Month: October 2021

Food for Thought #5 – Playing Along With Manzanita

Hi everyone. Very quick Food For Thought episode this week! I spoke to Tristan Scroggins earlier this week (see episode #121 to check out the great interview he gave). He told me his dad used to practice banjo along to Tony Rice's Manzanita album because there was no banjo on it. I also read something…

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Tristan Scroggins interview

It's interview time on the podcast again and I've got a great conversation with Tristan Scroggins for you.  This one was such a joy to record. We chat about Tristan's recent IBMA Writer of the Year Award as well as his research into the background of fiddle tunes and what makes something 'authentic.' For more…

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Turkey in the Straw (G 85 bpm) – You Play Rhythm

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at…

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Turkey in the Straw (G 85 bpm) – You Play Lead

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at…

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Turkey in the Straw (G 85 bpm) – Jam Along

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at…

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Turkey in the Straw (G 85 bpm) – Performance

This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Turkey in the Straw. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times…

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Food for Thought #4 – Is It Possible to Ruin a Song?

This week's Food For Thought episode was inspired by Punch Brothers' new cover of Tony Rice's 'Church St Blues' (well, their cover of Tony's cover of Norman Blake's original!) As always with Punch Brothers and Chris Thile, opinions have been divided. Some people really take offence at a song they love being covered in a…

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Food for Thought #3 – Is it Time We Stopped Calling People ‘Gifted’?

This week's food for thought centres around the question 'should we stop calling people 'gifted'?' I've been thinking a lot (and talking to other people) about the notion of 'gifted' vs 'hard working' and wanted to share some thoughts on it with you. In the episode I mention a great documentary called 'Flamekeeper – The…

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