October 2003 Bluegrass Music Lesson

Tuning up! It's hard to keep strings in tune at all times. One reason could be the musician's tuning techniques. Knowing better myself, I tend to tune my instrument more often because I don't take the time needed to tune up. In this case, "tuning up" is the key. The strings of the instrument sit with pressure against the nut. When the keys are turned, the string becomes tighter above the nut than below. When the string finally slips on the nut, it becomes tighter below. When a string is tuned down, the string has less tension between the nut and the tune; therefore, letting go when least expected. In effect, if the string is sharp and you need to tune down, tune below the desired note and the pull it up to the note, then there will be more tension above the nut and the note will more likely hold.

From One Instrument to the Next

Last month in the lesson, I showed how to play Blackberry Blossom on the guitar. Though it is the same song as the one that I am about to show, there are things that are different. If you will notice in most songs, the mandolin will play a lead a little different than the guitar, and the guitar will play it a little different than the banjo and so on. One benefit to this is that the song will not sound so repetitive. The real reason is that all of the instruments are tuned different naturally.

The notes seem to fall in place as you play the guitar as in last month's lesson. If you were to try to play the same notes on the banjo, you would pull your hair out and forget it all together. The strings just don't line up, and the notes are too hard to find. This is when you need to look for an improvisation "so to speak" that will sound like the song that you can play.

In the section below, you will see that the arrangement is set to be easy to play while being totally different than the guitar style. When the songs are played up to speed and the rhythm is the same, the listener will understand everything that they need to. Next month I will show how to play this song on the mandolin, so watch for the changing patterns there as well.

Banjo

The picture below shows how to play the first section of Blackberry Blossom on the banjo. In the last to drawings, the notes get tricky. There is a pull off from 31 to 32. 24 and 25 will hit at the same time. It is hard to explain so I hope it falls into place naturally. Hear my Example. You can use the "Transcribe!" program to slow it down.

Part two

The Warren Yates Method of Playing Bluegrass Banjo for Beginners

DVD

Build a Washtub Bass with a fingerboard

Computer Software

The new "Transcribe!" software allows you to slow CDs down to a 1/2, even 1/4 speed, without affecting the pitch. It will help you to understand what is going on in the music. Download a Free 30 Day Trial.

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