The Murphy Method Blog

Murphy Henry

I’d like to thank Logan for providing the humor in the following story.

So, we’re playing “I’ll Fly Away” with four banjos. We’re doing it as a singing song, as it is most often done in bluegrass. However, since there are times when it is done as an instrumental (usually by bands trying to stretch their material to fill out a Sunday morning gospel set), I teach both the verse and the chorus on the Amazing Grace DVD.

So Bob Mc kicked it off, playing both the verse and the chorus, and Bobby came in with the singing. Logan took the next break, playing only the verse, from whence the resulting confusion arose. Bobby, trouper that he is, jumped right in on the next verse, thereby averting disaster. Mark took the next break (improvising) and since Logan had muddied the waters, he didn’t really know what to do, so he played the verse, hesitated slightly I thought, and when I nodded, went ahead on with the chorus. Bobby sang another verse. Then Susan came in (improvising, and making good use of the “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arm” lick, I might add) and she played just the verse. Bobby sang an extra chorus and we were done.

But things had not gone smoothly, and I felt obliged to explain. I did it succinctly with four words: “It’s all Logan’s fault.”

Then I asked Logan if he knew what I was talking about. Actually he did. He said, “Bob played the verse and chorus and I just played the verse.” “Right,” I said, “Why did you do that?” And he said, “I thought he messed up.” I was dumbfounded. (But not so dumbfounded that I didn’t grab pen and paper and copy down what he said.) “So what did you think about the break Mark took?” I asked. “He’s doing it wrong, too,” replied Logan. Out came my pen again. “Do you want to write the whole blog, Logan?” I asked. Then I queried, “And what about Susan?” “She did it right.”

By this time everyone is hysterical with laughter.

Then Logan says, “But usually in a jam you just play the verse.”

And I said, “He does have a leg to stand on there.”

Then Susan says, “But what about the thing about playing your break the same way the first person plays it?”

And I said, “Yeah, that’s the leg he doesn’t have to stand on.”

I continued on with illuminating remarks: “Logan, you should have done what Bob did, even if you thought it was wrong.” And then I explained about the song sometimes being done as an instrumental, where verse and chorus are both needed. But I said, “In this jam, even when we’re doing it as a singing song, we’ll play both verse and chorus so you all can practice both of them.”

Also, I failed to mention, because I never thought of it, that if there are large numbers of pickers in a jam, sometimes the jam leader will indicate split breaks, simply by nodding her head at the next player after someone has played the verse. This would mean “go ahead and play the chorus.” Of course, you could misinterpret and play the verse again, but that wouldn’t be a big deal. Either the singer would start singing, or the jam leader would nod to the next person in line, and this time probably yell, “Chorus!” At least that’s what I would do. Or if I thought of it early on, I’d say, “Since there are so many of us, let’s split the breaks, verse, then chorus.” A little organization sometimes helps.

Remember, although there are conventional ways of doing things in a jam, none of this stuff is set in stone. There’s always room for improvising on the fly! Nevertheless, whatever that first person does, go thou and do likewise!

Murphy Henry

As Yukon Cornelius says in that seasonal DVD Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, it wasn’t a fit night out for man, woman, nor beast. (I am paraphrasing, of course…) Still and yet, Susan, Bob Mc, Mark, Ellen, and Bobby Van braved the rain and fog and deer (not red-nosed, which would make them way easier to see at night!) to come jam. And a good time was had!

