Long Journey Home

[jose250]

Looking for this song for quite a while and haven't been able to find it anywhere... Any help finding this would be great.

Thanks.

Kelly
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[earthsave]

The way the Monroe Brothers did it, it sounds like it is played out of chordal position in G at 100 miles an hour, especially considering this was the mid-30s.

[danmills]

Here's a partial answer, a search suggestion, and some unsolicited advice:

I believe the chords are as follows:
I . I . I . I
I . I . IV . I
I . I . I . I
I . V . I . I

Hopefully the spacing on that works out. It's one chord per measure, with the measures separated by dots. If you're not into roman numerals, I=1, IV=4, V=5. And if you're not into chord numbers, in the key of G it would be I=G, IV=C, V=D.

If you haven't already, try searching for tablature under the name "Two Dollar Bill", which I've heard some people call it.

[Warning, unsolicited advice ahead. Proceed w/ caution and tolerance.]

If you aren't already doing this, I suggest you get to work on recognizing chord changes by ear. This particular song is at the easier end of the spectrum for doing that. It's an essential jamming skill, and just generally good for your musicianship in the long run. When I'm stumped, I'll usually concentrate on listening to the bass because it plays single notes and, in any given measure, at least one of those notes is very often the root of the current chord (i.e. the note that gives the chord its name). Even if I can't sort out what note the bass is playing, I can usually hear when the bass line changes chords, and then I can search through the obvious candidates.

Speaking of "obvious candidate" chords to try, (and again, you may already be doing this), learning just a little bit of music theory will help you know what those candidates are. Search for "music theory" (or just "theory") on this Board and you'll find lots of suggestions for theory books, etc, and probably even a few threads that just come right out and tell you everything you really need to know.

And lastly, tab is a useful resource, but can also be a crutch. Be careful how you use it. At least TRY to pick out the melody by ear if you can. I haven't seen very much in the way of bluegrass mandolin breaks written out in tab. It's usually just fiddle tunes and instrumentals.

I hope it wasn't too presumptious of me to offer unsolicited advice. With luck, some of it applies to your situation, but maybe not. In any case, happy picking.

Dan

[jose250]

Dan,

Not presumptious at all. #I've been playing for less than 6 months now. #I've only had about 6 lessons to date and unfortunately, my teacher reconfigured his schedule, so I'm on my own again now. #Based on that, I've really been just working through my Roland White book (know about 5 songs reasonably at this point). #I just got done watching the Grisman/Doc Watson show in '98 and they were playing "Long Journey Home" and it was fantastic. #Makes me want to learn it.

You are right, though. #I do need to start learning by ear. #I've not actually even attempted to do that yet, but I believe you're right in that I need some real focus on that. #The pickin' has come reasonably easy to me (just gotta put in the time), but the chopping and figuring out stuff by ear seems to test my limits at this point. #That and my music theory understanding is nonexistent.

Well, that's the way I'll go. #Thanks for your info here and any other suggestions are more than appreciated.

Kelly

[Willie Poole]

Jose....Playing by tabs is OK, I guess, but as long as you rely on them you will always need them...Try and learn something just by ear...Long Journey Home is not that hard, even for a newbie.....Willie