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Topic: Interesting Jerry Byrd Material |
Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 1 Dec 2019 10:01 am |
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I just picked up Jerry's 1954 instructional book, in very good condition. It goes well with his 1960 book! I also have a bunch of Jerry's handwritten tab arrangements that were sold by Scotty's Music when they were in business.
The most striking thing about his arrangements, to me, is the incredible number of bar slants Jerry plays... especially on strings 1 & 2. Songs like Hula Lady and Moonland... there's a lot of quick bar twisting, moving up and down the neck on strings 1 & 2. Those same harmonies can be played without slants on C6 with a high G string, but it won't sound as smooth and fluid as moving up the neck with slants. Hard to do but worth working on!
 
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Last edited by Doug Beaumier on 1 Dec 2019 1:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Steffen Gunter
From:
Munich, Germany
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Posted 1 Dec 2019 11:49 am
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I second your feelings about the use of slants. That's why I now concentrate on the E13th tuning (JB's C#m9th). As an example I used to play Beyond the Reef in C6th but found that playing this in E13th the needed slants make it sound much more Hawaiian and lovelier than jumping from string to string. And there are nicer voicings anyway.
I too like checking out the arrangements of the great players just to learn about their approach and why they sound so beautiful.
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My YT channel: www.youtube.com/user/madsteffen |
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C. E. Jackson
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Dec 2019 9:50 am
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Jerry would also do 3 string slants using the nose of the bar to have two strings on the same fret.
He was a master! 
Erv |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Dec 2019 10:23 am
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Back in his day, hardly anybody used anything but an E for the high string.
The only one I recall using a highter string was Don Helms with Hank Williams.
Erv |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Daniel McKee
From:
Corinth Mississippi
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Posted 2 Dec 2019 4:29 pm
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| I've always heard Jerry thought the high G sounded too thin. I've heard other players say this as well. High E was common in that era so it was probably just what he preferred. |
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