Click for the corresponding AcuTab file download page

Mandolin tab description, by John Baldry

Big Mon is a standard bluegrass session tune. Bill Monroe, who recorded it on 1st December 1958, is the ‘Big Mon’ of the title – this was apparently a nickname. The original recording can be found on Blue Grass Instrumentals, Decca DL7-4601/MCA-104, the same LP as Rawhide. The cut is also presumably in the Bear Family 4 CD set, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, 1950-58. (I’m not rich enough to buy this one!)

According to Ralph Rinzler’s sleeve notes on Blue Grass Instrumentals, Big Mon developed as an improvisation by the Blue Grass Boys while playing at a dance one night “in either Nebraska or one of the Dakotas”. The tune is associated with Bobby Hicks and Charlie Cline, who both played with Monroe at this period, and indeed it is Bobby Hicks who fiddles on the recording. This is the same Bobby Hicks who is still very active on the bluegrass scene today, as witness his recent CD, Fiddle Patch, and of course his stint in Ricky Skaggs’ band some time back.

The tab here does not depart significantly from Bill Monroe’s break on the recording. The use of the modal A to G change in the first part identifies the tune straight away in any session. The second part is very much an exercise in playing scale patterns against the protracted A chords. The main difference you will find on the recording is that about half way through the cut they change round the sequence of parts by playing the B part first, so when it gets to Bill’s mandolin break he plays two B parts followed by two A parts. I can’t see quite why they did this, but it presumably had the boss’s approval!

Hope you enjoy this one! I’d been meaning to learn it for ages, and your Editor’s prompting finally made me get round to it. I’ve also recently got round to going online, and am amazed by how much Bluegrass information there is out there in cyberspace. Mandolin players should definitely look in at the Mandolin Café at http://www.mandolincafe.com If you want a daily fix of world-wide mando chat in your Write to, subscribe to CoMando, which you can join via Mandolin Café. Highly recommended!

Big Mon should be played with vigour - crotchet d=150.

John Baldry, Crawley, Sussex. November 1998. Read about John

Editor's note: It was not possible to include the three "5>7" grace notes called for at the beginning of bars 1, 5 and 10 in the Tabrite Mandolin tablature. Hence I have put two versions in the ZIP file: One without any extra notes and one with simulated grace notes made using semi-quavers. It was the latter that was used to make the MIDI file.

Contacts:
John Baldry at john.baldry@btinternet.com


Banjo tab by Chris Athey (foto left). Write to Chris

Don’t forget to check Chris' Vintage Blend band website

“Snacking” Styles - Guitar

By Eric Kwiatkowski

I’ve always been a guitar dabbler - I love to see what’s in other styles. Although Jazz and Bluegrass are different both have, to me, the idea of playing variations over chord changes as an important element. Ideas which can be adapted to fit flatpicking are therefore fair game! Here is a variation for “Beaumont Rag” which uses and extends ideas from my article on Soloing Over Chord Changes in the March 1998 NWBN.

“Beaumont Rag” has been recorded in the Western Swing idiom by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and made famous in the flatpick style by Doc Watson, Dan Crary, and Clarence White. It remains very popular - Dan Crary’s version was my first big flatpicking inspiration. Having given “snacking” validity, here goes! The areas of interest and possible problems include the following:

Rhythm notation: the tied notes in bars 4 and 11 may cause problems. This tune is in quick 4/4 time, so tap your foot twice per bar throughout this piece - one tap of the foot for every four notes played. Where tied* notes occur, tap your foot but don’t play the note when the second of each pair of tied notes occurs - then play the remaining three notes in the bar. If you’re really stuck, think of Dill Pickle or other rags - bars 3 and 4 are a Ragtime cliché

The last bar is a compromise between tablature and orthodox musical notation. Play it like this:


“X” = note not played. Tap the foot on beats 1 and 3.
If you’re stuck, think of the ragtime song Charleston - the above is the rhythm of the word “Charleston”. The “ton” in “Charleston” comes a split second before the second beat. The piece should otherwise be straightforward rhythmically.

It’s now worth drawing your attention to what’s what in the choice of notes. The first two bars bring in the variation using chromatic notes, followed by the rag phrase in bars 3 and 4. The first few notes in bar 5 are a wonderful example of Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian’s work.

Make sure you pull off and slide the notes as shown. It’s beautiful. Via the connection in bar 6, the melody slips into the Django Reinhardt-style idea in bars 7 and 8 made famous in Beaumont Rag by Clarence White and frequently quoted since - terrific! Moving on, those of you who read my recent article will remember I said that the root, 3rd, 5th or 7th of a chord is a good way to signal a chord change. Extending this basic concept, the last 4 bars m the Beaumont Rag variation show that it isn't necessarily- always so.

The bar with the F chord is brought in by the 9th of the F chord (the note G), although the subsequent notes within the bar clearly signal an F chord. The next two bars are what the jazzers would call a I-VI-II-V (1-6-2-5) chord progression - i.e. the chords are based on C ( the I-chord), and so are C-A7-D7-G7. This is a common type of sequence - found in the opening ban of the Beatles' Penny Lane, for example. The snatch of melody I've transcribed here just popped into my head - I've probably heard it somewhere! The principle here is one of playing an extended idea through a series of chords, rather than working out a variation bar by bar. Look at what's played over the D7 - the notes Eb (or D# if you prefer!) and E. Odd in isolation, but they fit a treat as part of this two bar sequence. This recalls my earlier article's suggestion that you try humming or singing as you play chords to generate new ideas.

Don't rush this variation - learn it gradually, and make sure your fingerings are comfortable before you bring it up to performing speed. Even better - snack it! Take the bits you like and incorporate the ideas you like into your playing!

Eric Kwiatkowski, Nottingham

*Tied notes: two identical notes, on the same string at the same fret, joined by a little arch.Only the first of the two is picked, but the note is allowed to sound for the second one as well.

Updated 23rd Jan 1999