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Quill Rose, Mountain Fiddler

“He could neither kill a bear, play the fiddle, nor shoot a gun.” 1860

Quill-Rose-on-the-porch

The unknown writer of this disparaging quote apparently was not talking about a mountain man from the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee named Quill Rose, who could do all three, and more.

Born Aquilla Rose in Cades Cove, Blount County, Tennessee on May 4, 1841, he died on November 3, 1921 at the ripe old age of eighty. Tall, wiry and broad-shouldered, he had long dark hair and sported a beard. At 6 foot 1½ inches, he was considerably taller than most men at that time.

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Black-Eyed Susie Lyrics

Black-Eyed Susie

I got drunk, I got boozy,
I went home with Black-Eyed Susie.

Black-Eyed Susie’s long and lean,
Prettiest girl I ever seen.

Chorus:
Hey! Black-Eyed Susie,
Ho! Black-Eyed Susie,
Hey! Black-Eyed Susie
Ho!

Black-Eyed Susie went to town,
All she wore was a gingham gown.

Black-Eyed Susie’s long and tall,
Sleeps in the kitchen with her feet in the hall. (Chorus)

Hey old man I want your daughter,
To chop my wood and carry my water.

Black-Eyed Susie lives in a holler,
She won’t come and I won’t call her. (Chorus)

All I want in this creation,
Pretty

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Very Easy Mandolin Songs

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

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Secrets of Playing Fiddle by Ear

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#,

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A Word About the Free Bluegrass Guitar Tabs

Flatpicking Guitar for the Complete Ignoramus! instruction book by Wayne Erbsen

Howdy!

These free bluegrass guitar tabs are written out in my unique tab system that I invented after teaching guitar for fifty years. Instead using numbers on the strings to represent the fret that you play, I put the name of the note that you play on the string.

This method does require you to learn the names of the eight notes of the scale, and where to find them on your guitar. This may seem like a “royal pain,” but trust me, this will give your music a BIG BOOST.  You absolutely need to know the name of the

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John Henry

John Henry

John Henry was a little bitty boy,
Sittin’ on his Mama’s knee.
Picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel,
“Hammer’ll be the death of me,
Hammer’ll be the death of me.”

John Henry went upon the mountain,
Come down on the other side.
The mountain was so tall, John Henry was so small,
He laid down his hammer and he cried,”Oh, Lord,”
He laid down his hammer and he cried.

John Henry was on the right hand,
That steam drill was on the left.
“Before your steam drill beats me down,
I’ll hammer my fool

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Cripple Creek

Clawhammer banjo for the complete ignoramus cover

Cripple Creek

I got a girl and she loves me,
She’s as sweet as sweet can be.

She’s got eyes of baby blue,
Makes my gun shoot straight and true.

Goin’ up Cripple Creek, goin’ on a run,
Goin’ up Cripple Creek to have a little fun
Goin’ up Cripple Creek, goin’ in a whirl
Goin’ up Cripple Creek to see my girl.

Cripple Creek’s wide and Cripple Creek’s deep,
I’ll wade old Cripple Creek before I sleep.

Roll my britches to my knees,
I wade old Cripple Creek when I please.

Cripple Creek’s wide and Cripple Creek’s muddy
I’m

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