Re: [Harp-L] Old Time Tunes

["Suave Blues Man" <res6k2zt@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brothers & Sisters of Harp-L,

    Here are your tunes:

    http://toneway.com/songs/watermelon-on-the-vine

And,

    http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=17670

    The first is from this site: http://toneway.com/songs

    Try a bit more searching in the future: you will THEN be ready to 
serenade us via YouTube or Harmonica Club!

Be Blues...And Jazz,

Suave Blues Man
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <eskeene@xxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 2:42 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Old Time Tunes


Someone wrote:"I'm trying to get copies of the music for the following two 
old-time
Southern tunes: 'Watermelon Hanging on the Vine' and 'How Old are You
My Pretty Little Miss'." "How Old are You..." is essentially one of many 
versions of song/ tune also known as "Susannah Gal", "Western Country", 
"Sixteen Next Sunday", and probably some other names I can't think of. You 
might check some old folk song books or collections in the 
bricks-and-mortar library if you actually need the music for them. Both 
tunes are part of the old pre-amplification tradition of singing the 
melodies of instrumental tunes, often with words that are also sung to other 
tunes or "nonsense syllables" (a subject in itself encompassing "play party" 
songs, Irish lilting, and the Gaelic words used to teach bagpipe finger 
movements),or playing the melodies of songs as instrumentals, something that 
Bluegrass bands still do today. In older times, in Appalachia and Ireland 
(and probably other places as well), singing and instrumental music were 
considered two different things. I have heard "old timers" refer to an 
instrument as "music" (as in, "Did you bring your music with you?" ), NOT 
refering to sheet music. One reason behind the distinction might be that 
several religious traditions forbade stringed instruments in church (or even 
daily life). Perhaps a more important reason is that while it isn't too hard 
to sing along with one banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, or harmonica 
(there's my harp content) few untrained singers had the ability to "croon" 
over a whole string band. It took the invention of the microphone for 
Bluegrass to develop by combining the instrumental and vocal traditions. 
"Watermelon.." is an example of a "minstrel" type song adopted into the 
mainstream Southern folk tradition, so you might be able to find some 
ancient printed music in a "minstrel" collection. I'll let someone else 
explain the minstrel tradition, suffice to say, it is racially charged. I'd 
say you'd be as well off to learn either tune by ear and notate them 
yourself. There's no "right" way-each player learns a skeleton of the tune 
and then puts in their own embellishments. Like the Blues, the part that can 
be notated is not the important part. Cheers, emily
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