Final week - Recollections and future happenings.

This semester in the bluegrass program has allowed me to experience some great things. Performing with a band on stage, meeting genuine people, interacting with successful musicians and focusing my mind on musicianship. Although I'm in the program for fun, I am starting to really feel a connection to bluegrass music. My first connection was through my band, The Roan Mountaineers, and the next was through my individual instructor Lee Bidgood who was also our band instructor. I learned the roles an responsibilities each member of a band has and I also learned how tough it is to part with people you've grown so fond of. Next semester I'll be joining Foul Wheel Drive and this will open up more room for me to grow as an asset to a band. I'm ready and willing to take on those responsibilities. Another thing I'm looking forward to is working with Lee again. Although I won't have him as a band instructor, I can still get his input through our instruction sessions. I think he deserves an award for his patience with me this semester. I'm a slow learner but I'm quickly catching on. This concludes my entries for this semester. I plan to keep the blog updated throughout my bluegrass experience so be on the look out for more posts.

Thanks for reading!
See you Jan. 13 and Happy Holidays,

Kayla

VA Concert and everything between - Week Whatever

Many things have decided to arise as the semester draws to a close. There was the excitement of the program's collective concert last Wednesday at the VA, where every band in the program played for eight minutes on a stage. We were being judged and evaluated while we played but it was for the members of the VA to enjoy. I wasn't nervous at all for some reason. I had a lot of fun being the band's emcee. A couple days before that I found out that I am being switched from my current band to a new one called Four Wheel Drive. I was able to watch them play at the VA concert. I think the transition will be beneficial and less painful than I initially thought. I have an evaluation for my individual instruction coming up and here are the three songs I'm trying to master.



"Midnight on the Water"
"Angeline the Baker"
"Cripple Creek"

Videos to follow of my progress on these tunes!

Angeline the Baker (Angelina Baker) - Week eight

I'm at the Galt House in Louisville Kentucky this weekend for the National College Media Convention. I've had a blast and I brought my mandolin along. This song is really fun to play. Lee taught it to me on Wednesday and I have been annoying my roommate trying to remember it. I finally figured it out!! Now, I just need to try and figure it out an octave lower.

Amnesia or lack of practice, introducing my band mates- Week eight

I'm having a hard time retaining all the songs that my band knows. They are on fire! I swear, I do not belong with the band I'm in, musically. I think we interact very well and I love my band mates but I have a lot of work to do to catch up to their level of musicianship.

The bassist Jeff is my go-to guy. He keeps me in the loop and I "chop" in his ear when Clint goes for his solo. Clint is my mandolin counterpart. He's like that kid in class that everyone knows is going to make a 100 on the test. So, what do you do? You look off his test, right? Well, that's sort of what I do to Clint. I watch what he's playing and try to copy him. There's Kris the guitarist and vocalist most of the time. He's got an interesting style and a great sense of humor. The only other girl is Monique and she plays fiddle, beautifully I might add. I like her because she's always smiling and she likes to make situation-suitable noises (I can't think of a better way to describe this) with her fiddle. Last but not least, the banjo king Brandon. He likes to try and take my head off when we're playing in the band room. He's slightly dangerous with his instrument in hand but he just likes to rock out while he plays. Oh! There's also our instructor Lee. He's a multi-instrumentalist and will often bust out some twin fiddle with Monique. I am so lucky to have these people around me.
I know I can learn a lot from them. I just need to start spending more time with them. We finally used our Ruby Tuesday gift card performance award last Friday after we recorded some songs in the studio. It was a lot of fun sitting there and having a social interaction with them opposed to a music-induced encounter. With my lack of experience, I found it much easier to get closer to them without my instrument in hand. Sometimes I feel a barrier in class due to my inabilities.
The studio experience was awesome! Huge thanks to Ben Bateson for accommodating us. I had never been in a studio before. Although, I didn't do very much because my nerves and, what I like to call, amnesia set in. Then there was the impromptu song choices that confused me a bit. It's getting easier to pick up on songs because I am getting conditioned to the progression of 1, 4, 5 (and variations of that) chords. However, I do not feel I am where I should be at eight weeks into the program. I know, I'm not going to miraculously play like I have been playing since I was three but my band is much more advanced than I am. It's frustrating. Of course, I'm sure it's because they have had and have more time to practice their music craft. Where as, my first and foremost craft is writing and boy do I have a lot of writing to do.
In an effort to make my life simpler, I came to the conclusion that I'm quitting my part-time job at Hollister. Money's tight, but oh well. I just hope this opens up more time for me to get all this overwhelming work done for this semester. It also opens up a lot of space for me to sit down to play my mandolin by myself, with friends (jamming) and most importantly with my band.

