Tag: fiddle music

FOG Tune Lyrics: Whiskey Before Breakfast

FOG Tune Lyrics: Whiskey Before Breakfast

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If you’ve attended a FOG gig before, you’ve observed the designated emcee occasionally introducing a tune by citing its little known lyrics, as a means of adding a little “color commentary” to our performances. We thought it might be of interest to feature some of those lyrics. In this article, we feature Whiskey Before Breakfast. If you would like to download a free copy of the sheet music, click HERE.

Whiskey Before Breakfast Lyrics(1)

Early one morning ‘fore the sun could shine
I was walkin’ down the street, not feelin’ so fine
I saw two old men with a bottle between ’em
And this is the song that I heard them singin’

Chorus
Lord protect us, Saints preserve us
We been drinkin’ whiskey ‘fore breakfast

I passed by the steps where they were a’ sittin’
I couldn’t believe how drunk they were gettin’
I said “Old men you been drinkn’ long?”
“Long enough to be singin’ this song”

They handed me a bottle, said, “Take a little sip”
And it felt so good, I just couldn’t quit
So I took a little more, next thing I knew
There were three of us sittin’ there singin’ this tune

One by one everybody in town
Heard our ruckus and they all came down
Pretty soon all the streets were a-ringin’
With the sound of the whole town laughin’ and singin’

(1) Folk and Traditional Song Lyrics, http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk

FOG Celebrates 30 Years of Old-Time Fiddling

FOG Celebrates 30 Years of Old-Time Fiddling

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October 3, 2021

Back in 1991 a few passionate string musicians got together at one of their homes to form an organization aimed at preserving, promoting, and stimulating the tradition of old time fiddling in the Genesee River area of NY State. Thirty years and literally thousands of performances and jam sessions later, the Fiddlers of the Genesee is still going strong. It is rare today to find any musical organization that has remained active for so many years. It is a testament to the dedication of our membership and leadership, both present and past.

The current Board of Directors organized a 30th Anniversary Celebration Party, which took place at the Pavilion Lodge in Ellison Park, Rochester. The catered event featured a massive, delicious anniversary cake. Attendance was great, with over 40 members and family coming out. The members jammed to their favorite tunes in front of the lodge’s massive fireplace all afternoon, while the rain came down in droves outside.

Below are some photographs taken during the event. Here’s to another 30 years!

Fiddlers of the… Farmers’ Market?

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Joe Obbie Farmers’ Market is where residents of the town of Webster NY can come on Saturdays to buy fresh produce, baked goods, and various crafts. On July 31st, 2021 it was also where they could see the Fiddlers of the Genesee play our famous brand of old-time fiddle music. 

It was a beautiful summer day – bright, dry, and not too hot. From under two tents set up in the middle of the market, FOG played our summer set list for both shoppers and vendors. Most passers-by paused during their browsing to listen to a tune or two, such as New Five Cent, Sackett’s Harbor, and Dill Pickle Rag. FOG music CDs and flash drives were available for sale, and many customers were also kind enough to donate towards our not-for-profit organization.

FOG would like thank the Market’s vendors and patrons for their graciousness and hospitality. We hope to be back soon.

FOG Plays at Gates NY Historical Society Event

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The Hinchey House is a grand old manor in Gates NY where on July 24, 2021 the Fiddlers of the Genesee held its first public performance since COVID restrictions were lifted earlier this year. At this event, sponsored by the Gates Historical Society, the public was invited to roam the grounds and learn about the history of this 19th century landmark while FOG provided a background of old-time music in keeping with the zeitgeist of the period.

The group was to play in an informal jam session format rather than a stage setup typical of a gig. So lacking a sound system and with rain in the forecast, the performers set up in a circle on the side lawn. Following some short speeches by local politicians and historical society members, FOG proceeded to play through their summer set list which included the tunes Pig Ankle Rag, South, and Blackberry Blossom. As it turned out, most in attendance preferred to just sit and enjoy the music rather than walking the Hinchey House grounds. The rains held off and a good time was had by all. Our thanks goes out to the wonderful people of the Town of Gates for inviting us to entertain them on this day.

About Hornpipes

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by Bob Taylor

The hornpipe is one of the most ambiguous types of fiddle tune. So says Antoine Silverman in his new book, Fiddle Tunes, Basic and Beyond (Warner Brothers, 2002). Silverman goes on to say “It’s a very old form (Chaucer mentions it as early as the 13th century), and there seems to be some doubt about its origin, as well as its meter, its tempo, and the type of dance commonly associated with it.” Silverman also notes that, according to Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. around 1760 the hornpipe underwent a transition from triple time to common (duple) time, and that even later some hornpipes adopted a dotted rhythm.

