# Music by Genre > Bluegrass, Newgrass, Country, Gospel Variants >  Monroe tunes

## montana

I'm a bluegrass guitar player and Irish mandolin player. As a winter project I'm going to work on bluegrass mandolin. I figured I'd start with Bill Monroe tunes. I got out all my BM CDs and will learn all his solos. Is there a list somewhere of all his instrumental numbers?

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## Mike Bunting

Here's a few.
http://www.monroemandolin.com/bills-tunes

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## tmsweeney

a few I am working on

Old Dangerfield
Big Mon
Monroe's Hornpipe
Crossing the Cumberlands

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## montana

Didn't realize there were to many.

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## Mike Bunting

> Didn't realize there were to many.


He was very prolific.

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## sachmo63

." I got out all my BM CDs and will learn ALL his solos. "

Ha, that's a good one....... :Laughing:

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## montana

> ." I got out all my BM CDs and will learn ALL his solos. "
> 
> Ha, that's a good one.......


He doesn't play a solo on every song and when he does most a short breaks so on the cd's I have it won't be hard to copy the solos. I wan't talking about learning all the instrumentals although I play about 15 on guitar those won't take me long.

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## Mike Bunting

People spend a lifetime studying the nuances of th Monroe style. It is not an easy style.

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## almeriastrings

> I'm a bluegrass guitar player and Irish mandolin player. As a winter project I'm going to work on bluegrass mandolin. I figured I'd start with Bill Monroe tunes. I got out all my BM CDs and will learn all his solos.


We must be in for a very long winter.

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FodForThoought

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## mandopops

I'm not a Bill Monroe expert by any means, but the link to Bill's Tunes contains tunes such as  'Jenny Lynn' & 'East Tennessee Blues' & the tunes from the Uncle Penn Instrumental record. These are not Original tunes at all, Right? Monroe did record them, but the list says original.

Just a sidebar question, what is a Monroe instrumental tune in 'D'? I play a couple of Monroe tunes, but I don't have one in 'D', Lonesome Moonlight is 'Dminor'. I would just like an uptempo tune in 'D'.

Thanx
Joe

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## Wolfboy

> I'm not a Bill Monroe expert by any means, but the link to Bill's Tunes contains tunes such as  'Jenny Lynn' & 'East Tennessee Blues' & the tunes from the Uncle Penn Instrumental record. These are not Original tunes at all, Right? Monroe did record them, but the list says original.


I noticed that too - there are definitely tunes on that list he didn't write, including the ones you mention (I don't believe he wrote "Milenburg Joy" either). They might have been credited to him on recordings, as often happened with public domain material for various not-always-completely-honest-but-usually-more-or-less-harmless reasons, but you're right, the list does include several Monroe non-originals. (And is missing at least one genuine Monroe original, "Fiddler's Pastime" from the Baker Plays Monroe album.) 




> Just a sidebar question, what is a Monroe instrumental tune in 'D'? I play a couple of Monroe tunes, but I don't have one in 'D', Lonesome Moonlight is 'Dminor'. I would just like an uptempo tune in 'D'.


Two that come to mind are "Bluegrass Stomp" and "Get Up John," though the latter requires retuning the mandolin to F#A-DD-AA-AD...

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Mike Bunting

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## Ivan Kelsall

From Mike Bunting - _"People spend a lifetime studying the nuances of th Monroe style. It is not an easy style."_. Very true Mike,then the question arises - 'which style' ?. It changed so much over the years, especially in the earlier years when i suspect that he was experimenting with different nuances in his style. Back then,some of his solos could be very discordant,but even those are worth working on simply for the stylistic difference they bring to the music,
                                                                                                         Ivan :Wink:

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Gary Hedrick

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## ralph johansson

All the tunes on the Uncle Pen album are traditional. Milenburg Joys originated with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings; Monroe learned it from the Hoosier Hotshots. Kenny Baker wrote Big Sandy; it is also a well documented fact that he came up with most of the ideas for Jerusalem Ridge, although Monroe made the decisions. Stoney Lonesome was mainly written by Charlie Smith. Richard Greene claims he wrote Norhtern White Cloud(s) from some idea of Monroe's. Crossing the Cumberlands is the correct title; they were not crossing a river when the bus broke down.

