On Feb 14, 1:16 am, p...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:51:07 -0500, Jerry Dallal
>
>
>
> <gdal...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >p...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>
> >> On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:03:54 -0800 (PST), Kellie Allen
> >> <kaal...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> >>> Who are the "they" in that sentence? The rhythm players or the
> >>> fiddlers?
>
> >> I meant the guitar.
>
> >That makes the sentence: "I think it's the rhythm players job to hold
> >tempo and if the fiddle is out front, then the guitar is ahead of the
> >beat." I admit I'm a bit tired, but I can't make sense of it at the
> >moment even with the additional explanation that follows. If the
fiddle
> >is out front, doesn't that make it ahead of the guitar? If the guitar
> >player's job is to hold the tempo and the guitar is ahead of the beat,
> >what defines the beat?
>
> >> The fiddle is considered a melody instrument.
> >> Obviously one needs to play the fiddle rhythmically and you can saw
> >> away at chords or play offbeat chops ala bluegrass, but essentially
> >> fiddle is the lead melody. The guitar can play melody or include it
> >> in the voicing of the chords while fingerpicking, but it's role in
> >> oldtimey is basically rhythm.
>
> I'm so sorry I meant the fiddle not the guitar. d' oh !
> I will repeat my earlier post: " I think it's the rhythm players job
> to hold tempo and if the fiddle is out front, then they (The Fiddle)
> are ahead of the beat "
> As I went on to say this is pretty common in my experience even with
> my own playing as a fiddler, to rush and get ahead.
> A little bit of nervousness and most of us tend to speed up.
> This is different from the controlled playing some folks have where
> they can consistently sit at the leading edge of the beat and create a
> sense of movement and urgency without actually racing or losing the
> beat.
In our band, I have no idea who's pu****ng who, except that we often
end up a piece going a lot faster than when we started. We typically
use 2 fiddles, which makes the situation worse, so I assume it's the
fiddlers who are "bumping the time" (Clarence Ashley quote). If the
guitars ignored the fiddles and kept a steady beat instead of trying
to follow them, I suppose we'd keep on that previously-mentioned
plateau where the fiddles are just ahead of a steady beat. Instead,
being a living room band, everything accelerates. If we were playing
for dances, it would be a problem, but since we never do that, the
only people who are disturbed are those who have a rhythmic equivalent
of perfect pitch (i.e., perfect time). Of course, if we had a runaway,
where we got going so fast that no one could keep up, it would sound
pretty awful, but the only time that's happened is when some of us
(OK, I admit it was I, the victim of a free bar) have had blood-
alcohol levels above the legal limit, and rhythm was the least of our
problems.
Still, I'd never want to play with a click track -- that kind of
rhythmic dictator****p would end up being just as boring as the time I
tried to use multi-track to record with myself.
An earlier post about a fiddler starting too fast and then getting
fatigued is a new one for me. I've never experienced it, although I've
not played in a lot of jams. Maybe the problem is hypothyroidism or
low blood sugar?
Lyle
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