The Bluegrass Shack

What Makes a Good Band Practice?

2012-01-29T22:03:00.000-06:00

I love having a good band practice! It is so wonderful to do something that I enjoy with people that I like. It's even better when I feel like we have accomplished something. So, what has to happen to make a "good" band practice?

Several words come to mind: fun, creativity, flexibility, improvement.

For starters, not all band practices are for the same purpose. So, what is the purpose of your practice? Is it to practice for a specific gig? Is it to make decisions about upcoming gigs, recordings (CDs) or other important issues? Is it to work on several specific songs? Is it to decide on new songs that the band will work up? These are important questions to ask, because otherwise you will not get much accomplished.

I would say the thing I love the most about practicing with The Chris Talley Trio is that we have lots of fun! The best part of this fun is that it doesn't keep us from accomplishing what we need to get done. If there are mistakes, they are funny. If someone needs helps getting a harmony part down, or figuring out chords, or whatever, we do it together as many times as it takes to get it. No one complains. In fact, many times we just blame everything on Zane...or Carla...or Emily...or me! There's plenty to go around. We tell stories, listen to Zane's stories, and make stuff up as we go.

If we have a specific gig to prepare for, we start by putting together a setlist. We decide if we need to learn new songs, or if we know enough already for what we need to do. Some of our gigs require special songs, like playing specific songs for a wedding, or playing fiddle tunes for a dance, or playing for the Victorian Fest and doing Civil War era songs. We are very fortunate in this area because Zane knows more than 400 songs by memory! (By the way, we don't allow Zane to get sick. We need him too much!) We usually prepare this setlist during practice.

Once we have a setlist put together, we start working on all the songs. We decide who is singing lead and who is going to sing what specific harmony part. We also decide on instrumentation. Since Emily and I both play multiple instruments, we can choose what instruments we think will sound the best or that we can play the best for each particular song. The first practice for something like this doesn't usually yield the "End Product." It does get us started, though! Sometimes during these practices, I will record harmony parts and either e-mail them or put them on a disk for us. This allows us to remember what we worked up and also allows each member to practice the specific parts we worked out. I also e-mail or make a copy of the proposed list with the keys that we are doing everything in and all of our practice notes.

Practice notes -- this leads me to another very important part of practice! With four reasonably normal people, you would think we would be able to remember what we talked about and decided on for a list of songs, wouldn't you? It's really pathetic how quickly we forget our decisions. Sometimes even I can't make heads or tails out of my own practice notes! I have learned to take very good practice notes and not abbreviate too much. What do I put in my practice notes? I put just about everything we decided on about a song in the practice notes:

* Who kicks off the song, on what instrument, and how (e.g., turnaound, full break)
* Who is singing lead and who is singing what harmony part(s)
* What word do we start singing harmony on if it is not the first word of the chorus
* How to pronounce certain words, if this is an issue
* Phrasing and breathing
* Key changes, if there are any
* Instrument changes during the song, if there are any
* Anything special that we did with rhythm or chords
* A Capella parts (vocal-only parts)
* Split breaks
* Endings (tags? A Capella? instrumental?)
* Did we decide to do only specific verses of a song and not the whole song?
* Notes that should make it to the final setlist for our actual performance
* Anything else that we decided about the setlist

I usually don't worry about the order of the setlist until it gets closer to the gig. It is very important to create a setlist ahead of time and to go through the songs in the setlist in the order in which you intend to play them. Why? Because sometimes you get two songs back to back that you or someone else in the group is unable to play back to back. For example, Red Haired Boy and Salt Creek are probably not tunes you want to play back to back. They have such a similar chord structure that this can cause some musicians a problem. You might not even know why you can't play certain songs back to back -- you just find that you can't! Much better to find out before your gig than DURING your gig!

If we are working on songs for a CD that we are going to record, it is VERY important that we have a list from which to work! We usually go to the studio between two and four times, depending upon how many songs we are recording, how many hours we have the studio for, and how well-prepared we are. We talk about which songs we should record first. These are the ones that we feel the most comfortable with. You want to have a good start in the studio, plus you don't want to waste time practicing in the studio. Studio time costs too much to do any practicing there! We make sure everything is in its finest form before we take it to the studio. Notes allow each one of us to practice what we need to practice. It keeps us from forgetting to work on something that we need to work on.

Now to the more fun part of actually practicing. When we are working on arrangements, we all tend to come up with ideas. Some of the ideas come from making mistakes that we all decide we like. Some come from listening to other groups. Sometimes we just simply think that something might sound good, so we try it! Not all the ideas we come up with are good, but they are all worth trying. No one complains about having to try the ideas. Ever. We just do it! We have a lot of good-natured humor going around about each one of us. We do a lot of laughing, making faces, purposely playing stuff terribly, and eating. It's an event. Our practices usually last about four hours. We try to practice at least twice a month or even every week. It just depends upon how many gigs we have and what we need to accomplish.

Once we get everything down, we try to practice for overall improvement. This is when we work on things like cutting off words together, pronouncing words the same, equalizing harmony volumes, equalizing tone qualities of voices, and actually singing all the words with the same rhythm and inflection. We also work on instrumental background fill-ins. Sometimes we even change some of the things we decided on earlier. These are all things that I will put on our practice notes, too. We will also do practices where we stand up and work the mic just like we would do in a show.

I think the better you know someone, the more likely you are to know what they are going to do. This is so important for a band. We use so much eye contact and body language to tell each other what to do or not to do. It is important that we all like each other and can have fun with each other. If I give someone the "eye," they know something important is coming up. If I need Emily to take a break, I give her the eye and nod my head. She knows exactly what I mean. When Zane is getting ready to end a song that doesn't have a tag (or if he wants to end something early), he lifts the headstock of his guitar slightly and then we all know what to do. If one of us is too far from the microphone, a simple look and nod takes care of it. Things like staying directly in front of the mic or moving immediately away from the mic all give clues as to what needs to be done.

One of the best things you can do yourself to make band practices go better is to come prepared. Make sure you know what you are supposed to know. If you are singing lead, get your words memorized quickly so you can practice without the words. Make sure you know your instrumental break. It is very frustrating for others in the band if you always come unprepared. The rest of the band members don't want to hear your excuse. We all have busy lives.

The second best thing you can do for yourself is to be forgiving and forbearing. We all have bad days where it seems nothing we play comes out right. Or we can't remember the words to save our life. Or it was extra stressful at work, at home, or whatever! My band members are like family to me. We love and forgive each other. None of us are even close to being perfect! Making fun of yourself can really release tension. Take the blame for something that obviously wasn't your fault. It will make everyone else laugh and it will relieve any stress!

Playing together in a band is one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. If you haven't tried it yet, do it! Get some friends together and play for nursing homes or private parties! You'll become a better musician and you'll have so much fun!

Another UPS Blunder

2012-01-28T15:38:00.000-06:00

I posted a link to my blog about UPS on my own Facebook site, The Bluegrass Shack's FB site, and also UPS' FB site. I finally got a response from someone named Moe. Moe works for UPS and apparently monitors the UPS FB page. Here is his response to why our package was claimed as being insufficient. Once again, UPS has it wrong and doesn't know what it's talking about!

January 28, 2012 - Moe's e-mail to me:

Thank you for sending your concerns to us via e-mail. In reviewing the details of your claim, it appears as though it was denied based on the burst strength of the exterior packaging. The packaging that housed your materials was a corrugated box with 199 pounds per inch burst strength. To accommodate our shipping systems and conveyor belts, we require corrugated boxes to be of at least a 200 pounds per inch burst strength. I absolutely understand how such a miniscule oversight would upset you and have escalated a Corporate Concerns case regarding this issue. A dedicated Case Manager will contact you on Monday; 1/30/2012 in order to further research this situation and work on your case. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Here is my reply to Moe:

Thank you for your reply. Once again, UPS doesn't know what it's talking about. Our boxes are rated at 200 Pounds per inch. I have attached a picture of the bottom of the box that even states that right on the box. These are the only boxes we buy and have been buying since we opened here. Even if that was the case, the instrument was housed inside a hardshell case which was WAY more than 200 pounds per inch. The box was simply a place to put a label and a double-layer of protection. So please, I would LOVE to hear what the Case Manager has to say now. I'm sure it will be another excuse.

The End of UPS

2012-01-26T20:37:00.000-06:00

It's easy to see in this current world how businesses are not able to make it. Small companies, large companies...it all seems to come down to really poor business decisions, bad personnel, lack of communication, lack of follow-up, and lack of care for customers.

Take, for example, our most recent issue with UPS. We had a fiddle damaged in shipment in July of 2011. When I first received a call from Crawford, the company that handles all of UPS' claims, I was told they wouldn't even file a claim because I hadn't packaged the item correctly. They hadn't even seen the item yet! First of all, we buy special boxes for our fiddles and we only ship fiddles in cases. This particular fiddle was shipped in a wooden case with bubble wrap both inside and outside the case. The boxes are 36" x 12" x 10", and they are brand new -- shipped to us via diesel truck on a pallet.

I argued with the lady, who I didn't even realize wasn't with UPS at that point, until I finally got her to agree to file a claim. I was then told that the instrument sustained damage due to the heat, and that UPS was not responsible for any heat damage. They claimed that the neck had come loose from the fiddle at the glue joint. For those of you who don't know, fiddles are put together with heat-sensitive glue called hide glue. If this hide glue gets very, very hot, it might come loose. UPS claimed that this is what happened to the fiddle. I explained to the claims rep (Tamyra) that we had mailed a whole bunch of fiddles out during the heat and that none of them had sustained any damage. I did not think it was heat damage, but I had yet to see pictures or the instrument itself. I told her I didn't know if I wanted to continue using UPS. She told me she didn't care because she didn't work for UPS! This is when I found out that I was talking to someone at Crawford instead of UPS. I didn't know that UPS outsourced their claims.

I eventually got the fiddle back (October 2011) and was able to look at it myself. At that point, I saw that the damage to the neck of the fiddle was not at the glue joint. The heel itself was cracked in half where there wasn't a joint.

I called UPS back to see what I could do. At that point, I was originally told by UPS that this claim had already been denied twice, which was news to me, and that there was no overturning the decision at this point. I tried to call my Sales Support Representative, but found out that she no longer worked for UPS. When I tried to find out who my new rep was, no one seemed to be able to tell me. I eventually got the name of Jessica W. and spent quite a bit of time trying to resolve the issue with her. It all started with a phone call and then an e-mail to Jessica.

October 13, 2011 - Phone message and e-mail to Jessica. I attached pictures of the fiddle to the message.

This fiddle neck did not separate at a glue seam. It is broken at the heel. There is NO SEAM in this spot so it is impossible for it to have been caused by the glue getting hot as there is no glue in this spot. I just got this back from the customer today.

I will be contacting you again regarding this. Thank you.

October 20, 2011 - Finally received a response from Jessica.

When it comes to claims, all I can do is gather information. Crawford is the company that makes the decisions on the claims. I can not overturn these decisions. I did send the information on and explained what was explained to me. I will send this information to the Account Executive for your account to see if they can do anything. However, they must follow the same lines, we can only gather information, Crawford makes the decisions.

October 20, 2011 - My reply to Jessica.

Thank you for getting back to me. Who is the Account Executive for our account, and who do I need to talk to at Crawford? Also, how do I get in contact with these two people? Thanks!

October 26, 2011 - Haven't heard anything from anyone. I sent another e-mail to Jessica.

I am still waiting for your answer. Who is the Account Executive for our account, and who do I need to talk to at Crawford? Also, how do I get in contact with these two people? Thank you.

October 27, 2011 - Response from Jessica.

I have reached out to the AE for your account and am waiting on a reply. I will see if I can find a contact for Crawford, contact information should be on the information you received on the denied claim. How much was the product insured for?

October 27, 2011 - My reply to Jessica.

I believe I insured it for $800, but I am unable to access the history on the UPS website so I don't know for sure. Is there some other way I can look this up? Thanks.

November 14, 2011 - Still haven't heard from anyone. I sent another e-mail to Jessica.

It has been several weeks since I have heard from you again. No one has contacted me from the insurance company or from UPS. I asked on October 20, who is the Account Executive for our account, and who do I need to talk to at Crawford? Also, how do I get in contact with these two people?

November 15, 2011 - Response from Jessica.

I spoke with the Account Executive, she is only able to go to $200.00. The contact at Crawford would be on your claim information that it was denied and the contact information should be there as well.

November 15, 2011 - My reply to Jessica.

You still haven't answered my question. Who is my Account Executive and how do I get in touch with that person? Thank you.

November 16, 2011 - Response from Jessica

Your Account Executive is Alice D. and I reach out to her yesterday, she will be contacting you.

November 18, 2011 - I guessed at Alice's e-mail address since Jessica didn't provide it, and sent the following message.

As you can see from the accompanying messages, I have been corresponding with Jessica since October 13 and still do not have any answers to this UPS claim. I even spoke with Jessica prior to this and sent pictures, but did not get the violin back until the beginning of October to be able to send actual pictures of the damage to Jessica.

Jessica does not answer my questions and has been completely ineffective in helping me solve this problem. She did finally tell me you were my Account Executive. What can you do to help me with this issue? I think everything is explained in this e-mail if you read from the bottom up. If you need more pictures and/or information, please let me know. I will do whatever I can to help you out.

November 28, 2011 - Sent another message to Jessica.

I still haven't heard from anyone.

December 9, 2011 - Jessica's reply (finally).

I have sent another message to the AE to get in contact with you.

December 12, 2011 - Alice finally responds to my e-mail of November 18th.

My name is Alice Duncan and I am the account manager for Southwestern Illinois.

I received your message from our support team on Thursday, December 8th as well as from Jessica asking me to get in touch with you regarding this damage from July of 2011.

According to what I see in our records, the violin got too hot in transit and therefore separated from the base and there was no damage to the exterior carton. Due to this being a heat related damage, Crawford has stated the claim will not be paid according to our tariff terms and conditions noted below.

If you feel the need to pursue this further, then you will need to pursue this through legal action and I can no longer be involved. I am happy to send you further information on packaging guidelines and suggestions to help avoid this situation in the future. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused both you and your customer.

UPS Tariff Terms & Conditions: Perishable or Temperature Sensitive Items:

49.3 Exclusions from Liability

UPS shall not be liable or responsible for:

– loss or damage to articles of unusual value (as defined in these Terms);

– loss or damage to Prepaid Letters;

– loss or damage to any package resulting from insects, moths, vermin, inherent vice, deterioration, dampness of atmosphere, extreme of temperature, ordinary wear and tear, or that which occurred or arose prior to or after the course of transportation by UPS;

– loss or damage to any package resulting from improper, inadequate or unsafe packaging or wrapping that fails to meet UPS's published standards related thereto set forth in the Terms or at ups.com;

– loss or damage to Perishable Commodities to the extent the loss or damage results from exposure to heat or cold or the perishable nature of the item; – loss or damage to human remains, fetal remains, human body parts, or components thereof;

– loss or damage to fluorescent tubes or bulbs;

– loss or damage due to war risks, acts of God, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, nuclear damage, acts of public authorities acting with actual or apparent authority, acts or omissions of customs or similar authorities, authority of law, the application of security regulations imposed by the government or otherwise applicable to the shipment, riots, strikes or other labor disputes, civil unrest, disruptions in air or ground transportation networks, disruption or failure of communication and information systems, or natural disasters;

– loss or damage to any package for which UPS has no record reflecting that the package was tendered to UPS by the shipper; or

– loss or damage to any package containing articles that shippers are prohibited from shipping, that UPS does not or is not authorized to accept for transportation, that UPS states that it will not accept, or that UPS has a right to refuse.

Thank you for you time.

December 13, 2011 - My response to Alice.

I was wanting to talk with you on the phone. The fiddle DID NOT sustain heat damage. I have the instrument here and the neck is broken in half and it is not on a glue joint, therefore it cannot be heat related. The instrument was well packed, in a box that is purchased especially for violins, and it was in a suspension case surrounded by bubble wrap. Please call me. Thank you.

December 27, 2011 - Posted on UPS' Facebook page in response to another person's complaint that UPS was not honoring its damage claims.

Join the club! I'm a business and they won't honor claims here either, even though we've only had 2 claims in 5 years! In fact, no one at UPS can tell me who is my account rep or the boss. Wow! What a bunch of people who don't seem to know anything!

Within 18 minutes, a UPS Facebook Rep responded with the following message.

Chris, if you are the shipper of record we can research your claim. Send in your tracking number and contact phone number to facebook@ups.com. Thanks, Seini

I then responded with the following e-mail.

I hardly know where to start. I have been dealing with a claims issue since July. I was originally told my account rep was Jessica Wiggins. After dealing with her for many months, I was then told it was not her but was Alice Duncan. Alice will not return my calls, and all I get is her voicemail when I call. I sent her e-mail messages and asked her to call me, but she told me she couldn't help me and to just hire an attorney if I wanted to dispute the claim. I told her to please call me anyway because I really don't understand what is going on and why the claim isn't being covered. I was originally told it was improper packing. Then it was changed to hot temperatures making the glue come loose. When I got the violin back here at the shop, it was not broken on a seam, so it could not be hot temperatures making the glue come loose. This is what I was trying to get across to Alice, but since she won't even talk to me... I ended up getting in touch with your claims company again and was then told the claim was denied because there was no damage! I really don't get it? Do these reasons just keep changing and changing until a person just gives up?

I filed a complaint that my account manager would not call me. I did this several times actually. I was told I would get a call back with 24 hours. I never did.

Eventually, I got in touch with Louis at xxxx. He seemed very responsive at first. Told me to call him back when I got in touch with the claims company and that he would help me. I did that, and now Louis won't call me back. I asked to have my account manager changed from Alice to someone else. Apparently, that hasn't happened either.

on 12/8 - I talked to an unknown person at UPS
on 12/12 - I talked to Sandra
then Derrick
on 12/13 - I talked to Gabe
on 12/21 - I left a message for Louis to call me
on 12/22 - I left another message for Louis to call me
on 12/27 - I filed another complaint with Sheila

These are not the only calls or e-mails that I have sent. I have yet to hear from my account rep. I thought the account rep was supposed to be the one to help me with this. We have had our business account for several years now, and we've only had two claims. It's not like we're milking UPS. I have kept most of my e-mail correspondence with Jessica Wiggins and Alice Duncan. I can provide you with that as well, if needed.

How can a company this large not have a person that can call me back and help me with this issue?

December 27, 2011 - Response from Seini.

Thank you for sending in your e-mail. I was able to confirm that the Account Manager assigned to your account is Alice D. However, claims issues are handled through our claims department as the local reps are out in the field. If there is a claim that you would like researched, please send in your tracking number for review.

My reply to Seini.

The tracking number is xxx. The package went to Scott A. It is now back here at our shop. I had the customer mail it back in October after waiting and waiting to try to get this taken care of. Do you need pictures? I kept the original box and packing material, and they have been sitting in our showroom with the violin since October.

The only other claim we had was taken care of immediately. That time, I dealt with Dawn S., who is a Sales Support Representative for the Illinois District. The number I have for her is no longer good, so I assume she is no longer with the company?? When she helped us, she actually came to our shop and looked at everything personally. We buy specific boxes for our violins, they are oversized, and the instruments are packed in suspension cases and also bubble wrapped. The cases are then bubble wrapped in the box. Dawn took one look at everything and then took care of it. Why can't I get anyone to do that this time? Why won't anyone call me back or give me the name and phone number of who I need to call?

Late December - Somewhere along the line, I was given the name of Jeff S., who apparently works for Crawford. I called him on the phone and was told that my claim was denied because there was no damage to the item. Are you kidding!!! I told him I had the item here and was looking at the damage. He said it was *new* damage...

December 28, 2011 - Response from Seini.

Thank you for sending in the requested information. Through further research I was able to find a note made on December 23 indicating that re-inspection arrangements would need to be made regarding your dispute of the denied claim. Please advise if you have not heard from anyone to make inspection arrangements and I will follow up with the claims group for an updated status.

My reply to Seini.

No one has contacted me regarding reinspection. The last person I spoke to was Jeff S. who said that I needed to talk to someone from UPS because the violin had not been damaged according to them. Someone was supposed to call me again today by 5:00 p.m., but still no one did. This is how it has been for months.

Response from Seini.

Thank you for the update. I have reached out to a district representative for an update regarding the noted re-inspection. I will keep you updated as soon as I have any additional details to provide.

December 29, 2011 - Received an e-mail from Seini.

I have received notification that the district office will be contacting you today to setup re-inspection arrangements for your package. The inspection arrangement should be for noon tomorrow.

December 29, 2011 - I was contacted by Trish S. who is the District Security Manager of UPS. We made arrangements for Marianne B. to come take new pictures of the fiddle and contents of the box.

December 30, 2011 - Marianne came and took the pictures. She was very nice and professional. She gave me her card and told me to contact her if I didn't hear from anyone within a couple of weeks.

January 23, 2012 - Haven't heard from anyone again. I sent an e-mail to Marianne.

January 24, 2012 - My husband, Earl, decided to get involved because I'm too nice. I have no idea how many people he "spoke" to. He even contacted UPS headquarters in Atlanta. He was also lied to the same way I was. We always get the line that someone will call us back within 24 hours or within one hour, or whatever. It never happens!

I spoke to Kurt H. and also to Ken L. Told the story all over again making it as short as I could. Kind of hard to do at this point! Ken is the Sales Operations Supervisor. He told me that our file got sent to the wrong office. He also said Jessica and Marianne were no longer working for UPS. Hmmmm.

Eventually, Ken told me that UPS doesn't *insure* packages. Something about a lawsuit filed some years ago and that it was determined that UPS couldn't send and insure its own packages. Not sure what the extra fee is we pay then... Also, if you notice the exact wording of Jessica's October 27th e-mail, she asks me how much I insured the package for. If UPS doesn't insure packages, then why would one of UPS's agents be asking me how much I insured a package for?

Ken was always nice and also called me back and kept me informed about things.

January 26, 2012 - Ken called to tell me that UPS had denied our claim because the item wasn't packaged properly. When I asked what was improper about the packing, he couldn't tell me. After all, as I stated earlier, we buy boxes especially for shipping our fiddles, we ship the fiddles in cases, and we also pack around the fiddles and cases.

Guess what FedEx will insure??? We had a customer ship a fiddle to us that wasn't even IN a box. It was shipped in its case only. The fiddle was basically DESTROYED. FedEx took care of our customer.

This is the end of UPS. Hello FedEx.

Calling All Youth Musicians & Singers!

2012-01-24T23:06:00.000-06:00

Missouri Area Bluegrass Committee (MABC), aka Bluegrass America, is sponsoring its annual Youth Contests this year on Friday, March 16, 2012. This is a very unique competition because it includes the Talent Contest in addition to the Banjo & Fiddle Competitions. This is definitely my favorite of all the contests! This provides the opportunity for all musicians 16 years of age and younger to perform on any number of bluegrass instruments, sing, or even compete as a youth band! Friday night tickets are only $10.00, and Youth 16 & under are free with a paying adult. I guarantee you'll be entertained!

The contests are part of the 12th Annual Gene Roberts Memorial bluegrass festival held at the Holiday Inn Six Flags in Eureka, MO. Rooms are only $69 when you ask for the bluegrass rate. Jamming throughout the hotel, Saturday morning matinee, and live bluegrass music shows Saturday afternoon and evening!

The Bluegrass Shack will be set up in the vendor room throughout the weekend, and Chris will be managing the Friday night youth competitions. Click HERE for a direct link to the .pdf flyer. If you have any questions on the competition, please contact Chris Talley Armstrong at The Bluegrass Shack via e-mail at mailto:bluegrassshack@aol.com or at 618-475-3678. We hope to see you there!

I'm Left-Handed: Should I Learn to Play Right- or Left-Handed?

2012-01-22T21:37:00.003-06:00

This is actually a repost from 2010, but it is one of the most common questions I get, so I thought I should repost it.

Now there's a loaded question if I've ever heard one! Especially since I'm right-handed!

My advice to left-handers is this: If you don't already play an instrument left-handed, DON'T START! Why? Well, there are several very good reasons why.

1) Once you start left-handed, you'll want to play all instruments left-handed...

2) Since most instruments are made right-handed, you won't get the same selection of left-handed instruments that you'll get right-handed. They cost more and many have to be special-ordered.

3) If you want a vintage left-handed instrument, it's much harder to find.

4) You won't be able to play other people's instruments and they won't be able to play yours.

5) If you want to play violin in an orchestra, you WON'T BE ALLOWED to play left-handed.

6) Many instruments don't even come in left-handed models (e.g., the trumpet, the flute, the cello, etc.)

Now, onto some other information for you if you still aren't convinced. Both hands have to learn to do something, so what difference does it make? As a teacher, I have taught many left-handers to play right-handed. I've not had ONE single student come back and tell me they wish they would have done it the other way around. I've not had one single student not able to do it.

As far as teaching goes, I have had several left-handers that seemed less coordinated at first, but this went away after several weeks of practice. My left-handed students that learn right-handed generally thought that any problems they were having were related to the fact that they weren't playing left-handed. This is quickly dispelled when they have a chance to talk to others who are learning and they see that practically everyone faces the same challenges. When they realize the difficulties they are having are not limited to themselves, they get over it quickly because they stop making excuses.

If you MUST play left-handed, for whatever reason, I suggest the upside-down backwards method. In the St. Louis area, we are lucky to have one of the finest left-handed upside-down backwards players I know of. He played with the Over the Hill Gang for 17 years and his name is Harry. Harry plays the guitar, mandolin and fiddle all upside-down and backwards. He is simply incredible! Now what does that mean? It means he takes any ordinary instrument and simply flips it over. He doesn't restring it (which would not work well for several reasons that I'm not going to go into right now). When everyone else is strumming down, Harry strums upwards.

How about switch-hitting? It's common in baseball, so why not make it a standard in music?

One more insteresting fact. When I was in college, we used to do these informal polls on the blackboard in the music majors' student lounge. More than half of all the music majors were left-handed. How many played left-handed instruments???? None!

MABC's Contest Results

2012-01-10T16:16:00.005-06:00

This past weekend was the Fiddle & Banjo Contest held in Eureka, MO as part of Bluegrass America's (MABC) 30th Annual Winter Bluegrass Festival. Once again, there were a lot of new players and plenty of long-time friends as well! It was a great contest with a total of 24 contestants.

I want to thank Walter & Willa for their wonderful job as emcees of the contest, Zane for his help backing up the contestants, Carla who took care of the scorekeeping, and our three judges Ron, Dan & Chelsea. I also want to thank all of the people with MABC for putting on the contest and allowing me to manage it for the past 5 years or so (I've lost track!). Here are the results:

Junior Banjo (16 & Under)
1st - Luke Currey (Most Entertaining)
2nd - Lucas Worthington
3rd - Lindsey Martin (Youngest Banjo Player)

Junior Fiddle (16 & Under)
1st - Emily Worthington
2nd - Nathanael Worthington
3rd - Tyler Rainey
4th - Harrison Heselbarth
5th - Audrey Neel (Youngest Fiddle Player & Most Entertaining)

Open Banjo
1st - Zach Hardesty
2nd - Dave Macon
3rd - Chelsea Perkinson (Most Entertaining)
4th - Kevin Martin
5th - Dennis Huebner (Oldest Banjo Player)

Open Fiddle
1st - Sadie Currey
2nd - Howard Marshall
3rd - Richard Shewmaker (Most Entertaining)
4th - Stephen Hall
5th - Ben Smith
Zane Prosser - Oldest Fiddle Player

Come on over to the festival in March, held at the same location -- Holiday Inn Six Flags, Eureka, MO. Click here for a link to the March festival. We hope to see you there!

Early Closing This Weekend

2012-01-06T13:19:00.002-06:00

The Bluegrass Shack will be set up in the vendor room this weekend at the Bluegrass Festival in Eureka, MO. We will be closing at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 6, 2012. We will be closed all day on Saturday, January 7, 2012. Come see us at the festival!

Thank You Dennis & Fred!

