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John adds a drone string to much of the melody of the B part of “Little Liza Jane,” and the first phrase begins with a clawhammer-style rhythm. John walks you through it phrase by phrase and then shows you how to find the melody of the A part an octave up the neck.
John Reischman is one of the premier mandolinists of his generation, a master instrumentalist capable of swinging between re-inventions of traditional old-time tunes, deconstructions of the bluegrass repertoire, and compelling original tunes, many of which have become standards. A Juno–nominated and Grammy–award winning artist, John got his start as an original member of the Tony Rice Unit in the late 1970s and is known today for his work with his band the Jaybirds as well as his acclaimed solo albums.
Learn to play old-time fiddle tunes and song melodies with mandolin master John Reischman. Includes advice on picking technique and playing old-time rhythm on the mandolin.
John demonstrates his approach to playing rhythm to old-time tunes in this video. He takes his cue in large part from banjo-uke players in old-time string bands, playing open chords with a steady eighth-note picking pattern with an emphasis on beats two and four instead of the percussive off-beat chop common to bluegrass rhythm mandolin. He also shows you some of the two-finger chords he likes to combine with open strings for a drone effect.
John explains the basic picking technique you’ll use to play the tunes in his Old-Time Mandolin course: alternate picking. In this technique, you play downstrokes on the beats (1, 2, 3, 4) and “alternate” them with upstrokes on the “ands” of the beat.
The old-time tune “Salt River” comes from fiddler Norman Edmonds and John learned it from Bruce Molsky. It’s not the same as the bluegrass jam favorite “Salt Creek” but has a similar modal tonality. You’ll learn the melody for both parts played mostly on the top strings as well as a version of both parts played in the lower octave.
“The Road to Malvern” is a contemporary old-time (“new-time”?) fiddle tune in the key of A and it’s one of John’s favorites. After showing you the melody, he also shows you a couple variations he plays and talks a little about improvising on a fiddle tune like “The Road to Malvern.” For playing rhythm to old-time tunes, John often likes to use open chords and play with more of a regular eighth-note-based strum, with emphasis on beats two and four. You’ll learn the voicings John uses and his strum pattern.
John learned this Civil War-era melody from Nick Hornbuckle, the banjo player in John Reischman and the Jaybirds. It’s a nice stately tune in the key of G minor. John shows you how he moves between first and second position on one phrase and adds some double stops to the melody. He also explains the anticipation at the beginning of some of the phrases.
The old-time fiddle tune “Liza Liza Jane” (also known as “Liza Jane” and “Old Liza Jane”) is often played on the fiddle in A, but John plays it in D, and recorded it recently in that key with Peghead Nation instructors Scott Nygaard and Sharon Gilchrist on the album Harmonic Tone Revealers. In addition to the melody, John shows you a few variations and how he plays the B part with a clawhammer-style rhythm and drone strings. He also shows you how to find the melody of the A part an octave up the neck.
John’s arrangement of the traditional song “Little Maggie,” in which he plays the melody as a low air and as a frailing banjo tune, was influenced by a recording of Mike Seeger and Paul Brown. You’ll learn both versions in this lesson. John starts by walking you through the melody of the slow version, which is played rubato (without a regular pulse) and giving you advice on making the notes sustain into one another. Then he shows you the “frailing banjo” version, in which the melody is played in time with the addition of strums on the top two strings.
The old-time fiddle tune “Half Past Four” comes from the great Kentucky fiddler Ed Haley, who was recorded by his son in a series of home recordings in the 1940s. It has also been making the rounds of bluegrass jams lately, and John recorded it with Sharon Gilchrist and Scott Nygaard on Harmonic Tone Revealers.
John learned the old-time tune “Last Chance” from a recording of banjo player Hobart Smith, and recorded it with his band John Reischman and the Jaybirds on the CD Vintage and Unique. It’s in the key of F, an unusual key for an old-time tune, with some syncopated phrases.