The quote of the night is from Mark. We were fixing to play “John Hardy,” and he was going to kick it off, so I told him to play it through twice. So what did he do? He played it through once and passed it to Bob Mc. Which completely threw Bob off stride and we ground to a halt. Train wreck! So what did Mark have to say? “In my head, I played it twice!” Priceless! (And to be completely fair, it wasn’t really Mark’s fault that Bob missed his entrance, even though Mark graciously took the heat. In a jam, you’ve got to be ready at all times to take the lead. What if somebody breaks a string? The song must go on!
Other numbers we did:

Cripple Creek

I Saw The Light

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

I’ll Fly Away

Sally Goodwin (played by Susan, who did an excellent job)

Mary Dear (sung by Bobby—same chord progression as Blue Ridge Cabin Home)

Lonesome Road Blues

I’ll have to commend Bobby on “Mary Dear.” The last time we did it, he ended the song before two of the players got to take breaks. That always makes me so uncomfortable when anyone gets left out break-wise, probably because I hate it so much when I get left out! So I had jumped on his case about that…I mean I gently explained that perhaps there was another way he could have done it. And by golly, tonight he kept singing verse after verse until everybody had taken a break.

Then I explained to everybody that when a song is that long and that slow, one way to handle the break situation is to split the breaks, with one person taking the first half and the next person taking the second half. I always like doing that because there is usually a little spark of connection between the two people making the trade off. Both people have to be alert and aware that this break splitting can happen. It’s just one of those cool bluegrass moves. Just one more reason to love this great music!

Murphy Henry

We were light again tonight, just Logan, Susan, Bob Van (on guitar tonight), and me, so we delved into some songs we don’t normally play: Mary Dear, Sally Goodwin, Earl’s Breakdown, Salt Creek, Little Cabin Home on the Hill, and the tried and true Lonesome Road Blues.

We actually started with LRB and when Logan missed the ending lick, I turned the mistake into a teaching opportunity. (He actually finished at the right time, on the right note, but he’d messed up the timing getting there and Earl’s ending on LRB is one of those things that just has to be played right!) So after a brief skirmish between Logan and me (Me: Wrong! Logan: No, it wasn’t! Me: Yes, it was! Bob: When will you learn to keep your mouth shut?), all three of us banjo pickers played it together, and sure enough, Logan was out of time. And Susan was bobbling a bit too, although she readily admitted it. So we played the ending through several times till we all were playing in perfect unison which always makes me happy, happy, happy!

Mary Dear and Little Cabin Home were new songs to Susan, and I am proud to say she improvised breaks to both of them. Were they perfect the first time through? No, they weren’t, but, by golly, they were pretty close, and she left the jam saying something like, “I think I’m beginning to see the light.”

We did Salt Creek because Susan likes it so much, and after we finished Logan declared that he did NOT like it. So, of course I said, “Well, in that case we’ll have to play it at every jam session!” He then declared that if we did, he would switch to guitar and practice his F chord. I said, “Fine.” Furthermore, he had the audacity to say, “Nobody ever plays Salt Creek anyway.” To which I replied, “And how many jam sessions have you been to?” Then he said, “Well, nobody has recorded it.” To which I replied, “Right. Only Tony Rice with J.D. Crowe, and Doc Watson, and Bill Keith with Bill Monroe.” Then I added, “Don’t mess with me, Logan. I know a hundred times more about this stuff than you do.” To which he replied something like, “Huh.” You can tell from this spirited exchange that we are, in fact, good friends.

Such good friends that he text-messaged me from school this morning. (They were on a field trip.)

From Logan: Murphy—can you play “nashville blues”?? earl does an awesome version but it sounds really hard.

From me: Yes. Not 2 hard. Have 2 retune.

From Logan: ahhhh is it played frequently? I may wanna learn it if it isnt too hard cuz i like it.

From me: Not played often. U can learn.

So when he arrived at his lesson, I retuned the banjo and played a little bit of it for him. He recognized that the licks were easy—standard Scruggs rolls—but he appreciated the fact that detuning is not something people like to do in a jam, and that the chords (in the key of D-minor) would be too hard for most jammers. So he cheerfully passed on learning Nashville Blues and we moved on to a guitar break for Lonesome Road Blues.

And you gotta love this: While Logan is taking his banjo lesson, Bob Van is changing the strings on Logan’s guitar, with strings that I have provided. And Logan is using Bob’s guitar to take the guitar part of his lesson.
It takes a village….I’m thinking free tickets for life to any concert Logan ever plays!

