Sunday, Jamless Sunday
Apr. 30th, 2006 09:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperWell, we were going to have Jam today, but unfortunately nobody showed up. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mamishka has been ill, ladymondegreen got her plans crosswired so couldn't show up after all, fredpdx had other plans come up, ssha's calendar failed a dexterity roll... ah well. These things happen. So I wound up just noodling around on my guitar and my piccolo for a while, since I wanted to play with the various chords I'd scarfed off the OKP for ditties off The Hard and the Easy.
"Tickle Cove Pond" seems the most promising of the ones I played with, with the most interesting chords--some Dsus4 and some Cadd9 in there for me to get used to playing. I don't quite have the strum pattern down, but I do have at least a bit of an idea of how it's supposed to go.
The chords I found for "Charlie Horse", it turned out, were wrong--unless they're chords for the tail end of the song after it modulates up in key. The chords were for G--and the song starts off in F. So the fun thing there is going to figure out what chords to play such that I either don't have to use my capo at all, or I can plunk it down on one fret and keep it there. So far I'm suspecting that I'll have to plunk it onto the third fret and start with playing the D chords GBS usually uses to play stuff in F, then punt up to E chords to handle the key change. And I have no earthly idea how the bridge goes yet, but it'll be fun to figure it out.
I even broke out my piccolo for a bit to try to play with "Tishialuk Girls Set", but only got far enough to realize that oh my yes, I am definitely out of practice with the piccolo. I couldn't hold a coherent tone for very long.
I twiddled a bit with "Old Polina" as well--long enough to figure out that I'm not entirely sure what I think about the chords I scarfed off the OKP. They do say to capo on the first fret to kick up into E flat, which sounds right for the key, but the chords sound weird, like they're chords for a harmony line or something. Or perhaps that I actually ought to be playing the chords for some other base key and capoing somewhere else on the neck. (I find it weird and cool that I can make a rhythm line sound totally different depending on what base key's chords I'm playing and whether or not I'm using the capo. Playing "Lukey" in G sounds totally different than playing "Lukey" in A, if I am capo-free, for example.)
And I broke out the Great Big DVD, since I felt like playing around with the karaoke videos on there to get a better idea of how the rhythm lines of "Goin' Up" and "Ordinary Day" go. The good news is, I have a better idea of how those go than I thought I had. The bad news is, I still can't play them well enough to start singing the lyrics while I'm strumming. Clearly I need to play them a few thousand more times. ;)
Round about thensolarbird came in from her horsetail annihilation mission outside, and since she wanted to play a bit too, we kept twiddling for a while after that as well. Nothing much in depth--I just jumped around the DVD looking for all the songs I knew how to play, since Dara had no particular thing she wanted to play with. But she did come up with a few neat-sounding twiddles for stuff we hadn't ever played with before in Jam, like "Clearest Indication" and "Boston and St. John's". Her biggest flute turns out to be a really good flute for that latter ditty, too, though her hand was really cranky about having to stretch to hit the fingerholes on that one.
I did have pie--since although I suspected Jam was going to be off, I wanted to have something on hand just in case I was wrong. And Dara and I did in fact have pie along with the music! And after going through the karaoke "Goin' Up" video several times and ogling scruffy-looking Alan on a rooftop playing the song, I had to have me a brand new official musicgeeking icon, too.
So not an official Jam, but hey, music still happened. So a pretty good Sunday anyway.
mamishka has been ill, ladymondegreen got her plans crosswired so couldn't show up after all, fredpdx had other plans come up, ssha's calendar failed a dexterity roll... ah well. These things happen. So I wound up just noodling around on my guitar and my piccolo for a while, since I wanted to play with the various chords I'd scarfed off the OKP for ditties off The Hard and the Easy."Tickle Cove Pond" seems the most promising of the ones I played with, with the most interesting chords--some Dsus4 and some Cadd9 in there for me to get used to playing. I don't quite have the strum pattern down, but I do have at least a bit of an idea of how it's supposed to go.
The chords I found for "Charlie Horse", it turned out, were wrong--unless they're chords for the tail end of the song after it modulates up in key. The chords were for G--and the song starts off in F. So the fun thing there is going to figure out what chords to play such that I either don't have to use my capo at all, or I can plunk it down on one fret and keep it there. So far I'm suspecting that I'll have to plunk it onto the third fret and start with playing the D chords GBS usually uses to play stuff in F, then punt up to E chords to handle the key change. And I have no earthly idea how the bridge goes yet, but it'll be fun to figure it out.
I even broke out my piccolo for a bit to try to play with "Tishialuk Girls Set", but only got far enough to realize that oh my yes, I am definitely out of practice with the piccolo. I couldn't hold a coherent tone for very long.
