By Jon Peik

February’s first-Tuesday facilitated Beginner Bluegrass Jam will meet Tuesday, 3/2/10 from 7:30-9:00pm at:

The Germania parlor area (youth friendly) of The Up North Bar, 514 E Wilson St. Madison, near the Essen Haus at the corner of Blair and Wilson streets. There’s plenty of free parking behind the Essen Haus.

Formal instruction and facilitation will run from approximately 7:30-8:30pm (as soon as I get there after my lessons at Spruce Tree Music)

The Jam is sponsored by the Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association. A $5 donation is requested, but not required. Check out www.swbmai.org for all things bluegrass in Wisconsin!

This month we will focus on the key of A. So bring your capo if you’d like. We’ll work from the following list to get us started and probably also go around the circle with song suggestions from you (in any key).

Take Me Back to Tulsa, key of A, (2 chords, A, E)
My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mts, key of A, (2 chords, A, E)
You are My Sunshine, key of A (3 chords, A, D, & E)
Foggy Mountain Top, key of A (3 chords, A, D, & E)
Crawdad Song, key of A (3 chords, A, D, & E)
Long Journey Home, key of A (3 chords, A, D, & E)
Nine lb Hammer, key of A (3 chords, A, D, & E)
Cripple Creek, key of A, instrumental (3 chords, A, D, E)
Amazing Grace -key of A (3 chords, A, D, & E)

The jam exists to encourage beginning bluegrass players and to help each other learn. The goal is to enjoy playing music together.

By Dave Nance

Hi everybody ! I’m writing to remind you: The 3rd Tuesday Beginner’s Bluegrass Jam, sponsored by SWBMAI (Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association), and hosted by yours truly, Dave Nance, will be held this Tuesday evening, February 16, 2010, at the Up North Bar at 514 E. Wilson St.

I’ll be there by 7:30 P.M., and we’ll start the jam by 8:00 P.M.

What’s on tap this month: Happy Holidays! No, not those December holidays; I mean Valentine’s Day and President’s Day. I’ve picked out some songs with “love” in the title, plus one good old tune about presidents:

All I Ever Loved Was You – 4/4 time, Key of C – chords: C C7 F G
Ashes Of Love – 4/4 time, Key of G – chords: G C D
Careless Love – 4/4 time, Key of D – chords: D D7 G A
Cheap Love Affair – 3/4 time, Key of A – chords: A A7 D E
How Mountain Girls Can Love – 4/4 time, Key of G – chords: G G7 C D
Love Please Come Home – 4/4 time, key of A – chords: A G D E
White House Blues – 4/4 time, Key of G – chords: G C D

Hey, please note: CHARTS FOR THESE ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEB! Just go to: http://webpages.charter.net/dnance/songs/ , where I have links to on-line copies of charts I made up for these tunes. Please feel free to print out copies for yourself if you’d like to.

Celebrate the 65th Birthday of musician, actor, humorist and culinary artist Paul Bentzen at this annual jambalaya and jamming extravaganza on Saturday, February 13. Paul’s jambalaya is available through the Spring Green General Store’s restaurant beginning at noon. But like all good things it must end; so when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Jamming starts at 2:00 p.m.; free admission and birthday cake (while it lasts). Food and beverage available for purchase. Spring Green General Store; 137 South Albany,Spring Green, WI; (608) 588-7070; www.SpringGreenGeneralStore.com

The Alchemy Old Time Jam, which takes place on alternate Sundays, will now run from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The time slot is two hours earlier than the previous 5:00 to 7:00 pm schedule.

The jam, which is Madison’s only open old-time session, takes place at The Alchemy Cafe, 1980 Atwood Avenue in Madison.  It was founded two years ago by clawhammer banjo sorceress Lori Nitzel and is currently hosted by the far-less-talented Scott Knickelbine. The jam was featured last year in The Onion’s Decider section.

Old time sessions focus on traditional American fiddle and dance tunes, with most of the instruments playing in unison (with the exception of rhythm guitar).  Singing is rare and is usually used to punctuate the tunes. Typical melodies include Old Joe Clark, Flop-Eared Mule, Angeline the Baker, and Shove The Pigs Foot A Little Further In The Fire.