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DavidKOS

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## UsuallyPickin

Montana ... MelBay has a good place to start ..Monroe Instrumentals ... http://www.music44.com/Merchant2/mer...t_Code=99962-M ......   R/

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## Gary Hedrick

> I'm not a Bill Monroe expert by any means, but the link to Bill's Tunes contains tunes such as  'Jenny Lynn' & 'East Tennessee Blues' & the tunes from the Uncle Penn Instrumental record. These are not Original tunes at all, Right? Monroe did record them, but the list says original.
> 
> Just a sidebar question, what is a Monroe instrumental tune in 'D'? I play a couple of Monroe tunes, but I don't have one in 'D', Lonesome Moonlight is 'Dminor'. I would just like an uptempo tune in 'D'.
> 
> Thanx
> Joe


Bluegrass Stomp...is one

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## Gary Hedrick

When "learning" the Monroe style (as nicely said in other postings) it is best to bring your lunch because you are in for an all day ass whipping..............

Now that I have used that Indiana saying,  seriously it is an exercise in the right hand.....the power the drive the down strokes all are a lot more difficult to do and get all the notes in than one might think. 

His music may sound easy but to really "get it" there is a lot more to it than one might think.

I have posted some Monroe works from Bean Blossom in the Bluegrass Section. Go listen to Bluegrass Part One......sheesh talk about full on frontal assault.....

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DavidKOS, 

Mike Bunting

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## Earl Gamage

Mike Compton has a list.  He says there are over 600 Monroe recordings.  One thing I don't see mentioned ever is how hard it is to play solos like Monroe where he played on the G and D strings so fast and with such power.  Very hard to do.  Wish I could learn them all over a winter :Smile: .

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lflngpicker, 

Mike Bunting

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## almeriastrings

For a good G/D string workout, Tombstone Junction, Come Hither to Go Yonder and (of course) Wheel Hoss are fun and really get the fingers moving. There is just so much in Monroe's playing and composition.  Whole sub-genres of it! Fiddle tunes, blues, breakdowns... ragtime..soulful breaks...  a lifetime to create and I suspect almost as long to learn it and get it down right!

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## JeffD

> I'm going to work on bluegrass mandolin. I figured I'd start with Bill Monroe tunes. I got out all my BM CDs and will learn all his solos.


You will be a bluegrass mandolin player long before you learn _all_ his solos. My gosh it took him all his life, and he invented the genre.

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## Wolfboy

> You will be a bluegrass mandolin player long before you learn _all_ his solos. My gosh it took him all his life, and he invented the genre.


Indeed. You are aware, aren't you, Montana, that Monroe's active recording career spanned about 60 years?

A worthwhile project to study his style and tunes, for sure, but mastering the style or learning even part of his compositional output is going to take you more than one winter...

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## AlanN

Too wise.

And to be nit-picky, Lonesome Moonlight Waltz is in F major. But, if you had asked Monroe what key it was in, he likely would have said

"It goes like this here..."

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## Alex Orr

> I'm a bluegrass guitar player and Irish mandolin player. As a winter project I'm going to work on bluegrass mandolin. I figured I'd start with Bill Monroe tunes. I got out all my BM CDs and will learn all his solos. Is there a list somewhere of all his instrumental numbers?


All his solos?  I'm guessing you don't have a lot of Monroe CDs since that could easily be close to a thousand songs  :Wink: 

Todd Collins has a book of transcriptions for a dozen or so of his instrumental numbers and another one for a dozen or so lead breaks.  They're quite accurate and include both standard and tab.  Might as well start with those.  You can also check out the Homespun DVD, which features Monroe playing in-studio and then Sam Bush breaking down his solos.  It also features some rather slipshod instruction and tabs that have nothing to do with anything Monroe plays in the DVD, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

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## mandolirius

> He doesn't play a solo on every song and when he does most a short breaks so on the cd's I have it won't be hard to copy the solos. I wan't talking about learning all the instrumentals although I play about 15 on guitar those won't take me long.





