A friend and I get together regularly and sit around a fire. Generally I play a Celtic tune and he plays one of his compositions Problem is that he plays country-style and I am having a heck of a time adapting to that country “Swang” without losing focus.
We do fine with Bluegrass but that country beat is giving me fits… How do you play the country 2 step?
Thoughts and suggestions are generally welcomed…
(I know. What the heck are we trying to accomplish? We are just exchanging genres while sitting around the fire)
Just kidding around a little. I started to go futher with it but I really am not trying to rile you. I also find it annoying when pepole take a word from a sentence and make it the subject instead of the real subject. I apologize.
I am also interested in the music you are talking about and I have tried to play some Wille Nelson on the low D. So far it is not working for me to try it by ear.
There, now someone can take off with the word ear and tell me to take the whistle from my ear and blow into it. lol
Is there some one out there that knows how to play county weastern whistle that will come forward.
I’d start out with long chord-based notes until you get into the groove, then expand from there, maybe with some slow scale-wise lines that will work against the melody.
The problem I have with music like that is not the rhythm. In most cases, it’s the melodies. I have trouble anticipating the changes, so it’s hard to improvise to. I’d have to actually learn (internalize) the tunes.
Stewy, I have read your question many times and I think I don’t understand what you mean. Does one person play backup and the other the melody? Or are you both playing the melody at the same time. What instrument does your friend play? What do you mean by “losing focus”?
When I think of two step I think of Western Swing which would have that “Swang”, but I’m not sure that is the music you are refering to. Like San Antonio Rose is what I’m thinking.
I know you were playing. I forgot to stick in the smiley
Cynth, my friend plays guitar and when I accompany him I am either supporting the melody or answering it (ala the electric guitar on his sample). What I meant by losing focus is losing the beat or the accompaniment I am playing.
Well, learn San Antonio Rose and have him play rhythm on the guitar. You’ll start swinging. I am not musical enough to conceive of the whistle playing backup to guitar. Which is not to say that it isn’t possible.
I suppose it would be kind of like when you first get introduced to any genre… listen to a lot of it for a while… well… I just talked myself out of that one. I love some country music, but most of it is just not for me.
Well, Cynth, I took your 2 cents, downloaded SAR by Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline and Hank Williams offa Napster.
It swings alrighty!
Willie and Patsy required the Low E Chieftain and Hank on a Low D Songbird (it sounded better to me on the Low whistles) but the 2-step lends itself well to playing along with the melody, with melodic slide answers ala pedal-steel.
Now if I can just learn how to play “Your Wife is Cheatin’ on Us” and
“You’re Wanted by the Police and Your Wife thinks you’re Dead” I will be set.
I’ll be interested in hearing your recording of SAR on the whistle. I think it could sound really good. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys had sort of a big band setup, they had the country instruments but they had wind instruments too.
Those last two sound like they would come in real handy—ummm, at some point.
Actually, the song is “You’re Wanted by the Police and My Wife Thinks You’re Dead”, which is a pretty good premise for a “go away old girlfriend” sort of song, but I kinda like your mistype a whole lot, since it inverts the nominal ideal situation, to be wanted by your wife, but have the police think you’re dead.
I’ll be interested in hearing your recording of SAR on the whistle. I think it could sound really good. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys had sort of a big band setup, they had the country instruments but they had wind instruments too.
