Norman Blake Tunes

[woodwizard]

I bet there's not many acoustic pickers here that don't like to pick some Norman Blake tunes from time to time. Please feel free to post some of you picking your favorite Blake tunes. Vids or music ... it's all cool. Would love to see/listen to them. I'll start with a couple mp3 recordings I made with my Tascam little mixer ...one called "Ruins of Richmond" and "Coming Down From Rising Fawn"

[Don Grieser]

Great idea. Here's the Constitution March that Norman played on guitar, but it works well on mandolin.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ftpwa0dH9s

[Jim Roberts]

Nice pickin' Don!

[Mark Gunter]

I love Norman Blake tunes, and play them often, especially the ones he teaches in the Homespun Video series. I don't have any recent, decent recordings, though. I'll link to a few from when I was more of a rank beginner trying to learn them.

From Norman:



Here's one where I was attempting to learn and slowly practice Thebes on the guitfiddle ...



From Nancy:



And this Nancy tune from when I first began to learn it, and before I started working to cure the "flying fingers" approach, LOL.

[Don Grieser]

Wish we would have picked at Pagosa, Mark. We share a love of Norman and Nancy tunes.

[Mark Gunter]

Roger that, Don. I took you for a Norman & Nancy fan when I discovered your YouTube videos a good while back. Those folk are the real deal, for sure.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Very nice playing of a lovely tune there Don. I'd never heard it before,but i'll be hearing it a few (100) times more,
Ivan

[mandopaul]

Mark, I love the "Hangin' Dog" tune that you worked out. I tried to follow Nancy on that one, but her fingers fly so fast. There is a very haunting melody on this song.

[MarkusSpiel]

Thanks to this theard I learned a few of Norman Blake´s tunes. Here is Constitution March- I stole a lot of Don´s Video. Thanks for that!

[Don Grieser]

Nice, Markus, sounds just right on the old Gibson--and thanks for bring this thread back up. We all need some more Norman and Nancy in our lives these days.

[Anglocelt]

Some nice videos here. I have just discovered N&N Blake tunes. I bought a used Natasha's Waltz CD and am enjoying it. My first project is to learn Blake's March, a great tune on mandolin. Luckily there are a few versions in notation on the internet to help me but I can't find notation for other Blake tunes. Is there a book of their tunes available to buy? Their music sounds to me like a hybrid of US old time and English folk dance tunes.

Kevin

[Anglocelt]

Some nice videos here. I have just discovered N&N Blake tunes. I bought a used Natasha's Waltz CD and am enjoying it. My first project is to learn Blake's March, a great tune on mandolin. Luckily there are a few versions in notation on the internet to help me but I can't find notation for other Blake tunes. Is there a book of their tunes available to buy? Their music sounds to me like a hybrid of US old time and English folk dance tunes.

Kevin

[Wt02575]

Some nice videos here. I have just discovered N&N Blake tunes. I bought a used Natasha's Waltz CD and am enjoying it. My first project is to learn Blake's March, a great tune on mandolin. Luckily there are a few versions in notation on the internet to help me but I can't find notation for other Blake tunes. Is there a book of their tunes available to buy? Their music sounds to me like a hybrid of US old time and English folk dance tunes.

Kevin

Mel Bay has a book by Steve Kaufman

[MarkusSpiel]

Some nice videos here. I have just discovered N&N Blake tunes. I bought a used Natasha's Waltz CD and am enjoying it. My first project is to learn Blake's March, a great tune on mandolin. Luckily there are a few versions in notation on the internet to help me but I can't find notation for other Blake tunes. Is there a book of their tunes available to buy? Their music sounds to me like a hybrid of US old time and English folk dance tunes.

Kevin

I got the notation for the first 12 tracks of the Natasha's Waltz Cd from Mike Black
See here:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...sterious-South

[Mark Gunter]

When Markus bumped this old thread, I noticed that the OP woodwizard had posted a version of Coming Down From Rising Fawn in the initial post, and it just happened that this was the tune for the SAW group about the time this thread was bumped. I listened to it a minute ago, and am surprised how closely his playing of the A part resembles what I've been playing on that tune. The rest of what he does sounds more like Norman's tune than what I've been doing.

At any rate, it was a blessing to see his mandolin version here, since it seems that most recorded versions of the tune are played on guitar. I'm going to link his tune into the SAW thread.

[Don Grieser]

I totally missed Coming Down from Rising Fawn in the original post, Mark. Thanks. Been working on Green Leaf Fancy too. You working on any Norman tunes?

[Mark Gunter]

I totally missed Coming Down from Rising Fawn in the original post, Mark. Thanks. Been working on Green Leaf Fancy too. You working on any Norman tunes?

Been working on Coming Down From Rising Fawn, but that's all. I've been sidetracked by Willie Nelson tunes and also writing some juvenile stuff. Playing Crazy and Ain't it Funny How Time Slips Away and found what I think is a cool way to play Robert Johnson's Kind Hearted Woman on mandolin.

[tmsweeney]

late as usual, here's Nancy's Hornpipe on Octave

[Anglocelt]

Mel Bay has a book by Steve Kaufman

Mel Bay has many books by Steve Kaufman but I can't see one which covers Blake tunes. Maybe it is out of print?

[Wt02575]

Mel Bay has many books by Steve Kaufman but I can't see one which covers Blake tunes. Maybe it is out of print?

It’s called The Norman Blake Anthology

[C. Welter]

I did this a while ago! (Not exactly a tune, but very Norman)

[Trader Todd]

Great thread. Thanks for sharing!

[Don Grieser]

Glad to see people adding on to this thread. Here's Coming Down From Rising Fawn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy8Uk9nA4m0

[tmsweeney]

Woodwizard you have no idea what you started

here's a rough attempt at one of my favorites "Walnut River"



I did double the mandolin - once on the Macica F5 and once on a Flatiron Festival ( not filmed)

[Mark Gunter]

Good stuff Don & Mr. Sweeny