Postshow reflection and inspirations - Week six

The Roan Mountaineers' show for the kids at Gray Elementary went exceptionally well. I practiced very hard on getting chord shapes and positions perfected. I am very proud of myself. I had so much fun being on stage and interacting with the crowd but I think my MC skills need some improvement. I'm taking steps toward working on that in hopes that my band will continue to allow me to MC. The steps include going to see Adam Steffy and the Boxcars at the Carter Fold on Saturday. I went to get some ideas for an article I'm writing about the Carter Fold, but I studied the way they presented themselves and interacted with the crowd. Also, the Fold inspired me to dig into the Carter Family history. I started by looking at old videos of June Carter at the Grand Ole Opry and I struck gold. She was so good at entertaining on the stage. She was hilarious and adorable. I love her voice, mannerisms and skit ideas. I've watched every video that I could find of her on stage singing and being June. These are my two favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnvo8U7R9zc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arde9psKcYY



I want to be just like her.
After all, I am a Carter and I was born in June!
:)

Preperformance nerves and update - Week Five

Tomorrow is the big day. My band, The Roan Mountaineers, is playing a show for Gray Elementary at 1 p.m. They are having a free day; I know you all remember those. So, the good kids get to sit and listen to us play some songs. I don't know how much sitting will be involved because we've got quite an interactive presentation set up. And yes, with yours truly as the M.C. I was really excited when the entire group looked at me when Lee, our adviser said, "Who is going to talk between songs/introduce songs and band members?" It gave me a sense of purpose in the band. I may not know the C chord from the D chord, but I know I can speak in front of people, kids. This must be the reason I haphazardly switched my major to Speech Communications at Northeast State. So, what to expect from us? We're going to have the kids sectioned off and dance along to individual instrument solos and have them imitate wind for one of our songs called In the Pines. Lee is to thank for those  ideas. I'm excited, but my finger tips hurt from trying to get these chord transitions perfected. They are far from perfect. So, sorry band mates if I don't execute the songs properly. Just know I'm trying.

I'd like to switch to a completely different topic. In my individual instruction class we started learning how to play the melody for Midnight on the Water. Here's what I can remember and have been working on:

It's faint and slow, but I can feel the articulation building up in my brain! I want to learn more songs like this! I guess I need to start focusing on chords again if I want to even appear to look like I know what I'm doing on stage tomorrow.

I'd rather be playing my ukulele: Week four

 

Also, I wish that the ukulele was bluegrass friendly.

My current thoughts on playing mandolin:

Finding confidence and pursuing passion.

So far, my experience with learning how to play mandolin has been frustrating. Tonight I took out my list of songs and tried to look up some chords for them. It was impossible to decipher because my band has changed the key of certain songs. I don't understand how to change keys. My neighbor tried to explain it and changed a few, but the chords started going out of my range of ability. So, my mind started to drift and I found myself looking across the room at my ukulele case. The ukulele is my comfort instrument. When I get aggravated with mandolin, I take out my ukulele and play songs I have memorized. I sat there tinkering with some chord progressions and picked out some melodies. It boosts my confidence. I yearn for my ability with each to be equal. I am passionate about that little hunk of Hawaiian wood and I have two years of experience without proper instruction. In other words, I taught myself at my own pace.

I feel like everything with mandolin instruction/band is going too fast. I will admit that I haven't taken proper notes in band class, so I can't practice those twelve songs yet on my own. I plan to change this on Wednesday. I'm struggling to find confidence in myself as a musician. I've never been in a band or played music with other people before. It was enough to sit back and watch the first few weeks. I'm so mentally ready to join in, but my ability prevents that. Even if I don't seem prepared now, I'm confident that by Oct. 8 I will be ready to deliver. I'm hoping frustration will soon fade to confidence. All I need to do is maintain focus and be passionate about mandolin like I am with the ukulele.