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Topic: Learning to Play "Sand" |
Morgan Scoggins
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 18 Jul 2009 7:46 am |
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About three months ago, I got down to some serious study of non pedal steel guitar. I have been progressing through the Jerry Byrd steel guitar course. I am trying to expand my playing to something besides Old Country and Western Swing. I spent the best part of 6 hours, yesterday, trying to play " Sand" in B11 tuning. I must have played that song 50 or 60 times before I could get through it without forgetting the next note or playing the wrong note. It has about eighty measures and only one repeat section, Jerry Byrd did not like to play the repeat parts of a song the same way twice. He usually varied the notes or timing a bit.
anyway, about midnight last night, I got it right, and played it 3 or 4 more times before I went to bed. I woke up this morning and got right back on it.
I guess it shows that there is no easy way to learn anything. If you want to get good, there is a price to pay.
Most people who take up an instrument can learn a few simple melodies. When I was a kid back in 1956 learning to play guitar, I must have driven everyone crazy playing the 3 chord progression for " Blue Suede Shoes". Now after spending the past two years learning non pedal steel, I think I can get past the
begining stage and play some good music.
Thanks Jerry, we miss you.
_________________
"Shoot low boys, the're ridin' Shetlands" |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 18 Jul 2009 10:59 am
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I have worked on that arrangement too. It may have helped that I was a maybe a little more familiar with "Sand" having listened to the Jules Ah See version for some time. It is considered by many to be the definitive version. Do you know it?
http://tinyurl.com/luvjwk (track 18 )
I am also going through the process of learning lots of new material (Hawaiian slack key) that I'm unfamiliar with. It has amazed me how learning the lyrics aids in memorization and over-all performance. Even if you only intend to play instrumentally.
I will confess, I didn't know that "Sand" had lyrics until after I had memorized the tune. 
Ideally, it would be nice to spend time getting to know a tune before learning to play it, but I am always in a rush to build "repertoire" so I usually just dive in. |
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Morgan Scoggins
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 18 Jul 2009 12:01 pm
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Hi Scott, Thanks for your reply to my post. I listened to the sample of the Jules Ah See version of "Sand". The music sounds just like the version in the Jerry Byrd instruction book.
I always find that knowing the lyrics gets in the way of my learning to play a song.I keep trying to think of the words as I am playing instead of the melody. When I get ready to learn a section of a song, I break it down into short 4 bar phrases that go " dat dat da da da , da da da and so forth.It is just easier to look for a tone rather than trying to convert a lyric to a tone.
Like you, I am usually trying to build my repertoire and for the reasons I have already given, I tend to learn instrumentals faster than songs with lyrics.
_________________
"Shoot low boys, the're ridin' Shetlands" |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 18 Jul 2009 12:41 pm A fine job.........................
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You certainly selected a song/tuning with a lot of challenges.........
I've NEVER been able to get it down right and it really upsets me. You've done a great job so hold your head up high. |
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Matthew Dawson
From:
Portland Oregon, USA
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Morgan Scoggins
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 18 Jul 2009 1:58 pm
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Ray,
Thanks a lot for your kind words of encouragement. Coming from you, It means a lot to me
_________________
"Shoot low boys, the're ridin' Shetlands" |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 19 Jul 2009 1:44 am
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| Lots of great versions of this classic song you can check out. Everybody does their own little twist on it. I have a Quicktime video of it here. It's a little bit Jerry Byrd, a little bit Jules Ah See, a little bit of my own style. You can see what frets I'm on, so maybe this will be helpful in learning. I also posted one of Jerry Byrd's impeccable versions on YouTube a while back. This vocal version is especially good because you can learn the phrasing of the melody from the lyrics. Mine is on there somewhere too, if the link above to the higher quality file doesn't work. |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 19 Jul 2009 2:52 am
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| I love that song. Sand to me is one of the most beautiful songs on the B11 tuning. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 19 Jul 2009 10:50 pm
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Whenever I play SAND, it sounds like GRAVEL !  |
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c c johnson
From:
killeen,tx usa * R.I.P.
