I have just started working on an old tune called "Bonny at Morn", which I thought might be good to share with you because it seems especially suitable for (relative) beginners. ABC notation and standard notation can be found here: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/6388 The reasons why I think this would be good for us: It's not one of those lightning-fast tunes, but a slow-ish waltz/air/whatever, so we could play the tune like it's meant to be played and focus on good tone. The fastest run is a simple upward scale, so still quite easy to play. I haven't found any video examples featuring mandolin, but here's a nice guitar version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcyTK7V7o1s Since this is actually a song, there are many great vocal versions too. Here's one with harp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXC7ch_yZkg So if you have significant others who may wish to sing along, that might be fun too! You may have a better suggestion for our next tune of the month, but I thought I'd point this one out anyhow.
What a lovely song! Sort of sounds a little haunting,but pretty!
good for me - I like the idea of really concentrating on the sound - which for me often gets shoved aside by the need to just get to the note. I found these tabs - but not sure which is what as they are different. http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/ma...ny_At_Morn.htm http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/fo...ny_at_morn.htm
I like the idea of really concentrating on the sound - which for me often gets shoved aside by the need to just get to the note. I agree! Sounds like a winner to me.
I'm in. I can use some practice hitting all the notes cleanly.
@Onawhim Thanks for the link to the tab, I'll be trying the second one .. it looks easier !!
@ Gelsenbury, Great choice of tune for us - thanks fo introducing it. Can't get the tune out of my head which can only help I suppose !. (If you like Northumbrian tunes look out for 'black leg miner' - its another haunting tune which sounds great on our family of instruments).
@onawhim, Thanks for the tab post! I found the second one, but that first one looks pretty interesting (think I'll work up to that one). I agree with Velo, the second one looks a bit easier.
I printed both off today - so tonight will have a go - will start with the one with less notes - but once got the tune in my head will probably give the other a go - but may not video! I have signed up for 'sore fingers summer school' weekend (google it) in October so am trying to build up my fingers without causing injury so am hoping the song of tghe month will go towards this aim. I have double checked - and then checked again - that they are ok with beginners - they say they are - we shall put that statement to the test!! I'm a bit worried that my self taught technique will be under close scrutiny - which is good - but not an enjoyable experience i fear.
I'm really enjoying this song. This is the type of song I was looking for a few posts back (a non cut-time type song). I do not know if I'm correct with the timing but I like the sound. I however, at present do not own a computer or a video camera so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get involved with the newb song of the month. Hopefully Santa is paying attention or perhaps I should have purchased a computer instead of a second mandolin. (At present I borrow a computer or read and post through my ever present Blackberry) I can understand onawhim's hesitancy to post a video. I to am trying to teach myself and have noone to help with guestions (other than this site) or point out my mistakes. There is no (and I've checked and double checked) mandolin instructors in my town. A few people have told me (and these are so called music schools) that they don't own or have a mandolin BUT they can teach me if I sign up for lessons. Otherwise take my money...... Sorry for rambling and going off topic. I do this a lot. Thanks for the song suggestion. I like it.
You can still learn it though and tell us of your progress I am in the same boat as you, for my web cam does not like my operating system (I run linux and am too lazy to hunt down driver's at the moment >.>) And a little bit of rambling never hurt anybody
@onawhim YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! Just remember that we all still love your playing here if they're mean.
@ Nor - thank-you :-))) I had Linux when I started anbd had to sue the vid bit off my camera and did it that way - but could never hear the sound until it was actually uploaded! @theoldman - verbal updates would be good - you'll know the bits you struggle with and can describe them for handy hints - i've found people on here really helpful with this. Fingers crossed for santa then! I tried the tune last night - its so pretty and its great to really work on the timing and tone without being in a rush, great choice.
@onawhim, I googled the summer school, sounds brilliant - really hope you enjoy it - can you let us know how you get on with the weekend ? @theoldman, hope you can sort yourself out with a computer soon - Like you I'm teaching myself and I can't imagine being able to without the computer, especially for tabledit (and windows) where you can slow down the tempo, so that I can play along with it. That has helped my timing massively. Also I need the tabs (I cant play from the music alone) and there is so much out there in tab form.
A very shaky version on my OM, just to get the ball rolling...
That's not shaky at all for such a quick start! It sounds really nice on the OM. And being unable to get the song out of your head, as you wrote before, is probably all part of the learning process. I've read several instruction books where it was argued that the first step to playing a piece well is to be able to sing or hum it. (The implication seems to be either that the attempt to read along distracts from fluency and expression, or that folk musicians will never be any good at sight-reading anyway! For the same reason, I'll put off my video until I don't have to read along any more.) @theoldman: I'm sure we'd all agree that videos aren't a must, but they do add to the experience. You may find it helpful to look at the videos when you can, and we're looking forward to your written updates. For me, at least, part of this exchange is to swap tips about practice and tricky bits in the tunes, and no video is required for that. For example, I thought the run of eighths towards the end would be a challenge, but it's much easier than I thought. An important moment seems to be the eighth followed by a dotted quarter (I think some people call this a "Scottish snap") that velo executes so beautifully in his video. And there seems to be some controversy over whether the Cs in this song (at least in the notation I have) should be sharp or natural. So this all is about discussion as well as video swapping. @Nor: I'm a Linux user too. My webcam works with Skype, but my problem is that I can't seem to find a program or command to record and encode from it! So at the moment I'm just recording videos on my phone and uploading them directly to YouTube. I hope you find a solution.
