Big Mon

Big Mon is easily one of the coolest Bluegrass tunes every written, and of course, it was written by Bill Monroe on his Gibson F5 Mandolin, and that, of course, is the source of the name.  I've no idea if Monroe would have named it that himself and for himself, but more than likely, someone else called it that - and it stuck. Big Mon is not truly a complicated tune to learn - like all Bluegrass tunes, it can be made as simple or complex as you wish to make it, but what it is is something meant to be played VERY fast, and because of the herky jerky melody, it's just really a head bobbing, and funky masterpiece of a song. Now Big Mon is a bit different in it's history as this song was written by a mandolin player for the mandolin,...

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The Turkey In The Straw.

When I was growing up and learning to play the guitar a bit I learned to play some rhythm and flatpick some from my grandfather.  I absorbed a ton of information about music and acoustic guitars over the years from just being around him and listening to him talk so enthusiastically about the subjects, and really, I had no idea just how much I'd picked up until many years later. The first tune that I ever learned to flatpick was The Wildwood Flower, and of course that is the perfect simple but memorable tune to be a first one for a flatpicker, or a rhythm guitar piece.  I might have learned that one first on rhythm, but I doubt it. The second song that I learned was The Turkey In The Straw, and that's another well known tune from the fiddle tune melodies of Appalachian or Scotch...

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Elixir Acoustic Guitar Strings

The Best value in Guitar Strings, and No Doubt About It. Elixir brand acoustic guitar stringsare the strings with the highest value that I have ever used. I say that without the slightest reservation, and without a second thought. There's simply no doubt about this in my mind. I've had my sweaty, grubby, hard working hands on guitars, and guitar strings for the past twenty four years. I started playing guitar at twelve years old. I used to wear out a brand new set of string in less than a week . . . .and then they started making Elixer. When I started playing guitar, strings like Elixer brand strings did not exist. If they did, then I surely didn't know about it. I always got my strings through my grandfather, who ordered them...

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The Blackberry Blossom

One of the old standby tunes in modern flatpicking is Blackberry Blossom, and this is not likely to change any time soon.  If you're going to pursue flatpicking, playing the mandolin in a bluegrass music setting, the banjo, the fiddle, the acoustic bass, or any other instrument that can or is ever used ...such as the dobro, or harmonica, or others that I'm not thinking of, then you need to know this tune. Now Blackberry Blossom is considered a traditional tune, and to me that simply says that it's ancient, and nobody knows any more who wrote it.  Basically, tunes such as this one are what we call public domain, and that means that you can arrange it and transcribe it and customize it without fear, and without crediting...

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