This week's tune is Maiden's Prayer, which was submitted as an Old Time Tune. I'm not familiar with this tune, so if anyone is, please add to this! I found this ABC X:1 T:Maiden's Prayer M:4/4 L:1/8 K:A B:The Fiddler's Fake Book, p. 182. "A"A,4-A,CEA|[c8A8]|(3BcB Ac B2 AG|"D"EF3-F4|"E"{Bc}d4 {Bc}d3 e-| d4 dcB2|ece2 (3fgf e2|"A"Bc2 dcBA2|A,4-A,CEA|B c2 dcBA2| B3 c (3BcB A=G|"D"EF3-F2 (3agf |"A"ec e2 "D"fa-(3agf| "A"ec e2 "D"a2-(3agf|"A"ec e2 "E"c'3e|"A"a8|] This page has a link to some standard notation for Maiden's Prayer This page has a link to some standard notation of Maiden's Prayer, too!
It's a Bob Wills Western Swing tune. It has definitely crept into other genres though and is a beautiful piece of music.
Pretty fiddling... And if Wikipedia is to be believed, the melody was a Polish classical tune before Bob Wills added lyrics and a Texas swing to it. Also interesting, it's high point may be it's cameo in a 1930s Opera, and on the other end of the spectrum--people in Taiwan are signaled to take out the trash by musical garbage trucks playing either Fur Elise or Maiden's Prayer.
Jethro Burns was recorded playing this a couple of times on the "Lessons with Jethro", which is a great resource you can find here: http://www.robcoleman.com/jethro/index.html This is my attempt to play his version on track 32 of Jim Nikora’s Lessons— Disc 1. I didn't find this very easy, I can tell you:
Ahhh haaa! Mighty fine, mister man, mighty fine. (Thanks for the link to "Lessons with Jethro", too)
Thats nice David. I will have a go at tabbing it out and I should get my version of it up soon
OK here is my version not perfect yet but hey ... I found a version by Willie Nelson I liked so I tabbed it here is the file http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/at...3&d=1318086544 I liked the Willie Nelson version so much I decided to play it and jam along with it so here it is.
Here's twice through on the octave and twice through on the mandolin, it's a bit rough in spots but I like it rough, the tune that is. Both instruments were tuned AEAE
David, you must have played this song before because you are so relaxed! Your back up was absolutely perfect and the use of the octave mandolin was a great choice to kick off the melody. Well done! Here's a tab and the music to Maiden's Prayer combined in one pdf: http://www.bluegrasscollege.org:8080...oad&tab=245391
This sounds like it's going to be a real challenge.
Rough as silk, David. That was the perfect feel for the tune---very saloon like. Richard, Mr. Nelson makes a great jam partner. I do think the resonator works really well for this one. Its extra sustain and also that sorrowful bluesy sound just fit. Os, the double stop version is excellent. Also, thanks again for passing on the lesson link.
Hi Marcelyn I am only just starting to get used to this instrument I think the possibilities are endless once I get good enough :P Yep Davids was great and OS that's a lovely tone you have there
Another beautiful song this week! OS, I recently downloaded those lessons, but I don't think I could do all the chording in the Jethro version justice the way you did. Richard, your new resonator looks like a lot of fun. David, I really admire the sound quality and overall production of your videos. One of these days I will have to figure out how to sync up video and audio so I can improve the sound quality. I just did my low tech version of multitracking by playing a previously recorded background track through my speakers as I recorded my video.
That was just beautiful Laura!
More proof that when the playing is great the use of high-tech is strictly unnecessary.
OH great playing Laura terrific thank you for sharing
Yes, excellent job, Laura.
Well, after sitting with my jaw on the floor at all of your beautiful renditions, I thought I might as well bite the proverbial bullet and post my attempt at Maiden's Prayer. I'm still trying to figure out OS's double-stop positions, and if I get them, I might post that effort too. I think those double stops are the one chance we mandolin players have at capturing the magic that Bobby Hicks gets in that clip above. Wow. I'd love to hear your feedback on how you find the double-stops mixing with the picking; in my case, that's where I'm finding the difficulty in arranging this tune. (I'm playing the Vega - it's all I've got - and using a Wegen pick this time - it's the one I had before I got the Blue Chip.) Best, Kyle
Everyone, Great playing. Kyle, I like those slides a lot.
