August 2012 1

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Nashville Old-Time String Band Association : NOTSBA

nashvilleoldtime.org Post Office Box 160038 Nashville, Tennessee 37216

August 2012

Uncle Dave Macon Days Old-Time Contest Winners MURFREESBORO, TN — Organizers of the 35th annual Uncle Dave Macon Days announce the winners of the 2012 mu-sic and dance competitions, the Motorless Parade and arts and crafts award recipients, and the Macon-Doubler Fellow-ship honorees. Visit uncledavemacondays.com for more information.

2012 Uncle Dave Macon Days Old-Time Contests

Old-Time Singing 1, Daniel Rothwell; 2, Elizabeth Dunlap; 3, Bruce Nemerov.

Guitar 1, Andrew Rigney; 2, Rob Pearcy; 3, Tyler Andal.

Mandolin 1, Grant Rigney; 2, Ryan Holliday; 3, Andrew Rigney.

Traditional Fiddle 1, Kelsey Wells; 2, Tyler Andal; 3, Evan Johnson.

Old-Time Banjo* 1, Lucas Pool; 2, Victor Furtado; 3, Tyler Andal.

Old-Time Band 1, Hogslop String Band; 2, T.Z. Brothers; 3, Lookout Mountain Sidewinders.

* National championships in these categories

The Judges for the old-time contests were as follows: John Fabke, Ron Ault, and Tom Winters. The 36th annual festival will be held July 12-14, 2013.

Buchanan Log House to Hold a Benefit Yard Sale August 18: Please Help with Assistance and Donations

The Buchanan Log House relies on continuing efforts like this yard sale to keep its doors open to us, other groups that use its space, and to the history-loving public. The yard sale is to be held from 7 AM to 12 Noon.

Please consider supporting the benefit in any of three ways:

1. Donate items for sale. Items can be brought to Buchanan Log House on Thursday and Friday, August 16 and 17, from 10 AM to 6 PM. Items should be clean and in good saleable condition.

2. Volunteer to work at the sale. There are two shifts available: From 6 AM to 9:30 AM, or 9:30 AM to 1 PM. These shifts allow for time before the sale to set up and time after the end of the sale for clean up.

3. Rent a space for $25 to sell your own items. Each renter is responsible for setting up and tearing down his space and keeps total proceeds of own sales.

To help out in any way, please contact Judy Vecchione at 615-424-7548 or bjvecchione@comcast.net.

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The Mecklenburg County Market 2004 This month we thank Tom Walsh over in North Carolina for a great tool as a special attachment to the newsletter. Sev-eral years ago Tom and his playing friends saw the need for memory assistance, and he began to notate and assemble this collection of fiddle tune beginnings for all parts of the tunes they played. They are arranged alphabetically and by key. The collection does not contain every tune you might ever have heard, and there are some new to us.

The list and tunes are always subject to correction, and Tom sent a revision when I asked if I could include it as a tool for our group this month. Tom graciously allows us full use of these copyrıghted sheets, and even though we’re sending them to you through the newsletter for you to print out, some of us will want copies that show the notation much larger. Look at the attachments to see what I mean. I will try to get larger ones printed to have available at jams.

Tom says: “This list includes all tunes played at jam sessions at the Mecklenburg Country Market in the year 2004. We have jam sessions just about every Wednesday and Saturday year 'round. If you are in the Charlotte, NC area, please give Tom Walsh a call at (704) 535-4400, or email him at localtomatoes@bellsouth.net, and join us.” ~MLD

The fine print: We appreciate the significant grant funding from TAC that helped bring presenters to Breakin’ Up Winter XVII. We have been approved for a TAC grant for BUW XVIII, for which we are very grateful.

NOTSBA’s Purpose: ...preservation and promotion of old-time string band music by bringing together people interested in old-time music...and by reaching out to the community through public performances, workshops, seminars, festivals, and other public outreach, informational, and educational activities.

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Nashville Old-Time String Band Association. NOTSBA is a volunteer organization. While we strive for accuracy, we do not label as “official” any content found here. Have an idea for an article? Please e-mail me at mldurham1@juno.com

Guitar Intensive: August’s Fifth-Thursday Specialty Workshop We’re happy to present Mike Baugh teaching a session for guitar-ists for NOTSBA’s August Fifth-Thursday Specialty Workshop.

These free workshops focus on the playing of the various instru-ments most found in old-time music, and we hope they offer ways for us to enrich and expand our playing, and sometimes our singing, helping us develop in new directions, learn new strategies, and open our views to approachable horizons in the ever-expanding world of improving what we practice.

Mike Baugh has been playing guitar since he was a mere lad, and has toured professionally all over the United States with country bands. He has played old-time with our group since our beginnings in the 1990s. Though the workshop is on how to play the guitar, tunes will be employed for demonstration purposes, and Mike has hundreds of those.

