Posts Tagged ‘Learning By Ear’

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The Lights Come On!

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Murphy Henry

As many of you know, breaking away from tab and starting to learn by ear is not easy. It’s scary (Can I really do this?) and it feels like you no longer have a safety net (What will I do if I mess up?). But, the payoff is BIG! You will actually learn to play the banjo. Your tunes will sound like tunes, and eventually, with lots of hard work on your part, you can learn to play with other people.

It thrills me when someone who is new to the Murphy Method takes that “leap of faith” and starts learning by ear. The series of emails below that I exchanged with Tom after our Beginning Banjo Camp in October seems to capture the start of that experience in a nutshell. With his kind permission, I am sharing them with you. As he said, “Hopefully the message will help others who have struggled with tab. As I say, if I can learn with your method and make some nice music with my banjo, anyone can!” Thank you, Tom!

November 10:

Dear Murphy:

Thanks again for the excellent camp. It was a great experience. I wanted to email you a question about the sequence of learning songs. I have always wanted to play Will The Circle Be Unbroken. I have tried to learn to play it for a number of years by using tab without any success. I do have your Gospel Songs DVD. I know you recommend doing the first two DVDs and Misfits DVD first. Over the past couple of days, I have begun using the Gospel DVD and starting to work on Will The Circle Be Unbroken. I know this song is out of the sequence you recommend for learning and it seems to have some more challenging licks and it will take more time to learn. I wanted to see if you had any recommendations about trying to learn this song. It appears to be a more challenging song but it is perhaps my favorite song on the banjo and a song I really like to sing. Since I have tried to learn it by tab for some time, it is also a personal challenge for me to learn the song by your method. For these reasons, I would like to learn this song and I wanted to see what your thoughts were about working on it. I would appreciate any suggestions or ideas you have. Thank you for your time and response.

Hi Tom,

Glad you enjoyed the camp. So did I! I appreciate your asking for my advice about learning Circle. I can understand why it’s a favorite of yours–it’s also a favorite of mine! And it’s a great song. Now, although this may seem counter-intuitive, I believe you can learn the song faster–in the long run–if you learn a few other basic tunes first. In spite of its seemingly simple roll pattern, it’s really pretty complicated. You don’t have to go thru Vol 1 Vol 2 and Misfits, but would you be willing to learn at least a couple of songs before tackling Circle? They will help you internalize some of the basics you will need to know so you can more easily tackle the specifics of Circle. If so, let me know what you already play from these DVDs and I’ll pick two others that will help you specifically with Circle. Hoping this will appeal to you!

Murphy:

Thanks for your response. I feel I play Banjo in the Hollow, Cripple Creek and Boil Them Cabbage Down fairly well as far as the banjo solos go, but not necessarily the vamping at this point since that was very new to me. Your method really helped me with Cripple Creek and Boil Them Cabbage Down since I had struggled with those songs for a few years with tab and now I am doing fairly well with the melody and timing. So here’s a banjo salute to you and your method. It does work, even with an older musical misfit like myself. I would appreciate any suggestions you have about two additional songs to learn from the Volume 1 or Misfits. As I said, I really enjoy Circle and have been very frustrated with trying to learn it from tab. Truthfully, I was about ready to smash my banjo over my head (just joking). Let me know what you think about some additional songs.

November 11:

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your thoughtful, detailed reply. I believe if you learn I Saw The Light and Worried Man (from the Misfits DVD), those will GREATLY help your learning Circle. There is an important lick (slightly hard) taught in those–the Tag Lick–which will need some practice to get it down smooth before you go on to Circle. As I said, learning these will make learning Circle MUCH EASIER. No need to learn the vamping to these right now, altho in the future you would need to learn that. Each of these songs should take a least two weeks to get down smoothly, it not more. Good luck, Tom, and let me know how you are doing!

Murphy:

Thanks for your time and response. I really appreciate your help. I will plan on learning I Saw the Light and Worried Man before I take up Will the Circle Be Unbroken. After all of that, I will plan on resuming your recommended learning sequence from the Volume 1 and 2. Thanks again for your advice and time.

December 15:

Murphy:

I just hope you don’t mind updates on my experience/progress with the Murphy method. I just wanted to let you know that the lights started to come on. I had been progressing slowly with I Saw The Light as you had recommended but was having some difficulty bringing out the melody when all at once last night it seemed to click and the lights came on and the melody was there. It is still not quite where I would like it, but I am clearly getting there with this song. I plan to polish the song very well and then move on to Worried Man. I just want to thank you for your method. I don’t know if you realize how much frustration a person can have with tab and not being able to play a song and have it sound like the song if you know what I mean. It is a real pleasure to hear real music coming out of my banjo and not just a slew of notes. Thanks again for all of your advice, suggestions and the camp. I will keep you updated from time to time as I continue to make progress. I hope that you and Red, and Chris, Casey and Dalton have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Again, I thank YOU, Tom! Hearing your story will definitely help make my Christmas a Merry one!

