Thanks Chris for taking extra time to explain the opening phrase ... that really helps (me).
Also, I know you've been emphasizing for a long time the importance of being able to sing it before anything else. I didn't fully buy into that idea until recently ... maybe I was in too big of a hurry to just learn or memorize the notes ... but it definitey helps to at least hear in your head what you're supposed to be playing and before you can hear it in your head you need to be able to sing it. When I started with this ... each song was knew ... many I hadn't even heard of ... so it was like being hit with the double whammy.
Right off the bat transitioning from the A-Part to the opening phrase of the B-part is challenge #1... as well as the stretch involved across 3 frets with the pinky to the A note. Other than that piece of cake ... LOL.
I'll figure it out and get the hang of it. One last thing ... I think you're probably playing the tune at about 85 BPM in your introduction... maybe a little more. What do you figure an acceptable minimum would be tfor this tune to be musical. To me your play along at the end ... though slower sounds musical to me.
Kip, I'm happy to hear that you've gotten on board the singing train! I believe that it's crucial.
I don't think there are any set tempos that are correct. You could make it musical and many different tempos. I would suggest that you play it wherever it feels comfortable, and then make sure that you are playing it musically! Easier said than done, but really that actually all there is to it. It's the players job to find the musicality at any tempo. This is true for almost any tune. You're very musical so I know you can do it.
Kip, you're on a great track here. I agree that you could get a bit more movement in your whole arm - not with the point being that your arm moves more, but rather that there is no single spot in your arm where you are holding tension. By keeping your arm so still you are holding tension in it. That said, the timing sounds solid and it sounds like music. But there is room for to get a bit more "flow" in your performance feel.
one other thing, when you slide up to those unison D notes on the 5th feet of the A string and the open D string it should feel open and like the guitar gets bigger for a second (because you are playing 2 of the same note). As it is the slide sounds kind of sharp and short, but it should feel expansive and liquid.
Very cool ... I didn't have it quite right from watching you pick the melody in your introductory lesson. Close but not quite right. What really jumps out at me with this tune, listening to the new record and watching you all play it live ... is the tone. I just really dig the tone, maybe it's the combination of the melody, cool chords, picking patterns, and how you play your guitar but I like it more than a little. Oh well ... back to work ... er-a ... play.
Ahhh man .... thank you for showing us this tune ... way cool .... I was hoping you would and I'm hoping I can play this one. Thanks for sharing the background on how it came to you and ended up on Mt. Royal. I really dig that kind of info.
I'm not the fastest learner and this one came relatively quick, even learning it more by ear than by tab. Good luck, Kip. I'm sure you'll nail it. Will OG be Critter's "Whiskey Before Breakfast?" (some guy with a beard and a big ol 12-fretter played that one pretty good IIRC
#grimesandpunishment
But seriously, Chris. A question/idea. In figuring out this melody in the first position, I also (thanks to the encouragement from your WBB lesson) worked our OG up the neck.
Here's my question. (And maybe Grimes isn't the ideal tune for the answer because it's pretty much a single line as you play it.) A lot of the fun of playing WBB is the opportunity for crosspicking around the C and F shapes in the first positon. Or that slick little chunk o' chords tag in the "Norman Blake" version of Soldier's Joy.
Unfortunately I've discovered that those little "guitaristic" techniques/positions, don't alway work/translate when you're playing the melody up the neck. I'd love to see a lesson where you explain how you go about finding an approach that's different, but equally cool, when you're moving around/up the neck. A way to make your playing fit the opportunities that a particular position gives you. I don't expect a reply next week, of course. This is just food for thought for a future lesson. Looking forward to your smart answers to my simple questions. TIA.
Chris, I'm so glad I ventured out tonight to see you and Julian perform at the sold-out Club Cafe Pittsburgh Show. My face is sore from smiling for a solid 90 minutes. Thanks to you both for an incredible performance. The songs from the new record are wonderful and sound great, as well as the tunes from Avalon. Special thanks for performing Ginseng Sullivan. It's a night and show I'll never forget.
I'm not sure where to post this rendition but I suppose there is some Norman Blake inspired picking in there midway through. I never got around to learning Soldier's Joy when it was first taught but I've been meaning to ever since, so the last couple of weeks I've been knocking away at it. I know there are some timing issues to deal with (there always are) and when I tried to play along with a metronome it was a disaster.
