I'm looking for a few songs/tunes in Dm, like "Red Rocking Chair." Love that sound. Now that I think about it, songs/tunes in other minor keys would also be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill
I'm looking for a few songs/tunes in Dm, like "Red Rocking Chair." Love that sound. Now that I think about it, songs/tunes in other minor keys would also be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill
Red Rocking Chair is not a minor tune key. It's modal.
Little Sadie is often played in Dm so is Shady Grove.
Thanks, Perry. Trying to understand this. So Red Rocking Chair is in D, but it's built on Dm minor scale. I could play D Major chord in the first measure, but Dm chord sounds so much better. And I guess I play C Major in the second measure, which is the minor 7th which conforms to the Dm scale. Sounds great! Is that right? But in measure 7 the Dm doesnt' sound good; D Major is better. So, some of this must be whatever sounds best to you, is that right. Sorry to be so obtuse, and dont' want to bother you with much of this stuff. Rather than learning by the book, I like to play my way into this stuff if possible. I'm taking lessons from Mike Marshall at Artistworks, and he goes through this a bit, so I can find my way with his lessons. Thanks for your response! -- Bill
Bill
Check out "The Coal Tatoo", chords are dm,f and c. It's a fun tune to play and sing.
Raleigh and Spencer, great tune.
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
Here is a sample from my home boy Joe Newberry, along Mike and Ray.....
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
Though, again, not in Dm, but rather D modal.Here is a sample from my home boy Joe Newberry, along Mike and Ray.....
Mitch Russell
Lonesome Fiddle Blues
Big Timber
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
Dawg's Breath (Skaggs tune)
Elzic's Farewell
Julia Delaney
Mitch Russell
Perry,
Pete(friend of ours) plays Red Rockin' Chair with Bm and D chords. Or the tune is actually in D and just not a minor tune?
Songs in minor keys
Vamp In The Middle
Travellin' Kind
You Don't Miss Your Water
Muddy Water
Tunes in minor keys
Bluegrass Minor - Sizemore
Edsel's Tailpipe - Gaudreau
Old Grey Coat, Manzanita - T. Rice
Waiting on Vassar - Dawg
Gilderoy - trad.
Manzanita is a great Dm tune.
People play Red Rocking Chair different ways.
This one is minor:
This one is major:
Obligatory Spinal Tap reference:
My favorite Red Rocking Chair is Jack Lawrence's version he does solo. Quite a bit different from what Doc would do when they played together. I believe it is C# minor capoed fourth fret if I recall properly.
Has anyone mentioned Wayfaring Stranger. Normally A minor but it lays out in D minor just fine.
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
Julia Delaney is a favorite. D modal or Dm I am not sure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyTbK9_zdcQ
It's in D dorian in the usual (Irish) settings. Cool tune, very common in sessions.
I was in a former band where we used to play "Man of Constant Sorrow" in a slow D minor version. It had a spooky sound, a little closer to the theme of the lyrics than the usual upbeat Ralph Stanley/Soggy Bottom Boys major key setting.
I know the OP was asking about BG tunes...but if you play Klezmer on mandolin, you'll learn a LOT of Dm tunes.
At the 1985 Klez Kamp, the saying was "Dm isn't just another key, it's a way of life."
Typical Dm tune
Buck White's tune "Broken Dreams" is a lovely Dm piece. There's mandolin tune on Bob Black's "Ladies on the Steamboat" album written by John Purk called "Flight to D.C." that's in Dm as well. Both are very nice tunes and not too difficult to play.
If you are to give the Moonlight Waltz as being in one single key, it would have to be F major, because that's how it ends. There's a strong suggestion of d minor in the first 8 bars, not so much because of the d minor chords, but because of the A7 in the middle. But there never is full d minor ending.
Has anyone mentioned Little Sadie? Rosa Lee McFall is another song that the Monroe Brothers did in Dm. Doc and Tony Rice play Shady Grove in Dm. I think it is that way on the Pizza Tapes also with Grisman and Rice.
I like cruzin timber in Dm.
Wow, I haven't heard of many of these tunes. Thanks, my work's cut out.
Last edited by Bill Findley; Mar-27-2017 at 9:50pm. Reason: delete
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