> We must be in for a very long winter.



Not necessarily (see above quote).

 :Wink:

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## montana

You guys are right. What was I thinking. I was thinking of the two cd compilation album. I'm good at learning things of the record pretty quickly and can hear his signature licks in a number off solos. My plan is to learn these licks to use on tunes at jams. I know when I hear Monroe licks at jams an that is the scope of my project. Now it's even easier cos I can get the instruction material you all mentioned.

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## Timbofood

WSM much like A.P. Carter, and so many back in those days didn't much make any differentiation between writing,arranging,or anything else.  As has been stated here so many times, if it was played by "The Boys" it had Bills name on it.  And no lawsuits about who did what, nowadays, that would stick in someone's craw and they'd all get lawyered up and would be a big mess.
Good luck in learning it all in one winter, you have a large project ahead!

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## mandopops

Back to Lonesome Moonlight, I think of it as shifting tonalities between the Major it's relative Minor, F/dm. I'm sure Bill would agree, knowing, as he did, that the 6th degree of the scale is the note for the relative minor. Or would he say, "That relative minor is no part of nuthin'"?

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## TonyP

There are quite a few of BigMon's breaks tabbed out on mandozine. But I swear, just like some of the others on here have said, talk about a whoppin'. I'm still working on Letter to My Darling which is one of my all time favorite breaks of his, and it's all right there in black and white with the tab and notation. 

Some folks don't need to get it exactly like he did it, but I do. And sometimes it just seems impossible. I learned down up picking first, and so things that you have to do consecutive down strokes just fry my brain. And without those things the feel of the break is just not right. And it's more about feel than technicality IMHO. 

Good luck, and if you get all his stuff down, more power to you.

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## AlanN

Yeah, LMW is almost too sophisticated (or something) for Bill to have penned it. Legend has it that Richard Greene came up with the B part. One of those mid-60's bus tapes floating around has a part of this tune, you can hear the nascent thing happening to it.

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## ralph johansson

> Yeah, LMW is almost too sophisticated (or something) for Bill to have penned it. Legend has it that Richard Greene came up with the B part. One of those mid-60's bus tapes floating around has a part of this tune, you can hear the nascent thing happening to it.


There's a live recording of MOnroe and Doc Watson doing this tune, in 1964 I believe. The bridge sounds confused in this version  so it's quite conceivable that someone helped him clean it up.

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## ralph johansson

> There are quite a few of BigMon's breaks tabbed out on mandozine. But I swear, just like some of the others on here have said, talk about a whoppin'. I'm still working on Letter to My Darling which is one of my all time favorite breaks of his, and it's all right there in black and white with the tab and notation. 
> 
> Some folks don't need to get it exactly like he did it, but I do. And sometimes it just seems impossible. I learned down up picking first, and so things that you have to do consecutive down strokes just fry my brain. And without those things the feel of the break is just not right. And it's more about feel than technicality IMHO. 
> 
> Good luck, and if you get all his stuff down, more power to you.


Among those folks I think you could include Monroe himself, i.e., I don't believe he played that solo the same way each time.
Personally, I never felt the desire to copy anyone else's solos, I just let them inspire me. All I learned of Monroe's blues language is in the first four bars of BG Part 1. And, yes, I did transcribe Rawhide - I heard a lot of notes that weren't really there, because I needed them.

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## mandotool

Here's the earliest of the motion pictures of Monroe ..(that i know of)... it may help to shed some light on this thread..




Still think you can tick Monroe off your list in a winter?
How about ..just the into to Roanoke this winter...
Now..That would put you in some rarefied company...

