bluegrass licks [Archive] - Mandolin Cafe Forum

bradeinhorn

Jun-20-2006, 3:47pm

need some more for my tool box of licks...

Flowerpot

Jun-20-2006, 3:56pm

I just played one, but you weren't looking...

So how do you propose we share licks here?

bradeinhorn

Jun-21-2006, 9:17am

tab?

Flowerpot

Jun-21-2006, 9:31am

OK, tab. Is there a handy-dandy application which will allow you to input your tab and display it in a message? Or some other quick and easy method of getting it out of my head and onto your monitor (something way easier than writing it out with pencil, scanning it in, and posting it as a picture).

bradeinhorn

Jun-21-2006, 10:30am

tabledit?

johnwalser

Jun-21-2006, 12:52pm

I'm sure you must know about these: http://www.mandozine.com/music....t+Files (http://www.mandozine.com/music/search_results.php?searchfor=lick&tuneselectby=C&mandolevel=&category=Bluegrass&songkey=&artist=&transcriber=&sortby=T&sortorder=A&submit=Find+TableEdit+Files)

John

fishdawg40

Jun-21-2006, 12:53pm

Good idea for a thread. #My teacher gives these to me and I tab them out. #I don't know what is so complicated about this? #

I tabbed out licks a couple of years ago and posted them on the Cafe but I cannot find them. #Are they gone for good? #

I'l post more as I get them because I tab them out for memory purposes. #Add hammer/pull-offs. #They're fun. #And #if anyone has any questions.... #

-------------------------------------------------------
Lick #1
G and C position (For C lick start on C note on A string)
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Pick both notes on slide

E-----|---3-0-------------|-------------0-3---|------------
A-----|--------5-1-0-------|----1/2--5----------|----------
D-----|--------------5-2-0-|--5---------------|------------
G-----|-----------------|-----------------|----------------

A and D Position (For D lick start on D note on A string)

E-----|---5-2-0------------|-------0-2-5--------|----------
A-----|----------p3-2-0-----|-0-2/3---------------|--------
D-----|----------------4-2|----------------|---------------

B and E Position (For E lick start on E note on A string)

E-----|--7-4-2-------------|---------2-4-7------|----------
A-----|--------5-4-2-------|-2-4-5/6---------------|-------
D-----|--------------6-4--|-----------------|--------------
G-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------

Brady Smith

Jun-21-2006, 1:06pm

Excellent post bradeinhorn....this should be the fastest growing thread on this site....unfortunately I don't think it will be. I believe there may be too many flowerpots in this garden. And flowers aren't much use when you're looking for the meat and taters.

Flowerpot

Jun-21-2006, 1:26pm

Now hold on just a dad-gummed minute. I posted with the full intent of sharing ideas in this thread, but I just don't know how. Now I'm being branded some sort of tab-scrooge who wants to withhold goodies from the eager-to-learn masses. Bah Humbug! I'm plenty willing to share licks, and I think it would be fun. I just don't think anybody wants to try to read my pencil-marked chicken scratch.

Fishdawg, what did you use to create your tabs? And is there any way to notate timing, as in duration of notes? Any way to add notation for slides, hammer, pull?

(And brady712, for somebody who's so quick to criticize, I don't yet see any tab flowing from your keyboard either...)

bradeinhorn

Jun-21-2006, 2:30pm

i didn't misunderstand you flower-

let's keep it mellow....

nice start fishdawg

any format is fine.

Brady Smith

Jun-21-2006, 2:48pm

Sorry flowerpot...I misunderstood. I thought you were opposed to the idea. I do think it's a great idea and will be happy to put some up as well. Actually I'd love to see some postings of some of those "famous" breaks and licks we hear on the radio. I've worked out a few myself and will be happy to share. Unfortunately I'm not much help at the moment as I'm outta town with the family on vacation.

Dan Cole

Jun-21-2006, 5:15pm

Can you cut and paste a line or few bars from Tabledit? I'll give it a try when I get home.

Dan

sbarnes

Jun-22-2006, 1:04am

notation always works

fishdawg40

Jun-22-2006, 9:39am

Flowerpot; "tab-scrooge" very funny # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif #No intent to cause pain from this end. #I apologize if I did. #I assumed that everyone knew about the tab templates located here. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/tab/template.txt) #However, I still like the "tab-scrooge" nickname http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

AlanN

Jun-22-2006, 11:34am

From someone who has met and picked with FP, he ain't nuthin but a nice guy and one heckuva picker.

Flowerpot

Jun-22-2006, 12:50pm

Thanks, Alan.

We'll keep it cool here, now that the misunderstandings are over. But I do kinda like "tab-scrooge" as a nickname. I can see Ebenezer in his counting house with his snakehead, hunched over a big stack of mandolin tab...

I tried my best to use the tab template to write some stuff out, and the spacings all got off when I substituted numbers for the dashes. It looks good in notepad, but when I posted it, it's all off register. I also downloaded tabledit, but it looks like it may take a while to learn, and I've only got minutes a day to do this stuff.

