Red Henry
Just a reminder to everyone that our big 5-DVD for $89 sale ends at midnight tonight (Sunday, Feb. 28th). Put your orders in if you’d like to take advantage of this great offer! We’ll send your DVDs out tomorrow.
Red
Posts Tagged ‘DVDs’
Sale Ends at Midnight Tonight
Sunday, February 28th, 2010Just a reminder to everyone that our big 5-DVD for $89 sale ends at midnight tonight (Sunday, Feb. 28th). Put your orders in if you’d like to take advantage of this great offer! We’ll send your DVDs out tomorrow.
Telephone Sale Going Great
Friday, February 19th, 2010Red Henry
As Casey mentioned yesterday, we have a sale going on: Call us on the phone, and take your choice of any 5 Murphy Method DVDs for just $89. And folks are really calling! I was busy all day yesterday taking and packing orders. The sale ends on the 28th, just 9 days away, so give us a call.
I’ll be on the phone myself most of today: 800-227-2357! Talk to you soon!
Red
Take Your Pick!
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Red Henry
Now, this little blog isn’t about banjo picks, so rest easy that there won’t be any battles started about those. There are as many opinions about banjo picks as there are banjo players!
But today’s story is about FLATPICKS. We sometimes take them for granted, but not everyone knows what they are. Once a lady had seen our ad for the “Flatpicking Guitar DVD”, and called us to ask, “What does ‘flat picking’ mean?” Well, we did our best to explain, but if you don’t know what a flatpick is, then this won’t mean much to you.
I have a particular, favorite kind of flatpick. These were made of a particular kind of plastic by just a few companies (such as Gibson), and they’re no longer made. Well, I had hoarded about a dozen of these picks, and I used or lost less than one a year, thinking they were a lifetime supply. Then, about a year ago, I put them in a safe place.
Well, you know what that means. I lost them. They were so safe that I couldn’t remember where I’d put them. I looked in every great “safe place” I could think of. I only had two of the picks that I hadn’t put away, and I thought maybe those two would have to be my lifetime supply…
That is, until two days ago. The picks were on a shelf in in plain sight, and fell off when I put something else on that shelf. There they were, my favorite plastic. Good grief.
The moral of all this (if one exists) applies not just to flatpicks but also to banjo thumbpicks, and is in three parts:
(1) Don’t get attached to just one kind of plastic for your picks;
(2) Use lots of different kinds of picks, like Bill Monroe did, so that your fingers are used to variety and can adapt to other kinds of plastic; AND–
(3) When you put your picks in a safe place, Don’t put them in too safe a place. Put them in a place you can find again!
Everybody pick purty–
Red
Two New DVDs Now Available
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Folks, we’re happy to announce that we have TWO great Murphy Method videos now available on DVD. The first one is “Great Banjo Tunes” (the old video was called “Advanced Banjo”), and it lives up to its name. These are the great lessons included on it:
Great Banjo Tunes cover
The Gold Rush
Shenandoah Breakdown
Bill Cheatham
Dixie Breakdown
Kansas City Railroad Blues (taught by Casey)
Limehouse Blues
–as you can see, these are some of the very most popular numbers that come up in jam sessions around the whole country! As always, the tunes are taught note-by-note by ear, the Murphy Method way. We’ve had a lot of requests for this DVD, and now it is here!
. . . . .
Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar Vol 2 cover
Our second new DVD is called “Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar Volume 2″ (the old videotape was titled “Basic Bluegrass Runs Vol.2″). We’ve also had many, many requests to make this available on DVD, and we’ve begun sending them out already. This follows on our very popular Volume 1, which we released last year.
Both of these new DVDs are IN STOCK and READY TO SHIP! Just order through our website for prompt shipping and good picking!
Upcoming Murphy Method DVDs
Monday, June 29th, 2009We’ve had several inquiries lately about which of our old videotapes we’ll be converting soon to DVD. Actually, the possibilities are more and more limited, since almost all of our old videos are either converted or on the way! We’re already brought out seven DVDs in 2009!