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dusty miller

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## mandotool

correction..here's the earliest Monroe film..."A Voice From On High"....looks to be very close in age to Roanoke..1955
Image quality is amazing..

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dusty miller, 

Rush Burkhardt

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## JeffD

Twin unison fiddles. Now that is sweeeeeeeeet.

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## Perry

> Yeah, LMW is almost too sophisticated (or something) for Bill to have penned it. Legend has it that Richard Greene came up with the B part. One of those mid-60's bus tapes floating around has a part of this tune, you can hear the nascent thing happening to it.


Mike Compton plays a version of Lonesome Moonlight Waltz much different then Kenny Baker's version. The way he plays it is closer to Monroe's original intention (or maybe as per the bus tape) Regardless it is very haunting...very modal. Sounds great in a solo context the way Mike does it. The version doesn't have all those _fancy_  :Wink:  chord changes in the B section but the B section melody is still pretty much there.

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## DPrager

Up tempo Monroe in D????

Bluegrass Stomp...of course!!

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## Timbofood

Why am I going completely blank on the fiddle players on Roanoke?
I want to have a band with multiple fiddle players once in my life even for only a night!
WSM doing Scotland with three fiddles has been a serious favorite from the first time I heard it!
Tom, help me out here, please?
Actually anybody, I am making myself crazy about it!
I'm loozin mah mahnd!

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## JeffD

Twin fiddles is a wonderful sound. It's what drew me to Bob Wills music.

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## mandolirius

> Why am I going completely blank on the fiddle players on Roanoke?
> I want to have a band with multiple fiddle players once in my life even for only a night!
> WSM doing Scotland with three fiddles has been a serious favorite from the first time I heard it!
> Tom, help me out here, please?
> Actually anybody, I am making myself crazy about it!
> I'm loozin mah mahnd!


Bobby Hicks and Charlie Cline.

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Timbofood

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## Ivan Kelsall

From TonyP - _"Some folks don't need to get it exactly like he did it, but I do..."_. Same here Tony. I'm not a 'Monroe stylist',my playing leans much more towards the playing of John Reischman / Herschel Sizemore - but - if i'm going to learn a Bill Monroe tune or one of his intros. or breaks,i do like to get it just as Bill did it. I've recently re-visited 'Old Ebeneezer Scrooge' a tune i only learned of last year thanks to another Cafe member AlanN (who shall remain nameless).I got the bare bones of the tune down fairly quickly,but then, when you go back & listen with a more educated ear,you hear all the 'other' little bits & pieces going on that you didn't catch onto before. For me,i simply have to re-learn the tune incorporating those bits & pieces. To me,Bill Monroe was & still is _the_ Bluegrass mandolin genius,& if i'm going to learn one of his tunes,as i said previously,i have to play it (or as close as i can),as Bill did,out of respect really.
  Having said all that,there's absolutely nothing wrong with playing your own intro. / break 'whatever' to a Bill Monroe tune '' in the style of '' Bill Monroe,but it's nice to be able to play the original as well.
   From JeffD - _"Twin fiddles is a wonderful sound.."_ And how !!. I bought the Bill Monroe LP 'Bluegrass Instrumentals' back in '66 (i think). The first track is 'Stoney Lonesome' & the sound of the twin fiddles knocked my socks of - it still does. One other tune featuring twin fiddles that has become a classic is 'Dixie Hoedown' done by Jim & Jesse McReynolds. The sound of twin fiddles is one of _the_ most awesome sounds in Bluegrass music (IMHO),
                                                                                             Ivan :Wink: 
http://youtu.be/MZX-igXu_6g - Stoney Lonesome - Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys - Charlie Smith & Bobby Hicks on fiddle.

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DavidKOS

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## almeriastrings

Bill Monroe did a very different version of 'Old Ebeneezer Scrooge' with Jimmy Campbell. Really quite different. So... lots to work on as always. 

http://www.redclayrecords.com/Piecesoftime.htm

Chilly Winds of Shannon is a good one...and Lonesome Old Farmer.