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Posted 20 Jul 2009 3:12 am
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| On anything I play I sing the words to myself( you don't want to hear me sing out loud). When I was 11 I was the only kid in the St Louis area that could not play Steel Guitar Rag. Frankie Nelson, a steel player in St Louis made up words and gave them to me.I can't repeat on a family forum but they sufficed until 1944 I believe when Pee Wee King put it out with Red Stewart singing and I believe Don Davis was on steel. About this time I was in California and I had heard that Cliffie and Merle Travis had written words to it and Speedie was on steel but I had never heard it.To this day on instrumentals I make up words as I go along. cc |
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Eddie Cunningham
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 22 Jul 2009 7:41 pm " Sand" by Alvino Rey & David Kelii
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| I have an old L.P. by Alvino Rey with the King Sisters doing a vocal version of "Sand" = very lush !! Also I actually learned the song from a recorded live "Hawaii Calls" radio broadcast played by David Kelii in the B 11th tuning around 1951, I liked his version and style the best !! Eddie "C" |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 22 Jul 2009 8:25 pm Hey there CC Johnson...............
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Based entirely on YOUR OWN WORDs........
It sorta sounds like YOU, are "a closet Hula Hula Dancer". Could that be true? |
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 23 Jul 2009 1:38 am A Meerkat playing Sand..
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Someone at the gig asked me how many pedals I was using on this tune/song so I answered them (whilst playing of course) and thought no more about it until I watched the video. I look like a demented "Meerkat"
(must get rid of those glasses)
SAND eventually
BTW I can't agree about not needing to learn the lyrics, try playing Sweet Leilani CORRECTLY without knowing the words.
The public (who you SHOULD be playing for) are usually singing the song "SUBLIMINALLY" and ANY diversion from the accepted norm of the phrasing etc. will make them "Switch Off" and you've lost them.
In the case of Sand, the Jerry Byrd version is most popular in the "States" whereas the definitive version worldwide is almost certainly the Jules ah See version. The Jerry Byrd version would be well known amongst Hawaiian guitarists, but the Hawaii Calls series of recordings (Where Jules Version can be found) was popular worldwide. Europe, Japan, Australasia as well as the Americas would be the area of sales where the Jules version is known and played by present day players.
As a Jerry Byrd student/fan/admirer you should know he didn't approve of "Burlesquing" or similar, not playing the tune correctly would offend his philosophy and memory (I think)
I sometimes wonder just how many "Depths" of listening capabilities there are ?
This is NOT meant personally to anyone in particular, but I often wonder.
An example would be THIS post (For the uninitiated the words "This Post" are a clickable link, and DON'T refer to HERE) |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 24 Jul 2009 6:25 am Re: A Meerkat playing Sand..
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| basilh wrote: |
...
SAND eventually
...I can't agree about not needing to learn the lyrics, try playing Sweet Leilani CORRECTLY without knowing the words.
The public (who you SHOULD be playing for) are usually singing the song "SUBLIMINALLY" and ANY diversion from the accepted norm of the phrasing etc. will make them "Switch Off" and you've lost them....
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I couldn't agree more. Every time I listen to an instrumental I'm singing the words to myself in my mind. The problem you've got with Hawaiian music is, is the audience singing the Marty Robbins, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams or Elvis Presley version, or are they more familiar with the Hawaiian version ?
Everyone should watch Basil's video. It shows what a real master can do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj93ZxtRyTQ
...and he makes it look so easy.  |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 24 Jul 2009 8:21 am
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| Quote: |
| The problem you've got with Hawaiian music is, is the audience singing the Marty Robbins, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams or Elvis Presley version, or are they more familiar with the Hawaiian version ? |
99% of the time they are mentally singing the DEFINITIVE version, (or is that "Singing the definitive version MENTALLY"?)and to know which one that would be, one would have to take off one's musicians hat and don the one the vox populi wear. Not everyone can do that. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 24 Jul 2009 9:31 am
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| I guess you have to play to the audience. If you're playing in Hawaii to Hawaiians you would expect them to be familiar with a local version, but if you were playing in Nashville you would expect them to be more familiar with the Marty Robbins version. You can't really win on this one, can you ? |
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