METRONOME the word itself rattles me. I've been practicing picking exercises and stuff with said metronome for a week or two and although there has been the slightest of improvement I'm starting to wonder how I can chew gum and walk at the same time.
Also, sorry about this video being right in your face, I'm too lazy to dig out my mic and other gadgetry so I have to set the lap top right there and boom ... in your face. I've been meaning to get better control of my gadgetry among other things.
I don't have a uke ... in fact I think the only time I ever held a ukelele was when my Grandpap wasn't looking over 50 years ago. I think it would be fun to learn in between trying to learn to play the guitar like Chris Eldridge. Ha ha .. it's all about dreaming and trying right. Anyway, any suggestions or recommendations on the purchase of a uke? Thanks man ... love your lessons.
hey there kip! thank you for checking in. i appreciate your good words about the lessons!
someone else asked this question recently and here's what i suggested:
i recently bought a Java by Tanglewood. at just under 200 bucks it's not quite an entry level uke but i've been happy that i spent a little more dough. this is the one i play in most of the videos. http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product-category/ukulele-java/
i've been hearing a lot of great reports about kala ukes and their prices really run the range from low to high. https://kalabrand.com/pages/ukulele
i have several friends who love their luna ukes but you have to be willing to sport a fairly prominent design! http://www.lunaguitars.com/ukuleles
and as anyone who's seen me play live in the past 15 years i have a place in my heart for the flea ukuleles. they're made out of a combination of wood and plastic (hard to break!) and sounds great. http://www.magicfluke.com/default.asp
those are my starting points. luna and kala have the most inexpensive options.....
i hope this helps and i certainly hope you end up with a uke in your hands!!
I thought I woild check back in with this intro with an eye on being looser as you suggested to be mindful of perviously. After watching the video I think I'll drop an "O" and leave it at loser ha ha (kidding). I felt looser but it didn't necessairly appear to be the case on the video. Also, it's out of my vocal range to try and sing so I won't torture anyone with that. I think I would like to revisit many of these earlier lessons to check progress.
Tough to find a definitive historical link but from what I can find he must be referring to smoking an "Ibold Cigar" made by the Ibold Cigar Company in Cincinatti, Oh. Love the lesson and this method or style of playing the melody.
Beauty ... another one from the file of where was I when this was going on? The verses are a mouthful until I learn it, and what is the lyric in the 2nd verse "HE PLAYED IN A BAND ON TWO DIFFERENT BOATS WORKING FOR THE ??????? LINE and the last verse as I'm not quite catching it (or understanding) "WELL YOU SEE THESE OYSTERS ?????? AND THESE BAKED POTATO SKINS". Really cool man.
Thanks Chris ... I appreciate the encouragement ... I'll keep plugging away. I hope everyone has a great New Year and look forward to whatever you have planned for us. This site and community have truly been a blessing.
I thought I'd upload this to show you where I'm at with it because I'd eventually like to try and sing it ... though I think I'd have to capo up even more than I am already to be able to do that. ... so anyway ... here it is not exactly played note for note or fingered the way you do it. I played directly into my lap top because I didn't feel like digging out my microphone from under the Christmas avalanche ... hope you can hear it.
Kip, sounding great! You've made so much progress - it's awesome. I love that you are taking what I showed you and doing your own thing with it. That is what this is all about. The only critical note I've got is that a beat was cut out of the last phrase of the song (phrase starts at 1:05, beat gets skipped at 1:08). Try singing along to see what I mean. Other than that, fantastic job.
Also, thank you for always being so willing to share your videos. It's a great way for us to interact and it really helps out the rest of the community here as well. Hopefully more people will follow your lead in that regard in 2017 ;-)
That little tricxy fingered elegant sounding F thing remains a little tricky one week later ... I don't know if its because after I hammer on to the F my baby finger some how always naturally ends up on the 5th string 3rd fret instead of the ring finger ... trying to reverse that inatural tendency combined with the tricky nature of the move has me a bit jammed up if you take my meaning. Other than that ... sweet.
when i was a kid ... maybe 3rd or 4th grade ... i caught pneumonia and missed weeks of school ... out sick and when i returned to school 1st day back the class had learned and was doing long division at the board ... that's about how i feel right now ... just sayin'
This intro illustrates that I need to get looser but I don't think that is an overnight thing. My goal is to get looser in the picking arm/wrist. This is a little rough and I don't think I'm playing the "pull off" correctly but I will continue to work on this because I think I'd eventually like to play and sing the song. I wish you had shown us a couple of the other breaks ... runs ... licks whatever you want to call it so I'm on my own to try and copy what you're doing.