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## Phil Goodson

oops, too late.

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## Timbofood

Thanks Mandolirious, I could not think of Charlie Cline, for some reason! I can get a good nights rest now, it was making me crazy!
OK, here's a Monroe trivia question..... A case of used flat picks to the winner!
What instrumental did Bill put his glasses on to play late in his days?
It's the only one I had ever seen him actually stop and put them on for, then take them off after he did the tune.  He did it every time I saw him play it for about six years!

When I have a case of used picks I will send them!

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## TonyP

Ivan, I was totally in the Dawg/Bush/JR school. Coming from jazz guitar and hearing Dawgmusic and then on to NewGrass, it was all my ear could handle at first. Bill Monroe was just to "authentic" for my ear then. 

But then when Dawg did the Bluegrass Reunion album and totally channeled Monroe that 'bout made my head explode. Along about that time I discovered Peter Rowan's "The First Whippoorwill" album, where Sam Bush did nothing but straight Monroe, and that was all she wrote. 

For a long time I was a "stylist"(great way to put it) and then I just had to get serious about it. Not just going for inspiration, but doing the hard work of playing it exactly like that version of the recording. And yes, just like any good jazz cat, Monroe hardly ever played the same thing twice. But I think he could have, just just didn't. And like you said, it's those little twists and turns that just take me forever. But those leave an imprint that's not just a lick. It's jumbled up the stuff that just comes out when in a jam where I'm in over my head and don't have time to think about what I'm doing. Just one of those things that come out like somebody else had control of my hands for a second. I didn't get that when I was being casual about getting that stuff internalized. 

I'm very in awe of folks who can just blast through the trad. Monroe breaks note for note. But what's weird is almost nobody at the bluegrass jams I've gone to know the really hard core stuff. Like I can't get anybody to play Evening Prayer Blues. And that's basically one chord, but it's Monroe twisty and just stops a jam cold like a dog shakin' off water. Seems a lonely pursuit sometimes, but I guess you just have to chase your obsession.

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## Ivan Kelsall

Tony - In a 'jam session',many times i've felt that the regular, well know jam along tunes / songs that almost all folk know are the ones that get played. The 'others' ie. the hard core stuff that you mean, requires a bunch of 'hardcore' enthusiasts to even think of playing them. I suppose that in a jam session,the most important thing for people is to be able to join in & many times that means playing the songs / tunes that are more accessible to the different levels of expertise of the 'jammers'. I've been involved in UK Bluegrass for over 50 years & at the festivals that i've attended,jam sessions rarely get out of the almost 'kindergarten' level of playing mainly for that reason. There are some terrific pickers over here in the UK,but i've never heard any of the 'classic' tunes such as Rebecca / Amandalina / Rawhide / EMD & hosts of other tunes being played. I've often wondered if,in a jam session context, this would be regarded as 'showing off' & pickers simply don't do it. I'm willing to join in most things,but i do prefer to play with players at my own level,who may be a bit more serious about doing the classic songs / tunes. Going back many years,i learned most of Earl Scruggs' banjo intros. & solos to the most famous Flatt & Scruggs songs & honestly,i've never played one of them in a jam session,because those old songs get neglected for ''the next new thing'' very often. Currently,at UK festivals,as far as mandolin players go,i'm far more likely to hear a player attempting to play a Chris Thile tune than i am to hear one playing 
'Rebecca' - it's just the way things seem to go,we call it fashion !,
                                                                                        Ivan

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## sachmo63

For all things Monroe join the "Monroe Mandolin Appreciation Society" on Facebook. There's a lot of invite on big mons work.

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## almeriastrings

If it was anywhere else but Facebook....

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## Timbofood

Ivan, if you're ever in Kalamazoo, we must make some music! It could be a very interesting evening at the Garage Mahal with a few of the members, who have visited in the last several years. If they were all to arrive on the same night, bluegrass old style and some newer things too, it's always a good time!