2011-12-30T21:38:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to take a minute to thank Dennis and Fred for their help this month. Some of you know that we had a sewer problem and we had to have 35 feet of sewer pipe replaced. Unfortunately, the 35 feet of piping was right underneath the sidewalk leading to our front door. The good news is that this all happened during Christmas when we didn't have a lot of students here needing to use our restroom! It truly is a blessing that the timing worked out this way. Dennis and Fred helped us out by levelling the remaining parts of our sidewalk and setting up the forms for the new concrete. Tomorrow we'll actually get the new concrete. Thank you Dennis & Fred! This is what things were looking like:

The 2012 Bluegrass Shack Tuesday Jam Schedule

2011-12-30T21:18:00.002-06:00

Calling all pickers! Here is the 2012 Bluegrass Shack Tuesday night jam session schedule. Our jams are held every other Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m. and going until there is no one left. That usually occurs around 10:30 p.m., but has gone as late as 1:00 a.m.! Our jams are open to everyone (even listeners) and are for acoustic instruments only. We pass the mic around our jam circle and each person has the opportunity to share a song with the group.

2012 Public Jam Schedule
January 3, 17, 31
February 28 (only one due to Valentine's Day)
March 13, 27
April 10, 24
May 8 (only one due to Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & BBQ Festival)
June 5, 19
July 3, 17, 31
August 14, 28
September 11, 25
October 9, 23
November 6, 20
December 4, 18

Chris' 2012 Lesson Schedule

2011-12-30T21:02:00.001-06:00

For all of those students who take lessons from Chris:

Chris' 2012 Lesson Schedule

On the following dates, Chris will NOT have private or group lessons:

January 16, 17, 18, 19
February 20, 21, 22, 23
March 19, 26, 27, 28, 29
April 16, 17, 18, 19
May 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31 (Join us in Branson at Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & BBQ)
June 25, 26, 27, 28
July 16, 17, 18, 19
August 20, 21, 22, 23
September 3, 10, 11, 12, 13
October 15, 16, 17, 18
November 12, 19, 20, 21, 22
December 24, 25, 26, 27, 31
January (2013): 1, 2, 3

Our Biggest Christmas Party Yet!

2011-12-12T01:09:00.001-06:00

Saturday, December 10th, marked the 5th year in a row The Bluegrass Shack has hosted its annual Student Christmas Party. This year was the largest yet! I think better weather helped us out this year. The past two years were still great, but slightly less attendance due to snow and freezing rain.

We had around 200 people in attendance at the party. Everyone brought food to share, so there was a great selection to choose from! Nick was kind enough to provide all the soda and water again this year, and St. Agatha Parish allowed us to use their multi-purpose room (cafeteria) again this year. We are so blessed by the kindness of others! I personally sampled home-made vegetable soup, rice and broccoli casserole, mashed potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, honey-baked ham, cheese and crackers, a gingerbread cookie with cream cheese frosting, and a chocolate cupcake! I know, I know....It sounds like I ate a ton. However, I am an expert at potlucks and buffets. I know how to make the most of it without being miserable afterwards. I take only a little portion of many things so that I can try out a lot! And it was all good!

Santa came early in the evening -- I'd say around 7:00 p.m. He brought lots of smiles to all! He handed out candy canes, suckers and a few sticks! I can't wait to get the pictures from Marvin to post.

We started off the evening's celebration by handing out attendance prizes. This continued throughout the evening until practically everyone present received an attendance prize of some sort. Our huge stocking winners (for 12 and under) went to Anna and Jarrett. Lucky Jarrett! Somehow, he has managed to win the giant stocking two years in a row! The winner of the gingerbread house was Denise. Congratulations to Denise and Marvin!

The entertainment for the evening was provided by Bluegrass Shack students and all present. We started off with a flute quartet. My student, Pat, selected the pieces she wanted to perform, and I found two other students that also played flute who were willing to join us. Paige, Pat, Amelia and I played Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus, Angels We Have Heard on High and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

I had a surprise trio of young girls that wanted to sing for everyone. This trio was all under 10 years old and consisted of Joy, Isabella and Isabelle. They sang Away in a Manger for everyone and did a super job! I think everyone present loved it!

Next up came the fiddle duets that we play every year. I have a great book of fiddle duets that we use every year because the arrangements are not too complicated and the harmony parts are the best I've ever heard. Joy and I played the harmony parts, while all the other students played the melody. This is something that is never practiced as a group, but only as individuals during regular lessons. It always works out amazingly well considering there is no conductor and we've never practiced together before. We had quite a few fiddle players this year: Earl, Tim, Colton, Joy, Angela, Nathanael, Emily W., Emily C., Alex, Pat, Susan, Aubrie, Liz and me. I hope I didn't leave anyone out!

After the fiddle duets, we had a sing-along of Christmas carols. Lyrics and chords were passed out to everyone, and then we all sang a number of Christmas tunes together. I love this part! It is so nice to hear everyone's voices all together!

Finally, the evening was ended with a Virginia Reel. This year, we had 16 couples that participated. Many thanks to Ron and Lucas for helping out with this! Ron played guitar for my fiddle, and Lucas did all the calling. We had all ages from 5 years old to almost 80 years old partcipating. Having to play for 20 minutes solid doesn't seem nearly so long when I can watch the fun that everyone is having!

I'll be getting the pictures back from Marvin very soon, so be on the look-out for them! Many thanks to everyone for coming. I hope you all had as good a time as I did!

Fiddle Bows (Upgrading) - Part 2

2011-12-04T10:57:00.001-06:00

If you haven't read Part 1, you might want to do that first so that you have the background information that will apply to this article.

One of the most common fiddle bow questions I get is "When should I upgrade my fiddle bow"? After that, folks generally want to know what to upgrade TO, how much money they should expect to pay, how much difference a better bow will actually make, and how to select a better bow.

There are several good reasons to upgrade your fiddle bow. It could be obvious, like you broke your bow, or your bow needs a rehair, or it could be that you are getting a better fiddle and you'd like to upgrade your bow at the same time. I think it is important that you have played long enough to establish some consistent bowing habits before you spend much money on a bow. After six months of playing, you should have established some consistency of bowing -- good, bad or ugly! Why is that important? Because if you bow differently every time you play, the bow you play best with today may not be the bow you play best with tomorrow.

When you are ready to upgrade, I think it is very important to be able to play the bows from which you are selecting. That is not always possible, but it is certainly best.

Finally, it won't do you any good to have someone else try all the bows and select one for you, unless you are in a "must replace" situation and are a rank beginner. The sound the bow makes is different based on who is playing with it, the type of strings, and the actual instrument! That means whatever bow I play best with will not necessarily be the bow that you play best with.

WEIGHT - Bow weight is measured in grams. Most violin shops should have a bow scale that will display the weight of the bow. In general, you want a bow between 59 and 64 grams. If you don't use bow pressure when you play (you SHOULD), then you may want the 64 gram bow. If you tend to bear down on the bow too much, then you might want the 59 gram bow. One gram can make a very big difference!

BALANCE - The balance of the bow can make a huge difference in how it plays. A heavy bow can seem light if the balance is different by even a mere 1/4"! You can find the balance point of a bow by simply balancing the bow on your finger. Make sure you do this in a safe way. You certainly don't want to scare the shop owner or actually have a bow slip and fall on the ground. Hold your finger out straight, and then move the bow slightly one way or the other until it stays balanced on your finger. Don't try to balance it on the tip of your finger! This probably won't be very useful in selecting a bow, but if you notice that a heavier bow seems lighter, this would explain it. A bow with improper balance just won't FEEL right when you play with it.

BOW COMPOSITION - Unless your teacher is telling you to purchase a certain type of bow, try bows of all compositions. You won't know if you like a wood bow versus a carbon bow unless you have tried them. Also, make sure you try more than one of each! If you are trying out carbon bows, try out five or six of them. If you want more information on bow composition, make sure you read Part 1 of this article.

PRICE - If you are purchasing your first bow upgrade, expect to pay at least $100. Bows can cost thousands of dollars, but you don't need one of these unless you are playing quite frequently or are a professional.

HAIR COLOR - Violin bows are generally haired in white (or bleached) hair. Mongolian horse hair is the most common because it is very consistent. If the bow hair has any deformities in it, kinks or knots, you will hear this as the bow slides across the strings. Black horse hair is generally used only for cello and bass bows. This hair is slightly thicker. It grabs the strings more. Sometimes fiddle players like this, but it is hard to find unless you request your bow to be rehaired in black hair. You may also find bows that have dyed hair, so that the hair could be any color of the rainbow. Since you are UPGRADING, you probably don't want one of these because they are more for fun. A good quality bow is not going to come with red or blue hair!

BOWS THAT YOU CAN REHAIR YOURSELF - P&H makes a bow that is simple to rehair yourself. It is the only brand that I know of, but there may be more out there. Otherwise, you will need to take your bow to a violin shop to get it rehaired. It costs about $60 to rehair a bow. If you have the P&H bow, it will cost you about 1/3 of that. P&H rehairable bows are fiberglass and tend to be rather heavy, so this will not work for everyone.

BRANDS OF BOWS - I really don't put much stock in a specific brand of bow. There are so many good bows out there. If you can't try out your bow first, a specific brand may help you get something that is quality. Otherwise, just make sure you are purchasing from a reputable place that will guarantee their products. It is nice if a shop will allow you to try out several bows and send back what you don't want.

QUALITY AND APPEARANCE OF BOW - Make sure you read Part 1 of this article so that you are knowledgeable about camber, warping, general appearance, and proper function of the bow.

HOW TO ACTUALLY SELECT YOUR NEW BOW - This is where the rubber meets the road! Will you actually be able to tell a difference in the bows? Almost always! Not only will you FEEL the difference, you should be able to HEAR a difference.

The first thing you want to do is play the fiddle that you normally play. Don't just arrive at the fiddle shop and play one of their fiddles. You want to hear the bow on YOUR fiddle with YOUR brand of strings.

Next, pick out at least five bows to try of varying compositions. If you can pick from more, then do it! Play the same song with each bow. You might want to start with a slow song using each bow, then play something faster or completely different with each bow. You should notice a difference in feel (weight and smoothness), volume and tone quality between the bows. Every once in a while, we will have someone in the shop that we simply can't really notice any appreciable difference between the bows. This is rare, though. Generally, the bow that feels the best when you are using it will be the one that sounds the best. If you can't notice any difference and you really need a new bow, select the one that is the least expensive or simply pick by which one you like the looks of the best. I know this sounds simplistic, but it simply doesn't make any sense to spend a lot of money on something that doesn't make a difference in your playing.

When I got the bow that I currently play with, it made a huge difference in my playing. The tone that I am able to get out of my fiddle is so much better, and I simply play better! I would say it took me about 2-3 weeks to really get used to my new bow, but I liked the feel and sound immediately.

I hope this has helped answer some of your questions! When it comes to fiddle, any time is "bow season." Happy bow hunting!

Fiddle Bows (A Primer) - Part 1

2011-12-03T22:51:00.001-06:00

There are so many bow choices, it can be overwhelming! You hear about carbon bows, fiberglass bows, octagonal vs. round bows, fully lined and half lined bows, pernambuco, brazil, snakewood, and it goes on and on. Prices start at $15 and go up to thousands. How is a player to know which one is right?

First of all, let's start with the rank beginner. Usually a new student will purchase a fiddle outfit that comes with the case and bow. Most beginner outfits come with very cheap bows. Some of these are okay, and some of these are not okay. Here at The Bluegrass Shack, I end up replacing about 1/2 to 3/4 of the bows that come with our beginner outfits. I do this at our expense, and I check every bow before it leaves here. I go so far as to rosin up the bow and play the fiddle with the bow. What do I look for in these inexpensive bows? I look for camber, warping, proper function of the frog (tightening/loosening mechanism), condition of the hair and whether it's real or synthetic, and general condition.

What are these things I mentioned and what do they mean?

CAMBER - Camber is the curve of the bow. It is important that bows have camber, which is different from a bow having a type of curvature called a warp. Good camber in a bow will allow the hair to touch the stick when the bow is in a loosened position. (Yes, you need to tighten the bow hair to play, and loosen the bow hair when you are done playing. We'll talk more about that in a minute.)

This picture shows a bow with good camber. Notice how the hair touches the stick in the middle of the bow.

I check for camber in a bow without hair by placing the bow on a straight surface and making sure that the middle of the bow touches or nearly touches the flat surface. For this test, the frog has to be on the bow.

Good camber (the shadow looks like hair, but there is not any hair on this bow) - You can see how the stick touches the flat surface.

Insufficient camber - You can see how the stick does not come even close to touching the flat surface:

WARP - A warped bow is one that is curved from side to side. You can check for warping by sighting down the bow from one tip to the other tip. It should be straight all the way down.

Here is a bow that is completely straight with no warping:

Here is a bow that has a warp in it:

FROG - The frog is the black square part that is attached to the end of the bow that you hold. There is a threaded fitting that goes into the end of the bow that allows the frog to move back and forth. This either tightens or loosens the bow hair, depending upon which way you turn the knob. You should be able to loosen the bow hair so that it is completely slack and can touch the stick, and you should be able to tighten the bow so that there is at least 1/4" between the hair and the stick.

This is what the frog looks like when it is removed from the bow. You can clearly see the mechanism for tightening and loosening the bow.

Here is a picture that shows all the different parts of the bow. You can click on the picture to enlarge it if you have trouble reading the labels.

This is what a properly tightened bow should look like. The hair in the center of the bow is about 1/4" from the stick.

This is what a bow that has been OVER-tightened looks like. Notice how there is almost no camber left in the bow.

Overtightening a bow can cause a number of problems, the most severe being warping or actually breaking the stick. Overtightening can also cause premature breakage of the bow hair and loosening of the wedges that hold the bow hair in the bow. The most common thing I see with the overtightened bow is that one of the wedges comes out of the bow and then the bow hair won't tighten, or it falls out completely.

HEAT can also cause a bow to warp, even if the hair is completely loosened. Don't leave your instrument in a hot car or directly in the sun!

The cheaper the bow, the easier it is to warp. This does not mean you can't use a cheap bow and that it can't be a decent bow that lasts a long time. It just means you have to take care of it!

THE BOW HAIR - Unless you are allergic to horse hair, you want to make sure that your bow has real horse hair in it. Real hair holds the rosin better and is not as slippery as synthetic hair. If there is no rosin on your bow, it will not make a sound when you pull it across the strings.

It is not uncommon for there to be a few loose strands of hair in a new bow when it is tightened. If they bother you, cut them off. There shouldn't be a lot of them. Don't pull the hair out. Since the hair is held in the bow by wedges, pulling the hair out can cause the wedges to become loose which can result in all the hair falling out immediately or prematurely. Any time you get a broken hair, the same applies. Simply cut it very close to both ends, but leave the ends in.

GENERAL CONDITION OF THE BOW - I check the general condition of the bow to make sure there are no cracks in the stick or the frog, and to make sure all the wedges are properly in place. You won't be able to see the wedge inside the frog, but if you look at the tip of the bow, the hair should lay pretty flat where it comes out of the tip. If it doesn't, then that could mean that the wedge is pulling out. If the wedge inside the frog is loose, then you won't be able to tighten the bow all the way. You'll tighten the mechanism as much as it will go, but the hair will still be loose.

A NOTE ON HUMIDITY AND BOW HAIR - The bow hair is very susceptible to humidity and heat. When bow hair is fitted to a bow, there is a very close tolerance to the length that the hair has to be so that it can tighten and loosen properly. The bow hair can be fitted perfectly to a bow, but if the bow is kept in a very dry environment, the hair will shrink up and you will be unable to loosen the bow hair enough to remove the tension from the stick. Likewise, if the bow is kept in a very humid environment, or if you are playing in a humid or hot environment, you may find that after a while, you are unable to tighten the bow hair any more. I always take two bows with me to my gigs, especially when I'm playing outside in the summer. When one bow reaches its limit and can't be tightened anymore, I loosen it completely and use the other bow. As soon as my bows are back in a "normal" environment, the hair shrinks back and the bows work fine.

ROUND VS. OCTAGONAL STICKS - Bows come one of two ways. Either the entire stick is octagonal, or the stick will start octagonal at the frog and will be round the rest of the way to the tip. In general, an octagonal stick will be stiffer than a round stick. Why does this matter? The stiffer the bow, the less bounce. Let's face it, a bouncing bow is not our friend! This does not mean that a round bow will always bounce, nor does it mean that octagonal sticks never bounce. Most inexpensive bows are round, so you probably won't have a choice in this as it will ship out automatically with your student outfit. If the bow has proper camber and is not severaly warped, this should not be a huge issue regardless of the expense of the bow. Bouncing can also be caused by poor technique, so think of this as an opportunity to improve your bow technique.

HALF LINED VS. FULLY LINED - This is something that does not matter at all as far as functionality of the bow is concerned. Less expensive bows are half lined. If you take a look at the picture of the bow parts that I posted earlier in the article, you'll see an arrow pointing to the back part of the frog that says "half lined." If the bow was fully lined, you would not be able to see the black part of the wood there. You would be seeing a piece of metal there instead that would continue from the slide all the way up the back of the frog to the stick.

COMPOSITION OF THE BOW (WOOD VS. NON-WOOD) - Bows can be made of a variety of types of wood and also of several other materials. Some old bows were even made entirely out of aluminum! Today, the most common materials a bow is made of are wood, graphite (carbon), and fiberglass. The main advantage to non-wood bows is that they don't warp easily and they are harder to break. In fact, it's almost impossible to warp a non-wood bow. As far as which is better, this is a personal preference. Some teachers and players prefer non-wood bows for their students. It doesn't matter to me as long as the bow works well for the student.

The main types of wood that a bow can be made of include brazil, pernambuco and snakewood. Brazil wood is the least expensive, but there are many very nice bows made from brazil wood. In general, brazil is not as stiff as pernambuco. Brazil bows start at $15 and go up from there. Most professional bows will be made from pernambuco wood. It is stiffer, harder to find, and it costs more. An inexpensive pernambuco bow will probably start around $150. They will go up in price to many thousands of dollars. Snakewood is a rarer, very beautiful wood that bows are sometimes made of. It is valued for its appearance more than anything, but its functionality is good as well. Snakewood bows start at $200 and go on up from there.

Bows are easy to break. They are very fragile. If you drop the bow, especially on its tip, you will be lucky if it doesn't break! If it drops flat, then it will probably be okay. Children sometimes tap the bow on its tip on the floor, a music stand, their shoe, etc. This will cause weakening of the bow, which can result in the tip breaking off even if the bow is not dropped. Many times, the tip does not break off immediately, but rather at a later time when the bow is tightened to play. This may cause you to think that there was a problem with the bow when it was actually misuse that caused the bow to break. Even so, I don't see this very often. (I think twice in five years out of thousands of bows.) Children also like to sword fight with their bows. Not a good idea if you want the bow to last!

So now, the million dollar question. Which bow is right for a student? I never recommend anyone purchase an expensive bow when they are just starting out. A beginning student has no consistent bowing habits and so it really won't make any difference what bow is used as long as the bow has camber and is not severely warped. (In rare cases, a student bow may be either very heavy or very light, and this can make a difference.) After six months or so of playing, a student will have developed some consistency of bowing, and at this time, the student may want to revisit the idea of getting a better bow.

Child Stars

2011-12-02T06:04:00.001-06:00

What did you dream of becoming when you were a child? A firefighter? Doctor? Teacher? Movie Star? Princess? How many of you actually became what you first dreamed? If you didn't, why? There are probably several reasons why, and more than likely it wasn't because you weren't good enough.

What does it mean to be a "star"? I suppose it can mean different things to different people, but in the end, I think it has to do more with fame and fortune than anything else. Think about the things a famous musician gets: travel, nice things that money can buy, name-recognition, doing something they love to make a living, the ability to meet other "famous" people, playing in the most prestigious venues, and the list goes on and on. It sounds great on the surface, doesn't it?

Now for what you don't think about.  How about the grueling schedule, including the time spent away from home, family and friends? How about the sheer number of concerts in a short amount of time?  How about the ability to just go somewhere and enjoy yourself without having to worry about people following or stalking you? And finally, how many really famous people do you hear about that have drug, alcohol and moral issues? That won't be hard to come up with!

How many musicians do you know that are REALLY good? You probably know quite a few, even if you don't know them personally. How many of them make their living solely by playing? Probably not many. Does fame equate with talent? Certainly not! Just go to Nashville and listen to all the great musicians. Or how about travelling to Branson and watching them live at Silver Dollar City or in any one of a number of different venues along the strip? There are many, many talented musicians and singers that never "make it big." Are they any less valuable? No!

Does playing a famous venue or playing with a famous person make you famous? Of course not! It's a great experience and something that you are not likely to forget soon. It's something that most people don't get the opportunity to do, and it is something to be thankful for. It is an honor.

Have you heard of the term "starving artist"? I would imagine so. There's a reason for that. It's called playing for nothing just to be able to play and promote yourself in a way or in a venue that you think will further your career. It means no health insurance, unless you are lucky enough to be covered under someone else's policy. It means not being able to choose exactly where you'd like to live, because you need to be in Nashville, or LA, or New York, or some other location that is more likely to further your career. It means portraying a certain persona (sexy...) and dressing in a certain way.

Are these things that a child can understand? Absolutely not! A child equates fame with everything good. A child cannot understand the lifestyle that ANY occupation entails. At least for those who want to become a doctor or lawyer or teacher, there are plenty of others who can help them. How many famous musicians do you know personally? A child cannot understand giving up childhood until it is too late. A child cannot understand that people have many dreams along the way. That is healthy and good, but it's also good that they don't all come true!

A child who loves to play music dreams of becoming famous, just like a child who plays with fire engines dreams of becoming a fireman. If your child is dreaming of becoming a fireman, you might take him or her to the firehouse, but would you actually let them ride the truck to a fire and help put it out? If your child dreams of becoming an astronaut, would you send him to space camp? If you could afford it, probably so! You might go to Cape Canaveral to watch a space launch. You might even buy a nice telescope. But would you hire a private tutor for an 8-year who wanted to be an astronaut? How about invest in an agency to further a 10-year old's space career? Yet some parents don't bat an eye about doing these things for a budding musician! The excuses I hear? The child loves it, dreams about it, and practices all the time. The child is specially gifted. It's the only thing the child wants to do. Well, to me, this sounds like a kid who loves to play computer games, too.

What about the agencies that promote this? You PAY them! Of course they are going to tell you what you want to hear. It's their JOB. Why would they turn away someone that had the money?? Of course your child is especially talented, beautiful, cute, smart and marketable! If the talent agency really believed that, they wouldn't be charging you! They would know that your child was going to make them big money and they would pay YOU as it happened. They would know an INVESTMENT when they saw it if they were that good. It's like taking pictures with a digital camera. It doesn't matter how many you take because it doesn't cost you to take them. If you take enough photos, you are bound to turn out a few fantastic ones! Every agency boasts about the career they made for someone. They just don't tell you about all the "digital film" they went through to get there.

You can hire agencies all day long and pay them to tell you what you want to hear. That's all it is. You can enter a thousand contests and even win them all.   You can do photo shoots and promotional videos. You can record a CD in Nashville or any other place as long as you have the money. In the end, it's not how talented you are. It's all about how much you are willing to give up, who you know, and being in the right place at the right time.

Support your musical child and give them as many opportunities as you can. Get them music lessons. Make a CD. Travel to concerts and other venues to listen and to play. I'm not against doing these things for and/or with a child, but I am against doing them for the wrong reason. Don't waste their childhood and your money SEEKING fame and fortune!  Let the children grow up and then make their own decision. It's not too late!

Why I Post Videos

2011-12-01T22:08:00.001-06:00

TO INSPIRE AND TEACH - This is a big reason why I post videos of my students, and inspiration goes two ways. I hope to inspire my students to practice, and I hope to inspire those who listen to their recordings. It is an honor for me to record my students, no matter what their level of experience or expertise.

Others who listen to these videos may be inspired to learn an instrument or learn a song that they have heard someone else play. Even a teacher can learn new things! I listen to others' videos to learn new songs and new variations to songs I already know. Sometimes I listen for the pure joy of music!

TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO SHARE WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED - Not only am I proud, but so are they! When these videos have been posted, parents, grandparents and others who are interested have the ability to view them.

Case in point? I have a student who is in his mid-70's. I took and posted a video of him playing a song. He figured out how to view the video from his cell phone. He showed it to his children, to several nurses at the hospital, and several others. How wonderful! He keeps track of the "hits" on YouTube and is proud of his post. So am I! How many 70-year olds do you know that decide for the first time in their life that they want to learn to play a musical instrument? Who better than a 70-year old to inspire another 70-year old?

I wish I could share with you all the reasons I am proud of each student. I have students that have natural talent, and I have students that are not born with natural talent. I have students with all different types of physical disabilities. I have students of all different ages from 2 years old to 80 years old. What I know is that it doesn't matter! Success is not determined by these things. If a student is willing to work hard, there are so many things that a student can overcome. If you only knew what each student had overcome, you would be as proud as I am! What I can promise you is that YOU CAN DO IT, TOO!

Considering a Beginning Bluegrass Banjo?

2011-11-25T21:58:00.001-06:00

I get a lot of e-mail from folks wanting help purchasing their first banjo. The questions run the gamut from "What's the cheapest, playable thing I can get"? to "I want it to last me a while" to "What's the best I can get under $YouNameIt dollars"? These questions are actually kind of tricky to answer because it depends upon how much money you can spend, what kind of tone you want, what style of banjo you are going to play, and other individual factors. I'm going to post some information that will hopefully be helpful to those of you looking to purchase your first banjo.

What style of banjo do you want to play?
This is probably the most important question to ask first because it will determine the TYPE of banjo you purchase. Are you going to play 4-string banjo or 5-string banjo? Tenor banjo (4-string) is used mostly for strumming with a guitar pick. It is popular for dixieland and Irish music and can also be tuned like a ukulele. 5-string banjo is more for bluegrass and jazz.

If you are choosing a 5-string banjo, you also need to decide if you are going to play clawhammer/frailing style (like Grandpa Jones) or 3-finger style (like Earl Scruggs). This article will focus mainly on 5-string Scruggs style banjo.

How much money do you want to spend?
Unfortunely, banjos are not cheap -- even when they are used. You might get lucky and find something playable for under $100, but that's just it -- you got lucky! Also, take into consideration any repairs that will need to be made to that "bargain" before you buy it.

If you are going to play 4-string banjo, or if you are going to frail a 5-string banjo, you can get away with a less expensive instrument to start with. You should be able to find something for under $200. More about this later.

If you are going to play 5-string Scruggs style, you should be prepared to spend $250-$500 to get something that is decent and playable. Again, more about this later.

Why the difference in price?
The difference in price reflects the actual parts the banjo is made from. A good, bluegrass style banjo will be bright and loud. Banjos have a reputation for being the loudest instrument in the jam. They also have the reputation for always being out of tune! You'll want to make sure that you get something that is dependable and not just one problem after another. On the positive side, banjos are mainly bolt together instruments, so if one part is broken or doesn't work right, you can almost always replace it!

The main structural part of the banjo that makes the most difference in tone quality is the tone ring. Amazingly enough, not all banjos even have a tone ring. The most easily changed non-structural part of a banjo that makes or breaks the tone would be the banjo head itself. If you don't like the way a banjo sounds, you can almost always alter the tone by tightening the head (to make it brighter) or loosening the head (to deepen the tone or even make it "thumpier").

What are some other factors that influence tone quality?
Just about every part on a banjo will affect the tone quality in one way or another.

* Tuning Pegs - Planetary pegs (the kind that stick out the back of the peghead) will make a banjo sound better than guitar-style tuners (the kind that stick out the side of the peghead like guitar tuners).

* Nut - A bone nut will sound better than a plastic nut.

* Tailpiece - In general, the heavier the tailpiece, the better the sound. Waverly, Gold Tone, and Kirchner banjo tailpieces are just a few that are thicker.

* Bridge - Now here you've opened a can of worms! There is every kind of bridge out there that you can imagine to enhance or minimize any kind of sound a banjo can put out. My favorite bridge for years has been the Snuffy Smith bridge. I need to write another article on bridges just to cover the multitude of information that a person should know about purchasing bridges. A brand-name banjo bridge will probably cost $20-$30.

* Head - I mentioned earlier in this article that the head tension can greatly affect the tone quality. It is also true that the brand and/or type of head can also make a huge difference in sound.

