Hello (extra) Ordinary Folk,
Can't sleep and thoughts of my promise to recap our last practice came to mind.  Why not?
Julie hostessed Howard, Nathan, and myself and we ran through the following:
(1)Angel from Montgomery by John Prine in D
(2)Red Clay Halo by Gillian Welch in G
(3)I'll Fly Away in D (I like the version from the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" movie)
and a version of 
(4)Darling Corey by Flatts and Scruggs in D

If I were super ambitious, I would scan and attach copies, but it is after 1 in the morning.
Missing you Ashley! Hope your trip is great!

see y'all soon.

The Chords that Bind Us Together

Okay guys, there's been some confusion on chord placement in a few of our pieces, and I wanted to sketch out a few verses just to make sure we're all playing the same thing by Sunday.  I've been sloppy about it myself, and half the time the instructions I give during sessions are, um, garbled.  So here it is in writing!

The instrumental solo breaks are still the same as noted in the previous entry, but I've added information on intros and ending tags.  Also, if anyone is still lacking a printout of any needed music, please let me know, and I'll get it to you ASAP.

Tell Me Ma/Girl from Dublin City (formerly Belle of Belfast)

D D G D / D A A D
D D G D / D A A D
D D G G / D D A A
D D G G / D A A-D D

      D        D             G     D               D               A            A       D
I'll tell me Ma, when I go home, the boys won't leave the girls alone

          D          D                    G            D             D            A          A     D
They pull my hair and they stole my comb, but that's all right 'til I get home

D        D                G      G          D            D             A         A
She is handsome, she is pretty, she is the girl from Dublin city

D           D          G   G      D                        A         A     D D
She is a-courtin' 1 2 3 oh please won't you tell me who is she?

(Intro to this one is a "last 2 lines" melodic lead-in from the dulcimer; tag is "shave and a haircut" from anyone who wants to play it.  Notes are "d a-a b a, c# d.")

King of the Fairies

Take out all B7 chords (there are 3).  Just continue with whatever chord came before it.

Bard of Armagh

D G D A
D A D G
D A7 D A
D A D A-D

       D            G           D              A
Oh, list to the lay of a poor Irish harper

        D                   A                     D                 G
And scorn not the strings of this withered old hand

    D                 A7                D                           A
Remember his fingers, they once could move sharper

     D                  A                    D         A    D
To raise up the mem'ry of his dear native land

(Intro to this one is a "last 2 lines" instrumental lead-in.  Banjolele for the 1st line, everyone for the 2nd.  The tag is an instrumental repeat of the last line, ritardando.  Also, this is faster than we had previously practiced it.  Good waltz tempo with lots of swing.)

Rosin the Beau

D D D G / D D G A
D D D G / D A D D
D D G G / D D G A
D D D G / D A D D

        D                D            D                 G   D           D           G  A
I've traveled all over this wide world, and now to another I go-o

           D                       D                D          G  D                   A             D D
And I know that good quarters are waiting to welcome old Rosin the Beau

       D                  D            G  G       D                   D             G      A
To welcome old Rosin the Beau, to welcome old Rosin the Beau-o

          D                        D                D          G  D                  A              D D
And I know that good quarters are waiting to welcome old Rosin the Beau

(Intro is a "last 2 lines" dulcimer lead-in.  The first line is going to be silly and slow; I'll set the actual tempo on the second line.  No tag, but ritardando on final line, "Take a drink with old Rosin the Beau.")

House Cafe on March 14th

Hi guys, here's a recap of our performance plans for The House:

Open with Belle of Belfast:

• 8 measure dulcimer intro
• Chorus (which doubles as the first verse) - All Sing
• 2nd verse - Ashley sings
• Chorus - All Sing
• instrumental solo (a verse's worth)
• 3rd verse - Ashley sings
• Chorus - All Sing

On the "All Sing" chorus parts, y'all can just sing the second half (she is handsome, she is pretty...) if you would prefer.  Honestly, whatever you think sounds good.

Next is King of the Fairies:

• Play the entire piece, including the repeat of the first section, twice.  

Third will be Bard of Armagh.  Nathan, will you be able to sing this?

• Verse 1
• Verse 2
• violin solo
• Verse 3
• Verse 4
• tin whistle solo
• Verse 5
• Verse 6

Last will be Rosin the Beau:

• Three chords only, D G & A.  Forget the Bm and Em, we're keeping it simple.
• I don't remember how many verses there are!  But Howard is singing all of them, and Laura and I will harmonize on the response sections (if we're lucky, maybe the audience will too).  Nathan, you can either join in on the responses or maybe split the verses with Howard?  You guys work that out.

We have one more official OF practice on March 13th before this performance.  My March 6th (Sunday) is open if you guys want an extra session.  Julie has offered her house as a venue.  Let me know what you think.

Gearing Up for the World Tour...

...and by "World," I mean The House Cafe, a UUFD service, and the Gurler House Folk Music Festival.  It's a small world, after all.

Last Sunday's meeting was very productive, although we pined for our fiddler and hope she feels better soon.  We evaluated our repertoire, added a bit, and committed to the aforementioned performances.

