Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/395812
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 02/17/2024: 10:23:44
As requested by Bad Bernie in the "Other Banjo-Related Topics" forum, here's a break from my contest arrangement of "Fire Ball Mail": banjohangout.org/tab/browse.as...l&v=26941 .
The bar 1 of the tab consists of pickup notes; bar 2 is the "real" first measure. I've included RH fingering, which gets a little tricky in places, but you're on your own for LH fingering. ;^)
I was trying to imagine the sort of thing Tony Furtado (who was living in the DC area at the time) might come up with. After the first 4 or 5 bars, I started thinking, "Hey, why not just go for it?", so I kept going higher and higher up the neck. Note the places where I "push" notes, playing them just before the beat.
IIRC, when I played this at Winfield in 1992 I really muffed bars 11 and 12; those are still the trickiest for me. Years after I came up with this arrangement, I noticed that despite all the rhythmic and tonal wildness, it nevertheless follows the basic contours of the original melody.
Edited by - Ira Gitlin on 02/17/2024 10:24:45
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 02/17/2024: 11:06:58
Here's a PDF.
Bad Bernie - Posted - 02/18/2024: 03:25:18
Wow! Thanks Ira! I've got to try to learn it now though. Yikes!! 
Jack Baker - Posted - 02/18/2024: 06:06:29
Ira,
That's quite a Foray you've got there. I didn't know that many notes even existed...Jack 
Originally posted by Ira Gitlin
Here's a PDF.
Edited by - Jack Baker on 02/18/2024 06:11:58
chuckv97 - Posted - 02/18/2024: 11:57:18
Super, Ira! Are there any existing videos/audios of your performance at Winfield?
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 02/19/2024: 06:53:50
quote:
Originally posted by chuckv97
Super, Ira! Are there any existing videos/audios of your performance at Winfield?
No, I don't think so. That was back in the days before everyone had a high-quality video camera in their pocket.
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 02/19/2024: 07:50:23
quote:
Originally posted by Flying Eagle
quote:
Originally posted by Ira Gitlin
As requested by Bad Bernie in the "Other Banjo-Related Topics" forum, here's a break from my contest arrangement of "Fire Ball Mail": banjohangout.org/tab/browse.as...l&v=26941 .
That's some crazy looking tab. Any way you could post a soundfile of this at a moderate tempo? Thanks!
Maybe. FWIW, I wouldn't be able to do it at anything more than a moderate tempo without some intensive woodshedding.
TScottHilton - Posted - 02/19/2024: 11:08:29
quote:
Originally posted by Ira Gitlin
As requested by Bad Bernie in the "Other Banjo-Related Topics" forum, here's a break from my contest arrangement of "Fire Ball Mail": banjohangout.org/tab/browse.as...l&v=26941 .
The bar 1 of the tab consists of pickup notes; bar 2 is the "real" first measure. I've included RH fingering, which gets a little tricky in places, but you're on your own for LH fingering. ;^)
I was trying to imagine the sort of thing Tony Furtado (who was living in the DC area at the time) might come up with. After the first 4 or 5 bars, I started thinking, "Hey, why not just go for it?", so I kept going higher and higher up the neck. Note the places where I "push" notes, playing them just before the beat.
IIRC, when I played this at Winfield in 1992 I really muffed bars 11 and 12; those are still the trickiest for me. Years after I came up with this arrangement, I noticed that despite all the rhythmic and tonal wildness, it nevertheless follows the basic contours of the original melody.
I heard your pickyfingers podcast interview talking about this arrangement. Super cool! I enjoyed the advice on how to create an arrangement with a contest in mind.
Bad Bernie - Posted - 02/21/2024: 08:48:13
I tried, Ira. Honestly, I tried. I tried until my spirit was broken, overwhelmed by crushing feelings of deep inadequacy.
I'm particularly fond of the two un-bends in measure 15. But the rest of it defeated me.
I'm now booked in for some emergency trauma counseling.
Jack Baker - Posted - 02/21/2024: 11:36:38
Bernie,
Don't feel too bad. I can't touch Ira's arrangement either. Too many things to keep track of and I can't seem to find the melody. Maybe when I learn banjo I will HA. NYU degrees weren't enough--I want my money back from them 
..Jack
Edited by - Jack Baker on 02/21/2024 11:39:41
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 02/22/2024: 06:15:23
quote:
Originally posted by Bad Bernie
I tried, Ira. Honestly, I tried. I tried until my spirit was broken, overwhelmed by crushing feelings of deep inadequacy.
I'm particularly fond of the two un-bends in measure 15. But the rest of it defeated me.
I'm now booked in for some emergency trauma counseling.
Seriously, when I came up with it, I initially regarded it as a merely theoretical possibility--nothing that anyone could actually play up to tempo. I was a bit surprised myself that I could get it up to about 120 BPM. But that took months of practice!
'Freedom of ------thought? ' 30 min
'Stelling Staghorn' 1 hr