I twiddled a bit with "Old Polina" as well--long enough to figure out that I'm not entirely sure what I think about the chords I scarfed off the OKP. They do say to capo on the first fret to kick up into E flat, which sounds right for the key, but the chords sound weird, like they're chords for a harmony line or something. Or perhaps that I actually ought to be playing the chords for some other base key and capoing somewhere else on the neck. (I find it weird and cool that I can make a rhythm line sound totally different depending on what base key's chords I'm playing and whether or not I'm using the capo. Playing "Lukey" in G sounds totally different than playing "Lukey" in A, if I am capo-free, for example.)
And I broke out the Great Big DVD, since I felt like playing around with the karaoke videos on there to get a better idea of how the rhythm lines of "Goin' Up" and "Ordinary Day" go. The good news is, I have a better idea of how those go than I thought I had. The bad news is, I still can't play them well enough to start singing the lyrics while I'm strumming. Clearly I need to play them a few thousand more times. ;)
Round about then
solarbird came in from her horsetail annihilation mission outside, and since she wanted to play a bit too, we kept twiddling for a while after that as well. Nothing much in depth--I just jumped around the DVD looking for all the songs I knew how to play, since Dara had no particular thing she wanted to play with. But she did come up with a few neat-sounding twiddles for stuff we hadn't ever played with before in Jam, like "Clearest Indication" and "Boston and St. John's". Her biggest flute turns out to be a really good flute for that latter ditty, too, though her hand was really cranky about having to stretch to hit the fingerholes on that one.I did have pie--since although I suspected Jam was going to be off, I wanted to have something on hand just in case I was wrong. And Dara and I did in fact have pie along with the music! And after going through the karaoke "Goin' Up" video several times and ogling scruffy-looking Alan on a rooftop playing the song, I had to have me a brand new official musicgeeking icon, too.
So not an official Jam, but hey, music still happened. So a pretty good Sunday anyway.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:34 am (UTC)I'm glad that you at least had pie. ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:43 am (UTC)But yes, there was pie, and it was tasty. Though if I had been a cleverer bunny, I would have gotten vanilla ice cream to go with it.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:47 am (UTC)(now I want ice cream. Oh, bother.)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:51 am (UTC)Sorry your day was boring, though. :(
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:16 pm (UTC)That's called "voicing" and is the blessing and bête noire of the ukulele (with its limited strings and only twelve short frets of 'em).
I know there are some who get around it with a capo but I consider capo use (on a uke, mind you) to be foolish. With four strings and four fingers ya just learn the new chords, y'know?
On guitar a capo is especially helpful for fingerstyle stuff. Some picking just works better out of certain chord positions and being able to play those shapes in whatever key is a huge blessing.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:23 pm (UTC)I can totally see a capo on a uke being silly, since it's so teeny, and I could see there being a similar argument for not using a capo on a mandolin. Bouzouki and guitar, though... especially in keys where the un-capoed chords would be impossible for me to play... I do need my capo.
And woot, I have even had a little bit of experience with the fingerstyle scenario you mention. I think I've mentioned a ditty called "Elf Glade" by Meg Davis on Jam Reports before--there's a little guitar finger-pick riff all throughout that song that really works well if you're playing in the base key of Am. If I had to change keys on it, I'd totally capo it.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-29 11:28 pm (UTC)"'Tickle Cove Pond' seems the most promising of the ones I played with, with the most interesting chords--some Dsus4 and some Cadd9 in there for me to get used to playing. I don't quite have the strum pattern down, but I do have at least a bit of an idea of how it's supposed to go."
It would be great if you could tell me what chords are used throughout the whole song :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-30 05:29 am (UTC)Quoting from the original post on the OKP I pulled this from...
----------
Tickle Cove Pond
In (G)cuttin and haulin' in (D) frost and in snow (Dsus4)
we're (Cadd9) up against troubles that (D) few people know (Dsus4)
its (G) only by courage and (D) patience and grit
and (Cadd9)eatin plain food that we (D) keep ourselves (G) fit
the (Em) hard and the (Bm) easy we (Em) take as they (Bm) come
and (C) when ponds freeze over we (C/D)shorten our (D)runs (Dsus4)
to (G) hurry my haulin with (D) spring coming on
I near (Cadd9) lost me a mare out on (D) tickle cove (G) pond.
(then the chorus is the same thing)
(D) Lay (G) Hold william oldford lay (D) hold william white
lay (D) hold of the (Cadd9) cordage and pull all your (D) might
(G)lay hold of the bowline and (D) pull all ya can'
and (Cadd9) give me a lift with poor (D) kit on the (G) pond.
..........EADGBe
G.......(320033)
D.......(x00232)
Dsus4.(x00233)
Cadd9 (x32033)
Em.....(022000)
Bm.....(xx4432)
C.......(x32010)
C/D....(320010)
optional chords
Cadd9: the 3 on the e string is optional
as is
G Chord: the 3 on the B string.
Bm: you can also leave off the 2 on the e
----------
Hope this is helpful!