Week #162 ~ Falls of Richmond

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  1. Barbara Shultz
    Barbara Shultz
    This week's voting was very close... the winner by one vote is Falls of Richmond, which seems to be an old-time fiddle tune.

    I'm not familiar with the tune. I've found it referenced in Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook, but I'm in the midst of moving, and have mine packed away.

    I found a couple of standard notations, and there are a number of videos on You Tube, mostly on fiddle or clawhammer banjo.

    The form of this tune seems to be up in the air. There's 3 parts, and I'm confused on the most common way they are played....

    Here is a link to standard notation (with midi file) on Traditional Bluegrass Music.. Here it says it's usually played AABCB, ending on a B... but I can't get that to sound right!

    Here is a link to the tune on mandolinsessions, arranged by Nate Lee.

    Here's standard notation from a site called The Way of The Fiddle

    Here's Annie & Mac on YouTube:

  2. JLewis
    JLewis
    Found this abc at JC's ABC Tunefinder

    X: 1
    T:Falls of Richmond
    M:2/4
    L:1/8
    N:Parts are ABCDB
    K:Ador
    D/|E/D/E/G/ A(G|G)A/B/ c/B/c/D/|E/D/E/G/ Ac/A/|B/A/G A2|
    E/G/A/B/ A2|GA/B/ c/B/c/d/|e>c Ac/A/|B/A/G A2:|
    |:e>c Ac/A/|B/A/G/A/ c/B/c/d/|B/c/e/g/ e/c/A/c/|B<G A2|
    A/c/e/c/ A/c/e/c/|B/A/G/A/ c/B/c/d/|B/c/e/g/ e/c/A/c/|B<G A2:|
    K:Amix
    |:e/ a e ac'/a/|b/a/c'/a/ b/a/c'/a/|e/ a e/ ac'/a/|b/a/b/b/ a2:|
    |:a/|d'/a/c'/a/ b/a/b/a/|d'/a/c'/a/ b>a|d'/a/c'/a/ b/a/b/e/|f2 e:|

    I imported it into TabEdit and played the midi. Kinda' something like the video posted, maybe because the midis doesn't have the dynamic flexibility to pull melody up from surrounding ornamentation.
  3. fatt-dad
    fatt-dad
    I'll be playing it aa, bb, cc, dd, bb

    Going to the beach next week, so I'm not sure about the production level (or whether I'll have to wait until the next week).

    f-d
  4. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    What a cool tune! Here's my attempt:

  5. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    Really great arrangement David. I really admire the pairing of the mandolin and the octave mandolin because it's such a great sound. And the bowed bass fiddle also adds a bit of mystery to the tune which just can't be had any other way. One of my favorites from you (and there have been so many... thanks.)
  6. Manfred Hacker
    Manfred Hacker
    I don't know what to say, David
    Stunning, Haunting, Beautiful!
  7. nanaimo
    nanaimo
    Haunting is the right word! I found myself adrift wondering where I would end up. Loved it.
  8. justkaron
    justkaron
    Very nice...enjoyed that a lot.

    .....and I can't help it...I heard part of the lead in to Pure Prairie League's 'Amy' in there. Yep.
    Right around 35 seconds.

    almost...but not really

    But enough to make me recall that old hit.
  9. Barbara Shultz
    Barbara Shultz
    David..... that was excellent! Karon.. I heard it too!
  10. Tim Anderson
    Tim Anderson
    Loved it. I had to turn it up as I was drawn in...
  11. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Thanks David. As so often happens for me, I only understood this tune once I heard you play it.
  12. Marcelyn
    Marcelyn
    That's a winner, David. It has such feeling in it.
  13. Don Grieser
    Don Grieser
    Wonderful, David. Love the sound, the arrangement and the playing! Stellar!
  14. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Here's my solo attempt at going over the Falls:

  15. Dan Krhla
    Dan Krhla
    Very cool tune! Two stellar examples!!!
    Thanks y'all
  16. Barbara Shultz
    Barbara Shultz
    OS... that was wonderful! You make those slides seem so easy!
  17. nanaimo
    nanaimo
    Another wonderful version!
    Kelly
  18. laura809
    laura809
    Those are tough acts to follow David and OS. Here's my version.
  19. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Very cool version Laura, nice arrangement.
  20. Eddie Sheehy
    I have to say David (Hansen) that I too didn't really hear the tune until you played it...
    and David (OS) I love those slides. You guys make it seem so effortless.
    Very nice laid back version, Laura
  21. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    The Falls of Richmond is quirky and full of unexpected twists and turns. This version has an extra part and it comes right after the A major part. It's played on a Kentucky mandolin and my new Goldtone open back banjo with guitar and bass backup. The versions above helped me navigate and understand this cool tune. Thanks for those great performances David, Old Sausage and Laura...

  22. Mike O'Connell
    Mike O'Connell
    David, David, Laura, Michael - All four played so well. Very enjoyable - from the haunting bass to the banjo and everything in between. Thanks for sharing.
  23. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Great job, Michael - that 4th bit adds some more fun too. Banjo sounds very cool on this one. Is it in standard tuning?
  24. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    Thanks David. The banjo is in Sawmill or Mountain Minor tuning for this one. Before the capo it is tuned – 5: G, 4: D, 3: G, 2: C, 1: D.
  25. Marcelyn
    Marcelyn
    Very cool old time sound with the banjo, Michael. I love the fourth part. These versions are all just amazing this week.
  26. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Thanks Michael, I'm going to give that tuning a try, see how it works with some scruggs-style picking on this tune.
  27. peterangell
    peterangell
    OK, this was a challenge for me after only 2 months in, but here is my video, bloopers and all! I have used the Nate Lee tab.

