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Topic: Bobbe Seymour - Crazy - the Transcription |
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 18 Apr 2022 4:27 am |
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I must be more than a little crazy - here's what I did this weekend: I transcribed (as best as I could) the late Bobbe Seymour's ad lib performance of Willie Nelson's classic song, "Crazy", played in C6th/Fmaj7 tuning. (Low to High) F, A, C, E, G, A, C, E.
Transcription starts at 00:40. Crazy - Bobbe Seymour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HDxImv7F6o
Midi audio of transcription: https://sndup.net/qvwp/
Bobbe was trying to sell lap steels so he put in every slick trick in the book ... fancy runs, delayed cadences, turn arounds, etc. so this was a grizzly bear of a transcription to attempt. As my ace-transcriber pal Guy Cundell said, "What makes it incredibly difficult is that it is both solo and rubato. This makes it extremely difficult to notate. He speeds up, slows down, leaves out beats of the original, moves seamlessly between different meters. All in all, very difficult to track."
So my transcript is an approximation of what Bobbe played though I had the rare advantage of a video of the source so it meant there was a lot of slowing it down or stopping it to count frets as well as the number of fingers on Bobbe's hand! So, now I'm crowdsourcing this - where did I go wrong and what corrections are needed?
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Joe Cook
From:
Lake Osoyoos, WA
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Posted 19 Apr 2022 5:08 pm
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| Nice job, Andy! Thanks for doing this and sharing. I'm giving it a go right now. It's a steep climb to even approach Bobbe's style and touch, he plays so effortlessly, but I'm sure having fun trying! |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 20 Apr 2022 2:09 am
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Thanks, Joe, glad you're enjoying it. It was a lot of work to do and some of what he did was so subtle it's almost impossible to definitively determine ... "is he actually doing a behind-the-bar string pull or a finger rake? kind of stuff." He had a sophisticated ear for substitute harmonies I really gig.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 20 Apr 2022 2:53 am
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Ooh Andy great Job. The magic in my ears is what he does before the song even begins.
Any transcription of that would be super cool.
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Jeff Garden
From:
Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 20 Apr 2022 4:14 am
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| Thanks, Andy! I know how much work tab can be. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 20 Apr 2022 4:39 am
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Jump on in, Stefan! It should all be there on your E13 tuning. I’m retired from the Bobbe transcription business for a while. 
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 20 Apr 2022 5:05 am
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Great job Andy!
I hadn’t come across this Seymour video in the past - wow - that was a treat.
I’m trying to figure out how to get from my usual C6th (ACEGACEG) to this tuning without having to change out multiple strings.
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Mark |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 20 Apr 2022 6:09 am
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Most of what happens in Bobbe's playing is on string 2-7 of your tuning but that said, IMHO, it's that AF on the bottom that makes the tuning so beautiful. I could listen to that big major 7th chord all day!
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Kirk Francis
From:
Laupahoehoe
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Posted 21 Apr 2022 7:56 pm bobbe seymour's crazy
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just an amazing perspective on playing the instrument, muchless on music in general.
that said, his greatest charm was knowing to not take himself too seriously. bravo, bobbe.
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The mainland is intimidating, bewildering, and uncomfortable. And you have to wear shoes. -- Theroux. |
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Rick Bernauer
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 22 Apr 2022 2:30 pm
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Great transcription - thanks Andy!
Mark Eaton -
| Quote: |
| "I’m trying to figure out how to get from my usual C6th (ACEGACEG) to this tuning without having to change out multiple strings." |
I like to play with the high G for many songs but having that low F is so nice. That's how I explained my need for 3 lap steels in different tunings to my wife. |
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Joe Cook
From:
Lake Osoyoos, WA
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Posted 22 Apr 2022 2:52 pm
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| Rick Bernauer wrote: |
I like to play with the high G for many songs but having that low F is so nice. That's how I explained my need for 3 lap steels in different tunings to my wife. |
Thank God lap steel has so many different tunings!  |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 24 Apr 2022 5:49 am
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| Andy Volk wrote: |
| Jump on in, Stefan! It should all be there on your E13 tuning. I’m retired from the Bobbe transcription business for a while. |
Definitely interested in digesting it. After these arpeggios. But I remember the first time I saw that video years ago I remember his ear and choice of chord voicings were always so lush.
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Bill Galvan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2022 9:33 am Seymour Tab
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Andy: You are amazing! Producing that tab "on the week-end". I've played steel for 70+ years and it would take me weeks, maybe months, to do that. Do you have a secret method. Will you share it? Just great. You are a
huge asset to the S.G. world. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 1 May 2022 2:12 am
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Thanks for your very kind words, Bill. It really comes down to a few things ...
It's mostly the grunt work of having done lots of arrangements and transcriptions. I have an okay ear but I really have to work at rhythms. In the beginning, I was putting in all kinds of wacky 16th note rests because I didn't understand that a lot of swing lines often have note-8th note rest-note patterns, From Guy Cundell, I learned to look for the simplest way to express the rhythms. I still have to experiment a lot to get rests in the right place as well tied notes across the bar. I'm trying to do a Herb Remington transcription now that's totally syncopated in weird rhythms and am about to throw in the towel. I've slowed it down to a snails pace but it's totally foxing me.
The other part is using good software: GuitarPro to notate and playback the transcription and Transcribe! to slow it down and loop difficult sections. So my advice is to start with simple music and just do it and your ear will improve as you begin to spot common patterns. I also keep a chart of the tuning in question in front of me as well as a guitar handy to make sure things are playable. Often, it's an educated guess about where on the neck a player played a given passage. With the Bobbie Seymour transcription, I knew the tuning well, so that helped, but I also had to loop sections, slow them down and a few times, I had to literally count the frets in the video to make sure I was right.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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