Hi Folks! We've spent the last couple classes working through the final details of A Love Like Yours and diving into Swing 48,. Theres a lot going on in 48, probably more than 48 things to swing... So lets work through this one piece at a time. The most important thing in swing music is the Rhythm. As the song says: It don't mean a thing if it Ain't got that Swing. To get this rock steady frame work we need emphasize beats 2 & 4. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 ... this is done with a combination of really snapping through the strings (on guitars and ukes) on that strum and by dampening the chord between strums with your left hand. For Fiddles and accordions we are going to put more emphasis on this second beat, by making it slightly longer, using more air or faster bow. ![]()
Use the Backing track above to work out some more foundation riffs and take a chance at improvising using a combination of different foundation riffs for each chord. If you want to get really fancy try playing 4 different Gm6 riffs, then 2 diff Cm6 ones...
cheers a First of all I'd like to apologize for falling behind on the updates here on the Blogosphere. I'll do my best to make up for it with the next few posts, and several pieces of awesome news. First, my focus for the past month has been on finishing up the details on my first solo album ' The Flood' which should be released by June 1st 2015. IF you are interested in hearing what one of the tracks sounds like, you can listen to When A Train Rolls By on Soundcloud, you can also purchase the album through IndieGOGO. The second piece of news is that I will be remaining in the Comox Valley for at least another year. It was not an easy decision to make, but I feel like its the right one. Sooooo FolkHarmonic will be resuming in September after a summer break, with some breaks while I'm on tour, or we can work out a way to have classes continue while I'm on the road fall 2015/spring2016. The third is 2 last minute performances April 3rd (friday) - I will be the feature performer at the Qualicum Acoustic Cafe in Parksville April 19th (sunday) - I'll be joining Archie Pateman, Tammy Fassart and Anne Louise Genest at the Waverly Bluegrass brunch in Cumberland. All This Trouble - The FugitivesThe Harmonies were sounding wicked last night! Take a listen to the full arrangement mp3 and write out a roadmap from the recording, (what happens, where, anything you need to remember, any stops, extra harmonies etc). There are a couple times where the cord progression does something different than what is written on the lyrics sheet.
Extra(s) Trouble - fiddle chopsFor some reason the video is mirrored... I don't play left hand fiddle (I can play left handed but I sound like a 3 year old at their first lesson) But the content should get you started on Chopping anyways.... A Love Like Yours... 2 ways to get there (aka Double Roadmaps)Sometimes there is more info than can be easily conveyed in one road map. The whole idea of a roadmap is to help you keep track of where you are with a quick glance. If a song has both complicated vocal and instrumental arrangements I like to break them into 2 separate 'routes'. This way, depending on what I've blanked on in the arrangement I can glance down and quickly find the next turn.
Chromatic Scales, AKA Applicable Theory |
If you play these chords exactly as shown in the pictures above you'll be playing a Gm6 (G-6) Chord. Now comes the trippy part, if you slide this shape up and down the neck the letter name will change, but it will always be a Minor 6 chord. Ex slide whole hand up so that yellow dot is on the 8th fret. you are now playing a Cm6 chord.
you can play the first 2 lines of Swing 48 without moving your hand from this shape.
Swing 48 - Django Django Django
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If you're only gonna listen to one of these its this one you need: | ![]()
Some Youngsters being pretty darn talented. Check out the cool intro/lead in that these guys do. |
Lift a Riff:
Good luck!
See you all next week
cheers
a
Delayed post here, I know, I would blame life and tour and being busy, but I just had an amazing weekend at home in what feels like the first time in forever. So I read a book., made some good food, and enjoyed quality time with my cat.
But fear not, I did not forget about you. I did have moments of guilt as I sat curled up in the sun with a cup of tea, aaaaaannnd I watched as those moments sailed by. Such a great teacher. Soooo responsible.
The next step in Western Swing, making use of our movable Chord Shapes. Introducing Twin Fiddles, and the C Major Pentatonic Scale. Take a look at the C Pentatonic worksheet, remember that these scales are movable as well, there are often numerous ways to play the same notes on your instrument. For the Guitars and Ukulele's I have tried to provide tab for the scale in a place that makes the most sense for this particular song.
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the Download File here is a version I recorded for a previous FolkHarmonic group. There are also 2 Recordings from the 1st Western Swing era (From the mid 1930's to late 1940's) , and 2 from the 2nd Western Swing era of the 60's. My version is based on the earlier era and similar recordings from that time.
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homeinsanantone_oct23_2013.mp3 | |
File Size: | 5832 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
40's vs 60's
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Brief Historical Context
cheers
a
We'll keep reviewing Out Of Business, Everything is Free and Ya khoiv Bi next semester, so if you are new to the group please check out the previous posts and download the lyrics, Mp3's and any of the other resources available on this blog. If you've got any questions feel free to ask in about it in class or via email.
A Love Like Yours - Puzzling together an arrangement.
Vocals
If you're feeling brave try learning the verses and chorus melody, you have my permission to take liberties with the melody and inflection in the Verses. Everyone should try out all of the Background (BG) vocals to find the one that is most comfortable and natural to sing.