As a side note - Along with Ginseng Sullivan (smile) I hope you'd consider someday teaching Cloverdale Plantation March off of Norman Blake's last record. It's a great tune.
Kip, this sounds REALLY GOOD! I agree that you are holding a lot of tension in your right forearm, but you have found a way to work around it to allow the music to speak. That's good because it shows that your mind is leading the way, rather than your hands. That said, it would really be to your benefit to learn to relax your arm. The flow of the music will improve tremendously. The way forward is what I have preached here in the past: awareness, willful sloppiness (to learn how it feels to be relaxed), and trust that it will improve if you do the first two things!
As you suggested I searched for some notes of my own. I've never attempted this sort of thing so perhaps it's just another way to play Whiskey Before Breakfast. I mostly tried to stay away from how you taught it. A couple subtle things in the A section and maybe slightly more adventurous in the B section but nothing crazy. I saw a video of you and Bryan Sutton talking about how to start improvising and what I came away with from that was start with some simple little things so that is what I did.
Kip, this is great! It's very musical and it sounds like you, which, to me, is ultimately the point of all of this - self-expression while having fun.
Just one constructive comment: you're consistently adding an extra couple of 16th note beats at the end of the first measure. Try counting 1-2-3-4 and see if you can find the spot.
My own solo ... Hmmm ... if you say so but that could be a project that will take a while. BTW I'm really looking forward to seeing you and Julian out there this winter. My own notes ...
Thanks Chris for taking extra time to explain the opening phrase ... that really helps (me).
Also, I know you've been emphasizing for a long time the importance of being able to sing it before anything else. I didn't fully buy into that idea until recently ... maybe I was in too big of a hurry to just learn or memorize the notes ... but it definitey helps to at least hear in your head what you're supposed to be playing and before you can hear it in your head you need to be able to sing it. When I started with this ... each song was knew ... many I hadn't even heard of ... so it was like being hit with the double whammy.
Right off the bat transitioning from the A-Part to the opening phrase of the B-part is challenge #1... as well as the stretch involved across 3 frets with the pinky to the A note. Other than that piece of cake ... LOL.
I'll figure it out and get the hang of it. One last thing ... I think you're probably playing the tune at about 85 BPM in your introduction... maybe a little more. What do you figure an acceptable minimum would be tfor this tune to be musical. To me your play along at the end ... though slower sounds musical to me.
Thanks again for all of your help.
Kip, I'm happy to hear that you've gotten on board the singing train! I believe that it's crucial.
I don't think there are any set tempos that are correct. You could make it musical and many different tempos. I would suggest that you play it wherever it feels comfortable, and then make sure that you are playing it musically! Easier said than done, but really that actually all there is to it. It's the players job to find the musicality at any tempo. This is true for almost any tune. You're very musical so I know you can do it.
Cheers,
Chris
I think near the end I look over at my right arm and think dang it ... you're supposed to be doing more of the work.
All wrist ... working on it ... and not quite up to tempo.
Kip, you're on a great track here. I agree that you could get a bit more movement in your whole arm - not with the point being that your arm moves more, but rather that there is no single spot in your arm where you are holding tension. By keeping your arm so still you are holding tension in it. That said, the timing sounds solid and it sounds like music. But there is room for to get a bit more "flow" in your performance feel.
one other thing, when you slide up to those unison D notes on the 5th feet of the A string and the open D string it should feel open and like the guitar gets bigger for a second (because you are playing 2 of the same note). As it is the slide sounds kind of sharp and short, but it should feel expansive and liquid.
Cheers,
Chris
Very cool ... I didn't have it quite right from watching you pick the melody in your introductory lesson. Close but not quite right. What really jumps out at me with this tune, listening to the new record and watching you all play it live ... is the tone. I just really dig the tone, maybe it's the combination of the melody, cool chords, picking patterns, and how you play your guitar but I like it more than a little. Oh well ... back to work ... er-a ... play.
Ahhh man .... thank you for showing us this tune ... way cool .... I was hoping you would and I'm hoping I can play this one. Thanks for sharing the background on how it came to you and ended up on Mt. Royal. I really dig that kind of info.
I'm not the fastest learner and this one came relatively quick, even learning it more by ear than by tab.
Good luck, Kip. I'm sure you'll nail it.
