"Old Joe" And Other "C" Tunes

I spent some enjoyable time playing tunes the other night with my friend Janet. She's a terrific fiddler and probably my favorite fiddler to play with. We have the same kind of sensibility about when to play off the beat and when to play straight on the beat. It comes from both of us having spent time being taught by the late Steve Mote. Or at least, that's what we decided over a couple of beers on Saturday. Unfortunately for my opportunities for playing with her, Janet is also a young mother of two young children, which cuts into her fiddling time pretty dramatically.

While playing Saturday evening, we hit all the usual G, D, and A tunes. And we both talked about how we neither of us really play any tunes out of C. Why is that? The C scale isn't all that much different from D or G. The finger positions aren't any tougher. I just haven't concentrated on playing anything much out of that key.

So, Sunday afternoon I spent some time with "Old Joe", a tune that's always kind of intimidated me before. This time, though, I think I've got it. And it's great fun to play. It rattles along like an old motor car on a rutted dirt road.

Up next: "Melinda" in C! And once I've nailed C, no key will be safe!