Sorry, that was my concern from the start... no easy way to communicate. I may go back to my chicken scratches and scan them in.

Wendy Anthony

Jun-22-2006, 5:02pm

Flowerpot

To post something here from notepad, & keep the same spacing, use the coding before the beginning of the tab and then at the end use 

eg ... using the tab from Mandolin Cafe (when you replace dashes with fret numbers, hit the delete key for each digit you add, to make sure you still end up with the same spacing ... [edit/addition] tho you may need to do some timing tweaks with double-digit numbers ... & some more tweaks, to line-up timing, may need to be done through the PreviewPost option before final post on the message board)

-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
# # # |_|_|_| |_|_|_| # |_|_|_| |_|_|_| # |_|_|_| |_|_|_| # |_|_|_| |_|_|_|

Keepin' tuned ...
Wendy Anthony

250sc

Jun-25-2006, 7:14pm

You can export Tabledit files, or measures from them, to ASCII then cut and paste those into your message. If I played bluegrass I'd be happy to post a lick or two but bg isn't my strong point.

Flowerpot

Jun-27-2006, 12:25pm

OK, I'll try it again...

F# B
E-----|-----------------|---------2-1-0-1-|-0---------------|-----------------|
A-----|-------0-2-4-3-2-|-0-2-1-4---------|---6-2-0---------|-2---------------|
D--4-3|-2-3-4-----------|-----------------|---------4-2-0-1-|-----------------|
G-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_|

F# B
E-----|-----------------|---------2-1-0-1-|-0---------------|-----------------|
A-----|-------0-2-4-3-2-|-0-2-1-4---------|---6-2-0-5-2-0---|---------2-------|
D--4-3|-2-3-4-----------|-----------------|---------------4-|-3-2-0-1---------|
G-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_|

let me explain this lick: it's meant for the key of B, where the VI chord (F#) is coming back to the root. It was taken mainly from Adam Steffey, from his break on "Studebaker" (title cut from Kenny Smith's solo project), with some embellishment. In Adam's break, he uses the first 15 notes as a cool filler over an extended F# chord, but I think it works as a bridge back to the I chord if you keep it going. The second version is identical to the first, but lasts 2 beats longer.

In passing, I should mention my take on playing licks: I tend to prefer melody-based inprovisation over lick-based improv. Exceptions come when there isn't a melody to work with (banjo tunes), but for the most part, a good solo will start with the melody and state it well enough so that the listener recognizes the tune. But as the solo progresses, a well-constructed break will gradually get more complicated and begin to play around with the melody, taking liberties and adding new elements. Then very close to the end of the break, that's the time to pull out all the stops and insert the hot licks, but make sure to resolve things and come back to the root note in a convincing manner. Given that explanation, most of the licks on my personal "library" are ending licks, things you can pull out to close down a solo. It seldom works to start out with some kind of really hot lick, cause a) people want to hear the melody, whether they admit it or not, and b) if you bring out your best stuff in the first 4 measures, where are you gonna go from there?

AlanN

Jun-27-2006, 12:27pm

Bibey B Bunk!

Flowerpot

Jun-27-2006, 12:47pm

You posted too fast and missed the long-winded explanation....

It's Steffey B Bunk. Bibey would have gone up the neck. don'cha think?... I may have to post a Bibey ending lick for contrast.

Mark Normand

Jun-28-2006, 8:00am

Excellent topic! Pls keep 'em coming, never know when the right one will just flow right out the fingers for us newer BG players. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

AlanN

Jun-28-2006, 8:08am

Yes, FP, more of a Steffey vibe.

I look at Bibey's tune Flyin' High (off the excellent Mando Monsters session) as a lesson in how Alan works a tune in B. Also, his work on one of the early Lou Reid CDs comes to mind. I need to get with the tab lines here and post some stuff.

Steve K

Jul-01-2006, 10:31am

Here's an excerpt from an Alan Bibey break to "I'll Stay Around" in the key of B. #This is from the 2nd half of the break where it goes from the I (B) (first measure below) to the IV (E) (measures 2 and 3) back to the I.

| # # # #| # # # | # # # | # # # #
|0---1p--0---1p--0-------0-------|
|--------------------5-------5---|
|--------------------------------|
|--------------------------------|

| # # # | # # # | # # # | # # # #| # # # | # # # | # # # | # # # #
|0-----------3---5h6-5---3-------|3/--4---0-----------7---9---10--|
|----5/--7-------------------7---|------------7/--11--------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|

| # # # | # # # | # # # | # # # #| # # # | # # # | # # # | # # # #
|----14--10/-11--7/5-----5-------|----5---------------------------|
|--------------------9-------8/--|9-------8/7-5---7---7---5/6-----|
|--------------------------------|----------------------------9---|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|

| # # # | # # # | # # # | # # # #| # # # | # # # | # # # | # # # #
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|7---6---------------------------|--------------------------------|
|--------9-----------------------|--------------------------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|

Copy and paste this into a wordpad or word file and convert to courier 10-pitch to make this readable.

The transcription of the entire break is posted at www.mandozine.com.

Steve K