate the risks associated with many physical activities. For musicians, the fact is that it is all too easy to injure oneself by adopting poor playing habits and failing to take the necessary physical and psychological precautions. We will probably never be able to completely escape the injury and pain associated with playing a stringed instrument. However, with a little forethought and planning, we can minimize and manage any injury we encounter. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine


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