Oh Velo that was wonderful!!!! I found myself humming it at school this morning and I'm sure I'll be humming it at work tonight, as well as RtL from last month. My biggest problem right now with this song is the timing. I can't seem to pick a stead beat to stick at, so my version of this song sounds NOTHING like it's supposed to at the moment On the plus side, my fingers are learning where to go so I suppose I can't complain to much. As far as the Linux vs. webcam problem, my goal is to figure that out this weekend. If I figure it out Gelsenbury, I'll be sure to let you know!!! I think I can take vids on my phone, but it is still smarter than me so we shall see. *thinks for a second* Oh wait....I have an actual camera that can do that with....tehehehehe. Wow, too much technology can be a bad thing at times lol. I'll have to see how big the file will be and editing too. Sound will be crap though me thinks. I'll test it out quickly before I have to get ready for work today.
It works! Meaning there is a possibility of a video from me for last months song *shifty eyes* We shall see. Won't be until tomorrow or Thursday though. Stupid work getting in my way of playing mando.....
@Gelsenbury, I think you are absolutely right that being able to play the tune without looking at the music, must help the fluency of the playing, I suppose it takes out one step for the brain to compute! The only trouble for me is no matter how often I play a tune I don't seem to be able to play it without looking at the tab - perhaps my brain hasn't got the necessary connections !! Has anyone got any tips on how to learn a tune ? @Nor, If you go to the 2nd link that onawhim posted, to the music there is a link to a midi file which plays the tune. I've found listening and playing along with that helps me to learn the beat - - hope it helps you
@velo - excellent - the da da da da daa da ddd at the end has been tripping me up - but now i've got it i think form your version. the OM sounds fab. @Gelsenbury - blimey - confusing stuff re notes! I am going to make the effort and look at what I am playing now. I am going to visit Paul Hathway on Friday! :-)
@velo, oooooooo I will try that! I've been listening to it, but haven't tried it while playing because I'm a slow learner at first lol I can't keep up with it. But yes, I will try that with this tune since it's pretty slow. Thanks
@Nor, If you are using windows media player to listen to the tune, then right click on the window whilst playing the tune, choose 'enhancements' then 'play speed settings'. This allows to to slow down the tempo without changing the pitch - very useful for learning to play along with.
I've pretty much got the song memorized. Now I am really focusing on my pick control so I can hit the strings every time with a consistent pressure. Another thing I have been doing is an exercise where I just play DUDUDUDU (slower than a tremolo) on one string while slowly building and decreasing the volume. It seems to help me dial in a little closer on the string. I hope to eventually include some crescendos into some portions of this song to add a little drama and flair ;-)
I have come to the conclusion that the mando I'm borrowing needs quite a bit of work. The bridge is too high, leaving me having to push down super hard to get the right sound. When I play on my friend's mando (which ironically used to be my sister's), it sounds much much better and I don't have to push down so hard. This is starting to become a hindrance with me getting the eight notes in this song In short, I'm out growing my starter mando.
Nor, does your mandolin have a fixed bridge or an adjustable one? I had the same problem on my starter instrument, and just lowering the adjustable bridge made the world of difference.
I *think* it's fixed?????? I'll have to take a closer look at it to know for sure. I have to get new strings for this beast too at some point and change them out. Maybe I'll do that this weekend.
It's an adjustable bridge, but looks like it's already down as far as it will go =\ Curses to my tiny fingers
I am out and about next week - so here's my offering - short - not note perfect - but I enjoyed the tune - quite soulful. one on Maeve the mando and one on my OM
@onawhim, great videos for the tune... its seems to 'flow' better on the mandolin than the OM, but the sounds compliment each other very well. Its certainly a lovely tune. Enjoy your sore fingers summer school.
Interesting - rewritten by Sidney Carter as a nuclear protest song in the 60s and retitled as Crow On The Cradle, performed by Jackson Browne in 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-dCD...eature=related
@Velo - I haven't got the moving up and down the frets on the OM - must use little finger - but its still all over the shot when I try! I am felxing my fingers ready for the next 2 days - and now v excited! @m0 - i like it even more now! :-)
@onawhim Hmm. I can't see a link to your video while I am on the iPad, so I'll have to check it out over the weekend from my laptop. Have a great time at your sore fingers school. I'm signing up for music camp next month and I'm pretty excited about it.
Nice! I like both versions. Tell us a bit more about your progress: What were the most difficult bits, and how did you overcome them? Whilst you are presenting your new mando, here is my old one! When I bought my current mandolin, I decided to keep my previous instrument - her name is Clarion - at my mum's place. I'm on holiday this week, so here you see me in another setting, with my old mandolin. The more I learn, the more I get the impression that pick direction can make a big difference in terms of playability. So part of learning the tune was to memorise which notes to play as upstrokes. This includes the "snaps" on the high D and E in the second part, but also the first C# among others. I still struggle with going from B to E ("The Butterfly" has this too), but fluency comes with training. As it says in the YouTube description to this video, I'm not doing any impressive interpretative work towards the end - I just mispicked and tried to work my way out of trouble. It's unique for that reason, so I kept it.
bravo - good rescue too. well done for keeping on - i am still at the stop and start again phase which is mad if i ever plan toplay with anyone else. i found it ok to learn - we have done it at a different pace in the play through to each other - your version sounded jollier than my take on it. The only bit i had trouble with is near the end where you go from e string (2nd fret i think) to d string 95th fret) - i kept cathcing my third finger on the a string - had to move my hand position in the end. what are 'snaps'? a sharp play of a note?
