Western swing

[Mental Floss]

Any help on what a good begining dvd on mandolin western swing would be and where could I find one???
Thanks

[Perry]

To my knowledge there is no such animal.

Have you seen this lesson right here on the cafe?

You may have to look at guitar DVD's and adapt. There was a recent thread or two with guitar suggestions.

[Pete Martin]

Find some recordings of Tiny Moore (Wills Tiffany Transcriptions) and Johnny Gimble (any of a lot). Learn those. You'll have all you need.

[DSDarr]

Find some recordings of Tiny Moore (Wills Tiffany Transcriptions) and Johnny Gimble (any of a lot). Learn those. You'll have all you need.

There's also the "Tiny Moore Mandolin Method" that was published in the early 1980s (I think) which came with a pretty high-quality instructional cassette. This was quite a high-quality publication, in particular for the time. It is also, unfortunately, long out of print.

-David

[a12]

I have the Tiny Moore book and cassette.
It's mostly tunes in notation and tab.
I don't remember off hand if there are "breaks"
to any well know songs though.
The cassette plays these slow and up to tempo.
Very nice versions.

[Woody Turner]

If you want to do the improbable and head east for some western swing this fall, consider working with Chicago musician/writer Keith Baumann at Cape Cod Mandolin Camp (http://www.nemandolins.com/Camp-faculty.html).

[BlueMountain]

I was just about to write the same thing, Woody! Keith Baumann is a full-time teacher and loves Texas swing. I took one class from him last fall at Cape Cod and loved it. I plan to take a lot more this year (Hmm, will it be Keith with Texas swing or Del Grosso and blues?). He's transcribed music and tabs for a great deal of the Bob Wills stuff and done arrangements.

If you contact him, I'm sure he'd be able to help you in one way or another: http://www.uptownrhythm.com/kbbio.html

Meanwhile, buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Back-Ti....&sr=1-1
And this, which shows Tiny Moore at his best on mandolin: http://www.amazon.com/Billy-J....&sr=1-1
And also immerse yourself in Bob WIlls and the Texas Playboys.
Oh, and there's a great instructional DVD by Cindy Cashdollar on playing Texas swing slide guitar (not steel, but dobro). It's not mandolin, but she's not only one of the greatest of slide/steel players, but excellent at the technical aspects.

[lgc]

I would recommend getting your hands on some Cliff Bruner. His mando player Leo Raley was one of the finest I've ever heard but what you learn from hearing him play is that it isn't so much the notes in swing, but rather the feel. Also there are some great swingy mando breaks on the Floyd Tillman stuff.

[BlueMountain]

We can be very glad that people like Tiny Moore and Johnny Gimble wedged open Texas Swing and made it possible for the rest of us to feel that we can play it, too. And of course mandolin actually works rather well in Texas Swing. I wonder, though, if we were to talk to average fans, many would say, "Oh, Western Swing--gotta have a mandolin!" Unlike a fiddle or a pedal steel (or something similar).

[lgc]

There is a difference between Texas Swing and Western Swing I think. Western swing is a broad genre of music that encompasses blues, jazz, pop, old time fiddle music, boarder music etc. but Texas swing refers more to the Benny Thomasson school of swung out fiddle tunes. Western is more improvisational while Texas swing isn't. That's how it has been explained to me at least. Gimble and Moore-good examples of Western swing although I've heard Gimble play both. I just wanted to note that there is a difference between the two forms cause both terms have been used in the thread but the OP specifically mentioned Western.

[JeffD]

I wonder, though, if we were to talk to average fans, many would say, "Oh, Western Swing--gotta have a mandolin!" Unlike a fiddle or a pedal steel (or something similar).

I dunno. Real Western Swing is a narrow enough genre that its fans are real fans.

The average music fan that wanders into some "Asleep at the Wheel" CD and says: "that's cool", probably wouldn't recognize which instrument there on stage is the mandolin.

[Jack Roberts]

I'd like to resurrect this thread, if I may. I've got "Beaumont Rag" down pretty well--probably one of the more popular tunes--but I want to tackle "Spanish Two Step". The recording I have of this tune it's played in Ab. Do you suppose it was played in A with the fiddle tuned down a half step, was it really played in Ab. I'm looking to transcribe it for mandolin, but there are several routes I could take on this, and I was hoping someone more steeped in Texas Swing would be able to give me a clue here.

BTW, if anyone wants my transcription of Beaumont Rag in .tef, PM me.

Jack

[Jack Roberts]

I sorted this out: I've got another recording that is clearly in A. somewhere along the way the first recording was slowed down a bit.