Sorry for the delay in posting this! This week's winner is St. Anne's Reel, which can be considered, Bluegrass, Old-Time or Irish Trad! Don't have time at the moment to post any ABC or links, but if anyone wants to before I get back, please feel free! Let the posting begin!!
Here's mine on my Petersen Cittern, tuned GGDDAAEEAA. I don't know right off hand, how fast it's being played, but, it isn't Bluegrass Fast, I'll tell you now!
I have two versions: one is from Old Time Mandolin Instruction by Michael I. Holmes which I got from the Smithsonian Folk Collection and is pretty easy to play reasonably fast, and the other is from theSession.Org and is a bit more complicated. Here is the tab for the "easy" one... OOPS, I can't seem to insert it. I have it as a PDF and a JPG. Anyone help?
Eddie, if you have it as a jpeg, you can upload it to your mandolin cafe photo album, then you can attach it. If you have any other photo sharing site (like photobucket) you can do the same thing. If you don't want to do either of those you can e-mail it to me (pm me for my e-mail addy if you don't have it) and I'll put it in my photobucket and insert it for you.
Here is ABC from www.thesession.org (this isn't how I'm playing it) X: 1 T: Saint Anne's M: 4/4 L: 1/8 R: reel K: Dmaj |:fedf edcB|A2FA DAFA|B2GB EBGB|A2FA DAFA| fedf edcB|A2FA DAFA|BGed cABc|eddc d2 de:| |:f2fg fedc|Bggf g2gf|edcB ABce|baa^g abag| f2fg fedc|Bggf g2gf|edcB ABcd|eddc d2 de:| Here is a link to standard notation (this is closer to what I am playing) Here is Tab & standard notation from Nigel Gatherer Here's a lesson from Matt Raum on Mel Bay's Mandolin Sessions Here is Tab & notation from Jay Buckey Here is a link to Wendy Anthony's arrangement on Mel Bay's Mandolin Sessions
Barb, mine i sthe same as your Standard version.
Nice smooth playing Barbara. The Petersen sounds great.
Very nice, Barbara. Great tone. I like this version of the tune.
A cheap trick for some contra dance bands is a jig to reel set. It gives the dancers an extra bit of oomph without speeding up the tempo. A band I play in does a jig to reel set going from Saint Anne's Jig to Saint Anne's Reel so I thought I'd give it a try. Mind you that this is not up to contra dance speed, they only let me play guitar or bass on this one. There's a couple of mistakes as well but I got tired of redoing it.
Excellent David. Makes me want to delete my effort...
David's a hard act to follow but here goes... Two versions played sloppily...
Same here. But it has taken me too long to record this. I am not sure what genre it really is. Maybe it's not accented enough to be a reel? I may record another version, but only when my wife is not around the house. Having heard this one a zillion times she might start hating it
Spot on Manfred. I saw a video of Ricky Skaggs playing this with the Chieftans on Irish TV... it was introduced as a "sort of a reel" meaning that it's not traditionally ITM, probably Canadian... but a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. I quite like it...
great work everyone!
David, that's cool... it's the same tune (notes-wise)? just played as a jig (6/8 time) then as a reel.... I'm gonna have to try that!
Here we go with Saint Anne's Reel, http://www.box.net/shared/t8c2lqnnv8 I am using an A style oval hole mandolin and a Marting D-18
Great tone and nice version, Chuck.
The version on thesession.org is more or less exactly what I heard a jillion times in our sessions, but never got around to learn - until now: They say it is originally from Canada, later adopted by the Irish. My wife, however, claims it is a German children's street song she remembers from her childhood. Thus, surrounded by mists of mystery, it nevertheless sounds as frisky and free as Bart Simpson.
Now there's a description befitting 1 day old whiskey...
Here's my version of St. Anne's Reel on an Eastman 815. Tom
Good job, Tom. Good to watch you again. Here is my Bluegrass version. Not at Bluegrass speed, though.
Excellent playing from all. Here's my version, which I've updated from the last time I posted it to add a 2nd section in a lower octave and a little variation in the third repeat, but still loosely based on Wayne Benson's break from the Bluegrass '96 CD:
Man alive, Old Sausage you sure play a nice bluegrass mandolin!!! This is one of those great old reels that was adopted into bluegrass music and always sounds great
David you've exceeded your normal level of excellence, extremely well played and very inventive. Seriously sign me up for your next CD.
Absolutely superb!
Thanks, I'm glad y'all enjoy a bit of bluegrass I'll get working on that CD then...
