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swampstomper
Sep-13-2006, 8:01am
I like to work out in different keys, and have some good practice tunes for most of them. Obviously I can take a standard tune and move it around for practice, but I would like to find some "natural" tunes written for these keys, i.e. a tune that is written to take advantage of the key. Examples:

Bb New Camptown Races, Daley's Reel
B Rebecca

OK, so here's my problem. I don't have any tunes for Ab, Db, Eb or Gb (F#).

Surprisingly I only have two for F (Fisher's Hornpipe, Beaumont Rag) -- although I play a lot in F to back up singers.

The only minors I have are Am, Dm, Em, Gm (Ky. mandolin of course!)

I know that
JazzMando.com (http://jazzmando.com/red_lion_hornpipe.shtml) has some traditional tunes in closed positions -- that's fine for strengthening fingers etc. but it's not really what I'm after here.

Thanks!

AlanN
Sep-13-2006, 8:08am
Ab - Flickin' My Pick (Jethro) - a bear
F - Flop-eared Mule (also Jethro)
Another Bb is a tune on Doyle's Tennessee Dream, forget the name

adgefan
Sep-13-2006, 8:09am
I was looking into this a while back. I went to mandozine and searched for tab by key and picked out appropriate tunes. You won't find bluegrass tunes in every key, but you might stumble across some interesting stuff as a consequence.

swampstomper
Sep-13-2006, 8:39am
I looked at Mandozine and indeed they have a very few jazz standards in Db and Ab, absolutely nothing in Gb/F# (just some scales), and a wider selection in Eb including one Norman Blake and one Irish as well as a jazz standard.

mandopete
Sep-13-2006, 9:21am
OK, so here's my problem. I don't have any tunes for Ab, Db, Eb or Gb (F#).
Everyone knows that you need a capo to play in those keys!

Peter Hackman
Sep-13-2006, 9:32am
Monroe examples: Pretty Fair Maid, F sharp, Voice from on High,
E flat, Wayfaring Stranger, A flat - but I suspect he tuned
a half-step high
on at least the latter two.
On Jericho Road the first verse
is in G, the second in A flat, and I think it's
a splice, so the banjo and guitar could get their capos on.

B flat, F and E flat are very comfortable and I tend to play
a lot, just play around,
in these keys. A couple of songs expressly in these
keys are Sailor's Hornpipe, Cheyenne (B flat - g minor),
and High Level Hornpipe, commonly associated with
Howdy Forrester. A very accurate transcription:
http://home.comcast.net/~fatt-dad/fiddle_tunes.html
Not easy on your right hand, no rests!

There is a Monroe instrumental in F on Master of Bluegrass,
I forget the title.

You should be able to add c, f, and b to you repertoire of
minor keys. The Sons of the Pioneers used to feature
an instrumental, Farr Away Stomp or something,
in f minor. They recorded it at least twice.

San Antonio Rose is usually done in D-A flat; D because
that's the original arrangement for fiddle,
A flat because it suited Tommy Duncan's voice.
A half-turn around the circle of fifths!

TonyP
Sep-13-2006, 9:51am
If you want to jam with someone who does a lot of the odd keys, put on a early Lynn Morris album. We got to open for her one time and I got to ask her about that. She complained that her range was so narrow that they had to do Db, Eb, Ab, etc. to be able to sing comfortably. Made it clear to me why she used to have a hard time keeping the same mando players on the early albums http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

David M.
Sep-14-2006, 4:26pm
Try doing "Gal I left Behind" in F. Usually a G tune, but the F gives a nice double stop (in the 2nd measure I think). Not hard to play this one in F.

Also, Skaggs does that Road to Spencer in B, but it's not all that tough. pretty good tune, but hardly BG. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

jmcgann
Sep-15-2006, 5:02pm
All the below pertaining to NON JAZZ type thinking...

Of course you can play any tune in any key- so if you do, you'll know (for example) Forked Deer and Blackberry Blossom in all 12 keys. A great way to kill time http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

For tunes that are USUALLY played in those flat keys, check out Scottish fiddle music- there are some Eb tunes (A good one is The Hawk Jig I learned from Irish fiddler Sean McGuire). Tons of Bb tunes.

They may be out there, but I ain't never seen no fiddle tunes in Ab or Db or Gb.

Of the keys you mentioned, you lose open strings except for chromatic notes- you can play tunes in Db and use some wise guy open strings, but then the Music Police must whisk you away... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif The reason there aren't more fiddle tunes in Db is that the sound of open strings has a lot to do with how the music sounds IMHO. Keys "native to the instrument" just sit better, which is why Bb instruments love flat keys and not so much keys like E (which puts them in F# on the horn).