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By Wayne Erbsen
Practically every fiddle player dreams of being able to play by ear. What does playing by ear mean? It means playing without reading music.
To play by ear, you need to know a little bit about three things: 1) Simple scales, 2) Chords, 3) Walk-ups and Walk-downs.
1) Simple scales. This is the “do re mi” you learned as a kid. In the key of G, it’s do=G, re=A, mi=B, fa=C, so=D, la=E, ti=F#, do=G. As you can see, you start with G and go right up the alphabet – G, A, B, C, D, E, F#,
By Wayne Erbsen
The Internet is abuzz with people wanting to learn to play the mandolin. My guess is that you are one of them! Of course, you want to learn the easiest songs possible. Who wouldn’t?
The songs that are the easiest to play are the tunes you already know. They’re the ones you’ve had in your head for years. So instead of having me teach you a totally unfamiliar tune on the mandolin, let’s get you to learn how to play the tunes you already know.
I suggest you start making lists of your favorite songs. If you
By Wayne Erbsen
The Internet is abuzz with people wanting to learn to play the guitar. My guess is that you are one of them! Of course, you want to learn the easiest songs possible. Who wouldn’t?
The songs that are the easiest to play are the tunes you already know. They’re the ones you’ve had in your head for years. So instead of having me teach you a totally unfamiliar tune on the guitar, let’s get you to learn how to play the tunes you already know.
I suggest you start making lists of your favorite songs. If you
By Wayne Erbsen
Mandolins come in many flavors, several styles, and many price ranges. I’ll pass on to you the same advice someone gave me about 50 years ago. Spend as much as you can stretch, and purchase a quality instrument, rather than a piece of junk. A really cheap mandolin will sound tinny, which will discourage you just as you’re learning this new instrument.
That said, it doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on your first mandolin.
For starters, there are several mandolins that we sell and recommend.
The Rover RM-35S with a retail price of $169.95.
By Wayne Erbsen
One of my favorite gospel songs of all time is I Am a Pilgrim. I first heard it back in the early 60s when I was listening closely to Doc Watson, who sang it and picked it on the guitar. Doc freely admitted that he learned it from the great Merle Travis, so I always assumed Travis composed it. Digging a little deeper, I found that it was recorded by 14 African-American singers before it was even a gleam in Travis’ eye.
I’m not surprised that I Am a Pilgrim has roots in African-American music. The
By Wayne Erbsen
The Internet is abuzz with people wanting to learn to play the fiddle. My guess is that you are one of them! Of course, you want to learn the easiest songs possible. Who wouldn’t?
The songs that are the easiest to play are the tunes you already know. They’re the ones you’ve had in your head for years. So instead of having me teach you a totally unfamiliar tune on the fiddle, let’s get you to learn how to play the tunes you already know.
I suggest you start making lists of your favorite songs. If you
By Wayne Erbsen
Practically everybody who plays the mandolin wants to play by ear. What does that mean? It means playing without reading music or tab.
To play by ear, you need to know a little bit about three things: 1) simple scales, 2) chords, 3) walk-ups and walk-downs.
1) Simple scales. This is the do re mi you learned as a kid. In the key of G, it’s do=G, re=A, mi=B, fa=C, so=D, la=E, ti=F#, do=G. As you can see, you start with G and go right up the alphabet – G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G.
By Wayne Erbsen
In Basic Guitar Chords, I showed you a number of basic guitar chords. Armed with that knowledge, there are thousands of songs you can play simply by strumming the chord and singing, humming, or whistling the song.
Before you can do that, you will need to figure out which chords to play when.
The good news is that most bluegrass, folk, and country songs can be played with just three chords. These three chords form a little family called a “key.” We often give the chords in the same family the numbers 1, 4, and 5.
By Wayne Erbsen
In my article entitled Mandolin Chords, I showed you a number of basic mandolin chords. Armed with that knowledge, there are thousands of songs you can play simply by strumming the chord and singing, humming or whistling the song.
Before you can do that you will need to figure out which chords to play when.
The good news is that most bluegrass, folk and country songs can be played with just three chords. These three chords form a little family called a “key.” We often give the chords in this family the numbers 1, 4, and
By Wayne Erbsen
Many people don’t like change. They don’t want their cheese moved, as the book says. I’m more guilty of this than almost anyone I know. Once I discover something I like, I tend to do that thing from that day forward, without wavering one iota.
In bluegrass music, most traditional players don’t want their cheese moved either. They think, if Earl, Don, Carter, or Bill played a lick a certain way, by God, that’s the way I’m going to play it too, or try to. Now, I can’t really fault that way of thinking, because I’m as
