Yet another beginner!

[Mathewwhite]

i've just got a mandolin and am loving it. I've played guitar badly for many years but it's my thing, I couldn't stop if I wanted to although since I've had the mandolin my guitar has had a bit of a rest. One of my favourite albums is Ry Cooder into the purple valley, it has been since I fist got it on vinyl in the seventies. The point of the thread is that I would really appreciate some pointers on his style of playing mandolin, Billy the kid, Going to Brownsville (I know it's not on the album) songs like that. I'm in the UK, there doesn't seem to be groups or jams in the same abundance as in the states so please help a would be player thanks!

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Mandolin Cafe. I'm sorry to say, that's not a style I'm proficient in. I guess a good thing to do is watch a lot of Youtube videos of other mandolin players doing those songs and see what you can glean from them.

Jamie

[Denny Gies]

Another welcome to this wild, wacky world. Have to admit ignorance on the style you want. Good luck

[F-2 Dave]

Going to Brownsville is one of my favorite Ry Cooder tunes. Welcome, and good luck.

[DataNick]

Congrats and Welcome Matthew!

Ry Cooder is an immensely talented dude who has a real nice mando collection to boot!
Sorry I can't help you with his style, but if someone can, they're bound to frequent this site!

Best to ya in the journey!

[Bob Bass]

Hi Mathewwhite-

you will find that Ry's mandolin style involves some disparate elements. What he plays on Billy The Kid has some Bluegrass stylistic elements in the note sequence. What he plays on Going to Brownsville, however, is very closely tied to Yank Rachel's mandolin playing style. For Billy The Kid, just try to learn it note for note and get comfortable with it.

For Yank Rachel's style, I suggest listening to recordings Yank made w/Sleepy John Estes, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Big Joe Williams in Chicago in the late 1930s, possibly a few cuts might have been in 1940. For sheer emotional power, I would suggest listening to what Yank recorded w/Sleepy John Estes and Jab Jones (piano) in the late 1920s- especially Expressman Blues (Yank is also the lead vocalist on this cut, which appeared in the Harry Smith Anthology). What Ry plays on the mandolin on Going to Brownsville is his "osmosis" derived impression of the power of Yank's style. Yank and Sleepy John also made other early recordings w/Noah Lewis (harmonica player in Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers), including at least two versions of New Minglewood Blues and one of Viola Lee Blues, and also a handful of tunes with a pretty good slide guitar player whose name escapes me right know. For a period of time in the late 1960s and early 1970s Ry did play a pretty nice dark burst Gibson F2 or F4 oval hole (I'd have to see a picture again to estimate the date of manufacture).

Yank and Sleepy John recorded Going to Brownsville several times before 1940.

I think Yank's old stuff will get you closer to what Ry is doing than what Yank recorded in the 1960s through the 1990s.

You're going to have some fun!

Bob

[jaycat]

Here's a good place to start for mandolin blues in general:

http://www.amazon.com/MANDOLIN-BLUES.../dp/0634072498

I took up the mandolin as a result of sitting around doing nothing one night when Ry's "Kentucky Blues" came on and I thought, damn that sounds like a fun instrument to play.

[allenhopkins]

Here's Cooder's Goin' to Brownsville -- videoed 41 years ago (!):



Note the repeated riffs, the aggressive tremolo, the prevalent open-string work, the lack of the "chop" rhythm approach more common to bluegrass. I'm not familiar with Yank Rachell's playing, and he in later years used an amplified instrument pretty much exclusively, which seemed to make his approach a bit "sparser" than the really "dense" style Cooder's demonstrating -- realize also that Cooder's playing solo, which means he's carrying all the lead riffs and chording. Here's a YouTube audio of Rachell playing acoustically, small group, showing some of the same approach Cooder's using:



Blues mandolin's quite a specialized genre, but it can be unique and fascinating. Good luck!

[Violingirl]

Ry Cooder-wow. Just wow.

[will play for food]

hmmm this thread has just opened my eyes, the use of an instrument outside of the accepted norm is something thats always pricked up my ears

good stuff you guys

[Mathewwhite]

Allen thank you so much. I've seen the Ry Cooder clip, there is more it's from an Old Grey Whistle Test special. That was a show that used to be broadcast in the UK, no longer I'm sorry to say, do you think his mandolin is in standard tuning? I'd never heard of Yank Rachell before, absolutely brilliant! Thanks again.

[Ben Cooper]

Here's Cooder's Goin' to Brownsville -- videoed 41 years ago (!):



Note the repeated riffs, the aggressive tremolo, the prevalent open-string work, the lack of the "chop" rhythm approach more common to bluegrass. I'm not familiar with Yank Rachell's playing, and he in later years used an amplified instrument pretty much exclusively, which seemed to make his approach a bit "sparser" than the really "dense" style Cooder's demonstrating -- realize also that Cooder's playing solo, which means he's carrying all the lead riffs and chording. Here's a YouTube audio of Rachell playing acoustically, small group, showing some of the same approach Cooder's using:



Blues mandolin's quite a specialized genre, but it can be unique and fascinating. Good luck!

Wow, great stuff. Inspiring me to spend some more time on the blues. Thanks for posting the "Yank"!!

[bart mcneil]

I am always fascinated by the apparent simplicity of Yank Rachells playing. But of course it ain't simple at all. If you like his playing of the blues then start now because proficiency with tremolo will likely take a couple of years. At least it did in my case. it needs to be as natural and comfortable as strumming. I found the difficult part was moving in and out of tremolo with ease and without pausing most challenging. You will also find that most blues players seldom use full four string chords but rely mostly on double stops.

Cooder has some great tremolo which, I suspect he learned from listening to Rachael.

Join the mandolin blues social group if you haven't already, for a great bunch of blues videos by the greatest players, older and contemporary.

[Mathewwhite]

Thanks Bob, I'd never heard of Yank Rachell before today, he hit's a spot I'd forgotten I had. Thanks again!