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Show FRAILING CONTINUED by Kevin McCusker You may recall that the last installment had some text that led up to the following: Start with just this. Strum down, pull away. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. My experience with teaching people to frail suggests that this maneuver is what makes or breaks you. It takes some just a few minutes to get the feeUor. this, and others may take hours. Simply put; thereis no moving on until you can do this. When you have this, add some simple chords with your left hand. Next: Sounding a single string, adding the third note, and banjo tab. Now: Start with the instrument in open G-tuning. Add the third motion. This can be a bit elusive, and as is so often the case, practice helps. We are after a three beat combination. The first beat is NOW! PAT DONOHUE CD'S IN STOCK! SM.T CITY CI'S THE MUSIC EXPERIENCE 878 E. 900 S. (9th & 9th) SALT LAKE CITY 956-9300 initiated by strumming downward with the right hand, nail of the middle (or first finger). This single note is followed by a · downward strum as described in the above paragraph, and the thumb note. Almost never is the first beat a single note. In reality itis very hard to catch just one string. With frailing, estimates work. So STRUM IN THE GENERAL VICINITY of the G-string, then brush down and catch your thumb. Pete Seeger describes the rhythm of the basic frail as "bumtitty- bum." No anatomical references are intended. Got it? Congratulations ! Now bar in the fifth fret and try it again. If youire to here, try this as a back up to a favorite song. Rolling in my Sweet Baby's Arms is a good starter. If you got to here, you'll soon be asking "Riddle me this Batman! Is there more?" Yes. Next, add a bit of texture by doing hammering ons or slides. In next months issue, I'll have some tablature, but for now, try this. In an open G tuning, do your down note in the general vicinity of the 4th (D) string. That's the fattest string, the one with the winding on it. Now, using the middle finger of your left hand, press this string in the second fret and hold it down. Do your down strum across all strings, and then your thumb note. The rhythm here mimics the word "Chattanooga." Stay with this-it's a crucial part of successful frail in g. More next time. Remember, life has it's frailties. Bluegrass Clippings, from page 2 Dollar amounts for the other instruments lost haven't been calculated. About a half-dozen unfinished masters were destroyed. It was unclear from the article whether insurance funds would cover rerecording them. Tim says that plans are already in the works to rebuild and get underway as soon as possible. Folks wishing to help him rebuild are encouraged to buy a CD or cassette of The Stanley Tradition, the first release on the Doobie Shea Records label. It is reported to be a dyn-o-mite piece of bluegrass .. .Stanley-oriented tunes, performed by a collection of artists which includes Don Rigsby, Ronnie 12 INTERMOUNTAIN ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN, OCTOBER 1996 Bowman, Dan Tyminsky, Wyatt Rice, David Parmley, and more. Send $15.00 for CDs and $10.00 for cassettes to: Doobie Shea Records, Inc., P.O. Box 369, Ferrum, VA 24088. Shipping & handling charges are $2.00 for 1st piece and $1.00 for each additional. And Speaking Of Fires Them pesky forest fires in Northern California have caused at least one bluegrass event to be re-scheduled. Bruce Hayden reports that the Strawberry Music Festival is to be postponed due to the proximity of the Ackerson fire just outside of Yosemite. The fire has burned over 25,000 acres.The festival WILL be held on October 3-7. Check Strawberry Music Festival web page for updates at http:/ I www.scruznet.com/ -pierce/strawberry I Strawberry is one of the elite festival on the west coast. It is very unfortunate for both the performers and those that attend that the postponement had to happen. Dang mother nature, anyhow. Tony's Voice Concern over Tony Rice's vocal problems continues. Brian Kimsey tells us, "I interviewed Wyatt Rice at Rocky Grass (for Flatpicking Guitar Mag) a few weeks ago, and he said Tony was talking a little, but not singing and it was anybody's guess as to whether he would ever be able to sing again. Said Tony was still smoking, too." You want an example of dat ole debbil Nicotine making somebody act against his own interests, here 'tis. Can Such Things Be? Veteran BG banjerpicker Winnie Winston, now residing in New Zealand, recently posted the following cryptic message to the net: "Come to St. Louis the Sunday before Labor Day and hear what happens when a young, hot, blugrass banjo player finds middle-aged comfort in the pedal steel guitar ... " Quite a switch, sez I. Maybe he dunnit because he can set that heavy contraption on the floor, instead of having to hang it off his shoulder. October Fiddling On The Pacific The Santa Barbara Society for Traditional Music will hold its 25th Annual Old Time Fiddlers' Convention, on Sunday, October 13th at the Stow House, 304 N. Los Carneros Road, Goleta California, just 10 miles North of Santa Barbara on Highway 101. Categories include old-time fiddling, singing, banjo tunes, and competition in a variety of other American folk instruments. The contest is scheduled to |
