Judson Carroll

r ransom wrote:In the first video, the person uses his little finger to press down the string.  

In other videos, they don't need that finger.  

Is it possible to play without the little finger pressing down the string?  

Is it possible?  Yes.  Django Reinhardt, certainly one of the greatest guitar players of all time, only had use of two fingers and his thumb due to an accident. Is it ideal? No. You have four strings and four fingers. In the long run, it is better to use four and the thumb sometimes, but if that is not possible you can adapt.

Show 271: Ivy

This week, we discuss the medicinal uses of Ivy. This common landscaping plant has some remarkable properties!

https://judsoncarroll.substack.com/p/show-271-ivy

Never pigeon hole your instrument!

Big Boss Man and remembering Bob Weir

I show you how to play my version of Big Bos Man as more of a Memphis style blues, influenced by Charlie Rich and Jerry Reed.  I also discuss the Grateful Dead and their huge influence on the music we now call Americana.

https://youtu.be/JZJad7C4YSg

Don't forget used instruments - check pawn shops, thrift stores, charity shops and online.

BTW, be sure to pull up some Ukulele Ike, Cliff Edwards on youtube.  He was the voice of Jimny Crickett and a fantastic musician.  His life was tragic, but his talent was immense.  He mixed chord melody with excellent single note soling that really put him on par with the greatest jazz guitarists of the era.  He also played a mean kazoo!

r ransom wrote:For people who know how to play musical instruments, when do they play it?  Or is it always just practice?

With tv, radio, and busy lives, it feels like there is very little occasion to just play music for music's sake. Or am I wrong?

If I did learn, I would play for my chickens.  They put up with my terrible singing every night, so maybe they would like this better?

But what do normal people do?

At first, it takes an hour a day, every day.  After a few years 10-15 minutes will do.  Leave it where you will see it regularly and just grab it in a spare minute. Most of the best players practice while watching tv.  Jerry Garcia and Joe Pass would just run scales and such while zoning out, developing muscle memory. Others, like Barney Kessel dedicated specific hours in a day for structured practice, but playing guitar was his job. The other end of the spectrum isn't healthy - John Coltrane would practice for more than 24 hours straight just playing variations on the C scale, modes and arpeggios.  That was driven both by an obsessive personality and drugs, and it probably killed him.  A lot of pros barely practice at all, but play live and jam several nights a week. Amateurs shouldn't push too hard - keep it fun. Finger soreness will be an issue for the first year or so, so don't play so much that it hurts or you'll stop. Coltrane did have some good advice - learn everything, practice everything, but once you have all that down, forget about structure and just play what you feel.  Always hum along when you solo so the hands connect with the brain, ear and voice.  Your instrument should become a second voice eventually.  Be sure to tap your foot because rhythm is the most important thing.  BTW, a lot of the successful rock and folk players I have met know very little about music theory and do what they do with just a few basic chords and pentatonic (5 note) scales.  You can do a lot with 3 chords and a few notes.

r ransom wrote:Any suggestions on a good book to get started?

I want to play style where the instrument is the melody and i don't have to sing.  What is that called?

I really like the old Roy Smeck books, but it depends on the style of music you want to play.  The old guys, pre 1940 or so, all played chord melody style because that is how early jazz was played.  Later, when folk, rock and modern pop became more popular, playing single note melodies became more common.  Most of the Hawaiian players do both.  Either way, a basic method book that shows simple, 3 note chords and basic scales is the place to start.

But.... if anyone ever needs a good mandolin book, I just published one!  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G7XXKVHZ

M Ljin wrote:

r ransom wrote:What i really like is something like the mandolin, but they are crazy expencive.

If I can learn the ukulele, is it close enough to the mandolin or lute?  They have strings, so it can't be that different.

Or am I dreaming?

I believe you can rearrange the strings and tune a ukulele to mandolin tuning. But the mandolin has four courses of doubled strings—so two of each ring out the same note at the same time. And I don’t know if most ukuleles can accommodate steel strings (which would make it more mandolin-like). Mandolin is also played with a pick which is unusual for nylon-stringed instruments. If you wanted to learn it as a step towards mandolin that might make sense.

As for lute, that is the entire family of instruments—all of the instruments above except the mountain dulcimer are lutes. It usually refers to ones with a rounded back but there are countless different kinds.

You could tune a uke to a 5ths tuning, but you couldn't use steel strings.  The 5ths tuning is much higher tension.  I have tuned my baritone like a tenor guitar, CGDA, but it is hard not to break a string.  A little, soprano uke might do mandolin tuning GDAE.  But, I think standard tuning would be best long term.  Any books or videos you learn from will use standard tuning.