Kicking off songs

[jazzjune18]

Howdy. Quick question for the masses. When kicking off songs in BG jams how much does one play? Do you play the entire verse? The chorus? Or just the turnaround?

[fredfrank]

I'd say it depends. If you don't know the melody strong enough to convey it to the rest of the jam, you can always play a turn around. I like to hear the melody of a tune rendered recognizably in the kickoff, so there is no doubt as to what we're playing.

Whether you play the chorus or the verse, is kinda up to you, though I would say most of the time it will probably be the verse. If you want to play the chorus, I'd probably tell everyone, so they can be in sync with you from the start.

[tree]

You could do like our organist does with the hymns in church - play the last phrase of the song, which is usually the last phrase of the chorus (I think that might be a turnaround, but I never have fully grasped that term).

At any rate, that phrase is generally enough for folks to recognize the tune, and it leads right into the verse.

[AlanN]

As has been said, it depends - on the skills of the pickers, on the desire to 'do it like the way it was originally done', on the vibe of the jam. Some tunes beg to pick the whole chorus (e.g., Knee Deep In Loving You, BG Cardinals, full banjo chorus kick), some the last line of the chorus (e.g., Till The End Of The World Rolls Round, F&S, fiddle on the last line), etc.

Just specify the format before you start and get everyone on board.

[Willie Poole]

Usually but not always, if a song is of a slower tempo I just play a turn around, if it is an up tempo song I play a whole verse, very seldom play the chorus though except for one song "Rain Go Away" a Lost and Found song....

SO, What ever suits you fancy, there isn`t a cut and dry practice in doing it....

Willie

[Pete Martin]

In my experience, in informal jams where the song is medium or higher tempo, play the verse. Slower tunes, turnaround, last line, last 2 lines. Of course, it depends on that jam and what the person who called the tune wants.

[David L]

You could do like our organist does with the hymns in church - play the last phrase of the song, which is usually the last phrase of the chorus (I think that might be a turnaround, but I never have fully grasped that term).

At any rate, that phrase is generally enough for folks to recognize the tune, and it leads right into the verse.

Playing the last phrase of the tune is the traditional way to start "congregational" singing. That is not a turnaround. "Turnaround" is a short bit that happens at the end of a song after the end of the last phrase. It traditionally ends on the V chord, which makes you want to "turnaround" and start over again.

[Tobin]

I just use "potatoes" as my kick-off every time. Like the fiddlers do.

[Jim Broyles]

What is "potatoes?"

[AlanN]

Surely can be/is done, and in a big jam, likely is the cleanest (potatoes=a repeated figure - tum, ta-ta-tum, ta-ta-tum, ta-ta-tum - usually a double stop, as in 5 on D string, 2 on A string for G on 'Red Apple Rag', as example).

On this tune, I'd just as soon pick the first two bars, have the band come in on the IV chord.

[Tobin]

Yep, AlanN described it accurately. Listen to almost any fiddle tune and you'll hear the fiddler kick off with a rhythmic bowing intro (usually a straight shuffle pattern). This sets the tempo and gets everyone starting on the correct downbeat. Random example below, from a groovy fiddle tune I've been playing lately:




This can be done on mandolin as well. I remember Chris Thile doing it on his Homespun video, which is where I originally learned it. Using the double-stop is important for potatoes, but you can make it a little more interesting by sliding or hammering-on into one of the notes. Using AlanN's example of a 5-2 double-stop in G, I usually hammer-on the G note by starting it with 4-2 and immediately dropping my ring finger to the 5th fret, then doing the shuffle pattern on the complete double-stop. It's also very effective for a D or A potatoes intro by just using a 7-0-0 chord (hammering-on from 6th to 7th fret).

[tree]

I think Doc used to call it "4 potatoes".

It's basically the same as counting off 4 beats verbally, but you do it with the instrument (for songs that are in 4/4 time). Hershel's intro to Grey Eagle comes to mind.