Following the official Tune-of-the-Week list, December's tune is Grisman's E.M.D. Uhm, o.k. I was going to pretend I didn't see this tune. But, who knows, there may be a Grisman acolyte in the group. If so, there is a version this at Mandozine, I believe, and and tab here, I think: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/se...in-tab/emd.htm.
Oh man. I think I might post some Christmas tunes or something. Or maybe Rose of San Antone. Or Flight of the Bumblebee. There is a nice video of Old Sausage doing this tune at the song-a-week group. Quite impressive. I actually like his video more than Dawg's.
I'm planning the alternate Christmas tune route, or something, myself. I need to be able to locate the melody before I can play a tune. And I've often admired Old Sausage's (David Mold, I think) playing but way beyond what I can put together.
Much appreciated but way over my head. I think I'll just continue to make tremolo my project for December. I can't wait to hear the efforts of the hearty souls that take a stab at this piece.
I wish
Dang. Well, it is very musical and I think a great deal of it is improvised. With a group like this, some tunes are real showpieces for true virtuosity, and this is one of them. All four of these guys had already long been viruosos even at this "early" age - I don't think any of us newbies can play guitar like Tony, mandolin like the Dawg, fiddle like Mark O'Conner or bass like Wasserman so what's the point of printing music for this? I'll save the ink and the paper
I'm with those who are passing on this one. Will focus on Christmas tunes and double stops.
I'm with the Christmas carolers. I did a version of What Child is This last year, I think I'll revisit & rerecord it.
Yup, I'm a Christmas caroler too
Well shucks. I've never been one to follow the herd. I have read through the SAW thread, and downloaded the tab. Plus, I have no incentive to learning any Christmas carols. I will give this a couple weeks of repetition and see what comes out of the woodshed. If you hear me crying uncle and whining like a whipped dog, then you'll know that I gave up.
Allllllll Righhtttttttt, Trav!!!!!!!!! I knew somebody would take the challenge.
Here is my Alternate Tune of the Month. I doubt that the composer of the tune intended for it to be a 'seasonal' tune, but I am presenting it as such. The Cross of Savannagh is a tune written by Zoë Conway, an accomplished Irish violinist (and fiddler). As far as I know she has the only recording of the tune. Her recording is available on youtube. The tune attracted me for two reasons. One is that it is written in a harmonic minor key (G harmonic minor, to be precise). Harmonic minors are a blend of minor and major and have a distinctive exotic flavor. The other reason is that the time signature is 3/2. I had never tried something with that rhythm before. I started with an ABC file that can be found at thesession.org and made some minor modifications. The ABC file was melody-only as is my presentation here. I am working on a version with drones and double stops to simulate the way Ms. Conway plays it, but it is not ready yet. In addition, I slowed the tempo down to make it more of an 'air' instead of the 'three-two' tempo at which she plays the tune. The meaning of the title is an enigma to me. There is no place in any country named 'Savannagh'. 'Savannagh' can be found as a misspelling of 'Savannah' and 'Savanna'; 'Savannagh' can also be found as a proper name (primarily for women). I find that with a slower tempo this tune has a renaissance feel to it, similar to many old Christmas carols and tunes. Thus I think it is Christmasy. I will note that there is a small park in Savannah, Georgia, USA, dedicated to the Irish settlers of that region. At its center is a large Celtic cross. But Savannah, Georgia, has nothing to offer in the way of winter season imagery, so I did not include a photo of it in the video.
Henry that is absolutely beautiful - both the tune and the rendition. And the Vega is one faithful taterbug for you too, tone and sustain out of this world. Great choice for your substitute! The video is over but I can still hear that mournful melody ringing in my brain cells.
Henry, this should be required listening for anyone who is stressed out. Very soothing. Thanks for sharing.
How lovely. I'd never heard of the tune or the violinist. It does have a renaissance flavor, even at her faster tempo.
Wow, Henry. This is good! Excellent choice and tempo.
As I really raw beginner, I really appreciate Henry finding this tune. The melody is simple enough that I think I can give a fair playing of this tune.
A pretty tune, well played. Thanks.
I know I'm a couple weeks late on posting, but figured I'd share what I worked on in December since I stayed away from the official tune. I played a few Christmas songs but decided to focus on Humoresque, a classical tune I learned as a kid in one of those Suzuki violin books. So here you go. Too many mistakes for my ears but I think it transferred well enough to mandolin.
Thanks for a truly classy addition to the tune of the month! Nicely done!
That sounds great on a mando Chunta, brings back some memories as well. I think I got to the 4th one of those Suzuki method books
I am always looking for another classical piece to add to the repertoire. This is a good one. Thanks Chunta
Heres a few Ive been messin with this month, I went deep in the irish fiddletunes section and spread myself a bit thin to polish anything really but its fun stuff to play for sure.
Wow. You have been busy! Nice clear notation in all your videos. And good rhythm. I especially like Banish Misfortune. Now I am going to have to work on it. It is a really interesting tune.