Will OG be Critter's "Whiskey Before Breakfast?" (some guy with a beard and a big ol 12-fretter played that one pretty good IIRC
#grimesandpunishment
But seriously, Chris. A question/idea. In figuring out this melody in the first position, I also (thanks to the encouragement from your WBB lesson) worked our OG up the neck.
Here's my question. (And maybe Grimes isn't the ideal tune for the answer because it's pretty much a single line as you play it.)
A lot of the fun of playing WBB is the opportunity for crosspicking around the C and F shapes in the first positon.
Or that slick little chunk o' chords tag in the "Norman Blake" version of Soldier's Joy.
Unfortunately I've discovered that those little "guitaristic" techniques/positions, don't alway work/translate when you're playing the melody up the neck.
I'd love to see a lesson where you explain how you go about finding an approach that's different, but equally cool, when you're moving around/up the neck. A way to make your playing fit the opportunities that a particular position gives you.
I don't expect a reply next week, of course. This is just food for thought for a future lesson. Looking forward to your smart answers to my simple questions. TIA.
Chris, I'm so glad I ventured out tonight to see you and Julian perform at the sold-out Club Cafe Pittsburgh Show. My face is sore from smiling for a solid 90 minutes. Thanks to you both for an incredible performance. The songs from the new record are wonderful and sound great, as well as the tunes from Avalon. Special thanks for performing Ginseng Sullivan. It's a night and show I'll never forget.
Kip
Thanks Kip! It was great to see you out there! Sorry i didn't get to say hi in person.
I'm not sure where to post this rendition but I suppose there is some Norman Blake inspired picking in there midway through. I never got around to learning Soldier's Joy when it was first taught but I've been meaning to ever since, so the last couple of weeks I've been knocking away at it. I know there are some timing issues to deal with (there always are) and when I tried to play along with a metronome it was a disaster.
METRONOME the word itself rattles me. I've been practicing picking exercises and stuff with said metronome for a week or two and although there has been the slightest of improvement I'm starting to wonder how I can chew gum and walk at the same time.
Also, sorry about this video being right in your face, I'm too lazy to dig out my mic and other gadgetry so I have to set the lap top right there and boom ... in your face. I've been meaning to get better control of my gadgetry among other things.
Thanks!
Kip, you're killing me Buddy! Awesome!
Hey Dan -
I don't have a uke ... in fact I think the only time I ever held a ukelele was when my Grandpap wasn't looking over 50 years ago. I think it would be fun to learn in between trying to learn to play the guitar like Chris Eldridge. Ha ha .. it's all about dreaming and trying right. Anyway, any suggestions or recommendations on the purchase of a uke? Thanks man ... love your lessons.
Kip
hey there kip! thank you for checking in. i appreciate your good words about the lessons!
someone else asked this question recently and here's what i suggested:
i recently bought a Java by Tanglewood. at just under 200 bucks it's not quite an entry level uke but i've been happy that i spent a little more dough. this is the one i play in most of the videos. http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product-category/ukulele-java/
i've been hearing a lot of great reports about kala ukes and their prices really run the range from low to high. https://kalabrand.com/pages/ukulele
i have several friends who love their luna ukes but you have to be willing to sport a fairly prominent design! http://www.lunaguitars.com/ukuleles
and as anyone who's seen me play live in the past 15 years i have a place in my heart for the flea ukuleles. they're made out of a combination of wood and plastic (hard to break!) and sounds great. http://www.magicfluke.com/default.asp
those are my starting points. luna and kala have the most inexpensive options.....
i hope this helps and i certainly hope you end up with a uke in your hands!!
yr pal,
dan
I thought I woild check back in with this intro with an eye on being looser as you suggested to be mindful of perviously. After watching the video I think I'll drop an "O" and leave it at loser ha ha (kidding). I felt looser but it didn't necessairly appear to be the case on the video. Also, it's out of my vocal range to try and sing so I won't torture anyone with that. I think I would like to revisit many of these earlier lessons to check progress.
Kip, this sounds great. You keep getting better, I truly love seeing your progress! Yeah, keep revisiting the early ones and see how they are now.
one of the reasons I'm here ... to get that sort of thing in my inbox once a week .. mesmerizing
Tough to find a definitive historical link but from what I can find he must be referring to smoking an "Ibold Cigar" made by the Ibold Cigar Company in Cincinatti, Oh. Love the lesson and this method or style of playing the melody.
Awesome Kip! Thanks for the info!
Great thanks - suddenky craving Oysters Bienville.
