Bill Monroe...

...can really drive you crazy. I've spent the last few weeks working on "Kentucky Mandolin" and "Paddy on the Turnpike." I know by all rights that these shouldn't be the most challenging tunes in the world, but trying playing them Big Mon's way and then tell me it's easy. I've gotten multiple recorded copies of each tune and still struggle to get Monroe's crooked nuance. It's something that I'd imagine takes years to get your finger on.



On the plus side, I've come along pretty well I think from a technique perspective. My right hand and grip is *almost* where it should be..I think. I've tried to pick practice tunes like "Dust in the Lane" which is challenging in that perspective.

If you have the time and inclination, check out the documentary "Louie Bluie" on Youtube. I think it's in nine parts. Howard Armstrong is an interesting character and an astounding country blues mandolin picker and fiddler. Howard had some interesting tastes, so it might not be for the easily offended. I've tried to keep my head into the country blues as well and collect as much of that material as possible...unfortunately, tabs of these tunes are hard to come by. If you have "State Street Rag" let me know (and yes, I know I should be training my ear).

Time Flies....

...especially when I have the date on this blog to remind me of how long it has been since I've made a post. I've been working steadily on the mandolin and feel like I'm making some progress...although I'm my own worse critic, so I'm hesitant to call anything I'm doing good at this point. My mandolin teacher has been a big help. Mike Compton of Nashville, TN is without a doubt one of the greatest pickers ever to come down the pipe and has been excessively patient in getting me from one hump to another. Our lessons take place via webcam, and if you've never considered it you should. It's been an effective means of communication and I've learned more since I started taking lessons from Mike than you'd believe. Drop him an email if you've thought about doing it. He's at taterbugmusic@gmail.com. It's not every day you'll get to pick with a Grammy winner.

I've been listening to a ton of good music lately which I'll happily recommend. One is Chatham County Line. I've got two or their discs, "Speed of the Whipporwill" and "IV". Some of their tunes have an interesting alt-country feel but they are essentially a bluegrass band. Worth a listen.

Also check out Son Volt's "Trace". It is without a doubt one of the best alt-country records ever, and is easily in the top five of the 90's. No bluegrass there...just over-driven guitar and drums. I was reminded of it by a post from another blog and immediately dug it out. Just as good as it always was.

Been awhile...

....since I've updated, but I've been crazy busy since the beginning of the year. All in all, I think I've made some pretty good progress on the mandolin. I've been working still on country blues tunes and trying to beef up my knowledge of fiddle tunes. I think I'm getting a little better at that Compton right hand, but I'd imagine I'll still be thinking that in five years.

I've found a ton of useful videos out on Youtube, mostly from fellow students of Mike Compton, and have been doing my best to copy what I see there. There are some tremendously solid pickers out there taking lessons from Mike---I can only assume he huddles in the corner crying once he finishes my lesson.

I've been adding a heavy dose of bluegrass to my listening--mostly old Stanley Brothers. There's some good stuff there.

Jamming continues to go well. Last night we picked for a few hours and I bravely attempted to sing "Walls of Time". As soon as I figure out how to post a sound clip on here I'll post a "Squirrel Hunters" duet I did with fiddler Josh Johnson. I picked up a new Zoom recorder to record jamming and the sound quality is great. I recommend these things if you like to go back and hear what you've done.

Here's a quick video of "Three Forks of the Reedy", a new fiddle tune I'm leaning.

Jamming and a few other things....

I've had a ton of good progress on the mandolin lately, mostly in the "plays well with others" department. Most of my breaks stick close to the melody are heavy on the Monroe style double-stops. I look forward to putting the Poe in the case and heading out to play somewhere. It feels good.

Speaking of the Poe...it becomes more of a beast every day. On my next string change I'm planning on raising the action some. It came to me very low, and as good as it is now with those strings up the high-G double-stops should make your fillings hurt.

Check out www.jimrichter.com when you have a chance. Jim is an excellent Compton/Monroe style mandolin player that picks some pretty mean blues as well. He offers a fine selection of tabs and blues mandolin exercises.

If you like Monroe-style mandolin, check out Big Mon's "I Saw the Light". Some people get kind of turned off by the Gospel, but this is a stripped-down band--mostly just guitar and bass--with Monroe taking all the breaks. I think it's the best example of his style and worth a listen.

I've been meaning to post a ton of video...and I'll do it soon, honestly.

Rest and Good Christmas Things

I had an excellent Christmas and got a ton of mandolin related gifts, most notable amongst them being a Samson USB condenser Mic, which is something I really wanted. I also picked up an ebony armrest for my mandolin from Doug Edwards, which matches the pickguard nicely. I'm listening to one of my other gifts right now, the 4-CD set called "Broke, Blacl and Blue", which has a ton of classic early Blues artists like Barbecue Bob, Son House and Mississippi John Hurt. Great listening.


I've had some time off and have tried to make the most of it, mandolin-wise. I've added "Squirrel Hunters", "Sweet Lizy", and "How you Want Your Rolling Done?". These all three fall into my blues/ragtime plus fiddle tunes approach to learning the mandolin. I'm thinking that I might run into Bill Monroe somewhere in this approach.

My son got his Thinking Chair. Forall you not in the know, this is a Blues Clues staple. This version of the chair required an all-day trip to North Carolina to pick it up--it was a limited edition from FAO Schwartz (sp?). Seeing his face when he saw it was worth every minute.

"How You Want Your Rolling Done?"

This is my new tune, and a cool one it is. Originally recorded with guitar backing by Louis Lasky, you might recognize a variation of it as "How You Want It Done?" by Mike Compton and David Long. Mike transcribed it and passed along a copy to me, and this tune was meant for blues mandolin without a doubt. I can't wait to get this thing worked up. As soon as I do I'll post a recording or video. I know...I still haven't recorded a video of "Two White Horses in a Line", but it's hard to find a quite minute with my whirling dervish of a two-year old
(the picture says it all). I'll do a two-for next time.

Also, if you've never had the chance to do so check out The Steam Powered Preservation Society online. They have a wealth of live shows available for download and some in Mp3 format.

Greg Clarke

If you haven't heard of him, you should check him out. I recently downloaded an entire set of his from tapers.org and was really surprised at just how good it was. He shifts between mandolin, fretless banjo, guitar and fiddle without missing a beat. For the .shn and .flac challenged, you can download this entire set--an amazing 71 songs in a single show--in a MP3 zip file, which only takes a few minutes. Well worth the effort. Clarke also showed up recently on YouTube doing a soundtrack for a short documentary on luthier John Sullivan. Worth watching.

I'm working on "Two White Horses in a Line" for my tune for the week, and I'll try to post a video tomorrow. It's sort of a mandolin blues walk that backs up the entire song but is pretty funky. I found it on a iTunes compilation called "Rags, Breakdowns, Stomps and Blues" which is almost all mandolin country-blues. 9.99 well spent.