For your listening pleasure

A little bit of bluegrass. 

Since getting a mandolin and a nice Taylor acoustic last year,  I have been playing more stuff that is acoustic in nature and exploring a new musical direction. 

I composed this tune recently. It's actually one of three that I'm working on or have completed that are blue grass influenced. The last one I need to complete is a song for a dear friend of mine who really loved and lived the bluegrass life style, and passed away a few years ago from cancer. 

This is not that song.... that one will be released in a few weeks probably as a youtube video. I have a few friends working on assembling some pictures..... but I'll tell more about that song project later. 

But now......this song is called Glendale Lane. It's a BG instrumental tune. 

http://www.soundclick.com...34&songID=11591420

Enjoy

Bravo!  You make this sound fun and easy.  Great skill and great production.  Keep 'em coming.

This piece is awesome!!!  Very clean, moves along nicely, sounds like it was recorded in a pro studio, extremely well done from the writing to the performing and recording.  Is it available to buy, or will it be?

Nice one Herb ! How many of those five hour energy bottles did you down before playing this !

Radio

I've not heard anything quite like this from you before.  Who's playing what? Great sounding tune.

dARYL

I'm sorry for your friend Herb, this song is a fine blue grass tribute. I particularly enjoyed it, as I particularly enjoy this style of music. It does need words though, and vocals, and a cast of harmonies on the refrain/chorus.

I really liked this Herb. Well done.

Wow, very cool,  Awesome playing Herb!

Hi Herb, like it a lot, excellent playing and recording.

Rik

Marvellous energy and great playing - I like this a lot.

Cheers,
Terry.

Nice, Just sitting and listening to it was FUN!!! 

Lynn, Amateur, Radio, Daryl, BOTR19, Shad, Mike, Rik, Terry and Mike:   Thanks guys for listening. I composed this style music for a listing on a reality TV show.  Maybe they will like it too. There is another song on my soundclick page called Harvest Time... I haven't and probably won't post it here any time soon. 

I have not really done much with Bluegrass as far as writing and recording it until recently. I bought the Taylor and a Mandolin last year and just having them has moved me toward the acoustic side of the music world.   I do have a musical background that extends into the BG area of music.  Quite a few musician friends are totally into it. When I finish the song for Wolf, I will tell more at that time. 

Again thanks for listening. 

Wow, your fingers must be on fire! This is staggering musicianship and fantastic composition. Love it. As an aside, I often wonder at the origins of music as you hear music in one country which clearly came from another. Certainly this piece would go down a storm at a Gaelic Ceilidh. So I am guessing the settlers in Blue Grass country included the Celts. They certainly seem to have traveled everywhere!

Thanks Malcomb. And you are most likely correct in the origins of BG.  In the Appalachian mountain regions there are settlers from many countries.  Here in NC we have many from Scottish descent. They even have a yearly "Highland Games" event that lasts a week (IIRC)  which includes song, dance and manly things like log throwing.  

One long time local musician.... Mike Cross, has Celtic influences in his music.

 http://www.youtube.com/wa...NY&feature=related

Bluegrass is really populer here in my neck-o-the-woods too...
I have some friends that I used to play with regularly that are just scarry good players...

My buddy, David Sconyers plays killer Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Dobro, Guitar, Piano, Pedal Steel, and sings... David credits Kentucky's own, Bill Monroe, as "The Father of Bluegrass", and his biggest influence...
Of course, David is my biggest BG influence... I've learned a lot fom him, but I don't think I'll ever rise to his level...
I do listen to a lot of Dawg Jazz by David Grisman and I also like
Bella Fleck & the Flecktones...

Great production Herb... great arrangement too... I don't know who's playin Banjo, but he's got skills...

Paddle faster, I hear banjos...
 
I have an extensive collection of grass. And I have some albums too?

not nat and BOTR19.... thanks for listening and the comments..... banjo's are a much maligned instrument.....and if I recall the only instrument that is American in heritage.... and they make a nice substitute for a sledge hammer in a pinch.  

This is very well done, Herb. Really fine playing and a pleasure to listen to. You get quite a few different tones out of that Taylor.  BTW, I've been listening  quite a bit of Earl,  Lester  and Bill lately!  Gotta  love Bluegrass!!!!

Thanks for listening Tap.

Great stuff sir. Weirdly relaxing bearing in mind the pace that your fingers are working at :)

awesome stuff Herb, a pretty good mix too, maybe take a shade of bass off the solo guitar, but that's nit-picking really

Herb - great job!  The playing and production is wonderful.  You are very talented.  Your playing is awesome!

