Blues Bluegrass and Beyond

Blues Bluegrass and Beyond

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Kingston Trio

     I must admit, this was a rather unpleasant week. This week I had knee surgery to remove a cyst that was slowly crawling its way toward my kneecap. Medical procedures are my downfall, and I delay them until I must handle the offending issue. Well, I have been putting off the removal of this cyst for about six years now, and after much convincing from family and friends, I finally conceded and scheduled an appointment to have the cyst removed. As normal, I crept into the operating room waiting for someone to appear to examine my leg. A friendly doctor burst into the room alongside a nurse to begin the procedure. Unfortunately, I become panicked when I know a scalpel is slicing my leg like melted butter. So, as I was lying there pouring sweat, the doctor and nurse took pity on me, and struck up a conversation.

                                              Click here to learn about The Kingston Trio 
     
     Time flew as we talked, and soon the procedure was over. Meanwhile, however, I learned a few interesting things. The nurse who had been assisting me is a relative to a member in the American folk group, The Kingston Trio.  When I came home, I looked The Kingston Trio up on the internet, and learned that they were a folk group popular during the late 1950's and 1960's. Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds formed The Kingston Trio in 1957, however, they had been friends since their youth. Many of their songs included arrangements of public domain folk music. Some of their songs were created using a 5-string, Pete Seeger, long-neck, open-back banjo, a Martin acoustic guitar, and occasionally, even a ukulele. These pioneers in folk music opened a new genre of music that would be further popularized by Peter,Paul,and Mary, Fleetwood Mac, and The Letterman. During The Kingston Trio's peak years, they  recorded the song, Tom Dooley, which would sell over three-million copies. The Kingston Trio also reached Billboard's Top 100, fourteen of which ranked in the top 10, and five of which took the number 1 spot. Since the band's creation, they have also won a Grammy Award. While their initial fame may have ebbed by the mid-1960's, the group has continued to progress, and today has new members playing the original music of The Kingston Trio. I guess operating rooms aren't all that bad. 
Long Play Collection: Six Huge-Selling Albums
The Kingston Trio, Thanks for visiting Blues Bluegrass and Beyond! Image courtesy of www.amazon.com
                                           
                                            Click here to visit The Kingston Trio's Website 

Below are two of The Kingston Trio's more famous songs; Tom Dooley, and Greenback Dollar. 


                                                                         Tom Dooley 



                                                                    Greenback Dollar 



Images courtesy of www.amazon.com; videos courtesy of YouTube. 

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Bluegrass Piano - Ghost Riders in the Sky


     Welcome back to Blues, Bluegrass and Beyond! Today I want to talk about playing bluegrass music on piano, and in particular, examining the country song, Ghost Riders in the Sky.
Bluegrass Piano. Thank you for visiting Blues, Bluegrass, and Beyond. Photo original
                                                           
     
     The piano is an instrument that is not very adaptable to bluegrass music. Also, due to a keyboard’s sheer bulk and size, usage of a piano or keyboard in a bluegrass band is very sparse. However, it is not impossible to play bluegrass music on piano. I have personally found that the most effective way of playing quality bluegrass on piano, is to mimic 3-finger banjo picking styles. However, playing banjo roll patterns on a keyboard can be a daunting task. For instance, while playing a G-Major forward-roll pattern on banjo would only involve some basic 3-finger picking skills, and literally no movement on the fret board, (unless a musician is attempting to play different chords or a G-Major progression) playing the identical tune on piano would require a musician to strike keys nearly an octave (8 keys) or more apart in rapid an precise procession. It had never occurred to me to attempt playing bluegrass music on piano until a few years after I began learning banjo. Then, one day, it struck me! I could apply roll patterns to simple songs, and even syncopate them to achieve a bluegrass piano sound. So, as time passed I arranged numerous bluegrass songs for the piano keyboard. Among them are, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Cabin in Caroline, Clinch Mountain Backstep, Man of Constant Sorrow, The Ballad of Jed Clampett, and Ghost Riders in the Sky. I had never written the notation to any of my arrangements until recently. The first arrangement I have completed is for Ghost Riders in the Sky. I arranged the song using Noteflight.
Bluegrass Piano. Thank you for visiting Blues, Bluegrass, and Beyond. Photo original


     The song, Ghost Riders in the Sky was written in 1948 by Stan Jones, a forest ranger and technical advisor for Columbia Pictures. Jones hoped the song would be used in Western movies of the time, however, the song was turned down, claiming it sounded like a funeral dirge, or a version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Stan Jones recorded the song himself in 1949, and it became a #1 hit for Vaughn Monroe. Other famous musicians and bands such as Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Scatman Crothers, Gene Autry, Frankie Lane, Sons of Pioneers, Johnny Cash, Riders in the Sky, and Bluegrass Country Gentlemen, has all arranged and performed versions of the song. The song was later performed in the movie, The Blues Brothers 2000.
    
     
     Recently, I have been dabbling in other forms of bluegrass piano, such as employing mandolin techniques to piano songs. I am also eager to return to the topic of bluegrass piano, and am looking forward to posting more arrangements of bluegrass songs on piano. In Addition, I am considering creating a bluegrass piano video and text instructional series in the near future. Thanks for visiting Blues, Bluegrass, and Beyond, and come back soon!
    
                                                 Look below for my video. 
      
Also, Check out my sheet music arrangement of Ghost Riders in the Sky below.









    All photos, videos, and sheet music are origina