Nice jazzy picking Kyle and yes the slides sound good as well .
Good job Kyle, sounds very fine. You do look a bit tense with the trem. It's a big technical challenge to smoothly and easily switch between picking and tremolo. Just takes a lot of practice, I am told.
Here's my version
More incredible versions. Really nice work. I roped Jeff into jamming on this one together. As you'll hear, my tremolo is still a work in progress.
Geez, you guys are all kicking this tune! Marcey, you have a lovely voice and I think you stole my dog. At least it looks a lot like my dog! Love all the DS tremelos. I'm just now starting to get a handle on single-string trems. Speaking of dogs . . . guys, do you know how to tell who loves you most, your wife or your dog? Lock them both in the trunk of your car for an hour and then see which one is happy to see you! (I can't believe I said that.)
Really nice work Amandalyn and Marcelyn. I've just fallen in love with this tune completely, and both of you do a great job of demonstrating how it can be presented with a different feel while maintaining the beauty of the tune itself. Very nice. Marcelyn, I can't help but feel that your rendition would be the perfect soundtrack for a walk down a Hawaiian beach - my compliments to Jeff for the beautiful uke work.
Thanks Martin and Kyle. Martin, I think she's my dog, but when I give her a haircut and can see her face again, I'll let you know for sure. Kyle, it is a great tune, isn't it? I'll pass along the uke compliment.
Man, everybody's version of this is just stellar! This really is just a beautiful song. That voice of yours, Marcelyn makes me think of angels singing. Great stuff everybody! I'm learning the Jethro version right now as of yesterday. Hope to post something next week sometime and jump back in the SAW fray once again!
Awesome, Rob, I'm really looking forward to hearing that.
What a sweet tune. Folks here really bring the spirits of greats like Jethro Burns and Bob Wills to life. Nicely done. Been so involved in ITM, it's wonderful to come back to the music that inspired me to pick up the mandolin.
Excellent work everyone! Amandalyn those bluesy licks you threw in here and there were especially tasty. Marcelyn, it's always a pleasure to hear you play and roping in Jeff was a great idea. KyleG, good work and a good question about the transition between straight picking and going into (and out of) tremolo picking while holding doublestops. The hardest part for me IS the transition because my pick angle is different for straight single string picking (slightly off perpendicular to the string) as opposed to tremolo picking (where the angle of the pick is approaching 45 degrees to the string). If this doesn't make much sense, there's a post somewhere at the SAW group about straight vs featherly tremolo picking that shows the difference... I'll bump it up soon as I find it again.
Here's my belated version loosely based on Jethro's...but my name's not Jethro! I've really been taken by this tune. So beautiful.
Beautiful playing and a great sounding mandolin.
Wow, Rob! This maiden delivers a forceful prayer. Great sound, great double stops.
Hey, good to see you back and all over this tune, Rob!
Thanks guys! You're all hard acts to follow!
That was some outstanding tremolo, Rob. I think the ending was particularly cool.
Way to go, Rob! Those slides with the tremolo were super smooth. Lots of amazing playing (and singing!!) all around on this tune. Hope I can join in on the fun sometime again soon.
Thanks Don and Marcelyn! We all hope you can join in the fun again soon, too, Don. See ya' then!
So many beautiful and inspiring versions! I have been unable to 'rope in Jeff' with his Ukulele, so I hired Band-in-a-Box
Very nice Manfred!
Excellent tremolo with lots of nice double stops! That's what a mandolin should sound like -- just beautiful, Manfred...
That had authentic Texas feel to it, Manfred. Absolutely gorgeous!
Wonderful Manfred! Scott
That was really nice Manfred. One of your best.
Manfred: SPECTACULAR!!
Thanks you all so much for your kind words. You make me blush - and practice even harder
Here's a version of "A Maiden's Prayer" which I've been working on for the last few weeks. It's played on a Gibson F2 mandolin and backed up with a Baeur parlor guitar. I've played backup guitar for this tune for many years, however this is my first try at playing the melody...
That's great Michael, up the neck, improvisation and all! By the way, are you gonna join the Army now?
Michael that was exceptionally good, perhaps the definitive version of Maiden's Prayer. I really enjoyed that.
Michael - Amen to that. Loved the guitar accompaniment. Thanks for the treat.