Remo is probably the most readily available banjo head. Remo heads are thin, plastic heads. The plastic part is attached to the metal part of the head using glue or epoxy of some sort. After many years, this glue will deteriorate and will cause the plastic part to separate from the metal part, which means you have to replace the head. You also will not be able to tighten a Remo head as much as some thicker heads because Remo heads will break more easily. Most banjos come with Remo heads, and they are certainly fine heads and should not be a factor to NOT buying a particular banjo. I am only mentioning these things to distinguish between several types and brands of heads.

Ludwig heads come standard on Stelling banjos. These are very thick, plastic heads, and they have a lot of frosting (paint) on them. They can be tightened a lot before they break, and they are helpful if you want a tone quality that really cracks.

Another popular, thick banjo head is 5-Star. This is what we use most often here at The Bluegrass Shack. I like these heads because they are comparable in price to Remo, but have the same attributes of the Ludwig heads. The plastic part of the banjo head is crimped to the metal part of the head, so you don't have to worry about glue deterioration over the years.

Clear or non-frosted banjo heads are made by several different companies. 5-Star and Remo both make these, as do several other companies. A clear banjo head is usually used for show or to get a really bright sound. I generally only recommend them for cheaper banjos that just can't "cut the mustard." One drawback to a clear banjo head is that if there is no frosting on the top part of the head, the bridge tends to slide around more. Due to the tuning of a 5-string banjo, there is uneven tension between the top and bottom of the bridge, so the bridge tends to slide either up towards the 5th string or down towards the 1st string. With a frosted head, you can push the bridge back into place and it will usually stay there.

Elite banjo heads come in a number of different varieties. They have thick, white heads, clear heads, Renaissance heads (kind of yellow in color) and heads that look like real skin but are still actually plastic. Each of these has a particular purpose. The Renaissance head will make the banjo heads look older, like aged skin. It also dampens the tone slightly, but again, this will depend upon how tight the head is. The skin-type heads produce a more muted tone quality as well. These are great for frailers or also for banjos that need to be toned down somewhat. I put one of these on a really bright, archtop Stelling banjo that the owner wanted to tone down, and it made the banjo sound great!

Fiberskyn heads are like the Elite banjo heads that look like real skin but are not. Once again, they will help tone down the brightness of a banjo.

A real skin head is not practical for use on a standard rim size (11") due to humidity and temperature changes. You will constantly be tuning it and still be playing out of tune! I only use real skins on banjo ukes, which have very small head sizes.

* "Pot" Construction
The "pot" of a banjo is the tone production part of a banjo, and this includes the rim and tone ring. The heavier the banjo, the better. A heavier banjo means that the rim is thicker and the tone ring is larger. A full size tone ring will produce a better sound than a rolled brass tone ring. A rolled brass tone ring is WAY better than no tone ring. A full size tone ring needs a more substantial rim to sit on; thus, the extra weight from not only the tone ring, but also the rim.

Some banjos have what is called an "integrated" tone ring. These banjos have aluminum pots. Some combine the rim, tone ring and flange into one piece of aluminum. Others combine just the tone ring and rim, and have a separate flange. This type of banjo is still far superior to a wooden rim banjo with no tone ring.

If you plan on frailing, a tone ring is not necessary.

* Resonator
The resonator of the banjo is the round part that attaches to the back of the banjo. Its main purpose is to resonate the sound of the banjo forward. Without a resonator, the sound comes out the back of the banjo and right into the stomach of the player. To get the best sound out of your resonator, you can use a clear or black spray paint on the inside of the resonator to help seal the wood grain. This will increase the volume of a banjo.

If you are going to play clawhammer or frailing style, then a resonator is not necessary. This style of banjo values a more muted tone quality, which is why a tone ring is not necessary either.

What are some things that influence the price of the banjo but don't really affect tone or quality?
In general, the fancier looking an instrument is, the more it will cost. Fancy inlays, carved heels, and fancy paint jobs don't make the banjo sound any better. If looks are important to you and money is not an object, then by all means, go for it!

Another factor would be the age of the banjo. Older instruments almost always sound better than brand new instruments. The vibration that comes from playing an instrument enhances the tone quality of the instrument. This is true of all instruments. There is even a device that folks can buy that will vibrate the instrument when you aren't playing it to make an instrument sound better, faster. It supposedly mimics the vibration of playing, so that the instrument is being played even when it's not being played!

An ugly, old instrument that has been played a lot can be a good sign that the banjo sounds good. It could also mean it wasn't taken care of, or that it was all someone who loved to play could afford to own.

Are there other parts that I need to be sure my banjo has?
A geared 5th string peg is important, but not a requirement. It makes the 5th string MUCH easier to tune and it also will stay in tune better than a friction peg.

You should make sure that your banjo has a truss rod in the neck. Without a truss rod, the neck can't be adjusted. Don't be fooled -- there is NO banjo that doesn't need a truss rod. The tension of the strings on the neck and the humidity and environment the banjo is in will affect the curvature of the banjo neck. A properly set-up banjo will have a small amount of curve (called "relief") in it. The truss rod enables this adjustment to be made and/or changed.

You should also make sure your banjo has a fingerboard. Believe it or not, there are some banjos out there that don't have fingerboards, so the frets are inlayed right into the neck! If you don't plan on having your banjo for a long time, then I guess this won't matter. However, any wear from fingernails and steel strings will be made directly to the neck rather than the fingerboard if your banjo doesn't have a fingerboard. Ebony and rosewood are typical woods for fingerboards because they are very hard woods.

To sum it up, if you are going to play 5-string Scruggs style banjo, you are going to want the best tone ring you can afford, planetary tuners, a resonator, thick tailpiece and a geared 5th string peg. Who makes these? I favor Gold Tone banjos because they offer great prices for what you will get. Their CC-50-RP is probably the best deal on the market. It comes standard with planetary tuners (including 5th string peg), thick tailpiece, and a rolled brass tone ring. It also comes with a gigbag included in the price. Gold Tone offers a lifetime, transferable warranty on it too! If you want something fancier looking in the same style, Gold Tone, Recording King, Morgan Monroe and several other banjos companies make fancier-looking banjos with the same general specifications for slightly more money. The least expensive, full tone ring banjo that I recommend is Gold Tone's MC-150-RP. If you can afford the additional cost, it is well worth it. There are certainly other reputable brands that out there.

If you can't afford a banjo with even a rolled brass tone ring, go for the integrated aluminum rim banjo. Saga, Rover and many older banjos with a variety of names (Kay and "no name" included) made or still make this type of banjo. This is probably the easiest type to find used at a good price.

Please understand that I can't cover every brand of banjo here. Just because I didn't mention a particular brand of banjo doesn't mean that it is bad or inferior. I have experience with the above-mentioned banjos, and I have been very pleased with company support, quality, warranty, and price of these particular banjos.

One way to increase your chances of being happy with your first banjo purchase is to make sure that you purchase it from a reputable person or business. A store that sells banjos but doesn't have anyone working there that plays banjos is probably not going to have a good idea what a beginner needs. They also won't have the know-how to setup a banjo for the best possible sound and playability.

Another thing that will greatly enhance your buying experience is to actually go somewhere that has a lot of banjos to choose from so that you can hear someone play the different banjos. This way, you will understand how different the tone is from banjo to banjo, and you can pick out the tone that you like the best. After all, YOU are the one playing it, so don't you think you should like it?

I hope this article has been helpful to you. Good luck and happy banjo hunting!

Closed November 11-12, 2011

2011-11-10T22:45:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder that The Bluegrass Shack will be closed on Friday and Saturday, November 11th & 12th, 2011. We will be set up as vendors in the Guitar Show at the Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival in Springfield, IL. There's a great line-up of music scheduled for this weekend including Rhonda Vincent, Dailey & Vincent, The Link Family, Dry Branch Firesquad & more!

I will be teaching fiddle and banjo workshops on Saturday afternoon. There will be other workshops as well, so grab your instrument and come join us!

Talent Showcase & Open Stage is scheduled for Saturday morning. This is always a crowd favorite!

Whether you want to listen, pick, or learn, there's something for you! Here's a link to the flyer: http://www.bluegrassmidwest.com/details.php?id=6

We hope that you can make it!

Step One: Writing Your Own Songs

2011-11-08T06:40:00.002-06:00

Perhaps writing your own song is something that you've never thought about before. Or maybe it is something you have thought about but quickly dismissed because you thought you weren't that talented, or creative, or fill in the blank with your own excuse. The wonderful thing about songwriting is that anyone has the ability to do this! It's not as hard as you might think.

Believe it or not, this is a skill that I teach my students over at St. Agatha School. I teach guitar classes there every week, and in addition to playing guitar, I have my students sing and also write their own lyrics. The easiest of exercises is something that the younger students absolutely LOVE! Here's an example.

The first exercise is choosing an existing song and simply adding or changes the lyrics. I start with a song that all the kids know. A good one for very young children is "Frere Jacques." I use the english version, which is "Are You Sleeping Brother John." The lyrics are:

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Brother John, brother John.
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding ding dong. Ding ding dong.

I will choose one person in class (and believe me, they ALL want to be chosen), and I ask that person to tell me something other than sleeping that brother John could be doing. He could be drawing, playing, singing, skipping, or anything else they can dream up. If they want to change the name of the person (John), we do that as well. If we want to get really fancy, then we could change the rest of the lyrics to fit whatever we have decided that brother John is doing. Here's what we might end up with:

Are you skipping? Are you skipping?
Sister Sue? Sister Sue?
Skipping in the morning, skipping in the morning
Skip skip hop. Skip skip hop.

Another song that I have used in the past is "Mountain Dew." The lyrics to a couple of the verses are:

My brother Bill had a still on the hill
He turned out a gallon to two
The buzzards in the sky get so drunk they can't fly
Just from sniffing that good ol' mountain dew.

My Auntie June had a brand new perfume
It had such a wonderful pew
But to her surprise when she had it analyzed
It was nothing but that good ol' mountain dew.

The first step is to think of a liquid other than mountain dew: water, gas, oil, etc. In this example, rhyming is important if you want to maintain the idea of the song. Here's an example that a group of children helped me come up with:

My Grandpa Horn had a field full of corn
He watered it daily at two
But during a drought when the water ran out
He watered it with good ol' mountain dew.

Next, you could decide how you could substitute your chosen liquid for mountain dew, and then what the result would be. The idea is that mountain dew would be better than the liquid substituted. Here's an example I wrote about my band members:

My mom's a beaut, so good looking and cute
Everyone always thinks she's my sis
She rolls back the years drinking quality beers
That are nothing but that good ol' mountain dew.

Zane is so rare with that head full of hair
It is wavy and thick all around
He says it's his genes but we all know he means
That it's nothing but that good ol' mountain dew.

Emily can sing, you should hear her voice ring
It echos through the hollers and the hills
But she's underage so she'd better not engage
In any of that good ol' mountain dew.

The main thing is not to be afraid to try! Kids feel pretty free at doing this. The younger, the better. As kids get older, and also adults as well, they tend to think that anything they come up with is not very good. Don't worry about how "good" your lyrics are. Be creative. Be free. Take out a piece of paper and brainstorm.

This is just the beginning. I plan on writing more later. In the mean time, try this out and remember to have fun!

Results of our October Contest!

2011-10-29T20:58:00.001-06:00

On October 29, 2011, The Bluegrass Shack hosted its annual October Fiddle, Banjo and Flattop Guitar Contest. Wow! What an amazing contest! We had a total of 78 contestants this year. Every year, I am amazed at all the talent, especially of the youngsters that are up and coming. This year was no exception. In fact, it seemed to me that EVERYONE is getting better.

First of all, I want to thank our judges, Dan and Iggie. Chelsea also helped with judging Junior Banjo, and Nikki was Junior Judge in Training helping with the Open Banjo. Carla was our scorekeeper, and all those contestants really had her and our judges hopping! Earl was running all over the place helping out with the food downstairs, medals and trophies upstairs, and everything else in between.

I also want to give an extra special thank you to Lorraine and Ron, who managed all of the kitchen including food, food preparation, beverages, and cleanup. Janice, Mary, John, Cindy, Terry and Dennis also helped out in the kitchen. Ron made a really cool cardboard fiddle hanger to which the food prices were attached.

We had our largest crowd ever, with many folks staying through the entire contest. We appreciate your support, as do all the contestants! Susan Crider won the fiddle outfit, and Zachery Bergmann won the jack-o-lantern that Zane carved. 50/50 winner was Amelia Price. Congratulations to you all!

A big thank you to all the contestants as well. Obviously, we couldn't have a contest without you. You keep us entertained and inspire us! Thank you to Cody and Rick Hall, and also to Earl for taking pictures of all of the contestants for us. I will be posting the pictures on Facebook.

Here are the results of the contest:

Junior Guitar (10 & Under):
1st Place - Colin Gray
2nd Place - J.C. David
3rd Place - Claire Rausch
4th Place - Haley Fizer
5th Place - Noah Lintker
Youngest - Isabelle Hobbs

Junior Guitar (16 & Under):
1st Place - Rosemary Hall
2nd Place - Paige Johnson
3rd Place - Matthew Worthington
4th Place - Silas Demay
5th Place - Colin Gray
Most Entertaining - Nikki Warnecke

Open Guitar (17 & Over):
1st Place - John Brewer
2nd Place - Zane Prosser (Oldest)
3rd Place - Charlie Hall
4th Place - Mike Wall
5th Place - Chelsea Perkinson (Most Entertaining)

Junior Banjo (16 & Under):
1st Place - Lucas Worthington
2nd Place - Emily Hall
3rd Place - Nikki Warnecke
4th Place - Christiana Gray; Josh Dolan
5th Place - Jacob Morgan
Youngest - Joy Worthington (Most Entertaining)

Adult Beginner Banjo:
1st Place - Kevin Martin
2nd Place - Liz Durako
3rd Place - Dennis Huebner
4th Place - Lori Heinrich

Open Banjo (17 & Over):
1st Place - Zach Hardesty (Most Entertaining)
2nd Place - Chelsea Perkinson
3rd Place - Amelia Price
4th Place - Makayla Smith
5th Place - Larry Reuss

Senior Banjo (60 & Over):
1st Place - Ralph White (Oldest)

Adult Beginner Fiddle:
1st Place - Denise Voegele (Most Entertaining)
2nd Place - Susan Crider

Junior II Fiddle (12 & Under):
1st Place - Justin Heinen
2nd Place - Alex Rausch
3rd Place - Patrick Garner
4th Place - Nathanael Worthington
5th Place - Caroline Stewart
Youngest - Isabella Worthington
Most Entertaining - Audrey Neel

Junior I Fiddle (13-17 Years):
1st Place - Rosemary Hall
2nd Place - Paige Johnson
3rd Place - Angela Winkeler
4th Place - Sarah Marsch
5th Place - Emily Morgan
Most Entertaining - Makayla Smith

Open Fiddle (18 & Over):
1st Place - Chelsea Perkinson
2nd Place - Joy Winkeler
3rd Place - Tim Dever
4th Place - Liz Durako
5th Place - Ann White

Senior Fiddle (60 & Over):
1st Place - Zane Prosser
2nd Place - Fred Pringle (Most Entertaining)
3rd Place - Bill Weiss
4th Place - John Barnett (Oldest)

Adults can learn, too!

2011-09-15T22:35:00.000-06:00

Jim had no previous instrument or bluegrass experience and look at what he's accomplished in several years' time! This could be YOU!

Website Still Down

2011-09-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

I apologize to all of you who have been trying to access our website for the past week. When you try to access our website, it sends you to a page that says our domain has expired. Please know that it has not, that we are NOT out of business, and that on our end, everything is just fine. I have worked with about six different people now and was told that it was all good to go last night, and it is not...obviously!

So, I apologize for now and I hope it will be up on Monday. If you would like some help or assistance with anything, please feel free to contact us by phone 618-475-3678 or by e-mail.

The Jerseyville Victorian Festival

2011-09-03T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it through our first day at the Victorian Festival in Jerseyville, Illinois. It was 100 degree weather, and boy was it hot playing today! It was well worth it, though. This is one of our favorite events of the entire year.

My mom, who plays bass, had a whole cheering section to herself today. There were four or five couples who grew up and went to school with her in Greenfield, and they all came out to listen to us play. We saw many of our musical friends, and also talked to many of the reinactors and vendors who have become our friends over the years that we have played here. This year makes five years that we have played for this event, and it just keeps getting better and better!

Besides music on the patio, there are so many things to see and do here. Everything is well-marked, and there is ample parking with a free shuttle running continuously. You can tour the 1866 mansion, watch the reinactors' Duel of Honor or the Civil War, watch a Victorian Era fashion show, buy all kinds of cool stuff at the flea market and vendors' booths, watch an embalming demonstration (I hear someone fainted today during this!), check out old steam engines and steam powered motors, get your picture taken with President and Mrs. Lincoln (who also have their own "show" here), go on a carriage ride, and enjoy some great food and beverages! This is really a great event for the whole family!

There are two days left for you to enjoy this festival. It continues on Sunday and also on Monday (September 4 & 5, 2011). The weather is supposed to be really nice these next two days, so you should come on out and take advantage of it!

~Chris
The Chris Talley Trio

The Bluegrass Shack Closed Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-02T22:35:00.000-06:00

The Bluegrass Shack will be closed from Saturday through Monday over Labor Day Weekend. We will open with our normal business hours on Tuesday. Come on out to the Victorian Festival in Jerseyville, IL and visit us there!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-02T22:33:00.000-06:00

Come have yourself a whole lot of fun this weekend in Jerseyville, IL! The Chris Talley Trio will be playing all weekend from 1:30 - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Victorian Festival. This is a great way to spend a day with friends or your family, and it's great for kids and adults of all ages! CLICK HERE to view all the information you need.

Closed on Saturday, August 27, 2011

2011-08-26T14:37:00.000-06:00

The Bluegrass Shack will be closed on Saturday, August 27, 2011. Come visit us in Pinckneyville, IL at Lake Sallateeska for our 2nd Annual Hee Haw Show and Bluegrass Retreat! Click Here for the flyer!

Children and Music

2011-08-16T10:34:00.000-06:00

Some of the most frequently asked questions I get are about children and music. What age should I start my child on an instrument? What instrument is the best for my child? How much should he/she practice? Should I make him/her practice? Should I get them lessons? Do I really need a smaller instrument?

These are all very valid questions and also important ones to answer, and you may get different answers from different people. My answers are based on 30 years of teaching experience and also talking with others who teach.

What's the best age to start an instrument? I believe that it's not so much the age as it is the child's readiness. Some children are ready as early as two, and others still aren't ready at five. Here are some things that I base readiness on:

Does your child have an attention span of at least 5-10 minutes?
Does your child have an interest in (a) musical instrument(s)?
Does your child exhibit appropriate behavior so that he/she can be taught? (e.g., Are they so shy that they won't be able to work with a teacher even with you present? Are they so full of energy that they are unable to sit for even 5-10 minutes? Can they be taught to respect the instrument and not to throw or damage the instrument they are learning?)

What instrument is best for my child? This question doesn't actually have one "correct" answer. Part of the answer is what instrument is your child big enough to play? Some instruments come in smaller sizes to accommodate smaller fingers, hands and arms. Some do not. What instrument is your child interested in playing? If they REALLY want to play guitar and you want them to learn piano, you may be in for a rough ride. You want to pick your battles.

Should I make my child practice? How much? I do believe that if a child is going to start an instrument, they have to practice. I think how much practice is dependent upon the child's age and level of expertise. Kids have many things they want to do during the course of a day, and they should have time to do some of these things. If your child is as young as two, I would suggest a 5-minute practice with parental involvement. At two, your child will need you for EVERY practice. You will need a good teacher who will work not just with your child, but also with you. You need to know what you should be doing to help your child. You need to be positive and encouraging!

As your child gets older, your involvement in practice will lessen. It SHOULD lessen. I've had several parents in my lifetime that I had to ask to leave the teaching room because they couldn't stop correcting every little thing that was done wrong. That is a sure way to make your child hate practicing and hate playing an instrument. They can't even concentrate on what they are doing because they are just waiting for your next criticism.

Should you MAKE them practice? I believe the answer to this is yes. If you are spending money for an instrument and/or lessons, children should learn the responsibility that comes with that. Also, how can they experience success if they don't practice? If they don't have success, they will not like playing the instrument. When I taught band, I wanted my students to stay for the year and to reach a certain level of expertise before they made the decision to quit. If they didn't practice and showed no improvement, how could they POSSIBLY enjoy playing the instrument? It is hard to enjoy something that you don't do well. You can't get better at it if you don't practice.

I usually recommend 15-30 minutes a day for my students, depending upon their age and maturity. I also recommend taking a few days off during the week. The practice does not have to be done all at once either. Practice can be 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there, or 30 minutes all at once. I also think it is better to have more smaller practices than to have one giant practice. Don't cram all the pratice into two hours on Saturday. You need to spread it out over the course of the week. Better to have 5 minutes on a busy day than nothing at all.

Should I get my child lessons? Can I teach my own child? I think lessons are very valuable. They give your child the chance to learn in a focused setting. They also provide accountability. If you know someone is going to be hearing you do something in a week, you are more likely to practice it and want to show that person that you CAN do it.

If you already play the instrument, it is possible that you can teach your own child. You may or may not want to depending upon how you and your child feel about that. Some children are willing to learn from their parents and some are not. Some parents have patience for something like this and some don't. Some very talented musicians are not good teachers. These are all things to take into consideration.

Do I need a smaller instrument for my child? It is very important that the instrument is the right size for your child. If it is too large, your child will develop bad habits and could even develop physical problems such as tendonitis. If nothing else, the proper size instrument is easier to play. Wouldn't you want to have the easiest to play instrument for yourself? Don't you want that for your child?

What instruments are good for young children? Depending upon the size and age of your child, certain instruments will be out of the question. For instance, your two year old will not be able to play a saxophone. At two, a great instrument is violin. It comes in very small sizes and there are classes made just for children this young. At four, a piano or a small size guitar may be just the ticket. At eight years of age, you might want to try the mandolin. At 10, maybe the banjo. By 4th or 5th grade, most children are big enough to start learning a band instrument.

Where can my child try out the instruments? When I have a parent ask me about their child playing an instrument, I encourage them to make a free appointment with me to show the instruments to the child and let them try them out. This way both the child and the parent have a better idea as to what the instrument sounds like, how large it is, how hard it might be, and how much they actually like it.

There are also instrument petting zoos. The Illinois Old Time Fiddler's Association just had one of these this past weekend. They had a number of different instruments available in different sizes for children to try out.

What should you NOT do? Don't just walk into a music store and start taking down instruments for your child to try. You won't be welcome there. A child needs to learn from the very beginning that if the instrument (or anything else for that matter) doesn't belong to them, they should ask. Many people are very particular about their instrument(s) and don't want anyone, no matter how experienced, to pick up their instrument(s). Most music store personnel will be glad to help you if you ask first. If they don't want to help you, see if you can make an appointment at another time or go somewhere else.

I hope this answers some of the most basic questions you might have. I'll be covering more topics about children and music later. Let me know what you think!

8th Annual Bluegrass Shack Summer Fiddle Contest - Results!

2011-07-20T08:09:00.000-06:00

We celebrated five years in New Athens along with our 8th Annual Bluegrass Shack Summer Fiddle Contest this year on July 17, 2011. It was another hot & steamy day, but we were cool inside the New Athens Community Hall building! Diane was at it again with her delicious, homemade cakes and cookies, and she even prepared the brats and hotdogs! I owe her and Brad a HUGE thank you for their help.

We had about 30 contestants, and we alternated between the contest divisions playing and the audience participating in our pre-planned games. The 12 & Under Division played first, and then we immediately followed that by recognizing Chelsea Perkinson, who is a teacher that has been with us since we opened in New Athens five years ago. Chelsea is a great teacher, a wonderful person, and is so helpful to us! She attends most of our vendor setups and helps us out with everything from packing and unpacking, to customer support. Since she is getting married next year, we decided it would be fun to play our own version of The Dating Game with her and Zachary. We sent Zachary downstairs, and then we proceeded to ask Chelsea some questions. When she had answered all the questions, we brought Zachary back upstairs to see if he knew the "correct" answers. It was quite fun, and actually Zachary did pretty good on the quiz!

We also did several other audience participation games where we had two volunteers at a time come up to compete in several different categories of questions including Fiddle Questions, Bluegrass Shack Questions, and Jam/Jam Etiquette Questions. At one point, Fred was losing against Tim in the Bluegrass Shack Questions category. The audience was helping Fred keep track of score by saying after each question, "Fred, you're losing".

The winners in each of the categories are as follows:

Junior III (12 & Under):
1st Place - Colton Dever
2nd Place - Audrey Neel
3rd Place - Patrick Garner
4th Place - Kaylee Roberts
5th Place - Caroline Stewart
Most Entertaining: Lindsey Martin
Youngest Performer: Cole Johnson

Junior II (13-15 Years):
1st Place - Rosemary Hall
2nd Place - Paige Johnson
3rd Place - Aubrie Spinka
4th Place - Trista Ogilvie

Junior I (16-18 Years):
1st Place - Kat Dierksen
2nd Place - Angela Winkeler

Senior (60+ Years):
1st Place - John Bell
2nd Place - Zane Prosser
3rd Place - Fred Pringle
4th Place - Andy Talley (Oldest Performer)
5th Place - Bill Weiss

Open (19-59 Years):
1st Place - Chelsea Perkinson
2nd Place - Dennis Huebner
3rd Place - Liz Durako
4th Place - Joy Winkeler
5th Place - Tim Dever

Our judges for the contest were Janice Nirscher and Marc Renard. Both are very competent players at classical and bluegrass styles, and both are also excellent judges. Having judged contests before, I know how hard and unappreciated this job is. I want to personally thank both Janice and Marc for giving of their time and talents to help make this a great contest.

Zachary took on the job of score tabulation, which is something that is just impossible for me to do when I am emceeing and backing musicians. Liz, Cindy, and Chelsea helped with registration, the door, sales, and anything else that was needed. Too many people to mention helped me with chair setup and/or cleanup. Lorraine and Earl were busy taking pictures and videos for me, and Earl helped me out with passing out the trophies, medals and prize money. A giant thank you to all!

I hope I haven't left anyone out! This type of event takes everyone working together for it to be successful. I couldn't do it by myself and I truly appreciate everyone's support!

Closed Saturday, July 9, 2011

2011-07-08T22:43:00.000-06:00

The Bluegrass Shack will be closed on Saturday, July 9, 2011. Come on over to Carlyle Lake Dam (West Recreation Area) for the Duck Races and see The Pickin' Chicks! They will be playing from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Click here for more information.

July Fiddle Contest and 5-Year Anniversary

2011-07-07T14:18:00.000-06:00

Did you know that July 2011 marks the 5-year anniversary for The Bluegrass Shack in New Athens, IL? Well, we can hardly believe it ourselves! We love being located in a small town, and we love the people and community here in New Athens. It really is like a family here! We plan on adding a few additional things to our July fiddle contest this year to help celebrate our 5th year. We hope you'll come and enjoy the day with us!

The date set for our fiddle contest is July 17, 2011. It will be held at the Community Hall in New Athens, IL, with registration open at Noon, and the contest starting at 1:00 p.m. There are a total of five division: Junior III (12 & Under); Junior II (13-15 Years); Junior I (16-18 Years); Open (19-59 Years); and Senior (60 & Above). Top prize in the Open Division is $150 plus a trophy. All juniors will receive a medal regardless of placement.

For directions and more information, please feel free to give us a call at 618-475-3678, send us an e-mail, or take a look at our flyer below. Click on the flyer to make it larger.

Flash Flooding

2011-06-20T06:54:00.000-06:00

It's been said that hindsight is 20/20. In this case, I'm not sure I knew enough to be able to say that it was possible to have anything other than that! The main reason I'm writing this blog entry is to help prevent someone from being electrocuted.

For those of you who have been to the Bluegrass Shack, you are probably wondering how we ended up with flooding. We are not near a creek, though we are near the Kaskaskia River. Not only is the river WAY downhill from where we are located, there is a levee there as well. Even if the levee broke, there is little chance of our building being affected by it. With the storms we had over the weekend, though, things were just right all over the place for flash flooding. The road in front of the shop sits higher than our parking lot, and our building is not raised. We have some drainage ditches and pipes set up to take the water away from the building. There were strong winds that caused the rain to come very hard, very fast, and at an angle to the front of the shop. This allowed the water to come off the road in sheets and fill up the drainage ditches. That alone may not have caused the flooding, but with the rain coming in at an angle, it was forced in under the doors at the front of the shop.