The old-time fiddle tune “Jenny Lynn” comes from the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, or rather his fiddle-playing Uncle Pen Vandiver. John shows you the melody, which is in the key of A, as well as how to play the A part up the neck so you can add A and/or E drones to the melody.
“Washington’s March” comes from West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons, who played it in DDAD tuning. John shows it to you in standard tuning on the mandolin and also in GDAD tuning, with the E string tuned down to D.
The three-part fiddle tune “Jeff Sturgeon” comes from North Carolina fiddler John Morgan Salyer. It’s in the key of A Mixolydian and the form is unusual: the first and third parts are crooked, with an extra bar of 2/4 and the second part is four bars long and is only played once.
In this lesson, John shows you how to embellish a simple sung melody, using the traditional favorite “Long Journey Home.” He starts by showing you the basic melody of “Long Journey Home” and then how to slide into melody notes, use drone strings, and add intro and ending licks.
The fiddle tune “Shove that Pig’s Foot a Little Further in the Fire” comes from North Carolina fiddler Marcus Martin and has become a favorite at jam sessions everywhere. It’s in the key of G and has a great, memorable melody.
“Happy Hollow” comes from North Carolina fiddler Marcus Martin, who played it in AEAC# tuning (often called calico tuning or “Black Mt. Rag” tuning). Since it’s difficult to tune the bottom strings of a mandolin up a whole step, John plays “Happy Hollow” in GDGB tuning, although he recorded it on his album New Time and Old Acoustic in GDGD tuning.
The Civil War–era song “The Blackest Crow” is also known as “As Time Draws Near” and “My Dearest Dear,” the name that old-time fiddle legend Tommy Jarrell gave it. John shows you the basic melody and then how to embellish it with double stops, tremolo, and hammer-ons.
The fiddle tune “Indian Killed a Woodcock” comes from Kenny Baker, best-known for his fiddling with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. It’s a bright dance tune in the key of G and is popular in old-time and bluegrass circles.
In this lesson, you’ll learn a version of “Liza Jane” that John learned from fiddler Rafe Stefanini, who played it in AEAE cross tuning on the fiddle. John plays it in GDGD tuning on the mandolin, which allows you to add drone strings to the simple melody.
The Carter Family song “Foggy Mountain Top” is an old-time and bluegrass favorite, recorded by Bill and Charlie Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, and many others. In this lesson, John shows you how to play the melody to “Foggy Mountain Top” in the key of F in closed position using double stops. He starts by showing you the basic melody and then how to add double stops in F as well as a few melodic variations.
“Elk River Blues” is not really a blues, but it does have a mournful quality. It was written by West Virginia fiddler Ernie Carpenter as a lament for his homestead when it was flooded during construction of the Sutton Dam on the Elk River in West Virginia. It has two short parts, each of which is played twice, and the phrasing is unusual: each part is 4½ measures long.
The old-time fiddle tune “Goin’ Up Caney” comes from Bill Monroe, who learned it from his uncle Pendleton Vandiver. It's in the key of G and the second part goes to the relative minor (E minor).
“Christmas Eve” is a fiddle tune in the key of G that John learned from Mike Seeger. He also recorded it on the John Reischman and the Jaybirds album On a Winter’s Night.
The fiddle tune “Hunt the Buffalo” originally comes from Arkansas singer and songwriter Jimmy Driftwood (who is best known for writing songs like “Tennessee Stud” and “The Battle of New Orleans”). But it has evolved quite a bit and most people play it a bit differently these days. John learned “Hunt the Buffalo” while teaching at the Montana Fiddle Camp.
The old-time dance tune “Katy Bar the Door” comes from Carroll County, Virginia, banjo player Roscoe Parrish. John learned it from Greg Spatz, who plays fiddle in John’s band John Reischman and the Jaybirds. It’s a square dance tune in the key of the D, and the second part starts on an A chord. John plays it with a nice syncopation of the second phrase of each par
“Breaking Up Christmas” is another great square dance tune in the key of A. It comes from Round Peak fiddler Tommy Jarrell, but John learned it from Joseph DeCosimo.
