January tune

[Martin Jonas]

Sbarnes -- great rhythm. #You got the waltz time going great, makes me want to hit the dance floor (if any of you had seen me dance, you'd know that that's not a good idea!). #It also makes me think that I should have put a rhythm track underneath my version; I didn't get that sort of swinging feel with my lead and harmony parts. #How many tracks do you have in that recording? One guitar and two (or three?) mando tracks?

Dave -- very impressive recording. You seem to be departing very substantially (and very well!) from any version of the tune that I have ever heard. Did you improvise that during the recording itself, or did you arrange your variations in advance?

Martin

[Dave Hicks]

sbarnes - Good job. Sounds like a Viennese pastry!

Martin-

Well, the basic melody is there, probably followed most closely on the guitar parts. #I took the melody and setting from the Fiddler's Fakebook, but it's pretty similar to the version on Johnny Staats/Robert Schafer's Picking Up Steam album.

I'm rather slow to learn tunes, so "mistakes" might be a more accurate term than "improvisation". #By the time I do learn a tune, I've figured out a number of, ummm, alternative ways to state the melody, and sometimes my fingers find them more easily than the actual melody.

D.H.

[sbarnes]

thanks for the compliments.....
there's a bass track, 1 guitar, and 3 mandolins....(melody, harmony and chop)....
i usually try to add a guitar counter melody but couldn't seem to find one for this tune (my other tunes are under the name 'grits1331'..

[Mandobar]

i love susanne's version. wherever you are susanne keep up the good work!

[craig]

plantecology,

i'm sorry. i don't know what happened to your upload for Westphalia Waltz. can you e-mail it to me again? i'll get up on the site ASAP.

cheers,

craig

[craig]

dave,

love it!! this is a keeper! love the mix of mando and country twang. thanks a lot for this upload.

cheers,

craig

[mandolooter]

"I'm rather slow to learn tunes, so "mistakes" might be a more accurate term than "improvisation". By the time I do learn a tune, I've figured out a number of, ummm, alternative ways to state the melody, and sometimes my fingers find them more easily than the actual melody."

D.H.


Man I couldn't have said it better! That is exactly my problem and I get looks at every jam when "Jeff's version" rings outta my mando! I find I have the most trouble keeping my version in time when playing with others and attribute that to 2 things, first ME, I don't practice with my metronone enough and can't read hardly a lick of music and 2. Folks seem to try to adjust to me/my version and that makes it impossible for me to get on track. It sometimes takes me one full run thru the melody to get on track but once I do I can sound pretty good with my "Jeffercized" version. I sometimes feel like never trying to learn a new song since it gets frustrating as heck at times. My playing by ear has improved a lot lately and I seem to do my best when I DON'T know the song and am flying by the seat of my pants and have many recording of myself to prove it. I've yet to post a song other than in the Misc. Musings catagory due to this but will at some point, so far the only song I've manged to learn from the list was Red Haired Boy but I've given em all a try. Its a great thing tho and every time I checkout the latest offerings I've been impressed! My thanks to Craig and everyone else whose helped, posted etc.
Jeff