At first, the only thing I could think of was to get rid of the water, which was about an inch deep in both my teaching room and the workshop. That's an area of about 40' x 12', separated into two rooms. By the grace of God, Dennis just happened to come by so I wasn't cleaning up by myself. He took the shop and I took my teaching room. Part way into cleanup, I noticed my computer screen blinking. As a matter of habit, I never leave power strips, surge protectors, or plug-ins of any kind on the floor. (For me, it is more a matter of cleaning and keeping them out of the way of the vacuum cleaner.) There had been a lot of lightening, so I initially thought the surge protector must have taken a hit. Then the power went off to the outlets in my teaching room. I went to the electric box to see if any of the circuits had tripped. Everything was locked into the "on" position, so I just started going through the box turning every circuit off and then on. The power to the outlets was restored, so Dennis and I got some fans going. Then we both started smelling electricity.

Neither Dennis nor I know much about electricity. There is an outlet in the front of my teaching room that is low to the ground. It didn't look like water had been in the outlet, though there was evidence of water creeping up the wall there. I made a couple of phone calls and was informed I should turn off the circuit to the outlets.

We have several friends who are electricians, so I first contacted Rich. He is only a block from the store. Not long after that, Dan just happened to drop by. He is also an electrician. The two of them were working together to try to figure out what was going on. The outlet in front was actually bone dry. There was even dust inside the box. The outlets all showed full power, though every time I tried to plug in my monitor, it would flash and a surge was visible every few seconds at regular intervals. When I plugged the monitor into the entension cord that was run from an outlet in the main showroom, it worked fine.

Without going into more details, it was eventually determined that there is a junction box in the concrete floor in my teaching room that is apparently waterlogged. It's not visible because it is below the floor. Only the three outlets in my room are affected by this junction box. When the floor was covered with water, I was unknowingly standing and working in a live electrical field. The type of problem that was occurring probably would not have killed me, but it was, excuse the pun, quite a shock to find out about this!

The best way for someone to avoid getting shocked from flood waters of any kind, is to turn off the circuits to the room(s) that are affected by water until you have removed all the water. Wear rubber soled shoes. As far as knowing anything else, I can't really answer that. If things don't work right, if you smell electricity, if the circuit or outlets or lights don't work correctly, turn off the circuits and call an electrician.

Making a Band Work: Personnel

2011-06-13T09:47:00.002-06:00

I think band personnel suitability is probably something that has been overlooked (or maybe under-looked) by many when considering start up and/or replacement band members. It is also one of the most important things to consider, so don't let this seemingly little issue sneak up on you!

What do I mean by this? Well, basically a band is like a marriage, only you are married to more than one person! Not exactly, but close enough. When considering adding members to a band, there are so many things to consider in addition to raw talent. I'd like to discuss this, and would love to hear your comments on this as well! And remember, just as there are no perfect people in this world, you will not find the perfect band member either! Decide what is most important and HAVE FUN!

TALENT & MUSICAL COMPATIBILITY - I am listing this first because it is very important. This is probably the sole factor that most people consider, and it is certainly an important one.

Is the person you are interested in talented enough to fit in with the rest of the members? Too talented? You want to find someone that will mesh musically with the other members. If they are not a good musical fit, there will either be problems with the other band members because the newbie can't keep up musically, or the newbie will become frustrated with the progress of the rest of the band.

Is the style of music compatible? As with most types of music, there are major differences even within the same style. What style does your band want to play? Do you want something straight-forward and simple, or are you wanting something more complex and less traditional? Are original songs important to you?

Do you need a singer? And does that singer need to be able to sing lead AND harmony, or just one of those? Will the new singer's voice blend well with the other singers?

Are you planning to TEACH the newbie, or does s/he need to pretty much know everything or be able to learn everything on his/her own?

MATURITY LEVEL - Is the person you are considering on the same level maturity-wise? Will they become offended easily? Will they know when to have fun and when to be serious? Will they be an embarrassment to the rest of the band, or will the rest of the band embarrass them? These issues are important to consider, because you will be spending a lot of time with this person.

VISION - This is oh so important! What is the vision of the band? Is it important that everyone share the same vision? Probably so! If one person is looking a different direction, they won't truly be involved whole-heartedly in the band. Are you wanting local gigs? Gigs that you can come home to every night? Do you want to travel? Spend entire weekends or even more at festivals? Do you want to become famous? Make it in Nashville? If the band is not together on this issue, you will be butting heads constantly! All of your practice, advertising, bookings and dreams are going to be rolled up in the band's vision.

Please be aware that vision can change, too! Someone who might have started out on the same page can decide later that this isn't what they thought it was. Life can change and cause the vision to change as well. It's NO BIG DEAL! Don't be mad at the person, wish them well! It's better for everyone!

DISTANCE & PRACTICES - Is the new person close enough to be able to attend practices without a hardship? How often are you planning on having practices? How long do you expect the practices to last? Where are the majority of the gigs going to be? Will one person have to travel a lot farther than everyone else? Will they be compensated for gas? It doesn't really matter what the answers are to these questions as long as you have covered them to everyone's satisfaction.

TIMELINESS - Everyone has a different level of comfort as far as how important it is to be on time. As a person who tries to be on time, this is something that is very important to me, especially when it comes to being to gigs on time. However, as a person who is married to someone who is generally not on time, I understand how this can affect others. I have become more prepared to make us on time for important things, and let the less important things slide a little.

PAY & EQUIPMENT - Will any of the band's monies be put away to purchase equipment or other band needs? Is everyone in agreement with this? Does the equipment (PA, mics, cables, etc.) belong to one person and will that person be the one doing all the hauling, setup, replacement, etc.? Will they be compensated? How many freebies will the band do? Favors? These are important for a band. What is the standard pay for a gig? Does that change with distance? Once again, the answers aren't as important as the agreement!

VENUES - Will you play in bars? Smoky places? In the heat? Cold? Do you have religious or health reasons for not playing in certain places?

THE LOOK - Are you going to have outfits for the band, and if so, will the band members be responsible for purchasing these? If not outfits, are you going to have restrictions on what can be worn for certain gigs? For instance, if it's hot, are shorts allowed? Tank tops? Jeans with holes? T-shirts with advertising? Tennis shoes?

IMPORTANT OTHERS - Is the new person single or married? Young? You do need to consider the important "others" in this person's life because they WILL impact the band. Is the new person married to someone who hates music and will do anything to stop it? Is the new person underage needing transportation to everything? Will parents be involved?

If you want harmony and fun in your band, these are all important issues. As with a marriage, you want to add someone who will enhance what you already have. Don't count on making major changes to the person you add! If a person doesn't fit in with your group, that's okay! It doesn't mean they aren't a good musician or good person! It just means they aren't right for your group. And it's a good thing that your group isn't the only one available! There's something out there for everyone -- so go find it!

National Single Mic Competition

2011-05-23T12:25:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, my band (The Chris Talley Trio) competed in the National Single Mic Championship in Silver Dollar City. This is the first time we have ever entered a band competition of this type, and it was the first time I have ever seen the band competition. It was absolutely amazing.

First, let me say that all the competing bands had to submit a DVD or audio recording, then the submissions were screened and voted on, and then the bands were sent letters that stated whether or not they were accepted into the competition. Only 20 bands were chosen to compete.

This is a two-day competition with three judges each day, for a total of six different judges. The judges from Day 1 cannot talk to the judges from Day 2, and the judges cannot see the bands perform on the days they are not judging. Bands are judged on their vocal abilities, instrumental abilities, showmanship, how they work the single microphone and audience reaction (which is actually only a minimal 10% of the score).

The Chris Talley Trio and another student band from The Bluegrass Shack, Charlie & the Girls, both competed. I thought both bands did really well! In fact, as Zane put it, "The only way I could have done any better was to have someone else do it for me"! As much as I hate to admit it, my band was not the best band. We were amazing, but not amazing enough! The Link Family won first place, and they were SOOO deserving of this! Everything they did was incredible, from working the mic, to vocals, to instrumentals, to showmanship, to having full audience approval and standing ovations both days.

Now, just for the sake of anyone else wondering, what could my band have done better? (Maybe this will help you!) Well, one thing I realized is that a three or four person band cannot really compete with a five, six or seven person band when it comes to working the mic. I mean, what can two people do to work the mic on instrumentals other than trade places? With more people, you can get really creative with how you work the mic and how you come in and out of breaks and vocals.

Secondly, you've got to have excellent three- or four-part harmony. (That much I think we really had!) Some bands had practically no harmony or just two-part harmony. There are certain songs that are made for that, like Emily and Rosemary's amazing song on the second day, but you don't want to only have two-part harmony for the entire presentation.

Next, your instrumental breaks need to be amazing. My band could have done better in this department. I personally like simple, and so I tend to play things pretty straight-forward and solid. The winning bands absolutely blew away many of the other bands with incredible instrumental breaks. These breaks weren't necessarily non-traditional, because you could tell what songs they were playing. They were clean, original, tasteful, and in many cases shared with another instrument (split break).

Stage presence is of utmost importance in this competition. The winning bands really had this down. They looked at the audience, they CONNECTED with the audience, they had FUN! Many of them had great outfits and looked SHARP. I thought we also did well in this category, but it simply wasn't enough!

Now that it's all over, I am really glad that we were accepted into the competition and were able to participate. It was something I will never forget! As a musician, I know I have a more discerning ear than the general listener. This makes listening to bands not always so enjoyable for me. That was not the case at all on Saturday and Sunday. I can't EVER remember hearing so many really good bands at one time. D.A. Calloway and Silver Dollar City really outdid themselves on this one! Now I am full of ideas and can hardly wait to practice again!

Improving Your Band's Vocals

2011-05-17T00:14:00.000-06:00

What can you do to make your band’s vocals better? Short of having a better voice or more talent, there are a number of things you can do to improve them. Although this entry isn’t intended to go into detail, it should give you some very general ideas for improving your vocals. Hopefully, a few of these tips will be just what you need to start making your band’s vocals better!

ONE PERSON PER PART – When singing harmony, only one person should sing each part. That means one person each sings lead, tenor, baritone, and/or bass at the same time. If you have several people sharing the same part, you will sound more like a choir than you will a band. Sharing parts also makes it difficult to get a good blend.

ONE PERSON PER NOTE – Not only should parts not be shared, but individual notes should not be shared. Good harmony never shares notes unless it is the bass part in four-part harmony (which would be singing shared notes in a lower octave). For instance, if you are singing the lead, the tenor and baritone part should not sing the same note you are singing in the same place at the same time in the song. If two people are singing the same note at the same time, then you must determine who is singing the incorrect note and then find the correct note.

PRONOUNCE YOUR WORDS CLEARLY – You must be more exact with your pronunciation when you are singing than you are when you are talking. This is called “diction.” If your diction is not good, then people will not be able to understand what you are singing.

In addition to having good diction, everyone that sings together must pronounce all words the same way and at exactly the same time. When I am working with groups that are having trouble with this, I have them say the words of the song rhythmically. It’s basically rapping the song. When the group can speak the words rhythmically and exactly together, then I have them go back to trying to sing the words with the same accuracy. This usually works very well!

Another thing that helps people sing the words together is to have everyone watch the mouth of the lead singer. Basically, everyone is reading the lips of the lead singer. The more obvious the lead singer can make the words, cutoffs and phrases, the better everyone else will be at matching these things. After groups have been together for a while, this becomes less necessary, as everyone will get a feel for how the lead singer pronounces words and phrases.

HOLD OUT THE NOTES AT THE ENDS OF PHRASES – When you get to the end of a phrase, make sure you hold out the note. Don’t cut the notes off too short unless the song is supposed to be sung that way.

BLEND – Matching tone quality is very important. This is something that families tend to do quite well because of the genetic advantage. Even if your band isn’t composed of family members, there are things you can do to help blend better.

If your voice is too harsh, try expelling more air as you sing. (Think sexy.) This will soften your voice and make it sound more pleasant.

If your voice is too airy, then use more support from your diaphragm. (See next tip.)

Included with blending is making sure each part is the correct volume level. The lead part always needs to be the loudest part, or at least AS LOUD AS the other parts. If you have a softer voice, then you will need to work the microphone closer so that your part can be heard easily. Likewise, if you have a very loud voice or if you are very loud on certain parts of a vocal, then you need to make sure you are not too close to the microphone. If you work a single mic, then this will be even more important.

USE YOUR DIAPHRAGM – Your diaphragm is a big muscle that sits below your lungs. It directly affects your tone quality and your ability to hold pitch and length of notes. To see if you are using your diaphragm when you are singing, just try this simple test. Take your hand or several fingers and put them on your stomach with your stomach relaxed. Press with your hand to feel what your stomach feels like when relaxed. Now tighten your stomach and feel what it feels like. Now sing several phrases of a song and use your hand to determine if your diaphragm is tight or relaxed. If your diaphragm is relaxed when you are singing, then you need to start working on tightening it when you sing.

OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND MOVE YOUR LIPS – This goes along with good diction and pronouncing your words clearly. When you open your mouth, it makes your voice sound more open. Moving your mouth and lips will also make your words easier to understand. I tell my students to pretend that the audience is deaf and can only read lips. I also tell my students watch themselves sing in a mirror to see if they are actually opening their mouths and moving their lips. Many times students think they are doing this when they aren’t. Watching yourself in a mirror will show you whether or not you are doing this as much as you think you are.

HOLD OUT VOWEL SOUNDS – When holding out a note, be sure to hold out the vowel sound of the word. For instance, if you are singing the word “star,” hold out the “ah” part of the word and not the “ar” part.

Stay tuned for more helpful blog entries! Is there something you want help with? Let me know!

CLOSING FOR INVENTORY

2011-05-11T11:52:00.000-06:00

CLOSING FOR INVENTORY - Please note that The Bluegrass Shack will be closed for inventory from Friday, May 20 through Monday, May 30, 2011. No mail orders will go out during this time and there will be no one answering the phones, but I will answer e-mail during this time. There WILL BE lessons during this time. Students should contact their teachers directly for revised lesson times. We will open again on Tuesday, May 31, 2011.

CD Release Party - yeah!

2011-05-10T22:37:00.001-06:00

The CD Release Party for The Chris Talley Trio and The Pickin' Chicks was a wonderful success! We had so much fun! Nikki and Mallory decorated the stage area with CDs, which were hung from the ceiling and attached to the edge of the stage. Several tables were set up at one side of the stage against the wall where the CDs were available for sale, along with business cards, stickers, t-shirts and several other items.

The evening started with great food downstairs and great bands performing upstairs. Dual Generation hit the stage at 5:00 p.m. sharp. Chelsea heads up this group, and for those of you who don't know, Chelsea has been a teacher at The Bluegrass Shack since we opened here in New Athens five years ago. They did a great job and were a big hit with the crowd, too! I especially loved "Walk That Lonesome Valley." The rest of the band includes Dennis, a volunteer here at The Bluegrass Shack; and Fred and Kat, both students of Chelsea.

Charlie & the Girls performed on stage next. Their harmonies are outstanding, and they have that wonderful blend that only family harmony has. They are currently recording their first CD, so maybe you'll be attending their CD release party next! Charlie and Emily both teach here at The Bluegrass Shack.

Next up was The Worthing10's. What a joy it is to see this family perform! They played four tunes, including "Georgia Piney Woods," and their choreography working the single mic was fantastic.   Lucas and Katarina sounded especially good together on their vocals. Katarina teaches piano lessons at The Bluegrass Shack.

By this time, there were as many people upstairs listening as there were downstairs eating! The Chris Talley Trio was taking to the stage, and Earl was manning the camera. This was the Trio's first performance since Zane's 2nd triple bypass surgery just six weeks or so ago! We performed every song on our new CD, entitled "Cold Frosty Morn." It was so good to be on stage with Zane again! We also performed the four songs that we are planning on playing in the Single Mic Competition at Silver Dollar City this month. You can keep track of the Trio's performance schedule by visiting their website at http://www.chris-talley.com/.

Rounding out the performances that evening was The Pickin' Chicks. They started their part of the show thanking many people who made this evening possible for them. They also gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Since this was their first CD release, I planned several fun things for their time on stage. I think the part I enjoyed the most was asking questions about the individual band members. This is how it worked. I asked each of the girls to make 10 questions (and answers) about themselves that others might find interesting and might also be able to guess. I took these lists on stage, and then asked if anyone in the audience thought they might be able to answer the questions. First up were Paige's questions. I ended up picking BOTH of her music teachers! It was Chelsea (her fiddle & guitar teacher) up against Marilyn (her piano and vocal teacher). Each contestant had a triangle and dinger. I would ask a question, and the first person to ding was allowed to answer the question. If the question was answered correctly, then a point was awarded. If incorrect, then the other person got to try to answer the question. It was close, but Chelsea won this one.

Next up was Mallory's questions. It was Mallory's boyfriend pitted against her best friend. As Mallory's boyfriend was working his way to the stage, Mallory's dad yelled, "You'd better not know too much!" The funniest thing to happen was when I asked the question "What is Mallory's boyfriend's name?" and the best friend was able to beat him to the answer!

Millie's questions were answered by both of her grandpas.    I never knew that John Deere green was Millie's favorite color, but several farmers from the crowd were quite pleased to hear this! In the end, the paternal grandpa pulled ahead to win a small, decorative fiddle in its own little case.

Nikki's questions were answered by a friend and a neighbor. I think Nikki's questions were probably the toughest, and neither girl knew the answer to a good number of her questions. By this time, the Chicks themselves were dying to answer the questions, and were giving hints that bordered on direct answers! The most interesting bit of information about Nikki was that her banjo used to belong to Steve Martin.

The Pickin' Chicks also acknowledged Don Carroll and Rodney Schilling. Don made the Pickin' Chicks logo, and Rodney had a sign made for the Pickin' Chicks with their logo on it. Rodney and his wife, Tammy, presented the girls with their new sign at the beginning of their performance. The logo appears on the inside of the new CD, on t-shirts, their business card and everything else that is Pickin' Chicks oriented!

The Pickin' Chicks played every song on their new CD in addition to the songs they plan on playing in the Silver Dollar City Youth in Bluegrass Competition. The audience loved their performance and they received a standing ovation. Make sure you check out their website at http://www.pickinchicks.com/ or their Facebook page for their upcoming performances.

After the last song by The Pickin' Chicks, Zane, Chris and Kabbie jumped back up on stage to play for the dancers. We had 18 couples for The Virginia Reel, and did they ever dance! Next up, we had a Hat Dance. I thought this dance was the most fun to watch! Each guy or girl that had the hat got to decide who to dance with. It was up to the two that were to be picked from to make themselves desireable to the person with the hat. You should have seen the flirting! It was hysterical! If anyone has pictures of this, please send them to me so I can post them. Lastly, we had two squares for Nine Pin. Lucas gladly called the dances for me while I played the fiddle.

I can't remember the last time I had such a fun time! It made me especially happy to see people from the neighborhood, both old and young, having fun together. Please take a look at The Bluegrass Shack Facebook page for pictures from the party.    Thank you to all who attended and also those who helped us out! YOU are a blessing to us!

What's Been Going On?

2011-04-30T05:00:00.004-06:00

Wow! What a year it has been. Usually, I don't blog about anything personal, but this year has been full of both personal and business highs and lows, especially since Christmas.

Right before Christmas, both The Chris Talley Trio and The Pickin' Chicks started recording CDs. For my student band, The Pickin' Chicks, it was their first. What joy to see these young girls raise their OWN money that they saved themselves to pay for their project! The Chris Talley Trio, though on its 6th CD, was recording the first one with 15-year Emily who had never been in the studio before. She performed in the studio like a pro and we are all so proud of her! The studio time and production time for the CDs has been the fastest ever. We are now preparing for our joint CD Release Party, which is one week from today. How exciting!

My biggest personal triumph has been figuring out the cause of my migraine headaches that I have endured for the past eight years. At Christmas, they were so bad I was cancelling many lessons and it seemed I hardly had a day when I wasn't affected by them. I was sent back to the hospital for another MRI and told to take yet a different medication. Before I could even fill that prescription, a friend of my husband's told me magnesium had cured his migraines. One bloodtest later and a trip to Walmart, and I was taking magnesium and on my way to feeling 15 years younger and headache-free! After three months, my mag levels are normal and I went from having four headaches a week to just a couple a month. Praise God for miracles, because believe me, this was truly a miracle!

It's been a little more than a year since I lost band member, Bill, to a brain tumor. Next thing I know, band member, Zane, is having his second triple-bypass. I spent the entire day at the hospital, sleeping off and on in a chair in the waiting room with his family and friends. One week ago today, we had our first band practice since January. What a relief that Zane is doing so well! What fun that we are finally back together again! That's a good thing, too, with our CD Release Party one week away and a Single Mic Competition at Silver Dollar City a month away!

In addition to all of this, both of my parents and my husband's dad have had surgery. Some planned, some not so planned, but all with positive outcomes. Just another reason to praise the Lord!

Now enter The Pickin' Chicks...this is a story all on its own! In my efforts as a teacher to help my students learn to play together, I put together four girls that I thought were pretty evenly matched skill-wise. This wasn't without much begging, pleading and arm-twisting. Mallory, the guitar player, wasn't even playing guitar at the time! She had given it up, while her sister, Nikki, was simply tearing it up on the banjo. I could hardly stand to see these two talented young girls not play together! The first bass player for the group got involved in high school activities and then I was faced with finding a replacement for her. It's been about one and half years since these girls got together. What have they accomplished? Probably the first and foremost is that they LOVE playing together as a band. They have found out that being in a band means a lot of hard work, and that something this good is worth working for. They have endured many long meetings while we work out personal/band issues between both the girls and their families. They have felt the joys of winning, the sorrows of losing, and the sting of jealously from others. They have so many gigs that we have had to stop booking! They opened for Missouri Boatride and played for a sold out crowd at The Falls. They will be opening for Willie Nelson's Country Music Throwdown in Sparta in June of this year. They have made their first CD. All of this for a group that didn't even want to play together. All of this with my sole goal for them being learning to play together. I never planned for them to have their own website, Facebook page and CD...

Many of you know that my husband, Earl, is a retired police officer. He was medically retired when his back was broken on the job. It took three years for this to be resolved after his injury, but it finally was resolved. For Earl's 50th birthday TO THE DAY, we found ourselves sitting in the courtroom testifying that he was still unable to return to police duty. Imagine having to go through all of this AGAIN! I can't explain what this is all about, but let's just say the pension board doesn't want to pay his pension or health insurance. We have yet to hear the outcome, but we are praying daily. How does a man who can't do many of the things he used to do, who has daily pain, cope not just with the loss of what used to be, but now the frustration of having to go through all of this again. All I can say is that he is a wonderful man and I am blessed to have him as my husband.

Lastly, The Bluegrass Shack will be celebrating five years in its New Athens location as of June 2011. Because this is such a huge milestone in and of itself, I will be dedicating an entire blog entry to this event soon. In short, it's been an amazing journey with many more chapters yet to come! We hope you'll join us for them!

My Favorite Student

2011-04-26T05:07:00.001-06:00

What makes a good student? You might be surprised at my answer! The good news? YOU could be that student!

1) Practice - My favorite students practice regularly. They might not be able to practice for hours a day, but they practice almost daily...even if it is just for 15 minutes! My favorite students also know the difference between practicing and playing. Playing is maintaining what you already know, and practicing is learning and sharpening new material.

Not only do they practice regularly, but they actually practice what I ask them to practice and IN THE WAY I ask them to practice. They might use a metronome, a recording or a loop technique (practicing one small section of a song over and over again). They memorize their songs, chord progressions, or whatever else the lesson entails...even if it takes a while to get it memorized (like weeks or months for some).

They also prepare written material when asked, even if they aren't sure it is being done correctly.

2) Playing - My favorite students take the time to go through old material often enough that most of it can still be played, even if it means they need to go through it a few times to "reconnect" with it.

3) Jamming - My favorite students play with others. This can mean jamming with a DVD, CD, the radio or with other people. They understand the importance of going on when they make a mistake, and that perfect playing is not always the goal.

4) Questions - My favorite students aren't afraid to ask questions. In fact, some of them have notebooks that they write questions in so that they can go through them during the lesson.

5) Reliable - My favorite students come to their lessons regularly, but even more importantly, let me know ahead of time when they can't come. Interestingly enough, there are a few that have difficult work schedules, but they still manage to work with me so that we can make sure they get the most out of the lessons that they are able to attend.

6) Honest - My favorite students tell me what they need! Maybe I need to slow down, be more encouraging, skip something or do something over again. Whatever it is, they aren't afraid to let me know so that I can be a better teacher for them!

What may surprise you is that my favorite students are not necessarily my "best" or "most talented" students, though some of them are. They might not even be in the top 50% of talent. Many of them don't even have "natural" talent--they have learned talent! (Or should I say earned talent!) They bring me lots of joy because they are hard workers and they don't give up. What more can a teacher ask for?

The best news of all? YOU can be that student!

CD Release Party!

2011-04-17T21:43:00.001-06:00

The Chris Talley Trio and The Pickin' Chicks are having a joint CD Release Party on Saturday, May 7, 2011. It will be held at 5:00 p.m. at the New Athens Community Hall. It is FREE for all! We are planning games, jamming, square dancing, and a potluck dinner. Bring a dish of food and join us for the fun!

CDs and DVDs will be available for sale, as well as t-shirts and other items. Guest bands performing in addition to the Trio and the Chicks include Charlie & the Girls, The Worthing10's and Dual Generation.

Click on the flyer for more details and directions. We hope you'll come join us!

Contest Results for Eureka, MO Festival

2011-03-20T18:51:00.000-06:00

MABC's Youth Competitions at the 11th Annual Spring Indoor Bluegrass Festival were great. We had a total of 38 contestants (combined) for the fiddle, banjo and talent competition. As usual, the talent was simply amazing! It gets better every year. Here are the contest results:

Junior Banjo

1st - Nikki Warnecke (Most Entertaining)

2nd - Christi Gray (Youngest)

3rd - Lucas Worthington

4th - Emily Hall

5th - Curtis Lewis

Fiddle Contest

1st - Heather Stortz

2nd - Rosemary Hall

3rd - Trustin Baker (Most Entertaining)

4th - Makayla Smith

5th - Paige Johnson

Audrey Neel - Youngest

Other Talent

1st - The Pickin' Chicks

2nd - The Baker's

3rd - Emily & Rosemary Hall

4th - Paige Rumelhart

5th - Mallory Warnecke

Great job everyone!

March 19, 2011

2011-03-18T09:19:00.000-06:00

The Bluegrass Shack will be closed on Saturday, March 19, 2011. Come join us in Eureka, MO for the big bluegrass festival!

Bluegrass This Weekend!

2011-03-18T09:18:00.000-06:00

This weekend is MABC's 11th Annual Spring Indoor Bluegrass Festival held in Eureka, MO. On Friday, March 18, 2011, I will be managing the Youth Fiddle, Banjo, and Talent Competitions. You really don't want to miss this! It is absolutely amazing to see the talent of the up-and-coming musicians. There will be a free movie on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., and bluegrass bands for all of the rest of the afternoon and evening! There is lots of jamming around the entire facility, so bring your instruments or just yourself and join in the fun! Click here for a copy of the flyer.

Nikki Picks the Banjo!

2011-03-10T23:08:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I posted anything of Nikki's lately. She has been playing banjo for four years now and is really doing well. I took this video today for Nikki to practice with, so I wasn't actually intending to post it. (Surprise, surprise Nikki!) It turned out so good I thought I'd go ahead and post it for everyone to listen to. Great job, Nikki!

New Banjo DVD Now Available!

2011-03-10T22:48:00.001-06:00

Bluegrass Shack Productions is proud to present Chris Talley Armstrong's 2nd instructional banjo DVD -- Easy Banjo Tunes 1. It is now available for purchase on the Learn Bluegrass website, or directly from The Bluegrass Shack.