“The Dead March” is a march composed by Bill Monroe and recorded on his tribute album to his uncle Pendleton Vandiver (“Uncle Pen”) in the 1960s. There’s also a nice live version by the Muleskinner band, with Richard Greene on fiddle and David Grisman on mandolin (at 22:32 in the live recording). John also recorded “The Dead March” with mandolinists Butch Baldassari and Robin Bullock. It’s a three-part tune in the key of A, although the second note of the tune is a G natural, but that's the only time it occurs in the melody.
“Kiss Me Waltz” is a traditional fiddle waltz in the key of G, but the B part is in the key of D. John learned “Kiss Me Waltz” from Bill Monroe, who learned it from his uncle Pendleton Vandiver (“Uncle Pen). Monroe recorded it on his tribute album to Uncle Pen in the 1960s, and Kenny Baker has also recorded it. John teaches you the basic melody as well as how to play it with tremolo and double stops.
“Hogeye” (sometimes called “Sally in the Garden with the Hogeyed Man”) is a three-part fiddle tune in the key of A that is somewhat reminiscent of “Fire on the Mountain.” John learned the tune from fiddler Paul Shelasky, who learned it from the band Arkansas Sheiks.
“Jacky Wilson” comes from North Carolina fiddler John Salyer, who called it “Jack Wilson.” John recorded it on an album with Butch Baldassari and Robin Bullock and they called it “Little Jacky Wilson.” It’s in the key of D, but the melody of both parts starts and ends on an A note.
“Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” is a well-known old-time tune in the key of D that goes by many names, including “Western Country” and “Susanna Gals.”
“Forked Deer” is a standard old-time square dance tune and there are many versions. It’s in the key of D, but the B part goes to an A chord before resolving to a D at the very end.
The hoedown “Twin Sisters” comes from West Virginia fiddler Melvin Wine. John learned it from his friend Nick Hornbuckle, who plays banjo in John Reischman and the Jaybirds, and Nick learned it from fiddler Chance McCoy.
The A modal tune “Sandy Boys” originally comes from the Hammonds Family of West Virginia, but there are many versions. John learned it from bluegrass fiddler Greg Spatz, so his version has a bit more of a bluegrass flavor.
“Virginia Reel” is a classic square dance tune in the key of D. John learned it from his bandmate in John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Nick Hornbuckle, who learned it from old-time fiddler and banjo player Kirk Sutphin.
“Red Steer” is a three-part tune in A modal. John learned it from fellow Peghead Nation instructor Bruce Molsky, but it originally comes from Dykes Magic City Trio. It’s usually played in A cross tuning (AEAE) on the fiddle but you’ll learn it in standard tuning on the mandolin.
“Sandy River Belle” is a common old-time fiddle tune with numerous versions and recordings that date back to 1926. John recently recorded it for an album by Miles Zurawell. “Sandy River Belle” is in the key of G and played in standard tuning by fiddle players, so it sits perfectly on the mandolin.
“Little Rabbit” is a popular old-time tune in the key of A. It was first recorded in 1931 by Crockett’s Kentucky Mountaineers, who recorded a medley of “Little Rabbit,” which had three parts, and “Rabbit Where’s Your Mammy,” which had two parts. At some point people started playing all five parts as one tune and called it “Little Rabbit.” That’s the version that’s usually played these days and the version will show you in this lesson.
“Wild Rose of the Mountain” is a medium-tempo crooked fiddle tune in the key of A that comes from Kentucky fiddler J.P. Fraley.
John learned “Good Ax Elve” from fiddler Brad Leftwich, who got it from a book of Missouri fiddle tunes. The title is mysterious but a “helve” is an ax handle, which may explain the title. It sounds like it could be a version of “The Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Round Peak, North Carolina fiddler Tommy Jarrell is the usual source for the great key-of-D hoedown “Ducks on the Millpond,” but it’s become an old-time standard and many people play it. John learned “Ducks on the Millpond” from fiddler Rayna Gellert.