The dance associated with the hornpipe of this later period apparently required no partners and little room, qualities essential on shipboard, which accounts for the association that developed between hornpipes and sailing. In traditional dance and music circles today the hornpipe is identified simply as a tune in 4/4 (common) time that is played with a dotted rhythm, but it is not quite that simple. The actual rhythm in which a particular hornpipe is played will vary (depending on locale, players and tradition) from a heavily syncopated, clog-style beat, through various more subtle rhythms, to an almost straight 4/4 measure. In fact, it is common to hear musicians say that a given tune can be played either “as a hornpipe” or “as a reel”.

To take an example in the FOG repertoire, you can find in print – in various publications – a tune called Woodchopper’s Hornpipe, Woodchopper’s Reel, or, more economically, simply Woodchopper’s. You may find the tune written out in straight meter, or it may be carefully notated in dotted rhythm. In either case (and as is always true) it is up to the musician or musicians to interpret the written notes as may be felt appropriate.

Any fancier of the hornpipe genre will tell you that a further characteristic of many of the hornpipes written and played in the last few hundred years is a special melodic structure built on alternating scales; you can almost feel the music forcing you from foot to foot (even if you know nothing about dancing). If a strongly dotted rhythm is being used, it is natural for triplets to creep into the tune; think for example of the normal way in which the tune Harvest Home is played. The slower pace of a hornpipe (as contrasted with a reel) allows for a more ornamented and demanding melody line. Your left hand really knows it after you have finished playing a whole set of hornpipes!

The traditional Irish repertoire is the great repository today of hornpipes and hornpipe playing, but hornpipes were equally popular across England, Scotland and America (including Canada) back when the playing of instrumental tunes was a mainstay of popular culture. A great many hornpipes were written in the United States during the 19th century, as is evidenced in tune collections surviving from that period. As an interesting sidelight, it can be noted that while waltzes tend to get named after states (you can probably think of a few examples), hornpipes tend to get named after cities. Thus we have the Cincinnati Hornpipe, the Glasgow Hornpipe, etc. I have never so far heard of a Rochester Hornpipe, but who knows?

Circle of Fifths

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Originally Published April 1995
Contributed by: Ben Ford

In my last article I talked about the dominant seventh chord and its strong tendency to move back to the root or tonic chord. This 5-1 motion (down a fifth, or up a fourth) is so important to all types of Western music, that I thought we ought to look at the big picture.

It just so happens that if you start at any note, and go down a fifth (or up a fourth) to the next note, and continue to move down a fifth or up a fourth, eventually you get right back to where you started from! For example, if
you start on a C, you would move through a sequence of notes like this:

C  F  Bb/A#  Eb/D#  Ab/G#  Db/C#  Gb/F#  B  E  A  D  G  C

Why this sequence occurs is a topic for a dissertation in Physics and Math. What matters to us is that we can use the Circle of Fifths to figure out the chords to many tunes.

Let’s say we are playing a tune in the Key of G. Notice that on the Circle, the G note is surrounded by C and D, which are the names of the 4th and 5th chords, respectively, for G major! It works exactly the same for each key: E is surrounded by A (4th or subdominant) and B (5th or dominant). Now it’s easy to see why the 4th chord is called the subdominant; it’s a fifth below the root, while the dominant is a fifth above the root.

Enough of this technical mumbo-jumbo; let’s go for a ride on the Circle of Fifths! Very often in various styles of music (especially ragtime), we can go on a little excursion outside the home key of the piece, and use the Circle to bring us back home. Example: Alabama Jubilee, in the key of C major.

The key of C major?!?! That usually means NO sharps or flats. But the first chord is A, which has the notes A-C#-E. Right out of the starting gate, we have jumped outside the key of C major. This adds variety and excitement to the piece, and even if you never before understood what was happening, chances are your ears at least told you that something unusual was going on.

How can we find our way back to C? By riding the Circle of Fifths!

The A7 chord is a dominant seventh chord, and pulls us clockwise around the Circle to D. By simply making the D chord a dominant seventh as well, we continue our momentum around the Circle to G. As expected, the G chord takes us home to C, a little breathless but none the worse for wear.

You’ll find this sort of trick used in all styles of music, but probably most often in ragtime tunes. The second part of Stone’s Rag uses the exact same chord pattern, A – D – G – C. The first part of Dill Pickle Rag is very similar;
the next time you play it, watch how it moves around the Circle of Fifths.