Here are the DVD projects we’re working on for the rest of the year:
1. Great Banjo Tunes (was “Advanced Banjo”): These DVDs should be here in about a week.
2. Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar Vol.2 (was “Basic Bluegrass Runs on Guitar Vol. 2): Also due in about a week.
3. More Advanced Earl: This DVD is actually all ready to go, but the music publishers are dallying about sending us the licenses we’ve asked for. We hope to have the required licenses, and the DVDs pressed, within the next two months.
4. Rawhide and Other Banjo Favorites: This project’s in the same situation as More Advanced Earl. As soon as we have the music licenses, we’ll send the DVD off to be pressed!
When these projects are in our hands, that will make eleven DVDs we’ve brought out this year!
If you have any questions about our DVD conversion schedule, feel free to write us via the “Contact Us” function on the Murphy Method website. We’ll answer any questions we can!
More Easy Songs selling like Hotcakes
Friday, April 24th, 2009
Well, folks, if you’re on our Murphy Method email list, you know what’s on my mind today: Our new DVD, Easy Songs for Banjo! This great new DVD has been setting sales records ever since we first introduced it a few weeks ago, and with our email newsletter that Casey just sent out, we’ve got more and more orders coming in. I can tell you that it’s keeping me busy, downloading orders from our website and filling them as fast as I can.
Lots of folks are ordering our other new banjo DVDs too: Vamping (Beginning Banjo Backup); Soldier’s Joy and Other Traditional Favorites; and Capos, Chords, and Theory. These (along with all our Murphy Method products) are here just waiting for you, so order yourself up some fun learning and playing with Murphy and Casey!
That’s all for now! I have to get back to the orders! Good picking to everybody–
New Banjo DVD: We Got ‘Er Done!
Monday, March 2nd, 2009
(And yes, I am a big fan of Larry the Cable Guy!)
This past weekend Casey made the long haul from Nashville to Winchester to record our new banjo DVD, tentatively titled More Easy Tunes.
Working as fast as I’ve ever seen anyone and doing a superb job of teaching, Casey taught six songs in one long session on Friday. I sat by, mostly in awe, but was also in charge of making sure Casey’s bangs looked okay! Saturday I joined her on camera to play guitar and sing as we added the slow and fast versions of each song. Many times we ended up laughing ourselves silly over some small mishap. We both actually had tears of laughter running down our faces at times. Some of those moments should show up in the Bloopers.
During the shooting, we remembered to capture a few still moments to share with you on this blog. Here they are:
Casey tuning up and getting ready to teach. She was not satisfied with her own tuner, so she asked for one of mine. Then she uttered these profound words: “I’ll just keep trying different tuners till one agrees with me!”
Red, our chief engineer, taking a brief moment of respite from his excellent camera work. Notice the Arrandem Music sign behind him. Get it? Arr-and-em. R and M. Red and Murphy.
One of Casey’s early works of art, which now hangs in our studio.
Casey and Murphy watching what they’ve just recorded.
We’re all done. Casey has left the building.
These are the tunes we recorded:
“The Old Home Place”
“Nine Pound Hammer”
Up-the-neck break to “Blue Ridge Cabin Home” (which also fits numerous other songs with this same chord progression as we mention)
“Salty Dog” (simpler version than Earl’s)
“Amazing Grace” (two versions, both simpler than the one on our Gospel Banjo DVD)
“Ballad of Jed Clampett” (after many requests!)
New Banjo DVD in the Works
Monday, February 23rd, 2009News flash: This weekend Casey is coming home and we’ll be recording a BRAND NEW DVD of more easy songs for banjo. (Not sure of the exact title yet, but that’s the gist of it.) Casey will be doing the teaching, and I’ll be accompanying her on guitar. Songs that are slated to be taught include: “Ballad Of Jed Clampett”(after many requests!), “Old Home Place”, “Nine Pound Hammer”, “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”, simple up-the-neck breaks to “Blue Ridge Cabin Home” (which we’ve been teaching at camps for years) and “Salty Dog”, and maybe a really easy version of “Amazing Grace”. (The version on the Amazing Grace DVD is good, but it is really hard! As you may have found out.) So hopefully we’ll be blogging about that.