Beauty ... another one from the file of where was I when this was going on? The verses are a mouthful until I learn it, and what is the lyric in the 2nd verse "HE PLAYED IN A BAND ON TWO DIFFERENT BOATS WORKING FOR THE ??????? LINE and the last verse as I'm not quite catching it (or understanding) "WELL YOU SEE THESE OYSTERS ?????? AND THESE BAKED POTATO SKINS". Really cool man.
Thanks!
"He played in a band on two different boats, working on the STRETFAST line."
I believe that that is the name of of a riverboat company from the old days.
And,
"Well you see these Oysters BIENVILLE, and these baked potato skins..."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oysters_Bienville
Thanks Chris ... I appreciate the encouragement ... I'll keep plugging away. I hope everyone has a great New Year and look forward to whatever you have planned for us. This site and community have truly been a blessing.
Chris
I thought I'd upload this to show you where I'm at with it because I'd eventually like to try and sing it ... though I think I'd have to capo up even more than I am already to be able to do that. ... so anyway ... here it is not exactly played note for note or fingered the way you do it. I played directly into my lap top because I didn't feel like digging out my microphone from under the Christmas avalanche ... hope you can hear it.
Thanks
Kip
Kip, sounding great! You've made so much progress - it's awesome. I love that you are taking what I showed you and doing your own thing with it. That is what this is all about. The only critical note I've got is that a beat was cut out of the last phrase of the song (phrase starts at 1:05, beat gets skipped at 1:08). Try singing along to see what I mean. Other than that, fantastic job.
Also, thank you for always being so willing to share your videos. It's a great way for us to interact and it really helps out the rest of the community here as well. Hopefully more people will follow your lead in that regard in 2017 ;-)
Chris
Thank you Chris - very lovely.
Merry Christmas to you and yours and to everyone at Sonic Junction. I've learned so much this past year and look forward to next year.
Kip
Merry Christmas to you as well! Thanks for all you contribute to the community here!
That little tricxy fingered elegant sounding F thing remains a little tricky one week later ... I don't know if its because after I hammer on to the F my baby finger some how always naturally ends up on the 5th string 3rd fret instead of the ring finger ... trying to reverse that inatural tendency combined with the tricky nature of the move has me a bit jammed up if you take my meaning. Other than that ... sweet.
Yeah, that's definitely why it's tricky! You'll get it though with some more practice...
when i was a kid ... maybe 3rd or 4th grade ... i caught pneumonia and missed weeks of school ... out sick and when i returned to school 1st day back the class had learned and was doing long division at the board ... that's about how i feel right now ... just sayin'
Chris -
This intro illustrates that I need to get looser but I don't think that is an overnight thing. My goal is to get looser in the picking arm/wrist. This is a little rough and I don't think I'm playing the "pull off" correctly but I will continue to work on this because I think I'd eventually like to play and sing the song. I wish you had shown us a couple of the other breaks ... runs ... licks whatever you want to call it so I'm on my own to try and copy what you're doing.
As a side note - Along with Ginseng Sullivan (smile) I hope you'd consider someday teaching Cloverdale Plantation March off of Norman Blake's last record. It's a great tune.
Thanks!
Kip
Kip, this sounds REALLY GOOD! I agree that you are holding a lot of tension in your right forearm, but you have found a way to work around it to allow the music to speak. That's good because it shows that your mind is leading the way, rather than your hands. That said, it would really be to your benefit to learn to relax your arm. The flow of the music will improve tremendously. The way forward is what I have preached here in the past: awareness, willful sloppiness (to learn how it feels to be relaxed), and trust that it will improve if you do the first two things!
Chris -
As you suggested I searched for some notes of my own. I've never attempted this sort of thing so perhaps it's just another way to play Whiskey Before Breakfast. I mostly tried to stay away from how you taught it. A couple subtle things in the A section and maybe slightly more adventurous in the B section but nothing crazy. I saw a video of you and Bryan Sutton talking about how to start improvising and what I came away with from that was start with some simple little things so that is what I did.
Thanks for checking it out.
Kip
Kip, this is great! It's very musical and it sounds like you, which, to me, is ultimately the point of all of this - self-expression while having fun.
Just one constructive comment: you're consistently adding an extra couple of 16th note beats at the end of the first measure. Try counting 1-2-3-4 and see if you can find the spot.
My own solo ... Hmmm ... if you say so but that could be a project that will take a while. BTW I'm really looking forward to seeing you and Julian out there this winter. My own notes ...