Murphy Henry

We had four banjos at the jam tonight, one guitar, one mandolin, and no bass, Bob Van having decided—again– that it was more important for him to go to a Trustee’s meeting at his church than play with us. Present were Mark, Ellen, Bob Mc, Susan, Logan, and Josh, who was apparently not scared off by us last week but came back for more!

Our song list:

Cripple Creek
I Saw the Light
John Hardy
Two Dollar Bill

At which point I decided not to sing anymore because it was killing my voice since these songs are all too low for me in G and singing over four banjos is hard even if they are vamping as quietly as they can, and Bob Van is supposed to be doing the singing anyhow.

So next we did:

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder (as an instrumental)
Lonesome Road Blues
Old Joe Clark

And finished off with “Wagon Wheel” on which I had to sing because I had told Ellen, yes, I could sing and play the fiddle at the same time. Which I did, but it wasn’t pretty! Ellen, however, kindly waxed ecstatic when the song was over, saying, “I was sitting here in between the fiddle and the mandolin and I just felt….” At which point I added, “Like shooting yourself.” To which Josh, on mandolin, shook his head up and down and grinned in agreement. Then Ellen said, “No! It was wonderful!” And Josh looked at me and said, “Easy audience.” And I agreed! That’s the best kind!

I cannot say we were playing our best tonight (which I totally blame on the absence of the bass) but we did have some good moments such as when Mark and Susan ended “Old Joe Clark” up the neck together in perfect sync and when Logan inserted a bit of “Yankee Doodle” into the middle of the up-the-neck break to “Lonesome Road Blues.” He stole it from Earl, of course, who did it in “Bugle Call Rag” but I’d never thought of using it in LRB! Good move, Logan! Logan also played some nice guitar leads to “Old Joe Clark” and “John Hardy.”

As you may know, Casey starts her three-week tour with The Dixie Bee-Liners tonight (Thursday, the 29th) in Raleigh. I hope you all will be able to see the band somewhere along their route. They do a great show and have some terrific original material and a wonderful new album, “Susanville.” If you do see them, feel free to post your impressions in the comment section of the blog. Red and I plan to see them at the Birchmere on Monday, November 2. If you’re there, come up and say howdy!

Murphy Henry

We had some new faces at the jam tonight. Joining Bob Van, Bob Mc, and Susan were Josh, on mandolin, and Bill on bass. So with Bobby on bass, we actually had “stereo” basses.

With this combo we did:

A five song medley to start with: BITH, CC, Cabbage, FMB, and John Hardy. (This of course was hardly fair to a nascent bass player so for the next song we did….

Blue Ridge Cabin Home

then

Willow

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder

Circle

I’ll Fly Away

Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms

And we ended with “Lonesome Road Blues” since Ellen wasn’t here to lead us in “Wagon Wheel.”

The phrase “Big Chess Game” came up, compliments of Josh, when we were talking about “Willow.” Bobby asked if he should start with the chorus. I said, “You’re the singer. Start wherever you like. We’ll follow you.”

Then I explained (not for the first time) that in a jam you have to pay attention to what the singer is doing. If Bobby started with the chorus would he:

(a)        expect someone to take a break after that or would he

(b) sing the first verse and then another chorus and expect someone to take a break after that?

At which point Susan said, “You have to be a mind reader!”

I said, “No, but you have to be alert to possibilities.”

To which Josh replied, “It’s like a big chess game.”

So after Susan’s kickoff, Bobby sang “Willow,” starting with chorus/verse/chorus, gave a break to Bob, sang another verse, gave a break to Josh, sang a third verse and ended the song. I told Susan if I had been playing the banjo, I would have been hoping that Bobby would sing another verse or another chorus so I could get TWO breaks. Susan said she was glad to only get the one. Bobby said, “Just catch my eye anytime you want another break. I’ll keep singing as long as anybody is picking!” I said, “I’d be catching your eye and pointing at myself going ‘Me! Me!’” (But of course that was all hooey. When I was starting on banjo, I did want all the breaks I could get, but was way too Southern to put myself forward like that.)