The next Alchemy Old Time Jam is this coming Sunday, February 14th,  starting at 3:00 pm. If you’d like to be added to the reminder list, email Scott Knickelbine at scottk@lcs-impact.com.

By Jon Peik

February’s first-Tuesday facilitated Beginner Bluegrass Jam will meet Tuesday, 2/2/10 from 7:30-9:00pm at the Germania parlor area (youth friendly) of The Up North Bar, 514 E Wilson St. Madison, near the Essen Haus at the corner of Blair and Wilson streets. There’s plenty of free parking behind the Essen Haus. Formal instruction and facilitation will run from approximately 7:30-8:30pm (as soon as I get there after my lessons at Spruce Tree Music)

This month we will start with the following songs. If we have time we will also go around the circle with song suggestions from you.

Take Me Back to Tulsa, key of G, (2 chords, G, D); My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mts, key of G, (2 chords, G, D); Crawdad Song, key of G (3 chords, G, C, D); Long Journey Home, Key of G, (3 chords G, C, D); Nine lb Hammer, Key of G, (3 chords, G, C, D); Cripple Creek, key of A, instrumental (3 chords, A, D, E); Sitting Alone in the Moonlight -key of G, waltz time (4 chords, G, C, D, & Gb).

By Dave Nance

Hi everybody !  I’m writing to remind you: The 3rd Tuesday Beginner’s Bluegrass Jam, sponsored by SWBMAI (Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association), and hosted by yours truly, Dave Nance, will be held this Tuesday evening, January 19, 2010, at the Up North Bar at 514 E. Wilson St.

I’ll be there by 7:30 P.M., and  we’ll start the jam by 8:00 P.M.

What’s on tap this month:  “Chiming in on the Chorus.”  What’s that all about?  Bluegrass is not just about pickin’, it’s also about singin’.  But many people find it difficult to play their instrument AND sing at the same time, so the singing sometimes gets passed over. Which is too bad, because there’s really only one way to get better at playing and singing at the same time, and that’s doing it.  So let’s do it!

This week I’ve come up with some ideas for songs that all have repeating choruses that are great for singing along on.  Choruses are ideal for practicing your singing, for a number of reasons (including the repetition).  They’re also great for folks who are a little shy about their singing, because with everybody singing, everybody gets the anonymity of the herd! (Did you know that that’s why zebras, which live in dull brown grasslands, have that ridiculous black-and-white stripe thing going on?  Sure, it’s lousy camouflage if you’re trying to hide by yourself out on the grassland, but it’s great if you’re trying to hide in a herd of zebras!).  So, that’s why it’s gonna be important for EVERYBODY to sing!

Anyway, here are some “chorus” songs I’ll be ready to lead you in:

Angel Band
Banks Of The Ohio
Bury Me Beneath The Willow
Columbus Stockade Blues
I’ll Fly Away
Keep On The Sunny Side
Long Journey Home (aka Two Dollar Bill)
On And On
On My Mind
On My Mind
Our Last Goodbye

NOTE: I will bring along lyrics sheets that have the choruses of these (and other) songs.  I also really encourage you to bring your own ideas for songs with repeating choruses.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Once again this Tuesday Jon Peik will be leading his popular Beginners Jam at the Germania parlor area (kid friendly) of The Up North Bar, 514 E Wilson St. Madison, near the Essen Haus at the corner of Blair and Wilson streets. Formal instruction and facilitation will run from approximately 7:30-8:30pm.

Jon writes: “This month we will go around the circle with song suggestions from you-so please bring a song to suggest and share. Remember if you sing it, you get to pick the key.  Instrumentals are also welcome.”

By Scott Knickelbine

Any time there’s five Tuesdays in a month it’s time for some surprises, and December’s no different. At this Tuesday’s SWBMAI Instructor-Led Jam on December 29, I, your humble Webmaster, will be leading the festivities. I thought I’d just go with the computer theme and bring along some classic bluegrass, country and folk song charts from two of my favorite Internet lyric sites: chordie.com and cowboylyrics.com. Just in case you’d like to get a head start, here they are:

From Chordie.com

How Mountain Girls Can Love: http://chordie.com/chord.pere/www.guitaretab.com/r/ralph-stanley/129007.html

Turn, Turn, Turn: http://chordie.com/chord.pere/www.guitaretab.com/p/pete-seeger/128832.html

Uncloudy Day: http://www.chordie.com/chord.pere/www.roughstock.com/cowpie/songs/w/willie-nelson/uncloudy-day-crd

From CowboyLyrics.com

Tennessee Stud: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/watson-doc/tennessee-stud-856.html

Move It On Over: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/williams-hank/move-it-on-over-524.html

Bar Room Girls: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/welch-gillian/barroom-girls-836.html

As usual, we’ll meet at the Germania Parlor,  adjacent to the Up North Bar, 514 E. Wilson Street., Madison, starting at 7 pm.  Feel free to bring along any song you’d like to share with the rest of the group. I look forward to seeing you there!