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## AlanN

> If it was anywhere else but Facebook....


Too wise.

Funny how for being the FOB, many of Monroe's tunes just stop pickers dead in their tracks. The straightforward ones, np - Big Mon, Lochwood, Southern Flavor, etc. But you throw in some of the slightly off-kilter numbers, messes the people right up - EPB, OES, etc. Even early numbers like Tennessee Blues, peoople just can't get right, especially the rhythm section. 

I guess it keeps the riff-raff out.

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Mike Bunting

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## lowtone2

Tennessee Blues-just a standard, everyday, 17 bar blues.

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Mike Bunting, 

TonyP

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## mandopops

As I read thru the comments, on one hand some say Monroe never played anything the same way twice paired up with "trying" to play things as exactly as Monroe did. I am not a Monroe devotee, but it seems the way to play like Monroe is NOT to play it like Monroe. Do it your way.

There developed around Charlie Parker , when he was hitting, players who wanted to play like Bird so much they had to be told, even by Bird himself, to stop & do their own thing. Find your own sound.

Study, learn, & "steal" then find your own voice. No disrespect in that.

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almeriastrings, 

DavidKOS

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## Mike Bunting

> As I read thru the comments, on one hand some say Monroe never played anything the same way twice paired up with "trying" to play things as exactly as Monroe did. I am not a Monroe devotee, but it seems the way to play like Monroe is NOT to play it like Monroe. Do it your way.
> 
> There developed around Charlie Parker , when he was hitting, players who wanted to play like Bird so much they had to be told, even by Bird himself, to stop & do their own thing. Find your own sound.
> 
> Study, learn, & "steal" then find your own voice. No disrespect in that.


That's what Monroe said too.

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## lowtone2

It is not possible to play bop without playing Bird. Parker's style _is_ bop. Players were able to develop the style, but at some point it is something else. 
 Same applies to Bill monroe, i think.

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Mike Bunting, 

TonyP

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## jesserules

Famous mando player (can't remember who just now) plays something for his hero WSM:

WSM sez  "You've learned my style real well.  Now go and learn your own."

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DavidKOS

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## sgarrity

That comment was directed at Frank Wakefield

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jesserules

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## Timbofood

And Frank did just that!
WSM told Peter Rowan the same thing, so, it's important to know where you came from to have a better idea where to go.

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## Markus

> Twin fiddles is a wonderful sound. It's what drew me to Bob Wills music.


I just got to see Byron Berline come through with his band a few week back ... and his twin fiddles. Played Gold Rush and Roly Poly ... hit both the WSM and Bob Wills twin fiddle tunes.

I don't think I've ever heard the twin fiddle thing so fluid and perfect sounding. Gold Rush just cooked, it kind of ruined all future single fiddle versions of that tune.




> And Frank did just that!
> WSM told Peter Rowan the same thing, so, it's important to know where you came from to have a better idea where to go.


Master someone else's material, then go do your own. 

Sort of like what they say about music school - you study and work, then the day you graduate you are supposed to forget all that stuff and just play.

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## doc holiday

Amen to Byron Berline.  I spent a week listening to him at Nimblefingers.ca.  He always had his fiddle out & was always out jamming... not to mention the fact that he always & i mean every time he lifts his bow... plays with authority. And has the musical drive of a 20yr old.  Got to hear Gold Rush & Huckleberry Hornpipe a few times...& some good WSM stories too.

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## Timbofood

I have never met Byron Berline but, some friends have and they all say he is one of the nicest guys on the planet!
Glad you had a good time Markus!

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## TonyP

Wanna hear what transcribing every thing Monroe did and Jesse McReynolds? Listen to Andy Statman. He knows everything either one of them ever played.  He once said something to the effect that Monroe was THE most outside cat there was. And when you get down into some of those breaks, I agree.

