What are the other chords will you have to do as per capo chords?
That can help you decide which waY to go.

Don't forget you can tune-down as well as capo-up. I only know it in clawhammer "G-modal" (gDGCD), so I would just tune down a half-step. Not really sure what your baseline-arrangement is. Not really sure how I wandered into the bluegrass forum either.....

Well, I'm going to play two other songs and wouldn't like to tune much between songs. Chances are I will be too nervous to tune right in a short time.

The chords will be F#m C# and Bm. The chords would be easy to play with capo 2 but I'm not sure I could play good melody with a bluesy touch out of Em.

I still think that moving the whole thing up a fret to Gm and playing out of open-G should be easiest...

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Originally posted by phb

Well, I'm going to play two other songs and wouldn't like to tune much between songs. Chances are I will be too nervous to tune right in a short time.

The chords will be F#m C# and Bm. The chords would be easy to play with capo 2 but I'm not sure I could play good melody with a bluesy touch out of Em.

I still think that moving the whole thing up a fret to Gm and playing out of open-G should be easiest...

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I wouldn't hesitate a heartbeat, slam the capo and spike on the second fret and play the thing as if it were in Em.

Getting the melody is just a matter of not clinging to simple basis rolling patterns but getting a bit more adventurous where needed.

Do you have an example of how you did this in the other key?

Tune down and capo up is the solution, it won't take but a moment to adjust the 5th string, and the same for dropping into modal tuning for that song. I would drill doing that, same as any other essential skill, and if playing in singer's keys that will be essential.

this is how I would do it

pivot on the 5 and slide and bend on the others

The first thing I would do is ask the singer if it's possible to go half a tone higher,
as long as the piece doesn't go to the limits of my range that's usually not a problem.
However, I also have a few songs that somehow sound wrong to me in a different key.

Good luck and an enthusiastic audience

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Originally posted by RB-1

I wouldn't hesitate a heartbeat, slam the capo and spike on the second fret and play the thing as if it were in Em.

Getting the melody is just a matter of not clinging to simple basis rolling patterns but getting a bit more adventurous where needed.

Yes, I guess "as if Em" currently seems the simplest option if I really have to play it in F#m. However, the bass player is a rookie and I think it will be good for him too to move the whole thing up a half-tone.

Do you have an example of how you did this in the other key?

This recording is from some time in 2023 but it was the last time we played it at the jam. I'm sure that with a little more preparation I could get more melody but then this would transfer badly from Cminor to F#minor. I won't capo 9 after all... 

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Originally posted by banjo bill-e

Tune down and capo up is the solution, it won't take but a moment to adjust the 5th string, and the same for dropping into modal tuning for that song. I would drill doing that, same as any other essential skill, and if playing in singer's keys that will be essential.

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I am actually more concerned about messing up because of stage fright and hardly having any experience in playing other tunings than open-G. I know, this sounds ridiculous to someone playing Old-Time banjo but for public performances I try to keep everything as simple as possible in order to play right even if my higher brain functions drop out completely (two years ago I had a hard time to stop my knees from wobbling, last year was much better already but I don't want to risk any regression).

I have clawhammered some and if I continue that path, I surely will have to learn about alternate tunings. Hopefully some of that would then transfer back to my three-finger playing.

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Originally posted by mmuussiiccaall

this is how I would do it

pivot on the 5 and slide and bend on the others

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This looks interesting! I'd probably keep the 2nd string as if in open-G. I will experiment some with capo 4 as you suggest. I'm a little afraid, though, that I may miss some notes below the low root note, e.g. in order to slide into the root note.

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Originally posted by Tuedelband

The first thing I would do is ask the singer if it's possible to go half a tone higher,
as long as the piece doesn't go to the limits of my range that's usually not a problem.
However, I also have a few songs that somehow sound wrong to me in a different key.

Yesterday I tried a little to play a break in Gminor and it seemed quite easy to come up with something. I haven't tried playing to a backing track yet so there may still be some rhythmically rough places. However, within a few minutes I thought I had a break that I consider good enough for a general audience of which one half will be musician friends and their relatives and the other won't ever have heard bluegrass music before.

Good luck and an enthusiastic audience

Last year was a really nice experience. We played in a small village and the audience was very enthusiastic. It's a concert evening where eight or so scratch bands with their members recruited from the Braunschweig jam session will play. I know I shy away from playing in public too much which is why I volunteer to play at the next year's event early on when it's psychologically easy for me to do so and later on I feel I cannot break my promise.

Just to let you know the outcome of this: we decided to move this up to Gm which also makes it easier for the bass player who is still a beginner. While I am at it, I'll take the opportunity to learn something new and will thus also try to play it with capo 3 (Em position) and perhaps even in Gm tuning. Thanks for all your advice!

Playing out of D or Dm isn't that hard, though it may take you more than 4 weeks to get comfortable with it. Even so, you should work on it as a longer-term project.

Often, you won't need to finger full chords. You can generally leave the first string open as a drone, and for the key of Dm, a little bit of playing around will get you familiar with which notes to avoid.

Ah, yes, I forgot playing out of Dm shapes! When I learned "Southern Flavor" I did not capo and was surprised to see that pretty much everybody seems to play it out of Dm/capo 2. I did not transcribe anything, I just played rolls until it sounded more or less like the tune I had in my head. In any case I also need to put playing out of Dm on my list. Or where you referring to open D/Dm tunings?

In any case using the 1st string open as a drone is something I am aware of that exists but I never do. I definitely need to get that into my active vocabulary.

No, not D or Dm tuning; G tuning. Depending on the song, you may want to raise the 5th string to A. And I wasn't thinking of Dm chord shapes per se.mor melody and drones. When I do something like that, I probably hover around the two finger D7 chord shape much of the time.

No, not D or Dm tuning; G tuning. Depending on the song, you may want to raise the 5th string to A. And I wasn't thinking of Dm chord shapes per se.mor melody and drones. When I do something like that, I probably hover around the two finger D7 chord shape much of the time.