    Out of interest, which software do you guys use to multitrack your videos? They all sound great... would like to try to do that too...

  28. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Nice job, Peter, you've really accomplished a lot in a short space of time. One thing I think I'm seeing there, although it's hard to be sure because your right hand is a little hidden, is it looks like you're sometimes losing the alternating picking - watch that right hand and make sure you keep it going up and down in a steady rhythm (even when you're skipping a note) so that you're always going down on the 1,3,5,7 of every bar and up on the 2,4,6,8. Those of us who migrated to the mandolin from other instruments often have problems with that.

    I did a blog post about my recording equipment and software here:
    http://mandoliniana.blogspot.com/201...ent-check.html
  29. peterangell
    peterangell
    Thanks for the pointers - I wouldn't be surprised if my picking is all over the place!
  30. Tavy
    Tavy
    Wow guys, that's a cool tune, and some amazing playing on there: David that was really haunting, while the slides on OS's and Michael's versions were amazing! Still don't know how you guys learn these so fast!Wow guys, that's a cool tune, and some amazing playing on there: David that was really haunting, while the slides on OS's and Michael's versions were amazing! Still don't know how you guys learn these so fast!
  31. fatt-dad
    fatt-dad
    here I am at the beach house on the deck with my morning coffee (and cigar). One clam on the first a part, then I'm back on track. . .

    Playing my new beach mandolin (I decided life's too short to carry my IV kit to the beach and have now christened my pancake to the salty spray).

    The "Falls of Richmond."



    f-d
  32. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    fatt-dad: like your Falls of Richmond and the sound of the waves in the background.

    OS: really nice blog about your recording techniques. You've inspired me to do something with my blog. I've tried to talk about how to practice to learn a song really quickly and the method I eventually came up with.

    Here's a link describing how I do something called Deliberate Practice: http://stuche51.blogspot.com/2012/06...cessfully.html
  33. Eddie Sheehy
    @Tavy - repitition is the key... j/k
  34. Marcelyn
    Marcelyn
    Mmmmmm, pancake and coffee, what a morning treat, and on the beach no less! Those background waves are making me so jealous. Here's a plain-old living room submission.

  35. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    Your "plain-old living room" version is always a wonderful lesson in solo mandolin. Thanks Marcy...
  36. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Great music from everyone, as usual! This group was worth joining just to listen to you guys.

    Michael, I like the blog about practice. If I understand correctly, the key seems to be to work out the tricky bits first. I look forward to the point where (a) there are bits that I don't find tricky and (b) I can identify the trickiest ones!
  37. Francis J
    Francis J
    Great versions as usual, and a lot of variation, which is one of the most attractive parts of Old time music. My version is short, and stolen! (Thanks Laura !) I should have gone around a second time but I was .

  38. justkaron
    justkaron
    Francis! Rock on!
  39. fatt-dad
    fatt-dad
    So, I recorded my week's submittal, posted it, but never even listened to it until tonight. I had not listened to any of your versions either. Wow! I have a few new ideas from your all's renditions. I just can't believe how each take is so cool. The pace varies, the instrumentations, the arraignment. Real fun ideas for sure! I play so much in jams that I usually just ape the fiddle. I'd be interested in tabs of your all's renditions if there are any out there. Is there some way to make tab from ABC?

    Fun group you alls!

    f-d
  40. peterangell
    peterangell
  41. JLewis
    JLewis
    TablEdit will also convert .abc files. Copy the abc posted here, paste into a plain text editor like Notepad, and save with a .abc extender. Then in TablEdit go to File menu, and choose Import/Import ABC...
  42. Francis J
    Francis J
    f-d the version i played was an approximation of Nate Lee's , as mentioned by Barbara above. I took the lazy option of learning it by ear from the mp3.
  43. Manfred Hacker
    Manfred Hacker
    So many hard acts to follow. Everybody seems to play effortlessly.

    This tune brought me close to despair. It took me a record number of takes to record this still shaky performance.
    It would be best for me if tunes were just 8 measures long:

  44. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Nothing shaky about it, Manfred! To manage so much musicality and expression after a large number of frustrated attempts really takes a good player. I like it how everyone's interpretation sounds different, but they all sound great.
  45. Francis J
    Francis J
    Nice playing Manfred, and your mandolin sounds awesome.
  46. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    That's a cool version Manfred, and very nicely played. Have you tried doing it with the metronome only clicking twice for each measure instead of 4 times? I find it much easier to control the phrasing that way, and seems to give the impression of a more relaxed performance (even though it's often anything but).
  47. Manfred Hacker
    Manfred Hacker
    Thanks for the kind words, guys.
    David, this is the NATE LEE version that Francis also played, I believe. I played it about 10 clicks slower than I was able to because I wanted to get better tone on the slides.
    You are right, though, that the quarter note bps metronome is a bit hectic at times and I sometimes practice with the half note speed. I will try to use that on my recordings more often.
    Francis, I am in love with the tone of my mandolin, which I have had for a year now. I can hardly put it down. It responds to the slightest touch, and even heavily used strings (as is the case now) still sound good.
  48. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Yes, that's a fantastic sounding mando, Manfred.
  49. Steve Cantrell
    Steve Cantrell
    Pulling this one from a few years back, but this is one we've been working on and I think it might rank up there as one of my favorite tunes.
  50. GKWilson
    GKWilson
    I'm really liking the new mandola Steve. [From one great hand to another.]
    Dawn, you're really killing it on that claw hammer. One of my favorites of you's two's .
    Gary
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