Now, over to Casey’s house to see Dalton! Whoopee!

Murphy

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Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Mark and Susan had lessons back-to-back today, so they jammed a little where their times overlapped. In the lull between songs we started talking about how no one ever seems to be satisfied with their performance. I told them about being at the Augusta Heritage Bluegrass Camp and how those amazing instructors would walk off stage after the faculty concert bemoaning the “fact” that they had played so poorly and had missed so many notes. These were performances that I—an instructor myself—had thought were flawless and wonderful. Mandolin whiz Butch Baldassari (God rest his soul) said, “Well, I hit more notes than I missed, so I count that a good performance!” (On the other hand, fiddling Fletcher Bright was always happy with his performance and was never happier than when he was stealing the show from someone else! I was always happy with him stealing the show too—as long as he wasn’t stealing it from me!)

Anyhow, the gist of our conversation was, as you have gathered, that no one ever seems satisfied with how they play. And does that dissatisfaction ever end? Perhaps when you are in the grave, Susan suggested.

Then Mark said, “I try to be happy with where I am while trying to get better.” Which Susan and I both acknowledged was an excellent way to look at things.

Then Susan said, “I like to hear a man saying things like that!”

To which Mark quickly replied, “I only apply that to banjo!”

And Susan and I just howled and rolled our eyes. Too funny.
And that, friends, is my short blog for today. Hope you have a wonderful last weekend before Christmas! I’m square dancing tonight so I am happy! “Oh, promenade that ring, take your girl home and swing, because, just because!”

Murphy

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What I did at the Banjo Camp (or, how to learn by ear)

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Red Henry

This last weekend was the Murphy Method Banjo Camp, run and taught by Murphy and Casey. This particular camp was just for beginning players. The campers were all real good folks, and everybody had a fine time.

And so, what did Red, the aged, tottering, grizzled patriarch of the family, do for the weekend? As previously noted, he took care of Casey’s baby, namely Dalton Henry, who is two months old and mighty cute. Even if he couldn’t stay awake for Halloween.

I mentioned before that Dalton is a beginning banjo player, because he can’t help it. But there’s more he can’t help doing too, over the next few years, which includes learning to talk. And how children learn that is HIGHLY relevant to learning to play music.

How does a child learn to talk? By listening and imitating people whom he hears. When you see the slogan “Talk to your baby!” it’s important, because babies have to hear words before they can say them. A baby listens and listens before it learns to talk.

And would anyone say that a baby should learn to READ before it starts to talk? Of course not. That’d be ridiculous.

So what does this have to do with bluegrass? Only everything. If you’re learning to make sounds (play music, that is), learn those sounds– the notes– BY EAR. Then practice. A lot. As Murphy says, “Listen, listen, listen, and play, play, play.”

Don’t try to learn to play bluegrass music from a piece of paper. Do you want to know what the notes should sound like? Yes. Can paper show you that? No.

Casey won’t make little Dalton read before he can talk. That’s not how people learn!

Take a hint.

Red.

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Kenny Baker

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Red Henry

For those who haven’t seen the announcements on various music lists, the great bluegrass fiddler Kenny Baker died yesterday in Nashville. Kenny was probably the most influential bluegrass fiddler of our time, having played with Bill Monroe for over 15 years (in itself a record for Bill’s sidemen). He played fiddle on all of Bill’s classic albums from the late 1960s to the mid-’80s, a nearly-indescribable wealth of bluegrass music which included Bill’s great “Uncle Pen” and “Master of Bluegrass” LPs. Kenny’s tone, timing, and note choice were the best anywhere, proven not only on his performances and recordings with Bill, but also by the six or seven LPs he recorded on the County label.

Kenny was a grand gentleman, and he loved to pick. He said he learned from other musicians all the time. During his tenure with Bill Monroe’s band, he often got out in the parking lot at festivals and played for hours with people like you and me. He said that sometimes people gave him trouble for that, saying “That’s not professional!” — and that got his dander up. He would reply to them, “Who’s tellin’ WHO here, what’s professional?”

The first time I picked with Kenny was at the Lavonia, Georgia festival in July, 1970. I’ve forgotten just how the session started, but suddenly Mike and Polly Johnson and I were picking in a circle with Kenny. I think we’d just played Bill Cheatham when Kenny, always encouraging to young players, said his first words to me: “That’s good mandolin pickin’, buddy.”

Top: me, Polly Johnson, Mike Johnson. Lower left: Kenny Baker.

