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Country & Western


Hobbayne
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I,ve been offered a gig on Friday, but unfortunately its an Irish/country pub. I,m familiar with the standard Patsy Cline/Jim Reeves sort of thing, but its gonna be a root-fifth- ocassional minor night, i,m afraid :) Anyone familiar with this gendre? I,m after tips on turnarounds, chromatic runs etc, to stop me from nodding off on stage in front of burley blokes who want "The Fields Of Athernrye"
Still, I,ve no gig till the 14th of May, so might as well do it. please help me make it interesting for my sake! :)

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C&W? Chromatic runs? No. Turnarounds? Straight climbs and descents in the key. Keep it simple.

Nodding off? Well, [i]you [/i]may find it boring but it's the audience that matters, isn't it? And if they get a sense of disrespect for the music they like, you can probably expect a traditional Irish greeting afterwards. :)

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If it's a blues type, say in G. Just do chromatic runs up to C etc. Also play the fifth below the root if you can..... :) That's about as far as my country and western knowledge goes. Have a listen to some early Johnny Cash on youtube.

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[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1219216' date='May 3 2011, 09:34 PM']C&W? Chromatic runs? No. Turnarounds? Straight climbs and descents in the key. Keep it simple.

Nodding off? Well, [i]you [/i]may find it boring but it's the audience that matters, isn't it? And if they get a sense of disrespect for the music they like, you can probably expect a traditional Irish greeting afterwards. :lol:[/quote]
God, no! I,ve no disrespect for anyones music! :) I,m just after some tips from folks who have done these gigs :)

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[quote name='TPJ' post='1219231' date='May 3 2011, 09:50 PM']It may only be roots and fifths but it's ALL about the groove. Get it right and you'll be dancing on the stage. It aint as easy as you think :)[/quote]
+1
I did around 6 years on and off from around 17 yrs old , and it was good grounding .
It's pretty much all feel (as I found it) , especially the Western swing , or maybe the Outlaw stuff (Waylon Jennings etc) .
If it's Country and Irish , it's unlikely to be of the Ricky Scaggs frantic pace .
Just enjoy it , as if it's a proper Irish boozer , prepare for a great night . They'll love the band , forgive you for almost anything , and likely to be well hammered by the end . If they've got a switched on drummer , then you're set .

Just enjoy it mate , I guarantee it by the 2nd set you'll be in full swing .

You will let us know how it went I hope ?

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[quote name='E sharp' post='1219271' date='May 3 2011, 10:15 PM']+1
I did around 6 years on and off from around 17 yrs old , and it was good grounding .
It's pretty much all feel (as I found it) , especially the Western swing , or maybe the Outlaw stuff (Waylon Jennings etc) .
If it's Country and Irish , it's unlikely to be of the Ricky Scaggs frantic pace .
Just enjoy it , as if it's a proper Irish boozer , prepare for a great night . They'll love the band , forgive you for almost anything , and likely to be well hammered by the end . If they've got a switched on drummer , then you're set .

Just enjoy it mate , I guarantee it by the 2nd set you'll be in full swing .

You will let us know how it went I hope ?[/quote]


The first 'proper' band I was in - age 13 or something was a Country and Western band! Yes, honestly! - But I learned a massive amount fast. The set list seemed a mile long and I have to admit that a few of those songs are in my guilty pleasures list! ha!

Well, that's my prog metal reputation down the swanee!

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+1 on keeping it simple, but you might find that some choruses respond well to a swung walking line. But don't forget to revert to that ol' 1.5 for the verses. :)

Mainly, take the opportunity to relax and enjoy yourself, then the crowd will too.

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[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1219235' date='May 3 2011, 09:50 PM']I,m just after some tips from folks who have done these gigs :)[/quote]

* Stay behind the chicken-wire

* Whoop wildly from time to time. Except during Danny Boy or The Old Triangle.

* Tell 'em your Mum came from Sligo and you may live to see another dawn.

:) :lol:

Edited by skankdelvar
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[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1219302' date='May 3 2011, 10:39 PM']* Stay behind the chicken-wire

* Whoop wildly from time to time. Except during Danny Boy or The Old Triangle.

* Tell 'em your Mum came from Sligo and you may live to see another dawn.

:) :lol:[/quote]

I've always sung the Auld Triangle unaccompanied by any instrument. It was my granny's favourite may she RIP. Its rare that I have to buy a Guinness afterwards :)

To answer the original topic...if you are doing any gig playing music that you are not particularly into just use it as a discipline to see how professional you can be. Don't overplay ever in any situation...just enhance each song and let the fiddle player or piper or whatever do their thing just like you would a guitarist or the sax player.

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[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1219235' date='May 3 2011, 09:50 PM']God, no! I,ve no disrespect for anyones music! :) I,m just after some tips from folks who have done these gigs :)[/quote]


Slap the arse off it. :lol:

Edited by Bassman Sam
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Although I cant contribute as my knowledge goes no further than doing monkey trained note for note dolly parton covers, It is nice to see a thread covering a different style on here

Good luck with the gig OP

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We do a few C&W songs (originals tho) & I'm not a fan of the genre , but the singer wrote em & he loves C&W so I had to make basslines for em & although they ain't hard, they can be fun.
Think things like Obladi Oblada where you play the 3 notes of a chord if you want to get away from consistent I V stuff & then add extra notes variations & sometimes it can end up a bit on the tricky side & still retain that silly I V feel.

Have a listen to [url="http://www.myspace.com/jellyrollmusic"]So Damned[/url] to see if it gives you any ideas (Excuse some of the timing issues with the song in the mandolin solo).

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[quote name='xgsjx' post='1219481' date='May 4 2011, 07:43 AM']still retain that silly I V feel.[/quote]

Nothing silly about a I V feel.
The basis of this Bassline is IV [Its all in the way its played - Rhythm can, and does play a part]
Ok there is scale related as well as other lines in there also, as the song devolopes, but in essence IV over the chord.




Thousands of examples out there suggesting IV is not silly, and in fact a musical exercise in discipline and taste.



Garry

Edited by lowdown
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There's Country & there's Country - a couple of my favourite upright players work in the rootsy end of country: Western Swing/Jukejoint Jive - and rockabilly's just round the corner. A couple of posters in this thread have already said it's got to swing, and that's just it in a nutshell.

The guys I'm thinking about particularly are Jake Erwin from The Hot Club of Cowtown, and Rik Ramirez, who works with all sorts of people, notably Wayne Hancock (who, I believe coined the phrase 'Jukejoint Jive' to describe what he does). I can't imagine having a much more fun gig than those two.

But I guess this may not be what people think of when they talk about Country...



...and probably not much help to the OP. How about this instead, Wayne Hancock, not sure who the bass-player is...

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Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. When I play the I V the image that goes through my head is standing with bowed legs & stomping from side to side dressed as a cowboy, that's a silly image & really what I meant when I said silly I V feel.

+1 on knowing when not to play notes being just as important as when to play.

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