Rawhide Creek - Posted - 10/20/2016:  11:40:39

An interesting fact:  In many of the articles about him, as well as both of the interviews with him and one with his widow, Sheila, we read that Meader stopped using "Vaughn" (his middle name) as a first name because he associated it with a disasterous time in his life and wanted to put distance between that and who he wanted to be.  Consequently, he began using his first name, "Abbott", again.  His friends and colleagues (and wife) respected this and called him "Abbott" rather than "Vaughn".

Odd detail:  Even though Meader had contracted for two "First Family" albums, he initially refused to do the second one and had to be threatened with a lawsuit (breach of contract) that forced him to complete the second.

steve davis - Posted - 10/22/2016:  09:21:55

Me and the Country Choir Boys always called him Vaughn and he didn't complain.His older aquaintances called him Vaughn.
Sheila treated us so good when we stayed overnight.
Christine from Nashville (before Sheila) was another story,entirely.

As for playing in other keys I was happy to not be constantly reaching for a capo or retuning during our "wordjams" at the VA Creative Arts Festival last week.Many keys and styles of music in a short amount of time was demanding,yet satisfying.

sethG - Posted - 10/26/2016:  15:22:33

Really? But can you mention any names?

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 10/26/2016:  17:52:57

sptimes.com/News/032100/Alive/...lfp.shtml

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 10/26/2016:  22:37:05

quote:

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Originally posted by sethG



Really? But can you mention any names?

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His widow, Sheila Stratton, can mention a couple:

centralmaine.com/2013/11/21/jf...omedian_/

steve davis - Posted - 10/27/2016:  16:16:49

quote:

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Originally posted by sethG



Really? But can you mention any names?

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What are you talking about,Seth?

There's quite a difference between looking up stuff and actually knowing someone,Russ.A bit similar to looking up musical facts and actually playing.

One of the best things I could have done for my playing was working with Vaughn.

Edited by - steve davis on 10/27/2016 16:21:22

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 10/27/2016:  17:32:39

Edited by - Rawhide Creek on 10/27/2016 17:34:20

sethG - Posted - 10/27/2016:  20:53:58

I never met Billy Joel. But I believe he plays ' and so it goes' in Cmaj.

steve davis - Posted - 10/28/2016:  09:19:07

I miss Vaughn a lot.He was a lot of fun to be around.

Richard Hauser - Posted - 11/22/2016:  11:02:37

I wonder if learning scales in 12 different keys would be worthwhile.  If you are playing with others. the number of keys used is limited.  I only capo up to "C",  I don't like the sound of the banjo when it is capoed too high.  I can get what i want by changing tuning and/or using the capo.

I also play fiddle, and only practice 5 keys (G,D,A,C,F,Bb).  I understand scale/chord theory, so I can usually handle the occasional need for another key.  So If someone wants to play in the key of "E", I tell myself "Play in the key of A, but sharpen the D notes as well".  So if I didn't know music/scale/chord theory, I would spend some time learning that.  

D Tuning, Dm Tuning, C Tunings, and Modal tuning are used.  They seem to provide a tune with the right flavor.

steve davis - Posted - 11/22/2016:  13:11:33

I play all keys,but don't think in terms of scales.

Mooooo - Posted - 11/22/2016:  19:19:44

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard Hauser

 

I wonder if learning scales in 12 different keys would be worthwhile.  If you are playing with others. the number of keys used is limited.  I only capo up to "C",  I don't like the sound of the banjo when it is capoed too high.  I can get what i want by changing tuning and/or using the capo.

 

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On a Banjo, if you want another scale you just move up or down the fretboard to find it. If you know how to make one scale, it won't take a giant leap to realize how to make all of them, so learning different scales in 12 different keys is easy to do. Now using all of them is another question, but I would argue that to be able to use them is better than not being able to use them whether you will or not. Same with Chord shapes...it's all patterns

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 11/22/2016:  21:14:49

Assuming 12-tone-equal-temperament (12TET), there are 24 keys, 12 major and 12 minor.

steve davis - Posted - 11/23/2016:  05:57:46

I think of Em as being in the key of G,Russ.

Edited by - steve davis on 11/23/2016 05:58:17

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 11/23/2016:  09:54:03

quote:

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Originally posted by steve davis

 

I think of Em as being in the key of G,Russ.

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What about the key of G minor?

Mooooo - Posted - 11/23/2016:  11:14:00

I'm pretty sure that he's going to tell you that he sees it as Bb which is the way I see them too. For me Major and Minor are pretty much the same - the same note sets starting from a different position. They have a different feel to them, but share the same notes and chord sets (as long as you're talking about the natural minor scale). It's probably wrong to think of them in this way, but it's easier. 

steve davis - Posted - 11/23/2016:  12:37:29

That would be the key of quote:

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Originally posted by Rawhide Creek

 

quote:

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Originally posted by steve davis

 

I think of Em as being in the key of G,Russ.

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What about the key of G minor?

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I'll help you with that,Russ.That would be the key of Bb.

Richard Hauser - Posted - 11/25/2016:  09:45:42

Em is the "relative minor" for the key of G. The 6th step in a diatonic scale is the relative minor (i.e. G A B C D E F# G). So for the key of D (D E F# G A B C# D) the relative minor is Bm. A little knowledge about scale/chord theory can be a big help. You don't have to memorize as much, you can figure things out for yourself. Getting answers to your own questions is educational, especially if you do the "digging" yourself.

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 11/25/2016:  11:22:06

Relative keys:  Same key signature, different tonic notes [ G :: e ].

The sixth degree of the major scale is the tonic of the relative minor.

The third degree of the minor scale is the tonic of the relative major.

Parallel keys:  Different key signatures, same tonic note [ G :: g ]