Fred_C Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Last night, I sat down with my acoustic to play the music of Doc Watson. I wanted to play in remembrance of a very fine man and a truly gifted musician. I did not do the music justice. Yeah, I got through it, but my right hand was very sloppy. I haven't played "Travis Style" in about three or four years. Muscle Memory only goes so far. So, I'm going into the shed for awhile until I get my chops back. I hope Doc's spirit doesn't mind waiting for a couple of weeks until I get my act together. If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesape Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Hi Bluesape, FUNNY! If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Good luck with it Fred and I know you'll do it justice just for Doc... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Now, don't be kickin' yourself so hard, nothing wrong with being (A) HUMAN and (B) honest, sincere, humble and objective enough to measure, weigh and consider your abilities and work towards where you want to be. Doc, among others, would be PROUD of you. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Larry, Thanks! Fred If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Caevan, Thanks! Fred If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Speaking of Travis style Fred, a new trio I'm playing in will be playing 16 Tons. In checking out the song by T. Earnie Ford recorded in the 50's I found out that it was written by Merle Travis. Merle says on Youtube that he didn't really like the song that he wrote in the 40's, that is until TEF recorded it and made him a million bucks or so, and now he loves the song and owes it all to TEF...maybe you could do 16 Tons some justice while you're doing some woodshedding... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hey Larry, I use "Travis Style" as a kind of generic description of playing with a Thumb and 2 fingers, with the thumb playing a constant alternating bass and the fingers playing melody on top. I have also heard this style referred to as "Clawhammer" as well as the generic term "Fingerpicking". When I was a young lad in the 60's, my teacher, the great Philadelphia Jerry Ricks, emphasized the music of Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Blake, Sam McGee and the rest of those great old bluesmen. I was really fortunate to find Jerry as a teacher. He was, like almost all great teachers, demanding as hell and often used to yell, curse at me and insult me. It was his way of motivating me. One of my favorite stories about Jerry is that one day after a lesson I was packing up and he said "You know, I like the way you play country guitar. But, you're the worst blues player I've ever heard." Jerry knew that I wanted to be a bluesman. He taught me Blue Smoke and Windy and Warm. Both of which are Doc Watson tunes but may have been written by Merle Travis, I'm not sure. To be perfectly honest, the only tunes I've ever heard Merle Travis play are Dark as a Dungeon (sp?) and possibly Sixteen Tons, neither of these two tunes offers any insight into Merle Travis' technical brilliance. I was looking on Amazon and saw a recording of Doc Watson playing with Merle Travis. I think I may buy it. Anyway, thanks for thinking of me. Regards. If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcbn_unVhRU <----click on this one Fred...I know your teacher Jerry inspired you...and you'll find this story interesting...take care, Larryz Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 Larry, Thanks again for thinking of me. I had not idea that Merle Travis would be on Youtube. He really had that Texas Swing rhythm goin' on. Didn't he? Sounds very much like Chet Atkins, or maybe I should say that Chet Atkins sounds like him. I think that I must not have enough memory in my machine. Videos buffer for 30-40 seconds and then playback for 5-6 seconds at a time. Not very artistically satisfying. Thanks again. If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p90jr Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Cool, Fred. I look for stuff to go into the shed for all the time. Albert Lee, Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Thompson are keeping me busy at the moment, and hybrid picking, Travis-picking, finger-picking and banjo rolls are the big reason for that... and I'm happy to be frustrated and challenged. One of these years I'll get it all down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Hey Man, I'm down with that, 100%. It is important to constantly challenge yourself. About 10 years ago, I decided to pursue jazz guitar. In that time I've studied with two excellent teachers. I am now focused on playing Jazz Standards in Chord Melody style. It's really terrific. Working through those incredibly complex harmonies and all those gorgeous, lush chord voicings has been the most rewarding musical pursuit of my life so far. Like Travis style, you are responsible for playing melody, harmony and rhythm all at the same time. It's just way jazzier because rather than being harmonized in thirds, the music is harmonized in sevenths. Good Luck to you in your musical pursuits and thanks for communicating with me. Regards. If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.