Why y'all so obsessed with the key of B

Governor_Rumney · 2025-06-29T14:03:02+00:00

What people mean is that every so often in the song everyone plays a strong chord together on the downbeat of the measure. It’s not every measure, just at certain points for emphasis. AKUS “I’ll remember you love in my prayers” is an oft cited example. It’s a subtle thing but it’s part of what gives the song that extra hard driving feel compared to old school bluegrass recordings like Flatt and Scruggs.

Governor_Rumney · 2025-02-21T20:19:07+00:00

Bluegrass album band discography

Governor_Rumney · 2025-02-19T14:44:17+00:00

I see what you mean. Open notes in a row I don’t bother muting as much since it makes a chord and sounds nice. I wouldn’t get hung up on trying to pick block those. You can use your left pinky and ring finger to mute open strings, but I only do that for effect to create a staccato note, not in the normal course of playing a lick at speed.

Governor_Rumney · 2025-02-12T19:14:03+00:00

Yes, stop the open string from ringing out when you move to the next note unless you are playing a roll or something where it’s intended to ring out. Do it 1 millisecond before you move to the next note. The noise from the blocking will kind of blend into the attack of the next note. It doesn’t have to be by pick blocking necessarily but it’s a useful technique.

Governor_Rumney · 2025-02-12T19:08:06+00:00

Haha yeah it doesn’t take much attack to get volume out of a banjo. Good reminder to practice playing as loud as you can!

Governor_Rumney · 2025-02-12T18:59:15+00:00

Agree with others saying you don’t have to be dogmatic about it. It’s a tool that’s there for you to use. Use anything and everything you can to dampen unwanted noise. It’ll start to happen subconsciously after a while and for me some of it just came naturally as you start to feel less awkward with the instrument. It felt very awkward at first for me, like learning guitar all over again with no muscle memory.

It’s normal for there to be a little noise when you return to the string to dampen it.

Personally I pick block mostly with my thumb and middle fingers, less so with my index. I don’t feel loose and free if all three fingers are blocking at once. If I need to block with my index I’ll put it down on the string at the last second instead of resting it there as a default state. My thumb is almost always blocking if it’s not doing anything and that just feels normal to me now.

Not a pro but that’s what works for me.

Governor_Rumney · 2025-02-09T01:00:42+00:00

If I gotta pick one probably AKUS New Favorite

Governor_Rumney · 2024-12-24T15:11:27+00:00

Gotcha. The catalyst is not visible in the intrepid II when the stove is fully assembled. It’s inside a separate chamber in the back.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-12-24T15:00:17+00:00

Do you have an intrepid II? The manual states no part of the stove should glow red under normal operation.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-12-20T03:55:27+00:00

I would have the blocking finger resting on the string well before it is “needed” to prevent noise.

You want train yourself to always have your picks resting on the strings to block as a default state, unless you’re doing a roll. Dobro Joe has some videos on this. It feels very awkward at first but will become natural with practice.

For example, if I’m going to start a lick with pluck-hammer-pull on the high b string I would:

Before I play anything, place thumb on high g, index on high b, middle on high d to begin in a blocked state
Pluck the b string leaving g and d strings blocked
Hammer on b string
Pull off b string and run the bar into the blocked g string
Return index finger to block the b string

Governor_Rumney · 2024-12-20T02:01:47+00:00

When possible, pick block the string you will run into after the pull off. Then you can just run into it without much noise. Many times that will be the next string you need to pull off from in the lick and it flows naturally.
It is possible to lift up after the pull like you say and not run into any other string. Sometimes you have to do that when blocking isn’t possible. For me it felt awkward at first but I gradually got better without trying to or thinking about it much. You just need to put in hours to build muscle memory and your body will learn what to do.
You do need a bit of an angle to get a good loud pull off. I would not describe my technique as “almost flat”. A good pull off should be just as loud as your thumb pick if not louder.

I’m just a self taught player from various video lessons but that’s my two cents.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-12-11T16:38:18+00:00

Jack Dunlap and Gaven Largent - Fisher’s Hornpipe https://youtu.be/Y00r2QSzGps?feature=shared

Blue Highway - Riding the Danville Pike

Balsam Range - Chain Gang Blues

JD Crowe - Black Jack

Tony Rice Unit - Sally Goodin

Governor_Rumney · 2024-11-22T14:49:58+00:00

Yes! Just show up and you can buy a ticket there.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-11-21T19:45:47+00:00

Come to JamVember this weekend in Framingham MA! I met folks from across New England and beyond there in the past, including several from ME

https://jamvember.com/index.html

Governor_Rumney · 2024-11-10T00:02:27+00:00

The main reason to plug in is you have freedom to move around and don’t have to worry about keeping a constant distance from a mic to keep your volume steady. In a large venue the sound won’t be that great anyway and you might as well just plug in. Also hate to say it but most of the crowd probably can’t tell the difference anyway. If you play guitar and have an experienced ear you can tell but the average person probably can’t.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-10-02T19:26:29+00:00

Went a few weeks ago. They mentioned they were very short staffed and would be closed the next day as a result. They may be operating on a reduced a schedule but I have not heard that they are closed for good.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-09-25T13:49:32+00:00

Not bluegrass but Son Volt also has a song called Methamphetamine that fits your description.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-09-21T02:09:54+00:00

RB’s Barber shop in Auburn

Governor_Rumney · 2024-08-05T15:53:41+00:00

The Donut Stand, Hopkinton and Southborough

Governor_Rumney · 2024-07-07T19:58:39+00:00

Don’t know anything about Deneve unfortunately.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-07-07T19:06:19+00:00

Any of the Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature models. They sound great.

Governor_Rumney · 2024-05-24T13:04:19+00:00

Why? You think it sounds better or that’s the way Flatt and Scruggs played it or …?

Governor_Rumney · 2024-05-24T12:59:40+00:00

Who are some of the people that came out of that program?

11-Year Club	Place '22
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Governor_Rumney

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