calling all beginners

[craig]

as i'm seeking some inspiration to learn a new song, i was wondering if any non-professional players would be interested in picking a tune that we all don't know and spending a few weeks to learn it together? maybe we could choose a TEF song off co-mando. learn it. record our own version once we are comfortable with it. then, somehow swap with each other to see each others take on the tune. thought it would be interesting to see how different or similar each plays the song and get some feedback and criticism on our own performance. not sure how we'd go about posting it to each other, but i'm sure there's a way without taking up any cafe space. any takers?

craig

[Bluegrasstjej]

Craig, you're a genius!! What a great idea!! It sounds like lots of fun! Do you have any suggestion for a tune? I'm not a real beginner but I'm close to it. At least I'm not a professional player.

[John Zimm]

Count me in Craig. I am pretty well willing to learn anything. Just keep me posted.

-John.

[Bluegrasstjej]

About the space, I have a new MSN group for my own mandolin recordings where we could put them. I'll see it it would work for the storage space.

[Nik-chick]

I'm in. I don't know if I'd be able to do anything, but I'm in. What about a gospel number?

[craig]

Bluegrasstjej,

the MSN account sounds like a good idea. we could open up an account that we could all share and post at leisure. that way we wouldn't use up your space and we'd all be able to access it.

i'm up for learning anything, really, but here's a list of songs i was thinking about:

sally goodin
arkansas traveler
bonaparte's retreat
fisher's hornpipe
cherokee shuffle
soldier's joy
beaumont rag
blackberry rag
cold frosty morning

thought we'd start with something simple and traditional and see how it goes. any of these sound good to anyone? any other suggestions?

nik-chick,

i'd be up for a gospel tune, too. just as long as i don't have to sing. any in particular you were thinking of?


well, i'm glad to hear there's a few interested!! sounds like fun the more i think about it.

keep 'em coming

craig

[John Zimm]

Craig,

I am looking forward to this. #Any of those songs on the list would be great for me, although I just learned Fisher's Horpipe from Jack Tottle's book, so I may lean towards a different tune. #Sounds like a lot of fun.

-John.

[craig]

john,

ok, let's scratch "fisher's hornpipe", then. it'll be more fun if we are all starting fresh. hopefully we can get a decision on a song in the next couple days. then, we can get started on it this weekend. can't wait!

craig

[Nik-chick]

That list sounds cool. Out of that stuff, how about "Soldier's Joy"? I've never heard it, but it warented mention in "Uncle Pen" good enough for me.

As far as gospel numbers, I was just thinking the melody line to some traditional well-known hymn like "How Great Thou Art." I'm totally into that other suggestion list tho.

[Jaded]

Sounds like fun...sally goodin, solider's joy and beaumont rag are all on my to learn, but haven't started learning yet list. The others are good tunes too tho.

[Ajvessey]

Count me in guys, sounds like a great idea.

[DorothyD]

This is a great idea!! I'm in!

[Nik-chick]

So Which Song? Taking out what Fisher's Hornpipe and using the earlier list:

sally goodin
arkansas traveler
bonaparte's retreat
cherokee shuffle
soldier's joy
beaumont rag
blackberry rag
cold frosty morning

Jaded liked "sally goodin, solider's joy and beaumont rag." I think I like "Soldier's Joy" with "Blackberry Rag" and "Arkansas Traveller" as my next choices. What does everyone else like?

[craig]

ok. we have 7 people including myself. that's enough to get this rolling. others can join in later if they want.

i want to take a vote on the song we'll learn. let's go with the above list. everyone pick the ONE song from the list that they'd most like to learn. whichever song has the most votes by saturday is the one we'll do. sound good?

my vote is: Sally Goodin

[Bluegrasstjej]

I already know Soldier's joy well, so I'd prefer not taking that. I vote for Cherokee shuffle, as it is a very neat tune and I haven't played it. Really, I have wanted to learn Beaumont rag for years but still think it's too difficult.

By the way, about the MSN group. The address is .http://groups.msn.com/mandolintunes. You will need to join the group to be able to post files and messages if you want that. To join, you need what they call a passport, some kind of log in details. As a passport you can use any e-mail address and then pick a password. Then you choose a member name when you join the group (this is not the same thing as the passport). Just follow the instructions. Let me know if you have any problems, I'm an experienced MSN user. Then I think the best way is to post the files in the documents section.

[craig]

bluegrasstjej,

i checked out MSN. the only problem with it is that they limit the upload file size to 1MB. most recordings, i believe, will be well over that depending on the format we use(WAV, MP3, etc.). i'm looking into other options right now. we can worry about that later, though.

so, we'll scratch "soldier's joy" (sorry, Nik-chick). the new list with current votes is:

sally goodin (2)
cherokee shuffle (1)
arkansas traveler
bonaparte's retreat
beaumont rag
blackberry rag
cold frosty morning

[adgefan]

This sounds like a brilliant idea! I don't know any of the tunes on the shortlist so anything is fine by me.

[Bluegrasstjej]

bluegrasstjej,

i checked out MSN. #the only problem with it is that they limit the upload file size to 1MB. #most recordings, i believe, will be well over that depending on the format we use(WAV, MP3, etc.). #i'm looking into other options right now. #we can worry about that later, though.

so, we'll scratch "soldier's joy" (sorry, Nik-chick). #the new list with current votes is:

sally goodin (2)
cherokee shuffle (1)
arkansas traveler
bonaparte's retreat
beaumont rag
blackberry rag
cold frosty morning

Ok, I was afraid that could be a problem (haven't checked it yet but I knew there are storage limits). Let's check other options then.

[John Zimm]

Here are my preferences, listing the songs in order from the one I most would like to start with to the others. Any of them would be fine really, but here is my list.
1.cherokee shuffle (1)
2.bonaparte's retreat
3.sally goodin (2)
4.arkansas traveler
5.beaumont rag
6.blackberry rag
7.cold frosty morning

How's that? If the group picks any song on the list I will be happy.

-John.

[craig]

i put together a group site at yahoo:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/mandolinproject

it has a limited capacity of 20MB, but i figured it would be a start. i tried recording a "black mountain rag" as a WAV file and it turned out to be 1.7MB. so we should be able to post about 10 recordings or more. once we pick a song i'll put the TEF file there.

so, we just need to choose a song . . .

[craig]

please vote for the song you want to learn at the above web-site. you have to join first.

[John Zimm]

I joined the group and voted. I am stoked and looking forward to this.

-John.

[thistle3585]

I joined, but I don't care one way or another which song we learn. Sounds great.

[stefeb]

Joined and cast my vote, but am open to whatever the group wants to do.

[Bluegrasstjej]

Well done!! I joined and voted.