Great tune! I think I played that Fuzzy Mountain String Band album until the needle wore it right through. 

Very clean Tab too. I usually eliminate the giant "TAB" clef in mine (cause it's pretty obvious it is Tab). Musescore used to allow a G clef in Tab scores (I liked that) but they deleted that option.

Great tune, tab, playing, and I love the bonus junco pic! I was listening to all the other renditions while watching the goldfinches on my feeder -- perfect soundtrack.

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Originally posted by trapdoor2

 I usually eliminate the giant "TAB" clef in mine (cause it's pretty obvious it is Tab). Musescore used to allow a G clef in Tab scores (I liked that) but they deleted that option.

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Thanks - I didn't know that could be hidden - I'll investigate it!

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Originally posted by mandobanjolibrarian

Great tune, tab, playing, and I love the bonus junco pic! I was listening to all the other renditions while watching the goldfinches on my feeder -- perfect soundtrack.

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Thanks - we don't have juncos here. The garden gets quiet in winter - the robins stay around, though. Over the last few weeks the migrating birds have started returning  - its nice to hear the geese flying overhead again.

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Originally posted by gentrixuk

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Originally posted by mandobanjolibrarian

Great tune, tab, playing, and I love the bonus junco pic! I was listening to all the other renditions while watching the goldfinches on my feeder -- perfect soundtrack.

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Thanks - we don't have juncos here. The garden gets quiet in winter - the robins stay around, though. Over the last few weeks the migrating birds have started returning  - its nice to hear the geese flying overhead again.

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The little hoppers are everywhere here in Maryland. It's fun to watch them bouncing around in the snow! The cardinals have begun to sing and call, so warm weather is on the way.

Nice one!

There are other versions, including some that are in A major.  They are different enough from the G Mixolydian version that is this week's TOTW that it is hard to see that the tunes share anything but a title.

My favorite is from Earl Collins ("Snowbird on the Ashbank (2)" at the Traditional Tune Archive).  Collins' version played out of "Calico tuning" on the fiddle has a particularly nice B part where he moves the bow in a way that makes bird chirping sounds.

His version is at:

Earl Collins

Fiddle Fever

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Originally posted by LyleK

 

My favorite is from Earl Collins ("Snowbird on the Ashbank (2)" at the Traditional Tune Archive).  Collins' version played out of "Calico tuning" on the fiddle has a particularly nice B part where he moves the bow in a way that makes bird chirping sounds.

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I jammed a little bit (but mostly listened) to Earl in the early '70's at the local fiddlers' club on Signal Hill in Long Beach, CA.  He lived in Downey, and played a 7/8 fiddle.  He passed in 1975.

Earl was born in Missouri in 1911, but was raised in Oklahoma.  I lived in the Ozarks for a few years and some of the local folks there knew the older generations of Earl's family.  He played the Ozarks style and repertoire learned from his dad, W.S. Collins. Having gotten familiar with Earl's music out in California stood me in good stead in Missouri.

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Originally posted by LyleK

Nice one!

There are other versions, including some that are in A major.  They are different enough from the G Mixolydian version that is this week's TOTW that it is hard to see that the tunes share anything but a title.

My favorite is from Earl Collins ("Snowbird on the Ashbank (2)" at the Traditional Tune Archive).  Collins' version played out of "Calico tuning" on the fiddle has a particularly nice B part where he moves the bow in a way that makes bird chirping sounds.

His version is at:

Earl Collins

Fiddle Fever

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Thanks Lyle. That's a great 3 parter. Love the "bird" bowing!

That was lovely, melodic playing, Mark! My arrangement has similarities to yours, having used Oscar Wright as my source. I was reminded of Paddy on the Turnpike (learned from a David Margolin and Yigal Zan recording based on Arthur Smith) and recall learning Earl Collin's Snowbird in the Ashbank, so I'll include them here for comparison.

It seems hard to find bio information for Oscar Wright, even a birthdate. Perhaps someone can help include it here.  We have had Tunes of the Week crediting him, such as Shaving a Dead Man (Protect the Innocent), Sandy River, and Coal Creek (with connection to Shootin' Creek).  BHO member Jack Beuthin had a good thread called Blanton Owen field recording of Oscar Wright.

Thanks Janet. Lovely versions.

Paddy On The Turnpike is kind of similar, isn't it? It follows the same structure, although it veers off in some different directions.

Here's my arrangement, tried to base it on the orginal Oscar Wright recording. Only managed to take inspiration from a small section, the rhythm is idiosycratic, so was useful to have JanetB and gentrixuk's efforts to save my sanity!

Really enjoyed the both versions, I'll be taking bits to expand it a some more. I have another lower variation that's a bit more notey and closer to the recording to add as well.

I reckon I got pretty close with that decending run that ends on the F to a G. Notice Janet got it much the same, it's a lovely end to a section.

A bit like Chadwell Station, I feel like I've only scratched the surface in the time I've spent with it, and still playing and improving on both.

By the way I'm in the same neck of the woods as you Mark, I'm between York and Scarborough.

Great tune choice! Thanks to everybody who has posted versions of this tune, as well as all the information about and sources of the tune. I play several versions of this tune myself, depending on what fiddler(s) I'm playing with, variously named Snowbird In The Ashbank, Snowbird On The Ashbank, Snowbird, Snow Bird, Georgia Snowbird, etc., from a wide variety of sources scattered across the country. Some of those sources (e. g., Manco Snead, Bruce Greene) play multiple versions, either variations that they learned from different people, or entirely different tunes in some cases!

Getting curious, I counted up what recordings I could find in my wife's and my collection, and found upwards of 20 recordings from different sources, in addition to the four or five already mentioned here! Way too many to upload, or even to name here. Now I want to learn them all! Except that if I do, I'll never be able to keep them all straight from each other. Maybe I'll pick a few favorite or unusual versions/recordings and post them here when I have the time.

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Originally posted by snoot

Here's my arrangement, tried to base it on the orginal Oscar Wright recording. Only managed to take inspiration from a small section, the rhythm is idiosycratic, so was useful to have JanetB and gentrixuk's efforts to save my sanity!

Really enjoyed the both versions, I'll be taking bits to expand it a some more. I have another lower variation that's a bit more notey and closer to the recording to add as well.

I reckon I got pretty close with that decending run that ends on the F to a G. Notice Janet got it much the same, it's a lovely end to a section.

A bit like Chadwell Station, I feel like I've only scratched the surface in the time I've spent with it, and still playing and improving on both.

By the way I'm in the same neck of the woods as you Mark, I'm between York and Scarborough.

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Thanks - nice version. Yes, the recording of Oscar Wright sounds really irregular. The transcription on the Traditional Tune Archive page includes all kinds of crookedness for the A part. I decided in the end to treat it as though he was just warming up near the start, and the tune seems to settle into being more regular as it goes along, which is what I based it on.

Nice to hear you're nearby - do you get out playing with other people much?

Regarding the crookedness, yes! I ended up choosing a bit halfway through to figure out.

Don't really play out much, used to go to a folk club which didn't recover post-covid, and occasionally play John Fahey type guitar at open mics, but don't enjoy performing solo so much.

Hadn't spotted the traditional tune archive transcription, will investigate!