As with all of Chris' instructional DVDs, every song is explained in detail, note by note. Tab is also available as a free download for every song on the DVD for those that would like to have that available as an additional learning aid. The best part? Over 60 minutes of instruction for only $21.99!

Songs on the DVD include Blackberry Blossom, Old Joe Clark, Bill Cheatham, Clinch Mountain Backstep and Turkey in the Straw. Take a look at the YouTube video below to see actual footage from the DVD.

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

2011-02-05T07:26:00.001-06:00

This is probably something that sounds like commonsense to many folks, but something that is often overlooked, especially among newer or inexperienced musicians. We, as musicians or wannabes, spend a fair amount of time listening to other bands and musicians that we love and would like to emulate. (And that's a good thing.) It's so easy in the midst of it all for beginners to feel like they can't or shouldn't play for (or with) others because they aren't as good as everyone else. They have the tendency to feel like if they can't do it just like their favorite group, or if they can't do something complicated, or in the right key, or a certain speed, or any one of a number of other things, that they just shouldn't play at all.

First of all, we all have to start somewhere! Have you forgotten that almost every one of us that currently plays "out" used to feel the same way? (And sometimes still do...) The ability to play in front of others is not something that magically falls on most of us. It is something that is practiced and experienced. I wasn't born smiling and playing on stage, though now it feels very comfortable. I also was not comfortable being the emcee...at all! In fact, I would listen to recordings of myself singing or emceeing and would just cringe at the sound of my own voice. What kept me going? Well, for one, there was no one else in the group at the time that could do what I was trying to do. It was me or no one, and we had gigs to fulfill. So what did I learn from this?

Stop comparing yourself to others! Listening to other musicians and groups is really a wonderful thing to do. It gives you ideas, it gives you something to shoot for, it helps you to become a better musician; however, that group is already "there." Do we really need another Earl Scruggs or Bill Monroe? I'm not saying you can't copy what is already there and works, but don't forget that someone had to create it in the first place. Why not you? Why not put your best foot forward? Quit thinking you can't possibly add something to the music because you aren't as good, or experienced, or talented, or whatever!

Figure out what you do well and capitalize on it! So you have a small group of three people. You are preparing for a short gig. All of you sing lead, but only one person can sing harmony. Is it really hard to figure out that the person who can sing harmony should not sing a lot of lead? If they do, even if they are the best lead singer, you won't have any harmony!

Even though you all play different instruments for the band, is there any instrument that all three of you can play? What about three-part harmony on an instrumental for a change up? No one has to be an expert if all three can play a different part together!

Maybe one person in your group is more outgoing than the others. Can that person possibly do the emcee work? Tell a joke? Involve the audience in some way? If there is someone or a group of folks that you know that are coming to listen to you, can you involve them from the stage? Dedicate a song to someone you know in the audience!

If you can't play super fast, play slower and play WELL. Are you very nervous? I used to be so nervous when I first started singing lead that my voice would shake. I found out that the longer I was on stage, the better it got, though. I started playing an instrumental as the first song on the set list, and then I would have someone else in the group sing lead on the first song so that I could settle down a little bit before I had to sing lead. It worked wonders for me!

When I started playing fiddle, I found out it was like starting over again when I played it on stage. I was surprised because I have played on stage enough that I thought it shouldn't have mattered. Well, it did! I found out I had to play easier songs at first. When I tried to play the harder songs I knew, I kept messing them up and my confidence level sunk. It was so frustrating! Then I started playing songs that sounded good, but weren't hard to play. A good case in point? About five years ago or so, a friend and fellow musician won the Boy Scouts' Jamboree and had the chance to play in front of the President of the United States. I asked him what he played. He looked at me kind of sheepishly and responded "Bile Them Cabbage Down." Let me tell you -- this is a GREAT fiddle player! He could have played any one of a number of harder tunes, but he knew how good this song sounds with double stops on the fiddle, he could play umpteen variations of it, and he also knew he could do it in his sleep. Now that's smart!

Practice with your group at least once a week, even if your "group" is simply a jam session that you attend. Don't be afraid to rearrange songs to fit you or your experience level! This doesn't mean you can't change later on. It's part of putting your best foot forward.

First Week of February

2011-01-30T21:47:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are not local, I just wanted to let you know that we are expecting a HUGE winter storm that may include power and telephone outages. This means that I may not be able to answer e-mail or phone calls, and we may not even be open during our normal business hours.

Timing, Tone & Technique

2011-01-15T06:06:00.002-06:00

I received an e-mail from Mary several weeks ago asking me if I would post about the "Three T's - Timing, Tone and Technique." Here are some of my thoughts.

Of the three, timing (rhythm) is certainly the most important in my opinion. I don't care how beautiful you can make your instrument sound, or how perfect your technique might be -- if you can't keep time, you are lost, musically speaking. Maybe you are saying, "I'll never really play with anyone other than myself, so what does it matter?" It still does! What distinguishes one song from another? It's not just the notes, but also the timing. Think about the first six notes of Jingle Bells. They are all the same pitch - jingle bells, jingle bells. If I play these six notes with the correct rhythm, just about anyone can identify the song even though the notes (pitch) are exactly the same. If you ever want to play with others, even if it is just playing along with a CD or the radio, you can't do this if you don't have timing.

So, how do you improve your timing? The best way is by playing along with a recording of the song, by playing with others that have good rhythm (especially if you have a guitar player on hand that is willing to practice with you on a regular basis), and/or by practicing with a metronome. (If you don't already have somewhat good timing, you will find practicing with a metronome totally useless.) When my students tell me they can't play with a recording because it is too fast, I suggest they use a computer program to slow down the recording. Windows Media Player has this option, though it doesn't always work, and there is a free program called BestPractice that can be downloaded from the internet. There are even devices you can purchase that will do this for you. These will all change the speed without changing the pitch! If you can't stay with the recording even when it is a good speed, then you need to keep practicing until you can. You need to be able to pick up and keep going when you make mistakes. You need to learn how to come back in. If you can't do this, you need more practice doing exactly that. Practicing by yourself isn't going to make you better at doing anything other than playing by yourself. You have to practice what you want to be able to do...even if it is embarassing, frustrating and difficult. Unless they've forgotten or are some kind of musical genius, every single musician alive has had to go through this!

Tone and technique are somewhat related. If you don't have good technique, you probably aren't producing a good tone. If you have an expensive instrument, you might be getting a passable tone quality, but imagine how much better it would be if your technique was better!

How do you make your technique better? The obvious is practice, but even before this, how do you know what to practice? How do you learn new techniques? There are quite a few ways you can do this. There are free YouTube videos available, there are books and magazine articles, other pickers, workshops, classes and lessons that can help with this. As you start studying technique for your particular instrument, you are probably going to find there are many opinions on this. Sometimes it might be hard in the beginning trying to figure out who is "right." Not everything is right or wrong (just different), and not everything will necessarily work for you. Keep this in mind as you read and learn, and most importantly -- don't give up! When you hear conflicting ideas, it could be differences in styles. For instance, what is valued in classical violin playing is not always what is valued in traditional fiddle playing. Two people can play the exact same notes, even with the same rhythm, and yet the song won't sound the same. You'll be able to tell it's the same song, but you might prefer one over the other. This is one of the ways that technique can make your playing better. For fiddle players, it could be as simple as changing the bowing. For banjo players, it could be how you accent with your right hand. For guitar and mandolin players, it could be your left-hand techniques like hammer-ons and pull-offs, use of capo, or angle of pick attack to mention a few. For bass players, it could be something as simple as right-hand position and which finger(s) you are using to pluck the strings. For dobro players, it could even be what bar you use and how you hold it.

Now for tone quality. There are many things that affect tone quality, some of which I've already touched on, such as the quality of the instrument you are playing and your technique. If your technique is poor, your tone quality is most likely suffering. Tone quality is affected somewhat differently for each instrument, because the techniques for each instrument will be different.

BANJO PLAYERS

If you are a banjo player, you should work to improve your left-hand techniques. This includes making your notes clear, and playing slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs cleanly.

Tone quality itself is directly affected by the instrument you are playing and how it is set up. Banjos are the easiest instrument to modify the tone quality of out of all of the instruments, in my opinion. Simply changing the tightness of the banjo head can result in a much different tone quality. Make sure your banjo is setup properly to help you get the best tone possible. Take your instrument to someone who specializes in banjo setup, not just your run-of-the-mill music store. Many times, banjo camps offer this service as well.

Other things that will affect your tone will be your choice of picks. How thick are the picks you are using? A thinner pick will generally produce a brighter tone, but this also depends upon the actual composition of your pick. Thumbpicks and finger picks can be made out of metal, plastic, bone and all kinds of synthetic materials. Even the type of metal will make a difference in tone quality. Finger picks can be solid metal or plated, and I have seen brass, cobalt, stainless steel, nickel, nickel silver, sterling silver, and probably even more that I'm not listing right now.

Banjo players have to be aware of how hard they are picking the strings, and whether they are accenting the melody notes to make the melody of the song stand out from the rolls. The attack of the strings is also very important. Are you slapping at the strings with your picks, or are you coming up from under the strings and truly picking them? Are you hitting the strings at an angle as you pick them, or are you hitting them squarely, perpendicular? How close to the bridge do you pick? Do you anchor on the bridge? Do you anchor one or two fingers? (Probably the most controversial of everything, but I don't think this makes a big difference.)

What gauge of strings do you use? Lighter strings generally result in a brighter tone quality, but you will also lose volume. For banjo players in particular, lighter strings can result in distorted notes. I've heard quite a few banjo players complain about their banjo not playing in tune, when in fact it is the player torqueing the string(s) with the left-hand by fretting too hard or by stretching the string slightly up or down as they fret it. If you pick hard, light gauge strings may distort with every single note! A heavier gauge string, especially on the 3rd string, will help with this. Proper technique will also help with this! Different brands of strings will also affect your tone, as will coated strings, phosper bronze, and other types of strings.

GUITAR AND MANDOLIN PLAYERS

Please remember that I am trying to keep my comments to bluegrass playing.

First off, see the previous paragraph for banjo players regarding strings. This also pertains to guitar players!

The type, composition and thickness of your guitar pick will make a very big difference in your tone quality and in your technique. Most beginners start with a lighter gauge pick because it is easier to strum both up and down without getting the pick stuck in the strings. A lighter pick can cause excess pick noise, though, so many players end up going with a thicker pick as they get more experienced. This is not necessarily true, as it really depends upon what tone quality you are going for. As for composition of pick, I suggest you try a bunch of different kinds of picks. Ask other players what they like. This is really going to be a personal preference, and can also be determined by the actual tone quality of the instrument you are playing.

Once again, your attack of the strings (pick to strings) will make a huge difference in the sound you are getting. Even something as little as how you hold the pick: Do you use the thumb and one finger, or the thumb and two fingers? How much pick do you leave "sticking out" of your hand as you play? Do you keep your other fingers curled under as you pick? How close to the bridge do you play? Bluegrass guitar pickers tend to play a little closer to the bridge than country players. The tone quality is very different in these two positions. Also included with the attack of the strings is the speed of the attack. When you strum the strings (during a chord), do you hear all the individual strings, or do you strum with a speed that tends to make the strings all sound at once? I'm not talking about speed as in tempo of the song, but speed as in quickness of your wrist flick.

Guitar players -- What type of strum pattern do you use? Are you using the simple boom, chuck pattern, or are you using boom, chuck-up? The faster the song, the simpler the strum should be. Otherwise, it all tends to jumble up. For waltzes, there is also the difference of using the simple boom, chuck, chuck or the boom, chuck-up, chuck-up. In case you aren't familiar with what I'm writing, the boom is the single bass note. The chuck is the down motion of the strum, and the up is the actual strumming the strings upwards.

How hard do you actually pick your instrument? This also directly relates to where you pick the strings (closer or farther from the bridge). If you pick really hard, and especially if you are farther away from the bridge on a guitar, this can result in a less distinct sound and more distortion in your notes and chords.

How do you make your chords? There are different ways to make the same chord, and these result in a different sound. A G chord is still a G chord no matter where or how you make it, but it certainly can make a difference in the tone you get. For instance, do you make the G chord with two fingers, three fingers or four fingers? Do you use a barre chord?

As with banjo players, it is important that you work on your left hand technique: clean notes, clean chords, clean pull-offs, slides and hammer-ons.

FIDDLE PLAYERS

It's all in the bowing! Learn all you can about bowing and continue to work on it no matter how long you've been playing. A huge majority of your tone quality is going to come from your bowing technique, or lack of it!

Do you play on the edge of your bow hair, or do you play with the bow hair held flat against the strings? Edge bowing produces less friction which can make your long bow strokes sound better. If not used correctly, it can result in a weak sound.

How much pressure do you exert on the strings with your bow, and how fast do you pull the bow across the strings? I am referring to bow speed, not tempo of the song. These two things, bow pressure and speed, are interrelated. The more pressure you use, the more speed you will need to sustain the tone. No pressure at all produces a weak tone quality and can also result in bow bouncing. Too much pressure or lack of bow speed can produce a scratchy sound. Two people can play the same instrument and it will sound very different. If you have the right combination of bow speed and pressure, you will be able to "pull" the sound out of the fiddle. It is really amazing when you hear this "live and in person"!

How close to the bridge do you play? You should be no closer to the bridge than halfway between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard. The closer to the bridge you get, the harsher the sound. The farther from the bridge you get, the more likely you are to play multiple strings at one time. You also may not be able to maintain proper bow pressure if you are bowing over the fingerboard. If you notice rosin on the corners of your fiddle, it could be that you are bowing too close to the fingerboard, or that you are bowing at an angle. The bow should remain perpendicular to the strings. Angled bowing may also cause your bow to slide around as you are playing.

How much rosin do you use? Too much rosin can produce a scratchy or a hissing sound as you play. Too little rosin will cause your bow to slip and you won't be able to use the proper amount of bow pressure due to the bow slipping.

Are your fingers and wrist loose? This is a must. Remember the "valley, mountain" of bowing. The valley position is when your wrist is farthest away from the fiddle. Your wrist should be straighter in this position. The mountain position is when your wrist is closest to the fiddle. Your wrist should be bent up in this position. Loose fingers and wrist produce a smoother sound, especially as you play faster or play shuffles.

Okay, so there are a few things you need to know about your left hand, too! If you want to have a decent, controllable vibrato, you should work on your left-hand wrist position. Don't let it touch the fiddle. Please note, I'm not saying you CAN'T do this without proper position, but it's generally easier and the result is generally better and more controllable if you have the proper position. Also, note the position of your thumb. The shorter your fingers are, the more important it becomes for you to position your thumb under the neck rather than to the side of the neck. Don't grip the neck! Don't wrap your thumb over the top side of the neck! These two things alone will cause you to sacrifice speed. Over-gripping the neck can also cause nerve pain (neuritis). I learned this personally the hard way.

If you are having trouble with squeaking, this is most likely your left-hand barely touching a string that you are not supposed to be bowing. It is not caused by lack of rosin. Make sure that your bow does not play strings that you don't intend to play. I know this sounds simplistic and like it is common sense, but it happens all the time. On other fretted instruments, if you pick a string that another finger is touching but not actually fretting, it will result in a dull thud. On a fiddle, it will result in a squeak...and that squeak will last for the entire bow stroke! If you hear squeaks on open notes, it most likely means you need to change strings.

I know I didn't cover all instruments or even all scenarios, but I hope that this has helped you out! If you've made it to the end of this blog entry, you did good! I think this is the longest one yet.

Contest Results

2011-01-15T04:23:00.000-06:00

The 29th Annual MABC Winter Bluegrass Festival hosted its annual Fiddle & Banjo Contest on Friday, January 7, 2011. With a total of 35 registered contestants, it was quite a contest! Once again, I was amazed at the talent of the junior contestants, which just gets better and better every year.

Many thanks to Steve, for doing a wonderful job with the sound. Contest night makes for a very busy evening for Steve, as he has to go from the stage at the front of the auditorium, to the board at the very back of the auditorium, over and over again.

Julie did another great job emceeing the contest. She’s been doing this for as long as I have been managing the contests, and it is always great to see her and know that the contest is in good hands with her!

Our judges for the contest were Chelsea Perkinson and Greg Tiemann, both of whom play a mulititude of instruments and have been great judges for MABC and The Bluegrass Shack in previous contests. I have judged and I have managed contests, and judging is certainly one of the most thankless jobs I’ve ever done! I am so grateful that we are able to have such talented and dedicated judges!

The Bluegrass Shack presented several special awards Friday evening during the contest. These went to three very special folks who have given much of their time and dedication to the MABC contests and/or bluegrass festival over the years. These went to Julie Carnahan, for her excellent emcee coverage; Zane Prosser for backing so many contestants over the years; and to Carla Steinkoetter for her time and dedication to contest registration, scoring and a host of other things that I need!

Here are the results of the contest:

Junior Banjo (16 & Under)
1st - Nikki Warnecke (Most Entertaining)
2nd - Ben Politte (Youngest Banjo Player)
3rd - Paige Johnson

Junior Fiddle (16 & Under)
1st - Adam Barton
2nd - Heather Stortz
3rd - Trustin Baker
4th - Paige Johnson
5th - John Kleine
Lindsey Martin (Most Entertaining)
Nolan Niemeyer (Youngest Fiddle Player)

Open Banjo (17 & up)
1st - Steve Thomas
2nd - Rob Addelson
3rd - Thomas Sitze
4th - Jerry Hasty (Oldest Banjo Player)
5th - Kevin Martin
Fred Pringle (Most Entertaining)

Open Fiddle (17 & up)
1st - Richard Shewmaker
2nd - Corrina Logston
3rd - Mark Vaccaro
4th - Dennis Huebner
5th - Howard Marshall (Most Entertaining)
Andy Talley (Oldest Fiddle Player)

Don’t forget that the March festival will feature all the youth in bluegrass Friday night in the fiddle, banjo and talent contests. This is one of my favorite events of the entire year. You don’t want to miss it! Hope to see you there!

Hours for January 7-8, 2011

2011-01-07T09:48:00.000-06:00

We will be closing at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 7, 2011. We will be closed all day on Saturday, January 8, 2011. Come join us for the bluegrass festival in Eureka, MO. Click the flyer below to make it larger.

2011 Public Jam Schedule

2011-01-01T15:38:00.000-06:00

Calling all pickers! Here is the 2011 Bluegrass Shack Tuesday night jam session schedule. Our jams are held every other Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m. and going until there is no one left. That usually occurs around 10:30 p.m., but has gone as late as 1:00 a.m.! Our jams are open to everyone (even listeners) and are for acoustic instruments only. We pass the mic around our jam circle and each person has the opportunity to share a song with the group.

January 4th & 18th
February 1st & 15th
March 1st, 15th & 29th
April 12th & 26th
May 10th (only one in May)
June 7th & 21st
July 5th & 19th
August 2nd, 16th & 30th
September 13th & 27th
October 11th & 25th
November 8th & 22nd
December 6th (only one in December)

Chris' 2011 Private Lesson Schedule

2011-01-01T15:26:00.001-06:00

For all my students who have been waiting for my exclusion schedule, here it is! Please note that a change made to this year's schedule is that there will be no group or private lessons on these dates. There is a link on The Bluegrass Shack main page to reach this schedule again. Look for the link on the left just below the Video Tour.

To my students: I hope you know how much I truly enjoy teaching each and every one of you! If I wasn't swamped and didn't have other duties here, I would not be taking this time off from teaching every month. This time allows me to place orders for the store, do inventory, clean, do repairs on instruments, update four websites which are my responsibility (http://www.chris-talley.com/; http://www.learnbluegrass.com/; http://www.pickinchicks.com/; http://www.thebluegrassshack.com/ ), update the blog and Facebook pages, post videos on YouTube, create new videos for my upcoming DVDs, hold band practice for The Chris Talley Trio, and have time for my wonderful husband Earl and our families and friends!

Chris' 2011 Private Lesson Schedule

OFF DATES - I WILL NOT BE TEACHING ANY LESSONS ON THE FOLLOWING DATES. THIS MEANS NO PRIVATE OR GROUP LESSONS.

January 17, 18, 19, 20
February 7, 8, 9, 10
March 14, 15, 16, 17, 21
April 4, 5, 6, 7
May 18 - 31 (Silver Dollar City Competitions)
June 13, 14, 15, 16
July 4, 5, 6, 7
August 8, 9, 10, 11
September 5, 6, 7, 8
October 10, 11, 12, 13, 31
November 21, 22, 23, 24
December 19 - January 1

Jan. 7, 2011 - Fiddle & Banjo Contest Rules

2010-12-29T17:29:00.001-06:00

Yes, it's that time once again. The 29th Annual MABC Fiddle and Banjo contest will be held on Friday, January 7, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. Please note that you must be registered by 6:55 p.m. Friday to be eligible to enter the contest. I am posting the rules to the contest on-line so that contestants can read them ahead of time and plan accordingly. A copy of the flyer is posted at the bottom after the rules. Click on the picture to make it large enough to read.

Backup musicians are not required, but we will have backup musicians available for anyone who needs them. Entrance into the performance area requires the $10.00 Friday pass/contest entry fee.

There will be Open & Junior (16 & Under) Divisions for Fiddle, and Open & Junior (16 & under) Divisions for Banjo. Junior divisions will play first, and the awards for this division will be given immediately following the final tally of the judges' scores. Open divisions will start immediately following the awards ceremony for the Junior divisions. Trophies will be awarded for the top 5 places in each division, along with money for the top 3 places. All junior contestants receive a medal regardless of placement.

Judging will be blind panel. This means the judges will not see the contestants perform.

1. All contestants should register by 6:55 p.m.

2. Contestants must show their Friday night ticket to be eligible for contest registration.

3. Fiddle contestants must play a waltz, a hoedown and a tune of choice. Please limit your songs to no more than 3 minutes per song. If there are 30 or more contestants total from all divisions, fiddle players will need not play the tune of choice.
a. No trick fiddling allowed (i.e., no Listen to the Mockingbird, Orange, Blossom Special, etc.)
b. Hokum bowing is acceptable
c. No cross tuning allowed
d. No medleys allowed
e. If you are unsure of suitability of your song, please ask BEFORE contest to get judges’ approval

4. Banjo contestants must play two tunes of choice. Please limit your songs to no more than 3 minutes per song.
a. No D-tuner songs allowed
b. No medleys allowed
c. If you are unsure of suitability of your song, please ask BEFORE contest to get judges’ approval

5. Up to two backup musicians allowed.
a. Backup musicians must not play the same instrument as contestant
b. Backup musicians must play accompaniment and not melody or close harmony
c. No amplified or electric instruments allowed

6. Contestants and their backup should not speak into the mic while on stage.
a. If you need to communicate while on stage, please do so away from the mic and in a quiet voice.

7. Contestants will be called by number only.
a. When your contest division is starting, please be ready and waiting for your number to be called.
b. If you are not “on deck” when your number is called to perform, your number will be skipped and you will not be allowed to compete.

8. Contestants 16 years & under must enter the Junior division.

9. Please see score sheet for a complete listing of contest evaluation criteria.
a. Audience response is not figured into scoring

10. Order of appearance will be determined by random number drawing.

11. Decisions of the judges are final.

Here is a copy of the flyer. Click on the picture to make it large enough to read.

Your Musical New Year

2010-12-27T06:16:00.000-06:00

So what is your musical goal this year? With the beginning of the year coming around, everyone is thinking of their New Year's Resolution. This year, why not be specific? Here are some ideas for improving your playing this year.

1. Play with others at least once a week. Now here's a goal that will really help you improve your jamming skills! If you can't meet at your own house, then suggest another place that will work for everyone. Maybe it's a good idea to take turns playing at each other's houses. What about a local business? Someone's basement or garage? During the months that the temperature will allow, you can simply meet outdoors!

If you can't do once a week, then choose another schedule that will work for you. Even if it's just for an hour, you will be well on your way to improving your rhythm, backup, and confidence!

2. Improve your backup skills. Start listening to recordings of others that play the same instrument you do. Start learning a few different fill-in licks. If your ear isn't good enough to do that yet, then look through some books, or ask another musician for a lick. If you have a cell phone that has video or audio recording capabilities, you can even record the person playing the lick for you so that they only have to play it once for you and you'll have it to look at as many times as you'd like!

3. Learn how to make up your own breaks to songs. If you have never learned how to play a song without a tab, try learning to write your own tabs this year. If you can already play without tabs, then try coming up with some new variations to songs that you already know.

4. Learn how to sing one new song a month. In a year's time, you'll have a dozen new songs to sing! If you already know a lot of songs but don't have them memorized, then make your goal to actually memorize a song each month. Be sure to play your new songs at the next jam session!

5. Learn how to sing harmony. Not sure where to start on this one? Try listening to some older Country Gentlemen or Seldom Scene recordings. John Duffy did some great tenor harmony that is fairly easy to pick out because it's loud in the overall mix. If you can't hear harmony naturally, and most people can't if they've never done it before, start trying to listen for it each time you listen to a recording. If the person next to you in a jam session is singing harmony, try singing it softly along with them. If it's offered in your area, take a class on it!

6. Improve a specific technique in your playing. For fiddle players, this could be improving the looseness in your wrist on your bow arm, learning double stops or vibrato, or even learning to play harmony! For banjo players, it could be working with a metronome to increase your speed, improving your pull-offs and hammer-ons, or making your playing smoother overall. Bass players? Maybe you need to learn some bass runs this year, or even a new technique like slapping. Guitar and mandolin players - do you know how to cross-pick? What about moveable chords (barre chords), flatpicking, runs or some new chords? Maybe you're a rank beginner and you just need to improve the speed of your chord changes.

7. Maybe one of the things you need to learn this year involves maintenance on your instrument. Do you already know how to change your strings? Clean the fingerboard and frets? When is the last time you cleaned your instrument?

These are just a few ideas for you. I'm sure you can think of many more goal-worthy things to add to this list. Don't overwhelm yourself. Make your goal(s) manageable and then start working on them!

Here's wishing you a very successful and FUN 2011!

New Caps!

2010-12-19T22:44:00.001-06:00

We have some new Bluegrass Shack caps for sale that just came in! A new cap would make a great last minute Christmas gift or something nice for yourself!

Where's it Going?

2010-12-17T00:11:00.004-06:00

It's been quite busy around here this past month. We've had orders from all over the US and more! Take a look at where we've shipped to in the past month: Twenty-five states and APO to one foreign country! Texas is our big winner for the most shipped to one state. We'd like to thank everyone for trusting us with your business!

APO - Afghanistan
Alabama
Arkansas
Colorado
Florida x 3
Georgia x 3
Illinois x 4
Indiana
Kentucky x 2
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri x 3
Montana
New Jersey
New York x 2
North Carolina x 2
Oklahoma x 2
Oregon
Pennsylvania x 3
Tennessee x 4
Texas x 6
Virginia x 3
Washington x 2
West Virginia x 2
Wisconsin

Focal Dystonia Part 2

2010-12-12T18:30:00.000-06:00

If you haven't read my first blog entry about this, you might want to take a look at it now before you go any further: http://thebluegrassshack.blogspot.com/2010/06/musicians-dystonia-part-1.html

What have I done since my last blog about this?
1) I've continued reading about it.
2) I've continued correspondence with another person who has a similar problem.
3) I've been trying out different things to see if any of them work for me.
4) I've been praying for a healing (as have many of my friends).

Now it's time for the update. It seems I have found something that is working out for me. I suppose only time will tell, but for now I am playing better than I have for several years.

First of all, the biggest impedence to my playing has been my index finger, which locks up and refuses to move, or only moves a tiny bit. My middle finger shoots out across the banjo head, but for whatever reason, I am able to get it back in time to pick the next note regardless of how fast I am playing, so that doesn't really affect my playing.

What have I tried up to this point? I tried playing the piano some thinking that it might rewire my brain and fingers since it is a little bit different from banjo, but still uses all my fingers. I also tried changing my hand position, but until now, was unable to find a position that really worked any better. I tried anchoring my pinky on the bridge instead of on the banjo head, and then I tried anchoring just one finger instead of two. I even switched between the pinky and ring finger anchor to see if one was better than the other. I tried putting more bend into my wrist in hopes that it would make my fingers come in at a different angle. I tried making my hand farther away from the strings so that my index finger would have to reach out more, but then I just didn't hit any strings at all!