Music theory seems as dry as a desert to most folks, but a basic understanding of a song’s chord structure can really help you learn it more easily. It can also help you figure out how to play back up, harmonies or variations on the melody, or even to write your own music! I will talk about these topics in future articles, but for now, experiment
and have fun. Remember, as Pete Wernick says, “If it sounds good, it must be good!”

What is Old-Time Music Anyway? 

FOG

Contributed by Kathy Schwar

“Old-time” usually refers to music that evolved in isolated regions of the Southern Appalachians and other places in the southern U.S., based partly on tunes from the British Isles and on the rhythm of the banjo, which was developed from a West African instrument.  Old-time music predates bluegrass.  It’s the original early-recorded “country music” of the 1920s and 1930s, played by ordinary working people in communities, before travel was easy and before recordings could be heard on the radio. Old-time was the name given to this rural music by one of the first record companies to discover it and produce recordings.

The music may be fast or slow, played by a single banjo or fiddle, or the two together, or as a whole string band once guitars entered the scene somewhere after the turn of the century. There might be lyrics, although these might be “floating verses”, common to many tunes.  There’s a great deal of syncopation, and tunes might have extra beats or bars, or missing beats or bars.  Some wonderful tunes have little melody and lots of rhythm.  There are up-tempo square-dance tunes in major keys, and slow haunting ones in modes somewhere between major and minor. There’s a lot of variation between individual players as well as differing regional styles, and no one “right way” to play any tune.

It’s quite different from bluegrass, which was developed from old-time music and other influences, even though a number of tunes of the same name are played in both genres.  Bluegrass was created to be enjoyed by an audience, and each instrument in turn stands out by playing an improvised solo break.  Old Time was never performance music; it’s participatory music to sit and play, or dance to.

The Difference Between Bluegrass and Old-time

Banjo

  • An OT banjo is open-backed, with an old towel (probably never washed) stuffed in the back to dampen overtones.  A BG banjo has a resonator to make it louder.
  • An OT banjo weighs 5 pounds, towel included. A BG banjo weighs 40 pounds.
  • An OT banjo player can lose three right-hand fingers and two left-hand fingers in an industrial accident without affecting his performance.
  • A BG banjo needs 24 frets. An OT banjo needs no more than 5, and some don’t need any.
  • A BG banjo player puts jewelry on his fingertips to play. An OT banjo player puts super glue on his fingernails to strengthen them. Never shake hands with an OT banjo player while he’s fussing with his nails.
  • A BG banjo is tuned gDGBD. An OT banjo can be in a hundred different tunings.

Fiddle

  • A BG fiddle is tuned GDAE. An OT fiddle can be in a hundred different tunings.
  • Old-time musiciansOT fiddlers seldom use more than two fingers of their left hand, and uses tunings that maximize the number of open strings played. BG fiddlers study 7th position fingering patterns with Isaac Stern, and take pride in never playing an open string.
  • An OT fiddle player only uses a quarter of his bow. The rest is just wasted.
  • The BG fiddler paid $10,000 for his fiddle at the Violin Shop in Nashville. The OT fiddler got his for $15 at a yard sale.

Guitar

  • An OT guitarist knows the major chords in G and C, and owns a capo for A and D. A BG guitarist can play in E-flat without a capo.
  • The fanciest chord an OT guitarist needs is an A to insert between the G and the D7 chord. A BG guitarist needs to know C#aug+7-4.
  • OT guitarists stash extra picks under a rubber band around the top of the peghead. BG guitarists would never cover any part of the peghead that might obscure the gilded label of their $3,000 guitar.

Mandolin
It’s possible to have an OT band without a mandolin. OT mandolin players use “A”model instruments (pear shaped) by obscure makers. BG mandolin players use “F” model Gibsons that cost $100 per decibel.

Bass

  • A BG band always has a bass. An old OT band doesn’t have a bass, but new time OT bands seem to need one for reasons that are unclear.
  • A BG bass starts playing with the band on the first note. An OT bass, if present, starts sometime after the rest of the band has run through the tune once depending on his blood alcohol content.
  • A BG bass is polished and shiny. An OT bass is often used as yard furniture.

Other Instruments
A BG band might have a Dobro. An OT band might have anything that makes noise including: hammered or lap dulcimer, jaw harp, didgeridoo, harmonica, conga, washtub bass, miscellaneous rattles & shakers, or one-gallon jug (empty).