By Dave Nance

Holiday Greetings! I’m writing to remind you: The 3rd Tuesday Beginner’s Bluegrass Jam, sponsored by SWBMAI (Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association), and hosted by yours truly, Dave Nance, will be held this Tuesday evening, December 15, 2009, at the Up North Bar at 514 E. Wilson St.

I’ll be there by 7:30 P.M.; we’ll start the jam by 8.

What’s on tap for this month? Any bluegrass or old-time or such that anyone wants to try, but also — Christmas music, of course!

I thought about trying to line up some Christmas bluegrass, but it turns out that once you get past “Christmas Time Is a’Comin’” (by Tex Logan, covered by Bill Monroe), there’s just not very much of it there. Even if you widen out to “Country” as a genre, the pickins is still mighty thin. Really, there’s only two main kinds of Christmas music: there’s the good ol’ Christmas carols — and then there’s the great classic pop(ular) songs, many out of Tin Pan Alley and the golden period of American popular song which stretched from the 1920’s into the 1960’s.

Well, I thought, Bluegrass is also really a kind of “pop” music: popular music made for and spread through LP records. And just about any song can be played “Bluegrass style”, with the right instruments and the right feel. So, I thought, let’s try to “Bluegrass” some of the songs in the popular Christmas music canon – like these:

• Blue Christmas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t2d0HIjIgo (Elvis Presley)
• I’ll Be Home For Christmas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQL-8nzbjtM (Elvis Presley)
• Please Come Home For Christmas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCxvCAxHRUw (Charles Brown)
• Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQzlJRjXSGY (Frank Sinatra)
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcQU3LYNZQc (Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders)
• White Christmas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vPfOjAw5Z0 (Bing Crosby)
• The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting, etc.) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cubgWvBfs24 (Nat King Cole)
• Silver Bells – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stEjTFMb940 (Jim Reeves – so I guess this is Country!)
• Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzpYOKGMxuI (Frank Sinatra)

(and, of course: Christmas Time Is a’Comin’ — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXfBYXElPII (Bill Monroe)

NOTE: I have put together Lyric and Chord charts for each of these, and I will bring enough copies for everybody. I’ve tried to “tame” some of the “jazz chords” that occur in some of these songs, so that they should all be pretty playable.

And, of course, any Xmas songs or carols anyone else would like to try — or just plain ol’ Bluegrass if we get enough Christmas cheer.

By Jon Peik

Next Tuesday (12/1/09) will be our annual Christmas and holiday song Beginner Bluegrass Jam Class. We will meet Tuesday from 7:30-9:00pm at:

The Germania parlor area (kid friendly) of The Up North Bar, 514 E Wilson St. Madison, near the Essen Haus at the corner of Blair and Wilson streets. There’s plenty of free parking behind the Essen Haus.

Formal instruction and facilitation will run from approximately 7:30-8:30pm (as soon as I get there after my lessons at Spruce Tree Music)

This month we will play primarily from the following list:

Christmas Time’s a Comin-key of G (3 chords G, C & D)
Silent Night (waltz time)-key of G (3 chords G, C & D)
Jingle Bells-key of G (4 chords G, C, D & A)
Silver Bells-key of D or G (3 chords D, G, & A  OR G, C, & D)
Auld Lang Syne-key of G (3 chords G, C & D)
Away in a Manger (waltz time)-key of D (3 chords D, G, & A)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas-key of G (6 chords, G, C, D, A, B, Em)

And. . . don’t worry if you don’t already know these songs, part of the fun is learning how to play along even if only one person knows the song.

The jam exists to encourage beginning bluegrass players and to help each other learn.  The goal is to enjoy playing music together.

Hope to see you Tuesday!