Now, all of a sudden, I am having success with a combination of changes. Since it is a lockup that is happening to my index finger, I have been thinking very hard about keeping my hand relaxed when I play. That only works to a certain extent since this is a nerve issue and is out of my control. (But it does help a little.) Next, I started anchoring only my ring finger, and sometimes (gasp!!!!) I don't anchor at all. It was hard for me to decide to try this because it violates the #1 rule of banjo playing, which is you always have to anchor at least one finger. (And I believe everyone should unless there is a good reason not to.)

Next, when I feel my index finger start to cramp up, I not only stop anchoring, but I also use my arm to help my index finger play the string. Even to me, it seems like an impossible thing to think about fast enough, but I can do it. I can also anticipate the problem to a certain extent because forward rolls are the hardest for me to perform, especially if there is more than one in a row. Pinches on the 1st and 2nd string before or after forward rolls have been very hard, but now I can just dis-anchor and am able to perform them well and quickly.

In a nutshell, these are the changes I made:
1) Very purposeful thought about right hand looseness.
2) Anchor only the ring finger, and anchor it loosely or sometimes not at all.
3) Move my hand and arm as necessary.

Right now, I get a cramp in my hand when I first start playing, but that goes away pretty quickly if I keep playing. My playing is now faster and better than it has been in years. I don't know if this is something that my nerve will re-adapt to and cause me problems again, or if this will be a long-term solution. I'll have to get back to you on that one!

For now, all I know is that God has answered my prayers and I am able to play! If this helps just one person, it will be worth it.

The 2010 Bluegrass Shack Christmas Tree!

2010-12-08T21:26:00.000-06:00

Oh what fun it is to ride in a ***wait a minute*** I mean, oh what fun it is to decorate the Christmas tree! Especially when you have help!

Santa has some new reindeer this year!

Okay now -- who broke the garland????

Have I Got a Proposal for You!!!!

2010-12-08T20:55:00.000-06:00

Okay. It finally happened. It was only a matter of time.

Congratulations to Chelsea and Zak! Chelsea is a teacher here at The Bluegrass Shack and tonight was the big night. Zak came for his guitar lesson while Chelsea was busy teaching her own students. When she was done, Zak popped the question right here in The Bluegrass Shack...and Chelsea said yes! We are so happy for the two of them!

I didn't have much notice, but we did get the camera going in time. It's hard to look inconspicuous when you are standing there looking at the two of them with the camera "for no reason at all"! Here are the pictures we took.

*I think she's happy!*

Why Hide?

2010-11-28T12:53:00.001-06:00

So what's the big deal about hide glue? Why is it so important in instrument repair? It's an old glue. Isn't super glue or gorilla glue or epoxy stronger and/or better? These are really important questions, and they deserve a good answer.

First of all, what is hide glue? Hide glue is an animal glue. It is actually made from the hide of an animal. There are two different forms that one can buy it in. It comes in a liquid form in a bottle, and it comes in granules that can be mixed in a pot with water and heated. Is there a difference? Yes! A BIG difference!

The bottled hide glue seems so convenient and is easier to find. The problem with it is that the ingredient that keeps it in a liquid form also weakens the bond, so this type of glue is not good for most instrument repairs. It simply isn't strong enough.

When it comes to the granulized hide glue, there are also several different types you can get. International Violin sells to the general public at very good prices, and they have several different types available with descriptions of them. For instance, you can get fast tack, slow tack, and even rabbit hide glue, which is actually the strongest of the hide glues they offer. It is excellent for violin neck repairs because of its high strength.

What about epoxy, super glue, gorilla glue, wood carpenter's glue, or any other of the super strong glues out there? What's wrong with using them? When it comes to instrument repair, especially violins, these instruments are made to come apart so that repairs can be made to the inside of the instrument. Usually, hide glue is actually stronger and holds better than these other glues. The main reason why is that it does not shrink or expand as it dries. Even better than that is if you heat it, you can break the bond. That is really important because it allows the luthier to take the instrument apart to make repairs to it without harming the instrument itself. So if you do get that epoxy or other strong glue to hold tight, and a repair is needed that requires the instrument or part of the instrument to be disassembled, it's really a problem! Damage to the instrument is possible because the instrument ends up being weaker than the glue bond. With hide glue, the opposite is true when it is heated.

This is also why you don't want to leave your instrument in a hot car. Imagine what could happen to a violin when it is stored in the trunk or back seat of a hot car, or in a hot attic for years! The good news? It CAN be put back together again. So don't throw away that old violin that's been in your attic for years and is now in pieces. And if you decide to put it back together again yourself, imagine how everyone will look up to you when you tell them why you used hide glue!

What I'm Thankful For

2010-11-24T23:41:00.000-06:00

In just less than an hour, it will officially be Thanksgiving Day. I've spent some time this past week thinking about all the things I'm thankful for here at The Bluegrass Shack.

I'm thankful that it's been almost 5 years since we opened our doors here in New Athens and that each year has been a better year for us. We've made so many friends, and I feel like many of our customers are family.

I'm thankful that we have such good teachers here. Teachers that really care about how their students do. Teachers that are honest, hardworking and super talented musicians themselves.

I'm thankful that we are in such a small community where we can make a difference in the lives of the people here in this community.

I'm thankful that we have volunteers that give their time here to help us out in so many different ways: shovelling snow (we still don't know who does this for us early in the morning); changing light bulbs; repairs and maintenance; cleaning; answering the phones; helping us load and unload equipment for various events; helping us at vendor events and contests; and so much more I'll never remember it all!

I'm thankful for the food and various goodies that students bring here for us and for others! Yum yum!

I'm thankful for the people who come and jam with us every week, either in our beginning jams or our open public jam session every other week.

I'm thankful for our 24' banjo sign, made by student and New Athens resident Terry Hill.

Special thanks go out to our teachers: Emily, Charlie, Katarina, Jennine, John, and especially Chelsea. Chelsea has been with us the entire time we have been here. She helps us out at all our vendor and special events, and volunteers her time for anything else we need.

Special thanks to our weekly volunteer, Dennis, who comes without fail five days a week to help repair instruments, answer the phone, dust & vacuum, gofer, pack instruments, and just about anything else we need around here!

Earl and I want to wish you all a very heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving!

A New Banjo for Lucas

2010-11-20T21:50:00.000-06:00

If you know the Lord, you know He works in mysterious and wonderful ways...and in His own timing. What an interesting weekend this has turned out to be. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

First of all, we have a scholarship fund here at The Bluegrass Shack. We are very careful about who receives anything from our scholarship fund because we want to be good stewards, especially of what is not ours! For some time now, I have been needing a good banjo for student Lucas. Lucas didn't know it, but his dad and mom knew that I was waiting for the right banjo for him. We had actually discussed this several times in the past several months, and my last word to them was just to wait a little bit longer.

Earlier this week, a funeral was held for a man who has 10 children, nine of whom are still living at home. This was a local man, and several of the families that take lessons here knew the family. It was sudden and unexpected, and even for those of us who didn't know the family, it feels devastating just thinking about 10 children and their mother without Daddy around anymore. It would have been very normal for the funeral to be held today (Saturday), but none of the funeral homes were available, so the burial was yesterday.

Why did that matter? Because three of the bands that performed today in St. Charles would not have been able to attend, including Lucas' family band The Worthing10s.

As it turned out, all the scheduled bands played in St. Charles today, and everything was done in the Lord's timing. The Worthing10s were the first band to play today. While they were playing, Mom Worthington (Susan) was standing in the back watching and listening. After a while, a woman came up to Susan and asked her if she was the mother. This woman told Susan about how she had a banjo from her son who had passed away. She then proceeded to tell Susan that she felt like God was telling her to give this banjo to Lucas. She got in her car, drove back home, and then returned to the Convention Center with the banjo and gave it to Lucas! Lucas then played the banjo for her and she recognized tunes that her son had played. How special is that?

If you want to hear Lucas playing the banjo for the lady at the convention center today, go to the Worthing10s Facebook page.

Closed Saturday, November 13, 2010

2010-11-09T23:21:00.000-06:00

The Bluegrass Shack will be closed on Saturday, November 13, 2010. We will be setup in the vendor's room (Guitar Show) in Springfield, IL at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for the Greater Downstate Illinois Bluegrass Festival. We hope you'll come and visit us there! Click here for a .pdf flyer.

October 2010 Contest Results!

2010-10-31T16:22:00.001-06:00

If there was ever such thing as Olympic Bluegrass Contests, this one would certainly qualify! We had our largest contest ever by almost double. There were 26 flattop guitar contestants, 43 fiddle contestants and 24 banjo contestants, for a grand total of 93 contestants. I am glad that I didn't know that when we started or I probably would have panicked!

This was our first year ever to have flattop guitar. To say the least, it was a huge success! We added this contest in memory of the late Bill Barttelbort who was with The Chris Talley Trio. Bill judged many a contest for us and loved to teach and play. Probably just about every guitar contestant from Saturday had never competed in a flattop guitar contest before. There just aren't any around here. It was good to see guitar students from St. Agatha School competing.

It was also good to see so many people that I have never met before. Every year, the talent just seems to get better and better.

There are SO MANY people to which I owe a debt of gratitude! I will try to remember you all, because you are all important to me. First of all, thanks to our judges who spent six hard hours listening intently to all the contestants. Igg Tiemann and John Bell play all the instruments they are judging quite well, and believe me, it's hard to find experienced judges who are competent musicians on even ONE instrument, much less three! Thank you to my mom, Carla, who added all the scores...again...and again...and again...making sure the totals are correct. I had lots of help setting up the hall. Thanks to Mallory, Lucas, Nathanael, Matthew, Dennis, Chelsea, Zak and Diane. Thanks to the Pickin' Chicks and their parents for providing food & beverages. This was actually a fund raiser to help the Pickin' Chicks pay for their upcoming CD...so thanks to YOU for supporting them! Thanks to Gary and Dick for making the fiddle & banjo trophies. Thanks to Charlie for helping with the guitar trophies. Thanks to Chelsea for an untold amount of help with just about anything I could ask for or forget to ask for! Thanks to my husband, Earl, for taking pictures (which will be posted on Facebook), helping with the awards, and keeping me straight on everything! Thanks to Zak, Carla, Nikki, Verlan and several others who helped at the door and at registration. Thanks to everyone who came and attended the event, and to all the contestants who braved their fears and entertained us so well! There were also too many people to mention individually that stayed afterwards to help clean the hall. Thank you all so much!

Here are the results of the contest:

Flattop Guitar - Junior (16 & Under)
1st - Rosemary Hall
2nd - Paige Johnson
3rd - Madison Wilderman
4th - Mallory Warnecke
5th - Matthew Worthington
JC Davis (Most Entertaining)
Hope Kapelski (Youngest Guitar Player)

Flattop Guitar - Open (17 & Up)
1st - Mike Wall (Most Entertaining)
2nd - Charlie Hall
3rd - Zane Prosser (Oldest Guitar Player)
4th - Don Willi
5th - Katarina Worthington

Junior Banjo (16 & Under)
1st - Nikki Warnecke
2nd - Emily Hall (Most Entertaining)
3rd - Lucas Worthington
4th - Curtis Lewis
5th - Paige Johnson
Andy Eisenhauer (Youngest Banjo Player)

Open Banjo (17 & Up)
1st - Chelsea Perkinson
2nd - Fred Pringle
3rd - Don Willi
4th - Holly Salvatore
5th - Amelia Price

Adult Beginner Banjo (21 & Up, Played < 4 Years)
1st - Julia Ziltz (Most Entertaining) & Kevin Martin
2nd - Larry Reuss
3rd - Dennis Huebner
4th - Doug Farney
5th - Steve McDonnell

Senior Banjo (60 & Up)
1st - Fred Pringle (Most Entertaining)
2nd - Larry Maxwell
3rd - Ralph White (Oldest Banjo Player)
4th - Nick Hughes

Junior II Fiddle (12 & Under)
1st - Rosemary Hall
2nd - Amelia Eisenhauer
3rd - Colton Dever
4th - Regan Farney
5th - Mylie Farney (Most Entertaining)
Isabella Worthington (Youngest Fiddle Player)

Junior I Fiddle (13-17 Years)
1st - Paige Johnson
2nd - Angela Winkeler
3rd - Emily Worthington
4th - Kat Dierksen
5th - Mallory Warnecke (Most Entertaining)

Adult Beginner (21 & Up, Played < 4 Years)
1st - John Oaks
2nd - Rhonda Eisenhauer (Most Entertaining)

Open Fiddle (18 & Up)
1st - Ben Smith
2nd - Chelsea Perkinson
3rd - Ron Dailey
4th - Don Willi
5th - Charlie Hall
Ann White (Most Entertaining)

Senior Fiddle (60 & Up)
1st - Zane Prosser
2nd - Fred Pringle
3rd - Junior Hobson
4th - Andy Talley (Oldest Fiddle Player)
5th - John Barnett

Saturday's Hours - October 30th

2010-10-30T01:09:00.000-06:00

Since we are hosting our 9th Annual Fiddle, Banjo & Flattop Guitar Contest on Saturday, October 30, 2010, our hours will be reduced for this day. Please note that we will only be open from 10:00 a.m. - Noon on Saturday, October 30th. Come on over to the New Athens Community Center (underneath the water tower) at the corner of Chester & North Johnson Streets. The contest starts at 1:00 p.m.

Hair Explosion in my Fiddle Case!

2010-10-28T09:44:00.001-06:00

If you've ever had carpet weevils in your fiddle case, you know what I'm talking about. These tiny critters wreak havoc on horsehair and wool (felt). Maybe you didn't know you had them, but you know the scenario: You open your fiddle case after a short while of not playing to find a bunch of hair from your bow neatly "cut" at one or the other end of the bow. If you look closely, you'll also find the tell-tale carcasses (or even perhaps a "live" one) in the case. The shells are very tiny brown things that look like miniature cicada sheddings. You might even see something like white powder, which would be the eggs. To be more specific, you are actually seeing the eggs or shedded skin of the larvae of the carpet beetle. You will also hear these referred to as bow bugs.

I happened to go through this scenario with a customer recently and we caught a live one at work. Here are two pictures. I put the inkpen in one of the pictures so you could see how tiny they really are. I didn't realize these things were so hairy until I took the closeup picture of it and was Photoshopping it. If you want to enlarge either of the pictures, just click on the picture.

How to you stop attracting these things? How do you get rid of them if you have them? Well, first of all, they are everywhere. It has nothing to do with your housekeeping skills (or lack thereof). It has nothing to do with how clean you are, or whether you live in the city or the woods. They generally show up inside a case after it has been closed for at least a couple of weeks with the bow inside. They also show up if you have a case that is lined in felt. If you notice ANY loose hairs at all when you open the fiddle case, even one, you should inspect the case carefully. Look for white powder or brown carcasses. If you see any, or even if you don't but you suspect them, vacuum the case thoroughly.

Next, you need to put something in the case that will ward them off. I like to use mothballs. I know they smell, but if you can stomach them, they work the best. I actually buy lavender scented mothballs (yeah, right!) that are wrapped in paper packages so you can touch them. (You should still wash your hands after touching mothballs because they are poisonous.) WARNING: IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN, THESE LOOK LIKE CANDY!!! You need to take the proper safety measures. Fresh cedar also wards them off. Both of these lose their effectiveness over time, so you need to check on them from time to time.

Another thing you can do with your bow is to put it in an air-tight plastic bow container, or put it into a plastic bag. The plastic bag won't keep them out entirely unless it is air-tight. Zippers don't keep them out, either!

Now you, too, can be carpet weevil-free!

A Busy Friday at The Shack!

2010-10-22T21:59:00.000-06:00

What a nice day we had today! It was just as busy as ever, but we sure had fun.

Susan and several of her children came by first thing after opening. Her daughter, Katarina, teaches piano here, but Lucas and Nathanael came along as well so that they could go throught their contest tunes for next Saturday. We hadn't even gotten around to practicing yet when Michelle and her husband, Ken, came in from O'Fallon, MO. Then two more folks walked through the doors for guitar strings. Next in? Chelsea and Zak with their "baby" Chief (the basset hound). Four piano lessons later, in comes Charlie and two of his students.

Boy, did we have fun! Dennis and Nathanael went through Flop Eared Mule on the fiddle while I installed some spikes on Michelle's banjo, changed the strings, and did some basic setup work. Lucas was in the main showroom talking banjo with Michelle and Ken and picking up a storm on his own banjo. Katarina was having her own personal Christmas in her teaching room looking through all her new piano books that had just arrived. And then??? MY Christmas arrived -- the UPS man with lots of big boxes!

I really enjoyed talking to Ken and Michelle. They are both new players. Michelle has played banjo for one year and has an excellent start! I didn't get to hear Ken play, but that didn't stop us from talking guitar! Guess who's coming to our contest next Saturday?

When Chelsea and Zak came through the door with Chief, it was immediate love between Chief and every girl in the shop! Katarina's phone camera came out and she was busy snapping pictures. Every single wrinkle and expression was followed by "awwww." Chief's favorite position? All stretched out with this nose pointed forward, front legs pointed back, back legs pointed back with his feet crossed!

Chelsea had business here today, though. She was picking up her own personal Stelling banjo. The Sunflower, to be exact. I am quite sure that there is no silence in the house tonight!

About 5:30, Susan's husband Dale came by to pick up the three children. We had to do a little picking before they left, though. Katarina played guitar, Dale played the bass, Nathanael played fiddle, and Lucas and I played banjo. We went through their contest tunes, and then we just played a little bit.

It was another day full of great people and fun! We hope you'll come by soon and join us at The Bluegrass Shack!

How I Practice for a Fiddle Contest

2010-10-21T05:06:00.001-06:00

I have learned through teaching that many students have no idea what practicing is. They confuse it with playing. Although practice does require playing, it should focus on what you DON'T know well rather than what you are already proficient at. In general, the majority of my practice time is spent working on new songs and techniques. When I have finished working on those things, or if I just want to "have fun," then I start playing the tunes I already know or my favorites. I may also take a look at a list of songs I play and make sure that I haven't forgotten any of them.

When I'm preparing for a contest, I get really particular with my practice time. It will be spent almost exclusively on the songs I think I might play in the contest for 2-4 weeks prior to the contest. I analyze everything I do in the songs. I make sure I can play them excessively slow. If I can't, then I don't know the song well enough. I don't want to be on stage feeling really nervous, start to think about what I'm doing, and then realize I have no clue what I'm doing and that I've been playing on "automatic pilot" for the past several weeks. Take my advice on this one. If you can't play the song slowly, go back and relearn it.

Next, I analyze any areas of the song that aren't perfect. Do I have notes that are out of tune? At this point in MY playing, out of tune notes would not be an overall problem, but limited to just certain notes in certain areas of a song. It's usually related to how difficult the fingering is and how much I have to contort my left hand to get my little fingers in the proper position. I have a perfect example. I've been working on Cotton Patch Rag. In one section of the song, my 1st finger on the A string is supposed to be low (B flat). Invariably, I was playing somewhere between B and B flat. When I slowed the song down so that I could focus on making this the correct pitch, I couldn't remember the rest of the notes in that particular section. I had to work really hard again to get this down just because I moved my finger 1/16"! So don't think you are the only one.

I can also think of a good example in Sally Goodin. This particular song was what I played as my hoedown in the first round of competition last weekend. When transitioning from the high part of the song (3rd position) back to the low part (1st position), my notes weren't clear. I remember it USED to be clean, but now something had changed and it was not longer clean. I slowed it way down, made sure I knew all the notes, and played through it a bunch of times. When I sped it up, it was inconsistant. Then I started analyzing my bowing and which direction I was going when it worked and when it didn't work. I determined the problem was actually with my bowing. I figured out that my bow was going backwards when I started the 3rd variation of the high part, and that made it almost impossible for me to play the transition cleanly.

If I am lucky, I will be able to play my songs regularly with a guitar player for the weeks prior to the contest. Since my husband plays guitar, and my band has a good rhythm guitar player, and I own a music store with guitar teachers, this one is covered! Having a guitar player is more than just having rhythm. It allows me to make sure I am playing in tune. It also helps me know how well I know a song. If I don't know it well enough, I find the guitar is a distraction to me and I won't play the song as well. When I know the song really well, the guitar is a bonus for me and actually helps me to play better.

In addition to playing with a guitar player, I spend time with a metronome. I use the metronome to play songs slowly so that I won't speed them up and so that I can get really good at all the correct pitches, fingerings and bowings. I also use the metronome to practice the songs at the speeds I want to play them in the contest. It is easy to become nervous and play too fast. I want to really FEEL the speeds I will be playing my contest songs.

I also spend time practicing just by myself. I don't want to get dependent on any one thing. Practicing by myself also allows me to work on specific areas that aren't up to speed.

Another thing I listen for when practicing for a fiddle contest is my tone quality and FEEL for the song. I think they are related. If you play a song with feeling, it is like the smile that you can't see over the phone, but you know is there (or isn't there!). I make sure my bowing is smooth and consistant. I listen for bad notes, distorted notes that are caused by too much or too little bow pressure. I make sure I am using the right amount of bow. If I'm using tiny little bow strokes for a waltz, I will not get a smooth sound. I listen for dynamics (loud and soft) and make sure that they fit with what I'm feeling. If I can't feel the song, I keep playing it until I can. That's very important to me. It also gives me a lot of personal enjoyment to play something that I can really feel. That doesn't matter whether it's a contest or not!

I make sure that my beginnings and endings are smooth and fit the song. Since these will be the first and last things anyone hears, they'd better be good.

If you have another musician (especially a fiddle player) that is willing to listen to you and give you advice, that can be a big bonus to you. Another person may think of things that you did not. They may hear things that you don't hear. They may have experience that you don't have. John Bell helped me out for the last contest. I played all my songs for him, asked a bunch of questions, and he gave me lots of good advice. Remember: No matter how good you are and no matter how much you know, you can't know it all. I am very grateful to him for his help.

One final thing that I do is to make sure I play the song the same way every time. I don't do this for normal performances, but I do for contest preparation. I know which variation I'll play when, and exactly how I'll play it. I know how many times I will play each variation. I practice the song the same way every time so that it will come naturally to me even when I get really nervous.

As the weeks progress, my songs should be getting much better. In fact, my overall playing should be getting better, even on the songs I am not working on. That's what's so neat about entering a fiddle contest. When you prepare, you are improving everything you do, not just specific songs. That means that even if I totally bomb out in the contest, my practice was not for nothing. I am better for the work I put in and no one can take that away from me!

Song Selection for a Fiddle Contest

2010-10-21T04:23:00.002-06:00

I thought with the Illinois State Old Time Fiddle Contest behind me, and The Bluegrass Shack Fiddle, Banjo & Flattop Contest ahead of me, this would be a good time to write about what I personally do to prepare myself for a fiddle contest. In particular, I thought I would focus on the IOTFA contest that I just competed in.

The first thing I do is decide how many songs to prepare. This is based on how many songs the competition requires. I always try to have more than what is required. This allows me some freedom of choice in case I hear my selection played several times before I reach the stage. It also allows me flexibility in the case that I don't seem to be playing up to par on the contest day. Most contests require, at a minimum, a waltz and a hoedown. Many also require a tune of choice. If there are multiple rounds in the competition, you will probably have to prepare different songs for each round.

Next, I narrow down the songs that I think I want to use in the competition. This can be hard to do, but it is based on a number of things, not necessarily in this order:

1) How well do I know the songs?
If I am starting my preparation several weeks ahead of time, and I really SHOULD, I take into account how well I currently know the song(s). If it is something that I haven't done in a while, I will need to brush up on the song. I might even want to learn a few new variations. If it's a new song, I will have to try to make the determination as to whether I will know the song well enough and be confident enough to perform it in a contest.

2) How much time do I have to prepare?
If I've waited until the last minute to decide to enter, or if I didn't know about the contest early on, my selection will be limited to what I already have up to speed.

3) Who are the judges and what will they be listening for?
If you know who your judges are, this may help you with your selection. Many big contests publish the list of judges. If it is a local contest, you still can probably find out ahead of time who your judges are. If you have played in a contest with this judge before and you were able to view your scoresheets, this will give you an idea on what to work on. If you know past winners of this competition, and if you know what they played, this will also give you a good idea of which songs to prepare, or at least what style of songs you should prepare.

4) What are the rules of the contest and which songs will fit best into this scenario?
Is this an old-time fiddle contest? Texas swing? Is hokum bow allowed? Are you allowed to play in different tunings? These are all things that you need to know ahead of time. If you are entering a strict "old time" fiddle contest, the songs have to be a danceable speed! That means not too fast! Texas swing? Then you will need something in that style. You get the idea...

5) How well will I be able to perform this song under pressure?
This is actually a very important question to ask yourself. When preparing for the IOTFA contest last week, I was thinking of playing Leather Britches. It was a good song selection all around. It fit all the criteria I listed above. I even play it remarkably well. The problem with it? I am not comfortable playing it. I don't know why, but I simply am not. I continued practicing it all the way up until the contest day because it seemed to fit so well. In the end, I still chose not to play it because I could just picture myself up on stage feeling nervous and uncomfortable. If I didn't have many choices, I would still probably have to play it. Thank goodness, I had other options.

6) Is it a tough enough song?
One thing about fiddle contests is that there is no "standard." You are really at the mercy of what impresses the judges. This can be a difficult question to answer because it really depends upon how you play the song. In other words, how difficult is your variation? Some songs, no matter what you do to them, are not good for a competition; e.g., Bile Them Cabbage is many times the first song a fiddler learns. No matter how hard you make it, it is not a good choice for a more advanced fiddler. It is fine for beginner. If the song you choose is too easy, or if your variation(s) are too easy, then a perfect performance might not give you enough points to win. If your competition is not too great, then it MAY be enough. You probably won't know this until the day of the competition, though. Generally, the harder the song is to play, the more points you'll score IF YOU PLAY IT WELL. If your judges aren't fiddle players (and shame on the contest if they aren't), they simply won't know how hard a song is to play on fiddle. You might as well pick something that SOUNDS hard...

7) Is my goal to win, or do I have a different goal in mind?
Maybe this sounds like a funny thing to ask, but it is actually very important. Not everyone who enters contests, and not every contest that a person enters, does it to win. Maybe you just want to support an up and coming local contest. Perhaps you have friends that are entering and they want you to enter as well. Do you just want to get on stage to play and have fun? Maybe you want to get some experience. Particularly if you are a new player, your goal may just be to make it through your songs. If you are so nervous that you can't perform well, this may especially be true for you. When I first started entering contests, I was an experienced musician, but was surprised to find out that I could not perform on the fiddle well in contests. I was just too nervous. I was king of the fiddle in the livingroom, and it was king of me on stage. Very frustrating to say the least! My goal, early on, was simply to get through my songs and do them well. I chose songs that were easy for me. This allowed me to not be so nervous about making mistakes and forgetting on stage. I did this for a while so that I could gain some experience and confidence. I gradually increased the toughness of my songs. I also decided that I would not enter any song into a competition that I had not previously played on stage. Playing a song in front of others really shows you if you have any weak areas in the song. It gives you a second chance, so to speak. If you find you are making mistakes on the song when you are nervous, you know what to work on.

8) Will I have competent accompaniment, or do I need to pick something with very minimal chord changes?
I am very lucky with this one. The guitar player for my band, Zane, almost always accompanies me in contests. We are able to practice ahead of time, and Zane has played backup for fiddle players for years, so he knows (or can quickly learn) all the chords to just about any song. He is also a fiddle player himself. If you are not so fortunate, you may have to pick up a guitar player at the competition. My advice? Ask the guitar player just to warm up with you first. Don't ask him/her to perform on stage with you immediately. Why? Because if it's not a good match and they aren't what you expect or need, you won't be stuck with them. If the warmup goes well, then you can ask them to back you up in the contest. If you find a good rhythm guitar player, but they don't know too many fiddle tunes, you may have to stick with songs that don't have too many chord changes in them.

This is just one aspect of playing in a contest. I plan on writing more. Hopefully, this will be helpful (or at least interesting)! Good luck!

Illinois State Fiddle Contest

2010-10-18T02:43:00.000-06:00

The Illinois Old Time Fiddler's Association held its Annual Illinois State Fiddle Championship on Sunday, October 17, 2010. This was the first year I've been able to attend due to a date and venue change for the competition. It was a wonderful event and I met many new fiddlers!