Lyric Sheet & Chords ![]()
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| Melody ![]()
| Low BG Vocal ![]()
High BG Vocal ![]()
| Mid BG Vocal ![]()
Combined BG's ![]()
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Instrumental parts
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Term 1 Jan 6- Feb 10 Feb 6th - 7:30 Rehearsal at Tims Feb 7th NIFPA festival 6:30 @ the Old Church Theatre 755 Harmston ave Courtenay BC | Term 2 March 3 - April 7 Classes will be happening during spring break! Don't miss out! (or check this site for updates & music if you can't make it) |
This week we looked at how to write an arrangement roadmap, this is an extremely important and useful skill for all levels of musicians. Writing down a roadmap allows you to review the arrangement a before a performance and run through, and gives you a quick reminder during the show. Roadmaps prevent simple mistakes and missed entrances, they are each personalized to your own role in the song.
For example MY road maps look like this:
Out of Business Intro (chorus) – Shots w Fiddles (ba doom, Out of Business) CH– Singing Vs 1 – Men/Ladies alternate lyrics Chorus Riff Solos (over chorus) Vs 2 - Men/Ladies alternate lyrics CH Tag Tag - w Shots | Everything is Free *Harmonies only on highlighted areas (see lyric sheet) Intro: guitars 1st time, add ABC's 2nd time Ch - Vox & guitar Inst 1x: ABC's & Syncos Vs1 Ch Inst 2x: Harmonica Solo, ABC's, Syncos (Uke ) Vs2: Ch 1st 4 lines accapella, insts in on Dm (Big) outro 1x resolve to Dm ![]()
| Ya Khotiv Bi Intro: Guitars Vamp 4 bars Em, guitars, Fidds in on bars 3+4 A1: Uke Melody … accordions in at bar 4 A2: Guitars Melody B: Fidds Mellody A3: Accordions & Fidds A1: Guitars Melody & Harmony A2: Accordion & Fiddle Melody & Harmony B: All Play with harmony A3: Uke & Fiddle Tag last 4 Bars (Em) Rubato, tremelo ending. Wendy Leading on melody, Ian Gypsy improv. |
READ THIS FIRST, then listen.
-the recording device was right in front of the accordions and me.... they aren't actually that loud... and I promise to sing normally not in a cartoon voice.
- Listen as if you aren't the one playing. If this was a recording that a friend presented to you and wanted your input, think of how you would listen and react. Would you focus on every little mistake they made? Would you criticize their performance? or would you listen for what they have done well, and offer positive feed back and a few bits of advice. As you listen to these I'd like you to find 2 things that we did well AS A GROUP, and ONE thing that we should focus in on AS A GROUP in the next rehearsal. Write these things down. I'll be asking you to share them next week.
I call this exercise "two stars and a wish"
We did _____________well
We did _____________well
We could work on doing _____________________better
do this for each recording.
- Another good exercise is to follow your road maps as you listen, and answer these questions:
Did we loose are way at any point? where? How can you help prevent this?
Did we get all of our entrances tidy? if not, make a note of the tricky ones, and practice those transitions.
What are the other instruments doing while you play the ______part? are you playing an accompaniment part? or a melody? should you be loud or soft? which is the most important instrument group at that moment?
Which parts do you need to work on?
which ones did you do well?
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Guitar Ya Khotiv
Bonus listening exercise
your task is to write down as many different instruments you hear, as well as parts. Just label them, you don't actually need to write out the parts them selves, just acknowledge that they are there.
for instance, if a trumpet line comes in part way through the song and plays a bunch of wild notes I would write down: "Crazy Trumpet" "Crazy tpt"
once you've heard & noted that the part exists, move on to another instrument part "bass boogie" "Rain Guitar"... if the trumpet decides to calm down or changes its part note that too: "sweet tpt"
You may end up listening through each tune a couple of times. Even if the songs I have chosen here aren't really your cup of tea its still a good exercise to listen out of your comfort zone. There are 2 very different soundscapes represented here.
Next week we will arrange Ya Khotiv bi, and collect our pseudo russian/ukrainian lyrics.
Also, if you get a chance, take a listen to Oh Susanna and Everything is free, to get an idea of the other options for festival. The MP3s are at the bottom of the post.
Here's Gillian Welch doing everything is free: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFle2YoQwWg
North Island festival is on Feb 7, 6:30 pm at the Old Church Theatre in Courtenay.
Ya Khotiv Bi was partially inspired by the sound track of Everything Is Illuminated. Here's a little taste of the real thing, for inspiration and enjoyment.
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I'm trying something new here in hopes that it will help me get the MP3s and Handouts out to you faster. Updating this blog will be easier than sorting out email lists remotely.
Last week (Jan 6th) we worked on a 2 chord western swing tune called Out of Business, by Little Jimmy Dickens
We also worked through the worksheet: Intro to improvising with the G Major Pentatonic scale,
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Ali Romanow
FolkHarmonic Director
(fók harmɑ́nɪk)
def: A group of people who want to do more than just jam on folk instruments. We’ll set up a groove and add easy parts, taught by ear and layered, to make epic sounds out of simple pieces. Immerse yourself in the world of harmonies, melodies, laughter and ensemble playing regardless of skill level.
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