After we played “Circle” we examined some of the thinking that was going on. There were only two lead players here: Susan and Josh. And “Circle” can have as many as four verses. So, when Bobby finished the third verse (I will follow close behind her…), I’m thinking, “Will he end the song here, since Susan, who kicked off the song, has already taken two breaks, and Josh has had one, or will he leave a space for a break and then sing a fourth verse?”

As it turned out, he wanted to sing the fourth verse. (Bobby: “I’ve worked hard to learn those words so I want to sing it every chance I get so I won’t forget them!”) So I gave the nod to Josh, who jumped right in on a second break. (Josh  plays enough on his own to be familiar with the jamming ropes, even if mandolin isn’t his primary instrument.) He took the break. Afterwards, I asked him what he was thinking. He said he, too, was wondering how many verses Bobby would sing, and knew he might get the nod to take a break. See? You’ve got to stay on your toes all the time!

Before I close, I have to brag on Susan who improvised a break to “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder.” I was so proud of her! “How did you feel about it?” I asked, which drew a laugh. She said, “I felt good! The Method works!” I said, “Well, it helps that you have practiced so much and of course the jam sessions really help.” (I’m thinking now of Field of Dreams—maybe since I saw it again on TV recently—and the phrase, “If you build it, he will come.” The ol’ leap of faith….) Sometimes you’ve just got to believe.

Murphy Henry

It was a cold and rainy night here in the Shenandoah Valley, still and yet, four Misfits braved the elements to come pick and grin. Mark and Susan were on banjos, while Ellen played guitar, and Logan alternated between guitar and banjo. With me on the guitar, we sometimes had three guitars going which, as Mark noted, was kinda nice.

Our song list was:

Cripple Creek

Banjo in the Hollow

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Earl’s Breakdown (solo by Logan)

Foggy Mountain Special (ditto)

Old Joe Clark

John Hardy

Salt Creek

Lonesome Road Blues

And, of course, “Wagon Wheel.” I spent part of my trip down to Georgia last weekend listening to Old Crow Medicine Show and trying to memorize the plethora of words, and tonight I was flying solo for the first time. Fortunately, Ellen knows most of the lyrics so when I faltered I looked at her to see what shapes her mouth was forming. We made it through in fine fettle! Then, wonder of wonders, Mark asked me if I could play the fiddle to “Wagon Wheel.” I said I could! Then Ellen asked if I could play the fiddle and sing at the same time and I said I could do that too! (Actually I’m not sure that I can, but having been ASKED to play the fiddle I wasn’t about to admit any weakness for fear of having the invitation rescinded.)

When Logan was playing his solo tune “Foggy Mountain Special,” at Ellen’s request, I was accompanying him on guitar. In the middle of the song he looks at me and says, “Take a break.” Well, I thought he was just being nice so I shook my head “no.” Then he said “please” with such a pleading look that I went right into Lester’s G run and tried as best I could to echo a few notes of Lester Flatt’s classic and perfect break. Mine was considerably less than perfect but the spirit was there!

As you might have noticed from the song list, we didn’t do any vocals. That was due to Bob Van’s absence. He did, however, call in with an excuse early this morning. I’m a little embarrassed to confess that I was just crawling out of bed when the phone rang at 8 a.m. I made the mistake of admitting as much to Bobby who said, “[Expletive deleted] It’s lunch time!” (I was trying to catch up on my rest after 20 hours of solo driving this weekend—that’s a little bit of an excuse, isn’t it? Plus that, I’m a musician!) But your bass playing was sorely missed, Bobby, along with your general redneck joie de vivre. (Yeah, I had to look the spelling of that one up, and have no idea how to pronounce it, but I knew it was the phrase I was looking for! What does it mean? Look it up yourself! I can’t be doing all the work here!)