You are going to love today’s fiddle tune. I’m joined by Tyler Andal on guitar, virtually.
Tyler sent me this video months ago of him playing rhythm to Tugboat months ago, and I really should have played it sooner.
But, I made stupid excuses for putting it off like:
- I really don’t have anything worked out for Tugboat.
- And, I want to do the tune justice.
- And, the software I use for making videos doesn’t have a way to do this easily.
And, tonight I got over my crap and made it happen. It took me some extra time to put this together, and It’s not perfect technically, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out for my first try at this kind of production.
Tugboat according to Fiddler’s Companion
TUGBOAT. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; West Virginia, Virginia, Nebraska Oklahoma, Texas. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB (Christeson, Phillips): AA’BBC (Frets). Similar to “Sandy River Belle.” Charles Wolfe (1997) states Kanawha County, West Virginia, fiddler Clark Kessinger (1896-1975) first recorded the tune (in 1929 for Brunswick under the name The Kessinger Brothers, although Clark’s accompanist was his nephew, Luke). Other fiddlers learned the tune from Kessinger’s recording, among them Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson, who was instrumental in inserting the melody into the Texas contest tune repertoire where it remains a popular piece. “Tugboat” was in the repertoire of Missouri fiddler Cyril Stinnett, learned perhaps from Bob Walters, who probably learned it from the Kessinger Brothers’ Brunswick record (Christeson, 1984). The tune was also in the repertoire of West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons, who played it in standard tuning. See also the related “Ladies on the/a Steamboat.” Sources for notated versions: Clark Kessinger (West Virginia.) [Christeson]; Mark O’Connor and Benny Thomasson (Texas) [Phillips]. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; pg. 75. Frets Magazine, “Byron Berline: The Fiddle,” June, 1988; pg. 55. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 244. Brunswick Records (78 RPM), Kessinger Brothers. Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers’ Association, Bob Walters (1889-1960) – “Drunken Wagoneer.” Sugar Hill Records 3750, Byron Berline & John Hickman ‑ “Double Trouble.” Edden Hammons Collection, Disc 2.
I’m sure that was a lot harder than you made it look- really enjoyed the tune.
It’s a fun tune. Not super hard, but it didn’t learn itself.
When I'm playing with a recorded rhythm track (or even an electronic metronome), I find it useful to use a earbud in the right ear only. Has to do with brain hemisphere dominance.
Thank you Vi and Tyler! That was excellent. Difficult to imagine you were separated by time and distance at the time of recording. Really came off well.
Very interesting. Have you ever tried listening to Binaural Beats?
Vi Wickam Only binauaral beats I have tried were a "sleep" track which I found to be basically useless. I also tried using fixed tones of differing frequencies to enhance creativity and concentration — and I was thoroughly underwhelmed. "Brainwave entrainment" has been demonstrated by relatively recent research to be closely related to the Hawthorne Effect or the Placebo Effect (the WikiPedia article notwithstanding). Which in essence means that it only works if you believe in it.
Should have said, "only *commercial* binaural beats recording"
As I mentioned, I did some independent research and did not uncover any noticeable effects one way or the other.
Howard Lee Harkness – Interesting. I have used binaural beats and found them to be effective at creating a clear and creative mind space. There is clear proof that when you listen to a pitch that your brain replicates that frequency as a brain wave directly. I don't know how you could create a specific brainwave via a placebo effect. I haven't tried any recording devices, but I have experimented extensively using gnaural, an open source binaural beats generator. I think as with any fringe technology, there are lots of people hawking wares that they don't really understand. Keep in touch.
Wonderful musical performance !
Thanks.