Beginning Instructional Jam Material

I thought it might be helpful to include on our blog the information we covered at the Instructional Jam Class last night.  This will give everyone the opportunity to review the information.  We covered a lot!

VOLUME - Don't play too loudly if you aren't playing the melody.

BLUEGRASS vs. FOLK - In bluegrass music, only one person sings the lead and only one person plays the melody at a time.  In folk, everyone does everything at the same time all the time.  If you break this rule in bluegrass, no one will want to jam with you!

VERSE & CHORUS - The verses of a song have different words.  Most songs have 2-3 verses.  The chorus of a song is the part that is played after every verse.  The words are always the same for the chorus.  Usually, harmony is sung on the chorus and not the verses, though this is not set in stone.

KICK-OFF - The instrumental lead (melody) that starts a song.

BREAK - This is a "break" for the vocalist.  It means that one of the musicians is going to play lead (melody) on their instrument.

STANDARD FORM - The standard form for a bluegrass vocal with three verses would be:  Kick-off, 1st verse, chorus, break, 2nd verse, chorus, break, 3rd verse, chorus, tag & end.

TAG - The "tag" is when you repeat the last line of a song at the end of the song.  It serves as an ending.  Sometimes the tag is two lines, but usually just one.

THE MUSICAL ALPHABET - The musical alphabet goes from A to G and then starts over again.

NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM - Very basically, this means assigning numbers to the chords of a song.  This system is what studio musicians use so that there is only one chord chart no matter how many different keys the song may be played in.  It makes it easy to transpose to different keys, and it doesn't matter if one person uses a capo and another doesn't.

The numbers used to designate the chords are Roman Numerals.

Most bluegrass songs use I, IV & V chords.

Mandolin and banjo players learned how the Nashville Number System and their moveable chords work together.

HOW TO SIGNAL THE END - Lifting your leg up on the last line of a song is a good way to let others know you are ending the song.

HOW TO TELL WHAT KEY A SONG IS IN - If the songs starts and ends on the same chord, the song will be in that key.  If the song start and ends on different chords, then the song will be in the key of the ending chord.

We only played two- and three-chord songs last night, but we actually got through quite a few songs.  Everyone received copies of the lyrics and chords so that the songs may be practiced at home.  I will be passing out tabs to the songs at the next session.  Our repertoire is currently all in the key of G and includes bluegrass, gospel and folk songs:

1.  I Am Bound for the Promised Land
2.  Buffalo Gals
3.  Hot Corn Cold Corn
4.  Mountain Dew
5.  You Are My Sunshine
6.  This Land is Your Land
7.  The Crawdad Song
8.  Worried Man Blues

Banjo players are working on their G licks and the walk-up.  The G lick is played after the final D chord of a verse or chorus.  It is used in place of simply returning to the G chord with regular back-up.  Eventually, different licks will be used as well.  Banjo players also learned that they may use the D7 chord in place of D, as long as the song is not in the key of D.

Fiddle players learned simple "chords" to use as back-up, and how and when to play them.  Fiddle players may also play harmony to the vocalist, especially on slower songs.

Everyone, regardless of what instrument they play, learned what the G, C and D chords look like on guitar.  We also talked about how people may make their chords differently, and how you might be able to still tell what chords they are even though they are a little bit different.

Everyone also practiced singing the chorus of the songs as we played.

HEADS UP - We will add Bile Them Cabbage Down as our first instrumental.  Banjo players - start practicing with your capos at the 2nd fret!  We will be in the Key of A for this song.  Those without capos will be using the chords A, D & E. 