I often picked with Kenny after that. I lived on the East Coast from 1972-74, attending as many festivals as I could, and during that time Kenny and I often closed out festivals on Sunday night by picking for hours at my campsite. He was a terrific inspiration for this young picker, and I learned a great deal from him. His talent was amazingly diversified–he could play jazz as well as bluegrass and old time tunes, and occasionally groused in private about being restricted to playing “this MON-roe stuff” for a living. On one occasion, Mike Johnson and I and some friends got Kenny away from a festival at Brasstown Bald, Georgia, and brought him to Mike’s cabin nearby to pick. We played for a long time that night, and away from the bluegrass crowd Kenny played some real hot fiddle before we had to take him back to the show.

Kenny Baker left a huge legacy of music both on record albums and in our memories. Thanks, Kenny! Keep on fiddling.

Red

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Are You Listening?

Friday, January 21st, 2011

Red Henry

Since I pick with people when I get the chance, and I’ve also taught a good many music lessons in my life, I’ve developed an attitude about listening and learning. It’s this: If you can’t or don’t listen, you can’t play. At least, you can’t play right. You have to know what a tune sounds like before you can play it. And tab won’t show you what a tune sounds like– you can only learn that from listening. Sound obvious? It’s not obvious at all to a lot of folks.

Murphy expresses this in a way when she says, “Listen, listen, listen, and play, play, play!” What does it mean? It means that you can’t learn to play a tune right unless you’ve heard it, and preferably, heard it a lot. This is why tab won’t help you to play a tune right, because tab can’t show you what a tune actually sounds like. West-Coast banjo wizard Pat Cloud said in a recent Banjo Newsletter interview that he wishes his students would listen to a tune a hundred times before they looked at the tab. Well-known player Pete Wernick stated, also in BNL, that since students have to get away from tab eventually, it’s better if they don’t use it in the first place.

What does this have to do with you, the Murphy Method student? Only that you need to listen. Listen to the music you want to learn. Listen to the music on CD over and over, whether it’s on Earl’s records, or Murphy’s, or Casey’s, or whoever else’s recordings, but get that sound in your head before you expect to learn the tune! Once you know what the tune sounds like, you’re ready to start playing it! And you’ll learn a whole lot faster, too.

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Holiday Picking — Keeping in Shape

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Red Henry

Let’s talk about playing music this time of year (and, as bluegrass aficionados may note, cop a title from the Stanley Brothers). Winter often seems to be a pretty dead time for performance opportunities and even jam sessions. Energy levels are low. In this part of the country, the weather may also prohibit travel to some events we’d like to attend. But it’s important to Keep Picking, especially if you’re learning to play.

Even if you can’t get out to play with other people (or if, as in some parts of the country, the nearest pickers are out of reach), you can play a little each day. You might be surprised at how soon you can get really rusty if you aren’t playing– sometimes, four or five days can set you ‘way back. But even 15 or 20 minutes a day can keep your skills up to a tolerable level.

That photo above was taken in 1971, when I was in the Air Force at Del Rio, Texas for a year. That whole year I never found anybody to pick with there, but I tried to play a little every day I could. And I not only held onto what I could play to begin with, but made some progress as well.

Of course, it’s always easier to practice if you have other people to play with. But if you don’t, our Slow Jam and Picking Up the Pace DVDs are made just for you. You can also play along with Murphy at the end of nearly every lesson on our other DVDs. And I have heard of people even practicing with each other on the phone! However you do it, don’t forget your Holiday Picking.

Red

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A little old time jam session

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

Red Henry

Now, you may justifiably ask, what kind of title is that? Here at the Murphy Method we play bluegrass, don’t we? But I do get into old time picking sessions sometimes, and last Friday we had one at Cousin David’s house.

Now, this wasn’t like the last session at Cousin David’s. No, indeed. That time, we had 17 or 18 pickers in the Tater Hill Tavern. This time it was different. How many pickers were there? Three.

Three musicians usually make a pretty thin jam session, but this time we had a good combination of people. Cousin David played the banjo, in his own unique old-time style. Our friend Jamie played fiddle at first, switching off later to banjo-ukulele (yes, such instruments are allowed in old-time music). I played mandolin mostly, but Cousin David had suggested that I bring my fiddle, and I picked that up for the last several numbers. And anchored by Cousin David’s supernatural sense of rhythm, we played for a couple of hours and had a good time. We PAID ATTENTION and PLAYED TOGETHER.

So what did we play? We played a few tunes that the bluegrass people know, such as Soldier’s Joy and Red-Haired Boy. We played some old-timey classics like Cowboy’s Dream and Old Mother Flanagan. And we also played some pretty obscure tunes, like Blake’s March and The Squirrel Hunters. And why am I talking about all this? Because the basics of a good jam are the same in all kinds of music. You can have a good session with only two or three pickers, or with 20, as long as everybody PAYS ATTENTION and PLAYS TOGETHER.

