I ran out of tape into the second time through this tune and being at the end of about 42 minutes of taping, I needed a break. So, this vid only has me going through it once. Not that that's bad. It may actually be good! This is one of my favorite tunes and I don't have all the nuances of Compton or Hartford. Hope to but I'm pretty happy that I was able to play this up the neck in closed position as that's been a goal of mine for a number of years now just never forced myself to do it. Hopefully, I'll improve.
Joe, I had a breakthrough watching you play up the neck... I gotta practice some more..
Me too! I'm stumbling through it, realizing this is just like an FFcP exercise... still sound pretty lame, but I'm getting it!
I'm right there with y'all, stumblin' and practicin', practicin' and stumblin'. It's even worse with dead soldiers are lyin' about!
Okay, I'll take this to Rockport with me to work on - hubby and I are going for an 22nd anniversary weekend - can you just see the hypnotic sound getting us in that romantic mood.....LOL
You folks are very kind, and I really appreciate the encouragement. It makes it a lot of fun to do this.
Dude, you are awesome and a great encouragement to us...
OK, enough of this idle banter... Here goes... and I still think it doesn't sound right...
Sounds good to me, Eddie. I'm having a lot of trouble with this one, too, for some reason!
Well done, Eddie. I thought that sounded the business.
Eddie, sounds good to me! I'm trying to guess what all the different rooms are that you video in!
I agree, it sounds right, and you also got a nice swing going.
Old Sausage, very nice! The backing tracks make a big difference on this tune. I've been having a lot of trouble getting this one myself. I think Bill is right, it's just not very melodic. There's not much to latch on to and work with, at least for my approach.
One of the biggest hurdles for me in this tune was not going to a lower note after the lowest note, which I think is an A (but not sure at this time). For some reason that was what I want to do when, in fact, the tune jumps up. Kinda squirrelly or squirrel-like. Or maybe that's when the hunters 'bark' the squirrel outta the tree? You've got it, Eddie, and as you know, it'll get smoother.
eddie - i think that until we can play these tunes in our sleep, all of them are "works in progress." seems like you're on the right track. yeah - what's with the room changes? ... looking for the best recording "sweet spot" in your house? btw - yesterday, someone presented us with a skinned rabbit. i got out "joy of cooking" this morning to see how best to roast it and happened to see their recipe for squirrel ... ... i feel another challenge coming on ...
I've enjoyed all the versions posted so far: mikeyes on the oval, OldSausage rocks, Joe's tough closed position version (I need some of that work), Barbara's regular and jig versions (very cool), Eddie's garage band version. Hope I didn't leave anyone out. Great picking, everyone! Here's my take on it. I was going after that shuffle feel that Compton does so well. Not sure I got there but it's a start. The second B part with the Monroe double stops gets a little buzzy and I've got some pinky work to do, too, so I don't have to shift in that first B part. And I see I can't sit still and play like you guys.
Top notch stuff, Don, great hard-edged sound.
way to go don - thanks for identifying that "shuffle" sound - sliding chords around between runs. i wanted to do it but didn't know what it was called. also, your intonation of "squirrel hunters" (in G#, according to my korg tuner) deserves mention - mike compton does it as well as betse ellis, fiddle player for "the wilders." what's that all about?
Bill, I tuned up before I played it. It should be in A. I was going for the shuffle feel with the right hand--Compton talks about emulating the fiddle shuffle with the pick. He can do it and Monroe did that too. I'm trying to do that, but I would guess I'm not there yet. Thanks, OldSausage, your version was inspiring.
