Re: [Harp-L] bluegrass at SPAH

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

My best information is coming from a local: Thomas McCraig.  It sounds like
they are pretty generous people, as long as we are as generous and
polite/respectful, etc.  He would be the best one to answer your question.

You have a good start on some good common tunes.  David's CD has some good
ones that are not on your list that are also pretty common.  As long as you
have some common tunes to offer all practiced up and you are polite and
respectful of the others in the jam, keep your background playing in the
background, use the melody as a road map for the tunes you do not know as
well, etc., you should be fine.

Different jams are different to beginners than other jams.  In most cases,
it seems that they are comfortable helping string players, but not with
helping harmonica players, and that is what creates a problem.  But your
approach shouldn't cause that much concern, except where chords are
concerned, since you wouldn't be much use vamping a mandolin chop on a
chromatic in more than possibly two keys.  As long as you know your
instrument and can handle that part, being a beginner on the tunes shouldn't
bother them that much.  Everybody starts somewhere, and nobody knows
everything.

cara

On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 3:47 PM, <sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> David
>
> I was really hoping to talk with you at SPAH. I have been learning some
> Bluegrass tunes for chromatic harmonica and developing my own style. Oh
> well. Maybe next year?
>
>
> Cara
>
> I have only been playing harmonica for about 15 months and have just a
> few bluegrass tunes in my repertoire (Read Haired Boy, Cripple Creek,
> John Hardy, Amazing Grace, Sweet Georgia Brown, and Old Joe Clark).
> Some bluegrass jams are welcoming to beginners and some are not. Do
> you have a feel for how tolerant these jams are with respect to beginners?
>
> I really appreciate you working on this.
>
> Cheers!
>
>
>
>
> > We'll miss you, too.  Maybe next year.
> >
> > Cara
> >
> > On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 12:59 PM, Richard Hunter
> > <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> >
> >> David Naiditch wrote:
> >> <What a bummer.  Cara Cooke is graciously arranging all these great
> >> bluegrass jams, and it appears I won’t be <able to make SPAH this year.
> >>
> >> Ditto and likewise.  The lineup for this year's SPAH looks amazing, and
> >> I
> >> will be unable to attend.
> >>
> >> Regards, Richard Hunter
> >>
>
>
>