Please join us at Buchanan Log House from 7 to 9 PM on Thursday, August 30, for Mike’s guitar intensive. Mike Baugh at Grassmere’s Harvest Days in September, 2010

This was the circle during its development stage at Bubba and Mary Logan’s home on the fourth Sunday of July. More folks arrived shortly after this scene was captured. pics: MLD

Photo: Woody Hall

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Go to YouTube (www.youtube.com), type “Franklin George Ebenezer” in the search box, and you’ll find Franklin George playing his version of “Ebenezer” at the 2009 Breakin’ Up Winter festival. He plays it a little differently than I’ve heard it in the NOTSBA jams, so I thought I’d take a look at it. I’ve notated above what I heard. Of course, he plays it differently on each pass through the tune, but that’s the nature of o ld-time music. I’m sure that if asked he’d reply, “That’s the way I played it on that day at that time!” I tried to capture his bowing, but couldn’t follow it on the video, so the upstrokes and slurs notated are what I heard. Here are some notes on points of interest:

Most of it is straightforward bowing, with some shuffle strokes and some grace notes, no surprises.

In the 5th and 6th measures of part A, he changes bow direction when he changes strings. That works out pretty well.

In the 7th measure of part B, it’s the same story: His bow direction changes when the string changes.

In the 5th measure of part B, the last two notes (A to D) are a little tricky until you realize they’re both played by the third finger and can be handled by barring both strings when you hit the first A note.

He plays it through four and a half times, playing it slightly differently each time, except the third time where he throws in an inter-esting variation on the B part. And even this part varies between the first and second pass. Notice that in the fifth and sixth bars he goes to the C chord. All in all, Franklin George is a treasure. It was a lot of fun picking through his performance and finding all the hidden delights within. Now all I gotta do is learn to play it that-a-way and look relaxed while I do it. ~Ray Mathes

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Scheduled Jams

August 2, First-Thursday Performance Group Practice

The Notsba performance group practices from 7 to 9 PM at the Buchanan Log House, 2910 Elm Hill Pike. This is the or-ganization’s only closed monthly event, and it is open to all members who want to work together to polish tunes and occasional songs to get them performance-ready.

August 9, 2012, Second-Thursday Regular Jam

Come to Buchanan Log House for this regular jam of tunes called around the circle played at the usual speeds. All acoustic players of old-time music are welcome at this jam that has no entrance fee.

August 16, Third-Thursday Jam

We’ll meet from 7:30 to 9:30 PM, at the Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee 37209. For more information, visit nashvillefriendsmeeting.org. The Friends request a donation of only $2 from each partici-pant to help heat and cool the building. They welcome inquiries from groups regarding the building’s availability. The aesthetics here, both acoustic and visual, are exceptional.

DIRECTIONS: The meetinghouse is on the west side of 26th Avenue North, just two blocks north of Charlotte Avenue. It is on the southwest corner at the intersection of 26th Avenue North and Torbett Street.

August 23, Fourth-Thursday Jam

This jam takes place at Church of the Advent. It is a regular jam, with tunes called by players around the circle from 7 to 9 PM. Everyone wanting to play old-time string band music is welcome. There is no charge to attend.

August 26, Fourth-Sunday Jam

We’re happy that Martin and Beth Fisher will host from 2 until 5:30 PM. We’ll take a break for potluck snacks as al-ways, so feel free to bring a treat. Martin invites us all to swim in their pool, so if you wish, bring a bathing suit and a towel. Cooling down with a dip might be just the perfect contrast for the hot tunes of the afternoon!

The address is 4816 Foley Drive, Nashville, TN 37211.

Directions: Go west on Harding Place from I-24 southeast of Nashville. Turn left on Humber Drive. Go one block and turn right onto Wallace. Take the next left onto Foley Drive. The Fisher’s house is on the left. Park along the street. Call if you get lost. The phone numbers are, H: 315-0611, and Martin’s C: 390-2337.

August 30, Fifth-Thursday Specialty Workshop: Guitar

Mike Baugh will take guitarists through some important points for old-time players of that instrument. Mike is a won-derfully supportive player and really makes his playing companions sound good. Sitting in on this session will give you an appreciation for the finesse and nuance that you, as a skilled and creative guitar player, can bring to your musical mix, no matter what genre you are playing. Come join in from 7-9 PM at Buchanan Log House.

Other Area Old-Time Jams

The Fiddle and Pick in Pegram often hosts old-time and other genres’ events. Check fiddleandpick.ning.com for their calendar: First and Third Tuesdays, August 7 and 21, are scheduled old-time jams from 7 to 9:30 PM.

The 5 Spot has a Wednesday Night Old-time Jam each week. This neighborhood tavern and music venue located in East Nashville has become an OT institution. Stay up late and see what the kids are up to. You can buy great beer at this lively venue. Check it and Redeyed Rooster out on Facebook, and search for “Holler and Stomp,” too, for their spin-off dances and other rousing events in and around Nashville.

The Fiddle House in East Nashville will have OT jams again in September. Check the beautiful Website for more in-formation, thefiddlehouse.com. Visit with our friend, fiddler Tyler Andal who rehairs bows there.