Still having trouble getting the melody in my head, so I set out on a search for lyrics thinking that might help. Haven't found any yet but at ibiblio.org I found the following information, which may or may not mean anything to anyone here! YANKEE SQUIRREL HUNTER. AKA – “Squirrel Hunter.” Old-Time, Breakdown. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AB. See note for “Dan Friend’s Piece.” Source for notated version: Tony Mates [Silberberg]. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 172. DAN FRIEND'S PIECE. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, West Virginia. A Mixolydian. Standard. ABB'. See also variants “Rainy Day [2],” “Hell Against the Barn Door,” and, in the Midwest, “Yankee Squirrel Hunter” and “Squirrel Hunter.” Source Ernie Carpenter named the tune after the fiddler from whom he learned it. Source for notated version: Ernie Carpenter (Braxton County, W.Va.) [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Vol. 1), 1994; pg. 65. SQUIRREL HUNTERS, THE. AKA ‑ "Squirrel Hunting." AKA and see "The Bell Cow [2]" (Pa.), "Dilly's Favorite" (Pa.), "Jenny Put the Kettle On (We'll All Take Tea) [3]" (Pa.), "N....r in/on the Woodpile [1]" (Pa.), "Old Common Time" (Pa.), "The Pennsylvania Quickstep [2]" (Pa.). American, March (2/4 time). USA, southwestern Pa. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. This tune was known in Pennsylvania primarily as a fife "stop‑beat" piece, though Bayard has identified it as a member of "one of the most widespread and ramifying of our British Isles melodic families." This very old tune family has innumberable variants and forms in most of the commonly used folk modes, in quick and slow tempi, and in 2/4, 4/4, 6/8, and 3/4 time, and all resembling each other to the extent that family traits are confirmed yet seemingly not enough to differentiate clear classes and subgroups. Bayard, arbitrarily he admits, has assigned the nomen "Welcome Home" to this family from one of its member Irish airs. He lists a few of the recurrent old‑country titles of members of this melodic complex: "The Oyster Wife's/Wives' Rant," "The Haughs of Cromdale," "Wate You How the Play Began," "The Hillside [2]," "Welcome Home [3]," and "(Fare Thee Well) Sweet Killaloe," and in his note to this tune he cites numerous other references. See also note for “Dan Friend’s Piece.” Sources for notated versions: nine southwestern Pa. fifers and fiddlers [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 220A‑I, pgs. 174‑177. Rounder CD 0392, John Hartford - “Wild Hog in the Brush and a Bunch of Others You Might Not Have Heard” (1996). X:1 T:Squirrel Hunters, The M:4/4 L:1/8 Q:175 S:John Hartford's "Wild Hog in the Redbrush" transcribed by Llarry Brandon K:D |:"4"e3d .B2 Bd|efed .B2 BA|GABc d2 dc|dBcA BcBA|! "4"e3d .B2 Bd|efed .B2 BA|GABc d2 B2|1"4" A8:|2"4" A6|! |:Bd|edeg a2ag|edef g2BA|GABc d2dc|dBcA BcBA|! edeg abag|edef g2BA|GABc d2B2|1"4"A6:|2"4"A8| I also found an old-time version (that I think Barb will like) here. Go to Squirrel Hunter and click 'open' on the file link. Also from Buffalogals.co.uk/recordings.htm Squirrel Hunters (Trad.) We learned this tune from our banjo playing friend Bob Chase. It is found in the Samuel P. Bayard Collection, Dance to the Fiddle, March to the Fife. It is known as a fife stop-beat piece, referring to the manner in which accompanying drums will stop playing for a period of time within the tune.
Room Changes: - If the wife is home use the patio. If it's late at night and the wife is in HER garage/workroom use the kitchen. If the wife is away in Virginia at a wedding use the Garage ALL day and night... hope that explains it. BTW the wife called me from the Smithsonian - Orville Wright's mandolin display - with a quotation from Catherine Wright: "“Orv has begun lessons on his mandolin and we are getting even with the neighborhood for the noise they have made on pianos. He sits around and picks that thing until I can hardly stay in the house.” Bill, rabbit can be prepared like chicken - yes, it does taste like it. Ask Bertram for a Haasenpfeiffer recipe. New Challenge for Bill: Rocky Road to Dublin (hunt the hare and turn him).
tracy - great site! - graziemille! eddie/bertram - not that i plan on eating one but ... any squirrel recipes? it appears they're best hunted with a .22 caliber rifle (with scope) using long-range, high-velocity bullets. REAL squirrel hunters shoot the branch the ferocious beasty is standing on so as not to damage the meat ... internet is amazing ...
Here is another version on my Dave Dart Octave Mandolin. I am finally learning to play this tune. I've hunted squirrels like that, it is called "barking" and it saves the meat. In Kentucky squirrel brains are considered a delicacy. Of course, Kentucky also has a high rate of Kreutzfeld-Jacob disease.