First of all, Ann White and her family did a wonderful job for IOTFA in promoting the contest. It was certainly agreed upon by all in the organization as well, for the White family received an award for their hard work for the organization. I know first-hand how difficult it is to put on a fiddle contest of this magnitude. The Bluegrass Shack does this several times every year, and even though we are not a state-certified contest,
I can attest to the fact that there is a lot to do!

They have four divisions for their competition: Over 70, Beginners (11 & Under), Junior (12-19 years), and Open. They compete in that order, and the first place winner of the first three divisions can also enter the Open Competition. The winners of the Junior competition and the Open competition receive what is termed a "travelling trophy." This is such a neat idea! The winners keep the trophy for one year and then return with the trophy for the competition the following year. Every winner has his or her name added to the trophy, along with the year and the city they live in. It is really fun to read all the names. Did you know Alison Krauss won this competition three years in a row? Not only did she win it three years in a row, she actually had the trophy at her house for those three years...and so did all the other winners! How cool is that?

Now that I've told you a little about the competition, I'm going to tell you how our day went there. We had quite a showing from The Bluegrass Shack. I initially wasn't going to go, but decided several weeks ahead of time that I could make it and would indeed go ahead and do it. From our shop, Chelsea and Dennis decided to compete. Earl and I also practiced every night to prepare for the competition. We had students Tim, Colton, Andy and Millie who competed. Additionally, a good friend of ours, Ron, and Zane, from my band, also competed.

Personally, it was a really rough day. I have been sick with a cold-type illness for almost two weeks now. Just when I thought I was getting better, it all went to my chest and I had to start on asthma medications. If you've ever taken them, you know how shaky they make you. Not so good for a competition! I was the most nervous that I can recall for many years. Chelsea was also sick, and we shared a box of Kleenex pretty much all day.

The contest was held in Effingham at the Hilton Garden Inn. This was a new location for the contest, which has in the past been held in Arcola over Labor Day weekend. The venue was beautiful and suited the competition well, though I think it will need to be larger next year to fit all the listeners into the room!

We started by registering and putting a star sticker on the city we lived in on a map of Illinois. (You have to be a resident of Illinois to win the Illinois State Contest.) Then we went up to Ron & Lorraine's room to warm up. Zane, Ron, Earl, Chelsea, Dennis and I all took turns playing through our songs and picking guitar for each other.

After we warmed up, we went back downstairs to the registration area to draw our numbers for the order of performance. Shortly thereafter, most of the fiddle players met on stage to play several songs all together. We went through Ragtime Annie, Red Wing and Golden Slippers. It really sounds nice to hear so many fiddles playing together!

We found an empty stairwell near the competition room that served as a fantastic practice area. We used this area to tune up and warm-up before our various divisions played.

The Over 70 Division played first. Zane was in that division. Ron and I both played guitar for Zane and he ended up winning 2nd place! Zane played the Kiss Me Waltz and Chinquapin.

Two students of The Bluegrass Shack placed in the Beginner's and the Junior Divisions. Andy got 2nd place in the Beginner Division, and his sister Millie won the Junior Division and the Junior Travelling Trophy. Millie also competed in the Open Division after winning the Junior Division. She played great, but did not place in the Open Division.

The rest of us all competed against each other in the Open Division. There were 22 contestants in the Open Division. I was especially proud of Chelsea, who played incredibly well despite feeling really bad. She had two near-flawless performances that would have made anyone proud, though she did not make it to the final round. I was very proud to be on stage with her! Ron, Earl and Dennis also did a good job on their songs. (We put in LOTS of practice over the past several weeks, including daily practices together for the past week or two.) I ended up winning the Open Competition much to my surprise! It was the kind of competition that you can't really feel bad about losing because the competition was all so good! I would not have wanted to be a judge, that's for sure.

I have several people to thank for helping make this win possible. First of all, Zane did a great job accompanying me on guitar. That's a must-have for a successful contest! Also, several days prior to the contest, John Bell played through my songs with me and gave me advice on entering my first Old Time competition. And how could I forget all my friends and my husband for their support and encouragement?! Thank you all so much!

So now I have possession of the actual trophy that so many others before me have won! It's right here on display at The Bluegrass Shack if you want to come take a look at all the names and years on it. It's like a little piece of Illinois fiddle history.

Put on Your Little (Dancing) Shoes!

2010-10-15T09:49:00.001-06:00

Here's an opportunity to have a very fun Saturday night (October 16th), and help the Thresherman's Association, too! Three local bands are going to be playing dancing music for you from 6:30 - 11:00 p.m., and dinner will be served as well! Come on out to Pinckneyville and join us for the fun! It is my understanding that Bill Timpner will be there to call some squares. Now you're talking!

6:30 - 7:30 The Pickin' Chicks
7:30 - 9:00 The Chris Talley Trio
9:00 - 11:00 Beaucoup Bottom Band

Want to join in the Chili Cook-off? It starts at 5:30 p.m.
Dinner will be served from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Come one, come all to the Illinois Rural Heritage Museum
187 Fairground Road (just north of the fairgrounds)
Pinckneyville, IL

Need more information? Contact Mary Greer at 618-357-3241 or IRHMuseum@gmail.com

Even Steven

2010-10-06T20:38:00.002-06:00

Anyone with more than one child knows what I'm talking about. I'm talking about keeping everyone happy. Making sure each child has the same number of presents under the tree at Christmas time. Making sure that each child gets the same amount of new clothes when school starts, or for Easter, or for whatever happens to be upcoming.

Enter a band. Now multiply the happiness or un-happiness by the number of people in the band. (If there are kids involved, multiply it by the number of parents as well.) The more members, the harder it is to keep everyone happy.

The problem with equality in a band is that it is not truly measurable. And a feeling of inequality of some sort is one of the main reasons a band splits up. Although talent is certainly important to have a good band, a better measure of band success is actually in the personalities of the members rather than their sheer talent.

Imagine trying to make sure every single person in the band gets to do the same number of things as another. That would mean the bass player should take a break on every song. Not really tasteful for a bluegrass band. What about the emcee? Does that account for anything? You can't have everyone in the band doing the emcee work. But does that equal singing a song? Or taking a break? How do you quantify that? If one person plays more than one instrument, should all the members be allowed to play more than one instrument? What about singing lead? Do you split that equally among all the band members for every performance? You are probably starting to get the picture.

Most everyone knows by now that The Chris Talley Trio lost its lead guitar player last year due to a brain tumor. In fact, it will be one year from the end of this very month! I held back on booking any gigs for 2010. Although we all knew it would be a while before Bill was ready to play again, we thought he WOULD get better. He passed away the day before he was to leave the hospital and go home.

Trying to replace Bill was out of the question. Not only is it distasteful, it's not even possible! After I decided I actually wanted to keep playing, I was faced with the decision of finding another band member. Do you know what my main concern was? It was finding someone with the right personality that could get along with the rest of us. Finding talent was not my main goal. There are lots of talented people. I also did not want to have to TEACH someone. I spend all day, every week, teaching. My band is my fun time.

I am very proud of the fact that the members of my band have always gotten along. Always. Despite the fact that the band has my own name in it, I am not the star. No one is. I took the lead from Hot Rize, one of my all-time favorite bands. (Take a look at the excellent article about Hot Rize in the September 2010 Bluegrass Unlimited. This very fact I'm talking about is prominantely mentioned in the article.) Everyone in my band is good at what they do. I make sure they all get to do what they are good at. If we don't agree on something, we vote. It's not like an "official" vote or anything. I usually just ask what everyone thinks about something. That means I have to play songs I don't like, in keys I don't want to play them in, for who knows how many times. But that's okay. So does everyone else!

Bluegrass & Friends!

2010-09-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

This was an especially nice day, due to the fact that we got to meet with several of our good bluegrass friends. My oldest banjo student and his wife (Al & Jan), came to New Athens today to join us for lunch at Gary's Restaurant. It's been a while since we've seen both of them because Al hasn't had a lesson recently. (Don't worry...he's still practicing that dobro!) We spent about an hour together eating and talking, and just had a wonderful visit.

After the shop opened, Ron & Lorraine stopped by. Ron was eager to show off his new D-18. It was very nice, too! The figured mahogany back and sides were the prettiest I've ever seen. It sounds as good as it looks. Of course, we HAD to play a little bit of music! Earl, Ron & Lorraine went out to dinner while I "took care of some business" (explained in the next paragraph).

And now, on to "taking care of business." Last week, my mouse was stuck to my mousepad. This week, I'm even...

Hectic As Usual

2010-09-11T22:54:00.000-06:00

We've been very, very busy in August, and things haven't slowed down one bit so far in September. First off, The Pickin' Chicks have had gigs every weekend. Secondly, The Chris Talley Trio had two full weekend gigs in a row, with a lot of planning and a lot of hours spent each weekend and the time preceeding the weekends. I'm not saying I'm not loving it. I'm just stating the facts. I've got a boat load of band instruments waiting for repair. I have a few fiddles in front of the band instruments, but I think I can get to everything this coming week. Sales have increased both online and in-store, and the number of folks requesting lessons has also increased. I need more teachers!

My dad and a friend of his visited this weekend. It was wonderful to see Daddy again. He's 84 years old and is still playing the fiddle. Chelsea came over to the shop, and we all played music together. Daddy played guitar and fiddle. Chelsea played banjo, fiddle and guitar, and I played fiddle and guitar. Zoey (Daddy's friend) enjoyed it all! She doesn't play, but she sure had a nice time listening.

Daddy is planning on coming to our October 30th Fiddle, Banjo & Flattop Guitar Contest. If you haven't made plans yet, you should! I'll be posting information soon, along with a flyer. It's always a good time, with lots of music, food, friends and seasonal decorations. This is the one contest we hold that you can dress for! We don't really celebrate Halloween, but we do encourage everyone (adults and kids) to dress up for this particular contest -- even if you aren't going to play in the contest. We suggest themes such as cowboy, western, hillbilly, Grand Ol' Opry, etc.

Our Monday night instructional jams have taken on a new twist. I have been dividing everyone up into smaller groups and having them work out two songs to play in front of the other groups. It has been working out very well, and the feedback I've gotten has been very positive. If you are learning to play an instrument and you haven't started playing with others yet, I encourage you to do so right away! It's the fastest way to get better and it's lots of fun! The camaraderie and knowledge you gain from it is worth its weight in gold.

We are still holding our every other week Tuesday night jam sessions. They are all acoustic and they start at 7:30 p.m. Everyone is invited. You don't even have to play an instrument to come! Some folks come just to listen, some just to sing, and some to play and sing.

This week somehow turned into dobro week for Earl. He worked on several dobros, and we sold another dobro as well. Earl completely overhauled an old Regal dobro. Someone had taken out the original "guts" and replaced them with some pretty inferior parts. Earl took out the old replacement parts and put in a new quarterman cone and new spider and I really don't know what all! Wow! Talk about a great sounding dobro! It was really amazing when he was done.

We got a call from Roland White today, too. It's always nice to talk to him. We stock his mandolin and guitar books and they are good sellers for us. He has some great mandolin tabs!

Christmas books will be arriving soon. I don't usually put them out until later, as will be the case again this year. I like to actually enjoy Thanksgiving first.

We have a piano teacher on Fridays now. Katarina is an excellent teacher and has several spots still available on Friday. If you or your kids have been wanting to learn piano, here is your chance! Katarina is able to teach by ear and by music.

We hope you'll come and visit us soon! It's always nice to see old friends and meet new ones, too!

Hours of Operation August 27 & 28, 2010

2010-08-26T21:38:00.000-06:00

We will be closing on Friday, August 27, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. We will be closed all day on Saturday, August 28, 2010. We will be open again with our normal business hours on Monday, August 30, 2010. Come join us at Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp in Pinckneyville, IL for our First Annual Bluegrass Retreat!

Yesterday's Workshops & Concert

2010-08-15T16:08:00.001-06:00

I had an extremely full day yesterday at Our Lady of the Snow Shrine. I taught three fiddle workshops and one guitar workshop, and then The Chris Talley Trio played in the evening concert.

The workshops were full and went extremely well! I had a great group of people for all four of the classes. The three fiddle workshops were set up as progressive classes, starting with beginning fiddle in the first class. Some students attended all three of the classes. We talked about everything from the very basics (like how to hold the fiddle and bow) all the way to topics like instrument setup, exercises for double stops and vibrato, and left-hand flexibility. Everyone got to ask questions, and there were some really good ones asked, too!

The guitar workshop was also a success. I had students ranging from never played before to proficient with chords for years. We started with basic left-hand positions and talked about several ways to make the G chord. We learned G, C, D and an alternate A7. We talked about why to use certain chord fingerings, but that none of them were "wrong." We learned basic three note run patterns for G, C and D, and then we put them in a song. We also learned a very simple flat-pick version of Bile Them Cabbage Down. After that, we talked about the capo and transposition. It's actually hard to believe we covered so many topics!

The evening concert was unbelievably awesome! Since this was a dulcimer festival, all of the groups had dulcimers in them except my group. That's because I'm the only one who is hired for something other than dulcimer. There were both hammer dulcimers and mountain dulcimers. One thing that is really cool about mountain dulcimers is that they can be played in way that makes them incredibly easy or incredibly complicated. This makes them good for kids, and also good for adults of all levels of musical experience or inexperience! The hammer dulcimer is simply beautiful sounding, especially in the hands of Rick Thum. The chapel at the Shrine has a sound that is unmatched. It is all hard surfaces, so it's actually quite complicated to use a sound system there. Everything is so "live" that feedback is hard to contain. When it's right, though, the sound is wonderful! There was a full crowd there, which is probably 200 - 300 capacity, but it sounds like 5,000 people when they clap. I love playing there. This was the fourth year for me and I always look forward to it.

After the concert, my husband Earl and also Emily and her family all met at Denny's. One of my favorite things about having a band is the comraderie. Zane and Carla weren't able to meet us, but it was nice even having only part of the band. Emily had never been to Denny's before, so that made it especially fun.

Now that it's over, I'm simply worn out and I have lost my voice! It's a good thing it's Sunday and a day of rest. I sure need it. I wouldn't have traded yesterday for anything in the world, though. Thank you to everyone who made it so much fun for me!

Update on Bluegrass Retreat Workshops

2010-08-12T23:31:00.000-06:00

For those of you wanting to take advantage of some of our workshops at Lake Sallateeska, you should make sure you sign up right away to reserve your spot. All of the workshops still have space available, but the Knowing Your Banjo Inside & Out workshop is more than half-way full.

Also, The Red Haired Boys will be playing at the Saturday evening concert. They are not on the flyers unless you pick up the new ones here at The Shack. You will surely enjoy their music! You can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Red-Haired-Boys/318310063761.

If you want to stay at Lake Sallateeska, call and make your reservations soon! Be sure to ask for the bluegrass rate, which is substantially less than their normal rates and the rates you will see listed on their website. If you need more information on the retreat or the workshops, take a look at my previous blog entry, which includes links to all the flyers and forms. If you still have questions, feel free to e-mail or call us!

We're in the Local Newspaper!

2010-08-09T22:14:00.001-06:00

This article came out in the Business Section of our local New Athens paper. Many thanks to Cathy Meggs for her support! Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Weekend at Grassy Bluegrass Festival

2010-08-09T21:58:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful weekend at Arrowhead Campgrounds in Grassy, MO this weekend. The Chris Talley Trio played Friday and Saturday for the annual August bluegrass festival. The weather let up a little bit, so we were actually quite lucky -- no rain, and the heat was tolerable.

I think every kid I saw was soaked from head to toe from the Castor River! That was always my favorite part of this festival when I was younger.

Emily did a great job playing with The Chris Talley Trio. She also played with her family band, Charlie & the Girls, so she really got a workout.

There were so many friends there, I can't possibly thank every one of you by name for coming to support us. Please know that you all are much appreciated! Here is a link to a couple of videos from The Chris Talley Trio's Friday night performance.

Amazing Rudeness

2010-08-05T22:18:00.000-06:00

The Pickin' Chicks played today at the Swanwick Picnic in Swanwick, IL. They were hired to play for one hour between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. About half-way through their set, the guy that was hired to play after The Pickin' Chicks started setting up his equipment during their performance. He walked in front of them several times, moved one of the girls out of his way to put up one of his monitors, and then proceeded to stand on stage with them for the last 15 minutes of their performance while he messed around with his microphones, stands and other equipment.

When asked by two different people to stop, he gave the scathing reply that he was being payed to play and the girls were not. Then he proceeded to brag about how he had been hired for this gig for the past 21 years. After that, he totally cut down the very people that had hired him by saying they were weird and that they would be angry if he didn't start playing at 5:30 p.m. on the nose. (Which didn't happen, by the way.) Since we were both hired by the same person, of course that person would understand there would be a short time where the PAs would be setup and dismantled.

When the lady in charge heard about this, she apologized for him to the girls. She said she thought he would have been more professional and that she would have put a stop to it if she had been there. I hope that other musicians and bands can remember to treat each other nicely. After all, we're all in this together!

Monday's Advanced Instructional Jam

2010-07-29T22:43:00.000-06:00

The past several weeks, the banjo players have been working on playing out of C position. I have not passed out tab on these songs, as my goal is for everyone to learn them by ear. I decided to go ahead and post a video of two of the songs so that you can at least hear it and play along. Just a reminder: playing out of C position allows you to play songs easily in the keys of C, D, E and F. I am posting I'll Fly Away and Bury Me Beneath the Willow.

Fiddle / Violin Setup: What Exactly is it?

2010-07-25T11:56:00.002-06:00

As the most important part of your instrument, setup is really something that every player needs to understand! Especially beginning students! A good setup can mean a difference as slight as a tone quality adjustment, or as major as a playability issue.

Just this last week, I corresponded via e-mail regarding the purchase of a fiddle online. "Austin" wanted to know if the fiddle he was thinking of purchasing was a good fiddle for a beginner. He sent me a link to the website where the fiddle was for sale, and asked me quite a few questions about it. Here's what I had to say about it:

Hi Austin -

I think the fiddle is fine, but the setup is probably not going to be fine. You need to make sure that you are buying from a shop that specializes in fiddle setup, not just fiddle sales. An inexpensive instrument can be a fine starter instrument, even if it doesn't have great value or symphonic tone quality. If it is not setup correctly, then it doesn't matter if it costs $1000 or more. It will be hard to play, and that is the last thing anyone needs, especially a beginner. A "factory" setup is not okay. Many online places make you think this is okay, but it's not. You want a person who plays and also specializes in setup/luthier work to set this up for you. You should expect to pay an additional $50-$100 for this, depending upon what needs to be done and where you take it.

Austin then replied with the following:

alright thanks a lot!!, so after buying this you recommend me to go into a music store to get it "set up"? what exactly do you mean buy "set up" though

And this, folks, is the million dollar question! I reponded with quite a lengthy e-mail, and then decided that I really needed to post this online because too many folks don't know or understand the importance of a good setup.

Hi Austin -

I don't think a regular music store will be able to do this correctly for you. You really need to have this done at a violin shop. A luthier at a violin ship will have the knowledge and EXPERIENCE that is needed to do this correctly. Here is what we typically do when we set up a fiddle:
1) Adjust the curvature of the bridge
2) Adjust the thickness of the bridge
3) Adjust the height of the bridge
4) Adjust the spacing of the bridge
5) "Voice" the bridge, which consists of carving certain parts of the bridge to make it more responsive
6) Put the bridge in the proper place on the fiddle (which affects the tuning of the fiddle)
7) Adjust the spacing of the nut
8) Adjust the height of the nut
9) Set the soundpost in the correct location

Why is this all important? If makes the difference between having an instrument that is easy to play and having one that frustrates you.

When the bridge is shaped correctly, it allows you to be able to play individual strings without hitting other strings. If you are playing bluegrass or folk music and you want to play double stops (two notes at the same time) frequently, then you will want a slightly flatter bridge which makes this easier. The spacing of the strings on the bridge will also affect the same things.

If the bridge is too high, then the strings will be too high off the fingerboard. This causes the fiddle to play out tune and makes it hard to finger the notes. It also increases the amount of the squeaking that you'll get when you play because you'll be more likely to touch strings that you are not playing, and if your bow also touches these strings, all you'll get is a squeak.

If the bridge is too thick, then the tone quality of the instrument is affected. It is more likely to sound tinny because the bridge cannot vibrate as well. Voicing the bridge also helps with the tone quality and vibrations.

Many people do not know this, but fiddle bridges are not glued on the instrument. If the bridge is not in the correct location on the fiddle, then the intonation (playing in tune) is affected. This will also affect where you finger the notes on the fingerboard.

When the nut is too high, then it makes it hard to press the strings down when you play. It will also affect the intonation of the fiddle.

If the string spacing of the nut is too close, then you will have a hard time fingering one string without touching another string. The larger your fingers are, the harder this will be. Fiddle/violin spacing is typically closer than any instrument other than maybe mandolin, so you want this to be correct.

The soundpost is a small wooden dowel that is located inside the fiddle. It is also not glued in. We use special tools to set the location of the soundpost. If a fiddle does not have a soundpost, then the top of the fiddle can cave in due to the amount of pressure from the strings and bridge. If the soundpost is not in the correct location, then it will affect the tone quality of the instrument. In extreme cases, it could affect the soundness of the fiddle, but that is truly rare. This would most likely occur if the soundpost was not the correct height. Too tall of a soundpost can crack the top of the fiddle. Too low of a soundpost will cause it to fall or move on its own.

If you want to find out if your music store has the knowledge, talk to whoever will do the work and find out exactly what they do when set up a fiddle. Ask questions. Most regular music stores simply cannot afford to hire a violin specialist unless they sell and repair lots of fiddles.

You are better off to pay a little bit more and order from a reputable shop that will do all this for you before they even ship out the fiddle. That way if there is a problem, they will spot it before you even get the fiddle. You won't have to make a special trip to have the instrument setup. A reputable shop will also back up the instruments they sell and the work they do.

Please note that I don't personally know the music store you are ordering from, so I can't tell you anything about them. I'm not saying they are bad or are not reputable. I also don't know where you're from, so obviously won't know what music stores are in your area. If you can purchase locally, you are better off. It's always better to be able to talk to a person LIVE rather than on the phone or in e-mail.

If you have a teacher lined up to help you learn, then your teacher should also be able to help you with all of this. A good teacher will know where to buy and get instruments repaired.

October Contests - Flattop Guitar Added!

2010-07-24T20:03:00.000-06:00

Our Annual Fiddle & Banjo Contest has been expanded this year to add a Flattop Guitar Picking contest! The contests will be held in our new location at the New Athens Community Hall in New Athens, IL. (The flyer has directions.) There will be five fiddle divisions, four banjo divisions, and just one flattop guitar division for this first year. If we have enough contestants, we will add divisions to the guitar contest. Date of the event is Saturday, October 30, 2010. Registration starts at Noon and the contest starts at 1:00 p.m. Take a look at the flyer for all the details. If you still have questions, feel free to contact Chris or Earl at The Bluegrass Shack.

CLICK HERE to view a .pdf version of the flyer.

We hope you'll come out and join us!

The Chris Talley Trio at Bellerive Park!

2010-07-24T01:02:00.001-06:00

The Chris Talley Trio will be playing at Bellerive Park (in St. Louis, MO) on Monday, July 26, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. If you haven't seen them this year, this is a good opportunity to get out! Bellerive Park is located in the Carondelet area of St. Louis (off Broadway) right on the riverfront. You can watch the barges float by while the music is playing!

Many of you have asked about Carla, our bass player, and we are happy to say that she will be back with us for this performance. Carla had two surgeries this year and is finally well enough to join us again! Many thanks to Kabbie for playing with us while Carla has been out. We sure appreciate your talent, willingness and skill!

You won't want to miss hearing Miss Emily either! She is a fine musician and singer, and at 15 years of age, will knock your socks off with her talent! We are so happy to have her with us as a member of The Chris Talley Trio. We've got lots of new songs to share with you!

Miscellaneous Stuff

2010-07-24T00:54:00.000-06:00

Wow! It's been a while since I last blogged. Things have been pretty busy around here and a lot has been happening. We've sold about a zillion fiddles online in the past month. You'd think it would be an influx of purchases for kids starting school, but it has actually been adults who have decided that they want to finally fulfill the dream of learning to play an instrument! Congratulations! I always say that one of the nice things about music is that it is never too late! We have a great policy on fiddles here at The Bluegrass Shack, too. We offer a 100% trade-in policy for all fiddles, whether they are new, used or vintage, as long as they are still in good condition. That is fiddle for fiddle, and fiddles are the only instrument for which we offer this policy.

The past month has seen many birthdays around here as well. The last couple of jam sessions have been filled with food and other goodies to help us celebrate. What fun!

We had a float in the New Athens Homecoming Parade again this year. This makes the 5th year in a row for us. Pictures of our float and the Pickin' Chicks float were both printed in full color in the Freeburg Tribune this past week.

The Pickin' Chicks won first place in the Four Fountains Talent Contest held yesterday. They auditioned last month just for a spot in the contest, and they played wonderfully!

We had our 7th Annual Bluegrass Shack Summer Fiddle Contest on Sunday. We had 30 contestants and a packed house at our new location -- the New Athens Community Center. Many thanks to Dick and Gary for making all the fiddle trophies; to The Pickin' Chicks and their families for providing all the food and beverages, and for helping with the door and numerous other things that were needed; to Dawn for her help with scoring; to Janice and Marc for judging; to Kabbie for help with the raffles; to Zane and Ron for performing for the crowd between divisions while the scores were tallied; to Eric and Brad for help with the equipment, chairs, tables and setup; to Earl for taking all the pictures; and to all the rest whom I might have forgotten to mention by name for everything else! I hope I haven't forgotten anyone! The crowd was wonderful! The music was wonderful! The food was nothing short of amazing (especially the homemade desserts!!!!)!

I think 4-year old London stole the show with her performance on fiddle. Anyone who saw her will agree! She was simply adorable. Our contestant from the farthest location was Tim, from California, who played in the Junior II Division. In fact, Tim won 1st place in his division! John B., our oldest contestant, won the top prize of $100 in the Open/Senior Division. If you haven't been out to our Facebook page, you really need to take a look there. I have posted pictures from this event and many other events and/or happenings here. You might just see yourself!

Tuesday's Jam with Special Birthday!

2010-07-17T13:06:00.000-06:00

Just wanting to let you know that at this Tuesday's jam, July 20th, we will be celebrating Stan's birthday. We hope that you'll come out to enjoy some great bluegrass music and food! We'll have a table setup for all the goodies. If you want to bring a food to share, feel free, but it's not expected or required!

Happy Birthday, Stan!

Chance

2010-07-17T12:52:00.000-06:00

You know, every once in a while, a chance comes along that is kind of unbelievable. Last night was one of those times. It is homecoming here in New Athens. That means food, rides, parade, and best of all -- music! And New Athens is kind of known in the area for hiring good bands. Not bluegrass, but still pretty good! Last night's band for the homecoming was the Smash Band. This is where the fun comes in!

Three of the four girls from The Pickin' Chicks were there for the homecoming, and we just so got the chance to perform onstage while the Smash band took their break. Johnny Shy, the illustrious sound man, made all the arrangements for us. Grant Texier, the fiddle player for the band, was kind enough to let me use his guitar. How cool is that??!! We decided that we would do Seven Bridges Road because none of the girls had their instruments with them (of course!). Grant even stayed onstage for almost the entire performance, and then shook hands with each of the girls.

I don't normally perform with the girls, but with one girl missing (Millie was at The Kentucky Opry) and with a borrowed guitar, it only made sense. I have to admit that I was kind of nervous because I'm not used to doing this song (it's not bluegrass) and I don't practice it with the girls. The Smash Band and the New Athens crowd loved the girls, and after it was all over, we all decided it was a lot of fun!!!

Here's a video, and you can go to our Facebook page for some pictures.

Fiddle Contest on Sunday

2010-07-13T21:24:00.001-06:00

Just another friendly reminder about our fiddle contest on Sunday. Also, don't forget that we are in a new location this year due to the closing of the building that we have used in the past. We will be at the New Athens Community Hall. It's very easy to find, especially if you look for the New Athens water tower! When you turn from Highway 13 onto Van Buren (the only stoplight in New Athens), stay straight until you see Chester St. Make a right onto Chester, go three blocks, and you are there! The Community Hall is at the corner of Chester and N. Johnson.

