Gussie L. Davis – Tin Pan Alley/Bluegrass Songwriter

Some of the greatest traditional bluegrass songs were apparently written by someone named โ€œPublic Domainโ€ or โ€œTraditional.โ€ What kind of decent mother or father would name their child that? In this article Iโ€™m going to acquaint you with a songwriter named Gussie Lord Davis, who has seldom been credited as the composer of such well-known folk and bluegrass songs as โ€œMaple on the Hillโ€ (1880), โ€œGoodnight Ireneโ€ (1899),โ€œOne Little Wordโ€ (1899), โ€œJust Set a Lightโ€ aka โ€œRed and Green Signal Lightsโ€(1897), โ€œIn the Baggage Coach Aheadโ€ (1896), โ€œHeโ€™s Coming to Us Deadโ€ (1899), and โ€œMake Up and Be Lovers Againโ€

Read the rest

Finger Placement Help for Fiddle

Howdy!

If you are here, you probably have a digital copy of ‘Old-Time Fiddle for the Complete Ignoramus!’ and need help knowing where to put your fingers.

______________________________

Click here to download a printable PDF of our fingerboard chart:

fingerboard-chart

______________________________

Simply cut out the diagram (including the words and letters outside of the diagram) and tape it under the strings, on the fingerboard of your fiddle. The dark line at the top of the diagram should align with the nut on the top of the fiddle’s neck.

Happy fiddlin!

Read the rest

Shop

Please note that all our instructional books are available in both physical and digital (downloadable) formats.

All Books
Cookbooks
Bluegrass and Old Timey Music
Folklore
Civil War & Railroad
Pioneeers & Old West
Songbooks
Recordings
Read the rest

Industrial Strength Bluegrass from Ohio

By Neil V. Rosenberg

From an essay published in a booklet distributed at the Dayton Bluegrass Reunion (“An All-Star Salute to Dayton’s 40 Year Bluegrass Legacy”) on April 22, 1989. Performers included Paul “Moon” Mullins and Traditional Grass, Noah Crase, The Hotmud Family, The Allen Brothers, Red Allen, Porter Church, Red Spurlock, The Dry Branch Fire Squad, Larry Sparks, Frank Wakefield, David Harvey and the Osborne Brothers. Used by permission.

Tonight’s concert honors two generations of Dayton musicians who played major roles in creating and popularizing urban bluegrass music.ย  Cityfolk hopes that this evening, Daytonians will rediscover an important facet

Read the rest

The Delmore Brothers – by John Lilly

“There was a big crowd there and everything was decorated and all fixed up like the president of the United States would be there. It was by far the biggest and most important contest in the entire country. People who had never been to a contest before gathered with the contestants at the Old Athens (Alabama) Agricultural School. My mother had made (guitar) cases for us out of cotton sacks we used during the picking season and we had our names on them spelled out in full. I painted them on the cases with pokeberry juice.

“You know how it

Read the rest

Playing the B-Flat Chord on the Ukulele

By Ted Parrish, ukulele extraordinaire and co-author of Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus! and Ukulele Tunes, Tips & Jamming.

Beginning ukulele students often have this common experience: You are rolling right along, strumming and singing, you got your C chord down, Am, F, even G. Then you have to play a Bb and you decide to take a break. Forever.

The Bb is the most dreaded beginning chord for the aspiring ukester. Letโ€™s break it down and see why it is so difficult (because it is, youโ€™re right), and the proper way to play this chord so that it

Read the rest