I play this one on one of my homemade banjos and a fiddle that my friend left for me.
youtu.be/B02WTm8dEeE
I hope you enjoy it!
Nice!
In my neck of the woods, this is called "Spotted Pony."
There's a tune that is very similar to this that people call
"Snow Shoes." I have to listen very closely to see which way the
fiddler is going before I get into it with the banjo. It's funny how there seem to be regional differences in some of these old-time tunes.
quote:
Originally posted by banjukeboxNice!
In my neck of the woods, this is called "Spotted Pony."
There's a tune that is very similar to this that people call
"Snow Shoes." I have to listen very closely to see which way the
fiddler is going before I get into it with the banjo. It's funny how there seem to be regional differences in some of these old-time tunes.
Thanks for your kind comment Pat!
Stephen Rapp mentioned the same thing under the video in the "media" section.
quote:
Originally posted by banjukeboxNice!
In my neck of the woods, this is called "Spotted Pony."
There's a tune that is very similar to this that people call
"Snow Shoes." I have to listen very closely to see which way the
fiddler is going before I get into it with the banjo. It's funny how there seem to be regional differences in some of these old-time tunes.
The name "Spotted Pony" for this tune arose from a mistake in labeling the D tune "Snowshoes" some time in the mid-1970s on a release from Voyager Recordings. I've heard the details (not interesting enough to repeat here) of the accidental misnaming from a friend who heard it from "the horse's mouth", and I have no doubt about how it hsppened. The original tune named "Spotted Pony" is a midwestern tune in A, and unrelated to the D tune currently referred to by that name. Be that as it may, the "misnamed" D tune called "Spotted Pony" has been called that for nigh onto half a century, so it would be silly to try to get hundreds of people to start calling by its "correct" name - so "Spotted Pony" it is now, and also "Snowshoes"! It wouldn't be the first tune (nor the last) to change names or be called by more than one name, accidentally or deliberately; I'm just noting this as a bit of historical info. Play on, and call it what you will!
Edited by - BrendanD on 02/01/2023 03:06:41
BrendanD I had heard the "mis-naming" story as well. I was in a jam once a few years ago where we played "Spotted Pony" and "Snow Shoes" back to back (both in the key of D). The fiddler credited John Ashby as the source for "Snow Shoes." The tunes were very similar but both the A and B parts had different endings than the tune played by lapsteel.
I just went back to review the tune at Slippery Hill. There are four fiddlers referenced (two under "Snow Shoes" and two under "Snowshoes" (again all in the key of D). To my ear they are all playing the same tune and it is different than lapsteel's version.
I looked up "Spotted Pony" and as you mentioned, it is a completely different tune.
Three fiddlers on the SH site. All playing in different keys (A, Bb, and D).
The tune I know as "Spotted Pony" is exactly as played by lapsteel - I'm not sure where it came from but I do think it is not the same as "Snow Shoes."
Maybe some of the other old-time geeks will chime in here.
Very curious!
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