Tunes in b

[mingusb1]

Hello cafers and good morning. I'd like to improve my bluegrass playing and figure learning some tunes in B could really help. I think the following are in the key of B;

--New Camptown Races
--Rebecca

I suspect these are going to be a challenge, and would like some advice on others. Are there any "simple" ones?!

Thanks in advance

[Scotti Adams]

New Camptown Races is in the key of B flat.

[cooper4205]

Bill Monroe's the Old Brown County Jamboree Barn is in B also

[mandopete]

--Rebecca

Herschel Sizemore wrote Amandolina as a follow-up to Rebecca as he "always wanted to write something in B Chord again" You can find this one on his My Style recording.

Other than that I'm having a tough time comming up with tunes in B. This will get you in bluegrass trouble, but lately I've been playing Clinch Mountain Backstep in B. You can always have fun transposing tunes.

[Charles Andre]

Hershel's Acutab dvd covers Rebecca in great detail. It's a fun tune.

[Geoff B]

try playing what you know in B, it's good practice transposing as well as learning new territory on the fretboard.

[swampstomper]

Clinch Mt Backstep is really natural in ... B natural! The open E and A are key notes in the tune. Ralph played that often in B on stage (including on his instructional DVD from Homespun) and Curly Ray got some nice licks in, that's where I got the idea for it.

Try Jerusalem Ridge in Bm... it works really well!! The open D and A fit perfectly.

Other than that, all I have is Rebecca and Old Brown County Barn as instrumentals. Blue and Lonesome; Little Bessie are great songs in B.

[Jim Broyles]

"Think of What You've Done" is good in B. The vocals lay well in that key for me, and I can't usually sing very high. "Little Georgia Rose" is good in B as well.

[cooper4205]

White House Blues in B is another; played Monroe style there's some pretty cool open-string stuff played up the neck.

[Flowerpot]

Well, there's plenty of singin' songs you can do in B for sure, but I think the OP wanted an instrumental normally done in B.

One I like is "Daddy's Dream" from the Knee Deep in Bluegrass CD (Acutab sessions, great CD by the way). It's a banjo tune, so the melody is not as well defined as Rebecca, but it has a cool mando break from Steffey.

Another I like is Jim Vancleve's "#6 Barn Dance" from Mt Heart's Force of Nature. It's got some tricky chromatic parts in it, but is fun cause it alters between Bmin and Bmaj. I've got it tabbed out (both the fiddle part and the mando part) if you want it.

[mandopete]

Another I like is Jim Vancleve's "#6 Barn Dance" from Mt Heart's Force of Nature.

I forgot about that one - I even have on my list of tunes to learn!

[Jim Broyles]

New Camptown Races is in the key of B flat.

Yes, this is where it lays on the mandolin, but for some reason, either tape speed, (I doubt) capoed (perish the thought or up-tuned instruments, it is in concert B natural on the recording with Red Allen. Why, I don't know.

[Scotti Adams]

B tunes

Richmond - Larry Sparks
Grasstown City Limits - Bibey
cut on Aubrey Haynie CD
Knee Deep in Bluegrass- Baucom
Vandiver - Bibey
BlackJack - Crowe
Train 45 - Crowe

loads of 'em

[Pete Martin]

Transcribe and learn solos to singing tunes in B. Monroes Sold Down the River is terrific. Johnson Mountain Boys' David McGlaughlin's solo on Unwanted Love is very cool.

[Greg H.]

Kenny Smith's Studebaker is in B, and it's a fun tune to play (just don't play it around Rebecca as the two are close enough to mess you up).

[woodwizard]

"Road To Spencer" is played in B by Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. That's a fun tune to play. And there's some tab for it at mandozine.

[F5GRun]

The Del song "Beauty of my Dreams" is in B I believe. Also a bunch of Hot Rize songs are in B.

[lgc]

Any tune can be in B. Just start transposing. Nothin like closing up a good ole fiddle tune in a or d to B and Bb.

[Ivan Kelsall]

'Pike County Breakdown' is a good one to play in B. But sometimes i'll just take a tune that i normally play in one key & work it out in a couple of others ie. Clinch Mt.Backstep is traditionally played in A. I play it in B as well as i've come across other musician who play it in that key & if i wanted to 'jam along' i'd just have to play it in
B.
I think that it's especially important to be able to play songs in a variety of keys
in order to suit any particular singer who you might be playing with. Most singers have a voice naturally pitched in one key (mine's B - the low one,not Ralph Stanley's 'Little Maggie' one)in which they're most comfortable,so a variety of singers would yield a variety of keys in which you'd need to be familiar with. It's all part of extending one's ability & that can only be good,
Saska

[allenhopkins]

...pretty cool open-string stuff played up the neck.

Isn't that an oxymoron?

[swampstomper]

...pretty cool open-string stuff played up the neck.

Isn't that an oxymoron?

Not at all! Not sure if the OP meant this, but you get good effects with the open strings ringing against fretted notes up the neck. That's the essence of Jesse's cross picking. He'll play a G chord as x-9-5-0 for example.

Another reason is to get long arpeggios, especially in A. Like this:

1st: 9-5-0
2nd: 9-4-0

Even with a chop-shape B chord, leave the E or A open for an interesting effect.

[mandozilla]

"try playing what you know in B, it's good practice transposing as well as learning new territory on the fretboard."

I second this...Just recently started doing this as well as practicing Bb and B scales more...it's not as difficult as I used to think it was...Benn doing the same with the key of B major as well.

[burcher]

someone mentioned the johnson mtn boys and they recorded "5 speed" in b or b flat with richard underwood on banjo. A killer instrumental to learn but hard to find a banjo player to play it with.

cb

[Henry B.]

Could I have your #6 barn dance tab? My email is hwbolling@gmail.com