You might see people in jam sessions who aren’t paying attention to anyone but themselves. These people sometimes play too softly to be heard, not because they’re shy but because, I guess, they don’t care about being heard (so why are they there?), and others might be playing too loudly all the time. Either way, they’re not LISTENING to everybody else and PLAYING TOGETHER. Or, you’ll sometimes find people who try to crowd everybody else out of the center of the jam, or deliberately play so loud as to drown out other folks. What does that have to do with PLAYING TOGETHER? Nothing.

Most of the people reading this blog know what to do in a jam session, partly because many of you have been in jams directed by Murphy or Casey. You can also practice listening and playing at the same time with our Murphy Method Slow Jam and Picking Up the Pace DVDs. But no matter where you are or whom you’re picking with, always remember to LISTEN to the jam and PLAY TOGETHER!

Red

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New tunes, okay. How about your old tunes?

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

Red Henry

When you’re learning to play, or even after you’ve been playing for a long time, there’s a natural tendency to play your newest tunes. After all, they’re new and much more exciting than your OLD ones. But you can get bored if you only play the tunes you learned most recently, and your musical skills can suffer.

When you’re practicing, or even when you’re picking with other folks, remember to play your old tunes too. This does several good things. Among them: (1) You keep your fingers playing a wider variety of licks and melodies. (2) Your friends will enjoy the variety when you dig up a tune from the past. (3) You have the pleasure of re-discovering a great tune or song you’d almost forgotten.

But one of the best things about picking your old tunes, is that it keeps your brain working. If you play just half a dozen or so songs all the time, it’s easy to get into a musical rut and stay there for years. Instead, consciously go back and find tunes and songs you used to play. Keep learning new tunes too. Go through our Slow Jam DVDs and remember some songs you used to like. Your brain will like it, and your picking friends will thank you for it!

Red

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Bass playing– ON the beat, please!

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Red Henry

Yesterday evening I went out to a local weekly jam session. This event started a couple of years ago and has turned into an informal outdoor concert, with a dozen or more pickers and a hundred or so listeners every week. The players are all local folks, and I enjoy playing music with them. But every so often something will happen to make the music hard to play.

When I arrived and joined the session yesterday evening, a person was playing bass and doing well with it. She knew all the songs, and played solidly on the beat. This really helped the jam session hold together.

After about an hour, though, she needed a break, and was replaced by another player. He got through the first number, though a little shakily. Then when a fiddle player kicked off the next tune (Golden Slippers, in G), the bass player started playing his notes on the off-beat, and stayed there.

Now, bass players play their notes on the ON-beat, not the OFF-beat. When a bass player is playing on the off-beat instead (like a mandolin’s rhythm), it makes the music sound pretty weird. This time, it seemed as if half the players stayed with the fiddler’s rhythm, and the others were wandering a bit between the fiddle and the bass. It was a pretty diffuse sound. I stopped playing after the first few beats of the tune, and decided it was time to pack up and go home.

I applaud all the folks who want to come out and play, but it’s better when the bass player just plays on the beat. It’s easier for everybody!

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Record yourself!

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Red Henry

That’s right. Record yourself. That is one of the best ways to hear exactly what your playing sounds like, and to find out what you need to work on.

In years past, recording yourself was very easy and cheap to do, with the inexpensive cassette recorders that a lot of folks had. Modern technology makes recording almost as easy (but not cheap) by using video cameras or small high-tech audio recorders. Even most digital cameras can take a movie–with sound– of your playing. But whatever your favorite device is, just record yourself playing a couple of tunes. Then play them back and see what you sound like.

When you hear your music played back, it might not sound quite as good as you thought it was going to. (My band-leading, banjo-playing brother-in-law Mike says that for him, recording music– and listening to it afterward– is as pleasant as having teeth pulled. But that’s just his opinion.) Now, I’m not saying this trying to discourage anybody from playing. If in the playback, you don’t sound like Earl, or Ralph, or J.D., or Murphy, that’s not a reason to give up playing, or even recording. The point is that you can really hear what your playing sounds like. You can hear all your notes, and your timing, and your rhythm. And if you are playing steadily enough on the tape to play along with yourself during the playback, that’s excellent! You’ve come a long way, and are ready to play with other people, whether you feel like it or not!

Sometimes when you hear yourself for the first time, you might be discouraged. But this doesn’t mean that your playing normally sounds the way it does on the tape. Any time the tape is rolling (or any other recording is going on), you’re going to have it on your mind, either consciously or unconsciously. And it might affect your playing. But the more practice you get recording, the better you’ll play each time you record, and when it comes time to listen back to the tune, the better you’ll sound. Recording and listening is great practice, and can sure help a person’s playing!

Record yourself!

Red.

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