Bluegrass Jam Along

Happy Friday. This week's Food For Thought is inspired by Dr. Josh Turknett's book on how to learn the banjo (it's great for any instrument - not just banjo). If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. To give you an idea of how good this book is, Bryan Sutton recommended it to all his students...and also bought a copy for Sierra Hull!  Josh also offers a great free download...

This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:30 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...

This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:36 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a c...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Daley's Reel. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and j...

Hi everyone. It's Friday, which means another Food For Thought episode. This week I've been listening to the excellent The String podcast, in particular the recent episode with Bela Fleck talking about his new album My Bluegrass Heart. In it, host Craig Havighurst says: "I really hope folks will sit with the booklet so they'll be conscious of who's playing on each track. B...

This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveller and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveler and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:26 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...

This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveler and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:49 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a ch...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Arkansas Traveler. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and j...

Hi everyone. Very quick Food For Thought episode this week! I spoke to Tristan Scroggins earlier this week (see episode #121 to check out the great interview he gave). He told me his dad used to practice banjo along to Tony Rice's Manzanita album because there was no banjo on it. I also read something from the wonderful Julian Lage on why playing along with recordings is so important. It got...

It's interview time on the podcast again and I've got a great conversation with Tristan Scroggins for you.  This one was such a joy to record. We chat about Tristan's recent IBMA Writer of the Year Award as well as his research into the background of fiddle tunes and what makes something 'authentic.' For more on Tristan's music and writing, check out - www.tristanscro...

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord char...

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:24 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (o...

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:50 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a...

This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Turkey in the Straw. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and...

This week's Food For Thought episode was inspired by Punch Brothers' new cover of Tony Rice's 'Church St Blues' (well, their cover of Tony's cover of Norman Blake's original!) As always with Punch Brothers and Chris Thile, opinions have been divided. Some people really take offence at a song they love being covered in a way they don't like. So I started thin...

This week's food for thought centres around the question 'should we stop calling people 'gifted'?' I've been thinking a lot (and talking to other people) about the notion of 'gifted' vs 'hard working' and wanted to share some thoughts on it with you. In the episode I mention a great documentary called ' Flamekeeper - The Michael Cleveland Stor...

This week we're jamming along to Angeline the Baker and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of D at 95 bpm. backing track starts at 00:27 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Angeline the Baker and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of D at 95 bpm. backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...

This week we're jamming along to Angeline the Baker and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of D at 95 bpm. backing track starts at 00:43 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a c...

This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Angeline the Baker. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and j...

This week's food for thought centres around the question 'what is the actual tune?' We all know Whiskey Before Breakfast, right? But we also probably all know slightly different versions. So, how does Whiskey Before Breakfast actually go? I've included a snippet from the interview I did with Bryan Sutton  for episode #100, which addresses this, but I'd love to know how you...

This week we're jamming along to Black Mountain Rag and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of D at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:34 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Black Mountain Rag and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of D at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:27 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...