The Music

  • OT songs are about whiskey and chickens. BG songs are about God, mother and the girl who did me wrong. If the girlfriend isn’t murdered by the third verse, it ain’t Bluegrass.
  • OT bands have nonsense names like Hoss Hair Pullers, Fruit Jar Drinkers and Skillet Lickers. BG bands have serious gender-specific names like Bluegrass Boys, Foggy Mountain Boys, and Clinch Mountain Boys
  • A BG band has 1 to 3 singers who are singing about an octave above their natural vocal range. Some OT bands have no singers at all.
  • A BG band has a vocal orchestrator who arranges duet, trio and quartet harmonies. In an OT band, anyone who feels like it can sing or make comments during the performance.
  • All BG tunes & songs last 3 minutes. OT tunes & songs sometimes last all night.
  • All the instruments in an OT band play together all the time.
  • BG bands feature solos on each instrument.
  • BG bands have carefully mapped-out choreography due to the need to provide solo breaks. If OT band members move around, they tend to run into each other. Because of this problem, OT bands often sit down when performing, while a BG band always stands. Because they’re sitting, OT bands have the stamina to play for a square or contra dance.
  • The audience claps after each BG solo break. If anyone claps for an OT band it confuses them, even after the tune is over.

Personalities & Stage Presence

  • BG band members wear uniforms, such as blue polyester suits and gray Stetson hats. OT bands wear jeans, sandals, work shirts and caps from seed companies.
  • Chicks in BG bands have big hair and Kevlar undergarments. Chicks in OT bands jiggle nicely under their dungarees.
  • A BG band tells terrible jokes while tuning. An OT band tells terrible jokes without bothering to tune.
  • BG band members never smile. OT band members will smile if you give them a drink. You can get fired from a BG band for being obviously drunk on stage.
  • BG musicians eat barbecue ribs. OT musicians eat tofu.
  • BG musicians have high frequency hearing loss from standing near the banjo player. OT musicians have high frequency hear loss from standing near the fiddler.
  • BG musicians stay on the bus or at the nearest Motel 6. OT musicians camp in the parking lot.

 

Reprinted with permission from Old-time Lewes Visit the web site for their tunes list and helpful resources.

What is Bluegrass Music?

FOG

Contributed by: John J. Long
Originally Published May 2001, 

bluegrass band-3833562_960_720What is bluegrass music? Opinions vary some, but here is one. It is produced by musical instruments that are stringed and acoustic, and singing. To have an authentic bluegrass sound you must have a five-stringed banjo, played “Scruggs” style. The style is played using picks attached to the thumb and first two fingers producing a rhythmic “roll.” The other one or two fingers rest lightly on the banjo head to provide a reference point for a smooth rhythm.

Earl_Scruggs_2005
Earl Scruggs, 2005

The Scruggs style is named for Earl Scruggs who began playing with Bill Monroe in 1945. Bill Monroe, referred to as the “Father of Bluegrass,” had been developing bluegrass music for several years, but it was the style of Earl Scruggs that pretty much solidified the sound known today as bluegrass. The music was called bluegrass because Bill Monroe came from Kentucky, the Bluegrass State. Earl later teamed up with Lester Flatt (also playing for Bill Monroe at the time) to form the Flatt and Scruggs band that went on to spread the bluegrass sound far and wide (you may have seen them on The Beverly Hillbillies). Other notable pioneers in the bluegrass banjo sound were Ralph Stanley, Raymond Fairchild (both still playing), and Don Reno. Most bluegrass bands evolved when a person played for a year or more with a well-established band and learned the business, and then left the group to start their own band. Several bands were formed by brothers, some having spent some formative years with other bands.

MonroeBrothers
Monroe Brothers

Other bluegrass acoustic instruments normally used are: guitar, fiddle, mandolin (which Bill Monroe played), resophonic guitar (Dobro), and bass (acoustic preferred but electric allowed for convenience). Not many bands have all of the instruments, but you need at least four: banjo, guitar, bass, and one of the others. The guitar is not strummed; rather it is picked alternately from a single bass string to the three treble strings, with some bass runs leading from one chord to the next. Most guitarists do not play the melody (flat pick) on breaks; some can’t, and others don’t because it is rare that a guitar can be heard over the other instruments. On stage, microphones help the guitar to be heard.

Once the instruments are in place, you need some vocals. Most people playing the instruments also sing, if not lead, joining on the choruses with harmony. Most bluegrass music is learned and played by ear. Not much music is readily available in written form to local groups who play for their own enjoyment. It is learned by listening to the recorded versions. Not many groups use music stands on stage, and it is even more rare in impromptu get-togethers (jams). There are plenty of books around with the words to the songs, but the music is not included so a person must have access to the recordings, or to others who sing or play, to learn how a song goes. It is helpful sometimes to have
help with the words to a song available when you are first learning it, or if it is particularly difficult.