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Jordan Ramsey

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## M.Marmot

> It is not possible to play bop without playing Bird. Parker's style _is_ bop. Players were able to develop the style, but at some point it is something else. 
>  Same applies to Bill monroe, i think.


Paging Dizzy Gillespie - paging Dizzy Gillespie - Charlie Parker has found himself alone on a pedestal again. Be advised Mr. Monk is already on the scene and may need some assistance.

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## Timbofood

I guess I get to keep my used picks!
"Road to Columbus" was the tune, he did it this day

We took Bill a birthday cake and cookies for the boys!

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## lowtone2

> Paging Dizzy Gillespie - paging Dizzy Gillespie - Charlie Parker has found himself alone on a pedestal again. Be advised Mr. Monk is already on the scene and may need some assistance.


 True, true, and the rythmn section stylings were completely different too. Oh well, i've been wrong before.

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## mando-tech

> I'm not a Bill Monroe expert by any means, but the link to Bill's Tunes contains tunes such as  'Jenny Lynn' & 'East Tennessee Blues' & the tunes from the Uncle Penn Instrumental record. These are not Original tunes at all, Right? Monroe did record them, but the list says original.
> 
> Just a sidebar question, what is a Monroe instrumental tune in 'D'? I play a couple of Monroe tunes, but I don't have one in 'D', Lonesome Moonlight is 'Dminor'. I would just like an uptempo tune in 'D'.
> 
> Thanx
> Joe


...wrong !, mandopops, about LONESOME MOONLIGHT WALTZ being in 'Dm', -its in the key of 'F'.

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## DataNick

> ...wrong !, mandopops, about LONESOME MOONLIGHT WALTZ being in 'Dm', -its in the key of 'F'.


The song's 'A' part does start in Dm and seems to be "rooted" in Dm, while the 'B' part seems "rooted in Fmaj; and Dm is the relative minor to Fmaj...kinda minor clarification I think (no pun intended)...

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## Mandoplumb

When I play Monroe I try to play Monroe style, when I play Jesse McRenoyls I try to cross pic not always successful but the style is what's important, no need to try to get every note just as they did, for one thing they didn't do it the same always and besides you could just buy the record if you wanted to hear the same thing every time.  Now if you want to try for styles try to do some Lost and Found. Dempsey is impossible to figure out, another one I have been trying is Red Rector. How could anything that sounds so simple be so complex.

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## Timbofood

I am completely in agreement with the point about "same every time" thought, Mandoplumb! Jesse might be a little more in that vein but, I have seen him play slightly different breaks from show to show, he's a man not a machine. Bill, again not wildly different but, some days he was just a touch "different". Again, man not machine.
I just wish I could get myself wound up to really take apart "I Wish You Knew"! I get started and just re play it time and again! 
Trying to emulate the style is what's important, some days I have really felt like I was in the "Monroe groove" but, not once have I felt like I "got" Jesse! I'll keep trying.

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## Mandoplumb

Timbofood, I don't claim to be the mandolin picker Jesse is, but after spending hours learning his style of cross picking I can play Jim and Jesse tunes in the McRenolds style, not note for note but within that style as long as  I stay away from split strings. Now I have set my cap to conquer Rector's style. I'm 62  don't know if I'll live long enough.

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## Mark Gunter

Wonder how the OP got along with mastering Monroe that winter of 2013/14?

There's a lot of good info in this thread, I need to watch more YT clips of Bill Monroe.

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## Timbofood

Mandoplumb,
It's always good to hear someone has taken the time to really learn Jesse's style! I get started trying to figure something out and get distracted by his split strings or the flat out beauty of what he's doing! Then it's time for lunch.
More power to you!
I am with you on the Red Rector challenge, he's just so clean, and in any film he looks so completely at ease. As time passes it's good to have fun challenges like that, may you live to ninety-five and still be playing the morning before you go!

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## DataNick

Thread Bump:

My band DESPERADO, playing the only tune Mr. Monroe won the Grammy for: 
Southern Flavor

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Charles E., 

Drew Egerton

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