2013 Bluegrass Shack Public Jam Schedule

Every other Tuesday night we have an acoustic jam session that is free and open to the public. You can come to play, sing, or just listen and it is free. Jam session starts at 7:30 and goes until everyone leaves. We hope you'll come join us! Here is a list of the dates we will be having the jam:

January 15 & 29
February 12 & 26
March 12 & 26
April 9 & 23
May 7 & 21
June 7 & 18
July 2, 16 & 30
August 13 & 27
September 10 & 24
October 8 & 22
November 5 & 19
December 3 & 17

Banjo Pickers - Splint for Focal Dystonia

For those of you that have followed my posts or know me fairly well, you will know that I have been troubled with focal dystonia in my right hand.  For banjo pickers, it is my understanding that it hits the forward roll the hardest -- and this is certainly the case for me.  My index finger curls up and just refuses to do anything.  This means that much of time I miss the strings that my index finger is supposed to play, especially when it's part of a forward roll.  My middle finger tends to shoot out across the banjo head, but fortunately for me, it doesn't cause an issue because I can always get it back fast enough to play the next note, even if it looks kind of odd at times.  What I have noticed is that sometimes this is worse than other times.  It seems to have an ebb and flow like playing itself does.  There are good days and bad days, but mostly bad.

Now for some good news.  I have come up with a splint of sorts that will keep my index finger from curling up.  I don't know how this will work in the long run, and I don't know if this will cause other problems, but this at least keeps my finger in playing position, even if I can't move it on its own volition.  I move it with my hand.  I know that probably sounds impossible, but somehow I am just able to do it.  What's even better is that after I play with the splint for a while, I can remove it and my finger is better temporarily.  It's like it is training my brain in some way.  Now, I'm no medical expert or anything of the such, but if anyone else out there is having an issue like this, all I can say is don't give up.  Analyze the issue and start trying to find a solution. 

Here is a video that shows the splint and how I use it.

Chris' 2013 Lesson Schedule

Chris will not be teaching private lessons on the following dates. Please note that group lessons WILL be taught unless it specifically mentions no group lessons on the date.


January 1, 2, 3, 7
February 11, 12, 13, 14
March 4, 5, 6, 7
April 8, 9, 10, 11
May 23, 27, 28, 29, 30
June 17, 18, 19, 20
July 4, 8, 9, 10, 11
August 26, 27, 28, 29
September 2, 16, 17, 18, 19
October 21, 22, 23, 24
November 11, 18, 26, 27, 28
December 24, 25, 26, 30, 31 (no group lessons)
January 1, 2 (2014) (no group lessons)

Santa Comes Early for JC!

JC has been a student here at the Bluegrass Shack for several years now.  He's an exceptional young man, practices, and plays out regularly.  His gig?  The local hospital and nursing home near his home town.  He plays there every single month and has been since he started learning to play!  None of this has gone unnoticed by us here at The Bluegrass Shack, and I guess Santa noticed, too!  He came a little early this year to leave this nice, Morgan Monroe mini jumbo guitar for JC.  We had the pleasure of giving this to JC at his lesson this week.  Way to go, JC!  We love you!

The Perfect Silver Fingerpicks!

Looking for something nice for yourself or your loved one?  Play the banjo, dobro or autoharp (or other instrument with fingerpicks)?  Well, we might just have the perfect idea!  The Bluegrass Shack does not sell these wonderful, handmade silver fingerpicks, but John Ellington does.  He started by making them for the Stelling Banjo Company.  He was also commissioned this year by the family of Earl Scruggs to make a set of memorial fingerpicks.  These are really amazing picks and are completely handmade!  John is a master craftsman and jeweler.  Take a look at his website for more information:  http://www.ellingtonsilverpicks.com/index.html

Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival

The Bluegrass Shack will be closed on Friday and Saturday, November 9 & 10, 2012.  We will be setup at the Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival held at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, IL!  Just look for the Guitar Show sign on the main floor by the elevators.

This is a great festival with lots of fantastic bands scheduled to play, including Rhonda Vincent, Dry Branch Fire Squad, The Roys, and more!  The Chris Talley Trio will be playing a few tunes on Saturday morning during the Saturday Morning Showcase, as well as 8-year old Bluegrass Shack student, Audrey. 

Chris will be teaching a banjo and a fiddle workshop Saturday afternoon.  If you don't live near New Athens and you have been wanting to get in on some good lessons, here is your opportunity to sit in on a group session!  The workshops are at 1:00 & 2:00 p.m.  There are other workshop as well, with the names and times located on the main floor near the picking room.

If you want more information, you can download a copy of the flyer here.  Come on out for a great time this weekend!