{"id":141839,"date":"2023-11-03T08:38:31","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T15:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=141839"},"modified":"2023-11-03T08:38:38","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T15:38:38","slug":"learn-jamie-stillways-take-on-red-haired-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/learn-jamie-stillways-take-on-red-haired-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn Jamie Stillway\u2019s Spacious Take on the Traditional Bluegrass Tune \u201cRed Haired Boy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Er0lJl5NK5w?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The traditional tune \u201cRed Haired Boy\u201d is a favorite among bluegrass pickers, and for good reason. The catchy melody is fun to play, the droning B-part is a great place to start exploring improvisation, and the modal tonality (Mixolydian) makes it rock. The song is heard often at jams, concerts, and on albums, most recently on Jamie Stillway and Eric Skye\u2019s duo guitar release <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/49htiC5\" target=\"_blank\">Over the Waterfall<\/a> <\/em>(<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/jamie-stillway-and-eric-skye-over-the-waterfall\/\" target=\"_blank\">reviewed in the May\/June 2023 issue<\/a>)\u2014a follow-up to their 2021 all-original collection, <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FFEI5d\" target=\"_blank\">Home on the Midrange<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stillway and Skye both come from a background of jazz and improvisation and probably would not consider themselves bluegrass musicians per se. Yet they clearly love fiddle tunes, from which much bluegrass material originates, and approach them in their own style.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the tracks on <em>Over the Waterfall <\/em>are well-known selections, but they\u2019re played deliberately and slowly compared to the flash and speed typically heard among grassers. The difference with Stillway and Skye is that they take their time to get to their destination. The first minute or so of each track states the tune\u2019s melody, and over each repetition they delve further into spacious improvisational territory until landing in what Stillway calls \u201cfree skate,\u201d where they both are improvising and responding to each other simultaneously. This type of unstructured improvisation would be madness under the rigid rules of a traditional bluegrass jam, but for Stillway and Skye it is a vehicle to showcase their creative ideas. These slower speeds also provide room to reveal the sonic quality of their instruments harmonizing and ringing together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fYIeeCkD944?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The notation presented here is Stillway\u2019s rendition of the \u201cRed Haired Boy\u201d melody. Her version is an excellent one to learn, whether you intend to play it in the spacious spirit of Stillway and Skye or in a speedy picking session along with banjos and fiddles. On the album, Stillway ends her first pass through the tune with a scalar improvisational passage. For ease of learning, I have omitted that from the transcription and instead am presenting the tune\u2019s melody in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most striking elements in Stillway\u2019s playing is the natural fluidity she achieves between notes. To mimic this, focus on letting notes ring as long as possible. For example, when there is a string change, allow the note on the previous string to ring as you play the next string. When there is no string change, allow the previous note to ring out until you pick the next one. This is a difficult technique to get accustomed to and can sound unusual at first, but when done well it can make a melodic passage come to life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for the other hand, focus on alternate picking, which means coordinating downstrokes with the beats of each measure and upstrokes with the \u201cands,\u201d as indicated between the standard notation and tablature lines. This picking approach is standard for flatpickers and helps replicate the bouncy rhythmic pulse of a fiddle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"797\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AG343-red-haired-boy-notation.jpg?resize=797%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Jamie Stillway &quot;Red Haired Boy&quot; guitar music notation\" class=\"wp-image-141843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AG343-red-haired-boy-notation.jpg?resize=797%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 797w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AG343-red-haired-boy-notation.jpg?resize=389%2C500&amp;ssl=1 389w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AG343-red-haired-boy-notation.jpg?resize=768%2C987&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AG343-red-haired-boy-notation.jpg?resize=233%2C300&amp;ssl=1 233w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AG343-red-haired-boy-notation.jpg?w=1079&amp;ssl=1 1079w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-343-november-december-2023\" name=\"magazine\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 198px; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/001_343_Cover-150px.jpg?w=1290&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Acoustic Guitar magazine cover for issue 343\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><\/a>\n<p style=\"font-family: sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">This article originally appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-343-november-december-2023\">November\/December 2023<\/a> issue of <em>Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The song is heard often at jams, concerts, and on albums, most recently on Jamie Stillway and Eric Skye\u2019s duo guitar release \u2018Over the Waterfall.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":141842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"The song is heard often at jams, concerts, and on albums, most recently on Jamie Stillway and Eric Skye\u2019s duo guitar release \u2018Over the Waterfall.\u2019","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1661,1],"tags":[1930],"ppma_author":[1589],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Jamie-Stillway-photo-Rick-Dahms.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1589,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"alan-barnosky","display_name":"Alan Barnosky","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Alan-Barnosky.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Alan-Barnosky.jpg"},"user_url":"https:\/\/www.alanbarnosky.com\/","last_name":"Barnosky","first_name":"Alan","description":"Alan Barnosky is a guitarist based in Durham, NC. He performs solo as a songwriter as well as in bluegrass and folk bands."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141839"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142466,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141839\/revisions\/142466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141839"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=141839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}