We recorded this for St. Patty’s Day but I didn’t get it uploaded to YouTube until today. The boys and I worked up the intro and exit. We are pretty happy with it. Hope you all enjoy it too! Swallowtail Jig
Swallowtail Jig
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Wow that was brilliant @bob.dion
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Nice job, guys! A bowed double bass?? How cool is that? The swallowtail jig always evokes the French and Indian War period for me.
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I love the sound of Celtic music on the banjo.
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Sounds Great. Fun !!!
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That was great! Don’t get to hear a bowed upright very often.
I don’t know if that song has any words, but it’d be a perfect mash up with Horse With No Name.
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Outstanding. Just two chords?
A fiddler brought this to a jam I go to so I must get it under my fingers quick.
We have a gal that recently started using the bow a bit. Love that sound.
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Excellent! Loved the way you all got quieter toward the end. (working together well). Was that in a minor key?
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The two chords were Em and D, which I believe puts the song in the key of G. Maybe?
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Yep! Just 2 Chords Em and D
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It’s actually in the key of Em.
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Awesome tune bob.dion. Thanks for sharing… Is that an Upton superswing bass?? If so I have one too. They are killer…
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I wonder if @BanjoBen could use this as a teaching moment for me, because I get really confused about the key a song is in when it leads with a minor.
I remember thinking the song 867-5309 (Jenny) was in F#m because the chords are F#m, D, A, and B. A friend told me to look at the staff notes to see the song is actually in the key of A.
So on this song, I imagined the staff notes for the keys of Em and D and that would seem to put it in the key of G. But, G is not found anywhere in the song, so is it ok in this case to say the song is in Em?
Are there any rules for saying what key a song is in?
Hi @Mark_Rocka love your suggestion. One of my downfalls is not being able to identify the key of a tune when it’s not in the Keys of G, C, D or A . So anything thing to simplify this process would be welcome.
One of the tunes I am currently working on is Shady Grove in Dm which I avoided for years. Now that I am into it I would love to try more tunes in Minor Key’s also in the Key of E and F
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If the song comes to rest on a minor key, using many of the chords from its relative major, I say it’s in the minor key rather than the major key.
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It’s a Palatino and I’m really impressed with it. I’ve played a bunch of basses and only one has come close to the sound I get out of this one.
Nicely done!
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The day of the green is coming up quick and I never did get started on this one, but love coming back to listen. Just getting back to banjo after 16 months of beginning guitar as a focus. Your video is fuel.
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I’ve done a lot more learning since we had this exchange nearly 2 years ago. What I’ve learned most is that there are no hard rules for declaring a song’s key.
One group says “Look at the key signature in the staff. There are only 12 possible combinations of naturals, sharps and flats. Therefore, there are only 12 possible keys a song can be played in.” This group believes that a song’s tone can be minor, but the most correct key to claim for it will be its major relative. A song with an Em minor tone is said to be in G.
Another group (the one Ben seems to be in) says it’s more appropriate to label a song with a minor tone as being in a minor key. This group identifies 24 key signatures, but does so by looking at the relative major key signature in the staff and then listening for the tone, or like Ben says, where the song comes to rest. If the key signature is G but the song has a minor tone, the song is said to be in Em.
I’ve even found a group that identifies 36 key signatures, but the theory made my head spin and I decided that was more than I was willing to entertain.
Personally, I like the simplicity of the 12 key solution. At first, it didn’t feel very natural, but the more I’ve tried to apply the idea, the more I like it.
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