The key-of-E fiddle tune “Glory in the Meeting House” comes from Kentucky fiddler Luther Strong, who recorded it in 1937. John learned his version from fiddler Brad Leftwich, who recorded it with the old-time trio Tom, Brad, and Alice. “Glory in the Meeting House” is in E minor, but to accompany it John uses E chords with no third to give it an ambiguous mountain modal sound.
“Cherokee Trail” was written by old-time banjo player and fiddler John Herrmann, and was featured on Songs from the Mountain, a recording inspired by the movie and book written by Charles Frazier and recorded with Tim O’Brien and Dirk Powell. The first part of “Cherokee Trail” is in the key of G, while the second part moves to E minor.
“Old Greasy Coat” comes from fiddler Edden Hammons and the Hammons Family of West Virginia. John first learned it from Peghead Nation Old-Time Fiddle instructor Bruce Molsky. It’s in the key of A and uses both G naturals and G sharps at times. The second part has some interesting syncopation and triplets.
“The Storms Are on the Ocean” is a beautiful song in 3/4 time that originally comes from the Carter Family. You’ll learn to embellish the basic melody with double-stops, slides, and hammer-ons. John shows you the melody in the key of G, but since much of the arrangement is played with double-stops in closed positions, that makes it easy to transpose to other keys, if you or someone else wants to sing it in another key.
“Leather Britches” is a popular fiddle tune in bluegrass, old-time, and contest fiddling circles. John’s version is a great pick exercise with continuous eighth notes in the A part and a syncopation that starts the B part.
“Boston Boy” comes from Bill Monroe and his fiddling uncle Pendleton Vandiver, but John learned it years ago from a David Grisman record. It’s in the key of C and is similar to the old-time tune “Rattlesnake Bit the Baby.”
John learned the key-of-A fiddle tune “Laughing Boy” from Greg Spatz, the fiddler in John’s band the Jaybirds, whose version is similar to Kenny Baker’s version. There are also great versions by Texas fiddler Benny Thomason and Bruce Molsky.
The folk song “Shady Grove” is most often played in a minor key. But in this lesson John shows you Kilby Snow’s version of “Shady Grove” in a major key. He starts by showing you the melody in the key of A major, which is where he recorded it with his band the Jaybirds. He also shows you how to play “Shady Grove” in other keys in case you want to sing it in a different key. He shows you how to play it in closed positions in the keys of G and F. Finally, he shows you how to play it in D with the high E strings dropped down to D.
This jaunty chestnut in the key of D can be heard almost anywhere fiddle music is played, from campfire sessions to dance halls to bluegrass concerts. John offers an unusual setting here with the top E strings tuned down a step to D, putting the mandolin into GDAD tuning. This dropped (or scordatura) tuning allows for playing lots of open drone strings that create a self-contained accompaniment and allow for an open backup sound reminiscent of a mountain lap dulcimer.
This crooked, two-part tune is typical of the raggy, bluesy fiddle melodies collectively known as “C tunes.” Named for the Louisville & Nashville railroad line, the “L&N Rag” was first recorded by Alex Hood and his Railroad Boys for a 1930 Vocalion disc. Clawhammer banjo player Ken Perlman suggests that the tune became popular among revivalists following the release of the County anthology LP Old Time String Band Classics, 1927–1933 in 1975. Check out this sprightly fiddle-and-banjo version by Bruce Molsky and Bob Carlin. John teaches the mandolin-friendly melody and demonstrates some interesting chords for accompanying the tune.
There are many settings of “Sugar in the Gourd” in the keys of A, D, and G, and even some entirely different tunes that go by the same name. John learned this classic version of “Sugar in the Gourd” in the key of A from North Carolina fiddler and banjo player Paul Brown, known to many from his years as a journalist on NPR. This setting is quite similar to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers 1930 recording of the tune. You can hear John playing “Sugar in the Gourd” with Sharon Gilchrist and others on his album New Time and Old Acoustic. In this video, John teaches the tune and offers some suggestions for accompaniment using two-finger chords on the low strings with the open A and E strings droning above.