Mighty fine, OS, I'm stealing that lower octave idea. David, I love that jig version. And Bertram & Barbara, you guys sound great on those giant mandolins. Great playing by everyone on St. Anne's. This is one of the first tunes I heard being played at the first bg festival I went to. I thought it was the most beautiful melody I'd ever heard. I still do.
Seems like a clash of cultures here - OS's version sounds so credibly BG that it is hard to believe there could be any other way to play it. On the other hand, the different version David Hansen and I did are just as perfectly established in ITM. Obviously twins, separated in childhood and grown up differently. Wait, which one is Luke and which one Leia?
OS, please forgive me for using the term Bluegrass for my playing. I should have written 'trying to play s.th. from a Bluegrass tune book' Your 'production' sounds just great'
I loved that, OS, nice version there altogether!
Here's my rather plain version. This is one of those tunes I have heard lots over the years but never learned. The version I'm playing is the one that was rattling around in my head from accompanying my Dad who plays it on fiddle.
That's a really nice version Keith.
"This is one of those tunes I have heard lots over the years but never learned" Exactly like me, Keith. And didn't we miss out. I have found that I cannot judge a tune until I have played it. I am impressed with the clean tone, seeing as how this mandolin seems to have a rather high action - I can actually see the strings bend where you fret. Must be hard work for your left hand, and well done at that!
Thanks OS and Bertram. Yes the action on the mandolin is a bit high. I've meant to bring it in for a setup ever since I got it 2 years ago but haven't ever got around to it.
Wow, how'd I miss this? The notation/tab links offered here are way way more complicated than what I've been playing from the fake book. It's like learning the tune for the first time all over again.
St Anne's Reel, newer player slow version. Hope ya'll don't mind, it took about three weeks to get here. I do struggle some with timing and counts on measures so if you notice anything some help would be great
EarlG, your video appears as "private". You'll have to change the setting on YouTube so all the world can see it.
It's changed to public.
Nice clean picking, Earl, noticed no timing issues. Slow, yes, but that's perfectly legal. Left hand attitude is good. The strap seems to be a bit loose, but generally everything is ok. Now your cat seems to have a different view...
Earl, very cleanly played! You've got to be able to play something clean and slow before you can play it clean and fast!
Earl, I agree with Barbara and Bertram....very cleanly played. You're definitely pulling the tone out of that mandolin!
A lot of ways to play this tune for sure. Here is my version. This is from a TAB on mandozine.
Nice job TDMpicker. Thanks Bertram, Barb and Rob for the nice comments.
Here's one more version for St. Anne's Reel. One down, forty-five to go (to catch up). This is on my '83 Flatiron A5-2.
Sounds good, Marcelyn! Are you double-jointed BTW? Only asking because I see you hold your pick angled backward (like John Reicshman who's dbl. jointed). instead of forward.
No, and I hadn't realized I was doing that. I'll experiment with other angles. My mandolin technique is pretty much self-taught, so it's helpful to get input.
That's interesting Marcelyn, now that Rob mentioned it. I'd call your pick grip a "reverse power grip", because you use the tip of your thumb to press the pick against the inside of the index finger (power grip uses the base of the 1st thumb joint to press the pick against the outside of the index finger, i.e. the thumb is curled around the index finger, not the index finger around the thumb). In theory, it should make no difference in which direction the pick is angled, as long as it is angled at all. I guess a difference would only show up after longer playing, raising the question of fatigue and pick slip. I did some experimenting over the years myself and found the classic power grip to work best for me (self-teaching for almost 30 years now , because after my youth, overshadowed by nine years of violin lessons, I couldn't put up with a music teacher again)...
Just out of curiosity, Bertram, is the technical term for a reverse power grip the Sissy Grip? Thanks so much for the explanation . I'm trying it out now. You'll probably see some picks flying across the room in my Shove That Pig's Foot video, but it does feel more natural. Putting up these videos has been great. I feel like I'm getting lessons for free. Ever since video 1, I'm concentrating very hard on being relaxed...an interesting oxymoron, but it's working. And now...a new and improved grip. Keep it coming. I really appreciate it.
Marcelyn, I like the versions you play with chords and double stops. Being just beyond novice level myself I am hesitant to offer advice, but I have learned a lot of what I am doing from the Cafe's John McGann. He offers advice on pick grip and on left-hand 'fliying fingers' here: http://www.johnmcgann.com/techtips.html
That's a lot of great information, Manfred. Thanks for passing it along.
