The tune of the month for March 2019, Roanoke, is an original Bill Monroe classic. I could find only two versions of Roanoke availble on YouTube featuring Bill Monroe; neither is of great audio quality to try to make out what he is playing. And interestingly, Bill does not play the B part of the tune in either video. Shoot, I don't even like the B part all that much -- so, if you want to 'play it like Bill did it', all you have to learn is the A part. Let the fiddle guy do the B part. I am embedding the clearer of the two Monroe versions plus a 'very slow Roanoke' lesson by Derek McSwain. Bill Monroe video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdkqj-KuVsU McSwain video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbcMU-m5HVw There are lots of nice clear versions on YouTube. Here is a link to the Song A Week thread for Roanoke. https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...cussionid=1137 Here is a link to six versions of Roanoke at mandozine.com http://www.mandozine.com/music/searc...rder=A&submit= I forgot where I picked up this ABC script. I think I copied it from the SAW thread. It appears to be a transcription of one of the versions at mandozine.com (this one http://www.mandozine.com/music/table...e-G-Monroe.tef) X:1 T:Roanoke C:Bill Monroe L:1/8 Q:270 M:4/4 K:G z6 ef | gf ga ge dB | AG FA G2 DE | =F2 F2 ED B,A, | G,6 GE |: "G"DC B,A, G,A, B,D | EF GB AG FE | DC B,A, G,A, B,D | "D"EF GA "G"G2 GE | "G"DC B,A, G,A, B,D | EF GA Bd ef | gf ga ge dB |1 A"D"G FA "G"G2 =FE :|2 A"D"G FA "G"G4 |: [b2d2] [bd][bd] [b2d2] [bd][bd] | [b2d2] [a2c2] [g4B4] | "C"[e2G2] [eG][eG] [e2G2] [eG][eG] | [e2G2] [d2=F2] [c4E4] | [b2d2] [bd][bd] [b2d2] [bd][bd] | [b2d2] [a2c2] [g4B4] | "D"DE FA dA FD |1 G"G"E DB, G,4 :|2 G"G"E DB, G,2 ef | gf ga ge dB | AG FA GD EF | GB AG EF GE | DC B,A, G,4 ||
Yikes! Despite coming from eastern Kentucky in prehistoric time, I seem to be missing the bluegrass gene, but it's always fun to see what the newbies come up with.
Sleet, I tell people I'm from South L.A. (actually it's South LA, down in Luzianne), but I can't play Zydeco accordion or Cajun fiddle, either.
Man, I picked a heck of a month to check back in. here!
Well, here's my rough & ready version that I fondly call "Slow-a-Noke". <excuse> I didn't get a chance to play a better version, as my mic pre/converter had to go to the shop for repairs. </excuse> Anyway, A5 on the melody & chop, and u-bass doing ... bass stuff. Hope you enjoy, it was fun to learn.
I love it. Now that is a rendition that makes sense and sounds good too.
That was delightful, bbcee. Slow-a-noke actually has an identifiable melody and the chops work wonderfully well.
Although I can't do them justice Im actually a strong lean toward the bluegrass tunes. So keep them coming!!!
Roanoke. I presume Bill Monroe named this tune for the city in Southwest Virginia by that name. It has been a traditional stop for touring Grand Ole Opry groups for a long time. I remember seeing Flatt and Scruggs at the Roanoke American Legion Auditorium in about 1967 when I was a student at Virginia Tech. There were only about 50 of us in the audience. I shook hands with Earl out back of the auditorium just before they left in their bus to whatever was the next venue. That had to be a tough life. https://youtu.be/Tf3q9wYmjkQ I suppose I could have made a few more runthroughs and gotten a better take, but frankly, I was happy just to finish this without a total trainwreck. This take followed about five disasters. Don't you just love that video camera? Hint: Bill Monroe played this at twice the speed I stumbled through it. But Bill was not a Newbie.
Henry, the sigh at the beginning is hilarious. Good that you and bbcee had the wherewithal to take a stab at this one. You're brave men.
Yay Henry! That sigh says it all: "take 505 ... why am I doing this?". Glad you persevered - good playing and note choice.
Great job there, bofa you! I loved it Henry, keeping it real! You sound great. Perfection is way overrated.
You have my admiration, Henry, for taking on this tune. At Bill Monroe's pace, I couldn't find a melody. It just made my head spin, and I wasn't enchanted enough to decrypt it. Nicely done. As a general note, I find every newbie posting, even those that are less smooth than the musician might like, motivational. Professional produced music, molded by years of practice and perfected by technological cleanup, is wonderful, but seeing what other newbies can achieve is inspiring. Thank you for keeping it going.
Thanks guys. I'll be glad to move on to April's challenge.