DATES:

March 14th (a Monday) for Open Mike at The House Cafe.  Do we need to pre-register for that?  We'll do an Irish set in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  I think we might be limited to a set of 3 (anyone know?), but we're working up all of these:

• Rosin the Beau (key of D).  Here's one version -- I'm not sure about that Em chord.  We'll try it with and without and see which we prefer.  This one goes on for awhile, so we're thinking about taking turns with the verses to give each others' voices a break.
• Wearing of the Green (key of G). Howard has been looking at variations of this -- do you have a link to one you like? We haven't discussed who will sing this yet, but it seems like a Howard kind of song to me.
• King of the Fairies (key of Em).  This one is all instrumental.  Julie, I was thinking you and I could pass the melody back and forth from the fiddle to the tin whistle -- let's experiment.  It sounded pretty with the backup chords last Sunday.  Julie has extra copies if anyone needs one.
• Belle of Belfast/Tell Me Ma (key of D).  I will sing this one. Here it is (I may have a different version linked in the sidebar.  I need to update that thing.)
• Bard of Armagh (key of D). I brought this one in, but it's sung from a man's point of view.  Nathan, would you like to take the wheel on vocals?  Here's a link.  

Oh, you know what?  We forgot Molly Malone!  Do we want to add that in, too?  Key of G, I think.

March 20th (a Sunday) we will play Belle of Belfast as part of the UUFD church service, the theme is "Women Who Dare."  Hee.

June 18th (a Saturday) we will play for the Gurler House Folk Music Festival!  In addition to the Irish pieces, we will also prepare/dust off the following:

• Paradise (key of G)
• Shine (key of G)
• Ripple (key of G)
• Sun's Gonna Shine (key of D) - I'll make copies
• Red Clay Halo - Nathan has copies?
• Teach Your Children (key of G)
• Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms - Laura has copies?

Whew!  Did I forget anything?  We're gonna have some fun.  :)  -Ashley

Folkin' It Up

Hi everyone, sorry about the last minute post (again).  I was camping last week and didn't feel up to blogging on a phone.  It rained, and there were no singalongs around the smoldering campfire, so I'm glad to be back.  :)

Last session we talked about working up enough of a repertoire to be able to perform at the Gurler House Folk Music Festival next summer.  The board would need a sample recording of us by October, and we'd need to tell them What Kind of Music We Play.

It seems that most of us want to play classics from the Folk Revival era of the 60s and 70s, with some turn-of-the-(previous)-century classic dance tunes, cowboy songs, and Irish Traditional thrown in.  I love all of it.  I do wonder about copyright issues for songs too new for the Public Domain, but I'd want to learn them regardless.

Suggestions included:

• Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Simon & Garfunkel - in G
• Red River Valley - Traditional - in G or D, whichever is easier for the majority to sing
• City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie - in G
• Teach Your Children - Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - in D
• Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
• Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
• Rainbow Connection

How about if each of us picks a song or two for this week and brings ~5 copies of chords and lyrics to distribute?  I'll take Teach Your Children and City of New Orleans.  Leave a comment to give us a heads up on what you're bringing.  If you're passionate about a song that's not on the list, go with your passion!

So Now What?

Okay guys, what do we want to learn next?  Laura wants to do "A Few Old Memories"

G
Just a few old memories 
C
Slipped in through my door 
G
Though I thought I had closed it 
D
So tightly before 
G
I can't understand it 
C
Why it should bother my mind 
G D G
For it all belongs to another place and time 

G C
Just a few old keep-sakes 
G
Way back on the shelf 
C
No, they don't mean nothin' 
D
Well I'm surprised they're still left 
G
Just a few old love letters 
C
With the edges all brown 
G
And an old faded picture 
D G
I keep turned upside-down 

G C G D G

G 
Just a few old memories 
C
Going way back in time 
G
Well I can hardly remember 
D
I don't know why I'm cryin' 
G
I can't understand it 
C
Well I'm surprised myself 
G
First thing tomorrow morning 
D G
I'll clean off that shelf 

G C
Just a few old keep-sakes 
G
Way back on the shelf 
C
No, they don't mean nothin' 
D
Well I'm surprised they're still left 
G
Just a few old love letters 
C
With the edges all brown 
G
And an old faded picture 
D G
I keep turned upside-down

Julie gave me a link to NPR's 100 Most Essential Folk Songs, and I recognize several of them (we've even tried a few) and would love to learn several more.

Nathan and Julie both have expressed interest in learning traditional "old timey" dance/fiddle tunes, which sounds great.  We'll talk tomorrow!

We Did It!

Julie, Laura, Howard, Nathan, and Ashley performed on a stage.  Nobody threw rotten produce.  It was awesome!

Here's Turn, Turn, Turn

Paradise

My Rainbow Race

and Shine.

In the Merry Month of May, the 5 of us worked with diligence and focus to this end.  I want to assure anyone who is interested in Ordinary Folk that our group is open to ALL levels of skill, from the seasoned performer to the newest musician who has never picked up an instrument.  All you need is the desire to play and the patience to try.  Come as you are, whenever you can.  Our next meeting is Sunday, June 14th.