I now send you onto the blog I first wrote, before I remembered to mention the DVD!
Not Much Bluegrass Content
Good morning, folks! Sorry if you tuned in early and found no new blog. Entirely my fault. I was down in Georgia this weekend with my folks and didn’t get back till late. (Well, it was 8 o’clock, which after nine hours on the road felt late.) And then I had to send my weekend report to my sisters (we call it a “hotwash”) and I got carried away talking about how cute Mama and Daddy both are. (As you may recall my mentioning, they both have Alzheimer’s.) Mama, however, can still play Scrabble (although she does sometimes come up with unique spellings!), so we played three games in a row on Saturday and two more before I left on Sunday morning. I love spending time with her like this. Saturday night we all settled down on the couch in the TV room to watch a DVD of “Arsenic and Old Lace” with Cary Grant. What a weird movie! I’m sorta glad I watched it as I’d heard the title forever, but I certainly wouldn’t watch it again. I didn’t mind the dead bodies so much, but there was entirely too much yelling!
And then, too, after I got home last night, I had to watch the Academy Awards. (With Hugh Jackman!) I didn’t make it to the end, and I missed the first hour, but what I saw, I enjoyed. For some reason I really enjoyed seeing Joel Gray (who helped present Best Supporting Actor). I love him, not from Cabaret, but from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer! (He played a very bad man….er…demon. And did a fabulous job.)
So, this morning I am headed over to Bluegrass Unlimited to write my monthly column, “The General Store.” If you’re not yet a subscriber to this fine publication, it’s still the Bible of bluegrass as it’s been for over 40 years! Great articles (Casey often writes for them), great record reviews, and even ads provide a wealth of information about festivals, instruments, strings, and other accessories. Many of you probably discovered The Murphy Method in the pages of BU.
And with that, I’m off. Hope you have a most excellent Monday. Don’t forget: Wednesday is Ralph Stanley’s birthday! And my sister Argen’s. And Pete Wernick’s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL Y’ALL!
Upcoming DVD Releases from The Murphy Method
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Many, many of you write to us, inquiring when your favorite Murphy Method video is going to be available as a DVD. Well, we have 28 DVDs now, and we’re planning 10 more for this year. The new DVDs planned for 2009 are:
1. Easy Songs for Banjo (an all-new project taught by Casey)
2. Soldier’s Joy and Other Favorites (was “Playing in C Vol. 2″)
3. More Advanced Earl
4. Rawhide and Other Favorites
5. Great Banjo Tunes (was “Advanced Banjo”)
6. Vamping: Beginning Banjo Backup
7. Slap Bass
8. Intermediate Mandolin Vol. 2 (Which just arrived and is available!)
9. Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar Vol. 2
10. Clawhammer Banjo Vol. 2
We hope to release all these DVDs by the middle of 2009. The time involved is really out of our control, since we have to wait until each song’s publisher sends us permission. But we’ll release each of these as soon as we have the paperwork!
Behind the Scenes of Slow Jam 2
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
Today we have for you some pictures of the filming of our DVD Picking Up The Pace: More Slow Jamming with Murphy and Casey. We filmed back in August and it seems like ages ago. Here is what took place in our Winchester, VA studio on the first day of filming:
Murphy and Casey’s wardrobe and makeup test.
David McLaughlin, Casey and Murphy tuning, which is a very important part of filming!
Before we even started the first tune, David broke a string. This is him changing it.
Literally behind the scenes..this is Red running the camera, which is what we look at the whole time you think we’re smiling happily at you!
And last but not least, this is Murphy, and yes she is watching her own video! She carefully reviews the breaks to the songs before filming to make sure she plays them the same way that she taught them.