Working now on this Nancy Blake tune title "Father's Hall", it's part of the Homespun video lesson, The Mandolin of Norman Blake. I'm attracted to this tune, and to Nancy's tune Hangin' Dog, probably because of the minor sound she uses (Father's Hall is written in G and uses Em; Hangin' Dog is written in Em)
Nicely done! Nancy's tunes have gentle feel to them.
Well we now know what you are doing Mark. Very cool. And that quick move up to the 9th fret on D string was smooth. Larry
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I've been playing mandolin to the detriment of other things I should be doing, and this has been going on for a long while now, but I enjoy it so much and lately seem to be breaking some barriers for speed and for tremolo. When I first started, I doubted whether I'd ever be able to do a decent tremolo, or play "bluegrass fast", but right now I'm seeing potential and it's fun and exciting for me.
Your videos over the year have shown awesome dedication, and I see the barriers breaking. Bravo. And your Blake selections had me seek out Natasha's Waltz. What a wonderful compilation, I highly recommend it. Thanks for being an inspiration and shining light in our group, Mark. Adam
Adam, thank you for the kind words and for the recommendation - Natasha's Waltz looks like a nice compilation of tracks from Norman and Nancy's earlier works, I'll have to get that one too. Recently, I listened to the three-disc set of The Pizza Tapes - Extra Large Edition, and it was the most fun I've had in a long time listening to the banter and the impeccable musical skills of Tony Rice, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.
Some of the songs on Natasha's Waltz will finally get me to use my ear and get away from the paper, and help with the tremolo. The melodies are memorable. I've had my finger hovering over the buy on the Pizza Tapes for so long. I have a lot of Garcia-Grisman recordings, as well as a bunch of Tony Rice's albums. All 3 of them are absolutely amazing.
Revisited this tune with guitar and mandolin, it's been a little over a year since I learned it, and I've recently been using it to work on economy of fingerings.
Your earlier version was quite nice, but you have progressed a lot in a year. I hear it mostly as smoothness and that is surely related to both your fingering economy and your more efficient right hand technique. Very pleasant tune and easy to listen to your rendition thereof.
What a beautiful melody. Played well. Pleasing to these old ears very much. Keep it up Mark. Bob