Not only will you hear some great fiddle players, but you can also enjoy some great food! The Pickin' Chicks will be serving up pulled pork, hot dogs, nachos, potato salad, chips, baked beans, and assorted HOMEMADE desserts. (I hear there will be gooey butter cake, carrot cake and pineapple upside-down cake and more!!!!!) There will also be soda, lemonade, coffee and water available.

The fiddle contest registration starts at Noon, with the contest itself starting at 1:00 p.m. There are FIVE divisions: Junior III (12 & under); Junior II (13-15); Junior I (16-18); Open (19 & up); Senior (60 & up). All juniors will receive a medal regardless of placement. Trophies and/or money awarded to the top 5 places in each division. For complete details and rules, CLICK HERE.

For other questions, please contact us by e-mail or phone here at The Bluegrass Shack. We hope to see you!

Bluegrass Retreat: All Information and Flyers!

2010-07-08T20:01:00.001-06:00

Here is the much awaited information on the first annual Bluegrass Shack Bluegrass Retreat! You will be able to download flyers and workshop information in .pdf format straight from here.

We are going to be starting the weekend out on Friday night with our Meet & Greet potluck, which is free for all. Just bring a food to share with everyone. It can be as simple as a bag of chips or package of store-bought cookies, or as fancy as your own homemade chili or pie! This will be your opportunity to meet other musicians and families. I am still working on getting a teacher and caller for square dancing. Bring your instruments for jamming!

Saturday morning we will be starting out at 9:00 a.m. with our hands-on banjo workshop where participants will actually take apart their banjos and put them back together again! We have several workshops where you will learn playing techniques and several workshops that will teach you technical things about your instrument or instrument setup. The workshop list gives a complete description of the workshops and what time they will be starting. The workshops will be taught in the cafeteria and in the chapel.

After lunch on Saturday, the workshops will continue until 4:00 p.m. At that time, we will start our bluegrass shows. We will kick things off with our own Hee Haw show featuring all kinds of local talent and comedy. We will break for dinner from 6:00-7:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m., we will start things off again with local bands performing in the chapel. You will get a chance to hear Charlie & the Girls, the Pickin' Chicks, The Chris Talley Trio, and more!

Sunday morning, we will be having a gospel show in the chapel. Our two featured groups include Stan & Abby Farlow (from McLeansboro, IL) and John & Rosemary Brewer (from New Athens, IL).

To download the flyer & workshop signup sheet CLICK HERE. (2 pages)

To download the workshop list CLICK HERE. (2 pages)

To make reservations to stay at Lake Sallateeska, you will need to contact them directly. They have an on-site motel, RV hookups and group bunk houses. They also have a cafeteria that you can make reservations for. Download the flyer for the phone number and address of Lake Sallateeska. This is a GREAT family park that has an indoor pool, fishing lake, paddle boats, hiking trails, game room, and more! You can visit their website by clicking HERE.

One last note: This is a Baptist Camp park, and even though our retreat is not a religious event per se, there may be other groups on-site at the same time that are. There will be no smoking and no alcoholic drinking allowed on the premises. This is not our rule, but is Lake Sallateeska's rule. Please don't come if you can't agree to this.

Bluegrass Shack Retreat: List of Workshops

2010-07-05T17:32:00.002-06:00

Here is the first installment, so to speak, of more information on the upcoming Bluegrass Shack Retreat to be held the last weekend of August in Pinckneyville at Lake Sallateeska. This is a list of the workshops that we plan to hold during the retreat. Workshops will be held on Saturday, August 28. Exact times will be coming soon, but at least you can see if something we are offering is of interest to you. To view the workshops, please click HERE. This is a 2-page .pdf document.

In addition to the workshops, we will be having jam sessions, a Hee-Haw show, bands performing, a Sunday morning gospel show, and a Friday night potluck free for all! We are hoping to have some sessions on square dancing Friday night as well.

Does Not Play Well With Others

2010-07-05T01:05:00.000-06:00

You've probably seen that on a shirt by now. Well, I want to change that to "Plays Well With Others." Truth be told, you would like that, too. Wouldn't you?

This blog entry is once again hitting on something that we've talked about before. Practice what you want to be able to do! I'm telling you this again because I hear it all the time. I see it all the time. My students want to play with others, but many of them only do it once every two weeks when they meet for the instructional jam.

I've heard all the excuses.
1. I can't keep up. Everyone plays too fast for me.
2. I just can't play with a recording.
3. There's no one near me to play with.
4. I get nervous just THINKING about playing with others.
5. I don't know enough songs.
6. I'm too bad. Too embarrassed. Too shy.
7. I don't know the chords. The songs. The people.
8. I don't want to bore everyone. Or drag the others down.
9. I'm not getting any better even though I've been playing with others.

I'm here to tell you that if playing with others is your goal, you just can't give up! YOU CAN DO THIS! I'm going to address each of these issues. Have you got one I'm not covering? Lay it on! E-mail me or respond to this blog entry and I'll answer you!

1. I Can't Keep Up: Of course you can't keep up! If you never practice it with others, you will never be able to keep up. That's like trying to run a marathon without training for it. If certain songs are too fast for you, play on the ones that are slower. When it's your turn to pick a song, pick something slower. You are the leader! You get to do whatever you want!

2. I Just Can't Play With a Recording: Once again, of course you can't! You have to practice it to get at it. You have to keep trying. Again and again. If the recording is too fast, then use a program to slow the recording down to a speed you CAN keep up with. Or find a different recording that is slower.

3. There's No One Near Me to Play With: You might have to practice with a recording, a DVD, a CD, the radio, etc. Maybe you could post a note at a local music store. You could also try asking people at jam sessions.

4. I'm Too Nervous: Try to relax. Don't drink any caffiene. Start off slow. Maybe you will just play backup to start with. Ask someone else to play along with you when you take the lead. Having someone else play with you will go a long ways towards making things better. Once again, to get over your nervousness, you'll just have to make yourself do it.

5. I Don't Know Enough Songs: When you get to where you know all the songs, let me know! The whole purpose of jamming is to meet new people and learn new songs! How can you learn them if you don't hear them? Usually at jam sessions the same people will tend to sing or play the same songs for a while until they learn new songs. You will be doing the same thing yourself! Take a pencil and paper with you and make a note of the songs and the keys they were played in. You might even want to take a note about the chord changes.

6. I'm Too Bad, Too Embarrassed, Too Shy: We all were at one time. I'll bet just about every musician that currently jams can tell you a story or two about when they first started jamming. It's good to remember where you are coming from because you will be that person helping someone else down the line get over feeling that way! Jamming isn't about being the best. It's about learning and having fun. It's about friendship and comraderie. If you are worried about being too loud while you are learning, then use a mute unless you are the one leading the song. Another thing to remember: Folks like to eat. Bring some cookies or other goodies and you'll be an instant hit! :o)

7. I Don't Know the Chords, the Songs, the People: Once again, of course you don't! How are you going to know that without doing that? You will learn the chords and the songs once you start going. Grab that pencil and paper and start taking notes. Better yet, bring a friend or relative along who likes music and have them help you with notes. You'll have a built in friend and support system!

8. I Don't Want to Bore Everyone or Drag Them Down: As long as you don't jump in the middle of the jam session while you are still learning and play really loud and make a scene, you'll be okay. It's not like you are the one leading every song. It's about you learning to follow them for the most part. They only follow you once every round.

9. I Don't Feel Like I'm Getting Any Better: Chances are good that you ARE getting better. You just don't FEEL like you are. Try recording yourself every once in a while so that you'll be able to hear the difference. Maybe try easier songs for a while so that you can be more confident and more successful.

When I first started entering fiddle contests, I'd get so nervous I didn't know if I was going to throw up or pass out first. I'd be in the middle of my songs on stage and inside my head I'd be asking myself why I was doing this. It was very hard to keep my concentration on my playing. All my mistakes sounded HUGE and my bow wouldn't stop shaking, especially on my waltzes. I didn't give up, though. I decided that I would start playing songs that were easier for me. I picked songs that I could play in my sleep, so to speak. This allowed me to play better and also helped me with my confidence. I continued to practice the harder songs that I wanted to play in the contests, and eventually I did play them in contests! I also tried to play the songs that I was intending to play in the contest for other people BEFORE the contest.

More than anything, don't give up! You CAN do this!

Shooting Your Own Low-Budget Video

2010-07-03T22:38:00.004-06:00

Now this is fun! Pure and simple. I had no previous experience doing something like this, but then the need came about, and you know what they say...necessity is the mother of invention! Since I didn't have a lot of time, money, experience, or expensive equipment, this is something you can do yourself!

The Pickin' Chicks decided they wanted to try out for the YouTube edition of America's Got Talent. Our job was to shoot a 90-second video that had to be live. (In other words, we could not dub the music into the video.) I ended up shooting two videos, with one of them being a little bit more creative than the other. Here's what we did.

There are four girls in the group. Since they come from three different families, I had three moms to help. We decided to shoot the video of the girls singing "Seven Bridges Road." We needed a completely dark room, as the idea was to shoot the video in complete darkness. If we had had more time, we could have done it at night outside, but this wasn't an option due to time constraints. The room had to be big enough for all four girls, me and the three moms. One of the teaching rooms at The Bluegrass Shack has no windows in it and is just big enough that we thought it would work out pretty good.

Here's the setup: All four girls were laying on their backs facing the ceiling with their heads together. Diane (Nikki and Mallory's mom) stood on a chair with a very small, LED flashlight. Directly opposite of Diane, Rhonda (Millie's mom) stood on a stool with my digital camera. Her head was literally in the ceiling! Dawn (Paige's mom) helped with the flashlight and getting the girls properly positioned. I stood in a corner with my guitar next to the lightswitch so I could turn it on and off.

Diane worked the flashlight by using her hand to block and unblock the light. She also moved it back and forth, twirled it, and made it like a strobe light at times. Rhonda turned the camera as she was shooting the video, and she also moved the camera closer to the girls. I played the guitar in my little corner when it was time. Let's just say that it took several times to get this right because it was completely black and I couldn't see any strings!!!! Dawn kept repositioning the girls and was helping us get everything together properly. She and Diane took turns doing the flashlight.

It got really hot in that room. We shot the video at least 8 to 10 times before we quit. We couldn't have any fans or air conditioning running because it would interfere with the sound quality. We were laughing and the girls were having the time of their lives! I told the girls to clap for themselves when the lights went out at the end. Me and all the moms were clapping and hollering along with the girls, and Brad (Nikki & Mallory's dad) stood outside the door (there wasn't room for him in the room) and he hollered from out there.

When the video was done, I had to edit it so it would only be 90 seconds. I used the free program Microsoft Movie Maker to edit and publish the movie. The only effects I used were: 1) Add text to the end; 2) Add transitions to where the cuts were made; and 3) Add a color effect so the shirts the girls wore would all be the same color and would change colors together. Here is what we came up with. I hope you enjoy it! We sure had fun making it.

Oh, by the way, we didn't make the cut to America's Got Talent YouTube edition. We got beat out by a woman singing in her bra...no kidding!

I Sound Like What????

2010-07-01T04:35:00.001-06:00

One of the best learning tools you can use as a musician is to record yourself. You would be surprised the things you can learn from this experience! First of all, it is almost like a LIVE performance. All of a sudden, your fingers become weak and get a mind of their own. Or your brain decides to take a vacation. Your bow starts to shake. You can't even remember how a song goes anymore. If you've ever tried to record yourself, you know exactly what I'm talking about!

What can you expect to learn from recording yourself? For starters, it really helps to hear your rhythm. You may be concentrating so hard that you don't realize that you are slowing down or speeding up in certain areas of a song. If you are recording yourself playing lead, try playing accompaniment behind your own recording to see how steady your rhythm actually is!

You will also hear how clear your notes are. Do you consistantly hit clean and clear notes? If you are playing an instrument without frets (fiddle, wind instrument, voice, etc.), are you playing in tune? Do you consistantly miss a certain pitch? Do you slide up to all your notes, or do you hit them right on target? Are you fretting cleanly? These are things that you can listen for closely in a recording of yourself.

Do you play with feeling? When you listen to your own performance, does it move you emotionally? (And I don't mean in a bad way, either!!!) After practicing and practicing technical passages, I remember one of my teachers saying to me, "Well, you played all the notes." Hopefully, you are doing more than just playing all the notes. One of your goals should be playing in such a way as to make you and/or your audience FEEL what you are playing. Are you able to make your playing sound easy? Or does it sound like it is as hard as it really is for you?

Another big advantage of recording yourself is so that you can hear the progress you are making. If you don't like what you hear, keep the recording anyway. Try the same song several months later after you have practiced it more so that you can hear the difference. It can be very satisfying and rewarding to hear the improvement you have made. You hear yourself every day, so it is difficult for you to hear steady improvement in your own playing. As a teacher, I hear you every week, so it is easier for me to hear the difference!

Now, what can you expect NOT to hear with traditional recording? Your tone quality. For the most part, unless you have some high tech equipment along with knowledge and skill, your own recordings won't be of a quality that will allow you to really hear your tone quality. Even professional recordings don't always reflect the actual tone quality that you will hear in a live performance. That's because there are so many ways to alter the tone quality of a recording.

What can you do to help make your recording sound more pleasing/professional? For starters, the better the microphone you use, the better the recording will be. In general, a built in microphone is not going to give you quality sound -- so any recording device that uses a built-in microphone is not going to give you fantastic sound. That's perfectly fine, too, as long as you know what to expect! Secondly, the room you are in will affect the sound. Are you in a live room? The harder the surfaces and more hard surfaces there are in a room, the more live the sound will be. For instance, most bathrooms are very live, and I've known many a musician that has liked to practice in the bathroom because it sounds so pleasing. (For a professional recording, this is actually not something you want, but that's another story...)

What are you using to make your recording? A cassette player? Then don't expect much in the tone quality department. Are you computer saavy? Then try downloading a free recording program like Audacity. You can actually make multi-track recordings with this software!

Do you have a digital camera that has a video feature? Try recording yourself with that! Once again, don't expect too much in the tone quality department. One of my digital cameras makes me sound like I have a lisp. If you've heard me "in person" and then on some of my YouTube videos, you'll know what I mean...

What do I use to record? I use Cakewalk (a recording program on my computer) for the soundclips on the website. I also use an AKG C1000S condenser microphone. For these soundclips, I don't alter the sound in any way because I want people to be able to compare the difference in tone quality.

I recently purchased a very nice digital video recorder. It has an option for me to plug in my own microphone, so now I can get quality video AND quality audio. Do you need this? Probably not. Is it fun? Absolutely!

So go ahead! Record yourself and listen carefully. You'll be surprised what you can learn!

Instructional Beginning Jams: Our Focus

2010-06-28T22:33:00.001-06:00

We've had a definitive change of focus as of late in the jam sessions. One of the hardest things to do in a jam is to learn how to come in correctly for instrumental breaks. This is particularly hard, it seems, for the banjo players. In an effort to give everyone more chances to do this, I have changed the format slightly.

First of all, we are doing more easy instrumentals. We have been playing Cripple Creek, Banjo in the Hollow, Bile Them Cabbage, and Blackberry Blossom. Speed depends upon the session and experience of the players. I have been calling on students to play, but mixing up the song. For instance, one person plays Part A of the song one time, then I call on someone else to play the repeat of Part A. I call on yet another person to play Part B the first time, and another to play Part B the second time. This means that playing through the song one time allows four different people to take the break. When we practice the vocals, I have been having the singer sing one verse or one chorus (not both together) and then picking someone to play the break. Sometimes we play breaks back to back, sometimes I split the breaks in half, and other times I have the singer come back in after one break. Sometimes I have all the banjos as a group play together or all the fiddles as a group player together.

Another thing we have done in the more advanced of the two instructional jams is that I have been teaching the banjo players breaks "on the fly." We have been working on using familiar licks and how to combine them to create breaks. We have also been learning how to pick out melodies in "C" position instead of the standard "G" position. Songs we have been working on include Nine Pound Hammer, Bury Me Beneath the Willow and Somebody Touched Me. I plan on adding a "C" position break to several other songs. What's the purpose of learning songs in "C" position? This is very useful for playing out of the keys of D, E & F.

I've heard very good feedback from this new format. Now everyone has many more chances during the course of the jam to take a break or part of a break. It demands that every person pay particularly close attention to what is going on. You also have to know the songs VERY well because you don't always come in on Part A or the beginning of the break.

I am very proud of everyone who has been taking a part in the instructional jams. Everyone is doing a great job!

A Day in the Life of The Pickin' Chicks

2010-06-16T00:40:00.001-06:00

Anyone who has heard the Pickin' Chicks perform would know without a doubt that all four of these girls take their music seriously. They practice on average for two hours every week at The Bluegrass Shack. Not only do they practice together, but they also socialize together. They are bandmates and friends both. It's hard to believe that they didn't even really know each other a year ago! I thought it might be interesting to let other people into a day of Pickin' Chicks practice.

I guess this day started out a little bit unusual due to the fact that the girls had a talent show audition in the early afternoon. We all met at The Bluegrass Shack and then carpooled over together. The audition was being held in a nursing home / senior facility, and I couldn't help but think how much the bass case looked like a coffin as I was rolling it down the hallway in front of all the seniors outside their doors sitting in wheelchairs...

There was terrible weather on the way over, and when we got to the facility, all of the residents were sitting in the main hallway rather than in the cafeteria because of tornado code. It felt a little bit odd to see the girls playing to a hallway full of people! The girls did a great job and were accepted into the contest. I will post information later as to the time and date of the actual Talent Show.

On our way back to The Shack, we HAD to stop in Freeburg at Dairy Queen. It was Millie's Mom's birthday and also Paige's brother's birthday. We have everybody's birthday on the calendar in my teaching room so that we can celebrate. There's nothing better for bonding than birthday celebrations! We had blizzards and Mr. Misty's and even some actual regular fast food. (I don't have room for both a meal and ice cream, so I went straight for the blizzard.)

When we got back to The Bluegrass Shack, the girls unloaded all their instruments and notebooks, and we set up to practice. This was an unusually early practice because of the audition. We practiced several newer songs, and one brand new song. We also talked about a new song that we will start at next week's practice. The girls started learning "Radio Boogie" from a Hot Rize CD. I used a program to change the key of the song so that the girls can practice it in the key in which they will perform the song. Well, we got a little bit carried away and not only tried several different keys, but also different speeds. We had Hot Rize singing everything from the Chipmunks on Caffiene to a bear in hibernation. It's all a learning experience, right???

We talked about several of our most recent gigs and what they did a great job on and what they could improve on. We talked about some of our upcoming gigs. We also discussed things like professionalism, good manners, and ethics. All in all, the girls had a great practice.

At the end of the practice, I passed out CDs to the girls to take home to practice their new song. We had a few celebratory donuts, talked a bit more, and then agreed to meet next week even though Mallory will be at camp. That means I get to be Mallory next week...

Okawville Heritage Days

2010-06-13T21:43:00.000-06:00

The last two days have been very hot, but so much fun! I was at the Okawville Heritage Days.

I rode over with Paige's Mom (Dawn) on Saturday to help with the Pickin' Chicks' performance. They played for one hour under a tent when the outdoor temperature was 99 degrees! There are pictures posted on Facebook if you'd like to take a look. They played wonderfully and the crowd really enjoyed them! Every single schedule and business card was taken.

After The Pickin' Chicks played, there was a group called the "Gospel Messengers" that performed. They did a nice job. Bart and his two sons, Daniel and Dennis, performed for about an hour. What really struck me was that the older son, Dennis, had already played a baseball game earlier in the day. I really don't know how he did both things in the heat. We want to personally thank Bart for letting The Pickin' Chicks use his PA system. All we had to do was set up our microphone. What a blessing!

There was lots of great food there. I had homemade ice cream not once, but twice! I also bought a loaf of homemade wheat bread and some lemonade. The bread was freshly made and looked and smelled so good. On the way home, I was telling Dawn how much I just wanted to take a huge bite out of the loaf of bread. I've never done this before and never even remember being tempted by such a thing, but since I bought the bread for my husband, I decided I wouldn't do this. Funny thing is, the next morning when I got up, there was a huge chunk out of the side of the bread! I guess Earl felt the same way I did!

Today I went back to Okawville to perform with The Chris Talley Trio. It was just as hot today as it was yesterday. I was all sweaty before we even finished setting up the PA system! We played for 2-1/2 hours and had a very responsive crowd. I am amazed that so many people sat out in the heat to watch and listen to us. The crowd helped us out by clapping, singing and cheering us on. I even brought someone up on stage to help sing Jambalaya with us! Her name was Barb -- so we thank you, Barb! If you are reading this, you did a great job!

Several of my students also came and played some fiddle tunes. Breck (from Okawville), Chelsea (from New Athens) and Rosemary (from Ellis Grove) all came up and fiddled a few tunes. Zane even picked up the bass instead of taking a break. Charlie and the Girls also stepped up and played several songs during our break. Even Natalie sang with them today. They do such a fantastic job.

I want to personally thank Kabbie for playing bass for us today. Carla (my mom) was unable to play bass with us today due to having surgery. She is fine now, but is recovering at home. Kabbie not only played bass with us today, but she came and practiced with us on Friday for five hours! Now that's dedication! Anyone who saw our performance will agree that she did a wonderful job!

If you haven't seen The Chris Talley Trio this year, you'll want to be sure to catch a show. Emily, our newest band member, is wonderful! She is just 15 years old and has a beautiful voice! Emily plays both the mandolin and the banjo with the Trio. Check out the schedule at http://www.chris-talley.com/.

Last but certainly not least, we want to thank the folks from Okawville Heritage Days for allowing us to perform at their event. We hope that we exceeded your expectations and that you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Jake Plays Victory in Jesus on Banjo

2010-06-09T19:47:00.000-06:00

You don't want to miss listening to this short video! Jake is 11 years old and has only been playing the banjo for 3 months. He specifically asked to learn this song on the banjo, so I tabbed it out for him. He does a great job! He is playing the verse of the song.

Weekend of Music

2010-06-09T00:08:00.001-06:00

What a good weekend of music we had! Charlie & the Girls were booked at Grassy, MO. Arrowhead Campground puts on a great festival twice a year there, and it has long been one of my all-time favorite festivals. I love the Castor River which runs through the campground, and they always have good food there. (Especially homemade ice cream!!!) If you haven't seen Charlie & the Girls perform, you need to look them up and catch one of their shows. They have a Facebook page, too, so check them out!

The Pickin' Chicks played in Collinsville, IL at the Annual Horseradish Festival. They played at the Jack Schmidt Ford Lincoln Mercury stage near the pond. It was an hour of great, upbeat music, followed by some of the best Italian ice I have ever tasted! (I had to have one scoop of each of the four flavors offered...) Afterwards, we all went to Mariachi's restaurant and celebrated Paige's grandpa's birthday. Ed looked pretty good in the Mexican hat they put on him when they sang Happy Birthday to him in Spanish.

One of our teachers, Jennine, played at the rondeveaux at Prairie Du Rocher. (I hope I spelled that right!) Our friend, Ron, played guitar for her. Jennine plays period (French) music on her fiddle for this event. Jennine does a great job of talking about the songs, what they mean, and even pronouncing the French names correctly!

I will try to put up some pictures in the next couple of days. I will put them up on Facebook, so you'll have to look there. You don't have to sign up or anything to view our page on Facebook. You can just click the Facebook link directly from our blog to go there.

This coming weekend, the Pickin' Chicks and The Chris Talley Trio will be playing for Heritage Days in Okawville, IL. The Pickin' Chicks will play on Saturday and the Chris Talley Trio on Sunday. We hope that you'll come out to hear some great music and enjoy the festival.

Musician's Dystonia - Part 1

2010-06-05T05:24:00.000-06:00

Dystonia, Focal Dystonia, Hand Dystonia, Musician's Dystonia...

This will be a several part series on a topic that is very relevant to all musicians, regardless of the type of music that is played. Before I get started, I just want to state very clearly that I am not a doctor, nor a specialist of any kind, and I can't give any medical advice. I am only going to be presenting information that I have learned from other sources, and then some of my own experiments. You are welcome to add your experiences, experiments, links to articles, etc.

First of all, what is dystonia? It's a type of nerve disorder in which the nerve impulse is still intact and normal, but despite that, the signal gets "messed up" somehow and a musician will have problems moving one or more fingers ONLY WHEN THEY ARE PLAYING music. Who does it strike? Piano players, clarinetists, violin players, banjo players -- any musician who plays repetitive passages over the course of years of practice. It mainly strikes professional musicians, as this is who would have years of lots of practice and performances. Of course, any amateur musician who plays a lot would be just as likely over the course of many years of playing.

What happens in dystonia? I don't think it is entirely understood, but here is what I understand from reading. (I am going to give other medical sources as well for you to do some of your own reading.) It appears that the brain is ever-learning, ever-changing. Technically speaking, this is called "plasticity." When a musician continues to practice over and over again, the brain gets too good at doing certain techniques and loses its ability to "learn" new things. Some articles have said that the brain tries to do the "open" and "close" of the finger at the same time. Other articles I have read talk about cramping of the hand, indicating a muscle response from the nerve impulse. I can verify that my index finger pulls up to my palm and then just stays there, but only when I play banjo.

How does this present in a musician? Well, let me give you my own experience. For the past five years, I noticed that it was getting increasingly difficult for me to play my banjo fast. It felt like my right hand just never got warmed up. It wasn't always bad, but certain days it was really bad. As time went on, it started getting worse and my "bad" days were outnumbering my "good" days. I can still play slowly and moderately without a great deal of difficulty. I have no pain, but when I watch my right hand, I see strange things happen. My index finger pulls up to my palm and then just simply stays there. What's funny about that is I had no idea that was what was happening until I actually started watching my right hand. It felt like it was moving to me, but I could see that it wasn't, or that it was moving only very little. (I will post some videos later.) My middle finger, to the contrary, moves straight out across the banjo head in a wide arc. The index finger problem severely affects my banjo playing because it simply doesn't do anything. My middle finger doesn't really seem to affect my playing much because it still moves, though it is certainly not preserving motion!

It is only recently that there has been given hope for musicians suffering from this. I am going to post several links here for you to do more reading, if you so desire. I will also be posting some of my own experiments and some videos, but in a later post or posts.

Here is an excellent article that explores all kinds of information about dystonia in musicians:
http://chambermusictoday.blogspot.com/2008/10/progress-in-treating-musicians-focal.html

Here is a technical paper (very technical) that details a medical study that should be of significant interest to anyone wanting to know more about treatment:
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/29/46/14627

Please feel free to add your own experiences or links as comments. In fact, I hope you will!

Crazy Day at the Shack!

2010-06-04T21:12:00.000-06:00

Wow! It was quite a busy day here today!

I started my day out trying to learn how to use Cubase. When I tried to use Cubase, it would not load and I was instructed to register it. Okay. No big deal, so I thought. I go to their website and there is a video tutorial about how to license the program. You know things are going to be bad when you have to view a video tutorial just to be able to license the program. First off, I have to register with the site, go to my e-mail, and then click the link in the e-mail to complete my registration. Then, I have to download all updates that have been released since I bought my program. Then I have to download this special eLicense program which will have a code in it. After that, I have to click on another link on the manufacturer's website so that I can enter my eLicense special code. That, in return, creates another special code that is about 40 digits long that is my official registration code. I have to go to the program now and enter that code into the registration number field. Now I can actually try to use the program I paid for... This is not a good start for doing something that I know will inevitably be frustrating. All I can say now is, "I love Cakewalk. I love Cakewalk. I love Cakewalk."

From the moment we opened the doors, the phone started ringing and the people starting coming in. It was quite the fun day! We set up a couple of instruments, changed strings on several more, and then I made a custom nut with wider string slots for a banjo. Earl installed Grover tuners on a beautiful, natural maple mandolin, and then I put some new strings on it. Of course, we had to take time to chat with everyone and play a little bit of music. Dennis and I discussed some fiddle repairs. All in all, we worked on several guitars, two banjos, a mandolin, a dobro and several fiddles.