The format of a bluegrass song is normally as follows:

  1. One person kicks off the song with an instrumental intro, typically banjo or fiddle;
  2. The lead singer sings a verse and a chorus (others join in on the chorus with harmony);
  3. Second instrumental person plays a “break” (a rendition of the verse or chorus melody);
  4. Lead singer sings another verse and chorus (as above);
  5. Another instrumental break (sometimes two instruments will split a break);

And so on, until the end of the song, typically with a vocal repeat of the chorus.

Some songs are instrumentals only, where each person takes a turn playing the melody. A typical bluegrass show or jam is about 75% vocals and 25% instrumentals. While each person is taking a break on the song, other persons are playing rhythm backup, using chord progressions from the “key” of the song. The backup is very important, and must be done tastefully so as not to overwhelm or distract the person doing the lead, either vocally or instrumentally.

Bluegrass Virginia-stringband-1937
Virginia String Band 1937

In a typical bluegrass jam, several people (6 – 10 or more) gather around and take turns selecting a song for the group, choosing the key (from 8 normally used), and leading the song. Most in the group will know the song and join in on the choruses, and take breaks. Others not knowing the song initially can play along by ear most of the time, when chord progressions are not complicated, and can pick up a song usually after hearing a couple of vocals and instrumental breaks. A picker should know the chord progressions, called the “circle of fifths,” which describes the relation of one chord to the other in a song key (A through G). Most guitar and banjo players use a CAPO to shift the playing position of a particular song key, to make the chord formations easier to play.

The Cakewalk

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The Cakewalk

Contributed by: Dick Pierce

cakeIn the late 1800s and early 1900s, the “Cakewalk” was a dance sensation that swept the country. It was a couples’ dance that very often took the form of a contest. Couples would form a large square with the men on the outside and the women on the inside and strut around the square in cadence to a lively tune. Judges considered the elegance, grace and inventiveness of the dancers and would eliminate couples one by one. The last couple remaining was awarded a large, highly decorated cake which had been in plain sight throughout the contest. Today the term “cakewalk” usually implies something that is very easy. The dance itself, however, could be physically demanding but always considered an enjoyable recreation. The common expression “takes the cake” also comes directly from this activity.

The original dance had African-American roots dating back to the early days of slavery in the South. On Sundays, when there was little work on the plantations, slaves would gather to do a high kicking, prancing couple’s “walk around,” accompanied mostly by banjos, fiddles and drums. Originally the intention was to parody the elegant, stately European dances of their owners, often with an exaggerated grace that was sometimes comical. The owners were mainly amused and delighted and often awarded a prize to the couple that was judged to be the best. At some point the custom began of offering a cake to the winning couple. According to one source, the cakewalk was still popular at the dances of “ordinary folks” after the Civil War.

Later the cakewalk was performed in minstrel shows and musicals by professional entertainers who achieved a level of virtuosity in their improvised moves. It evolved eventually in the 1890s into the dance that became wildly popular in fashionable ballrooms throughout the country. As the dance grew in popularity, much music was published for the cakewalk, usually with “Cakewalk” in the title. One internet source lists over 145 pieces. Kerry Mills (composer of Redwing) wrote a number of cakewalks and is credited by some with starting the cakewalk craze. Typically the music was written in 2/4 time with two alternate heavy beats per measure, giving it the effect of an “oompah” rhythm. Many of the tunes have a minor key beginning and a major key ending.

In 1896 a young woman named Sadie Koninsky from Troy, New York walked into a large New York City music publisher with a letter of introduction and a tune that she had written. She was a department store clerk and ran a music counter. Dave Reed Jr., a well known lyricist of the time, wrote some words and Eli Green’s Cakewalk became a hit. (Who Eli Green was remains a mystery!) Its only real competition that year was At a
Georgia Camp Meeting written by Kerry Mills, also a cakewalk. Miss Koninsky never wrote another hit.

As the first decade of the twentieth century came to an end, the cakewalk as a musical composition began to decline in popularity and gave way to the ragtime piano music of Scott Joplin and others. Although rags and cakewalks share many similarities, the cakewalk was intended primarily for dancing while the rags were written more for listening and are generally considered more “musically sophisticated.” There has been some mislabeling of rags as cakewalks and vice versa, partly because the two forms of
music are syncopated and have an “intoxicating effect.” Nevertheless, the cakewalk is considered an important precursor to classic ragtime music. Like the rags, most cakewalks originally were written as piano compositions. Some of the music has been integrated into the old-time fiddle repertoire although not to the extent that the rags have been.

Enjoy playing Eli Green(e)’s Cakewalk! (It is worthy of note here that another of our repertoire tunes, Southern Aristocracy also comes from this era and is classified as a cakewalk.)