Bill, real squirrel hunters use a Chevy truck - squirrel is best prepared as road-kill.
Cool OM Mike. Great throaty sound.
Well, Here's my sorry attempt played on my Michael Kelly Legacy FS. http://vimeo.com/5047562 Chris
Wow, lots of good versions of Squirrel Hunter here. Some really nice left hand stuff that I wish I knew. Here is my meager attempt. I don't think I add anything musically. However, I did do something a little different with the video... I used my new toy, a Zoom H2, to record the sound, then put together a video using Windows MovieMaker. Still a bit rough as movie making goes (Peter Jackson has nothing to worry about), but not a terrible first attempt. DWP
f-f-'tastic ...
I don't know, it was better than King Kong, for example. Very cool
Here is my sorry attempt. This was quite a difficult song. The melody is difficult.
Kyle, at least your strings sound good this time! (Song does, too.)
Thanks Tracy. Well it wasn't just the strings, although the strings so much better. And I love these J-74's a lot better! But instead of using the built in mic on the web cam, I used a separate mic and the sound is much better.
I've got to say that all those submissions this afternoon were GREAT! Congrats to you all!
The Squirrel Hunters' Merry Adventures in the Enchanted Forests of Rosine.
squirrelly version of "squirrel hunters" - a work in progress - definitely - ambient jet and washing machine spin-cycle noises just took forever to coordinate and get right:
Very nice spin on that tune, Mike!
Bill, I liked your version, and all the 'distractions' made me smile! The acoustics in that room in your house are really great! Barb
Mike, I particularly enjoyed the part where the squirrel went to visit Big Mon. Bill, that looked like it was very trying for you. I would advise people to chop the chords along with Bill's version at home - it sounds great.
Okay, here's my 3rd submission for this tune! This time, I'm playing it up the neck in FFcP..... something I'm not used to, and I'm trying to incorporate a slide or two.... something else I haven't done before! Still too slow, but, hey, I'm working on it!
There's no such thing as too slow, too fast is the thing to avoid. Great to see the new sliding technique, and I can't believe that's your first excursion up the neck. Very good.
Obviously, what I lack in quality, I'll make up in quantity! Here's my FOURTH submission of Squirrel Hunters! This time, I recorded the chords on my OM. To my credit, I found a couple of these notations with the tempo of 175=quarter note. I set my metronome to 88 to the half note, and played the chords with the metronome going (so that's the click you here every so often). Then I recorded me playing the tune on my mandolin, along to the first recording. In first position, this time, since I've already played it 100 times in that position, and only 10 up the neck, haha!
I went home at lunch for a re-do on this, trying to get the sound right and the "mojo" better. This just sucks in new ways, however. I'm telling myself this is one of those tunes that has to soak in a while. As hard as it is to learn and video these tunes, I gotta say it forces one to focus. Maybe someone should start a companion group for obsessive-compulsive mandolin players. BTW, I put the metronome on the Hartford/Compton video. I couldn't quite nail it, but it's somewhere in the 118-119-120 bpm neighborhood.
My name is Eddie... and I'm a mandoholic... I was a guitaraholic and used a mandolin to withdraw from the guitar... but now I'm hooked worse than ever... and on top of that I have chronic MAS...
Ah, now I've got it, Mike, Wheel Hoss was the other one!
You are exactly correct, sir. Mike Compton tried to teach me Squirrel Hunters a year or so back. I have to admit I didn't like it and was happy to move on to whatever came next. Now I wish I'd paid attention, because I really like this tune, though it's an (insert bitter swearing here) to get to sound good. Don comes closest to how I think this ought to sound ... which is how Compton does it. Maybe if I got some bib overalls...
Bill, Real nice Squirrel jam. I'm always impressed with people that can keep a jam going like that. (I can keep the puns coming, but I find that's not as socially acceptable...) - DWP
Oh, that Compton guy, always bangin' on about Squirrel Hunters, it's like it's the only tune he knows.
Hartford was the one with an obsession for the tune. I think there are a bunch of different versions. I don't even want to think about that at this point.
who started saying "squirrel hunterrrs ..." in that "batman"-like intonation before playing the song?
The one wearing the utility-belt?