Rimshot

Fantastic stuff Herb, I had no idea you could play like that, hats off to you sir.

banjo's are a much maligned instrument.....and if I recall the only instrument that is American in heritage

African in origin, I think.

Daryl1968, MGH, Rimshot & James 1213.... thanks for listening...

Several people have complimented me on the playing and have attributed those blazing licks to me ......Suffice it to say that is not me.  I am honored that you think it was me playing. 

I am simply the humble composer and the engineer/producer. 

still bloody good composing, engineering, producing good sir :)

thank you sir

Guitarhacker



Several people have complimented me on the playing and have attributed those blazing licks to me ......Suffice it to say that is not me.  I am honored that you think it was me playing. 

OK...so who is playing?

LOL! He cheats :-) But it sounds good, and I guess in the end it's all about the music.

I've played some banjo tracks and it is a PITA... You can go to youtube and put in banjo lesson and you'll get a bunch of good old boys showing you "technique." I apply that technique to the keyboard, the forward and backward rolls. It took me two weeks to do a banjo track on Midnight Flyer. It takes considerable skill to play a real banjo. Not as much as the fiddle? But it's a difficult instrument to play well.

The really cool thing about keys is, "if you can play the keys? you can play any instrument," because they can all be synthesized. Some would be very difficult, i.e., a harmonica? But banjo can be synthesized pretty easily and accurately.  It just takes a lot of patience, and or talent to build that midi track...

bandontherun19


LOL! He cheats :-) But it sounds good, and I guess in the end it's all about the music.

I've played some banjo tracks and it is a PITA... You can go to youtube and put in banjo lesson and you'll get a bunch of good old boys showing you "technique." I apply that technique to the keyboard, the forward and backward rolls. It took me two weeks to do a banjo track on Midnight Flyer. It takes considerable skill to play a real banjo. Not as much as the fiddle? But it's a difficult instrument to play well.

The really cool thing about keys is, "if you can play the keys? you can play any instrument," because they can all be synthesized. Some would be very difficult, i.e., a harmonica? But banjo can be synthesized pretty easily and accurately.  It just takes a lot of patience, and or talent to build that midi track...

+1

Q: How can you tell the stage you're playing on is level?
A: The banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.

" I used to be a "Banjo owner"
but I'm past that, and I'm much better now...

I love a good banjo player joke but my friend Willy doesn't think they're funny...... Willy plays a banjo. 

Great work man like the country feel to it make me wana moonshine

This is just great, Herb!  :)  I love how the instruments 'take turns'.

Thanks Janet.  I've always liked the "take turns " thing..... but you already knew that.

Yeah, me too. As long as my turn lasts the whole time. :) But you already knew that too. :)

It's my turn...

Very nice, Herb. Yes, the playing is sweet, but your seamless transitions in the tradeoffs really do this justice. Kudo's on the engineering.
This is a delightful piece, and I have listened to it several times.

Herb,
 
This tune and Harvest Lane are outstanding. I really enjoyed both of them several times. Great playing and production. Please add some more when you can.
 
Thanks for posting.
 
sja

Janet


Yeah, me too. As long as my turn lasts the whole time. :) But you already knew that too. :)

yeah... but when I first met you, you believed your turn started with the first note and ended with the last note in the song..... 

I remember the grief I got when I mixed the first song we did.... September Nights..... and people complained they couldn't hear your piano in "parts " of the song. 

BOTR..... yes.. it's your turn


RobertB:  thank you sir. 

SJA  thank you too, and yes.... I do have a few more in the works.  I have a number of projects on the burner at any given time.... but there are definitely plans for more bluegrass tunes.  A friend who plays in an active bluegrass band heard these both and was also fairly impressed. His band actually wants to cover Harvest Lane. 

Hi Herb,

I love this kinda stuff in general and this tune in particular...great job!

thanks for the listen GR

+ +1 - - -Holy Band In A Box - - -
The Bluegrass solo Library is a hard one to make sound good. I like the banjo samples the best 

Well, I AM the piano player, aren't I?  


That song is still one of my favorite collabs.  Perhaps because it's the first time I'd heard anyone play guitars on one of my songs...and what you played just blew me away.  I wish I had a video of my reaction when I first heard it...bad mix or whatever.  But anyway...

I still rather enjoy hearing you play.