Postal Charges

[Brian Catt]

Oh what a shame,it seems I'm double booked that day, so if someone can video it, we can publish it on here......

[johnrunnacles]

Bert Weedon RIP

Bert Weedon (bless him!) probably has changed, especially if his casket has been penetrated .........
Mind you, he does have a lot to answer for, don't you think?

[Brian Thompson]

Bert Weedon, legend!

Mind you, he does have a lot to answer for, don't you think?

Yes indeed John, me for a start........!!

Brian T.

[Dick F]

Your right Brian and John I got that Bert Weedon play in a day book that was 1984, and still havent got the hang of it, Mull of Kintyre was about my limit. I think Like a rolling stone would be more apt in my case, perhaps our chairman has another hidden talent what instrument in your case Rob ?

[Brian Thompson]

Keeping it pheasant....

Hiya Dicky,

Pleased to see that you appreciated my bit of fun mate....

If it's any consolation, I've been trying to become a decent and well rounded plucker for over forty three years now....and I'm still struggling too.....as well you know!

I've attached another pic of Mavis, before she got in with the 'wrong crowd'.....a tragic case....

Yes indeed, Heavy Metal Country & Western also has a lot to answer for, but at least it always has a tune you can whistle, unlike this modern disco rubbish....you just need a loudhailer....

Brian T.

[johnrunnacles]

Bert Weedon's legacy

"Mind you, he does have a lot to answer for, don't you think?"

To answer my own question, Just about the whole of the sixties music scene ......... don't you think?

[Brian Thompson]

Bert Weedon, legend, definitely.

Couldn't agree more John, an inspiration to us all and the first ever guitar tutor....he wrote the book.

[johnrunnacles]

Pete Seeger's banjo tutor

I have to confess to having been seduced away from my well-thumbed copy of Bert's tutor by the following words on the cover of Pete Seeger's "How to Play the 5-string Banjo" (Quite apart from the fact that there were only 5 strings then to worry about, instead of 6):-

" ................ can I read music? Hell, there are no notes to the banjo. You just play it."

"Reply made by an old-time banjo picker, interviewed around 1850, and asked if he could read music".

I was rather taken aback when I got the book home, and actually opened it!!

[dave higgins]

Great little stories john, glad to see you haven`t lost your chuckle muscle... keep em coming...

[Brian Thompson]

This one's for you JR.

Hi John,

Love the old banjo player story!! Did you here the one about Louis Armstrong, in a similar vein....? He turns up at a studio for a recording session, unpacks his trumpet and a bit of cloth to use as a damper and takes his seat. The producer asks "where's your music Louis?!" and he replies..."I see the notes like the fruit on a tree....and I just pick the ripest ones." That says it all for me.

As you know John, my main 'thing' has always been improvisation, but I had to 'do the dots' (or golf clubs on fences, as I prefer to call 'em..) when I was teaching (and sessioning) but I'm completely self taught. It was a lot harder to get my head round it all as well, because I'd been playing for years when I decided I needed it to be a pro....like going right back to the beginning and starting over in lots of ways.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy having a look at a transcription I did for my students of a Kenny Kirkland piano solo, from a Sting track called 'La Belle Dame Sans Regrets'. It took me a while did that, doing it the hard/traditional way (these days) with a pen, paper, guitar on lap and a CD player. Of course, the tricky thing for me was that (as we know), unlike on a keyboard, the same note can appear in more than one place on a guitar fretboard, so you have to work out your 'route' as you play it...and if you go wrong you have to start all over again because you run out of fretboard....!!

I used this peice to teach my students all sorts of aspects of my course, but I did it with them in their final (third) year, 'cos it aint easy. Not only have you gotta figure out all the left hand fingering position changes, the solo is a masterpeice of phrasing, playing ahead of and behind the pulse, has loads of tricky key changes and some really beautiful note choices, some 'inside' the key, some 'outside' (he was a Jazzer after all), and then you got that tricky, romantic, flowing latin rhythm to fit it all together over. The kids loved playing it, even though it was a challenge, and it's one of those 'gifts' of a peice of music to a teacher, as it contains so much information and is a stunning application of the ideas and concepts behind it all. And it's a lovely track.... Using grade descriptors, we had it at around the grade 8 + mark, so spot on for GNVQ level 3.

I've attached a copy of my hand written transcription, and here's a link to the track; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxq8zCXJ4qM

The piano solo kicks in at around 1:40 ish. Hope you enjoy it mate.

Brian T.

[druid]

The Banjo

Ah Jonah,
The banjo - once described as the noise made by 2 dustbins rolling down a steep hill.
Were you aware that Chris Goodfellow was a banjo collector - he didn't play them but he did collect them.

My brother, who did play them, was an afficianado of the "claw hammer" style of Bluegrass banjo playing popularised by the great Earl Scruggs.

Deruid

[Brian Thompson]

That's a classic JC....!!!

Yes, Chris loved his music....

Brian.

[Rob]

In response to Dangerous Dick's reference to my instrument, I can only say that following my successful stage song and dance debut, I will be sticking to the organ.

Here I can be seen playing the Monopole Wurlitzer Descant Mk4B nicknamed the 'Sink Plunger' although Cinderella does not look over impressed.

I am sorry if this is going off-thread but:

a. It is important I receive ample plaudits for my important stage career.

b. Dick started it even though BT really started it in the first place.

c. If you don't like it, I'll shut the forum down, so there!

[ADickerson]

[QUOTE=Brian Thompson;16857]Oh dear.....best have a word with the entertainment sec Brian.....somebody's booked them for next years' AGM.....JR is going to get up on stage a do a few banjo solos as well, and I think Rob is reprising his Christmas panto turn.....

Great idea Brian, after years of following the same successful formula it's about time the GRA booked a speciality act to pull in those members who've still to experience the delights of the AGM and I'm sure that Rob and JR would bring the crowds flocking in. I've heard their "Duel of the banjo's" is something to behold! Bring it on I say, can't wait.....

[johnrunnacles]

Can o'worms?

I think they were mentioned somewhere way back in the string of threads???
I'm surprised that all of this is still masquerading under the title "Postal Charges"!!! Some people won't know what they're missing ..........

Thanks Brian for your encouragement, as if I needed any? Thank you, too, JC for letting me in on Geoff's little secret. I won't see him in the same light ever again! I wish I had known Chris a bit better, too. We could have compared banjo collections!!

And Yes, I owe a lot to Mr. Scruggs, too, and he most certainly owes me for 50+ years of sheer frustration trying to get that god-damned stretched animal skin to sound anything like his virtuoso performances on record and on the box. I only wish I could have met him in this life, and told him straight!!

Anyway, keep the musical references coming, lads and lasses. It sure makes a welcome change from all this here bike business, don't you think?

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